NOTE: I've changed my mind on this fic. It is both canon AND non-canon with the MGE world. It's canon in that it's plausible that there's a bard in a tavern somewhere in the MGE world telling this story. It's non-canon at the same time because it will be the "official history" of my rewritten version of KC's MGE world.
Chapter 1
Spoiler: show
At a tavern, it's time for the bard to tell his tale. Everyone is gathered around, mug in hand. The bard sits on the stool in front of everyone.
"Tonight, I'll tell you one of many versions of how the new Demon Lord came into power, and the adventure that led to it. There were some important people who didn't travel with the Hero, but still helped him and his party to save the world from the old Demon Lord. I think you'll agree when I say that the world is much better now than it was back then, and the awesome sex with these exotic beauties is just part of it, am I right!?" He shouted his question, and was met with all manner of shouts of agreement from his audience.
"Well, let's get started." He squirmed around on the stool until he got comfortable. "It was a time long ago, when mamono were not the gorgeous ladies we have now, oh no, back then, they were actual monsters; monsters that killed and ate humans! That, though, was what the Chief God created them for. In some ridiculous attempt to prevent humans from warring with one another, the Chief God created and appointed the former Demon Lord, giving him the mission of 'kill all humans', also creating monsters to help him carry that out. At the same time, the Chief God selected the occasional champion to send against the Demon Lord. The current Demon Lord's husband was one such champion. One of The Order's greatest warriors, he was strong enough to take on anyone and anything. In combat, he was nigh-unbeatable. Unlike many of his Order brethren, however, he didn't share the belief that all monsters should be exterminated. He didn't approve of humans fornicating with them, which still happened back then, but he knew that at least some races of monsters, specifically the ones of human-and-above-level intelligence, should be spared, allowed to prosper, so long as they didn't endanger others. He kept his beliefs to himself, though, because to let them be known would have been grounds for severe punishment, possibly execution. One day, at The Order's headquarters..."
*Scene shift to back then, at The Order's HQ*
The Grandmaster of The Order stood at the podium, his glossy armor reflecting the light of the sun that shined in through the windows of the chapel. His white beard and the wrinkles on his face made it quite obvious that his only real capability anymore was doing paperwork and commanding others. His armor was purely ceremonial, as was the sword at his hip. All of his top men were in front of him. They were the elite of The Order, each man an incredible warrior, capable of besting at least 10 men by himself without breaking a sweat. They were all called here today because the Grandmaster was about to give an important speech. No one knew what it was to be about. He had tried to keep this somewhat low-profile, allowing only the best and highest ranked knights to attend. He gave the men a solemn look and began...
"Men, I have called you here today because there exists a grave threat. A threat not to just us, The Order, but to all of humanity. The Demon Lord is a powerful foe, and his forces are rallying. Soon, they will be strong enough to wipe out all humans. We cannot let this drive us to despair! Rather than wait and let ourselves be slaughtered by his evil minions, we shall act! We will send one man to fight his way into the heart of the Demon Lord's realm. He will breed chaos among their ranks, cause disunity among the Demon Lord's armies, and, if possible, strike down the Demon Lord himself!"
The knights looked around among themselves, wondering who would be chosen for such an insane task. They were motivated for battle, knowing that the Grandmaster had a plan, but they knew that the plan would have to succeed or all was lost. This fact kept them from hot-bloodedly yelling and cheering.
The Grandmaster continued, "Each and every one of you is a part of our very best. You are our finest warriors. I have meticulously reviewed each and every one of you and have reached my decision. I have chosen who shall open our path to victory on this desperate mission..." He looked around at each knight. He then suddenly pointed at one young man sitting in the second row. "...It shall be you!"
Everyone in the room looked to the man the Grandmaster was pointing at. The man stood up and saluted. "Grandmaster, it honors me that you have chosen me for this mission. I swear now before the Chief God that I shall not fail! I will cut a path for our forces to defeat the Demon Lord's armies! If I get the opportunity, I shall fight him, and I'll kill him or die trying! We shall be victorious if it costs me my life!" The fires of determination burned fiercely in his eyes.
The Grandmaster smiled proudly. This young man may yet bring them victory. He just might be able to save humanity from the putrid claws of the Demon Lord and his minions. Only time would tell. "Step up, young man."
The man walked up to the Grandmaster. "Yes, sir?"
"Kneel." The Grandmaster drew his ceremonial sword as the man kneeled. "I hereby appoint you our champion. May you, with the help of the Chief of the Gods, be successful on your most dire and important of missions." The Grandmaster tapped the man twice on each shoulder with the flat side of his ceremonial sword. "Rise, our champion, our hero."
The young man stood up. The Grandmaster put away his sword. "I have prepared some supplies for you that will help you on your quest. Given the level of danger, I have chosen to outfit you with our very best equipment. Meet me in the armory and we'll get you outfitted with armor and a weapon fit for the savior of the human race." He turned to everyone else. "This meeting is now over. Wish him well, all of you, for he is our only remaining hope."
After everyone left the chapel, the young man went straight to the armory. There, he met the Grandmaster and the armorer. They suited him up in some very high-quality medium weight armor bearing the insignia of The Order. The armor was enchanted to keep him energized and further protect him from magic and elements. He was given a shield that also bore The Order's insignia. The shield was top-quality, obviously capable of blocking any attack, so long as the man behind it could withstand the impact. It looked indestructible. The sword was a somewhat unusual sword, in that it had a handle longer than a long sword, but a blade shorter than a claymore. One could classify it as yet another sword of strange proportions in the "bastard sword" category. The sword's handle was long enough to easily allow a full two-handed grip, but the sword itself was light enough that most people could wield it with one hand. The armorer told him that it was enchanted to do extra damage against the wicked, but didn't elaborate. The young man and the Grandmaster left the armory and headed for the front gate.
"Now that you are outfitted with our greatest equipment, how do you feel, young man?"
"I'm a little nervous, sir. The fate of all humankind is on my shoulders, but I don't know what all I'll have to face. I'd like to think that this armor, this shield, and this sword will be enough, but somehow I doubt that. I get the feeling that I'll need magic, but I don't know any spells."
The Grandmaster gave him a knowing nod. "Don't worry. Though we've sent you alone, surely you'll find other people who understand what's at stake. Among them may be a mage willing to help. The last piece of advice I can give you is this; since we don't stock potions here, you'll have to go into the nearby city to find some place that sells potions. I know there's such a place there, but I haven't been there so I don't know where it is. When you arrive, ask for a man named Cartridge. He's the captain of the city guard, and one hell of a fighter. He'll help you find what you need in town. Other than that, I'm afraid you're on your own. Good luck."
The hero swallowed, still nervous, but determined to carry out his orders. He knew he shouldn't stress himself out at the beginning, but the Grandmaster's speech was fresh on his mind. Without further word, he left, walking alone toward the city.
"Nearby" was maybe not the best term to use to describe how far away it was. The city was actually about 5 miles away from The Order's HQ. Without a horse, it would take him a good while if he walked. Thinking out loud, he said, "The armorer told me that this suit of armor is supposed to keep me energized. Let's see if this is what he meant..."
He started running. He noticed that no matter how long he ran, he wasn't getting tired. He grinned. "This'll definitely help, especially if it carries over into combat as well. It should, right?" Glad that he could now run as much as he needed without tiring, he sped up a little. He wanted to stock up on useful things and find a place to stay for the night as soon as possible.
"Tonight, I'll tell you one of many versions of how the new Demon Lord came into power, and the adventure that led to it. There were some important people who didn't travel with the Hero, but still helped him and his party to save the world from the old Demon Lord. I think you'll agree when I say that the world is much better now than it was back then, and the awesome sex with these exotic beauties is just part of it, am I right!?" He shouted his question, and was met with all manner of shouts of agreement from his audience.
"Well, let's get started." He squirmed around on the stool until he got comfortable. "It was a time long ago, when mamono were not the gorgeous ladies we have now, oh no, back then, they were actual monsters; monsters that killed and ate humans! That, though, was what the Chief God created them for. In some ridiculous attempt to prevent humans from warring with one another, the Chief God created and appointed the former Demon Lord, giving him the mission of 'kill all humans', also creating monsters to help him carry that out. At the same time, the Chief God selected the occasional champion to send against the Demon Lord. The current Demon Lord's husband was one such champion. One of The Order's greatest warriors, he was strong enough to take on anyone and anything. In combat, he was nigh-unbeatable. Unlike many of his Order brethren, however, he didn't share the belief that all monsters should be exterminated. He didn't approve of humans fornicating with them, which still happened back then, but he knew that at least some races of monsters, specifically the ones of human-and-above-level intelligence, should be spared, allowed to prosper, so long as they didn't endanger others. He kept his beliefs to himself, though, because to let them be known would have been grounds for severe punishment, possibly execution. One day, at The Order's headquarters..."
*Scene shift to back then, at The Order's HQ*
The Grandmaster of The Order stood at the podium, his glossy armor reflecting the light of the sun that shined in through the windows of the chapel. His white beard and the wrinkles on his face made it quite obvious that his only real capability anymore was doing paperwork and commanding others. His armor was purely ceremonial, as was the sword at his hip. All of his top men were in front of him. They were the elite of The Order, each man an incredible warrior, capable of besting at least 10 men by himself without breaking a sweat. They were all called here today because the Grandmaster was about to give an important speech. No one knew what it was to be about. He had tried to keep this somewhat low-profile, allowing only the best and highest ranked knights to attend. He gave the men a solemn look and began...
"Men, I have called you here today because there exists a grave threat. A threat not to just us, The Order, but to all of humanity. The Demon Lord is a powerful foe, and his forces are rallying. Soon, they will be strong enough to wipe out all humans. We cannot let this drive us to despair! Rather than wait and let ourselves be slaughtered by his evil minions, we shall act! We will send one man to fight his way into the heart of the Demon Lord's realm. He will breed chaos among their ranks, cause disunity among the Demon Lord's armies, and, if possible, strike down the Demon Lord himself!"
The knights looked around among themselves, wondering who would be chosen for such an insane task. They were motivated for battle, knowing that the Grandmaster had a plan, but they knew that the plan would have to succeed or all was lost. This fact kept them from hot-bloodedly yelling and cheering.
The Grandmaster continued, "Each and every one of you is a part of our very best. You are our finest warriors. I have meticulously reviewed each and every one of you and have reached my decision. I have chosen who shall open our path to victory on this desperate mission..." He looked around at each knight. He then suddenly pointed at one young man sitting in the second row. "...It shall be you!"
Everyone in the room looked to the man the Grandmaster was pointing at. The man stood up and saluted. "Grandmaster, it honors me that you have chosen me for this mission. I swear now before the Chief God that I shall not fail! I will cut a path for our forces to defeat the Demon Lord's armies! If I get the opportunity, I shall fight him, and I'll kill him or die trying! We shall be victorious if it costs me my life!" The fires of determination burned fiercely in his eyes.
The Grandmaster smiled proudly. This young man may yet bring them victory. He just might be able to save humanity from the putrid claws of the Demon Lord and his minions. Only time would tell. "Step up, young man."
The man walked up to the Grandmaster. "Yes, sir?"
"Kneel." The Grandmaster drew his ceremonial sword as the man kneeled. "I hereby appoint you our champion. May you, with the help of the Chief of the Gods, be successful on your most dire and important of missions." The Grandmaster tapped the man twice on each shoulder with the flat side of his ceremonial sword. "Rise, our champion, our hero."
The young man stood up. The Grandmaster put away his sword. "I have prepared some supplies for you that will help you on your quest. Given the level of danger, I have chosen to outfit you with our very best equipment. Meet me in the armory and we'll get you outfitted with armor and a weapon fit for the savior of the human race." He turned to everyone else. "This meeting is now over. Wish him well, all of you, for he is our only remaining hope."
After everyone left the chapel, the young man went straight to the armory. There, he met the Grandmaster and the armorer. They suited him up in some very high-quality medium weight armor bearing the insignia of The Order. The armor was enchanted to keep him energized and further protect him from magic and elements. He was given a shield that also bore The Order's insignia. The shield was top-quality, obviously capable of blocking any attack, so long as the man behind it could withstand the impact. It looked indestructible. The sword was a somewhat unusual sword, in that it had a handle longer than a long sword, but a blade shorter than a claymore. One could classify it as yet another sword of strange proportions in the "bastard sword" category. The sword's handle was long enough to easily allow a full two-handed grip, but the sword itself was light enough that most people could wield it with one hand. The armorer told him that it was enchanted to do extra damage against the wicked, but didn't elaborate. The young man and the Grandmaster left the armory and headed for the front gate.
"Now that you are outfitted with our greatest equipment, how do you feel, young man?"
"I'm a little nervous, sir. The fate of all humankind is on my shoulders, but I don't know what all I'll have to face. I'd like to think that this armor, this shield, and this sword will be enough, but somehow I doubt that. I get the feeling that I'll need magic, but I don't know any spells."
The Grandmaster gave him a knowing nod. "Don't worry. Though we've sent you alone, surely you'll find other people who understand what's at stake. Among them may be a mage willing to help. The last piece of advice I can give you is this; since we don't stock potions here, you'll have to go into the nearby city to find some place that sells potions. I know there's such a place there, but I haven't been there so I don't know where it is. When you arrive, ask for a man named Cartridge. He's the captain of the city guard, and one hell of a fighter. He'll help you find what you need in town. Other than that, I'm afraid you're on your own. Good luck."
The hero swallowed, still nervous, but determined to carry out his orders. He knew he shouldn't stress himself out at the beginning, but the Grandmaster's speech was fresh on his mind. Without further word, he left, walking alone toward the city.
"Nearby" was maybe not the best term to use to describe how far away it was. The city was actually about 5 miles away from The Order's HQ. Without a horse, it would take him a good while if he walked. Thinking out loud, he said, "The armorer told me that this suit of armor is supposed to keep me energized. Let's see if this is what he meant..."
He started running. He noticed that no matter how long he ran, he wasn't getting tired. He grinned. "This'll definitely help, especially if it carries over into combat as well. It should, right?" Glad that he could now run as much as he needed without tiring, he sped up a little. He wanted to stock up on useful things and find a place to stay for the night as soon as possible.
Chapter 2
Spoiler: show
At about that same time, in the outskirts of an area in the demon realm, two succubi were chatting. One of them was quite hot, and she had an air of maturity to her. The other had beautiful pale white skin, pure white hair, and red eyes. She looked to be younger than the other and had a gentle aura about her.
The older one said, "So, are you doing okay?"
The young one replied, "Yeah, for the most part."
The older one looked at the younger one with a sympathetic look. "Sure sucks being exiled for being picky, huh?"
The younger one nodded. "I want to find my own man, not choose from what the Demon Lord offers. I'm not going to fuck everything that has a cock until I find one I like, like he expects and pretty much demands. To me, humans are interesting. To me, they're not just food."
The older one gave a knowing nod. "I do as I have to to avoid his wrath. Maybe someone will change things some day, but until then, I'll pretend to treat them as food, claiming that the ones I keep are my favorites."
The young one frowned. "I just don't like the thought of having to sleep around to avoid exile or execution, you know? I want to find that one special guy."
The older one grinned. "Saving yourself for one guy? That's a bit abnormal for a succubus."
The young one glared at her. "Some succubi say that they've found certain males to be more satisfying and fulfilling than others. I don't want to equate it to eating several bowls of spinach until I find a chocolate cake or something. I want that perfect guy to be my one and only. I'd also like for humans and monsters to stop killing each other."
The older one shrugged. "I know you like humans. I've found a couple to be really fun, myself, but as long as the current Demon Lord rules, that will never happen. You and I both know how it is. The Chief God created humans and monsters, and basically forced us to war with one another. The Chief God also created the Demon Lord to ensure that things went that way and remained as such. As long as we have the current Demon Lord, things will always be this way."
The young one crossed her arms and huffed. "Then I'll have to do something about it! I'll go find someone strong and help them get rid of the asshole we have now, then I'll take the title and fix things!"
The older succubus held up her hands, trying to get the young succubus to calm down and, more importantly, quiet down. "Be careful who you say that to! I'll keep it a secret because I'm your friend and I like your idea, but don't go announcing it to everyone."
The younger succubus uncrossed her arms. "I'm a pretty capable mage. I'll go into the human cities and look for people willing to help. Wish me luck, okay?"
The older one nodded. "Bye!"
They flew off in opposite directions. The young succubus knew it was risky, but there was no other logical option. She had to go to cities with a strong Order presence and look for willing teammates. She thought that using her magic to disguise herself as a human might give her a good cover as a human female mage looking to make an independent attack on the Demon Lord. Another possibility was to go to cities that were widely known for accepting the more "civilized" monsters. She knew of one such city, but it was incredibly far away. She'd have to stop at several different cities and towns along the way in order to keep her limited supplies in good condition, as well as restock on things like fruit from the demon realm. She knew that such things were commonly sold all over the world, though it was illegal in some places. She decided she'd have to make a quick stop at the nearest place that sold them and buy as many as she could carry, making sure to not waste her money by buying too many and letting them spoil.
The shopkeeper, a witch, knew her well, because she was the only virgin succubus of her age anywhere. Her petty rebellions against the Demon Lord, and her subsequent exile, also helped to make her locally famous.
The shopkeeper finished counting the demon realm fruit and gave the succubus the price. "Still living off of these, huh? Are you ever going to let a guy in?"
The succubus rolled her eyes. "You know how picky I am. I'm going to live off these until I find a guy that's perfect for me. Until then, I won't even let anybody lick me down there."
The witch smiled. "You're alright with just masturbating?"
The succubus blushed and snapped back, "Shut up! You and your obsession with returning your body to a child-like state is more stupid than my preferences could ever be!"
The witch smiled. "Some men like petite bodies and small breasts, you know?" she said in a taunting voice.
"Then there's something wrong with them! Men should like big, bouncy breasts like mine!" She grabbed her own breasts and held them up a little, emphasizing her point. After letting go, her breasts bounced and jiggled.
"Whatever you say." The witch shrugged and accepted the payment. The succubus took her newly bought demon realm fruit and left.
This was a common exchange between the two. The witch wanted to reverse her aging until she had the body of a child because she had perhaps taken the desire to be young a bit too far. Either that, or she wanted a child's body to appeal to lolicons. Her current figure, despite being quite stunning, displeased her. She heard rumors of something called the Sabbath. She decided that when she had made enough money to cover the expenses, she'd go find and join, for she had heard that witches who do so are "rewarded" with the body of a child that never ages.
The succubus quickly went home and packed a few things. She brought along a few changes of clothes, some perfume, her favorite staff, and a few other trinkets. She put them in a shoulder bag, put on her robe, and slung said bag over her shoulder. She looked in her mirror and cast a spell to disguise herself as a human. In her human disguise, she had emerald green eyes and brown hair, but she still had her beautiful pale skin. She nodded approvingly and left, walking along the road to the nearest human town, which was 20 miles away. She had to walk to conserve her energy, because she knew these roads were dangerous, even to monsters. She needed all her energy to be ready for whatever might happen, be it bandits, renegade sorcerers, or marauding monsters that left the Demon Lord.
The older one said, "So, are you doing okay?"
The young one replied, "Yeah, for the most part."
The older one looked at the younger one with a sympathetic look. "Sure sucks being exiled for being picky, huh?"
The younger one nodded. "I want to find my own man, not choose from what the Demon Lord offers. I'm not going to fuck everything that has a cock until I find one I like, like he expects and pretty much demands. To me, humans are interesting. To me, they're not just food."
The older one gave a knowing nod. "I do as I have to to avoid his wrath. Maybe someone will change things some day, but until then, I'll pretend to treat them as food, claiming that the ones I keep are my favorites."
The young one frowned. "I just don't like the thought of having to sleep around to avoid exile or execution, you know? I want to find that one special guy."
The older one grinned. "Saving yourself for one guy? That's a bit abnormal for a succubus."
The young one glared at her. "Some succubi say that they've found certain males to be more satisfying and fulfilling than others. I don't want to equate it to eating several bowls of spinach until I find a chocolate cake or something. I want that perfect guy to be my one and only. I'd also like for humans and monsters to stop killing each other."
The older one shrugged. "I know you like humans. I've found a couple to be really fun, myself, but as long as the current Demon Lord rules, that will never happen. You and I both know how it is. The Chief God created humans and monsters, and basically forced us to war with one another. The Chief God also created the Demon Lord to ensure that things went that way and remained as such. As long as we have the current Demon Lord, things will always be this way."
The young one crossed her arms and huffed. "Then I'll have to do something about it! I'll go find someone strong and help them get rid of the asshole we have now, then I'll take the title and fix things!"
The older succubus held up her hands, trying to get the young succubus to calm down and, more importantly, quiet down. "Be careful who you say that to! I'll keep it a secret because I'm your friend and I like your idea, but don't go announcing it to everyone."
The younger succubus uncrossed her arms. "I'm a pretty capable mage. I'll go into the human cities and look for people willing to help. Wish me luck, okay?"
The older one nodded. "Bye!"
They flew off in opposite directions. The young succubus knew it was risky, but there was no other logical option. She had to go to cities with a strong Order presence and look for willing teammates. She thought that using her magic to disguise herself as a human might give her a good cover as a human female mage looking to make an independent attack on the Demon Lord. Another possibility was to go to cities that were widely known for accepting the more "civilized" monsters. She knew of one such city, but it was incredibly far away. She'd have to stop at several different cities and towns along the way in order to keep her limited supplies in good condition, as well as restock on things like fruit from the demon realm. She knew that such things were commonly sold all over the world, though it was illegal in some places. She decided she'd have to make a quick stop at the nearest place that sold them and buy as many as she could carry, making sure to not waste her money by buying too many and letting them spoil.
The shopkeeper, a witch, knew her well, because she was the only virgin succubus of her age anywhere. Her petty rebellions against the Demon Lord, and her subsequent exile, also helped to make her locally famous.
The shopkeeper finished counting the demon realm fruit and gave the succubus the price. "Still living off of these, huh? Are you ever going to let a guy in?"
The succubus rolled her eyes. "You know how picky I am. I'm going to live off these until I find a guy that's perfect for me. Until then, I won't even let anybody lick me down there."
The witch smiled. "You're alright with just masturbating?"
The succubus blushed and snapped back, "Shut up! You and your obsession with returning your body to a child-like state is more stupid than my preferences could ever be!"
The witch smiled. "Some men like petite bodies and small breasts, you know?" she said in a taunting voice.
"Then there's something wrong with them! Men should like big, bouncy breasts like mine!" She grabbed her own breasts and held them up a little, emphasizing her point. After letting go, her breasts bounced and jiggled.
"Whatever you say." The witch shrugged and accepted the payment. The succubus took her newly bought demon realm fruit and left.
This was a common exchange between the two. The witch wanted to reverse her aging until she had the body of a child because she had perhaps taken the desire to be young a bit too far. Either that, or she wanted a child's body to appeal to lolicons. Her current figure, despite being quite stunning, displeased her. She heard rumors of something called the Sabbath. She decided that when she had made enough money to cover the expenses, she'd go find and join, for she had heard that witches who do so are "rewarded" with the body of a child that never ages.
The succubus quickly went home and packed a few things. She brought along a few changes of clothes, some perfume, her favorite staff, and a few other trinkets. She put them in a shoulder bag, put on her robe, and slung said bag over her shoulder. She looked in her mirror and cast a spell to disguise herself as a human. In her human disguise, she had emerald green eyes and brown hair, but she still had her beautiful pale skin. She nodded approvingly and left, walking along the road to the nearest human town, which was 20 miles away. She had to walk to conserve her energy, because she knew these roads were dangerous, even to monsters. She needed all her energy to be ready for whatever might happen, be it bandits, renegade sorcerers, or marauding monsters that left the Demon Lord.
Chapter 3
Spoiler: show
The hero was making good time, running at full speed. The more he ran, the more he appreciated the stamina-restoring enchantment on his armor. With this, even without a horse, he could move plenty fast enough. As he neared a T-intersection in the road, he heard a woman scream.
"Get the fuck away from me! SOMEONE HELP!"
He ran faster to see what was happening. When he arrived, he saw a young female Lizardman surrounded by four men. The men were obviously bandits, considering their appearance and attitude. The Lizardman was unarmed and trying to get away from these fools.
The hero approached, hand on his sword handle. "What's going on here?"
The Lizardman glanced over at the hero. When she saw the insignia of The Order, her heart sunk. She donned a face that showed that she had given up hope of living to see tomorrow. She was about to drop to her knees and cry until she heard the exchange between the bandits and the Order knight.
"Piss off, fruit. We's about to have us some fun with this chickie..." the apparent leader of the bandits said, licking his lips while lustfully eyeing the girl.
The hero frowned and drew his sword. He pointed it at the bandit leader. "Rape is rape, regardless of whether the parties in question are humans, monsters, or one of the two on each side. Leave her alone and get out of here or die. Your choice."
The bandits looked at each other in slight confusion, then started laughing. One of them mouthed off, "Ah, get the 'ell outta 'ere! Thar's four o' us an' jus' one o' you! What you tink you can do, eh?"
The Lizardman girl, who looked to be in her mid-to-late teens, looked at the hero with great confusion. She had only ever heard of The Order ignoring situations like this or punishing the "bad guys" after the fact, never actively coming to the defense of a monster against human aggressors. Despite that, she seemed a bit relieved that someone was going to save her, but she was still wary of this new person in Order garb. She was also watching the bandits, for they have not yet been dealt with.
The hero assumed a fighting stance, shield half-up. "You leave me no choice. Come at me one at a time if you have the balls, or all at once if you're as pathetic as I believe you are!"
The bandits laughed again. The one who mouthed off got up and raised his twin daggers. "Tell ye what, laddie, I got me the balls, and afore you showed up, I was plannin' on emptien' 'em inta that scaly girl. Looks like I gotta get rid o' you first, though."
With a yell, he rushed the hero. The hero sidestepped him, stuck his leg out, and tripped the overeager bandit. As the bandit tried to get back up after faceplanting in the dirt, the hero did a short-hop and landed next to him. "Too easy." The hero drove his sword into the bandit's still somewhat prone form, killing the bastard by stabbing him through his heart.
The other bandits looked at each other, then glared at the hero with looks of extreme hatred. The leader yelled, "Get him!" As ordered, the other two bandits charged at the hero. One of them armed with a mace, the other wielding a one-handed axe. The hero looked at how they were attacking; unorganized, no tactics, obviously no plan, no concept of timing... They were going to be a cakewalk. The one with the axe got to him first, and had his wild overhand swing redirected for his trouble. The redirected swing caused him to spin two full revolutions, which forced him to recover his senses and balance before continuing. The hero suspected that this particular bandit was drunk, considering how he got dizzy from just that. He couldn't dwell on it for too long, however, because the one with the mace stepped in and swung at him. The hero blocked the horizontal swing with his shield, crouching down as he did so in a successful attempt at deflecting it. As the mace-wielding bandit tried to recover his stance after being forced to overextend himself, the hero attacked. He hamstrung the bandit with a well-placed cut at his ankle, severing his Achilles tendon. The bandit yelled in pain and fear and tried to hit the hero, flailing his mace around while trying to stand on his one remaining good leg. The hero scoffed and shield-bashed him, knocking him over. By this time, the bandit with the axe had recovered and attacked, having the misfortune to telegraph his attack with a yell that started a few seconds before the actual attack. The hero expertly spun on his heel, raised his shield, and blocked the pathetic swing, countering with a slash to the bandit's side. The bandit howled in pain and clutched his side, dropping his axe in the process. The hero sighed, thinking that it might have been funny if the axe had fell on and sunk into the fool's foot. Instead the axe had merely lodged itself in the ground blade-first. He shrugged and, with a subtle display of incredible skill, slashed the axe-wielder's throat with a casually executed swing.
The bandit that had the mace was trying to crawl away backward while still lying on his back and watching the hero. "D-don't come near me! Let me live!"
The hero coldly replied, "If you hadn't tried to rape this girl, I wouldn't have had to kill you." He took a few charging steps forward and pinned the bandit's right hand to the ground by stepping on it. Before the bandit could pull out his dagger hidden in his shirt, the hero impaled him through the chest, catching his heart and lung with the fatal sword-plant. During this time, the bandit leader, the only one of them left alive, had pulled his dagger and grabbed the young Lizardman.
"Let me go you son of a-" She stopped herself in mid-sentence when she felt the blade of the bandit leader's dagger against her throat.
The bandit leader, shaking and sweating with fear, threatened, "One more step and I cut her throat! I mean it!"
The hero, glaring at the bandit leader with a look cold enough to scare a demon, replied, "In the time it takes for the command to cut her throat to reach your shoulder from your brain, I'll have cut your arm off. After that, while you're still trying to come to terms with the fact that you only have one arm, I'll be in the middle of a swing that'll cut your head off."
The bandit leader took his dagger away from the girl's neck and pointed at the hero, still holding her with his other hand. "Don't think that just because you're from The Order that-" He began screaming in pain. The Lizardman girl had taken the opportunity to grab him by the balls and squeeze as hard as she could. After she was sure that he was immobilized for a bit, she broke away and ran several steps away, turning around just in time to see the hero decapitate the bandit leader, the expression of pain from having his balls crushed still on his face.
The hero wiped the blood from his sword and sheathed it. He slung his shield over his shoulder and approached the young Lizardman. "Are you okay? Did they hurt you?"
The Lizardman, still wary of this impressive warrior, answered, "I'm fine. It's good you got here when you did. Any later and I'd have had to bite my tongue off."
The hero, somewhat disturbed at that thought, hesitantly asked, "You're a Lizardman, right? I thought you were all great warriors. Why couldn't you have fended them off?"
The girl, now slightly angry, said, "Don't go making generalizations based on stereotypes. That pisses me off. Some of my kind go after professions other than 'wandering warrior'. Some of us actually study magic or become merchants. As for me, I work in the city at the magic shop. My boss is teaching me magic, and I help him tend to the store."
The hero nodded, accepting that there are exceptions to everything. "So why didn't you have a weapon? If you can't fight without one or something, why didn't you have anything with which to defend yourself? Did you think that magic was all you needed? If so, why didn't you cast any spells?"
The Lizardman gritted her teeth. "I'm not good enough yet to cast spells without a catalyst. I did have my staff, but these assholes took it from me when they ambushed me." She walked around, looking for her staff. "Here it is..." She found it near a tree. She picked it up and showed it to the hero. It was a wooden staff with steel end-caps on each end, perfect for use as a catalyst or as a weapon. She also picked up her satchel and slung it over her shoulder. "I'd better get going. My boss is going to be worried, even though I'll only be a few minutes late. I hope he doesn't get too upset when I tell him what happened..."
The hero quickly ran up next to her. "Since we're both headed for the city, let's go together. Regardless of whether you're a human or a monster, a young lady like you should not be out at such an hour."
The Lizardman paused for a moment. "The sun is still up."
"Still, you shouldn't be walking around by yourself in dangerous areas like this. I'll escort you back to the city."
The Lizardman took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, still visibly shaken from the encounter with the bandits, despite her acting tough. "So you're not going to kill me?"
The hero looked surprised, hurt, and insulted. "Of course not! Why would you think that?"
She started walking. "From what I've heard, The Order would never save a monster from human aggressors, no matter the situation. You zealots kill us all whenever you can, and if you need one of us for some reason, you just use us as if we were a tool, then you throw us away afterward."
The hero was unsettled by this. "What makes you say that? I've asked the Grandmaster hypothetical questions before, including questions about what to do if a monster is about to be raped. He told me that we should respond to it just as we would to any other instance of imminent rape. We help the soon-to-be victim!"
The Lizardman glanced over at the hero. "Well, where you come from must be the exception. Apparently, not all Order people are nice guys like you, nor do they all follow the rules or code of this 'Grandmaster'."
The hero frowned. "Well, anyway, if you work in the city, it helps support my stance that humans and monsters, or at least, the intelligent, civilized monsters, can live and work together without any abnormal problems."
The Lizardman looked over at the hero quizzically. "What do you mean, 'abnormal problems'?"
He replied, "I'm sure you know about the everyday problems that people face, even when it's just humans involved, right? Well, I'm sure you face those problems, too, just like humans. You work in the city, and you haven't had problems other than the 'normal' kind, right?"
She shrugged. "I guess not. After all, the city is a fairly open-minded one, allowing monsters to live and work there, no different from humans. Sure, it only applies to the more intelligent ones, like my kind, but it's still pretty nice."
The hero nodded in agreement. "What if there was a different Demon Lord? One that wanted peace and harmony between monsters and humans?"
The Lizardman gave a forlorn sigh. "If only that were so. My kind would have a much easier time finding non-warrior jobs, and parents of both human and monster kind would probably no longer prevent their children from playing with the children of the other. We can still dream, though..."
The hero chose not to mention his quest. He merely nodded in agreement.
They arrived at the city gates. The Lizardman faced him and held out her hand. "Thanks for your help."
The hero shook her hand and watched for a few seconds as she jogged away. He turned around and asked the nearest guard, "Excuse me, where can I find Cartridge?"
The guard looked him over. "From The Order, eh? Well, we'll be having no slaughterings of our citizens here, so keep your sword in its sheath or we'll throw you in a cell. What do you want to see the captain for?"
The hero replied, "The Grandmaster told me to speak with him. I've got a few questions about the city."
The guard eyed the hero with great scrutiny. "Come with me. I'll take you to him."
The hero followed the guard to the Guard Quarters building. As they neared the door, a man stepped out. The guard nudged the hero. "There he is now."
The hero approached the man as the guard returned to his post. "Excuse me, are you Cartridge?"
The man nodded and looked at the hero. "Yes, that's me. You must be from The Order. What do you need?"
"Get the fuck away from me! SOMEONE HELP!"
He ran faster to see what was happening. When he arrived, he saw a young female Lizardman surrounded by four men. The men were obviously bandits, considering their appearance and attitude. The Lizardman was unarmed and trying to get away from these fools.
The hero approached, hand on his sword handle. "What's going on here?"
The Lizardman glanced over at the hero. When she saw the insignia of The Order, her heart sunk. She donned a face that showed that she had given up hope of living to see tomorrow. She was about to drop to her knees and cry until she heard the exchange between the bandits and the Order knight.
"Piss off, fruit. We's about to have us some fun with this chickie..." the apparent leader of the bandits said, licking his lips while lustfully eyeing the girl.
The hero frowned and drew his sword. He pointed it at the bandit leader. "Rape is rape, regardless of whether the parties in question are humans, monsters, or one of the two on each side. Leave her alone and get out of here or die. Your choice."
The bandits looked at each other in slight confusion, then started laughing. One of them mouthed off, "Ah, get the 'ell outta 'ere! Thar's four o' us an' jus' one o' you! What you tink you can do, eh?"
The Lizardman girl, who looked to be in her mid-to-late teens, looked at the hero with great confusion. She had only ever heard of The Order ignoring situations like this or punishing the "bad guys" after the fact, never actively coming to the defense of a monster against human aggressors. Despite that, she seemed a bit relieved that someone was going to save her, but she was still wary of this new person in Order garb. She was also watching the bandits, for they have not yet been dealt with.
The hero assumed a fighting stance, shield half-up. "You leave me no choice. Come at me one at a time if you have the balls, or all at once if you're as pathetic as I believe you are!"
The bandits laughed again. The one who mouthed off got up and raised his twin daggers. "Tell ye what, laddie, I got me the balls, and afore you showed up, I was plannin' on emptien' 'em inta that scaly girl. Looks like I gotta get rid o' you first, though."
With a yell, he rushed the hero. The hero sidestepped him, stuck his leg out, and tripped the overeager bandit. As the bandit tried to get back up after faceplanting in the dirt, the hero did a short-hop and landed next to him. "Too easy." The hero drove his sword into the bandit's still somewhat prone form, killing the bastard by stabbing him through his heart.
The other bandits looked at each other, then glared at the hero with looks of extreme hatred. The leader yelled, "Get him!" As ordered, the other two bandits charged at the hero. One of them armed with a mace, the other wielding a one-handed axe. The hero looked at how they were attacking; unorganized, no tactics, obviously no plan, no concept of timing... They were going to be a cakewalk. The one with the axe got to him first, and had his wild overhand swing redirected for his trouble. The redirected swing caused him to spin two full revolutions, which forced him to recover his senses and balance before continuing. The hero suspected that this particular bandit was drunk, considering how he got dizzy from just that. He couldn't dwell on it for too long, however, because the one with the mace stepped in and swung at him. The hero blocked the horizontal swing with his shield, crouching down as he did so in a successful attempt at deflecting it. As the mace-wielding bandit tried to recover his stance after being forced to overextend himself, the hero attacked. He hamstrung the bandit with a well-placed cut at his ankle, severing his Achilles tendon. The bandit yelled in pain and fear and tried to hit the hero, flailing his mace around while trying to stand on his one remaining good leg. The hero scoffed and shield-bashed him, knocking him over. By this time, the bandit with the axe had recovered and attacked, having the misfortune to telegraph his attack with a yell that started a few seconds before the actual attack. The hero expertly spun on his heel, raised his shield, and blocked the pathetic swing, countering with a slash to the bandit's side. The bandit howled in pain and clutched his side, dropping his axe in the process. The hero sighed, thinking that it might have been funny if the axe had fell on and sunk into the fool's foot. Instead the axe had merely lodged itself in the ground blade-first. He shrugged and, with a subtle display of incredible skill, slashed the axe-wielder's throat with a casually executed swing.
The bandit that had the mace was trying to crawl away backward while still lying on his back and watching the hero. "D-don't come near me! Let me live!"
The hero coldly replied, "If you hadn't tried to rape this girl, I wouldn't have had to kill you." He took a few charging steps forward and pinned the bandit's right hand to the ground by stepping on it. Before the bandit could pull out his dagger hidden in his shirt, the hero impaled him through the chest, catching his heart and lung with the fatal sword-plant. During this time, the bandit leader, the only one of them left alive, had pulled his dagger and grabbed the young Lizardman.
"Let me go you son of a-" She stopped herself in mid-sentence when she felt the blade of the bandit leader's dagger against her throat.
The bandit leader, shaking and sweating with fear, threatened, "One more step and I cut her throat! I mean it!"
The hero, glaring at the bandit leader with a look cold enough to scare a demon, replied, "In the time it takes for the command to cut her throat to reach your shoulder from your brain, I'll have cut your arm off. After that, while you're still trying to come to terms with the fact that you only have one arm, I'll be in the middle of a swing that'll cut your head off."
The bandit leader took his dagger away from the girl's neck and pointed at the hero, still holding her with his other hand. "Don't think that just because you're from The Order that-" He began screaming in pain. The Lizardman girl had taken the opportunity to grab him by the balls and squeeze as hard as she could. After she was sure that he was immobilized for a bit, she broke away and ran several steps away, turning around just in time to see the hero decapitate the bandit leader, the expression of pain from having his balls crushed still on his face.
The hero wiped the blood from his sword and sheathed it. He slung his shield over his shoulder and approached the young Lizardman. "Are you okay? Did they hurt you?"
The Lizardman, still wary of this impressive warrior, answered, "I'm fine. It's good you got here when you did. Any later and I'd have had to bite my tongue off."
The hero, somewhat disturbed at that thought, hesitantly asked, "You're a Lizardman, right? I thought you were all great warriors. Why couldn't you have fended them off?"
The girl, now slightly angry, said, "Don't go making generalizations based on stereotypes. That pisses me off. Some of my kind go after professions other than 'wandering warrior'. Some of us actually study magic or become merchants. As for me, I work in the city at the magic shop. My boss is teaching me magic, and I help him tend to the store."
The hero nodded, accepting that there are exceptions to everything. "So why didn't you have a weapon? If you can't fight without one or something, why didn't you have anything with which to defend yourself? Did you think that magic was all you needed? If so, why didn't you cast any spells?"
The Lizardman gritted her teeth. "I'm not good enough yet to cast spells without a catalyst. I did have my staff, but these assholes took it from me when they ambushed me." She walked around, looking for her staff. "Here it is..." She found it near a tree. She picked it up and showed it to the hero. It was a wooden staff with steel end-caps on each end, perfect for use as a catalyst or as a weapon. She also picked up her satchel and slung it over her shoulder. "I'd better get going. My boss is going to be worried, even though I'll only be a few minutes late. I hope he doesn't get too upset when I tell him what happened..."
The hero quickly ran up next to her. "Since we're both headed for the city, let's go together. Regardless of whether you're a human or a monster, a young lady like you should not be out at such an hour."
The Lizardman paused for a moment. "The sun is still up."
"Still, you shouldn't be walking around by yourself in dangerous areas like this. I'll escort you back to the city."
The Lizardman took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, still visibly shaken from the encounter with the bandits, despite her acting tough. "So you're not going to kill me?"
The hero looked surprised, hurt, and insulted. "Of course not! Why would you think that?"
She started walking. "From what I've heard, The Order would never save a monster from human aggressors, no matter the situation. You zealots kill us all whenever you can, and if you need one of us for some reason, you just use us as if we were a tool, then you throw us away afterward."
The hero was unsettled by this. "What makes you say that? I've asked the Grandmaster hypothetical questions before, including questions about what to do if a monster is about to be raped. He told me that we should respond to it just as we would to any other instance of imminent rape. We help the soon-to-be victim!"
The Lizardman glanced over at the hero. "Well, where you come from must be the exception. Apparently, not all Order people are nice guys like you, nor do they all follow the rules or code of this 'Grandmaster'."
The hero frowned. "Well, anyway, if you work in the city, it helps support my stance that humans and monsters, or at least, the intelligent, civilized monsters, can live and work together without any abnormal problems."
The Lizardman looked over at the hero quizzically. "What do you mean, 'abnormal problems'?"
He replied, "I'm sure you know about the everyday problems that people face, even when it's just humans involved, right? Well, I'm sure you face those problems, too, just like humans. You work in the city, and you haven't had problems other than the 'normal' kind, right?"
She shrugged. "I guess not. After all, the city is a fairly open-minded one, allowing monsters to live and work there, no different from humans. Sure, it only applies to the more intelligent ones, like my kind, but it's still pretty nice."
The hero nodded in agreement. "What if there was a different Demon Lord? One that wanted peace and harmony between monsters and humans?"
The Lizardman gave a forlorn sigh. "If only that were so. My kind would have a much easier time finding non-warrior jobs, and parents of both human and monster kind would probably no longer prevent their children from playing with the children of the other. We can still dream, though..."
The hero chose not to mention his quest. He merely nodded in agreement.
They arrived at the city gates. The Lizardman faced him and held out her hand. "Thanks for your help."
The hero shook her hand and watched for a few seconds as she jogged away. He turned around and asked the nearest guard, "Excuse me, where can I find Cartridge?"
The guard looked him over. "From The Order, eh? Well, we'll be having no slaughterings of our citizens here, so keep your sword in its sheath or we'll throw you in a cell. What do you want to see the captain for?"
The hero replied, "The Grandmaster told me to speak with him. I've got a few questions about the city."
The guard eyed the hero with great scrutiny. "Come with me. I'll take you to him."
The hero followed the guard to the Guard Quarters building. As they neared the door, a man stepped out. The guard nudged the hero. "There he is now."
The hero approached the man as the guard returned to his post. "Excuse me, are you Cartridge?"
The man nodded and looked at the hero. "Yes, that's me. You must be from The Order. What do you need?"
Chapter 4
Spoiler: show
The young succubus had met with little trouble on her way to the human town. There was one group of renegade Dark Elves that she avoided via invisibility, and two Minotaurs that she fried with lightning. She had gotten a little too excited from that, though, and had wasted energy by putting more than necessary into her spells. This had caused her to need to eat twice as much demon realm fruit as she had intended. Still, she had managed to make it to the town without injury. This was due in part to the fact that once she was away from areas where enemies might be able to try to shoot her down from the many trees and bushes, she flew the rest of the way. Still in her human-disguise form, she wandered into town.
She approached a meat vendor. He was a slightly overweight middle aged man with a balding top and a partially gray, short beard.
"What can I get ya?"
"I have a question. Say someone wanted to conduct an independent attack on the Demon Lord's castle; is there anyone you know of that'd volunteer or at least be willing?"
He shook his head. "Nope. Sorry. Just farmers and butchers around here, a few carpenters, too. If you're lookin' for someone foolhardy enough to join on something stupid like that, you might try that there city about ten, maybe fifteen miles to the southwest. Of course, it's a farther walk than that, what with the curving roads and all. By the look of you, though, you're some kind of magic user, so you could fly there easy. If ya leave now, you might make it before sunset."
"Thanks, old man." She smiled and started to walk away.
"Hold on, young lady. When you get there, I suggest you check the taverns. With your looks, I'm sure you could find plenty of fools a little too deep in the suds to refuse. Hell, ya might even get yourself an army that way!" He laughed.
She laughed too, though she didn't actually think it was funny. As she walked away, she whispered under her breath, "I'm not looking to get a bunch of drunken idiots killed, damn it! I hate the way things are right now, and I'm going to change it. I just need some help from some really powerful people..."
She began flying toward the city the meat vendor told her about.
Meanwhile...
The hero shook Cartridge's hand. "The Grandmaster told me that as soon as I got here, I should find you."
Cartridge, having known the Grandmaster of The Order for a few years, smiled. "How is the old man?"
The hero shrugged. "He's old. Paperwork and speeches are about all he can do. He sent me on a one-man mission to kill the Demon Lord and save humanity. Obviously, I won't be able to do it with what little I have now."
Cartridge laughed. "He must have gone senile, then! Well, either that, or the situation is worse than what they tell us... Anyway, yeah, with just your armor, shield, and sword, you're not going to get very far. Know any spells?"
"No."
"Too bad. You need a mage. I don't know if there are any in the city willing to accompany you on your suicide mission, but it wouldn't hurt to ask around. Try the inn, the bars, and the taverns. Many a questing adventurer come through here. One of them might help you. Anything I can help you with that's reasonable?"
The hero rolled his eyes. "First, I'm going to need a place to stay for the night. After that, I think it might be a good idea to stock up on potions. The 'reasonable' help you can give me is telling me where things are."
Cartridge chuckled. He then gave the knight detailed directions around town, pointing out the three inns, the various bars and taverns, the blacksmith, the general trader, the magic shop, and the pawnbroker. After memorizing the directions to each of these places, the hero thanked Cartridge and walked toward the first of the three inns.
The first inn was the best in town. Unfortunately, it was not only too expensive for the hero, but it was also full-up. He managed to find a room at the second inn, though. Once he had secured a place to stay for the night, he paused to think things over. His weapon and armor were in top condition. He didn't need to see the blacksmith. He doubted the pawnbroker had anything he might want, so he crossed off the idea of visiting that place. He also crossed off the general trader, since that type of merchant usually had everyday household needs more than anything else. He knew he needed to visit the magic shop for the potions, but he decided it would be better if he found some teammates first. His logic was that if he found some willing teammates, they could pool their resources, especially their money, to buy potions and whatever else they needed. Thus, he headed for the taverns.
He checked in every tavern, but only found poor people having drinks and shady people selling illegal wares or conning others. After checking in a couple of bars, he spotted someone promising. There was a man in heavy plate armor at the bar, having a cup of coffee. Next to him sat a beautiful woman. Despite her looks, nobody seemed to bother her. As the hero stepped closer, he understood why. The woman had an aura of power so intense that it seemed suicidal to think about bothering her, let alone actually do so. The man and woman seemed to be together, given the subtle clues in their attitudes, and the fact that the only one who spoke with her was the man. The hero decided it was worth a shot, so he cautiously approached.
"Excuse me, sir?"
The man in heavy armor and woman both turned to face him, and the entire bar fell silent. The other patrons of the bar all watched in fearful silence.
The man in heavy armor took a sip of coffee. "What do you want, kid?"
The hero was slightly annoyed at being called "kid". Sure, he was in his mid-twenties and he looked to be in his late teens, but he still felt insulted. He didn't dare try to correct this man, though, for to attempt such seemed to be the worst of ideas. He set aside his annoyance and answered.
"If you don't mind, I'd like to speak with you in private."
The woman put her hand on the man's arm. "Where he goes, I go."
The hero nodded slightly. "Then may I speak with the two of you in private?"
The man looked around. "If it's something shady, forget it. You may wear The Order's insignia, but that doesn't mean that you really are an Order knight."
The hero sighed. "Very well, then. I am indeed from The Order. The Grandmaster himself gave me a mission..."
The woman leaned in and whispered in the man's ear, "I don't trust him."
He whispered back, "Let's see what he has to say."
The hero continued, "On a last-ditch effort, I was given the mission of sneaking into the Demon Lord's castle and killing him. Because I am a warrior, I know I won't make it far without a mage. I also know that I'll need more than just a mage to help me in order to succeed. Would the two of you consider joining me?"
Knowing how ridiculous the question was, everyone looked around at each other, waiting for the man and woman to respond. The man and woman exchanged dumbstruck glances, then both began laughing.
"You want me to join you on some hare-brained suicidal quest to save the world from the Demon Lord? Ha! You're nuts if you think just the three of us can do it."
The hero started, "Well, I thought-"
The man cut him off. "Look kid, I'm a spellsword. You know what a spellsword is?"
The hero nodded. "A warrior who uses medium or heavy armor, and combines the use of magic with the use of whatever weapon they've chosen."
The man smiled. "That's right. Personally, I use heavy armor, as you can plainly see. For weapons, I use either a great sword or a spear, depending on what I think is best for the situation. I'm not some powerful mage, though, which means my magic is kind of limited. I know some fairly strong offensive spells, some reinforcement spells, some healing spells, and some 'utility' spells. No successful spellsword has ever been able to do without levitation, water breathing, or shield spells, after all."
The hero gestured towards the woman. "And what is her profession?"
The man paused for a second. "I'll tell you later. Hell, I like you, kid. When do we leave?"
The hero's jaw dropped. "You mean..."
The man finished his coffee, set the cup on the bar, and got up. "Yeah, we'll go with you. It sounds like it might be fun, right partner?" he asked as he turned to the woman.
She shrugged. "That's always a possibility. And who knows what kind of treasure we might find on the way." She turned to the hero. "My name is Amarantha. Nice to meet you." She and the hero shook hands.
The man grabbed his helmet from off the bar and stood up. He shook the hero's hand, too. "My name is Zeraine. Before we get started, I've got to know, do you have some sort of plan?"
The hero shook his head. "I don't know what all we'll be up against, so I can't formulate a decent plan. All I can really do is look for more allies to form a strike team. After I've got a proper-sized strike team, we'll attack the Demon Lord, cut a path through his armies for The Order's forces, kill him, and see what happens next."
"Sounds good to me. You got enough supplies to handle this journey?"
The three of them began walking out as the hero answered. "No. I was hoping to find allies before I went shopping. That way, we can pool our resources and make the most of our money. I'm thinking we'll leave tomorrow morning. Until then, we need to go over what we have, see what we need, and buy what we can. Potions will be a great help, if not a necessity."
Zeraine nodded. "Good thinking. I know the guy who owns and operates the magic shop here. His potions are sold all over the world in the higher-class places. We should go see him."
They all headed for the magic shop.
She approached a meat vendor. He was a slightly overweight middle aged man with a balding top and a partially gray, short beard.
"What can I get ya?"
"I have a question. Say someone wanted to conduct an independent attack on the Demon Lord's castle; is there anyone you know of that'd volunteer or at least be willing?"
He shook his head. "Nope. Sorry. Just farmers and butchers around here, a few carpenters, too. If you're lookin' for someone foolhardy enough to join on something stupid like that, you might try that there city about ten, maybe fifteen miles to the southwest. Of course, it's a farther walk than that, what with the curving roads and all. By the look of you, though, you're some kind of magic user, so you could fly there easy. If ya leave now, you might make it before sunset."
"Thanks, old man." She smiled and started to walk away.
"Hold on, young lady. When you get there, I suggest you check the taverns. With your looks, I'm sure you could find plenty of fools a little too deep in the suds to refuse. Hell, ya might even get yourself an army that way!" He laughed.
She laughed too, though she didn't actually think it was funny. As she walked away, she whispered under her breath, "I'm not looking to get a bunch of drunken idiots killed, damn it! I hate the way things are right now, and I'm going to change it. I just need some help from some really powerful people..."
She began flying toward the city the meat vendor told her about.
Meanwhile...
The hero shook Cartridge's hand. "The Grandmaster told me that as soon as I got here, I should find you."
Cartridge, having known the Grandmaster of The Order for a few years, smiled. "How is the old man?"
The hero shrugged. "He's old. Paperwork and speeches are about all he can do. He sent me on a one-man mission to kill the Demon Lord and save humanity. Obviously, I won't be able to do it with what little I have now."
Cartridge laughed. "He must have gone senile, then! Well, either that, or the situation is worse than what they tell us... Anyway, yeah, with just your armor, shield, and sword, you're not going to get very far. Know any spells?"
"No."
"Too bad. You need a mage. I don't know if there are any in the city willing to accompany you on your suicide mission, but it wouldn't hurt to ask around. Try the inn, the bars, and the taverns. Many a questing adventurer come through here. One of them might help you. Anything I can help you with that's reasonable?"
The hero rolled his eyes. "First, I'm going to need a place to stay for the night. After that, I think it might be a good idea to stock up on potions. The 'reasonable' help you can give me is telling me where things are."
Cartridge chuckled. He then gave the knight detailed directions around town, pointing out the three inns, the various bars and taverns, the blacksmith, the general trader, the magic shop, and the pawnbroker. After memorizing the directions to each of these places, the hero thanked Cartridge and walked toward the first of the three inns.
The first inn was the best in town. Unfortunately, it was not only too expensive for the hero, but it was also full-up. He managed to find a room at the second inn, though. Once he had secured a place to stay for the night, he paused to think things over. His weapon and armor were in top condition. He didn't need to see the blacksmith. He doubted the pawnbroker had anything he might want, so he crossed off the idea of visiting that place. He also crossed off the general trader, since that type of merchant usually had everyday household needs more than anything else. He knew he needed to visit the magic shop for the potions, but he decided it would be better if he found some teammates first. His logic was that if he found some willing teammates, they could pool their resources, especially their money, to buy potions and whatever else they needed. Thus, he headed for the taverns.
He checked in every tavern, but only found poor people having drinks and shady people selling illegal wares or conning others. After checking in a couple of bars, he spotted someone promising. There was a man in heavy plate armor at the bar, having a cup of coffee. Next to him sat a beautiful woman. Despite her looks, nobody seemed to bother her. As the hero stepped closer, he understood why. The woman had an aura of power so intense that it seemed suicidal to think about bothering her, let alone actually do so. The man and woman seemed to be together, given the subtle clues in their attitudes, and the fact that the only one who spoke with her was the man. The hero decided it was worth a shot, so he cautiously approached.
"Excuse me, sir?"
The man in heavy armor and woman both turned to face him, and the entire bar fell silent. The other patrons of the bar all watched in fearful silence.
The man in heavy armor took a sip of coffee. "What do you want, kid?"
The hero was slightly annoyed at being called "kid". Sure, he was in his mid-twenties and he looked to be in his late teens, but he still felt insulted. He didn't dare try to correct this man, though, for to attempt such seemed to be the worst of ideas. He set aside his annoyance and answered.
"If you don't mind, I'd like to speak with you in private."
The woman put her hand on the man's arm. "Where he goes, I go."
The hero nodded slightly. "Then may I speak with the two of you in private?"
The man looked around. "If it's something shady, forget it. You may wear The Order's insignia, but that doesn't mean that you really are an Order knight."
The hero sighed. "Very well, then. I am indeed from The Order. The Grandmaster himself gave me a mission..."
The woman leaned in and whispered in the man's ear, "I don't trust him."
He whispered back, "Let's see what he has to say."
The hero continued, "On a last-ditch effort, I was given the mission of sneaking into the Demon Lord's castle and killing him. Because I am a warrior, I know I won't make it far without a mage. I also know that I'll need more than just a mage to help me in order to succeed. Would the two of you consider joining me?"
Knowing how ridiculous the question was, everyone looked around at each other, waiting for the man and woman to respond. The man and woman exchanged dumbstruck glances, then both began laughing.
"You want me to join you on some hare-brained suicidal quest to save the world from the Demon Lord? Ha! You're nuts if you think just the three of us can do it."
The hero started, "Well, I thought-"
The man cut him off. "Look kid, I'm a spellsword. You know what a spellsword is?"
The hero nodded. "A warrior who uses medium or heavy armor, and combines the use of magic with the use of whatever weapon they've chosen."
The man smiled. "That's right. Personally, I use heavy armor, as you can plainly see. For weapons, I use either a great sword or a spear, depending on what I think is best for the situation. I'm not some powerful mage, though, which means my magic is kind of limited. I know some fairly strong offensive spells, some reinforcement spells, some healing spells, and some 'utility' spells. No successful spellsword has ever been able to do without levitation, water breathing, or shield spells, after all."
The hero gestured towards the woman. "And what is her profession?"
The man paused for a second. "I'll tell you later. Hell, I like you, kid. When do we leave?"
The hero's jaw dropped. "You mean..."
The man finished his coffee, set the cup on the bar, and got up. "Yeah, we'll go with you. It sounds like it might be fun, right partner?" he asked as he turned to the woman.
She shrugged. "That's always a possibility. And who knows what kind of treasure we might find on the way." She turned to the hero. "My name is Amarantha. Nice to meet you." She and the hero shook hands.
The man grabbed his helmet from off the bar and stood up. He shook the hero's hand, too. "My name is Zeraine. Before we get started, I've got to know, do you have some sort of plan?"
The hero shook his head. "I don't know what all we'll be up against, so I can't formulate a decent plan. All I can really do is look for more allies to form a strike team. After I've got a proper-sized strike team, we'll attack the Demon Lord, cut a path through his armies for The Order's forces, kill him, and see what happens next."
"Sounds good to me. You got enough supplies to handle this journey?"
The three of them began walking out as the hero answered. "No. I was hoping to find allies before I went shopping. That way, we can pool our resources and make the most of our money. I'm thinking we'll leave tomorrow morning. Until then, we need to go over what we have, see what we need, and buy what we can. Potions will be a great help, if not a necessity."
Zeraine nodded. "Good thinking. I know the guy who owns and operates the magic shop here. His potions are sold all over the world in the higher-class places. We should go see him."
They all headed for the magic shop.
Chapter 5
Spoiler: show
The young succubus was slowly flying toward the next town. She had arrived at the city the meat vendor told her about and met with no success. After being laughed out of every tavern in the city, she angrily left, looking for braver men. She decided that she'd have to make several stops in towns and cities, looking for men who weren't what she deemed spineless. Despite her anger and frustration, she managed to come up with what she thought was a good idea. She'd head toward The Order's main base, stopping in each city and town along the way to look for allies in her personal uprising. Too many monsters either didn't care or were afraid to get involved. Of course, most humans were the same way. To be fair, though, it was a bit much to ask someone to join her in her upcoming fight against the Demon Lord, especially when she had no allies at all so far. She would prefer to not rely on The Order, considering its recent sharp decline in decency.
The Order was once commanded by the Grandmaster, who ran it nicely. The members were kind, polite, and accepting of good monsters. Unfortunately, no matter how nice something is, no matter how much everyone likes something, stupid people will ALWAYS come along and ruin it. With the Grandmaster getting old, he wasn't able to keep as tight a grip on the far-flung chapters, and as such, they started getting more or less independent. This left the door wide open for idiots and murderous xenophobic zealots to take control and go on an appalling campaign that besmirched the name of The Order as a whole. Because of how stupidity spreads, over half of the chapters of The Order were now controlled by such despicable people. Because of how bad news spreads, The Order was starting to get a bad name. The lunatics now in charge had begun spreading propaganda to try to make themselves look good again by viciously attacking all monsters, even the intelligent and good ones, as well as anyone who associates with them. As always, the stupid and gullible outnumber the smart and sensible, and as such, people started believing the lies. Only in the "Sanctuary Cities" did people still deal with the good monsters, because only in such places were there enough intelligent, educated people to know and understand the real truth.
Knowing all this, the succubus knew she had to be careful. If she were somehow unveiled in a place controlled by the "new management" factions of The Order, she'd be done for. Fighting back would allow them to spin it to make her out to be the evil one, and not fighting back would most likely end in her death. Running would be difficult but doable. She didn't like these kinds of choices, especially when politics were involved like in this situation. If she couldn't rally support from adventurers and mercenaries, or guardsmen from the cities, she'd have to go to The Order's headquarters and hope that the Grandmaster still had enough people loyal to him to make a difference.
The more she thought about it, the more it pissed her off. Fortunately for her, in more ways than one, an arrow missed her head by mere inches, snapping her out of her mulling. She looked for the fool and found him. A Dark Elf with a bow, his friends standing nearby, swords at the ready. The succubus grinned, seeing that she now had someone or something to vent her anger at. Before the idiot could nock another arrow, she froze him in a block of ice. The other Dark Elves, suddenly afraid, backed away. One tried to run and was fried with a lightning bolt for his trouble. She rained fireballs down on the last one, killing him with the first few, and hitting him with the rest for good measure. She landed and unfroze the archer from the neck up.
"What made you shoot an arrow at me, cur?"
"Damn human! Damn mage! If only I hadn't missed-"
She dropped her disguise, threw off her robe, revealing her rather modest shirt and pants underneath, and interrupted him. "I'm not a human, you cowardly cave-dweller!"
Seeing her tail, wings, horns, and red eyes, he recognized her as a succubus. "Shut up, slut! Dumb luck saved you from my arrow!"
She smacked him in the side of the head with her staff. "You wanna repeat that, worm?"
Revealing his intelligence, or lack thereof, he mouthed off again. "I said you're a slut! All succubi are sluts, no exceptions! You can't live without fucking every cock you see every day, and if you unfreeze me, I'll give you some pleasure before I kill you, unless you want to be my slave!"
Seething with rage, she replied, "I'll have you know, you piece of shit, that I am a virgin, and for your insults, I will kill you slowly!" With that, she lit his head on fire. After hearing him scream for several seconds, she unfroze everything but his feet and arms, then impaled him with several stone spikes that shot out from the ground. Since they no longer needed their supplies, she took them. She had a little bit more money now, and some things to sell the next time she found a pawnbroker, outfitter, or armorer. Upset at the loss of life, but feeling better after venting, she put up her disguise again, put her robe back on, and continued flying to her next destination.
The Order was once commanded by the Grandmaster, who ran it nicely. The members were kind, polite, and accepting of good monsters. Unfortunately, no matter how nice something is, no matter how much everyone likes something, stupid people will ALWAYS come along and ruin it. With the Grandmaster getting old, he wasn't able to keep as tight a grip on the far-flung chapters, and as such, they started getting more or less independent. This left the door wide open for idiots and murderous xenophobic zealots to take control and go on an appalling campaign that besmirched the name of The Order as a whole. Because of how stupidity spreads, over half of the chapters of The Order were now controlled by such despicable people. Because of how bad news spreads, The Order was starting to get a bad name. The lunatics now in charge had begun spreading propaganda to try to make themselves look good again by viciously attacking all monsters, even the intelligent and good ones, as well as anyone who associates with them. As always, the stupid and gullible outnumber the smart and sensible, and as such, people started believing the lies. Only in the "Sanctuary Cities" did people still deal with the good monsters, because only in such places were there enough intelligent, educated people to know and understand the real truth.
Knowing all this, the succubus knew she had to be careful. If she were somehow unveiled in a place controlled by the "new management" factions of The Order, she'd be done for. Fighting back would allow them to spin it to make her out to be the evil one, and not fighting back would most likely end in her death. Running would be difficult but doable. She didn't like these kinds of choices, especially when politics were involved like in this situation. If she couldn't rally support from adventurers and mercenaries, or guardsmen from the cities, she'd have to go to The Order's headquarters and hope that the Grandmaster still had enough people loyal to him to make a difference.
The more she thought about it, the more it pissed her off. Fortunately for her, in more ways than one, an arrow missed her head by mere inches, snapping her out of her mulling. She looked for the fool and found him. A Dark Elf with a bow, his friends standing nearby, swords at the ready. The succubus grinned, seeing that she now had someone or something to vent her anger at. Before the idiot could nock another arrow, she froze him in a block of ice. The other Dark Elves, suddenly afraid, backed away. One tried to run and was fried with a lightning bolt for his trouble. She rained fireballs down on the last one, killing him with the first few, and hitting him with the rest for good measure. She landed and unfroze the archer from the neck up.
"What made you shoot an arrow at me, cur?"
"Damn human! Damn mage! If only I hadn't missed-"
She dropped her disguise, threw off her robe, revealing her rather modest shirt and pants underneath, and interrupted him. "I'm not a human, you cowardly cave-dweller!"
Seeing her tail, wings, horns, and red eyes, he recognized her as a succubus. "Shut up, slut! Dumb luck saved you from my arrow!"
She smacked him in the side of the head with her staff. "You wanna repeat that, worm?"
Revealing his intelligence, or lack thereof, he mouthed off again. "I said you're a slut! All succubi are sluts, no exceptions! You can't live without fucking every cock you see every day, and if you unfreeze me, I'll give you some pleasure before I kill you, unless you want to be my slave!"
Seething with rage, she replied, "I'll have you know, you piece of shit, that I am a virgin, and for your insults, I will kill you slowly!" With that, she lit his head on fire. After hearing him scream for several seconds, she unfroze everything but his feet and arms, then impaled him with several stone spikes that shot out from the ground. Since they no longer needed their supplies, she took them. She had a little bit more money now, and some things to sell the next time she found a pawnbroker, outfitter, or armorer. Upset at the loss of life, but feeling better after venting, she put up her disguise again, put her robe back on, and continued flying to her next destination.
Chapter 6
Spoiler: show
The hero, Zeraine, and Amarantha arrived at the magic shop. Zeraine stopped the hero before they entered.
"Listen, this guy knows his stuff about The Order. He knows how stupid people have started to take over. Try not to say anything that'll make it sound like you're one of the 'new guys', okay?"
"Sure, but why?"
"He's a mage. An above-average one, meaning there are plenty out there more powerful than him, but as any being with half a working brains knows, you don't fuck with a mage! ...Of course, you don't fuck with a spellsword, either, especially a veteran one like me, but that's beside the point. He's got a couple of monsters working for him, one Lizardman, one salamander, both of them female, both of them in their late teens. Last time I visited, he was teaching the Lizardman magic. Anyway, another thing to note is that he's the third-best alchemist in the world. Out of the two better than him, one doesn't sell potions and the other overcharges the fuck out of people. If you've used a potion, chances are he made it."
The hero looked down in thought. In his mind, he thought to himself, "A Lizardman he's teaching magic to? This is a magic shop..."
They entered the shop, the hero still deep in thought. When they entered, they saw a clean-shaven man with waist-length brown hair and glasses at one end of a large crate and a female salamander at the other end. They carried it over to a stack of similar crates near the wall and set it down. Following them, a female Lizardman carried a much smaller crate into the room and set it on a table.
The hero looked at the man, and saw that he was dressed in upper-middle quality clothing. Clean, new-looking, but not overly fancy. The kind of clothes that sensible well-to-do people wore for mild physical labor. He turned to Zeraine. "I thought you said he was a mage."
Amarantha said, "Just because he's not wearing the stereotypical wizard's robe and hat, or hooded robe, doesn't mean he's not a mage. Taking off your Order armor doesn't make you no longer a member of The Order, does it?"
The hero, realizing his mistaken judgment, said, "Right. Sorry."
The man exhaled sharply. "Damn these vials are heavy. Someone needs to invent something that works just as good if not better, and have it weigh less."
The salamander shrugged. "This is what we're stuck with."
The Lizardman noticed the hero and his party. "Hello. Welcome to Sol's All Things Magic." She saw the hero and the two of them looked at each other with surprised recognition. "It's you! What brings you here?"
Zeraine looked back and forth between them and asked, "You two know each other?"
The Lizardman nodded. "He saved me from some bandits on my way back here today."
The man approached and looked the hero over. "Hey there. I'm Sol. I take it you're the one who rescued my employee?"
The hero nodded. "Yeah. I was running here when I heard her scream for help. I saw the bandits harassing her and stopped them."
Sol nodded approvingly. "She tells me you killed them."
The hero nodded again. "They were criminals trying to commit a major crime. They attacked me after I interrupted them and I had to kill them."
"From what she told me about their looks, they had some bounties on their heads. If you go tell Cartridge, the captain of the city guard, about it, and have her as a witness," he said, gesturing toward the Lizardman, "you'll get some nice reward money."
Zeraine stepped forward and said, "I'll make sure he does just that."
Sol looked at Zeraine and Amarantha. "Nice to see you guys again, too. How have you been?"
Amarantha answered for both herself and Zeraine. "We've been pretty good. Yourself?"
Sol headed for the counter. "Same as always. Busy, busy, busy. I'll tell you, without these two," he gestured to the Lizardman and the salamander and continued, "I couldn't do it. There'd be too much work for just me to handle."
When he got around behind the counter, he looked as if he had just remembered something. "I almost forgot to introduce you. As I told you, I'm Sol. I own this establishment. These two are my invaluable and irreplaceable employees." He motioned to the Lizardman. "This is Victoria."
She bowed slightly.
Next, he motioned to the salamander. "And this is Hilda."
She raised her hand in an informal wave. "Hey."
Sol continued, "And to thank you for saving Vicky, take these." Victoria gave an embarrassed glare to Sol as he placed a potion and a magic scroll on the counter. "It's a very powerful regeneration potion, capable of healing almost any wound. The scroll is a Scroll of Sanctuary. It'll make you completely invincible for one minute. They're not cheap and they're the only free things you're going to get, so I advise that you don't waste them."
The hero put the potion and scroll in the pouch on his belt. He thought in his mind, "I guess I scored some points... Doing the right thing is definitely still worth it."
Sol sat down on the stool behind the counter. "Now, what can I get you?"
Zeraine said, "Well, we're going to need potions and scrolls for curing diseases, since we're undoubtedly going to have to go through areas that carry such risks, and being prepared is much better than trekking all the way back to town or dying... We're probably going to need stuff for restoring our energy and for healing... I'll need some potions for restoring my magic energy, since my natural mana regeneration isn't fast enough to do without them..." He turned to Amarantha. "Can you think of anything else we need?"
She shook her head. "We can't afford any Sanctuary scrolls... How about scrolls of Fire Trap, Ice Trap, Shock Trap, and Holy Trap for the kid?"
The hero interrupted, "Would you please stop calling me 'kid'?"
Amarantha and Zeraine smiled and simultaneously said, "No."
He let out a groaning sigh. "Anyway, yes, the scrolls would be a good idea since I don't know any magic."
Sol raised an eyebrow. "Just out of curiosity, were would you be going that you'd need all this?"
The hero answered, "The Grandmaster sent me on a mission to kill the Demon Lord and save humanity. I know I won't get far without magic, and we need a mage. Speaking of which, would you be willing to come along and help us?"
Sol shook his head. "I've got a business to run. It'd be too much for these two to handle if I left to go on your silly adventure. By the way, have your heard of the ratio of decent guys to assholes in The Order?"
The hero looked offended. "What do you mean?"
Sol tried and failed to disguise a scowl as a grin and sighed. "Looks like the Grandmaster didn't tell you. Due to him getting up there in age, and the epidemic of stupid people, he's lost control of over half of The Order's chapters. Those that he no longer controls are run by worthless bastards that need to die. I guess he was trying to shield you from the truth, or try to keep from causing an in-house war among the remaining good ones and the new idiots. After all, if the Demon Lord caught wind of infighting, he'd probably take advantage of it. I would if I were him."
The hero wore a very depressed look on his face. "I guess that explains it."
Hilda asked, "Explains what?"
The hero looked at her. "Right when I first saved Victoria, she was extremely wary of me, worried I'd try to kill her. When I got into town, after the guard found out I'm from The Order, he threatened to throw me in jail if I didn't 'keep my sword in its sheath'. Personally, I have nothing against good monsters, but are there really such evil men out there that they'd hijack The Order's power and influence to kill all monsters, even the good ones?"
Sol nodded with a serious look on his face. "You'd better believe it, kid. There are, and always have been, more stupid people than smart ones. Almost all of the good people I've seen are so gullible it hurts to look at them. The evil people are almost always despicable to the point that you want them dead, and neutral people like me are usually assholes. That's just the way the world is."
Victoria said, "Boss, you're not an asshole."
Sol said, "Complimenting me won't get you a pay raise." He grinned.
She said, "But that's not-"
He laughed. She growled in frustration, knowing he was teasing her.
The hero crossed his arms. "Okay, so now, on to more important matters. How do you use scrolls?"
Everyone looked at the hero in disbelief. He looked around. "What?"
Amarantha slapped him on the back and looked at Sol. "Got a Flame Toss scroll?"
He nodded and handed her the scroll. She unrolled it and handed it to the hero. "Read the inscription out loud while focusing and aiming it. It's that simple."
"Like this?" The hero focused and read the inscription. "Flame Toss." The scroll burned away in a flash and a very small, very weak ball of fire shot out, which Hilda caught with her bare hand and crushed, dissipating it.
Sol glared at the hero. "Watch my employees and the merchandise!"
The hero apologized and Hilda tried to take up for him. "It's alright, boss. I caught it."
Sol shrugged, glad that nothing bad happened. Amarantha cleared her throat. "Yes, like that."
Zeraine said, "So, back to the supplies. Do you have about 10 of each potion and maybe 15 of each scroll?"
Sol nodded. "Come, ladies. Let's get the stuff."
He went into the back of the store with Victoria and Hilda. Only now did the hero pay any attention to everyone's hair. His hair was a crew cut. Zeraine's hair was black, and brushed straight back into a short ponytail. Amarantha had very long black hair, all the way down to her knees. She didn't have it particularly styled; it was just long and straight. Victoria had brown hair styled into a high-tied ponytail, which came down to her shoulders. Hilda had short, messy, loose hair, the color of which was a rusty red. It was still longer than his hair, though. As he noted earlier, Sol's brown hair came down to his waist. He wore it in a fairly similar way to Amarantha, but it looked slightly different.
He mumbled to himself, "Everyone has longer hair than me..."
A short while later, Sol and Hilda carried in a large box of potions, and Victoria followed them with a somewhat smaller box of scrolls. He totaled up their goods and awaited payment. Zeraine found that he was short of money. The hero had even less, and their combined funds were not enough to pay for the goods.
Zeraine said, "Well, looks like we need to go collect that reward money before we can afford these things. Let's go."
He and Amarantha walked out. The hero followed them, but stopped at the door and turned around. "Sorry about this."
Sol waved it off. "Don't worry about it. It'll all be here, waiting for you. Just go get that money so you can pay me. Vicky, go with them. You're the witness and you were almost a victim."
Victoria gave Sol another embarrassed glare. "Stop calling me that, please." She left with the hero's party.
"Listen, this guy knows his stuff about The Order. He knows how stupid people have started to take over. Try not to say anything that'll make it sound like you're one of the 'new guys', okay?"
"Sure, but why?"
"He's a mage. An above-average one, meaning there are plenty out there more powerful than him, but as any being with half a working brains knows, you don't fuck with a mage! ...Of course, you don't fuck with a spellsword, either, especially a veteran one like me, but that's beside the point. He's got a couple of monsters working for him, one Lizardman, one salamander, both of them female, both of them in their late teens. Last time I visited, he was teaching the Lizardman magic. Anyway, another thing to note is that he's the third-best alchemist in the world. Out of the two better than him, one doesn't sell potions and the other overcharges the fuck out of people. If you've used a potion, chances are he made it."
The hero looked down in thought. In his mind, he thought to himself, "A Lizardman he's teaching magic to? This is a magic shop..."
They entered the shop, the hero still deep in thought. When they entered, they saw a clean-shaven man with waist-length brown hair and glasses at one end of a large crate and a female salamander at the other end. They carried it over to a stack of similar crates near the wall and set it down. Following them, a female Lizardman carried a much smaller crate into the room and set it on a table.
The hero looked at the man, and saw that he was dressed in upper-middle quality clothing. Clean, new-looking, but not overly fancy. The kind of clothes that sensible well-to-do people wore for mild physical labor. He turned to Zeraine. "I thought you said he was a mage."
Amarantha said, "Just because he's not wearing the stereotypical wizard's robe and hat, or hooded robe, doesn't mean he's not a mage. Taking off your Order armor doesn't make you no longer a member of The Order, does it?"
The hero, realizing his mistaken judgment, said, "Right. Sorry."
The man exhaled sharply. "Damn these vials are heavy. Someone needs to invent something that works just as good if not better, and have it weigh less."
The salamander shrugged. "This is what we're stuck with."
The Lizardman noticed the hero and his party. "Hello. Welcome to Sol's All Things Magic." She saw the hero and the two of them looked at each other with surprised recognition. "It's you! What brings you here?"
Zeraine looked back and forth between them and asked, "You two know each other?"
The Lizardman nodded. "He saved me from some bandits on my way back here today."
The man approached and looked the hero over. "Hey there. I'm Sol. I take it you're the one who rescued my employee?"
The hero nodded. "Yeah. I was running here when I heard her scream for help. I saw the bandits harassing her and stopped them."
Sol nodded approvingly. "She tells me you killed them."
The hero nodded again. "They were criminals trying to commit a major crime. They attacked me after I interrupted them and I had to kill them."
"From what she told me about their looks, they had some bounties on their heads. If you go tell Cartridge, the captain of the city guard, about it, and have her as a witness," he said, gesturing toward the Lizardman, "you'll get some nice reward money."
Zeraine stepped forward and said, "I'll make sure he does just that."
Sol looked at Zeraine and Amarantha. "Nice to see you guys again, too. How have you been?"
Amarantha answered for both herself and Zeraine. "We've been pretty good. Yourself?"
Sol headed for the counter. "Same as always. Busy, busy, busy. I'll tell you, without these two," he gestured to the Lizardman and the salamander and continued, "I couldn't do it. There'd be too much work for just me to handle."
When he got around behind the counter, he looked as if he had just remembered something. "I almost forgot to introduce you. As I told you, I'm Sol. I own this establishment. These two are my invaluable and irreplaceable employees." He motioned to the Lizardman. "This is Victoria."
She bowed slightly.
Next, he motioned to the salamander. "And this is Hilda."
She raised her hand in an informal wave. "Hey."
Sol continued, "And to thank you for saving Vicky, take these." Victoria gave an embarrassed glare to Sol as he placed a potion and a magic scroll on the counter. "It's a very powerful regeneration potion, capable of healing almost any wound. The scroll is a Scroll of Sanctuary. It'll make you completely invincible for one minute. They're not cheap and they're the only free things you're going to get, so I advise that you don't waste them."
The hero put the potion and scroll in the pouch on his belt. He thought in his mind, "I guess I scored some points... Doing the right thing is definitely still worth it."
Sol sat down on the stool behind the counter. "Now, what can I get you?"
Zeraine said, "Well, we're going to need potions and scrolls for curing diseases, since we're undoubtedly going to have to go through areas that carry such risks, and being prepared is much better than trekking all the way back to town or dying... We're probably going to need stuff for restoring our energy and for healing... I'll need some potions for restoring my magic energy, since my natural mana regeneration isn't fast enough to do without them..." He turned to Amarantha. "Can you think of anything else we need?"
She shook her head. "We can't afford any Sanctuary scrolls... How about scrolls of Fire Trap, Ice Trap, Shock Trap, and Holy Trap for the kid?"
The hero interrupted, "Would you please stop calling me 'kid'?"
Amarantha and Zeraine smiled and simultaneously said, "No."
He let out a groaning sigh. "Anyway, yes, the scrolls would be a good idea since I don't know any magic."
Sol raised an eyebrow. "Just out of curiosity, were would you be going that you'd need all this?"
The hero answered, "The Grandmaster sent me on a mission to kill the Demon Lord and save humanity. I know I won't get far without magic, and we need a mage. Speaking of which, would you be willing to come along and help us?"
Sol shook his head. "I've got a business to run. It'd be too much for these two to handle if I left to go on your silly adventure. By the way, have your heard of the ratio of decent guys to assholes in The Order?"
The hero looked offended. "What do you mean?"
Sol tried and failed to disguise a scowl as a grin and sighed. "Looks like the Grandmaster didn't tell you. Due to him getting up there in age, and the epidemic of stupid people, he's lost control of over half of The Order's chapters. Those that he no longer controls are run by worthless bastards that need to die. I guess he was trying to shield you from the truth, or try to keep from causing an in-house war among the remaining good ones and the new idiots. After all, if the Demon Lord caught wind of infighting, he'd probably take advantage of it. I would if I were him."
The hero wore a very depressed look on his face. "I guess that explains it."
Hilda asked, "Explains what?"
The hero looked at her. "Right when I first saved Victoria, she was extremely wary of me, worried I'd try to kill her. When I got into town, after the guard found out I'm from The Order, he threatened to throw me in jail if I didn't 'keep my sword in its sheath'. Personally, I have nothing against good monsters, but are there really such evil men out there that they'd hijack The Order's power and influence to kill all monsters, even the good ones?"
Sol nodded with a serious look on his face. "You'd better believe it, kid. There are, and always have been, more stupid people than smart ones. Almost all of the good people I've seen are so gullible it hurts to look at them. The evil people are almost always despicable to the point that you want them dead, and neutral people like me are usually assholes. That's just the way the world is."
Victoria said, "Boss, you're not an asshole."
Sol said, "Complimenting me won't get you a pay raise." He grinned.
She said, "But that's not-"
He laughed. She growled in frustration, knowing he was teasing her.
The hero crossed his arms. "Okay, so now, on to more important matters. How do you use scrolls?"
Everyone looked at the hero in disbelief. He looked around. "What?"
Amarantha slapped him on the back and looked at Sol. "Got a Flame Toss scroll?"
He nodded and handed her the scroll. She unrolled it and handed it to the hero. "Read the inscription out loud while focusing and aiming it. It's that simple."
"Like this?" The hero focused and read the inscription. "Flame Toss." The scroll burned away in a flash and a very small, very weak ball of fire shot out, which Hilda caught with her bare hand and crushed, dissipating it.
Sol glared at the hero. "Watch my employees and the merchandise!"
The hero apologized and Hilda tried to take up for him. "It's alright, boss. I caught it."
Sol shrugged, glad that nothing bad happened. Amarantha cleared her throat. "Yes, like that."
Zeraine said, "So, back to the supplies. Do you have about 10 of each potion and maybe 15 of each scroll?"
Sol nodded. "Come, ladies. Let's get the stuff."
He went into the back of the store with Victoria and Hilda. Only now did the hero pay any attention to everyone's hair. His hair was a crew cut. Zeraine's hair was black, and brushed straight back into a short ponytail. Amarantha had very long black hair, all the way down to her knees. She didn't have it particularly styled; it was just long and straight. Victoria had brown hair styled into a high-tied ponytail, which came down to her shoulders. Hilda had short, messy, loose hair, the color of which was a rusty red. It was still longer than his hair, though. As he noted earlier, Sol's brown hair came down to his waist. He wore it in a fairly similar way to Amarantha, but it looked slightly different.
He mumbled to himself, "Everyone has longer hair than me..."
A short while later, Sol and Hilda carried in a large box of potions, and Victoria followed them with a somewhat smaller box of scrolls. He totaled up their goods and awaited payment. Zeraine found that he was short of money. The hero had even less, and their combined funds were not enough to pay for the goods.
Zeraine said, "Well, looks like we need to go collect that reward money before we can afford these things. Let's go."
He and Amarantha walked out. The hero followed them, but stopped at the door and turned around. "Sorry about this."
Sol waved it off. "Don't worry about it. It'll all be here, waiting for you. Just go get that money so you can pay me. Vicky, go with them. You're the witness and you were almost a victim."
Victoria gave Sol another embarrassed glare. "Stop calling me that, please." She left with the hero's party.
Chapter 7
Spoiler: show
After Victoria left, Hilda looked over at Sol. "She still doesn't like that nickname, huh?"
Sol snickered. "She sure doesn't. That's not going to stop me from using it, though. Anyway, go do an inventory, okay?" Hilda nodded and went into the back room.
...
At about that same time, the hero and party were walking toward the Guard Quarters. Amarantha moved over next to Victoria. "He still teases you, huh?"
She nodded. "He's a good boss, but he's a jerk sometimes."
Amarantha giggled. "I think he likes you. That's probably why he does that."
Victoria scoffed. "Yeah, right. He sometimes teases Hilda, too. Not as much, though, because of her flaming tail. He also knows that if he made any advances on either of us, and if someone found out and reported it, he'd be thrown in jail. It's illegal for someone in his position to do that, you know."
The hero, overhearing the conversation, joined in. "You mean that because he's your boss, he has a position of authority over you, and because of that, it's illegal for him to make any advances, romantic or sexual, on you or Hilda, right?"
Victoria nodded. "That, and once word of it reached the corrupted parts of The Order, we'd all be killed. Of course, wouldn't it be the same way if it was the normal parts of The Order, too?"
The hero shook his head. "We don't condone human-monster relationships, but we don't exactly forbid it, either. As long as it's consensual, we believe there's no problem. This, of course, naturally assumes that the relationship is between a human and a sentient race of monster, like Elves, lizardfolk, Dwarves, mermaids, merrows, the occasional good succubus, the occasional good vampire, or something similar. If it's between a human and something like, say, a roper, then not only do I personally fail to see how it's even possible, we of The Order also believe it to be wrong."
Amarantha asked, "How do you feel about a human having a relationship with a dragon?"
The hero raised an eyebrow in mild surprise and confusion. "I don't know how that could actually work out, but since dragons are sentient, it's allowed, though frowned on."
She nodded, mulling over something. Having heard the question and response, Zeraine eyed her suspiciously.
Zeraine announced, "We're here."
Victoria stepped forward. "I'll go tell Cartridge about it. You guys wait here." She entered the Guard Quarters.
The hero faced Zeraine. "So you're telling me that guy, Sol, is supplying the whole world with potions?"
Zeraine shrugged. "I didn't really say it clearly enough, but in a way, yes. Potions are pretty much underused throughout the world. When the people want a cheap one, they visit the local alchemist. When some adventuring mercenary needs one, he usually makes it himself. The more expensive and higher quality stuff is what Sol supplies. When you need something like a Potion of Stone Skin, you buy one from a merchant. If you do the research, you'll probably find that he made it. Same thing with the really powerful healing potions; the kinds that only rich people can afford."
The hero, now understanding how it was humanly possible due to finding out that it was one hell of a lot less work than he expected, said, "So he stays busy because he has to make those potions, but they're not used as often as I thought, right?"
Zeraine nodded. "The potions he makes aren't used much by the world, but he stays busy as hell because he's the only guy making and selling them for a reasonable price. I'm not sure how I can explain it better, but the fraction of the world's population that uses potions is quite small. Out of that fraction, part of it buys the cheap stuff from local alchemists, part of it makes the potions for their own person use, and the small remaining part buys his stuff. I guess you could maybe equate it to one person cooking food for a hundred or so people. Speaking of which, he's a good cook, too."
The hero took in the information. "Really?"
"It stands to reason, since alchemy and cooking are almost the same thing."
"I see. What about the scrolls?"
"For the cheaper ones, he makes them himself. For the more expensive ones, he buys them from some sorceress and sells them to customers."
Victoria returned with Cartridge. He grinned at the hero. "A scout told me about those piss-ants. I was wondering who killed them, too. With Victoria's testimony, we have all the evidence we need to confirm that they were killed, and that it was in both self-defense anddefense of another, specifically one of our citizens, which butters it up nicely. In other words, you did us a big favor. Case closed, here's your reward." He handed the hero a bag of money. "Have a good one." He went back into the building.
They started walking back. Amarantha glanced at Victoria. "I still say he likes you. ...And Hilda."
Victoria shook her head. "That's not it."
Amarantha shrugged. "I seriously think he does. You know how he is, after all."
Victoria nodded. "He's strange, that's for sure, but I still don't think that's the case."
They returned to Sol's shop. As soon as they stepped in, he asked, "Considering the stuff you're buying and the places you're going, you must already have one Bag of Holding each, right?"
Zeraine scoffed. "Of course I've got one. It's the same one I bought from you back then."
Amarantha put her hand on her hip. "What smart person wouldn't have one if they're doing this kind of work?"
The hero reluctantly said, "Uh, actually, I don't have one. All I have for carrying things is this pouch on my belt, and it's just a regular pouch."
Everyone gave him a look of surprise. Zeraine asked, "What the hell, man? The Grandmaster sends you out on this ridiculous mission and doesn't even give you a Bag of Holding?"
The hero shook his head. "We don't have anything like that at the base. Whenever someone had one, it was one they themselves bought."
Sol reached for something behind the counter. "It just so happens I've got one for sale." He held it up, then set it on the counter.
The hero saw the price tag and, since he was good at basic math, knew he couldn't afford it, even with the reward money. "We can't afford it."
Hilda stepped out of the back room and handed Sol a piece of paper. After reading it, he looked up at the hero and party. "Well, you've got two options. One: You try to take only the most important stuff with you in your belt pouch and have one of them carry the rest in their Bag of Holding," he gestured to Zeraine and Amarantha, then continued, "which could get you killed, or two: accompany me on an outing, keep me from getting hurt, and I'll reward you by giving it to you."
The hero looked happy for a second, then asked, "And what does this escort mission entail, exactly?"
Sol casually replied, "Just a little trek through a cursed cemetery full of very aggressive, very hostile zombies, skeletons, and ghouls, then through some woods where there's a few matangos and mandragoras, then after I do my business with the sorceress, we come back the same way, through all of that again."
The hero eyed him skeptically. "From the sound of things, you've made this journey before. Am I right?"
"Using levitation and invisibility, yes. I avoid everything, make it there, fly back, avoiding everything again, and I'm done. However, someone really needs to do something about that cemetery. That's what The Order is for, isn't it? Protecting humans by getting rid of the bad monsters? Not to mention that I find you interesting. You're on a mission to save the world, but something tells me you have no experience with fighting monsters. How do you expect to succeed if you're not used to fighting monsters?"
"I may not have any experience fighting monsters, but I was the man with the highest ranked combat performance ever. Plus, I'm good with strategy and tactics."
"That's good and all, but you need actual experience. Plus, I want to see with my own eyes how good you are, so I can get an idea of how close I should watch you. If you're likely to die, I need to keep a close watch so I can recover my unused merchandise and sell it to someone else. If you prove to be good enough, I might decide to help you somehow."
"You mean come with us to act as our party's mage?"
"Hell no! I mean supply you with potions and scrolls as long as you have the money."
The hero grumbled a little before asking, "When do we leave?"
Sol replied, "In a few minutes. We've got to close up shop for the day." He turned to Victoria and Hilda. "Get to it, girls."
They began putting away and locking up everything as Sol got up to supervise. While waiting, the hero asked Zeraine, "You said you'd tell me later what her profession is. Now it's later, so you mind telling me?"
Zeraine grinned proudly. "Show him, Ammie."
Amarantha nodded and closed her eyes. Her body began to glow. Before anything could happen, Sol smacked her on the head with a rolled up newspaper, stopping her transformation. "No transforming in the store! You wouldn't fit in here and I'd rather not have to look at rebuilding the damn thing!" He then smacked Zeraine on the head with the newspaper. "Remember where you are before giving such commands!"
The two of them apologized. Zeraine looked at the hero. "You'll find out soon enough."
Sol snickered. "She sure doesn't. That's not going to stop me from using it, though. Anyway, go do an inventory, okay?" Hilda nodded and went into the back room.
...
At about that same time, the hero and party were walking toward the Guard Quarters. Amarantha moved over next to Victoria. "He still teases you, huh?"
She nodded. "He's a good boss, but he's a jerk sometimes."
Amarantha giggled. "I think he likes you. That's probably why he does that."
Victoria scoffed. "Yeah, right. He sometimes teases Hilda, too. Not as much, though, because of her flaming tail. He also knows that if he made any advances on either of us, and if someone found out and reported it, he'd be thrown in jail. It's illegal for someone in his position to do that, you know."
The hero, overhearing the conversation, joined in. "You mean that because he's your boss, he has a position of authority over you, and because of that, it's illegal for him to make any advances, romantic or sexual, on you or Hilda, right?"
Victoria nodded. "That, and once word of it reached the corrupted parts of The Order, we'd all be killed. Of course, wouldn't it be the same way if it was the normal parts of The Order, too?"
The hero shook his head. "We don't condone human-monster relationships, but we don't exactly forbid it, either. As long as it's consensual, we believe there's no problem. This, of course, naturally assumes that the relationship is between a human and a sentient race of monster, like Elves, lizardfolk, Dwarves, mermaids, merrows, the occasional good succubus, the occasional good vampire, or something similar. If it's between a human and something like, say, a roper, then not only do I personally fail to see how it's even possible, we of The Order also believe it to be wrong."
Amarantha asked, "How do you feel about a human having a relationship with a dragon?"
The hero raised an eyebrow in mild surprise and confusion. "I don't know how that could actually work out, but since dragons are sentient, it's allowed, though frowned on."
She nodded, mulling over something. Having heard the question and response, Zeraine eyed her suspiciously.
Zeraine announced, "We're here."
Victoria stepped forward. "I'll go tell Cartridge about it. You guys wait here." She entered the Guard Quarters.
The hero faced Zeraine. "So you're telling me that guy, Sol, is supplying the whole world with potions?"
Zeraine shrugged. "I didn't really say it clearly enough, but in a way, yes. Potions are pretty much underused throughout the world. When the people want a cheap one, they visit the local alchemist. When some adventuring mercenary needs one, he usually makes it himself. The more expensive and higher quality stuff is what Sol supplies. When you need something like a Potion of Stone Skin, you buy one from a merchant. If you do the research, you'll probably find that he made it. Same thing with the really powerful healing potions; the kinds that only rich people can afford."
The hero, now understanding how it was humanly possible due to finding out that it was one hell of a lot less work than he expected, said, "So he stays busy because he has to make those potions, but they're not used as often as I thought, right?"
Zeraine nodded. "The potions he makes aren't used much by the world, but he stays busy as hell because he's the only guy making and selling them for a reasonable price. I'm not sure how I can explain it better, but the fraction of the world's population that uses potions is quite small. Out of that fraction, part of it buys the cheap stuff from local alchemists, part of it makes the potions for their own person use, and the small remaining part buys his stuff. I guess you could maybe equate it to one person cooking food for a hundred or so people. Speaking of which, he's a good cook, too."
The hero took in the information. "Really?"
"It stands to reason, since alchemy and cooking are almost the same thing."
"I see. What about the scrolls?"
"For the cheaper ones, he makes them himself. For the more expensive ones, he buys them from some sorceress and sells them to customers."
Victoria returned with Cartridge. He grinned at the hero. "A scout told me about those piss-ants. I was wondering who killed them, too. With Victoria's testimony, we have all the evidence we need to confirm that they were killed, and that it was in both self-defense anddefense of another, specifically one of our citizens, which butters it up nicely. In other words, you did us a big favor. Case closed, here's your reward." He handed the hero a bag of money. "Have a good one." He went back into the building.
They started walking back. Amarantha glanced at Victoria. "I still say he likes you. ...And Hilda."
Victoria shook her head. "That's not it."
Amarantha shrugged. "I seriously think he does. You know how he is, after all."
Victoria nodded. "He's strange, that's for sure, but I still don't think that's the case."
They returned to Sol's shop. As soon as they stepped in, he asked, "Considering the stuff you're buying and the places you're going, you must already have one Bag of Holding each, right?"
Zeraine scoffed. "Of course I've got one. It's the same one I bought from you back then."
Amarantha put her hand on her hip. "What smart person wouldn't have one if they're doing this kind of work?"
The hero reluctantly said, "Uh, actually, I don't have one. All I have for carrying things is this pouch on my belt, and it's just a regular pouch."
Everyone gave him a look of surprise. Zeraine asked, "What the hell, man? The Grandmaster sends you out on this ridiculous mission and doesn't even give you a Bag of Holding?"
The hero shook his head. "We don't have anything like that at the base. Whenever someone had one, it was one they themselves bought."
Sol reached for something behind the counter. "It just so happens I've got one for sale." He held it up, then set it on the counter.
The hero saw the price tag and, since he was good at basic math, knew he couldn't afford it, even with the reward money. "We can't afford it."
Hilda stepped out of the back room and handed Sol a piece of paper. After reading it, he looked up at the hero and party. "Well, you've got two options. One: You try to take only the most important stuff with you in your belt pouch and have one of them carry the rest in their Bag of Holding," he gestured to Zeraine and Amarantha, then continued, "which could get you killed, or two: accompany me on an outing, keep me from getting hurt, and I'll reward you by giving it to you."
The hero looked happy for a second, then asked, "And what does this escort mission entail, exactly?"
Sol casually replied, "Just a little trek through a cursed cemetery full of very aggressive, very hostile zombies, skeletons, and ghouls, then through some woods where there's a few matangos and mandragoras, then after I do my business with the sorceress, we come back the same way, through all of that again."
The hero eyed him skeptically. "From the sound of things, you've made this journey before. Am I right?"
"Using levitation and invisibility, yes. I avoid everything, make it there, fly back, avoiding everything again, and I'm done. However, someone really needs to do something about that cemetery. That's what The Order is for, isn't it? Protecting humans by getting rid of the bad monsters? Not to mention that I find you interesting. You're on a mission to save the world, but something tells me you have no experience with fighting monsters. How do you expect to succeed if you're not used to fighting monsters?"
"I may not have any experience fighting monsters, but I was the man with the highest ranked combat performance ever. Plus, I'm good with strategy and tactics."
"That's good and all, but you need actual experience. Plus, I want to see with my own eyes how good you are, so I can get an idea of how close I should watch you. If you're likely to die, I need to keep a close watch so I can recover my unused merchandise and sell it to someone else. If you prove to be good enough, I might decide to help you somehow."
"You mean come with us to act as our party's mage?"
"Hell no! I mean supply you with potions and scrolls as long as you have the money."
The hero grumbled a little before asking, "When do we leave?"
Sol replied, "In a few minutes. We've got to close up shop for the day." He turned to Victoria and Hilda. "Get to it, girls."
They began putting away and locking up everything as Sol got up to supervise. While waiting, the hero asked Zeraine, "You said you'd tell me later what her profession is. Now it's later, so you mind telling me?"
Zeraine grinned proudly. "Show him, Ammie."
Amarantha nodded and closed her eyes. Her body began to glow. Before anything could happen, Sol smacked her on the head with a rolled up newspaper, stopping her transformation. "No transforming in the store! You wouldn't fit in here and I'd rather not have to look at rebuilding the damn thing!" He then smacked Zeraine on the head with the newspaper. "Remember where you are before giving such commands!"
The two of them apologized. Zeraine looked at the hero. "You'll find out soon enough."
Chapter 8
Spoiler: show
The young succubus was flying directly toward The Order's main base. After stopping in two different cities and only being able to sell two of the daggers and one of the swords she looted from the corpses of the moronic Dark Elves, she checked in the taverns for men brave enough to assist her. Like every time so far, she was laughed out or insulted and told to leave. Infuriated at the lack of brave men in the world, she gave up on trying to recruit random people and decided to head for The Order's main base. She knew it was one of the remaining chapters that hadn't been taken over by idiots. Her last hope was to ask the Grandmaster to help her. She planned to ask him to lend her some warriors to help her take down the Demon Lord. Her plan hinged on whether or not he would.
At the same time, she was thinking of how she might "solve" the "problem" of the lack of brave men. One of the ideas that went through her head was turning certain female monsters such as minotaurs and ogres into beautiful human-like women, while still retaining certain traits and parts from their monster side. She thought that if she turned some of the more powerful monsters into desirable monster-women, men would become brave enough to seek them out, and would make an effort to get strong in order to appeal to such monster-women. She believed that this would allow men to still think with their dicks, but it would benefit them much more than anything currently existing that could be gotten from such a thing.
When she realized that she had thought about penises, she got slightly depressed. Thinking out loud, she complained, "I don't even have time to masturbate..." There was a bit more to it that that, though. She was too angry to feel like doing it, and even though she actually had plenty of time, she was in too much of a hurry. Due to her slight overuse of magic, and the subsequent need to eat demon realm fruit to recover, she was running low on said fruit. She decided that she'd visit the main base of The Order, talk with the Grandmaster, ask for help, then sell the other dagger and sword in the nearby city. Then, she'd use her now-more-than-sufficient funds to find someone who sells fresh demon realm fruit and resupply herself. She hoped to make some decent progress, but mentally prepared herself for failure, as that was all she had found so far.
Meanwhile...
Victoria returned first, followed by Hilda a few seconds later. Victoria handed Sol his robe, staff, and short sword. "Be careful, okay boss?"
"Don't worry about me. I've got these guys to stand in front of me." He smugly grinned while the hero, Zeraine, and Amarantha all rolled their eyes.
Hilda stepped forward. "Can I go, too?"
Sol shook his head. "No. Fighting these enemies will be very different from our wrestling. Besides, you need to fill your role as the fighter if need be." She looked confused. Sol elaborated. "Victoria is the mage and you're the fighter. You know, the whole synergistic team thing. Of course, that only applies if you actually have to guard the store. You know how this city hates thieves."
Both lizard girls nodded and smiled knowingly. Victoria asked, "When will you be back?"
Sol shrugged. "When I get back. I don't know how efficient these guys will be in fighting those monsters, so it might be a few hours, or I might not be back until after dark. If you want, go ahead and go to bed. Just lock the door before you do. I've got my key. So, in case you go to bed before I get back, good night. And if you two have a little 'fun', make sure to tell me about it tomorrow." He gave a perverted smile.
"Boss!" Victoria complained.
Hilda narrowed her eyes. "In case you forgot, I'm not a lesbian."
Sol grabbed the Bag of Holding and put the already-sold potions and scrolls into it, walked to the party, then looked over his shoulder at his employees. "Good night, girls."
They replied in unison, "Good night, boss."
Sol walked past the hero and gave him a hard pat on the shoulder. "Let's go."
Victoria locked the door behind them on their way out and they headed for the city gates. Once they were on the road to the cemetery, the hero asked Sol, "What did you mean 'how the city hates thieves'?"
Amarantha answered for him, "They absolutely hate thieves. If someone steals something, they beat the living shit out of them. If they steal something valuable or important enough, it often results in a lynch mob hunting the thief down, frequently with off-duty city guards among the mob. That's part of the reason why crime is so low in that city. Nobody tolerates it."
Sol then chimed in, "Yep, and that's a large part of why I like living there and running my shop there. If I wanted to, I could probably leave the doors and windows unlocked at night, with my most expensive merchandise sitting on the counter in plain open view and nobody would steal it. If they do, me and my scaly employees get first dibs on administering punishment." He grinned sadistically.
After a few more minutes of walking, Sol glanced at the hero. "So, you're telling me that the Grandmaster sent out a kid with nothing but high-quality armor, a high-quality shield, and a damn fine enchanted bastard sword on a one-man quest to save the world from the Demon Lord, and didn't give him ANY potions, scrolls, or even a Bag of Holding? And on top of that, they didn't teach you ANY spells?"
The hero flatly stated, "Yeah."
Sol added, "And they didn't teach you how to fight monsters, either?"
"Well, look for an opening, create one if possible, and attack. That's pretty much what they taught for everything. They taught us various methods for doing that, but we never actually fought monsters."
Sol nodded. "So you have no actual experience with fighting actual monsters, just your 'book-learning'... Well, that should be enough to get you started. I know this is going to be a bit difficult, considering the number of enemies, but it'll be a good learning experience for you if you survive."
The hero raised an eyebrow. "How many enemies are we talking about, here?"
Sol thought for a second. "Hmm... On average, at least 20 skeletons, 6 ghouls, and up to 15 zombies. All at once."
The hero gave a flat, "What?" He followed with a slightly upset, "And how are the four of us supposed to handle that?"
Sol laughed. "Why do you think I cast invisibility and fly over them? Oh, and some of the skeletons use bows, so watch out for arrows flying at your head. You've got a shield, so use it."
The hero grumbled. "Great. So we're looking at being outnumbered by about 10 to 1."
Zeraine said, "Don't know what to tell you, kid, but you're on a suicide mission. You should get used to the fact that you'll be grossly outnumbered. Deal with it."
Amarantha added, "I think what my Zeraine is trying to tell you-"
"Your Zeraine?" Zeraine interrupted, which she ignored and continued,
"-is suck it up. Grow some balls and stop whining."
A few minutes of silence later, the hero asked, "So you wrestle with a salamander?"
Sol nodded. "She's a teenager, so I can hold my own. Against her big brother, though, I can't last longer than 10 seconds without some sort of strength-enhancing spell. I think he's even stronger than a minotaur."
"So why do you..."
"When she gets bored and I'm not busy, she likes to tackle me. The first time she did it, I didn't know what she was doing until she said, 'let's wrestle!' Then, I fought back and eventually managed to beat her. She still frequently does it, and I guess it has toughened me up a bit, and it's kind of fun, so I guess it's fine. I doubt I'll be able to keep winning when she grows up some more, though."
Amarantha butted in. "Yep. Due to all that wrestling, you've become less squishy than most wizards, but you're still the softest, squishiest thing here." She giggled teasingly.
Sol scoffed. "I could take my shirt off to show you my muscles that I got from wrestling with Hilda and lifting and carrying heavy boxes, but whatever. The softest, squishiest things here are your human form breasts."
Zeraine's eye twitched. Amarantha gave a proud laugh, sticking out her chest to emphasize them. "Yes, they're nice, aren't they?"
They arrived at the cemetery. Sol looked around. "Huh. They're not here. That's odd. Maybe they felt Ammie's power and decided to hide from her? Or maybe they feared that her magnificent breasts would cause their heads to explode! Haha!"
Amarantha laughed. "They're not smart enough to fear me, and my human form breasts, as amazing as they are, aren't that powerful. Could it be that they heard, sensed, or smelled us coming?"
Zeraine looked around. "I think it's a trap. I've heard rumors that all these undead are controlled by a necromancer. He might have had some kind of wards up to make him aware of our approach, and he's hiding his miniature army right now to try to ambush us when we try to pass through the cemetery."
Sol shrugged. "Only one way to find out. Kid, walk." He looked at the hero and pointed to the middle of the cemetery.
The hero reluctantly complied and started walking.
At the same time, she was thinking of how she might "solve" the "problem" of the lack of brave men. One of the ideas that went through her head was turning certain female monsters such as minotaurs and ogres into beautiful human-like women, while still retaining certain traits and parts from their monster side. She thought that if she turned some of the more powerful monsters into desirable monster-women, men would become brave enough to seek them out, and would make an effort to get strong in order to appeal to such monster-women. She believed that this would allow men to still think with their dicks, but it would benefit them much more than anything currently existing that could be gotten from such a thing.
When she realized that she had thought about penises, she got slightly depressed. Thinking out loud, she complained, "I don't even have time to masturbate..." There was a bit more to it that that, though. She was too angry to feel like doing it, and even though she actually had plenty of time, she was in too much of a hurry. Due to her slight overuse of magic, and the subsequent need to eat demon realm fruit to recover, she was running low on said fruit. She decided that she'd visit the main base of The Order, talk with the Grandmaster, ask for help, then sell the other dagger and sword in the nearby city. Then, she'd use her now-more-than-sufficient funds to find someone who sells fresh demon realm fruit and resupply herself. She hoped to make some decent progress, but mentally prepared herself for failure, as that was all she had found so far.
Meanwhile...
Victoria returned first, followed by Hilda a few seconds later. Victoria handed Sol his robe, staff, and short sword. "Be careful, okay boss?"
"Don't worry about me. I've got these guys to stand in front of me." He smugly grinned while the hero, Zeraine, and Amarantha all rolled their eyes.
Hilda stepped forward. "Can I go, too?"
Sol shook his head. "No. Fighting these enemies will be very different from our wrestling. Besides, you need to fill your role as the fighter if need be." She looked confused. Sol elaborated. "Victoria is the mage and you're the fighter. You know, the whole synergistic team thing. Of course, that only applies if you actually have to guard the store. You know how this city hates thieves."
Both lizard girls nodded and smiled knowingly. Victoria asked, "When will you be back?"
Sol shrugged. "When I get back. I don't know how efficient these guys will be in fighting those monsters, so it might be a few hours, or I might not be back until after dark. If you want, go ahead and go to bed. Just lock the door before you do. I've got my key. So, in case you go to bed before I get back, good night. And if you two have a little 'fun', make sure to tell me about it tomorrow." He gave a perverted smile.
"Boss!" Victoria complained.
Hilda narrowed her eyes. "In case you forgot, I'm not a lesbian."
Sol grabbed the Bag of Holding and put the already-sold potions and scrolls into it, walked to the party, then looked over his shoulder at his employees. "Good night, girls."
They replied in unison, "Good night, boss."
Sol walked past the hero and gave him a hard pat on the shoulder. "Let's go."
Victoria locked the door behind them on their way out and they headed for the city gates. Once they were on the road to the cemetery, the hero asked Sol, "What did you mean 'how the city hates thieves'?"
Amarantha answered for him, "They absolutely hate thieves. If someone steals something, they beat the living shit out of them. If they steal something valuable or important enough, it often results in a lynch mob hunting the thief down, frequently with off-duty city guards among the mob. That's part of the reason why crime is so low in that city. Nobody tolerates it."
Sol then chimed in, "Yep, and that's a large part of why I like living there and running my shop there. If I wanted to, I could probably leave the doors and windows unlocked at night, with my most expensive merchandise sitting on the counter in plain open view and nobody would steal it. If they do, me and my scaly employees get first dibs on administering punishment." He grinned sadistically.
After a few more minutes of walking, Sol glanced at the hero. "So, you're telling me that the Grandmaster sent out a kid with nothing but high-quality armor, a high-quality shield, and a damn fine enchanted bastard sword on a one-man quest to save the world from the Demon Lord, and didn't give him ANY potions, scrolls, or even a Bag of Holding? And on top of that, they didn't teach you ANY spells?"
The hero flatly stated, "Yeah."
Sol added, "And they didn't teach you how to fight monsters, either?"
"Well, look for an opening, create one if possible, and attack. That's pretty much what they taught for everything. They taught us various methods for doing that, but we never actually fought monsters."
Sol nodded. "So you have no actual experience with fighting actual monsters, just your 'book-learning'... Well, that should be enough to get you started. I know this is going to be a bit difficult, considering the number of enemies, but it'll be a good learning experience for you if you survive."
The hero raised an eyebrow. "How many enemies are we talking about, here?"
Sol thought for a second. "Hmm... On average, at least 20 skeletons, 6 ghouls, and up to 15 zombies. All at once."
The hero gave a flat, "What?" He followed with a slightly upset, "And how are the four of us supposed to handle that?"
Sol laughed. "Why do you think I cast invisibility and fly over them? Oh, and some of the skeletons use bows, so watch out for arrows flying at your head. You've got a shield, so use it."
The hero grumbled. "Great. So we're looking at being outnumbered by about 10 to 1."
Zeraine said, "Don't know what to tell you, kid, but you're on a suicide mission. You should get used to the fact that you'll be grossly outnumbered. Deal with it."
Amarantha added, "I think what my Zeraine is trying to tell you-"
"Your Zeraine?" Zeraine interrupted, which she ignored and continued,
"-is suck it up. Grow some balls and stop whining."
A few minutes of silence later, the hero asked, "So you wrestle with a salamander?"
Sol nodded. "She's a teenager, so I can hold my own. Against her big brother, though, I can't last longer than 10 seconds without some sort of strength-enhancing spell. I think he's even stronger than a minotaur."
"So why do you..."
"When she gets bored and I'm not busy, she likes to tackle me. The first time she did it, I didn't know what she was doing until she said, 'let's wrestle!' Then, I fought back and eventually managed to beat her. She still frequently does it, and I guess it has toughened me up a bit, and it's kind of fun, so I guess it's fine. I doubt I'll be able to keep winning when she grows up some more, though."
Amarantha butted in. "Yep. Due to all that wrestling, you've become less squishy than most wizards, but you're still the softest, squishiest thing here." She giggled teasingly.
Sol scoffed. "I could take my shirt off to show you my muscles that I got from wrestling with Hilda and lifting and carrying heavy boxes, but whatever. The softest, squishiest things here are your human form breasts."
Zeraine's eye twitched. Amarantha gave a proud laugh, sticking out her chest to emphasize them. "Yes, they're nice, aren't they?"
They arrived at the cemetery. Sol looked around. "Huh. They're not here. That's odd. Maybe they felt Ammie's power and decided to hide from her? Or maybe they feared that her magnificent breasts would cause their heads to explode! Haha!"
Amarantha laughed. "They're not smart enough to fear me, and my human form breasts, as amazing as they are, aren't that powerful. Could it be that they heard, sensed, or smelled us coming?"
Zeraine looked around. "I think it's a trap. I've heard rumors that all these undead are controlled by a necromancer. He might have had some kind of wards up to make him aware of our approach, and he's hiding his miniature army right now to try to ambush us when we try to pass through the cemetery."
Sol shrugged. "Only one way to find out. Kid, walk." He looked at the hero and pointed to the middle of the cemetery.
The hero reluctantly complied and started walking.
Chapter 9
Spoiler: show
Zeraine had his claymore ready. Amarantha had her (very sexy) legs tensed up, ready to jump in should the enemy appear. Sol was keeping an eye out in all directions. The hero made it all the way to the center of the cemetery, but nothing happened. No zombies hungry for brains, no vicious skeletons looking to slice people to ribbons, no ghouls looking to eat living flesh right off the bone. The hero looked around, then turned back to the rest of the party. "Well? Could you have been mistaken, Sol? Drunk, perhaps?"
Sol forced a smile even though he was offended. His smile was obviously forced, however. "No. In all my years, I've never drank. Mages of my level must be responsible. You don't want drunken mages blowing up cities, do you? Besides, if we were allowed to drink, I still wouldn't because I'd probably wake up next to Victoria, Hilda, or both, with all three of us naked and my legs and back strangely tired."
Amarantha pointed at Sol. "Aha! I knew you liked them! The only thing stopping you is the law!"
Sol's face went red. "What!? No, I- ...Alright, I admit it. I'm a pervert who likes scaly female monsters. Happy now? And yes, I haven't made any advances on them nor have I accepted their advances because of it being illegal. I have to remind Hilda of that all the time. There's also the fact that they're underage and flat-chested... Too bad the females of the lizardfolk don't have boobs."
Amarantha laughed. "If they weren't your employees, you'd have 'tasted' them by now, right?"
Sol's face returned to normal. "Yes. And you don't have any right to make fun of me, either. Not with you wanting to-"
The hero cringed, allowing his imagination to show him sex between a human and the lizardfolk. He interrupted. "That's disgusting! How could you even consider that!?"
Sol shrugged. "Love is a pain in the ass. Plus, some of it is probably due to having spent long periods of time gathering alchemy ingredients in areas with high concentrations of demonic energy. You know what happens when humans are exposed to demonic energy, don't you?"
The hero put his hands on his hips, trying to get the images of human-on-lizardfolk out of his mind. "Yes, of course I know. The largest fraction of people who are exposed to demonic energy go insane, losing their minds and becoming murderous savages. Some even become cannibals, as well. Other cases show people as having their minds warped to the point that they can no longer think, let alone speak coherently. They have to be taken care of in mental hospitals for the rest of their lives. Only a very few are immune to demonic energy. The rest become demons of various kinds with much, much longer life spans and either slowed or halted physical aging."
Sol nodded approvingly. "Very educated. Good. Some who become demons end up as incubi. Zeraine and me both are lucky. With our respective lines of work, we spend lots of time in areas thick with demonic energy. He and I are both not far from becoming incubi. I think he fared better than me because I probably became like this partially from demonic energy exposure. I'm not completely sure, but I don't think I'd have considered fucking a Lizardman or a salamander before I got like this. Now, I'm considering asking for a special exception so I can bone my employees. Yes, I'm weird. Shut up."
Amarantha's shoulders drooped. Then, she got an idea. "How about once I have my first daughter, I'll raise her to be noble and righteous, and have her join you? You'll have a pretty good deal with that, I think."
Sol scoffed. "What, so she and I can have constantly conflicting opinions and constant fights due to the end result of your nurturing? Sure, I wouldn't mind that, with her being able to take on a fully-human form for whatever all she'd use it for, and revert when needed, but if she's as prudish as that kid over there," Sol said as he pointed at the hero, "then I don't need that. I don't want the headaches."
Amarantha said, "Don't worry. I'd raise her to at least tolerate you. You might even win her over!" She laughed.
Sol crossed his arms. "You're saying you can do the impossible? I'm calling bullshit. Very few people can even partially tolerate me. You're saying you could raise your future daughter to fully tolerate me? That's as unlikely as winning the lottery while being viciously attacked by a cow and getting struck by lightning on a clear, cloudless day all at once."
Amarantha shrugged. "There's always wife husbandry."
Sol, even more peeved, said, "You mean you give her to me and I have to raise her into my ideal wife, absolving you of the obligation of taking care of your own daughter and raising her yourself. I like dragons, but I wouldn't know the first thing about raising one. Forget it."
The hero, completely confused, asked, "You mind telling me what you're arguing about?"
Sol dropped his arms. "Zeraine, have your dragon transform."
Amarantha interrupted. "His dragon?"
Zeraine let out an exacerbated sigh. "Enough! Stop squabbling! You two always do this! However, it would be a good idea to be fully on guard here, so, Ammie? Revert."
She nodded and closed her eyes. After a few seconds of focusing, her body glowed with a bright shining light. When the light faded, there stood a beautiful silver dragon in all its glory. The hero let out a startled yell, tried to step backward, but tripped and landed on his ass. The silver dragon shook its head in mild depression. "It's still me, kid."
The hero was speechless. It was understandable, though. It was the first time he had ever seen a real dragon, and silver dragons were exceptionally beautiful and magnificent, rivaled only by gold dragons, and even then, they were viewed as equally majestic by most people. Zeraine crossed his arms proudly. "In this form, she's stronger, faster, and better able to use her ice breath. What do you think, kid?"
The hero finally managed to collect himself and ask, "How did you befriend a dragon?"
Zeraine, still very proud, said, "I'll tell you later."
Sol exhaled sharply. "Okay, let's stop wasting time. Back to business. I'm sure you already know, kid, but a ghoul's saliva can dissolve the flesh right off your bones, so don't let them bite you or even drool on you. If some ghoul saliva gets on you, drop whatever you're doing and wipe it off immediately, understand?" He continued via telepathy, "Since this obvious trap didn't go off with just the kid stepping in, let's all get ready and step in, too. We'll spring the trap intentionally, clear the cemetery, get me to the sorceress, let me conduct my business with her, and return to town. Once there, you guys will report the clearing of the cemetery, collect the reward money, and possibly move on. I, on the other hand, will either bid you good luck, or give you a nice present, depending on the kid's performance."
The hero angrily shouted, "Stop calling me 'kid'! I know I'm the youngest one here, but I'm 22! I'm a grown man! How much older could you guys be!?"
Amarantha (in full-dragon form) frowned and narrowed her beautiful light-blue eyes as Zeraine answered first. "I'm 85."
Amarantha said, "It's rude to ask a girl her age, but I'm 143."
Sol disinterestedly answered, "I'll be 98 next month."
The hero's jaw dropped. "I understand the dragon's age and transformation magic, but you guys don't look any older than your late twenties or early thirties!"
Sol began focusing.
Zeraine said, "Demonic energy. He and I have been frequently exposed to lots of it. It makes sense if you think about it, kid."
Whatever Sol was doing, he finished. "Alright. Since they're apparently not home, let's just go right on through." Everyone nodded, knowing it to be a trap. As soon as they entered, a barrier sealed them in. They were now stuck in the cemetery, surrounded by the zombies that were rising out of the ground around them. "No skeletons or ghouls at the start? I'm insulted! Kid, show us your stuff."
The hero groaned in frustration and drew his sword. He easily killed three zombies with halfhearted swings. Taking advantage of their slowness, the hero unslung his shield and strapped it to his arm. He jogged around, killing the remaining zombies.
Zeraine said, "Good work, kid, but you'll need to really put some skill and effort into it when the skeletons show up. When the ghouls arrive, the three of us will probably have to step in. I know from experience that just fighting two ghouls at once is tough, even with magic assistance."
Just then, eight ghouls burst out of the ground, and three more ran out of a tomb. Sol yelled, "Eleven of them!? Son of a bitch!" He detonated some of the Fire Traps and Holy Traps he had set before they entered. This bit of preparation took out two ghouls and severely wounded four more. Zeraine charged at one of the wounded ghouls, claymore raised. He dispatched it with a strong swing. Amarantha used her razor sharp claws to shred two of the three remaining wounded ones, and three more "fresh" ones. The last wounded one went for Sol, but fell to a fireball. Zeraine pelted one of the two remaining ghouls with weak fireballs to get its attention. It ran for him. The last one leaped at the hero. Zeraine used a combination of fire spells and masterful sword swings to decimate his ghoul. The hero ducked under the ghoul's leap, turned to face it, and blocked its punch. The force of the hit still knocked him back a step, but he managed to parry the next punch with his shield. He struck the ghoul with his sword, causing it to howl in pain and attack that much harder. After forcing the hero back with vicious attacks, all of which the hero blocked, it tackled him. The hero saw it coming and managed to throw the ghoul off of him before it could do anything else. He quickly stood back up and readied himself for the next move. The ghoul tried to kick him, but he blocked it. The kick was strong enough that it knocked him down, though, and the ghoul tried to jump on him. He rolled aside to his feet, causing the ghoul to land harmlessly next to him. Before the ghoul could do anything else, the hero did a sweep kick and tripped the ghoul. As it tried to get up, the hero firmly planted his sword through its chest, killing it.
Zeraine and Amarantha ran back to regroup where Sol was standing. The hero quickly walked back and rejoined the group after making sure the ghoul was dead by kicking its lifeless body. Sol said, "Good job, kid. There may be hope for you yet. I know there's more enemies, though. Considering that there's a barrier sealing us in, the fact that they tried to ambush us, and that the enemies are attacking us in waves, I conclude that there must be a necromancer controlling them here. Be on the lookout for skeletons and more ghouls. Ignore any zombies and take out skeleton archers before anything. Follow that with trying to dispose of ghouls, followed by other skeletons. The skeletons are weak and easy to get rid of, but in large numbers they are dangerous, and their archers are very accurate."
Zeraine said, "I'm surprised he's letting us catch our breath."
They backed together into somewhat of a diamond formation and prepared for the next wave.
Sol forced a smile even though he was offended. His smile was obviously forced, however. "No. In all my years, I've never drank. Mages of my level must be responsible. You don't want drunken mages blowing up cities, do you? Besides, if we were allowed to drink, I still wouldn't because I'd probably wake up next to Victoria, Hilda, or both, with all three of us naked and my legs and back strangely tired."
Amarantha pointed at Sol. "Aha! I knew you liked them! The only thing stopping you is the law!"
Sol's face went red. "What!? No, I- ...Alright, I admit it. I'm a pervert who likes scaly female monsters. Happy now? And yes, I haven't made any advances on them nor have I accepted their advances because of it being illegal. I have to remind Hilda of that all the time. There's also the fact that they're underage and flat-chested... Too bad the females of the lizardfolk don't have boobs."
Amarantha laughed. "If they weren't your employees, you'd have 'tasted' them by now, right?"
Sol's face returned to normal. "Yes. And you don't have any right to make fun of me, either. Not with you wanting to-"
The hero cringed, allowing his imagination to show him sex between a human and the lizardfolk. He interrupted. "That's disgusting! How could you even consider that!?"
Sol shrugged. "Love is a pain in the ass. Plus, some of it is probably due to having spent long periods of time gathering alchemy ingredients in areas with high concentrations of demonic energy. You know what happens when humans are exposed to demonic energy, don't you?"
The hero put his hands on his hips, trying to get the images of human-on-lizardfolk out of his mind. "Yes, of course I know. The largest fraction of people who are exposed to demonic energy go insane, losing their minds and becoming murderous savages. Some even become cannibals, as well. Other cases show people as having their minds warped to the point that they can no longer think, let alone speak coherently. They have to be taken care of in mental hospitals for the rest of their lives. Only a very few are immune to demonic energy. The rest become demons of various kinds with much, much longer life spans and either slowed or halted physical aging."
Sol nodded approvingly. "Very educated. Good. Some who become demons end up as incubi. Zeraine and me both are lucky. With our respective lines of work, we spend lots of time in areas thick with demonic energy. He and I are both not far from becoming incubi. I think he fared better than me because I probably became like this partially from demonic energy exposure. I'm not completely sure, but I don't think I'd have considered fucking a Lizardman or a salamander before I got like this. Now, I'm considering asking for a special exception so I can bone my employees. Yes, I'm weird. Shut up."
Amarantha's shoulders drooped. Then, she got an idea. "How about once I have my first daughter, I'll raise her to be noble and righteous, and have her join you? You'll have a pretty good deal with that, I think."
Sol scoffed. "What, so she and I can have constantly conflicting opinions and constant fights due to the end result of your nurturing? Sure, I wouldn't mind that, with her being able to take on a fully-human form for whatever all she'd use it for, and revert when needed, but if she's as prudish as that kid over there," Sol said as he pointed at the hero, "then I don't need that. I don't want the headaches."
Amarantha said, "Don't worry. I'd raise her to at least tolerate you. You might even win her over!" She laughed.
Sol crossed his arms. "You're saying you can do the impossible? I'm calling bullshit. Very few people can even partially tolerate me. You're saying you could raise your future daughter to fully tolerate me? That's as unlikely as winning the lottery while being viciously attacked by a cow and getting struck by lightning on a clear, cloudless day all at once."
Amarantha shrugged. "There's always wife husbandry."
Sol, even more peeved, said, "You mean you give her to me and I have to raise her into my ideal wife, absolving you of the obligation of taking care of your own daughter and raising her yourself. I like dragons, but I wouldn't know the first thing about raising one. Forget it."
The hero, completely confused, asked, "You mind telling me what you're arguing about?"
Sol dropped his arms. "Zeraine, have your dragon transform."
Amarantha interrupted. "His dragon?"
Zeraine let out an exacerbated sigh. "Enough! Stop squabbling! You two always do this! However, it would be a good idea to be fully on guard here, so, Ammie? Revert."
She nodded and closed her eyes. After a few seconds of focusing, her body glowed with a bright shining light. When the light faded, there stood a beautiful silver dragon in all its glory. The hero let out a startled yell, tried to step backward, but tripped and landed on his ass. The silver dragon shook its head in mild depression. "It's still me, kid."
The hero was speechless. It was understandable, though. It was the first time he had ever seen a real dragon, and silver dragons were exceptionally beautiful and magnificent, rivaled only by gold dragons, and even then, they were viewed as equally majestic by most people. Zeraine crossed his arms proudly. "In this form, she's stronger, faster, and better able to use her ice breath. What do you think, kid?"
The hero finally managed to collect himself and ask, "How did you befriend a dragon?"
Zeraine, still very proud, said, "I'll tell you later."
Sol exhaled sharply. "Okay, let's stop wasting time. Back to business. I'm sure you already know, kid, but a ghoul's saliva can dissolve the flesh right off your bones, so don't let them bite you or even drool on you. If some ghoul saliva gets on you, drop whatever you're doing and wipe it off immediately, understand?" He continued via telepathy, "Since this obvious trap didn't go off with just the kid stepping in, let's all get ready and step in, too. We'll spring the trap intentionally, clear the cemetery, get me to the sorceress, let me conduct my business with her, and return to town. Once there, you guys will report the clearing of the cemetery, collect the reward money, and possibly move on. I, on the other hand, will either bid you good luck, or give you a nice present, depending on the kid's performance."
The hero angrily shouted, "Stop calling me 'kid'! I know I'm the youngest one here, but I'm 22! I'm a grown man! How much older could you guys be!?"
Amarantha (in full-dragon form) frowned and narrowed her beautiful light-blue eyes as Zeraine answered first. "I'm 85."
Amarantha said, "It's rude to ask a girl her age, but I'm 143."
Sol disinterestedly answered, "I'll be 98 next month."
The hero's jaw dropped. "I understand the dragon's age and transformation magic, but you guys don't look any older than your late twenties or early thirties!"
Sol began focusing.
Zeraine said, "Demonic energy. He and I have been frequently exposed to lots of it. It makes sense if you think about it, kid."
Whatever Sol was doing, he finished. "Alright. Since they're apparently not home, let's just go right on through." Everyone nodded, knowing it to be a trap. As soon as they entered, a barrier sealed them in. They were now stuck in the cemetery, surrounded by the zombies that were rising out of the ground around them. "No skeletons or ghouls at the start? I'm insulted! Kid, show us your stuff."
The hero groaned in frustration and drew his sword. He easily killed three zombies with halfhearted swings. Taking advantage of their slowness, the hero unslung his shield and strapped it to his arm. He jogged around, killing the remaining zombies.
Zeraine said, "Good work, kid, but you'll need to really put some skill and effort into it when the skeletons show up. When the ghouls arrive, the three of us will probably have to step in. I know from experience that just fighting two ghouls at once is tough, even with magic assistance."
Just then, eight ghouls burst out of the ground, and three more ran out of a tomb. Sol yelled, "Eleven of them!? Son of a bitch!" He detonated some of the Fire Traps and Holy Traps he had set before they entered. This bit of preparation took out two ghouls and severely wounded four more. Zeraine charged at one of the wounded ghouls, claymore raised. He dispatched it with a strong swing. Amarantha used her razor sharp claws to shred two of the three remaining wounded ones, and three more "fresh" ones. The last wounded one went for Sol, but fell to a fireball. Zeraine pelted one of the two remaining ghouls with weak fireballs to get its attention. It ran for him. The last one leaped at the hero. Zeraine used a combination of fire spells and masterful sword swings to decimate his ghoul. The hero ducked under the ghoul's leap, turned to face it, and blocked its punch. The force of the hit still knocked him back a step, but he managed to parry the next punch with his shield. He struck the ghoul with his sword, causing it to howl in pain and attack that much harder. After forcing the hero back with vicious attacks, all of which the hero blocked, it tackled him. The hero saw it coming and managed to throw the ghoul off of him before it could do anything else. He quickly stood back up and readied himself for the next move. The ghoul tried to kick him, but he blocked it. The kick was strong enough that it knocked him down, though, and the ghoul tried to jump on him. He rolled aside to his feet, causing the ghoul to land harmlessly next to him. Before the ghoul could do anything else, the hero did a sweep kick and tripped the ghoul. As it tried to get up, the hero firmly planted his sword through its chest, killing it.
Zeraine and Amarantha ran back to regroup where Sol was standing. The hero quickly walked back and rejoined the group after making sure the ghoul was dead by kicking its lifeless body. Sol said, "Good job, kid. There may be hope for you yet. I know there's more enemies, though. Considering that there's a barrier sealing us in, the fact that they tried to ambush us, and that the enemies are attacking us in waves, I conclude that there must be a necromancer controlling them here. Be on the lookout for skeletons and more ghouls. Ignore any zombies and take out skeleton archers before anything. Follow that with trying to dispose of ghouls, followed by other skeletons. The skeletons are weak and easy to get rid of, but in large numbers they are dangerous, and their archers are very accurate."
Zeraine said, "I'm surprised he's letting us catch our breath."
They backed together into somewhat of a diamond formation and prepared for the next wave.
Chapter 10
Spoiler: show
The young succubus had finally reached The Order's headquarters. Before dispelling her invisibility, she made sure her human form disguise was in place. She didn't want to risk a confrontation with the ever-shrinking part of The Order that was still reasonable. Confirming that everything was fine, she dispelled her invisibility and approached the main gate. One of the gate guards blocked her. "State your business, girl."
"I'd like to speak with the Grandmaster."
"What for?"
"I want to ask for any help he can give in my personal vendetta against the Demon Lord."
The guard wasn't sure whether he should laugh or not. "He's in his office. Go on in." The guard opened the door and let her in. "I don't know what you're expecting, but you shouldn't count on anything. His office is in the west wing. Follow the signs and you should find it easily. Good luck."
She nodded. A minute or two later, she found his office and knocked on the door. The old man's voice sounded from inside, "Come in." She entered and stood before the old man, who was now wearing his robe. He motioned at a chair. "Have a seat."
"I'll stand."
"Very well, then. What do you need?"
"I'm on my own in my personal quest to get rid of the Demon Lord. I've made a rather long journey to get here, and I've stopped in every city and town along the way, asking for help. So far, I've found no men brave enough to assist me. Can you offer any help?"
"I'm sorry, young miss. We're stretched pretty thin as it is. Several hours ago, I sent out one young man, armed with a suit of our best armor, one of our finest shields, and one of our best swords, on a quest much like yours. If you wish, you can try to track him down and join him. He left for the city, planning on spending the night there before he sets out tomorrow morning. If you hurry, you might catch up to him. Other than that suggestion, I'm afraid I can't help you."
She took in the information. "I see. Thank you." She walked out, closing the door behind her. When she got back to the main gate, the guard from before acknowledged her. "Any luck, miss?"
She shrugged. "Sort of. He won't offer any troops to help, but he gave me what sounds like a good idea." She walked out and the guard shut the gate behind her. As she walked away, the guard called out to her. "Have a good one!"
She waved, replied with, "You, too!" and began flying along the road to the city.
Meanwhile...
After 30 seconds of nothing happening, the hero and party were getting impatient. The sun was low in the sky and they wanted to finish before nightfall. Sol loudly said, "I guess our amateur necromancer is out of minions!"
His comment successfully provoked a response, in the form of an echoing voice that seemed to come from everywhere at once. "Out of minions? What do you take me for? This cemetery is full of things to use for making minions and I have plenty of them to use!"
Sol used a similar spell to make his voice sound like it was coming from everywhere at once, mocking the necromancer. "If you have so many minions, where are they? I'm guessing you've used up all your ghouls. How about we make a deal? You either drop the barrier and let us out, never bothering them or me again, or you come out so we can kill you and be on our way. I'd rather not sit here while you try to kill us from starvation or old age, jackass."
The necromancer replied, "I'm afraid I can't do either. You, my little mage, would make a fine lich. I don't want to pass up the opportunity to have such a powerful slave at my command. And your friends? The young man with gear from The Order would make a great zombie warrior. I might turn the other man into a draugr, and the thought of a zombified dragon as a servant? It's just too good to pass up. You want to play with my slaves some more? Here you go!"
On cue, 20 skeletons rose out of the ground, 5 of them archers. They were joined seconds later by 40 zombies and 9 ghouls. Because Sol was obviously responsible for this because he provoked the necromancer, the hero, Zeraine, and Amarantha all glared at him accusingly. He crossed his arms arrogantly. "What? We can handle this much easily."
The necromancer laughed and said, "Really? Then have some more." 20 more skeletons rose out of the ground, 5 of these archers as well, bringing it to a grand total of 30 skeletons, 10 skeleton archers, 40 zombies, and 9 ghouls.
Sol looked around with a nervous smile. "I'll shut up now..."
The necromancer yelled, "Enough screwing around! Kill them!"
Sol detonated the rest of his Fire Traps and Holy Traps. In the blasts, 2 ghouls were almost killed, having been weakened to the point of limping around slowly. 4 skeleton archers were blown up, along with 15 zombies, which were tightly grouped together. "Attack! Take out the archers first!"
The hero dashed toward the archers, shield raised. Their arrows harmlessly bounced off his shield as he closed the distance and cut down 2 of them. At the same time, Zeraine threw out a few fireballs to finish off the wounded ghouls and Amarantha flapped her wings, knocking over a few of the remaining archers, which were in a different group from the one the hero was fighting. She froze all the remaining zombies with her ice breath, and proceeded to shatter them with a mighty tail whip. Zeraine charged out at the archers Amarantha knocked over and killed all 3.
The hero finished off the last archer and began attacking the nearby skeletons while dodging the 3 ghouls that had targeted him. When he had cleared enough of them away, he turned his attention to the ghouls. He was fortunate, because one of them made a careless tackle attempt, to which he responded by perfectly timing a backflip so that he caught the ghoul in midair and flipped it, landing with him straddling its chest. He quickly drove his sword into its head to kill it and stood back up, readying himself for the other 2. Zeraine and Sol flung fireballs at the skeletons, decimating them. When there were only 10 left, one group of 6 and another of 4, Zeraine charge at the group of 6 and mowed them down with his claymore. Sol used Napalm Death, the spell's many, many fireballs annihilating the last 4 skeletons.
Amarantha yelled, "Get them off me!" Zeraine and Sol turned to see 2 ghouls on her back, with her trying to shake them off. She had crushed one of the 6 remaining ghouls with her tail and another had met the sharp ends of her claws. Now, there were only these 2 and the 2 that were attacking the hero. Zeraine and Sol looked at each other and nodded. They both shouted the same incantation in unison, "Slayard Slayard! Lightning of darkness, come to me! Val Volt!" They each fired a bolt of lightning from their hands, both hitting the ghouls, one each. After that, Amarantha was able to throw them off and step on them, crushing them.
During that time, the hero had been holding his own quite well. He had whittled away at the ghouls through nothing but carefully placed counterattacks. In the fight, he had cut off one of the arms of one of the ghouls. When they both tried to tackle him at once, he ducked under them, quickly spun around, and impaled the one-armed one through the back of the chest with his sword as it landed. He then yanked his sword out of the ghoul's body and thrust-kicked the other one, causing it to roll on the ground. It got up and charged right into his shield bash. While the ghoul was dazed, the hero cut its head off.
Through telepathy, Sol told everyone, "He's out of ghouls now. If he wasn't he would have sent more than 9. Last wave was 11. He probably has more skeletons and zombies, but we can handle those easily. I'll start trying to find where he's hiding. You guys cover me." He focused on his spell. The other three surrounded him, watching for any new enemies. Just as they expected, skeletons and zombies, 25 of each, rose out of the ground. Zeraine used ice magic to freeze a large area of ground between him and the enemies, Amarantha doing the same for her area with her ice breath. Knowing that the enemies would slip and fall before reaching them from those sides, they stepped around Sol and attacked the enemies, Zeraine with fire and lightning spells, and Amarantha with ice missiles. The enemies fell quickly and easily. After mowing them down, they resumed their defensive circle around Sol. Seconds later, Sol yelled, "He's in that tomb! Take him out!" He pointed at the tomb. The hero ran as fast as he could into the tomb and slew the necromancer before he could summon any more undead. The four regrouped as the barrier faded.
Sol sighed with relief and said, "Great work, everyone."
Amarantha shook off, snorted, and said, "If it weren't for you provoking the necromancer, maybe we would have had it a bit easier!"
Zeraine stepped between them as if to keep them away from each other. "Don't start now! We did it, we killed the necromancer, we still have to get Sol to the sorceress, let's get moving!"
The hero stepped up. "Why exactly can't we ride on the dragon's back to get there?"
Sol pointed at the hero scoldingly. "Hey! Show her some respect! And she won't let us because she feels that it's degrading to her. Also, before you ask, she, Zeraine, and I all know how to levitate, as well as cast invisibility. All of us levitating there while invisible would be preferable if that test weren't necessary. It would attract much less attention than a dragon flying around, but considering that you don't know those spells, it'd still attract attention to have you dangling from one of us, due to one of us having to carry you. Now, let's get moving. Follow me through the forest. If you start smelling something sweet, cover your mouth and nose immediately! Always stick together, don't stray from the path I walk, and we'll get there with little trouble."
They entered the forest.
"I'd like to speak with the Grandmaster."
"What for?"
"I want to ask for any help he can give in my personal vendetta against the Demon Lord."
The guard wasn't sure whether he should laugh or not. "He's in his office. Go on in." The guard opened the door and let her in. "I don't know what you're expecting, but you shouldn't count on anything. His office is in the west wing. Follow the signs and you should find it easily. Good luck."
She nodded. A minute or two later, she found his office and knocked on the door. The old man's voice sounded from inside, "Come in." She entered and stood before the old man, who was now wearing his robe. He motioned at a chair. "Have a seat."
"I'll stand."
"Very well, then. What do you need?"
"I'm on my own in my personal quest to get rid of the Demon Lord. I've made a rather long journey to get here, and I've stopped in every city and town along the way, asking for help. So far, I've found no men brave enough to assist me. Can you offer any help?"
"I'm sorry, young miss. We're stretched pretty thin as it is. Several hours ago, I sent out one young man, armed with a suit of our best armor, one of our finest shields, and one of our best swords, on a quest much like yours. If you wish, you can try to track him down and join him. He left for the city, planning on spending the night there before he sets out tomorrow morning. If you hurry, you might catch up to him. Other than that suggestion, I'm afraid I can't help you."
She took in the information. "I see. Thank you." She walked out, closing the door behind her. When she got back to the main gate, the guard from before acknowledged her. "Any luck, miss?"
She shrugged. "Sort of. He won't offer any troops to help, but he gave me what sounds like a good idea." She walked out and the guard shut the gate behind her. As she walked away, the guard called out to her. "Have a good one!"
She waved, replied with, "You, too!" and began flying along the road to the city.
Meanwhile...
After 30 seconds of nothing happening, the hero and party were getting impatient. The sun was low in the sky and they wanted to finish before nightfall. Sol loudly said, "I guess our amateur necromancer is out of minions!"
His comment successfully provoked a response, in the form of an echoing voice that seemed to come from everywhere at once. "Out of minions? What do you take me for? This cemetery is full of things to use for making minions and I have plenty of them to use!"
Sol used a similar spell to make his voice sound like it was coming from everywhere at once, mocking the necromancer. "If you have so many minions, where are they? I'm guessing you've used up all your ghouls. How about we make a deal? You either drop the barrier and let us out, never bothering them or me again, or you come out so we can kill you and be on our way. I'd rather not sit here while you try to kill us from starvation or old age, jackass."
The necromancer replied, "I'm afraid I can't do either. You, my little mage, would make a fine lich. I don't want to pass up the opportunity to have such a powerful slave at my command. And your friends? The young man with gear from The Order would make a great zombie warrior. I might turn the other man into a draugr, and the thought of a zombified dragon as a servant? It's just too good to pass up. You want to play with my slaves some more? Here you go!"
On cue, 20 skeletons rose out of the ground, 5 of them archers. They were joined seconds later by 40 zombies and 9 ghouls. Because Sol was obviously responsible for this because he provoked the necromancer, the hero, Zeraine, and Amarantha all glared at him accusingly. He crossed his arms arrogantly. "What? We can handle this much easily."
The necromancer laughed and said, "Really? Then have some more." 20 more skeletons rose out of the ground, 5 of these archers as well, bringing it to a grand total of 30 skeletons, 10 skeleton archers, 40 zombies, and 9 ghouls.
Sol looked around with a nervous smile. "I'll shut up now..."
The necromancer yelled, "Enough screwing around! Kill them!"
Sol detonated the rest of his Fire Traps and Holy Traps. In the blasts, 2 ghouls were almost killed, having been weakened to the point of limping around slowly. 4 skeleton archers were blown up, along with 15 zombies, which were tightly grouped together. "Attack! Take out the archers first!"
The hero dashed toward the archers, shield raised. Their arrows harmlessly bounced off his shield as he closed the distance and cut down 2 of them. At the same time, Zeraine threw out a few fireballs to finish off the wounded ghouls and Amarantha flapped her wings, knocking over a few of the remaining archers, which were in a different group from the one the hero was fighting. She froze all the remaining zombies with her ice breath, and proceeded to shatter them with a mighty tail whip. Zeraine charged out at the archers Amarantha knocked over and killed all 3.
The hero finished off the last archer and began attacking the nearby skeletons while dodging the 3 ghouls that had targeted him. When he had cleared enough of them away, he turned his attention to the ghouls. He was fortunate, because one of them made a careless tackle attempt, to which he responded by perfectly timing a backflip so that he caught the ghoul in midair and flipped it, landing with him straddling its chest. He quickly drove his sword into its head to kill it and stood back up, readying himself for the other 2. Zeraine and Sol flung fireballs at the skeletons, decimating them. When there were only 10 left, one group of 6 and another of 4, Zeraine charge at the group of 6 and mowed them down with his claymore. Sol used Napalm Death, the spell's many, many fireballs annihilating the last 4 skeletons.
Amarantha yelled, "Get them off me!" Zeraine and Sol turned to see 2 ghouls on her back, with her trying to shake them off. She had crushed one of the 6 remaining ghouls with her tail and another had met the sharp ends of her claws. Now, there were only these 2 and the 2 that were attacking the hero. Zeraine and Sol looked at each other and nodded. They both shouted the same incantation in unison, "Slayard Slayard! Lightning of darkness, come to me! Val Volt!" They each fired a bolt of lightning from their hands, both hitting the ghouls, one each. After that, Amarantha was able to throw them off and step on them, crushing them.
During that time, the hero had been holding his own quite well. He had whittled away at the ghouls through nothing but carefully placed counterattacks. In the fight, he had cut off one of the arms of one of the ghouls. When they both tried to tackle him at once, he ducked under them, quickly spun around, and impaled the one-armed one through the back of the chest with his sword as it landed. He then yanked his sword out of the ghoul's body and thrust-kicked the other one, causing it to roll on the ground. It got up and charged right into his shield bash. While the ghoul was dazed, the hero cut its head off.
Through telepathy, Sol told everyone, "He's out of ghouls now. If he wasn't he would have sent more than 9. Last wave was 11. He probably has more skeletons and zombies, but we can handle those easily. I'll start trying to find where he's hiding. You guys cover me." He focused on his spell. The other three surrounded him, watching for any new enemies. Just as they expected, skeletons and zombies, 25 of each, rose out of the ground. Zeraine used ice magic to freeze a large area of ground between him and the enemies, Amarantha doing the same for her area with her ice breath. Knowing that the enemies would slip and fall before reaching them from those sides, they stepped around Sol and attacked the enemies, Zeraine with fire and lightning spells, and Amarantha with ice missiles. The enemies fell quickly and easily. After mowing them down, they resumed their defensive circle around Sol. Seconds later, Sol yelled, "He's in that tomb! Take him out!" He pointed at the tomb. The hero ran as fast as he could into the tomb and slew the necromancer before he could summon any more undead. The four regrouped as the barrier faded.
Sol sighed with relief and said, "Great work, everyone."
Amarantha shook off, snorted, and said, "If it weren't for you provoking the necromancer, maybe we would have had it a bit easier!"
Zeraine stepped between them as if to keep them away from each other. "Don't start now! We did it, we killed the necromancer, we still have to get Sol to the sorceress, let's get moving!"
The hero stepped up. "Why exactly can't we ride on the dragon's back to get there?"
Sol pointed at the hero scoldingly. "Hey! Show her some respect! And she won't let us because she feels that it's degrading to her. Also, before you ask, she, Zeraine, and I all know how to levitate, as well as cast invisibility. All of us levitating there while invisible would be preferable if that test weren't necessary. It would attract much less attention than a dragon flying around, but considering that you don't know those spells, it'd still attract attention to have you dangling from one of us, due to one of us having to carry you. Now, let's get moving. Follow me through the forest. If you start smelling something sweet, cover your mouth and nose immediately! Always stick together, don't stray from the path I walk, and we'll get there with little trouble."
They entered the forest.
Chapter 11
Spoiler: show
After minutes of walking in a single-file column, the hero, who was right behind Sol, said, "Should you really be out front?"
Sol glanced over his shoulder. "I'm the only one who knows the way. If anything happens, I'll just get behind you, since I think you'd make a good shield."
The hero, not sure if Sol meant what he said, fell silent again. Another minute or so of walking later and the path was getting fairly small. Amarantha kept getting hung up on low-hanging branches. Tired of her noise, and worried they might attract unwanted attention with it, he stopped and turned around. "Zeraine, have your dragon return to her human form. She's making too much noise and she's too big to keep following us in that form."
Amarantha narrowed her eyes at Sol. "You said 'his dragon' again. Just what do you mean by that?"
Zeraine face-palmed. "Not now, you two! Ammie, if you think about it, we pretty much belong to each other, so stop getting worked up over it."
"Okay, fine." She reverted to human form, this time tying her hair in a swept-back long ponytail, using a ribbon from her pocket.
Sol arrogantly said, "Good. Now, if we didn't attract any attention with her excessive noise up to now, we should be fine."
Offended by his words, Amarantha ran at him. "Shut up! I've had enough of your shit for one day!"
Zeraine and the hero both reached out to try to stop her. They both shouted, "Hey!"
"Featherweight!" Sol cast a Featherweight spell to make his body light enough for him to jump over her kick, which was aimed at his knee. He jumped back a few times, putting some distance between himself and her. Zeraine restrained her by putting his arms around her from behind.
"Stop! Our lives are in danger out here and you two are still at it? Quit fucking around, both of you!"
Amarantha blushed when she noticed Zeraine's arms around her. She looked up at him, regained her composure, and said, "Fine. If he'll stop with his rude comments, I won't tear him a new ass. ...Prick talking like I'm someone's property... I'm a dragon for fuck's sake!"
The hero sighed and shook his head. "If we didn't know any better, we'd think you two were siblings."
Sol gave the hero a quizzical look. "What?"
The hero motioned to the two of them. "You two fight like brothers and sisters often do."
Sol shrugged it off. "Whatever. Let's keep moving." No sooner than he finished saying that, and arrow stuck through the folded-down hood on his robe. He noticed it and yelled, "What the hell!?" He ran over to the hero and grabbed him, pulling him in between himself and where the arrow came from.
The hero struggled a little. "What are you doing!?"
Sol jerked the hero into position. "Using you as a shield. What of it?"
He peeked out from behind the hero as a feminine voice sounded from behind a bush. "I missed..."
The hero shouted, "Come out!"
A female Elf stepped out from behind the bush.
Sol leaned out farther, getting a better look at the Elf. She had a nice, athletic build with nicely sized breasts and perfect thighs. Everything about her was beautiful, except for her face, which was very young-looking and cute. "Wow! She's cute!" he said quietly enough that he thought only the hero could hear, but the Elf blushed.
"Compliments won't get you out of trouble, human. You and your friends are making far too much noise. Even worse, you're intruding in our forest. Leave, or we'll be forced to deal with you."
Sol stepped out from behind the hero. "You say that, but you tried to shoot one of us with this arrow!" He pulled the arrow through his robe's hood and held it up. "Why try to kill at least one of us, then tell us to leave?"
"I was aiming for that tree, but I missed and almost got you. I wonder if you somehow attracted the arrow?" the Elf said in a mean yet joking manner.
Everyone glanced at where the Elf looked, and there was indeed a tree there. Sol approached a few steps, but stopped in his tracks when she raised her bow, arrow nocked, and aimed at him. "Look, miss, we're trying to get to the sorceress's home. I've got business to tend to and these three are my escorts. If you let us by, and again on the return trip, I promise we won't bother you again."
The Elf lowered her bow. "You humans are untrustworthy. We Elves are better in every way. All you humans do is-"
Sol interrupted. "We don't need to hear a speech about how humans cut down forests and disrespect nature and all that. We need to pass."
The Elf put her hands on her hips and glared at him. "It's incredibly rude to interrupt someone when they're talking! If you can give me one good reason why I should let you pass, maybe I'll let you."
Amarantha walked up behind Sol and shoved him hard. His Featherweight spell was still in effect, which caused him to be sent flying right at the Elf. The spell expired right before he collided with her, knocking her to the ground and landing on top of her. Amarantha cruelly teased, "Maybe you can fuck your way out of this! That way, we could pass and you'd finally lose your virginity! Hahaha!"
When Sol and the Elf regained their bearings, they noticed that Sol had landed face-first in her cleavage. Without moving, he looked up at her and smiled nervously. "Uh, hi." She blushed and became angry.
She tried to push him off, but because he was a man, he was a little too heavy for her, her being a female Elf. "Get off me!"
He raised up, still straddling her legs. He was about to apologize, but her glanced at her belt and noticed the small loops used for potion vials, all four "slots" filled. She shrieked in fear as he grabbed one, apparently thinking he was trying to remove her belt. When she saw that he had taken one of her potions, she growled and reached for it. "Thief! Give that back!"
Sol got up and examined the potion as she stood up. He smiled proudly. She reached for the potion, but he held it above him, out of her reach. "Give it back!"
Sol put his hand on her shoulder and said, "Guess what."
The Elf stopped and gave him a questioning look. "What?"
Sol pointed at the potion label. "I made this. See? Here's my brand logo."
She looked close. "You? No way. You're the alchemist who made these?"
Sol handed the potion back to her. "I sure am. I've got an idea. Want to hear it?"
Curious, the Elf nodded. Sol continued, "How about you go talk to the elders who run your village? If you deal directly with me, I'll give you a discount. Sound good?"
She mulled over it for several seconds. "I think I will. If we can buy them cheaper, it'll help by allowing us to buy more, or other things when we need them. They'll probably want to talk to you themselves on your way back, though, so be ready for that. You are taking the same path back, correct?"
Sol nodded. "It's the only safe path I know of. I hope your elders decide to deal with me directly."
She gave him a pleasant smile. "These potions are great. Not only do they work good, they taste good, too. You all can pass."
Sol shook her hand. "Thank you, miss."
"No, thank you. Hurry back, okay?" She ran off back to the Elf village.
The rest of the way to the sorceress's house, Sol was smiling happily. The hero stepped up beside him. "How do Elves get your potions?"
Sol shrugged. "They probably have some kind of schedule where they send someone out with a shopping list, and that person has to go to cities or towns that are friendly with non-humans and monsters, or traveling merchants who will trade with them. That person would then buy everything they can and haul it all back to the village. Well, that's my guess, anyway. This way, they can come to the city, come directly to my shop, buy whatever they need, as long as I sell it, of course, and go back. With no necromancer in the cemetery, thus no more undead there, either, they should have no problems making it back and forth."
The hero thought about it. "I see. So how is it going to be better for you if you give them a discount?"
Sol smiled big. "It's like this, I sell the potions to merchants and stuff, they mark the price up and sell it for more than what they bought it for, which allows them to make a profit. If the Elves buy directly from me, it'll be cheaper for them and it'll give them incentive to buy more. The discount adds further incentive. With them doing frequent business with me, in the end I'll actually be making more money like that than from using some merchant as a middleman."
Zeraine laughed. "That's Sol for you. Always looking to jump on the opportunity to make more money."
The hero though for several seconds. "I don't get it."
Sol grinned. "I'm the businessman here, so I know what I'm talking about. Don't worry too much about it, kid. It doesn't concern you. ...I might even get a cute Elf for an employee!" He began laughing at the thought of being surrounded by good-looking female employees, although he was one of the few men in the world who found female lizardfolk attractive.
They finally arrived at the sorceress's house. Sol stopped everyone and turned around. "You guys wait here. I'll just be a few minutes." He approached the middle-aged woman who had stepped out onto the porch. After exchanging greetings, they entered the house.
Sol glanced over his shoulder. "I'm the only one who knows the way. If anything happens, I'll just get behind you, since I think you'd make a good shield."
The hero, not sure if Sol meant what he said, fell silent again. Another minute or so of walking later and the path was getting fairly small. Amarantha kept getting hung up on low-hanging branches. Tired of her noise, and worried they might attract unwanted attention with it, he stopped and turned around. "Zeraine, have your dragon return to her human form. She's making too much noise and she's too big to keep following us in that form."
Amarantha narrowed her eyes at Sol. "You said 'his dragon' again. Just what do you mean by that?"
Zeraine face-palmed. "Not now, you two! Ammie, if you think about it, we pretty much belong to each other, so stop getting worked up over it."
"Okay, fine." She reverted to human form, this time tying her hair in a swept-back long ponytail, using a ribbon from her pocket.
Sol arrogantly said, "Good. Now, if we didn't attract any attention with her excessive noise up to now, we should be fine."
Offended by his words, Amarantha ran at him. "Shut up! I've had enough of your shit for one day!"
Zeraine and the hero both reached out to try to stop her. They both shouted, "Hey!"
"Featherweight!" Sol cast a Featherweight spell to make his body light enough for him to jump over her kick, which was aimed at his knee. He jumped back a few times, putting some distance between himself and her. Zeraine restrained her by putting his arms around her from behind.
"Stop! Our lives are in danger out here and you two are still at it? Quit fucking around, both of you!"
Amarantha blushed when she noticed Zeraine's arms around her. She looked up at him, regained her composure, and said, "Fine. If he'll stop with his rude comments, I won't tear him a new ass. ...Prick talking like I'm someone's property... I'm a dragon for fuck's sake!"
The hero sighed and shook his head. "If we didn't know any better, we'd think you two were siblings."
Sol gave the hero a quizzical look. "What?"
The hero motioned to the two of them. "You two fight like brothers and sisters often do."
Sol shrugged it off. "Whatever. Let's keep moving." No sooner than he finished saying that, and arrow stuck through the folded-down hood on his robe. He noticed it and yelled, "What the hell!?" He ran over to the hero and grabbed him, pulling him in between himself and where the arrow came from.
The hero struggled a little. "What are you doing!?"
Sol jerked the hero into position. "Using you as a shield. What of it?"
He peeked out from behind the hero as a feminine voice sounded from behind a bush. "I missed..."
The hero shouted, "Come out!"
A female Elf stepped out from behind the bush.
Sol leaned out farther, getting a better look at the Elf. She had a nice, athletic build with nicely sized breasts and perfect thighs. Everything about her was beautiful, except for her face, which was very young-looking and cute. "Wow! She's cute!" he said quietly enough that he thought only the hero could hear, but the Elf blushed.
"Compliments won't get you out of trouble, human. You and your friends are making far too much noise. Even worse, you're intruding in our forest. Leave, or we'll be forced to deal with you."
Sol stepped out from behind the hero. "You say that, but you tried to shoot one of us with this arrow!" He pulled the arrow through his robe's hood and held it up. "Why try to kill at least one of us, then tell us to leave?"
"I was aiming for that tree, but I missed and almost got you. I wonder if you somehow attracted the arrow?" the Elf said in a mean yet joking manner.
Everyone glanced at where the Elf looked, and there was indeed a tree there. Sol approached a few steps, but stopped in his tracks when she raised her bow, arrow nocked, and aimed at him. "Look, miss, we're trying to get to the sorceress's home. I've got business to tend to and these three are my escorts. If you let us by, and again on the return trip, I promise we won't bother you again."
The Elf lowered her bow. "You humans are untrustworthy. We Elves are better in every way. All you humans do is-"
Sol interrupted. "We don't need to hear a speech about how humans cut down forests and disrespect nature and all that. We need to pass."
The Elf put her hands on her hips and glared at him. "It's incredibly rude to interrupt someone when they're talking! If you can give me one good reason why I should let you pass, maybe I'll let you."
Amarantha walked up behind Sol and shoved him hard. His Featherweight spell was still in effect, which caused him to be sent flying right at the Elf. The spell expired right before he collided with her, knocking her to the ground and landing on top of her. Amarantha cruelly teased, "Maybe you can fuck your way out of this! That way, we could pass and you'd finally lose your virginity! Hahaha!"
When Sol and the Elf regained their bearings, they noticed that Sol had landed face-first in her cleavage. Without moving, he looked up at her and smiled nervously. "Uh, hi." She blushed and became angry.
She tried to push him off, but because he was a man, he was a little too heavy for her, her being a female Elf. "Get off me!"
He raised up, still straddling her legs. He was about to apologize, but her glanced at her belt and noticed the small loops used for potion vials, all four "slots" filled. She shrieked in fear as he grabbed one, apparently thinking he was trying to remove her belt. When she saw that he had taken one of her potions, she growled and reached for it. "Thief! Give that back!"
Sol got up and examined the potion as she stood up. He smiled proudly. She reached for the potion, but he held it above him, out of her reach. "Give it back!"
Sol put his hand on her shoulder and said, "Guess what."
The Elf stopped and gave him a questioning look. "What?"
Sol pointed at the potion label. "I made this. See? Here's my brand logo."
She looked close. "You? No way. You're the alchemist who made these?"
Sol handed the potion back to her. "I sure am. I've got an idea. Want to hear it?"
Curious, the Elf nodded. Sol continued, "How about you go talk to the elders who run your village? If you deal directly with me, I'll give you a discount. Sound good?"
She mulled over it for several seconds. "I think I will. If we can buy them cheaper, it'll help by allowing us to buy more, or other things when we need them. They'll probably want to talk to you themselves on your way back, though, so be ready for that. You are taking the same path back, correct?"
Sol nodded. "It's the only safe path I know of. I hope your elders decide to deal with me directly."
She gave him a pleasant smile. "These potions are great. Not only do they work good, they taste good, too. You all can pass."
Sol shook her hand. "Thank you, miss."
"No, thank you. Hurry back, okay?" She ran off back to the Elf village.
The rest of the way to the sorceress's house, Sol was smiling happily. The hero stepped up beside him. "How do Elves get your potions?"
Sol shrugged. "They probably have some kind of schedule where they send someone out with a shopping list, and that person has to go to cities or towns that are friendly with non-humans and monsters, or traveling merchants who will trade with them. That person would then buy everything they can and haul it all back to the village. Well, that's my guess, anyway. This way, they can come to the city, come directly to my shop, buy whatever they need, as long as I sell it, of course, and go back. With no necromancer in the cemetery, thus no more undead there, either, they should have no problems making it back and forth."
The hero thought about it. "I see. So how is it going to be better for you if you give them a discount?"
Sol smiled big. "It's like this, I sell the potions to merchants and stuff, they mark the price up and sell it for more than what they bought it for, which allows them to make a profit. If the Elves buy directly from me, it'll be cheaper for them and it'll give them incentive to buy more. The discount adds further incentive. With them doing frequent business with me, in the end I'll actually be making more money like that than from using some merchant as a middleman."
Zeraine laughed. "That's Sol for you. Always looking to jump on the opportunity to make more money."
The hero though for several seconds. "I don't get it."
Sol grinned. "I'm the businessman here, so I know what I'm talking about. Don't worry too much about it, kid. It doesn't concern you. ...I might even get a cute Elf for an employee!" He began laughing at the thought of being surrounded by good-looking female employees, although he was one of the few men in the world who found female lizardfolk attractive.
They finally arrived at the sorceress's house. Sol stopped everyone and turned around. "You guys wait here. I'll just be a few minutes." He approached the middle-aged woman who had stepped out onto the porch. After exchanging greetings, they entered the house.
Chapter 12
Spoiler: show
After arriving at the city's main gate, the young succubus, still in disguise, asked the guard about a young man from The Order. The guard had directed her to Cartridge, the captain of the City Guard. He was still at the Guard Quarters, so she had no trouble finding him. Once she arrived and met him, he invited her to sit down at a table and have something to drink. She declined, only concerned with finding the man from The Order.
"Yeah, he's a good man. He got rid of some bandits, saving one of our citizens in the process. We had reward posters up for a while, but nobody did anything. Too busy living their own lives, I guess. Anyway, he killed the bandits and got the reward money. Why are you looking for him?"
Before the young succubus could answer, a pretty, somewhat young woman walked in and handed Cartridge a cup of coffee. "Here you go, dear."
"Thanks, Zoey." He patted her on the hip as she left.
The succubus replied, "I'm on a personal quest to get rid of the Demon Lord. I spoke with the Grandmaster of The Order and he told me he sent this man out on a similar mission. Personally, I think if he and I teamed up, we'd stand a much better chance of succeeding. We have the same goal, after all."
Cartridge sipped his coffee. "Good idea. Well, since you seem trustworthy enough, I'll tell you this. When he first arrived here, he told me about his mission from the Grandmaster. He asked me about where everything was in the city, and I gave him detailed directions. His first stop was most likely an inn, since he said his first priority was to secure a place to sleep for tonight. He mentioned that he'd need potions, so I would think that his next stop would be the magic shop. Pretty sure it's closed right now, though. It's kind of late. You could ask around at the inns and maybe find out which one he's staying at."
The succubus slowly exhaled. She thought to herself, "I hope this guy is worth all this trouble..."
She got up and thanked Cartridge, then headed for the inns. She found the inn the hero was staying at, but was told he wasn't there at the moment. She decided to wait until he returned.
Meanwhile...
Sol returned a few minutes later, carrying a large bag. He was happily humming. "Money, money, money..." he said in an almost singing tone.
Zeraine asked, "Did it go well?"
Sol nodded, adjusting the bag. "Yep! I got a lot of scrolls now, and a few rare ingredients, so I'm pretty damn happy. First thing tomorrow morning, I'm making potions out of these. After that, I'll put away these scrolls. Anyway, we're done here, so let's head back. I wonder, did that cute Elf girl convince her village's elders to buy direct?"
As they neared the spot where they met the Elf woman earlier, Sol moved over next to Amarantha. "Sorry for being such an ass earlier. I don't know what I said that set you off, but I'm sorry."
She nodded. "Then I'm sorry for making fun of you for still not having had a woman."
Sol sighed. "I'm almost at the point where I'll ignore the law and accept or pursue my two lovely employees."
The hero grimaced and covered his face. "Could we not talk about human-on-monster sex? It grosses me out."
When they got to the spot, a few arrows buried their heads into the trunks of the trees.
Sol put his hands on his hips and shook his head. "Really? Come on."
An elderly male Elf, surrounded by several younger male Elves stepped out. "I take it you're the one who sells the potions? Come, we have matters to discuss."
Zeraine turned to Sol. "You sure are popular all of a sudden."
Sol gave a smug, prideful grin. "Of course. I'm only the third-best alchemist in the world, and the only one who makes and sells the top stuff for a reasonable price." He followed the Elves.
As the rest of the party attempted to follow him, three of the Elves stopped them. One of them said, "I'm sorry, but we're only letting him in. I'm sure you understand our distrust toward The Order." The Elf pointed at the hero's armor.
A few minutes later, Sol returned. He gave friendly nods to the Elves, to which they responded with appreciative, yet not particularly friendly nods. The Elves left, and Sol resumed leading the party back out of the forest. Zeraine sped up to get beside him. "Well?"
Sol let out a small, proud laugh. "I've got a list of the goods they want. I'll fill the order and deliver it to them in the next day or so. After that, they and I will talk about some sort of biweekly visiting schedule."
"Did you hit on that Elf woman?"
"No. I didn't see her. Plus, it would have been bad for me if I did, so whatever. At least I've got more direct-buy customers now."
As they passed back through the cemetery, the hero asked, "Are you going to be alright on these trips?"
Sol scoffed. "Of course! We got rid of the necromancer, so if I have to travel back through this cemetery, my girls and I will be fine. I could probably still use my own personal Bag of Holding to carry the goods and fly here, leaving them to tend to the shop while I'm busy. I guess it depends on whether I want company on the trip or not." He shrugged.
They returned to the city without further chatting or incident. Sol started back toward his shop. "See you guys later! I might hire you again in the future."
The hero ran forward a few steps. "Wait! What about the stuff we bought?"
Sol said, "Come by the shop tomorrow. I'll have a gift ready for you as well as your stuff. Good night!" and jogged back to his shop.
Zeraine grabbed the hero by the shoulder. "Don't worry. He never screws anyone out of money. We can pick up the stuff tomorrow on our way out."
Amarantha grabbed Zeraine's hand. "It's time to go to our room and get some sleep." He followed her, and the hero followed him. As it turned out, they were staying at the same inn. Before they could comment or split up, someone called out to the hero from behind him.
"Excuse me, are you the man I've been looking for?"
The hero and party turned around and saw the young woman. The hero replied, "I don't know."
She pointed at his armor. "You are from The Order, are you not?"
He nodded. She continued, "The Grandmaster sent you to kill the Demon Lord, correct?"
He nodded again. "How did you know that?"
She said, "I spoke with him. I asked for assistance but he was unable to give any. He told me about you, and I thought it would be a good idea if we teamed up. We have the same goal, after all."
The hero asked, "Why do you want to kill the Demon Lord?"
"Because I hate his ways. Controlling a great many monsters, ordering or influencing them to kill humans? Appalling! Plus, the world is going to hell in a hand basket. The Order is being taken over by xenophobic zealots who want to kill anything that's not fully human, and any humans who associate with monsters. I believe that humans and monsters can coexist. If we get rid of the current Demon Lord, we'd be taking the first step toward a utopia."
"A utopia?"
"Yes. One in which there are no wars or discrimination. Humans and monsters will be able to live together in harmony. If I have my way, monsters will no longer kill or eat humans."
The hero looked astonished. Who was this woman? Her words and ideals were like music to his ears. "That sounds good. How are you going to get your way, though?"
She looked him in the eye. "First, we'll kill the Demon Lord. Then, we'll see how it goes from there."
The hero thought for a second. To him, it seemed like she didn't fully think this through, but it was a start. The Demon Lord had to go.
Amarantha, her and Zeraine having overheard the conversation, whispered to Zeraine, "That sounds like something worth fighting for. Don't you agree?"
Zeraine nodded. "Yeah, but let's let these two talk this out. I'm tired." He and Amarantha went to their room, leaving the hero and this beautiful young woman to talk things out.
The hero glanced at Zeraine and Amarantha leaving, then looked outside and noticed that it was dark and the moon was up. "As much as I'd like to hear your full plan, it's getting late. We'll have all day tomorrow for you to tell us, though, so let's get some rest. By the look of you, you're not from around here. Do you have a place to stay?"
She shook her head. "I just got here a couple of hours ago."
The hero thought for a moment. "My room is a double. There's two beds, and you're welcome to use one."
She smiled. "Thank you." They went off to the hero's room.
Having been familiarized with many types of armor, the hero was able to take his own armor off with little difficulty. He laid it in a neat pile next to the bed along with his sword and shield. Even though he had on a shirt and pants under his armor, the woman continued to watch him. He looked over at her. "What?"
She jumped slightly. "Oh, nothing. It's just... You've got a good build." She blushed, as did he.
"Thanks. Um... Good night." He laid down in his bed.
The woman took off her robe and set it on the nearby chair. She leaned her staff up in the corner of the room and took her boots off. She laid down in her bed, thinking about the hero. She rolled around a bit and found that the bed was a little noisy. She thought, "Damn. I found the hero, and he's hot! I'm not going to sneak into his bed, because I don't know if he's 'the one' yet. ...The more I think about his body, the more aroused I get, and I can't do anything because this bed's too noisy! Damn it!"
She finally managed to calm down enough to sleep.
"Yeah, he's a good man. He got rid of some bandits, saving one of our citizens in the process. We had reward posters up for a while, but nobody did anything. Too busy living their own lives, I guess. Anyway, he killed the bandits and got the reward money. Why are you looking for him?"
Before the young succubus could answer, a pretty, somewhat young woman walked in and handed Cartridge a cup of coffee. "Here you go, dear."
"Thanks, Zoey." He patted her on the hip as she left.
The succubus replied, "I'm on a personal quest to get rid of the Demon Lord. I spoke with the Grandmaster of The Order and he told me he sent this man out on a similar mission. Personally, I think if he and I teamed up, we'd stand a much better chance of succeeding. We have the same goal, after all."
Cartridge sipped his coffee. "Good idea. Well, since you seem trustworthy enough, I'll tell you this. When he first arrived here, he told me about his mission from the Grandmaster. He asked me about where everything was in the city, and I gave him detailed directions. His first stop was most likely an inn, since he said his first priority was to secure a place to sleep for tonight. He mentioned that he'd need potions, so I would think that his next stop would be the magic shop. Pretty sure it's closed right now, though. It's kind of late. You could ask around at the inns and maybe find out which one he's staying at."
The succubus slowly exhaled. She thought to herself, "I hope this guy is worth all this trouble..."
She got up and thanked Cartridge, then headed for the inns. She found the inn the hero was staying at, but was told he wasn't there at the moment. She decided to wait until he returned.
Meanwhile...
Sol returned a few minutes later, carrying a large bag. He was happily humming. "Money, money, money..." he said in an almost singing tone.
Zeraine asked, "Did it go well?"
Sol nodded, adjusting the bag. "Yep! I got a lot of scrolls now, and a few rare ingredients, so I'm pretty damn happy. First thing tomorrow morning, I'm making potions out of these. After that, I'll put away these scrolls. Anyway, we're done here, so let's head back. I wonder, did that cute Elf girl convince her village's elders to buy direct?"
As they neared the spot where they met the Elf woman earlier, Sol moved over next to Amarantha. "Sorry for being such an ass earlier. I don't know what I said that set you off, but I'm sorry."
She nodded. "Then I'm sorry for making fun of you for still not having had a woman."
Sol sighed. "I'm almost at the point where I'll ignore the law and accept or pursue my two lovely employees."
The hero grimaced and covered his face. "Could we not talk about human-on-monster sex? It grosses me out."
When they got to the spot, a few arrows buried their heads into the trunks of the trees.
Sol put his hands on his hips and shook his head. "Really? Come on."
An elderly male Elf, surrounded by several younger male Elves stepped out. "I take it you're the one who sells the potions? Come, we have matters to discuss."
Zeraine turned to Sol. "You sure are popular all of a sudden."
Sol gave a smug, prideful grin. "Of course. I'm only the third-best alchemist in the world, and the only one who makes and sells the top stuff for a reasonable price." He followed the Elves.
As the rest of the party attempted to follow him, three of the Elves stopped them. One of them said, "I'm sorry, but we're only letting him in. I'm sure you understand our distrust toward The Order." The Elf pointed at the hero's armor.
A few minutes later, Sol returned. He gave friendly nods to the Elves, to which they responded with appreciative, yet not particularly friendly nods. The Elves left, and Sol resumed leading the party back out of the forest. Zeraine sped up to get beside him. "Well?"
Sol let out a small, proud laugh. "I've got a list of the goods they want. I'll fill the order and deliver it to them in the next day or so. After that, they and I will talk about some sort of biweekly visiting schedule."
"Did you hit on that Elf woman?"
"No. I didn't see her. Plus, it would have been bad for me if I did, so whatever. At least I've got more direct-buy customers now."
As they passed back through the cemetery, the hero asked, "Are you going to be alright on these trips?"
Sol scoffed. "Of course! We got rid of the necromancer, so if I have to travel back through this cemetery, my girls and I will be fine. I could probably still use my own personal Bag of Holding to carry the goods and fly here, leaving them to tend to the shop while I'm busy. I guess it depends on whether I want company on the trip or not." He shrugged.
They returned to the city without further chatting or incident. Sol started back toward his shop. "See you guys later! I might hire you again in the future."
The hero ran forward a few steps. "Wait! What about the stuff we bought?"
Sol said, "Come by the shop tomorrow. I'll have a gift ready for you as well as your stuff. Good night!" and jogged back to his shop.
Zeraine grabbed the hero by the shoulder. "Don't worry. He never screws anyone out of money. We can pick up the stuff tomorrow on our way out."
Amarantha grabbed Zeraine's hand. "It's time to go to our room and get some sleep." He followed her, and the hero followed him. As it turned out, they were staying at the same inn. Before they could comment or split up, someone called out to the hero from behind him.
"Excuse me, are you the man I've been looking for?"
The hero and party turned around and saw the young woman. The hero replied, "I don't know."
She pointed at his armor. "You are from The Order, are you not?"
He nodded. She continued, "The Grandmaster sent you to kill the Demon Lord, correct?"
He nodded again. "How did you know that?"
She said, "I spoke with him. I asked for assistance but he was unable to give any. He told me about you, and I thought it would be a good idea if we teamed up. We have the same goal, after all."
The hero asked, "Why do you want to kill the Demon Lord?"
"Because I hate his ways. Controlling a great many monsters, ordering or influencing them to kill humans? Appalling! Plus, the world is going to hell in a hand basket. The Order is being taken over by xenophobic zealots who want to kill anything that's not fully human, and any humans who associate with monsters. I believe that humans and monsters can coexist. If we get rid of the current Demon Lord, we'd be taking the first step toward a utopia."
"A utopia?"
"Yes. One in which there are no wars or discrimination. Humans and monsters will be able to live together in harmony. If I have my way, monsters will no longer kill or eat humans."
The hero looked astonished. Who was this woman? Her words and ideals were like music to his ears. "That sounds good. How are you going to get your way, though?"
She looked him in the eye. "First, we'll kill the Demon Lord. Then, we'll see how it goes from there."
The hero thought for a second. To him, it seemed like she didn't fully think this through, but it was a start. The Demon Lord had to go.
Amarantha, her and Zeraine having overheard the conversation, whispered to Zeraine, "That sounds like something worth fighting for. Don't you agree?"
Zeraine nodded. "Yeah, but let's let these two talk this out. I'm tired." He and Amarantha went to their room, leaving the hero and this beautiful young woman to talk things out.
The hero glanced at Zeraine and Amarantha leaving, then looked outside and noticed that it was dark and the moon was up. "As much as I'd like to hear your full plan, it's getting late. We'll have all day tomorrow for you to tell us, though, so let's get some rest. By the look of you, you're not from around here. Do you have a place to stay?"
She shook her head. "I just got here a couple of hours ago."
The hero thought for a moment. "My room is a double. There's two beds, and you're welcome to use one."
She smiled. "Thank you." They went off to the hero's room.
Having been familiarized with many types of armor, the hero was able to take his own armor off with little difficulty. He laid it in a neat pile next to the bed along with his sword and shield. Even though he had on a shirt and pants under his armor, the woman continued to watch him. He looked over at her. "What?"
She jumped slightly. "Oh, nothing. It's just... You've got a good build." She blushed, as did he.
"Thanks. Um... Good night." He laid down in his bed.
The woman took off her robe and set it on the nearby chair. She leaned her staff up in the corner of the room and took her boots off. She laid down in her bed, thinking about the hero. She rolled around a bit and found that the bed was a little noisy. She thought, "Damn. I found the hero, and he's hot! I'm not going to sneak into his bed, because I don't know if he's 'the one' yet. ...The more I think about his body, the more aroused I get, and I can't do anything because this bed's too noisy! Damn it!"
She finally managed to calm down enough to sleep.
Chapter 13
Spoiler: show
The next morning, the hero got up, put on his armor and weapon, and fixed his bed-head back into a crew cut. He looked around the room to make sure he wasn't forgetting anything, and noticed the young woman. "Huh?" Then, he remembered meeting her and offering to share his room. "Oh. Right." He walked over to her and leaned over, placing his hand on her shoulder. "Miss? Wake up. It's time to go." He gently shook her.
She groaned and sleepily said, "Let me sleep a little longer..."
He shook her a little more forcefully. "I'm sorry, but we have to go. Get up and get dressed."
She sat up and rubbed her eyes. "I'm already dressed." She yawned and got out of bed, showing that she had slept with her clothes on. She put her boots on, then grabbed her robe, satchel, and staff. She looked in the mirror. "My hair's a mess... Hey, Order guy, can you help me brush my hair?"
He was taken aback by her request, but he agreed. "Sure, I guess."
She stood in front of the mirror and handed him her hair brush, watching as he brushed her hair. She thought, "He's good looking and kind. Very promising..." When he finished, she thanked him and put her hair brush back in her satchel. She put her robe on, then the satchel. "We ready to go?"
The hero nodded. "We've got to go get Zeraine and Amarantha, then go to the magic shop to pick up some stuff we bought yesterday. The owner said he'd also have a present for us."
The woman grabbed his shoulder and said, "Hold on a minute. You bought some stuff yesterday and left it at the store?"
He looked at her, unable to not notice her beauty. "Uh, yeah. Zeraine said the guy is trustworthy, so I didn't push for anything. Let's go." He turned and walked to the door, opening it for her.
She walked out the door and he followed, closing it behind them. In the hall, they saw Zeraine and Amarantha, the two of them having just left their room. They approached each other. The hero waved. "Good morning, guys."
Zeraine, smiling, said, "Same to you. Come here for a second..." He dragged the hero off around the corner. "So, did you two have a good time last night?"
The hero looked confused. "What do you mean?"
Zeraine chuckled. "Come on, man! You and that beauty shared a room. Don't tell me you didn't nail her."
The hero finally realized what he meant and his face turned red. "No, we did no such thing! There were separate beds and we each used one!"
Zeraine looked astonished. "You're not gay, are you?"
The hero glared at him. "Hell no! It's just that I have preferences! I'm not going to do that with a woman I don't even know! Sure, she's incredibly attractive, but looks aren't everything. Our personalities have to be compatible and-"
Zeraine stopped him. "I get it, kid. I respect that. Now, let's see what kind of present Sol has for us."
During that time, a similar conversation occurred between Amarantha and the woman.
Amarantha gave a partly perverted, partly teasing grin and asked, "Well, did you sleep well?"
The woman replied, "Sort of. I had trouble getting to sleep, but I guess I slept good."
Amarantha giggled. "Was he good?"
The woman blushed. "What!?"
"Come on, you did it with him, didn't you?"
Her face got redder. "No! He's promising, but I don't know if he's 'the one', you understand?"
Amarantha sighed, her fun having been abruptly stopped. "Well, I understand what you mean. I'm pretty much the same way, actually."
The woman's face returned to its normal color. "So what about that Zeraine guy? Is he your man?"
Amarantha frowned sadly. "I've tried to get him to make the first move, but he never does anything. That might be because I'm a dragon, and that this isn't my true form. I guess he's not into inter-species stuff."
The woman gave Amarantha a wide-eyed surprised look. "You're a dragon?"
"Yes. Specifically, I'm a silver dragon."
"Wow. How did you two meet?" As the woman finished asking the question, the hero and Zeraine returned, the hero obviously flustered and avoiding looking at the young woman.
Amarantha glanced at them. "I'll tell you later."
Zeraine said, "Alright, ladies, let's head for the magic shop."
They checked out of the inn and went to the magic shop. As they entered, they found Sol and Hilda on the floor, Hilda having him in an arm lock.
"Ow! Let go, Hilda, we have customers!"
"Tap out, then."
"I'm trying, but you have me in such a position that I can't reach anything to tap out on!"
Hilda brought her tail around to his hand. "Better?"
He tapped out, using her tail as something to tap on. "Yes. Much." He got up and rubbed his shoulder. He noticed the hero and party. "Hey guys. Welcome back. I've got your stuff in the back. Let me go get it." He left the room, leaving Hilda there, obviously somewhat disappointed, her tail flames dying down. Moments later, he returned with the Bag of Holding the bought yesterday, and three crystals. "Your potions and scrolls are in the bag. You guys can divide them up amongst yourselves later. These are what I was referring to when I mentioned a gift. These crystals will allow you to communicate with me from almost anywhere. As long as you're not in a battle or some other dangerous area, I can teleport to your location to sell you potions when you need them. Note that since you are going to be traveling around, I'm not going to have a constant fix on your location, thus I'll have to track you down through the combination of those crystals and my scrying orb. Once I've found you, I can then teleport there with the potions you want to buy. The whole process will probably take minutes, too, so be mindful of that. I could probably find you faster if you tell me where you are when you contact me, rather than make me use a world-wide search spell to find you. Also remember that there might be some places with barriers that can block me out. In some cases I might not be able to teleport there, in others I might not be able to sense the crystals, but will still be able to teleport to the general area, and in other cases, you might not even be able to contact me. Try not to rely on it too much, but be sure to buy from me often, okay?" He grinned, thinking about the money.
He walked over to them and handed one crystal to Amarantha, one to Zeraine, and the last to the hero. He sensed something as he stepped closer to the unfamiliar young woman. "Nice to meet you. I'm Sol, owner and operator of this establishment."
The young woman shook his hand. "You a mage?"
He feigned ignorance to his confirmation and replied, "Yes. I'm your average mage, but I'm the third best alchemist in the world. Judging by to look of you and my own instinct, you are also a mage. I'm guessing that you joined these guys as the party's mage in your collective quest to kill the Demon Lord, am I right?"
She nodded. "I hope you don't have any problem with that."
"Not at all. He's potentially bad for business. I can't do any business with Dullahans because the biggest majority of them are evil, human-hating soldiers, or at least 'punch-clock bad guys', in the Demon Lord's army. I wonder what kind of potions they'd buy..."
"Probably the usual stuff for regenerating, restoring magic energy, restoring stamina, enhancing strength and stuff."
"Mhmm. Now..." He cast a temporary enchantment on his glasses and looked at her, getting a final confirmation. He then cast Dispel on her. "Just as I thought."
Her disguise broken, horns and red eyes in full view, she looked in fear at the hero and party.
Sol crossed his arms. "I don't much like disguises, but I understand yours, since you're a succubus."
The hero looked at her, his eyes wide, partly from her true beauty, partly from her having fooled him so far. "You're a succubus?"
She very slightly relaxed. "Yes."
"Why exactly do you want the Demon Lord dead?"
"Because he's a problem for everyone. We succubi have to obey him or face one of two punishments. We're either exiled or we're killed, and the latter happens much more often than the former. I was exiled for constantly rebelling and disobeying. I have some friends who like the idea of humans and monsters living in peace. Some of them have human men in their 'captivity', and they treat them as you'd expect someone to treat the man they love. Due to the Demon Lord's rules and mindset, though, they only treat them that good in private where they can get away with it. In public, they're forced to treat them like slaves and neither they nor their men like it. I'm almost willing to bet that if it hadn't been for the Demon Lord, The Order would have either never been formed, or it wouldn't have began to fall to corruption."
The hero gave a sympathetic nod. "You realize that even if it weren't for him, there'd still be unintelligent monsters that'd attack and prey on humans, right?"
"If someone powerful enough stepped up, they could change that. All monsters would have some level of intelligence, and they'd be capable of communicating with humans."
"And who would be this powerful person to step up after the Demon Lord is gone?"
"I don't know. If I could get powerful enough, I'd do it."
The hero, Zeraine, and Amarantha looked at each other and shrugged.
Sol clapped his hands together. "Well, before you guy get on your journey, which now seems to affect me, do you have a Bag of Holding for yourself, succubus?"
She shook her head.
"Well, I guess you'll have to share his until either you find one somewhere, or until I get another one in stock." he said, pointing at the hero. "Do you guys know how to get there?"
The succubus tapped the floor with her staff. "I know the way. We're going to need more than just the four of us, though."
"Good that you realize that. If you can get more help from the not-corrupted parts of The Order, you might stand a chance."
The succubus nodded. Victoria entered the room holding Sol's robe. "What happened?" she asked, showing the hole in the hood.
"Ah, just an Elf that apparently wasn't too good with her bow. She meant to hit the tree near us, but put that hole in my robe instead. I'm fine, don't worry."
Victoria gave him a stern look and took his robe back to the back room. Hilda asked, "What this about an Elf shooting at you?"
Sol put his hands up. "Calm down. Like I said, I'm fine. I'll tell you two about it later. Now go make sure that we have the stuff to fill the Elf village's order."
The succubus, having closely watched the exchange, said, "Hey, shopkeep, can I talk to you in private for a minute?"
Sol shrugged. "Sure. What about?" He stepped outside, motioning for her to follow. She recast her disguise and followed him outside.
Zeraine said, "Well, while they're chatting, we might as well divide up the gear. She'll probably need the mana potions the most, since she's a mage. I guess that means that she gets two-thirds of them and I get the rest. For healing potions, I guess you, me, and Ammie will get the most, since we'll be doing the most melee fighting..." The hero and party continued dividing up the gear while the succubus and Sol were talking outside.
The succubus said, "It looks like you and those lizards care for each other quite a bit."
"Yep. I couldn't run my shop without them."
"I mean that there seems to be some strong feelings between you and them. Do you love them?"
Sol's face got slightly red. "Yeah. They're precious to me for more reasons than just the fact that they are essential for my business."
"I take it that most men don't find lizardfolk attractive. You apparently do, right?"
"Yeah. If it weren't illegal for me to 'do stuff' with my employees, I'd be wearing them out every night. Of course, I'm a pervert who finds lizardfolk attractive, so that combined with the emotional bonds between us makes it a no-brainer. Why?"
"How would you feel if they were a bit more human?"
"How do you mean?"
"Well, let's say they had the skin of a human from just below their knees all the way up, from just below their elbows on up, and the entirety of their torsos and heads were human-skin-covered? They'd still have the scales on their lower legs and forearms, their claws, their tails, and the ear-fins. It's just that they'd have bodies more human-like, they'd be able to breed with human men, and they'd have boobs and smooth asses."
"Since you're a mage, can you show me some kind of example? I'm trying to imagine it, but I don't know if I'm seeing what you envision."
"Of course." She conjured a small ball of light, and formed the images within it. "Your Victoria would look like this, and your Hilda would look like this." She showed him the two images in the ball of light, highlighting each one as she mentioned Victoria and Hilda, showing the general example of her idea of how Lizardmen and salamanders should look.
"Whoa... I think you just made me love them even more. Should I try to look at sneaking in some 'fun' with them before you succeed, so I can say that I banged the before and after?"
"If that's what you want to do. I'm certain it'll be better for you and them after, though."
"That gives us something to look forward to, then, doesn't it? Anyway, you have my support, even if it's based entirely on selfish, personal reasons."
Having found a supporter of her plan, she smiled triumphantly and dissipated the ball of light. She went back in and he followed. Upon entering, Sol returned to the counter and sat on the stool behind it. He looked at Hilda and Victoria, imagining them in the appearances the succubus showed him. He smiled. Hilda noticed him staring and smiled. "What, boss? Want some?" She shook her hips.
"It's against the law, stupid." he replied, looking away.
She walked up and put her arm around him. "You're still getting some from us in your fantasies, right?"
Without responding, his face went a little red. She gave him a perverted grin. "Are you doing us one at a time, or is it a threesome? What position do you have me in?"
Sol paused for a moment. "Standing on one leg, back pressed against the wall, your other leg over my shoulder."
She laughed. "How naughty, boss!" She tried to kiss him, but he tried to get away before anything could happen. This caused him to fall off the stool. She quickly jumped on him and pinned him down. "And where's Victoria?"
Unable to get out of her grip, he sighed and answered. "Laying on the floor, exhausted from her turn."
Hilda licked him on the neck with her forked tongue and felt of his body, stopping at his groin. "Why don't we relieve you, hmm?"
He teleported across the room. "I'm sorry, but we can't do that. Not yet, anyway..."
She stood up, disappointed. The succubus, who had watched the whole thing, complained, "Aw! Why'd you stop?"
The hero turned away, knowing what she was talking about. "Can we go now?"
Zeraine said, "Hey, Sol. What about a crystal for her?" he said, motioning to the succubus.
"I'll go get one. Be right back." Sol left the room for a moment, then returned with another crystal and handed it to the succubus. "You heard the explanation earlier, so you should know what it does. Since you're a mage, you should know how to use it. I'm sure Zeraine and Amarantha know how to use them, so the only person you should have to show is the kid from The Order."
Amarantha smiled at Sol. "Good luck with those two. If you're discreet, you might be able to get away with it."
"Yeah, yeah. Don't forget to talk to Cartridge about the cemetery and that necromancer."
The hero asked, "You don't want part of the possible reward money?"
"Nope. Don't need it. You guys will probably need it pretty badly, though, since you'll have travel expenses, food, weapon and armor repair... I could go on, but you'd be here well into the afternoon, probably."
The hero and party left the magic shop.
She groaned and sleepily said, "Let me sleep a little longer..."
He shook her a little more forcefully. "I'm sorry, but we have to go. Get up and get dressed."
She sat up and rubbed her eyes. "I'm already dressed." She yawned and got out of bed, showing that she had slept with her clothes on. She put her boots on, then grabbed her robe, satchel, and staff. She looked in the mirror. "My hair's a mess... Hey, Order guy, can you help me brush my hair?"
He was taken aback by her request, but he agreed. "Sure, I guess."
She stood in front of the mirror and handed him her hair brush, watching as he brushed her hair. She thought, "He's good looking and kind. Very promising..." When he finished, she thanked him and put her hair brush back in her satchel. She put her robe on, then the satchel. "We ready to go?"
The hero nodded. "We've got to go get Zeraine and Amarantha, then go to the magic shop to pick up some stuff we bought yesterday. The owner said he'd also have a present for us."
The woman grabbed his shoulder and said, "Hold on a minute. You bought some stuff yesterday and left it at the store?"
He looked at her, unable to not notice her beauty. "Uh, yeah. Zeraine said the guy is trustworthy, so I didn't push for anything. Let's go." He turned and walked to the door, opening it for her.
She walked out the door and he followed, closing it behind them. In the hall, they saw Zeraine and Amarantha, the two of them having just left their room. They approached each other. The hero waved. "Good morning, guys."
Zeraine, smiling, said, "Same to you. Come here for a second..." He dragged the hero off around the corner. "So, did you two have a good time last night?"
The hero looked confused. "What do you mean?"
Zeraine chuckled. "Come on, man! You and that beauty shared a room. Don't tell me you didn't nail her."
The hero finally realized what he meant and his face turned red. "No, we did no such thing! There were separate beds and we each used one!"
Zeraine looked astonished. "You're not gay, are you?"
The hero glared at him. "Hell no! It's just that I have preferences! I'm not going to do that with a woman I don't even know! Sure, she's incredibly attractive, but looks aren't everything. Our personalities have to be compatible and-"
Zeraine stopped him. "I get it, kid. I respect that. Now, let's see what kind of present Sol has for us."
During that time, a similar conversation occurred between Amarantha and the woman.
Amarantha gave a partly perverted, partly teasing grin and asked, "Well, did you sleep well?"
The woman replied, "Sort of. I had trouble getting to sleep, but I guess I slept good."
Amarantha giggled. "Was he good?"
The woman blushed. "What!?"
"Come on, you did it with him, didn't you?"
Her face got redder. "No! He's promising, but I don't know if he's 'the one', you understand?"
Amarantha sighed, her fun having been abruptly stopped. "Well, I understand what you mean. I'm pretty much the same way, actually."
The woman's face returned to its normal color. "So what about that Zeraine guy? Is he your man?"
Amarantha frowned sadly. "I've tried to get him to make the first move, but he never does anything. That might be because I'm a dragon, and that this isn't my true form. I guess he's not into inter-species stuff."
The woman gave Amarantha a wide-eyed surprised look. "You're a dragon?"
"Yes. Specifically, I'm a silver dragon."
"Wow. How did you two meet?" As the woman finished asking the question, the hero and Zeraine returned, the hero obviously flustered and avoiding looking at the young woman.
Amarantha glanced at them. "I'll tell you later."
Zeraine said, "Alright, ladies, let's head for the magic shop."
They checked out of the inn and went to the magic shop. As they entered, they found Sol and Hilda on the floor, Hilda having him in an arm lock.
"Ow! Let go, Hilda, we have customers!"
"Tap out, then."
"I'm trying, but you have me in such a position that I can't reach anything to tap out on!"
Hilda brought her tail around to his hand. "Better?"
He tapped out, using her tail as something to tap on. "Yes. Much." He got up and rubbed his shoulder. He noticed the hero and party. "Hey guys. Welcome back. I've got your stuff in the back. Let me go get it." He left the room, leaving Hilda there, obviously somewhat disappointed, her tail flames dying down. Moments later, he returned with the Bag of Holding the bought yesterday, and three crystals. "Your potions and scrolls are in the bag. You guys can divide them up amongst yourselves later. These are what I was referring to when I mentioned a gift. These crystals will allow you to communicate with me from almost anywhere. As long as you're not in a battle or some other dangerous area, I can teleport to your location to sell you potions when you need them. Note that since you are going to be traveling around, I'm not going to have a constant fix on your location, thus I'll have to track you down through the combination of those crystals and my scrying orb. Once I've found you, I can then teleport there with the potions you want to buy. The whole process will probably take minutes, too, so be mindful of that. I could probably find you faster if you tell me where you are when you contact me, rather than make me use a world-wide search spell to find you. Also remember that there might be some places with barriers that can block me out. In some cases I might not be able to teleport there, in others I might not be able to sense the crystals, but will still be able to teleport to the general area, and in other cases, you might not even be able to contact me. Try not to rely on it too much, but be sure to buy from me often, okay?" He grinned, thinking about the money.
He walked over to them and handed one crystal to Amarantha, one to Zeraine, and the last to the hero. He sensed something as he stepped closer to the unfamiliar young woman. "Nice to meet you. I'm Sol, owner and operator of this establishment."
The young woman shook his hand. "You a mage?"
He feigned ignorance to his confirmation and replied, "Yes. I'm your average mage, but I'm the third best alchemist in the world. Judging by to look of you and my own instinct, you are also a mage. I'm guessing that you joined these guys as the party's mage in your collective quest to kill the Demon Lord, am I right?"
She nodded. "I hope you don't have any problem with that."
"Not at all. He's potentially bad for business. I can't do any business with Dullahans because the biggest majority of them are evil, human-hating soldiers, or at least 'punch-clock bad guys', in the Demon Lord's army. I wonder what kind of potions they'd buy..."
"Probably the usual stuff for regenerating, restoring magic energy, restoring stamina, enhancing strength and stuff."
"Mhmm. Now..." He cast a temporary enchantment on his glasses and looked at her, getting a final confirmation. He then cast Dispel on her. "Just as I thought."
Her disguise broken, horns and red eyes in full view, she looked in fear at the hero and party.
Sol crossed his arms. "I don't much like disguises, but I understand yours, since you're a succubus."
The hero looked at her, his eyes wide, partly from her true beauty, partly from her having fooled him so far. "You're a succubus?"
She very slightly relaxed. "Yes."
"Why exactly do you want the Demon Lord dead?"
"Because he's a problem for everyone. We succubi have to obey him or face one of two punishments. We're either exiled or we're killed, and the latter happens much more often than the former. I was exiled for constantly rebelling and disobeying. I have some friends who like the idea of humans and monsters living in peace. Some of them have human men in their 'captivity', and they treat them as you'd expect someone to treat the man they love. Due to the Demon Lord's rules and mindset, though, they only treat them that good in private where they can get away with it. In public, they're forced to treat them like slaves and neither they nor their men like it. I'm almost willing to bet that if it hadn't been for the Demon Lord, The Order would have either never been formed, or it wouldn't have began to fall to corruption."
The hero gave a sympathetic nod. "You realize that even if it weren't for him, there'd still be unintelligent monsters that'd attack and prey on humans, right?"
"If someone powerful enough stepped up, they could change that. All monsters would have some level of intelligence, and they'd be capable of communicating with humans."
"And who would be this powerful person to step up after the Demon Lord is gone?"
"I don't know. If I could get powerful enough, I'd do it."
The hero, Zeraine, and Amarantha looked at each other and shrugged.
Sol clapped his hands together. "Well, before you guy get on your journey, which now seems to affect me, do you have a Bag of Holding for yourself, succubus?"
She shook her head.
"Well, I guess you'll have to share his until either you find one somewhere, or until I get another one in stock." he said, pointing at the hero. "Do you guys know how to get there?"
The succubus tapped the floor with her staff. "I know the way. We're going to need more than just the four of us, though."
"Good that you realize that. If you can get more help from the not-corrupted parts of The Order, you might stand a chance."
The succubus nodded. Victoria entered the room holding Sol's robe. "What happened?" she asked, showing the hole in the hood.
"Ah, just an Elf that apparently wasn't too good with her bow. She meant to hit the tree near us, but put that hole in my robe instead. I'm fine, don't worry."
Victoria gave him a stern look and took his robe back to the back room. Hilda asked, "What this about an Elf shooting at you?"
Sol put his hands up. "Calm down. Like I said, I'm fine. I'll tell you two about it later. Now go make sure that we have the stuff to fill the Elf village's order."
The succubus, having closely watched the exchange, said, "Hey, shopkeep, can I talk to you in private for a minute?"
Sol shrugged. "Sure. What about?" He stepped outside, motioning for her to follow. She recast her disguise and followed him outside.
Zeraine said, "Well, while they're chatting, we might as well divide up the gear. She'll probably need the mana potions the most, since she's a mage. I guess that means that she gets two-thirds of them and I get the rest. For healing potions, I guess you, me, and Ammie will get the most, since we'll be doing the most melee fighting..." The hero and party continued dividing up the gear while the succubus and Sol were talking outside.
The succubus said, "It looks like you and those lizards care for each other quite a bit."
"Yep. I couldn't run my shop without them."
"I mean that there seems to be some strong feelings between you and them. Do you love them?"
Sol's face got slightly red. "Yeah. They're precious to me for more reasons than just the fact that they are essential for my business."
"I take it that most men don't find lizardfolk attractive. You apparently do, right?"
"Yeah. If it weren't illegal for me to 'do stuff' with my employees, I'd be wearing them out every night. Of course, I'm a pervert who finds lizardfolk attractive, so that combined with the emotional bonds between us makes it a no-brainer. Why?"
"How would you feel if they were a bit more human?"
"How do you mean?"
"Well, let's say they had the skin of a human from just below their knees all the way up, from just below their elbows on up, and the entirety of their torsos and heads were human-skin-covered? They'd still have the scales on their lower legs and forearms, their claws, their tails, and the ear-fins. It's just that they'd have bodies more human-like, they'd be able to breed with human men, and they'd have boobs and smooth asses."
"Since you're a mage, can you show me some kind of example? I'm trying to imagine it, but I don't know if I'm seeing what you envision."
"Of course." She conjured a small ball of light, and formed the images within it. "Your Victoria would look like this, and your Hilda would look like this." She showed him the two images in the ball of light, highlighting each one as she mentioned Victoria and Hilda, showing the general example of her idea of how Lizardmen and salamanders should look.
"Whoa... I think you just made me love them even more. Should I try to look at sneaking in some 'fun' with them before you succeed, so I can say that I banged the before and after?"
"If that's what you want to do. I'm certain it'll be better for you and them after, though."
"That gives us something to look forward to, then, doesn't it? Anyway, you have my support, even if it's based entirely on selfish, personal reasons."
Having found a supporter of her plan, she smiled triumphantly and dissipated the ball of light. She went back in and he followed. Upon entering, Sol returned to the counter and sat on the stool behind it. He looked at Hilda and Victoria, imagining them in the appearances the succubus showed him. He smiled. Hilda noticed him staring and smiled. "What, boss? Want some?" She shook her hips.
"It's against the law, stupid." he replied, looking away.
She walked up and put her arm around him. "You're still getting some from us in your fantasies, right?"
Without responding, his face went a little red. She gave him a perverted grin. "Are you doing us one at a time, or is it a threesome? What position do you have me in?"
Sol paused for a moment. "Standing on one leg, back pressed against the wall, your other leg over my shoulder."
She laughed. "How naughty, boss!" She tried to kiss him, but he tried to get away before anything could happen. This caused him to fall off the stool. She quickly jumped on him and pinned him down. "And where's Victoria?"
Unable to get out of her grip, he sighed and answered. "Laying on the floor, exhausted from her turn."
Hilda licked him on the neck with her forked tongue and felt of his body, stopping at his groin. "Why don't we relieve you, hmm?"
He teleported across the room. "I'm sorry, but we can't do that. Not yet, anyway..."
She stood up, disappointed. The succubus, who had watched the whole thing, complained, "Aw! Why'd you stop?"
The hero turned away, knowing what she was talking about. "Can we go now?"
Zeraine said, "Hey, Sol. What about a crystal for her?" he said, motioning to the succubus.
"I'll go get one. Be right back." Sol left the room for a moment, then returned with another crystal and handed it to the succubus. "You heard the explanation earlier, so you should know what it does. Since you're a mage, you should know how to use it. I'm sure Zeraine and Amarantha know how to use them, so the only person you should have to show is the kid from The Order."
Amarantha smiled at Sol. "Good luck with those two. If you're discreet, you might be able to get away with it."
"Yeah, yeah. Don't forget to talk to Cartridge about the cemetery and that necromancer."
The hero asked, "You don't want part of the possible reward money?"
"Nope. Don't need it. You guys will probably need it pretty badly, though, since you'll have travel expenses, food, weapon and armor repair... I could go on, but you'd be here well into the afternoon, probably."
The hero and party left the magic shop.
Chapter 14
Spoiler: show
As they walked to the Guard Quarters, the young succubus, disguised as a young woman, kept fantasizing about continuations of what she had just seen. She imagined the magic shop owner, Sol, having wild, passionate sex with his two employees, Hilda, the salamander, and Victoria, the Lizardman. She was snapped out of it when the hero called out to her.
"Hey. Hey! Wake up! Whatever you're thinking about, stop. You're walking around with a perverted smile."
"Sorry."
When they arrived, they found Cartridge getting out of his armor with some help from his wife, Zoey. He greeted them. "Hey, you're back again. I see the little lady over there found you, kid."
The hero glanced at the succubus and nodded. "Yeah. Right after we got back from an escort mission of sorts and got to the inn, she was there waiting. We've finally got a mage, and all four of us have the same goal. Teaming up was the obvious choice."
Cartridge, now out of his armor, rubbed his forearms and nodded. "True. So, since you're probably not here to chat, tell me what's up."
The succubus had been observing Zoey. She didn't quite know why, but she attributed catlike qualities to her. She approached Zoey. "Can we talk in private for a bit?"
Zoey was a little surprised, but she agreed. "Sure, follow me." Zoey led the succubus into the kitchen area.
Once there, the succubus asked, "I know this'll sound strange, but I'd like for you to humor me. If you could be any monster, what would you choose to be?"
Zoey thought for a second. "I guess I'd want to be a werecat."
The succubus conjured a ball of light and formed the image within, the image being that of what she wanted to make werecats into. "How about if they looked like this?" She showed it to Zoey.
"Definitely yes."
The succubus dissipated the ball of light. "Well, if the others and I succeed, I'll make them look like that. It'll definitely be an upgrade, don't you think?"
Zoey eyed her suspiciously. "So, what, are you saying you'd turn me into a werecat if you killed the Demon Lord?"
"If you want, yes." The succubus was leaning toward doing it regardless, but would prefer to get the woman's consent.
Zoey smiled. "That ought to spice things up a bit. I hope you do succeed. Best of luck to you."
The succubus smiled, having apparently gained another supporter of her plan, and her first willing person who wants to become a monster. "Thank you." She returned to the party smiling happily.
While Zoey and the succubus were talking, the hero told Cartridge about the trip through the cemetery, the undead army, and the necromancer. Cartridge gave an impressed whistle. "We were wondering why there were so many undead there, but we never sent anyone to check it out because that'd be sending them to certain death. Glad you took care of that for us. I'll go talk to the count. He's been complaining about that 'little' problem for a while. He might have some kind of reward. Meet me by the main gate in an hour or two."
The hero and party went to the main gate and waited. After about 45 minutes, Cartridge arrived. "The count was so happy that you guys took care of the problem that things went quite quickly. Here's the reward." He handed a slightly heavy pouch of gold to the hero. "I'm going to go talk to Sol about it, too. The count might be willing to make a 'special exception' for him and his lizard girls."
The hero gave Cartridge a wide-eyed look. "You knew?"
Cartridge held back a laugh. "Knew what, that he loves those two? That he wants to bed them so bad he can't stand it? Yeah. He does a very poor job of hiding it, and they are terrible at hiding their feelings about him, too. I guess you'd call all three of them perverts, but I have nothing against it, and neither do the people of this city. He's obeyed the law about not 'doing it' with his employees thus far, so I think he deserves a break. Man, my shift this time sure was eventful! Hahahaha! See you later, guys." He walked away.
Zeraine asked, "Well, where to?"
The hero was about to answer, but the succubus was faster. "We need more help. We're not going to succeed if it's just the four of us. A 'rag-tag bunch of misfits beating a god-level being and saving the world' only happens in fiction. We need all the help we can get from the remaining 'good' chapters of The Order. We also need all the volunteers we can get, be they mercenaries or adventuring heroes. More mages will be a necessity, as will spellswords. More dragons would be a great help, as well, since they're so powerful. We need enough strong people on our side so that regardless of whether or not the Demon Lord's army outnumbers us, we'll be strong enough to win. Anyway, first, we need The Order's help. To the north, there's a chapter that still holds to the Grandmaster's teachings. We should start there."
The hero was amazed. "How did you know that?"
She gave him a look of mild disbelief. "I've been planning for this for a long time. Naturally, I'd be keeping up with which chapters of The Order are still good and which ones have been corrupted."
Amarantha nodded. "Well, we should get going. There are a few mid-size towns in between here and there where we can stop for rest and supplies. We'll probably need it, too, since there's four of us now and we'll be moving slower. Also, we need to hunt down bad monsters and have this kid fight them for the sake of getting actual combat experience. Said experience will be necessary for him to become powerful enough to succeed in his mission. Young lady?" She turned to the succubus. "In our spare time, such as when we're resting at an inn or around a campfire, you really should teach him magic, starting with levitation."
The succubus nodded. "Good point. If you and your man know how to levitate, then he's the only one who doesn't, and that slows us down."
Amarantha blushed and Zeraine said, "Huh?"
They walked out the main gate of the city and north along the road. The succubus was already forming ideas on what dragons should look like when she's done with them.
"Hey. Hey! Wake up! Whatever you're thinking about, stop. You're walking around with a perverted smile."
"Sorry."
When they arrived, they found Cartridge getting out of his armor with some help from his wife, Zoey. He greeted them. "Hey, you're back again. I see the little lady over there found you, kid."
The hero glanced at the succubus and nodded. "Yeah. Right after we got back from an escort mission of sorts and got to the inn, she was there waiting. We've finally got a mage, and all four of us have the same goal. Teaming up was the obvious choice."
Cartridge, now out of his armor, rubbed his forearms and nodded. "True. So, since you're probably not here to chat, tell me what's up."
The succubus had been observing Zoey. She didn't quite know why, but she attributed catlike qualities to her. She approached Zoey. "Can we talk in private for a bit?"
Zoey was a little surprised, but she agreed. "Sure, follow me." Zoey led the succubus into the kitchen area.
Once there, the succubus asked, "I know this'll sound strange, but I'd like for you to humor me. If you could be any monster, what would you choose to be?"
Zoey thought for a second. "I guess I'd want to be a werecat."
The succubus conjured a ball of light and formed the image within, the image being that of what she wanted to make werecats into. "How about if they looked like this?" She showed it to Zoey.
"Definitely yes."
The succubus dissipated the ball of light. "Well, if the others and I succeed, I'll make them look like that. It'll definitely be an upgrade, don't you think?"
Zoey eyed her suspiciously. "So, what, are you saying you'd turn me into a werecat if you killed the Demon Lord?"
"If you want, yes." The succubus was leaning toward doing it regardless, but would prefer to get the woman's consent.
Zoey smiled. "That ought to spice things up a bit. I hope you do succeed. Best of luck to you."
The succubus smiled, having apparently gained another supporter of her plan, and her first willing person who wants to become a monster. "Thank you." She returned to the party smiling happily.
While Zoey and the succubus were talking, the hero told Cartridge about the trip through the cemetery, the undead army, and the necromancer. Cartridge gave an impressed whistle. "We were wondering why there were so many undead there, but we never sent anyone to check it out because that'd be sending them to certain death. Glad you took care of that for us. I'll go talk to the count. He's been complaining about that 'little' problem for a while. He might have some kind of reward. Meet me by the main gate in an hour or two."
The hero and party went to the main gate and waited. After about 45 minutes, Cartridge arrived. "The count was so happy that you guys took care of the problem that things went quite quickly. Here's the reward." He handed a slightly heavy pouch of gold to the hero. "I'm going to go talk to Sol about it, too. The count might be willing to make a 'special exception' for him and his lizard girls."
The hero gave Cartridge a wide-eyed look. "You knew?"
Cartridge held back a laugh. "Knew what, that he loves those two? That he wants to bed them so bad he can't stand it? Yeah. He does a very poor job of hiding it, and they are terrible at hiding their feelings about him, too. I guess you'd call all three of them perverts, but I have nothing against it, and neither do the people of this city. He's obeyed the law about not 'doing it' with his employees thus far, so I think he deserves a break. Man, my shift this time sure was eventful! Hahahaha! See you later, guys." He walked away.
Zeraine asked, "Well, where to?"
The hero was about to answer, but the succubus was faster. "We need more help. We're not going to succeed if it's just the four of us. A 'rag-tag bunch of misfits beating a god-level being and saving the world' only happens in fiction. We need all the help we can get from the remaining 'good' chapters of The Order. We also need all the volunteers we can get, be they mercenaries or adventuring heroes. More mages will be a necessity, as will spellswords. More dragons would be a great help, as well, since they're so powerful. We need enough strong people on our side so that regardless of whether or not the Demon Lord's army outnumbers us, we'll be strong enough to win. Anyway, first, we need The Order's help. To the north, there's a chapter that still holds to the Grandmaster's teachings. We should start there."
The hero was amazed. "How did you know that?"
She gave him a look of mild disbelief. "I've been planning for this for a long time. Naturally, I'd be keeping up with which chapters of The Order are still good and which ones have been corrupted."
Amarantha nodded. "Well, we should get going. There are a few mid-size towns in between here and there where we can stop for rest and supplies. We'll probably need it, too, since there's four of us now and we'll be moving slower. Also, we need to hunt down bad monsters and have this kid fight them for the sake of getting actual combat experience. Said experience will be necessary for him to become powerful enough to succeed in his mission. Young lady?" She turned to the succubus. "In our spare time, such as when we're resting at an inn or around a campfire, you really should teach him magic, starting with levitation."
The succubus nodded. "Good point. If you and your man know how to levitate, then he's the only one who doesn't, and that slows us down."
Amarantha blushed and Zeraine said, "Huh?"
They walked out the main gate of the city and north along the road. The succubus was already forming ideas on what dragons should look like when she's done with them.
Chapter 15
Spoiler: show
In his mind, the hero was mulling over the succubus's plans. "It's really a good plan. If we start by getting the good parts of The Order to help us, the town guards and militaries should be easier to convince to join us. If we can also get some more dragons, like she said, that should entice others to help, as well. If we have enough decent people, and maybe some dragons, we might be able to get enough good monsters to help us to tip the scales drastically in our favor. Elven archers, Dwarven berserkers, maybe some of the 'decent' Dullahans, too. With that large and powerful of a force, the Demon Lord's army should be a cakewalk for our army, and while the two armies are fighting, we can break into the castle and kill him..."
Zeraine asked the succubus, "So, you think this chapter of The Order will really support us?"
She answered with a matter-of-fact tone, "They won't have a choice. The whole world is at stake. If they want to continue to survive, they have to. If they try to back out, we won't have enough support and the Demon Lord will eventually kill them. We just have to make sure they realize that, and if they already do, we need to remind them."
"I guess I understand." Zeraine shrugged.
The succubus said, to nobody in particular, "It'd be so much faster if we could all just fly there."
The hero answered in a slightly angry tone, "I only took the combat courses because I thought I'd only have to deal with local unruly monsters. I never dreamed that I'd be chosen as the 'savior of humanity' and sent on this mission."
Amarantha added, "And nobody, not even Zeraine, gets to ride on my back."
Zeraine asked, "What about that one time?"
Amarantha stated flatly, "You were dying, and I couldn't remove the curse that blocked healing magic. If I hadn't, you wouldn't be alive. ...And I would have been heartbroken."
As they approached a small village, a man ran up to them. "You, boy, you're from The Order, aren't you?"
The hero nodded. "Can I help you?"
"Our whole village needs your help! Large mice have infested all the basements, and they have rabies! We need you to deal with them as soon as you can."
"How many basements are there?"
"There are 9. If you can kill all the large mice, we'll be grateful. How does a feast sound?"
Zeraine stepped forward. "Nah, we'll do this for free."
The village man was nearly brought to tears with that statement. "Thank you! Thank you so much!"
Amarantha held up her hand and spoke before he could continue. "Lead us to these basements so we can get this over with."
After a second of shock, he nodded. "Right this way." He led them to the first basement. "We've only seen the smaller ones in here. They might be young ones."
The hero drew his sword and strapped his shield to his arm. "Wait here. We'll be right back. Come on, guys." He led the rest of the party down into the basement.
The succubus nudged Zeraine somewhat roughly. "Why did you tell him that we'd do it for free?"
He scoffed. "This is a somewhat poor village. My guess is they'd take these large mice, cook them, and eat them. You don't want 'large mouse stew', do you?"
"I would think they'd be smart enough to realize that that's a bad idea."
"Well, whatever. Word gets around that we help poor people for free, it might help our quest by giving us the widespread public image of honorable heroes. That'd get some kinds of dragons, as well as Lizardmen, to help us. Or at least it'd make it easier."
"...Maybe you're right. We'll see, won't we?"
Amarantha scolded both of them. "If you two insist on talking while we're down here, then set up a barrier to prevent the mice from escaping."
"Right." The succubus surrounded the room with a barrier, preventing anything from leaving.
The farther they got from the entrance, the darker it got. Soon, the only way to see was to either use a torch, or cast either a night-vision or light spell. Amarantha complained as she cast a light spell, "Killing large mice in some poor person's basement... Not really the beginning I would have preferred. At least there's a stone floor, not a muddy one. I'd hate to get my hair dirty."
The succubus began charging a lightning spell, electricity crackling around her forearms. "Remember, anything and everything, including humans, dragons, and succubi can catch rabies, and it is a bitch. You suffer until you die, or you go through great pain to use 'conventional methods' to cure it."
The hero asked, "Can't mages cure it with a spell? Or what about alchemists curing it with potions?"
The succubus said, "If you've got the potions or know the spells, then sure, curing it is simple. I don't know the spell, though, so unless you've got potions, you're screwed."
Zeraine prepared a fireball. He said, "Good thing that we've got 10 potions and 15 scrolls of Cure Disease, then, huh?"
The succubus looked surprised. "You're that prepared? Good. I seem to have stumbled upon some very high-quality teammates in you guys."
The hero, not sure if that was a compliment or not, said, "Thanks." Suddenly, out of a dark area between some boxes, a large mouse jumped out and tackled the hero. His lightning-fast reflexes made him put his shield up just before it hit him, which saved him from the large mouse's bite. "Damn!" He struggled around, finally managing to stab it once he felt where it was with his sword. He shoved its corpse off of him and quickly got up. "Those things hit hard, be careful."
The succubus managed to cast a light spell and a stone skin spell on herself while still keeping the lightning spell ready. With the stone skin spell up, she figured that the mice couldn't bite her.
Amarantha cast a light spell on Zeraine, then gave orders. "Zeraine, you go that way. I know you can handle these creatures by yourself. I'll go this way by myself. You two," she turned to the hero and the succubus, "stay together. He doesn't know magic, so if he's by himself, he won't be able to see. Be his light source and support."
Zeraine nodded and walked in the direction Amarantha told him to, fireball at the ready. Amarantha walked in the direction she picked, turning a corner and disappearing from sight. Moments later, her voice could be heard, followed by the sounds of things approximately the size of an average dog crashing into things. From what the hero could hear, Amarantha had yelled a few kiais and hit two or more large mice far harder than she needed to, obviously killing them. He shook his head and thought, "It seems female dragons can be quite scary. I'd hate to have to fight her."
As the hero and the succubus started in the direction Amarantha told them to go, they heard Zeraine yell, "Yeah!", quickly followed by a small explosion. It seemed he had used that fireball on an unlucky large mouse.
Another large mouse jumped out of the shadows at the hero, but the succubus fried it with the lightning spell she had ready. It fell short of the hero, twitching. "Thanks." he said, to which she gave a proud grin. They continued, seeing no more large mice on their path, but hearing a couple more explosions from Zeraine's area and several impact noises from Amarantha's area.
When they regrouped, the succubus said, "Cover me. I'm going to scan the place to see if there are any more down here." The party formed a defensive triangle around her as she did so. Seconds later, she said, "We got them all. Let's move on to the next basement."
The next basement had much less obstacles, allowing the succubus to use a slightly overpowered-for-the-situation fireball spell to wipe them out in one shot. On the way to the next basement, Zeraine looked at the hero and said, "I bet this feels like a vacation after that undead army last night, right?"
He nodded. "Of course. These large mice can't compare to those ghouls. THEY were tough. The only thing giving me trouble here is that they're jumping out of the darkness at me. If I could use a light spell, I'd be able to take them out as easily as you and Amarantha have."
They arrived at the next basement and Zeraine continued, "Well, that means that our mage here needs to teach you levitation as soon as possible, quickly followed by light."
Before they split up in the third basement, the succubus said, "As soon as we have a free moment before bed time, I'll start teaching him." Nobody considered the possible naughty implications of that statement, and the succubus had actually intended nothing sexual when she said it. They cleared it and the next three basements with no trouble. Nothing of note happened again until they got to the seventh basement. When they did, they fought large mice that were a little larger and much stronger, but still not nearly as strong as a ghoul. They managed to dispose of them fairly easily, despite them being tougher.
When they got to the eighth basement, they found a very large, very fat female large mouse. It was apparently responsible for most of the large mice they had seen so far. The hero distracted it while the succubus, Amarantha, and Zeraine all used ice spells to freeze it. Once it was frozen, Amarantha gave it a thrust punch, shattering it. The succubus asked, "So you use some variation of Mana Burst with your unarmed fighting?"
She nodded. "Yes. This way, I don't have to worry about using a weapon. My fists and magic have been more than enough so far. Of course, when I need my full strength, I revert to my true form. If the sight of one of the most beautiful, graceful, majestic, and powerful beings in existence, specifically a silver dragon, namely me, doesn't scare them away, my incredible power allows me to dispose of them with ease."
"I'd like to see your true form later, if you don't mind."
"No problem."
They got to the last of the nine basements. To their disappointment, there were only two here, and they were the last ones. After allowing the hero to cut down one while the succubus doused the other in acid, they left the basement. The whole village stood before them, appreciative looks on their faces. The man from before approached them. "Thank you, young man. You and your friends have done us a great favor. We'll be sure to mention your heroics to any traveling merchants that pass through. Thanks again."
The hero and party left the grateful village and continued north along the road. The succubus asked Amarantha to revert to her dragon form, which she did. After admiring her true form, the succubus conjured the ball of light and formed the image of what she wanted to change a silver dragon into. Amarantha changed back to her human form and looked into the ball of light at the image. The succubus asked, "How would you like this to be your true form?"
Amarantha examined the image. "I think I'd be even more beautiful!" She leaned in and whispered in the succubus's ear, "Do you think with my true form being that, that Zeraine would be interested in me?"
The succubus whispered back, "So you're interested in an inter-species relationship? After I change you into this, not only will you probably be able to get his affection, but you'll also be able to have kids with him."
Amarantha blushed. "So if my true form becomes that, what about my current true form? Will my dragon form be lost forever?"
"No. Dragons are extremely powerful, and as such, I wouldn't be able to do away with that. You'd be able to turn into your dragon form for a while, but your true form, the form you'd spend the most time in, would be this." She dissipated the ball of light.
"I see. If it'll be that good for me, count me in."
The succubus smiled. Her plan was going along great. She also thought about what to do for changing large mice. She had never seen any skeletons, zombies, or ghouls, so she couldn't form any ideas about them yet. She had never met any regular Elves, either, so she didn't know how she wanted to change them yet, either.
Zeraine asked the succubus, "So, you think this chapter of The Order will really support us?"
She answered with a matter-of-fact tone, "They won't have a choice. The whole world is at stake. If they want to continue to survive, they have to. If they try to back out, we won't have enough support and the Demon Lord will eventually kill them. We just have to make sure they realize that, and if they already do, we need to remind them."
"I guess I understand." Zeraine shrugged.
The succubus said, to nobody in particular, "It'd be so much faster if we could all just fly there."
The hero answered in a slightly angry tone, "I only took the combat courses because I thought I'd only have to deal with local unruly monsters. I never dreamed that I'd be chosen as the 'savior of humanity' and sent on this mission."
Amarantha added, "And nobody, not even Zeraine, gets to ride on my back."
Zeraine asked, "What about that one time?"
Amarantha stated flatly, "You were dying, and I couldn't remove the curse that blocked healing magic. If I hadn't, you wouldn't be alive. ...And I would have been heartbroken."
As they approached a small village, a man ran up to them. "You, boy, you're from The Order, aren't you?"
The hero nodded. "Can I help you?"
"Our whole village needs your help! Large mice have infested all the basements, and they have rabies! We need you to deal with them as soon as you can."
"How many basements are there?"
"There are 9. If you can kill all the large mice, we'll be grateful. How does a feast sound?"
Zeraine stepped forward. "Nah, we'll do this for free."
The village man was nearly brought to tears with that statement. "Thank you! Thank you so much!"
Amarantha held up her hand and spoke before he could continue. "Lead us to these basements so we can get this over with."
After a second of shock, he nodded. "Right this way." He led them to the first basement. "We've only seen the smaller ones in here. They might be young ones."
The hero drew his sword and strapped his shield to his arm. "Wait here. We'll be right back. Come on, guys." He led the rest of the party down into the basement.
The succubus nudged Zeraine somewhat roughly. "Why did you tell him that we'd do it for free?"
He scoffed. "This is a somewhat poor village. My guess is they'd take these large mice, cook them, and eat them. You don't want 'large mouse stew', do you?"
"I would think they'd be smart enough to realize that that's a bad idea."
"Well, whatever. Word gets around that we help poor people for free, it might help our quest by giving us the widespread public image of honorable heroes. That'd get some kinds of dragons, as well as Lizardmen, to help us. Or at least it'd make it easier."
"...Maybe you're right. We'll see, won't we?"
Amarantha scolded both of them. "If you two insist on talking while we're down here, then set up a barrier to prevent the mice from escaping."
"Right." The succubus surrounded the room with a barrier, preventing anything from leaving.
The farther they got from the entrance, the darker it got. Soon, the only way to see was to either use a torch, or cast either a night-vision or light spell. Amarantha complained as she cast a light spell, "Killing large mice in some poor person's basement... Not really the beginning I would have preferred. At least there's a stone floor, not a muddy one. I'd hate to get my hair dirty."
The succubus began charging a lightning spell, electricity crackling around her forearms. "Remember, anything and everything, including humans, dragons, and succubi can catch rabies, and it is a bitch. You suffer until you die, or you go through great pain to use 'conventional methods' to cure it."
The hero asked, "Can't mages cure it with a spell? Or what about alchemists curing it with potions?"
The succubus said, "If you've got the potions or know the spells, then sure, curing it is simple. I don't know the spell, though, so unless you've got potions, you're screwed."
Zeraine prepared a fireball. He said, "Good thing that we've got 10 potions and 15 scrolls of Cure Disease, then, huh?"
The succubus looked surprised. "You're that prepared? Good. I seem to have stumbled upon some very high-quality teammates in you guys."
The hero, not sure if that was a compliment or not, said, "Thanks." Suddenly, out of a dark area between some boxes, a large mouse jumped out and tackled the hero. His lightning-fast reflexes made him put his shield up just before it hit him, which saved him from the large mouse's bite. "Damn!" He struggled around, finally managing to stab it once he felt where it was with his sword. He shoved its corpse off of him and quickly got up. "Those things hit hard, be careful."
The succubus managed to cast a light spell and a stone skin spell on herself while still keeping the lightning spell ready. With the stone skin spell up, she figured that the mice couldn't bite her.
Amarantha cast a light spell on Zeraine, then gave orders. "Zeraine, you go that way. I know you can handle these creatures by yourself. I'll go this way by myself. You two," she turned to the hero and the succubus, "stay together. He doesn't know magic, so if he's by himself, he won't be able to see. Be his light source and support."
Zeraine nodded and walked in the direction Amarantha told him to, fireball at the ready. Amarantha walked in the direction she picked, turning a corner and disappearing from sight. Moments later, her voice could be heard, followed by the sounds of things approximately the size of an average dog crashing into things. From what the hero could hear, Amarantha had yelled a few kiais and hit two or more large mice far harder than she needed to, obviously killing them. He shook his head and thought, "It seems female dragons can be quite scary. I'd hate to have to fight her."
As the hero and the succubus started in the direction Amarantha told them to go, they heard Zeraine yell, "Yeah!", quickly followed by a small explosion. It seemed he had used that fireball on an unlucky large mouse.
Another large mouse jumped out of the shadows at the hero, but the succubus fried it with the lightning spell she had ready. It fell short of the hero, twitching. "Thanks." he said, to which she gave a proud grin. They continued, seeing no more large mice on their path, but hearing a couple more explosions from Zeraine's area and several impact noises from Amarantha's area.
When they regrouped, the succubus said, "Cover me. I'm going to scan the place to see if there are any more down here." The party formed a defensive triangle around her as she did so. Seconds later, she said, "We got them all. Let's move on to the next basement."
The next basement had much less obstacles, allowing the succubus to use a slightly overpowered-for-the-situation fireball spell to wipe them out in one shot. On the way to the next basement, Zeraine looked at the hero and said, "I bet this feels like a vacation after that undead army last night, right?"
He nodded. "Of course. These large mice can't compare to those ghouls. THEY were tough. The only thing giving me trouble here is that they're jumping out of the darkness at me. If I could use a light spell, I'd be able to take them out as easily as you and Amarantha have."
They arrived at the next basement and Zeraine continued, "Well, that means that our mage here needs to teach you levitation as soon as possible, quickly followed by light."
Before they split up in the third basement, the succubus said, "As soon as we have a free moment before bed time, I'll start teaching him." Nobody considered the possible naughty implications of that statement, and the succubus had actually intended nothing sexual when she said it. They cleared it and the next three basements with no trouble. Nothing of note happened again until they got to the seventh basement. When they did, they fought large mice that were a little larger and much stronger, but still not nearly as strong as a ghoul. They managed to dispose of them fairly easily, despite them being tougher.
When they got to the eighth basement, they found a very large, very fat female large mouse. It was apparently responsible for most of the large mice they had seen so far. The hero distracted it while the succubus, Amarantha, and Zeraine all used ice spells to freeze it. Once it was frozen, Amarantha gave it a thrust punch, shattering it. The succubus asked, "So you use some variation of Mana Burst with your unarmed fighting?"
She nodded. "Yes. This way, I don't have to worry about using a weapon. My fists and magic have been more than enough so far. Of course, when I need my full strength, I revert to my true form. If the sight of one of the most beautiful, graceful, majestic, and powerful beings in existence, specifically a silver dragon, namely me, doesn't scare them away, my incredible power allows me to dispose of them with ease."
"I'd like to see your true form later, if you don't mind."
"No problem."
They got to the last of the nine basements. To their disappointment, there were only two here, and they were the last ones. After allowing the hero to cut down one while the succubus doused the other in acid, they left the basement. The whole village stood before them, appreciative looks on their faces. The man from before approached them. "Thank you, young man. You and your friends have done us a great favor. We'll be sure to mention your heroics to any traveling merchants that pass through. Thanks again."
The hero and party left the grateful village and continued north along the road. The succubus asked Amarantha to revert to her dragon form, which she did. After admiring her true form, the succubus conjured the ball of light and formed the image of what she wanted to change a silver dragon into. Amarantha changed back to her human form and looked into the ball of light at the image. The succubus asked, "How would you like this to be your true form?"
Amarantha examined the image. "I think I'd be even more beautiful!" She leaned in and whispered in the succubus's ear, "Do you think with my true form being that, that Zeraine would be interested in me?"
The succubus whispered back, "So you're interested in an inter-species relationship? After I change you into this, not only will you probably be able to get his affection, but you'll also be able to have kids with him."
Amarantha blushed. "So if my true form becomes that, what about my current true form? Will my dragon form be lost forever?"
"No. Dragons are extremely powerful, and as such, I wouldn't be able to do away with that. You'd be able to turn into your dragon form for a while, but your true form, the form you'd spend the most time in, would be this." She dissipated the ball of light.
"I see. If it'll be that good for me, count me in."
The succubus smiled. Her plan was going along great. She also thought about what to do for changing large mice. She had never seen any skeletons, zombies, or ghouls, so she couldn't form any ideas about them yet. She had never met any regular Elves, either, so she didn't know how she wanted to change them yet, either.
Chapter 16
Spoiler: show
After hours of uneventful walking, they made it to the chapter of The Order. The guard, recognizing the hero as a member of The Order, let him and his party in. Once inside, they sought the commander and spoke with him.
The hero told him, "The Grandmaster sent me on this mission to slay the Demon Lord. I have these three helping me, but just the four of us won't do. We need a large enough force to stand against the Demon Lord's army. Will you help us?"
The commander reluctantly answered, "Yours is a dangerous mission. What guarantee do we have that this won't be a waste?"
The hero answered honestly. "There isn't one. Our plan is to go to all the chapter of The Order that haven't been corrupted, gain allies, and prepare for the final battle. We believe that if we have enough help from the remaining good parts of The Order, many good monsters will also help. If we can amass a large enough army with skilled enough people, we can win."
The commander gritted his teeth. "It seems a sound plan. Alright, I'll aid you, but first, you must help me. One of my men has been more and more frequently disappearing, sometimes for days on end. This latest time, he has been gone for a whole week. He's still missing, and I want him found. If he is gallivanting off, abandoning his duty, find him and bring him back so I can punish him. If he's been going out on his own to fight monsters, I won't allow it. He must notify me. If the fool went and got himself killed, bring back his journal and weapon. Find him and I'll help you."
The hero nodded. "Will do. If you'll excuse us, we'll get right on it."
The four left the commander's office and began asking around about the missing man. Soon, they had gathered stories telling of him acting strangely, smiling and laughing to himself. The other knights at the chapter pointed the hero and party in the direction the man seemed to always sneak out in. Along the way, they found rotting corpses of things such as wild animals and unintelligent monsters. The succubus took the opportunity to form her plans for the changes to those monsters.
Suddenly, they heard what sounded like a man and a woman moaning. The succubus, because she was a succubus, instantly recognized the kind of moaning that they heard. "Sounds like someone's having some fun..." She giggled.
The party followed the moans and found the man, with a very attractive Elf woman in his lap. They were kissing and grinding their hips. Suddenly, the Elf woman shouted, "I'm cumming!" to which the man replied with, "Me, too!" They both cried out in orgasm, then the man fell over backward, the Elf woman falling forward, laying on top of him.
The succubus decided that female Elves looked fine the way they were, they just needed to be less stuck-up, and more willing to fuck human men. The hero stepped closer. "You must be the knight who's been playing hooky recently."
The man and Elf looked over at the hero, then the Elf screamed, rolled off him, and covered herself with her tunic. The man jumped to his feet, battle axe raised, not bothering to cover himself. "Who are you!?"
The hero, not wanting to see the man's "gear", turned away and said, "Get dressed. We need to talk."
The man and the Elf got dressed. Afterward, the man, obviously angry, asked, "So who are you and what do you want?"
The hero said, "Your commander sent us to find you. You've been disappearing from base with increasing frequency, and you've been neglecting and abandoning your duties. It appears you've been sneaking away to fornicate with this Elf. That is no excuse to cause the problems that you have."
The man frowned. "I love this woman. Having sex is something that men and women who love each other do. You're not from one of the corrupted parts of The Order, are you? 'Cause if you are, I'll have to kill you. I won't allow anyone to hurt her."
The hero shook his head. "I'm from The Order's main base, where the Grandmaster is. We haven't been corrupted. Personally, I have nothing against you being in love with and Elf, nor am I bothered by you making love to her, as long as you two do it in private, which you seemed to be doing before we found you. However, what I do have a problem with is that you're committing dereliction of duty. If you want to be with this Elf, fine, just stop abandoning your duties! Return to the chapter, accept your punishment from your commander, and be with her in your free time."
The man looked down in shame. "You're right. I haven't been doing my share of the work. All I've cared about was spending time with my beloved."
The hero gave the man a hard pat on the shoulder. "Then man up. Own up to your mistakes, make up for them, set things right, and return to your duties. I'm sure your beloved Elf can wait for your days off to make love. You two need not have it every day."
The succubus, who had been listening in, thought to herself, "Bullshit. Once I'm the Demon Lord, things like The Order won't be needed. Husbands and wives will be having sex several times every day!"
Zeraine walked up. "Hey, kid, knight," he looked between the two and continued, "do you think we could get the village that Elf is from to help us, too?"
The hero looked at Zeraine. "Good idea. Since this chapter of The Order will help us if we get this guy back, we might be able to work out some kind of deal, like the chapter assists the village in various things, the village helps back, and they both send help when it's time for the final battle."
The knight said, "She and I have talked about getting the chapter and her village on friendly terms. I'd hate to use our relationship for political means, but it seems like it'd help convince both sides."
The Elf woman walked up and hugged him, then with a smart-mouthed tone, said, "We Elves are much better at archery, hunting, and tracking than anything The Order has to offer. Our magic is better, too. These things we could share, if they'd share with us things such as armor, metal weapons, and other things of higher technology than we have. They could help us protect our village from the occasional band of outlaws or pack of werewolves, and we could help by making them into better archers."
Zeraine asked the Elf woman, "Could you take us to your village so we can talk with whoever leads it?"
She nodded. "Certainly. I'm sure our elders would like the help, and wouldn't mind giving help in return. We can go now, if you're ready."
The party, now numbering six, was led to the Elf village by the Elf woman. Once there, she managed to get the elders to send a representative to go back with the party. They made it back to the chapter and were let in without incident. They returned to the commander, who gave a harsh scolding to the errant knight and promised further punishment in the form of extra work to more than make up for his absentness so far. The representative from the Elf village spoke in private with the commander and eventually reached an agreement. When he stepped back out, he smiled at the party and said, "I've gotten the commander to agree to our terms. He seemed to like them from the start, but wanted to act like there was more he could get from us. I quickly put him in his place, though. Anyway, let's head back to the village and deliver the good news."
The female Elf gave her man a kiss, then left with the party as the knight got to work, making up for his previous irresponsible behavior.
On the way back to the village, the succubus pulled the Elf woman aside and whispered in her ear, asking, "You realize you can't have kids with him, right?"
The Elf woman frowned sadly and whispered back, "I know. It sucks that I can't bear the fruit of our love"
The succubus giggled happily and whispered back, "Once we've done away with the current Demon Lord, I'll step up and take the title. Once I have the power, I'll make it so that you can have all the kids you want with him, okay?"
The Elf woman, sensing the sincerity in the succubus's voice, gave a grateful smile and whispered, "Thank you. I'll be looking forward to it."
The succubus thought to herself, "Love and sex can solve every problem!" Her mind continued to be filled with the image of what she saw earlier, namely the Elf and her man in the middle of a simultaneous orgasm.
When they got to the Elf village, the representative said, "I'll deliver the news, you four wait here," he said, motioning to the hero and party, "and you, go home. Your parents are probably going to be proud of what you've helped to accomplish." he said, pointing at the Elf woman.
She did as she was told and went home. Several minutes later, the representative returned. "For helping us to establish friendly relations with the nearby Order chapter, we want you to have this as a token of our thanks." He gave the hero a small sack with four enchanted amulets in it. "Communication is important, as we've demonstrated with this incident. These amulets will allow you to communicate if you get separated. Very handy for things like your mission. Beware, though, that they're not perfect. If someone is skilled enough in magic, they can block the use of those amulets, making them useless until you deal with the enemy in question." He then handed the hero a small scroll. "I almost forgot to give this to you. It's a written commitment from the commander of that Order chapter. He promises to help you when the final battle happens."
The hero asked, "What about the village helping us, too?"
The representative smiled. "We'll help. It seems that that event is quite a ways down the road, so we can train and ready ourselves for it with no trouble. The Demon Lord's army won't know what hit them when our archers begin raining enchanted arrows down on them." He laughed. "Thank you for your help, young man."
The hero nodded. "And thank you for these amulets. I know they'll come in handy."
The hero and party left the Elf village, returning to the road. Amarantha asked, "So where to now?"
The hero said, "We should continue north. There's a city a little smaller than the one we all met at. They have a very strong military. If we can get them to help us, too, that'll be great."
The succubus added, "And I've heard rumors about a dragon living even farther north. Our dragon Amarantha is powerful, but we'll need more dragons than just her."
Everyone nodded in agreement, and they continued north.
The hero told him, "The Grandmaster sent me on this mission to slay the Demon Lord. I have these three helping me, but just the four of us won't do. We need a large enough force to stand against the Demon Lord's army. Will you help us?"
The commander reluctantly answered, "Yours is a dangerous mission. What guarantee do we have that this won't be a waste?"
The hero answered honestly. "There isn't one. Our plan is to go to all the chapter of The Order that haven't been corrupted, gain allies, and prepare for the final battle. We believe that if we have enough help from the remaining good parts of The Order, many good monsters will also help. If we can amass a large enough army with skilled enough people, we can win."
The commander gritted his teeth. "It seems a sound plan. Alright, I'll aid you, but first, you must help me. One of my men has been more and more frequently disappearing, sometimes for days on end. This latest time, he has been gone for a whole week. He's still missing, and I want him found. If he is gallivanting off, abandoning his duty, find him and bring him back so I can punish him. If he's been going out on his own to fight monsters, I won't allow it. He must notify me. If the fool went and got himself killed, bring back his journal and weapon. Find him and I'll help you."
The hero nodded. "Will do. If you'll excuse us, we'll get right on it."
The four left the commander's office and began asking around about the missing man. Soon, they had gathered stories telling of him acting strangely, smiling and laughing to himself. The other knights at the chapter pointed the hero and party in the direction the man seemed to always sneak out in. Along the way, they found rotting corpses of things such as wild animals and unintelligent monsters. The succubus took the opportunity to form her plans for the changes to those monsters.
Suddenly, they heard what sounded like a man and a woman moaning. The succubus, because she was a succubus, instantly recognized the kind of moaning that they heard. "Sounds like someone's having some fun..." She giggled.
The party followed the moans and found the man, with a very attractive Elf woman in his lap. They were kissing and grinding their hips. Suddenly, the Elf woman shouted, "I'm cumming!" to which the man replied with, "Me, too!" They both cried out in orgasm, then the man fell over backward, the Elf woman falling forward, laying on top of him.
The succubus decided that female Elves looked fine the way they were, they just needed to be less stuck-up, and more willing to fuck human men. The hero stepped closer. "You must be the knight who's been playing hooky recently."
The man and Elf looked over at the hero, then the Elf screamed, rolled off him, and covered herself with her tunic. The man jumped to his feet, battle axe raised, not bothering to cover himself. "Who are you!?"
The hero, not wanting to see the man's "gear", turned away and said, "Get dressed. We need to talk."
The man and the Elf got dressed. Afterward, the man, obviously angry, asked, "So who are you and what do you want?"
The hero said, "Your commander sent us to find you. You've been disappearing from base with increasing frequency, and you've been neglecting and abandoning your duties. It appears you've been sneaking away to fornicate with this Elf. That is no excuse to cause the problems that you have."
The man frowned. "I love this woman. Having sex is something that men and women who love each other do. You're not from one of the corrupted parts of The Order, are you? 'Cause if you are, I'll have to kill you. I won't allow anyone to hurt her."
The hero shook his head. "I'm from The Order's main base, where the Grandmaster is. We haven't been corrupted. Personally, I have nothing against you being in love with and Elf, nor am I bothered by you making love to her, as long as you two do it in private, which you seemed to be doing before we found you. However, what I do have a problem with is that you're committing dereliction of duty. If you want to be with this Elf, fine, just stop abandoning your duties! Return to the chapter, accept your punishment from your commander, and be with her in your free time."
The man looked down in shame. "You're right. I haven't been doing my share of the work. All I've cared about was spending time with my beloved."
The hero gave the man a hard pat on the shoulder. "Then man up. Own up to your mistakes, make up for them, set things right, and return to your duties. I'm sure your beloved Elf can wait for your days off to make love. You two need not have it every day."
The succubus, who had been listening in, thought to herself, "Bullshit. Once I'm the Demon Lord, things like The Order won't be needed. Husbands and wives will be having sex several times every day!"
Zeraine walked up. "Hey, kid, knight," he looked between the two and continued, "do you think we could get the village that Elf is from to help us, too?"
The hero looked at Zeraine. "Good idea. Since this chapter of The Order will help us if we get this guy back, we might be able to work out some kind of deal, like the chapter assists the village in various things, the village helps back, and they both send help when it's time for the final battle."
The knight said, "She and I have talked about getting the chapter and her village on friendly terms. I'd hate to use our relationship for political means, but it seems like it'd help convince both sides."
The Elf woman walked up and hugged him, then with a smart-mouthed tone, said, "We Elves are much better at archery, hunting, and tracking than anything The Order has to offer. Our magic is better, too. These things we could share, if they'd share with us things such as armor, metal weapons, and other things of higher technology than we have. They could help us protect our village from the occasional band of outlaws or pack of werewolves, and we could help by making them into better archers."
Zeraine asked the Elf woman, "Could you take us to your village so we can talk with whoever leads it?"
She nodded. "Certainly. I'm sure our elders would like the help, and wouldn't mind giving help in return. We can go now, if you're ready."
The party, now numbering six, was led to the Elf village by the Elf woman. Once there, she managed to get the elders to send a representative to go back with the party. They made it back to the chapter and were let in without incident. They returned to the commander, who gave a harsh scolding to the errant knight and promised further punishment in the form of extra work to more than make up for his absentness so far. The representative from the Elf village spoke in private with the commander and eventually reached an agreement. When he stepped back out, he smiled at the party and said, "I've gotten the commander to agree to our terms. He seemed to like them from the start, but wanted to act like there was more he could get from us. I quickly put him in his place, though. Anyway, let's head back to the village and deliver the good news."
The female Elf gave her man a kiss, then left with the party as the knight got to work, making up for his previous irresponsible behavior.
On the way back to the village, the succubus pulled the Elf woman aside and whispered in her ear, asking, "You realize you can't have kids with him, right?"
The Elf woman frowned sadly and whispered back, "I know. It sucks that I can't bear the fruit of our love"
The succubus giggled happily and whispered back, "Once we've done away with the current Demon Lord, I'll step up and take the title. Once I have the power, I'll make it so that you can have all the kids you want with him, okay?"
The Elf woman, sensing the sincerity in the succubus's voice, gave a grateful smile and whispered, "Thank you. I'll be looking forward to it."
The succubus thought to herself, "Love and sex can solve every problem!" Her mind continued to be filled with the image of what she saw earlier, namely the Elf and her man in the middle of a simultaneous orgasm.
When they got to the Elf village, the representative said, "I'll deliver the news, you four wait here," he said, motioning to the hero and party, "and you, go home. Your parents are probably going to be proud of what you've helped to accomplish." he said, pointing at the Elf woman.
She did as she was told and went home. Several minutes later, the representative returned. "For helping us to establish friendly relations with the nearby Order chapter, we want you to have this as a token of our thanks." He gave the hero a small sack with four enchanted amulets in it. "Communication is important, as we've demonstrated with this incident. These amulets will allow you to communicate if you get separated. Very handy for things like your mission. Beware, though, that they're not perfect. If someone is skilled enough in magic, they can block the use of those amulets, making them useless until you deal with the enemy in question." He then handed the hero a small scroll. "I almost forgot to give this to you. It's a written commitment from the commander of that Order chapter. He promises to help you when the final battle happens."
The hero asked, "What about the village helping us, too?"
The representative smiled. "We'll help. It seems that that event is quite a ways down the road, so we can train and ready ourselves for it with no trouble. The Demon Lord's army won't know what hit them when our archers begin raining enchanted arrows down on them." He laughed. "Thank you for your help, young man."
The hero nodded. "And thank you for these amulets. I know they'll come in handy."
The hero and party left the Elf village, returning to the road. Amarantha asked, "So where to now?"
The hero said, "We should continue north. There's a city a little smaller than the one we all met at. They have a very strong military. If we can get them to help us, too, that'll be great."
The succubus added, "And I've heard rumors about a dragon living even farther north. Our dragon Amarantha is powerful, but we'll need more dragons than just her."
Everyone nodded in agreement, and they continued north.
Chapter 17
Spoiler: show
The party had a very uneventful trip on the road to the city. Along the way, the succubus had thought about what to make minotaurs look like. While she was at it, she also formed her ideas for the holstaurus and Dark Elves. She figured that Dark Elf women should be slightly less sadistic than she had heard, and more into dominating their men. She wondered what other monsters she would see, hoping to get a close look at them so she could remake them as she saw fit. At one point, she got hungry and decided to eat some more demon realm fruit, and saw that she was getting dangerously low because she forgot to buy some before she met with the party. She shrugged and took one out of her satchel, then took a bite.
The hero looked at her cautiously. "Is that fruit from the demon realm?"
She nodded and swallowed. "I'm a succubus. I'm a bit of a special case, though, because I don't go around fucking all the good-looking men I see. I'm extremely picky. For me, the guy has to have more than just good looks. Due to my extreme pickiness, I don't have the amount of sex a succubus should have, thus I don't feed enough to go without this fruit."
The hero was too embarrassed by her blunt answer to respond, but Zeraine asked, "So you have to live off demon realm fruit because you don't have enough sex? That seems like a rough life. Maybe-ow!" Amarantha had grabbed Zeraine by the wrist and began squeezing. She knew what he was going to offer, and it upset her. He grunted in pain before saying, "Never mind." He turned to Amarantha. "You can let go now." She let go with a scolding glare.
The hero, not understanding what just happened between the two, thought to himself, "What was that about?"
They arrived at the city. The succubus turned to the hero. "I'm too low on demon realm fruit because I forgot to buy some earlier. I need to find some, which probably means I'll have to look in back alleys for the kind of shady people who sell it in human cities and towns. Fortunately, as far as restoring my magic energy goes, I can use the potions we have, but I still need to eat. That allows me to ration the fruit a bit better, but like I said, I still need to restock." She looked at the hero. "You, come with me." She grabbed his hand, then looked at Zeraine and Amarantha. "You two, ask around about the dragon that's rumored to be farther north. If it's too far, we'll need to sleep here for the night and set out tomorrow morning. If it's close enough, which it probably isn't, if it's even true, we might be able to go there, get the dragon's help, and return before nightfall."
The party split up, with Zeraine and Amarantha heading for the inns and taverns in the better part of the city, while the succubus led the hero through the slum-like area. The hero asked, "Isn't there a better option? The way it usually is, owning, buying, or selling the fruit is illegal. I know you need it to live, but-"
She cut him off. "Well, unless one of two things happens, I'll need this stuff for the foreseeable future. In case you're wondering, those two things are as follows; either I find a man who meets my standards, or you prove to meet them."
The hero's face went red. "And your standards are?"
She shrugged. "Let's just say that you're close to meeting them, but I'm not completely sure of you yet."
He blushed even more. "I see."
After a few minutes of walking, the hero managed to calm down. He wasn't completely comfortable with the idea of having sex with a succubus, but this one seemed to stand out as "special" to him. She also said that she needed either demon realm fruit, or spirit energy through sex in order to live. The conflict in his mind between having sex with a female monster that he didn't know very well versus keeping his teammates alive and healthy weighed on him. He couldn't find a resolution, so he decided to set that issue aside for now.
Meanwhile, Zeraine and Amarantha had gathered eyewitness accounts of the dragon. After being directed to the currently-on-duty captain of the city's army, they had managed to have a sit-down with her. She asked, "So, why exactly have you two been asking around about the dragon? Do you mean to slay it?"
They answered honestly, simultaneously saying, "No." Zeraine continued, "We were looking to ask it for help. You see, Ammie and I are traveling with a young knight from The Order. He's a good kid, and he's from what's left of the good, 'old Order'. He understands that there are good and bad monsters, just like with people. On that subject, we were also going to ask for the help of the city's army."
She held up her hand. "Stop right there. You want our help, and the dragon's? What for?"
Zeraine said, "We're on a quest to kill the Demon Lord. The Grandmaster himself sent the kid on the mission, and we realize that we need a massive army of volunteers to stand against the Demon Lord and his army. If we don't get rid of him, he'll kill every last human and turn all the good monsters evil."
The female captain nodded, partly with knowing and partly with approval. "It's good that you two and your friend understand all that. That dragon is actually a good one. He helps us keep our city safe."
Amarantha leaned forward. "'He'? Do you personally know the dragon?"
The captain nodded. "I've met with him several times. I'd venture to say that he's a better man than most men. He's got a big heart. I've wondered before if that's because he's a gold dragon..."
Amarantha pulled back a little in surprise. "A gold dragon!? Great..."
The captain looked a little offended, and Zeraine asked, "What's wrong?"
Amarantha sighed. "Gold dragons are notorious for having huge egos. Their great beauty often goes to their heads, causing them to be extremely pompous and arrogant."
He said, "But from what I've seen, silver dragons are guilty of that to an extent, as well. Your ego is massive, too, you know."
Amarantha glared at him. "I don't abuse my power and looks. My large ego is justified because I am beautiful and powerful. Gold dragons also get the same justification to an extent, but we silver dragons tend not to abuse our looks and power like they do."
The captain slammed her fist down on the table. "Wait a minute. I don't approve of you insulting him, but what is this about a silver dragon?"
Amarantha huffed. "I am actually a silver dragon. I travel with this man because we are best friends and our adventures are fun, even though we get into fights with each other from time to time."
The captain managed to partially hide a look of jealousy. "Show me."
Amarantha said, "Not in here. The room's too small."
The captain led them outside to a private spot, away from anyone who could see. "Now, show me."
Amarantha transformed back into her dragon form. "Satisfied?"
The captain nodded. "Yes."
Before the captain could say anything else, Amarantha changed back to her human form. The captain then continued, "If you can regroup with your friend, I'll lead you to him so you can ask him for his help. If he'll help you, our city's army will, too."
They returned to the captain's office and were greeted by a guard. He said, "Ma'am, we have some good news. A young knight from The Order and his lady friend exposed a shady man who was claiming to sell demon realm fruit. They apparently roughed him up a bit, but he's in our jail right now."
The captain asked, "And where are these two now?"
The guard replied, "The jailor's paying them the reward. Follow me, ma'am."
The guard led them to the jail, where they saw the hero and the succubus, who was still in her human form, receiving the reward money. Zeraine stepped ahead. "Hey, guys. Caught a scumbag?"
The succubus turned around. "Yeah. The bastard claimed he was selling demon realm fruit, but it was a scam. He was actually selling rotten regular fruit."
Zeraine shook his head. "Tough break. Anyway, I've confirmed that there is a dragon. A gold one. This woman here will lead us to it so we can talk."
The captain turned Zeraine around and looked him in the eye with an angry, scolding look. "'Him', not 'it'."
Once they were out on the road to the gold dragon's lair, the female captain asked the succubus, "So why did you feel the need to point out that the demon realm fruit that man was selling was fake?"
She hesitantly replied, "Because... I need it."
Zeraine said, "It's alright, she's trustworthy enough, I think."
The succubus hesitantly nodded, then dropped her disguise. The captain jumped back in surprise. "You're a succubus!? What are you doing here!?"
She replied in a growling tone, "Because, I hate the Demon Lord and want him dead. I went out on my own to find allies to help me, and ran into this man from The Order. We decided to team up since our goals were the same. Because I'm extremely picky about who I fuck, I've been living off demon realm fruit instead of men's spirit energy, and I'm almost out."
The captain dropped her defensive stance. "I guess that makes sense. It's rare to even hear about a picky succubus, let alone meet one. Anyway, Amarantha, can I speak with you privately for a second?"
Amarantha sped up next to the captain, and the rest of the party slowed down, allowing them to advance far enough ahead to have their private conversation. The captain hesitantly asked, "You're not here looking for a mate, are you?"
Amarantha shook her head. "No. I'm only interested in Zeraine. That succubus promised me that after we've killed the Demon Lord, she'll assume the title and make it so that I can have kids with him. That means I've got a personal stake in the outcome of this little adventure."
The captain blushed a little. "If you're serious enough about him to say so this bluntly, I guess it has to be the truth." She visibly relaxed.
Amarantha eyed her suspiciously. "Why do you ask? Were you afraid I might take this gold dragon from you?"
The captain blushed and looked down.
Amarantha smiled, knowing she nailed it. "You're in love with a male gold dragon. I can't really tease you about it, since I'm a female silver dragon who's in love with a human man..."
The captain giggled. "We seem to be in similar situations. Humans and dragons loving one another, but the difference between us is that the genders are opposites. For you it's female-dragon-and-human-man, and with me it's human-woman-with-male-dragon."
Amarantha sighed. "If only I could bring myself to make the first move..."
"What do you mean?" the captain asked with a curious look.
"Ever since I realized I love him, I've been waiting for him to make the first move. I wonder if I should just stop with the subtle clues that he apparently can't see and simply shove him down and make him officially mine?" she said, crossing her arms in thought.
The captain laughed a little. "Most men are dense. If the clues are too subtle, they won't see them. I think what you should do is just outright tell him. Have you two had sex before?"
Amarantha's face turned red. "No. We've only slept next to each other in the same bed. You know how most dragons can change to a human form, right? Well, this form is my base human form with no 'liberties' taken on my appearance. I've tried, much to my embarrassment, and failed, to entice him with revealing clothes. I've even slept in the nude next to him. He never did anything! He didn't grab my ass, rub my breasts, or even kiss me!"
The captain laughed. "Like I said, you should tell him flat out that you love him and want him. He might caress you all you want after you do."
Amarantha paused for a second. "Wait, have you had sex with your gold dragon?"
The captain blushed and nodded. "Yes, and he was amazing."
"Human form?"
"What? Of course! It wouldn't fit, otherwise!"
Amarantha started laughing, which caused the captain to laugh, too. The succubus, her curiosity having caused her to use a spell to listen in, smiled. She thought to herself, "We sure are finding a lot of human/monster relationships... Speaking of which, I wonder if Sol boned his lizard girls yet. Anyway, it'd be kind of funny to watch a woman try to please a male dragon in his dragon form, I think. Still, what am I going to do with the male monsters? I was planning on having the species merge, so that human men, which will be turned into incubi, will be the males of the species, and the monsters, after 'humanizing' then just enough, will be the females. Of course, that means I need to change the properties of demonic energy so that the only thing that happens from enough exposure is that men become incubi and women become succubi. I guess I can let the male monsters die off from old age or whatever, and have it so that female monsters will give birth to either more female monsters or human men."
As the succubus continued her scheming, the captain continued leading them to the gold dragon's lair. When they arrived at a very fancy-looking mansion that was pretty much out in the middle of nowhere, she turned around. "We're here."
She led them inside.
The hero looked at her cautiously. "Is that fruit from the demon realm?"
She nodded and swallowed. "I'm a succubus. I'm a bit of a special case, though, because I don't go around fucking all the good-looking men I see. I'm extremely picky. For me, the guy has to have more than just good looks. Due to my extreme pickiness, I don't have the amount of sex a succubus should have, thus I don't feed enough to go without this fruit."
The hero was too embarrassed by her blunt answer to respond, but Zeraine asked, "So you have to live off demon realm fruit because you don't have enough sex? That seems like a rough life. Maybe-ow!" Amarantha had grabbed Zeraine by the wrist and began squeezing. She knew what he was going to offer, and it upset her. He grunted in pain before saying, "Never mind." He turned to Amarantha. "You can let go now." She let go with a scolding glare.
The hero, not understanding what just happened between the two, thought to himself, "What was that about?"
They arrived at the city. The succubus turned to the hero. "I'm too low on demon realm fruit because I forgot to buy some earlier. I need to find some, which probably means I'll have to look in back alleys for the kind of shady people who sell it in human cities and towns. Fortunately, as far as restoring my magic energy goes, I can use the potions we have, but I still need to eat. That allows me to ration the fruit a bit better, but like I said, I still need to restock." She looked at the hero. "You, come with me." She grabbed his hand, then looked at Zeraine and Amarantha. "You two, ask around about the dragon that's rumored to be farther north. If it's too far, we'll need to sleep here for the night and set out tomorrow morning. If it's close enough, which it probably isn't, if it's even true, we might be able to go there, get the dragon's help, and return before nightfall."
The party split up, with Zeraine and Amarantha heading for the inns and taverns in the better part of the city, while the succubus led the hero through the slum-like area. The hero asked, "Isn't there a better option? The way it usually is, owning, buying, or selling the fruit is illegal. I know you need it to live, but-"
She cut him off. "Well, unless one of two things happens, I'll need this stuff for the foreseeable future. In case you're wondering, those two things are as follows; either I find a man who meets my standards, or you prove to meet them."
The hero's face went red. "And your standards are?"
She shrugged. "Let's just say that you're close to meeting them, but I'm not completely sure of you yet."
He blushed even more. "I see."
After a few minutes of walking, the hero managed to calm down. He wasn't completely comfortable with the idea of having sex with a succubus, but this one seemed to stand out as "special" to him. She also said that she needed either demon realm fruit, or spirit energy through sex in order to live. The conflict in his mind between having sex with a female monster that he didn't know very well versus keeping his teammates alive and healthy weighed on him. He couldn't find a resolution, so he decided to set that issue aside for now.
Meanwhile, Zeraine and Amarantha had gathered eyewitness accounts of the dragon. After being directed to the currently-on-duty captain of the city's army, they had managed to have a sit-down with her. She asked, "So, why exactly have you two been asking around about the dragon? Do you mean to slay it?"
They answered honestly, simultaneously saying, "No." Zeraine continued, "We were looking to ask it for help. You see, Ammie and I are traveling with a young knight from The Order. He's a good kid, and he's from what's left of the good, 'old Order'. He understands that there are good and bad monsters, just like with people. On that subject, we were also going to ask for the help of the city's army."
She held up her hand. "Stop right there. You want our help, and the dragon's? What for?"
Zeraine said, "We're on a quest to kill the Demon Lord. The Grandmaster himself sent the kid on the mission, and we realize that we need a massive army of volunteers to stand against the Demon Lord and his army. If we don't get rid of him, he'll kill every last human and turn all the good monsters evil."
The female captain nodded, partly with knowing and partly with approval. "It's good that you two and your friend understand all that. That dragon is actually a good one. He helps us keep our city safe."
Amarantha leaned forward. "'He'? Do you personally know the dragon?"
The captain nodded. "I've met with him several times. I'd venture to say that he's a better man than most men. He's got a big heart. I've wondered before if that's because he's a gold dragon..."
Amarantha pulled back a little in surprise. "A gold dragon!? Great..."
The captain looked a little offended, and Zeraine asked, "What's wrong?"
Amarantha sighed. "Gold dragons are notorious for having huge egos. Their great beauty often goes to their heads, causing them to be extremely pompous and arrogant."
He said, "But from what I've seen, silver dragons are guilty of that to an extent, as well. Your ego is massive, too, you know."
Amarantha glared at him. "I don't abuse my power and looks. My large ego is justified because I am beautiful and powerful. Gold dragons also get the same justification to an extent, but we silver dragons tend not to abuse our looks and power like they do."
The captain slammed her fist down on the table. "Wait a minute. I don't approve of you insulting him, but what is this about a silver dragon?"
Amarantha huffed. "I am actually a silver dragon. I travel with this man because we are best friends and our adventures are fun, even though we get into fights with each other from time to time."
The captain managed to partially hide a look of jealousy. "Show me."
Amarantha said, "Not in here. The room's too small."
The captain led them outside to a private spot, away from anyone who could see. "Now, show me."
Amarantha transformed back into her dragon form. "Satisfied?"
The captain nodded. "Yes."
Before the captain could say anything else, Amarantha changed back to her human form. The captain then continued, "If you can regroup with your friend, I'll lead you to him so you can ask him for his help. If he'll help you, our city's army will, too."
They returned to the captain's office and were greeted by a guard. He said, "Ma'am, we have some good news. A young knight from The Order and his lady friend exposed a shady man who was claiming to sell demon realm fruit. They apparently roughed him up a bit, but he's in our jail right now."
The captain asked, "And where are these two now?"
The guard replied, "The jailor's paying them the reward. Follow me, ma'am."
The guard led them to the jail, where they saw the hero and the succubus, who was still in her human form, receiving the reward money. Zeraine stepped ahead. "Hey, guys. Caught a scumbag?"
The succubus turned around. "Yeah. The bastard claimed he was selling demon realm fruit, but it was a scam. He was actually selling rotten regular fruit."
Zeraine shook his head. "Tough break. Anyway, I've confirmed that there is a dragon. A gold one. This woman here will lead us to it so we can talk."
The captain turned Zeraine around and looked him in the eye with an angry, scolding look. "'Him', not 'it'."
Once they were out on the road to the gold dragon's lair, the female captain asked the succubus, "So why did you feel the need to point out that the demon realm fruit that man was selling was fake?"
She hesitantly replied, "Because... I need it."
Zeraine said, "It's alright, she's trustworthy enough, I think."
The succubus hesitantly nodded, then dropped her disguise. The captain jumped back in surprise. "You're a succubus!? What are you doing here!?"
She replied in a growling tone, "Because, I hate the Demon Lord and want him dead. I went out on my own to find allies to help me, and ran into this man from The Order. We decided to team up since our goals were the same. Because I'm extremely picky about who I fuck, I've been living off demon realm fruit instead of men's spirit energy, and I'm almost out."
The captain dropped her defensive stance. "I guess that makes sense. It's rare to even hear about a picky succubus, let alone meet one. Anyway, Amarantha, can I speak with you privately for a second?"
Amarantha sped up next to the captain, and the rest of the party slowed down, allowing them to advance far enough ahead to have their private conversation. The captain hesitantly asked, "You're not here looking for a mate, are you?"
Amarantha shook her head. "No. I'm only interested in Zeraine. That succubus promised me that after we've killed the Demon Lord, she'll assume the title and make it so that I can have kids with him. That means I've got a personal stake in the outcome of this little adventure."
The captain blushed a little. "If you're serious enough about him to say so this bluntly, I guess it has to be the truth." She visibly relaxed.
Amarantha eyed her suspiciously. "Why do you ask? Were you afraid I might take this gold dragon from you?"
The captain blushed and looked down.
Amarantha smiled, knowing she nailed it. "You're in love with a male gold dragon. I can't really tease you about it, since I'm a female silver dragon who's in love with a human man..."
The captain giggled. "We seem to be in similar situations. Humans and dragons loving one another, but the difference between us is that the genders are opposites. For you it's female-dragon-and-human-man, and with me it's human-woman-with-male-dragon."
Amarantha sighed. "If only I could bring myself to make the first move..."
"What do you mean?" the captain asked with a curious look.
"Ever since I realized I love him, I've been waiting for him to make the first move. I wonder if I should just stop with the subtle clues that he apparently can't see and simply shove him down and make him officially mine?" she said, crossing her arms in thought.
The captain laughed a little. "Most men are dense. If the clues are too subtle, they won't see them. I think what you should do is just outright tell him. Have you two had sex before?"
Amarantha's face turned red. "No. We've only slept next to each other in the same bed. You know how most dragons can change to a human form, right? Well, this form is my base human form with no 'liberties' taken on my appearance. I've tried, much to my embarrassment, and failed, to entice him with revealing clothes. I've even slept in the nude next to him. He never did anything! He didn't grab my ass, rub my breasts, or even kiss me!"
The captain laughed. "Like I said, you should tell him flat out that you love him and want him. He might caress you all you want after you do."
Amarantha paused for a second. "Wait, have you had sex with your gold dragon?"
The captain blushed and nodded. "Yes, and he was amazing."
"Human form?"
"What? Of course! It wouldn't fit, otherwise!"
Amarantha started laughing, which caused the captain to laugh, too. The succubus, her curiosity having caused her to use a spell to listen in, smiled. She thought to herself, "We sure are finding a lot of human/monster relationships... Speaking of which, I wonder if Sol boned his lizard girls yet. Anyway, it'd be kind of funny to watch a woman try to please a male dragon in his dragon form, I think. Still, what am I going to do with the male monsters? I was planning on having the species merge, so that human men, which will be turned into incubi, will be the males of the species, and the monsters, after 'humanizing' then just enough, will be the females. Of course, that means I need to change the properties of demonic energy so that the only thing that happens from enough exposure is that men become incubi and women become succubi. I guess I can let the male monsters die off from old age or whatever, and have it so that female monsters will give birth to either more female monsters or human men."
As the succubus continued her scheming, the captain continued leading them to the gold dragon's lair. When they arrived at a very fancy-looking mansion that was pretty much out in the middle of nowhere, she turned around. "We're here."
She led them inside.
Chapter 18
Spoiler: show
The hero looked at the mansion in awe. "Why did he have this mansion built? And for that matter, how?"
The captain opened the gate and led the party in. "He used some of his massive treasure horde to pay to have it built. As for why, a mansion is certainly better than a cave."
They arrived at the front door. A (genderless) golem opened the door and a butler greeted them. "Greetings, captain. Your beloved awaits you in the game room."
Upon seeing the golem, the succubus began thinking about how she'd change them. "Naturally they'd have to all become female. They'd also have to get a bit more intelligence, maybe..."
The captain led the party to the game room, where they found a handsome blond man throwing darts. The captain walked up to him. He turned around and hugged her. "Hey, honey! What brings you here? A strong desire to see me again, perhaps?" He laughed happily.
The captain gestured to the hero and his party. "Dear, these people want to speak with you."
The hero stepped forward. "Greetings. I'm a knight from The Order, on a mission from the Grandmaster himself to kill the Demon Lord. My friends and I realize that we won't be able to do anything with just the four of us, which is why we're going around trying to gain support. So far, we have one of the remaining non-corrupted Order chapters and an Elf village near it. We need your help, and that of the city's, if we're going to get enough force on our side. With a gold dragon helping us, I'm sure other city militaries, other dragons, and the good monsters, will all help us when the time comes."
The captain said, "I told these people the city's army would help if you would."
The man thought for several seconds. "Well, the Demon Lord is a big problem. I'd love to see him disposed of, and if I can get glory for helping to get rid of him, all the better! Still, you realize that you'll pretty much have to unite all battle-capable humans and monsters in order to beat him, right? I mean, I'm a gold dragon. I'm so powerful it's ridiculous, but I wouldn't challenge the Demon Lord without another four or so beings that were as powerful as me, AND an army. You guys have lots of work to do, lots of training to do, and lots of allies to gain."
Amarantha muttered, "At least he's honest..."
The man heard it, though, and looked. "So you have a silver dragon with you? That's a good start. Like I said, though, you need more than that. I'll help you because I'd be assisting in the removal of a large hindrance, and because it'd be making the world a little safer for my mate." He put his cheek against the captain's, cuddling with her.
The hero asked, "I know this may seem to be a strange request, but may I see your dragon form?"
The man grinned. "Of course. Let's go outside."
Once outside, the man struck a dramatic pose and surrounded himself in bright light. When the light faded, he, in his dragon form, stood there, gold scales glistening in the sun. He let out a blast of fire breath into the air. "Well, what do you think?"
The party, not being able to find the words, simply nodded. The dragon smiled, knowing he had stunned them with his dragon beauty. Amarantha recovered quickest, though, and asked, "Just out of curiosity, how old are you?"
He returned to his human form and smiled proudly. "As of tomorrow, I'll be 102!"
She turned away. "No wonder."
Before the dragon, now back in his form as a blond man, could ask what she meant, the succubus said, "Well, we've got some more powerful allies. We can't waste time, so let's get back to the city and sleep so we can head out tomorrow."
The man said, "If you want, I'll let you stay here tonight. Can I get you anything?"
The succubus said, "To be honest, I'm almost out of demon realm fruit. If you have any, I'd like to buy it. If not, I'd appreciate it if you could point me to the nearest person that sells it."
The man shook his head apologetically. "This far from the demon realm territory, it's rare to find anything like that. I don't have any. I'm sorry. ...Wait, you're a succubus, right? Why not simply feed off that man over there?" he said, pointing at the hero."Or is he gay?"
The hero yelled, "I'm not gay!"
The succubus glared at the man. "Not all succubi are as loose as our reputation makes us out to be. I'm quite picky, to say the least. Unless he manages to meet my standards, I'm not spreading my legs for him or anyone else."
The man nodded. "So you're the kind of girl that will only accept a man who's 'worthy', even though as a succubus, you'd become pretty much bed-ridden if you didn't feed, dying if you starved yourself for too long... I see."
The succubus narrowed her eyes. "That's a bleak way of seeing it."
The man shrugged. "I call it as I see it. ...Can't succubi also feed by extracting spirit energy simply from kissing? Or are you too picky to kiss anyone 'unworthy'?"
The succubus hung her head. "I'd be willing to kiss a man such as him, but feeding like that is less efficient and less fun. Besides, he's from The Order. He probably wouldn't let me feed off him unless I was about to die from starvation. He's a bit of a prude."
The hero stammered a little, then said, "Hey! I'm not some heartless asshole! If you really need to feed on spirit energy that bad, I'll let you. I can't do this without you."
The succubus blushed a little, mentally noting that he had come a little closer to meeting her standards. "Very well then. I warn you, unless you have a lot of spirit energy to spare, you'll feel tired. You might even pass out."
Zeraine held up his hand. "Wait, won't he die from that?"
The succubus shook her head. "No. That's a myth. If you get too low on spirit energy, you pass out. That's all."
He dropped his hand. "Okay, then. That's reassuring."
The succubus asked, "Well, Order knight? Do you think you can handle feeding me as often as needed?"
The hero, deciding in his mind that if frequently kissing a succubus to feed her was all that was needed to keep her healthy, it'd be fine, nodded. "I think I can handle it. Just let me know when it's time so I can be prepared."
The succubus nodded, satisfied at his answer. She didn't mind that her first kiss would be with him. "Fine. Since this gold dragon offered to let us stay here, I believe we should." She turned to him. "Where do we sleep?"
"I'll show you." He led them to a hallway on the second floor. "I assume that you two are going to share a room, since you need to feed her," he said, motioning at the hero and the succubus, "so you two can either share a room or have separate rooms. Your choice." he said, motioning to Zeraine and Amarantha.
Amarantha looked at Zeraine. "We've always shared our rooms before. No reason to stop now."
He hesitantly replied, "Yeah."
The succubus giggled, causing the hero to ask what was so funny. She replied, "The possible implications of that statement, 'sharing a room'."
He asked, "What do you mean?"
Grabbing his hand and beginning to lead him away from the rest of the party, she said, "Come on."
Once they were outside again, away from the rest of the party, the hero asked, "Okay, why did you bring me out here?"
She smiled. "Get this; Amarantha is in love with Zeraine, but despite her subtle hints, he's clueless! They've slept in the same bed several times before, sometimes with her naked, but he never got the hint! She's been waiting for him to make the first move, but he never has. You think we should try to help them?"
The hero was stunned. "And you learned this when?"
She coyly replied, "On the way to this mansion. When Amarantha and the captain were talking, I used my magic to listen in."
The hero gave her a scolding look. "You shouldn't eavesdrop on private conversations. Anyway, what do you mean 'help them'?"
She crossed her arms. "Why, I mean make them aware of each other's feelings, of course! We could possibly even play matchmaker for them."
The hero rubbed his temples. "And we should do this why, exactly?"
She conked him on the head with her staff, lightly. "Can't you sense the sexual tension between them? We need to make Zeraine aware of Amarantha's feelings, then get them to fuck! It seems Zeraine is very dense, so it might take some work on his part..."
The hero rubbed the spot where she hit him. "All men are dense! Women like to do their damn flirting and playing, leaving us clues we can't see, then they get mad when we didn't get the hint!"
The succubus raised an eyebrow. "No shit, genius. That's why we have to step in."
The hero, not wanting to further anger the succubus, reluctantly agreed to it. "So what am I supposed to do?"
She grinned. "You talk to Zeraine and get him to tell you how he feels about Amarantha, then report back to me. Once I know how he feels about her, I can plan the next step."
The hero sighed and walked back into the mansion as the succubus started giggling excitedly. The gold dragon, in human form, had been watching from the window, but didn't hear anything. "I wonder what that was about..."
The captain opened the gate and led the party in. "He used some of his massive treasure horde to pay to have it built. As for why, a mansion is certainly better than a cave."
They arrived at the front door. A (genderless) golem opened the door and a butler greeted them. "Greetings, captain. Your beloved awaits you in the game room."
Upon seeing the golem, the succubus began thinking about how she'd change them. "Naturally they'd have to all become female. They'd also have to get a bit more intelligence, maybe..."
The captain led the party to the game room, where they found a handsome blond man throwing darts. The captain walked up to him. He turned around and hugged her. "Hey, honey! What brings you here? A strong desire to see me again, perhaps?" He laughed happily.
The captain gestured to the hero and his party. "Dear, these people want to speak with you."
The hero stepped forward. "Greetings. I'm a knight from The Order, on a mission from the Grandmaster himself to kill the Demon Lord. My friends and I realize that we won't be able to do anything with just the four of us, which is why we're going around trying to gain support. So far, we have one of the remaining non-corrupted Order chapters and an Elf village near it. We need your help, and that of the city's, if we're going to get enough force on our side. With a gold dragon helping us, I'm sure other city militaries, other dragons, and the good monsters, will all help us when the time comes."
The captain said, "I told these people the city's army would help if you would."
The man thought for several seconds. "Well, the Demon Lord is a big problem. I'd love to see him disposed of, and if I can get glory for helping to get rid of him, all the better! Still, you realize that you'll pretty much have to unite all battle-capable humans and monsters in order to beat him, right? I mean, I'm a gold dragon. I'm so powerful it's ridiculous, but I wouldn't challenge the Demon Lord without another four or so beings that were as powerful as me, AND an army. You guys have lots of work to do, lots of training to do, and lots of allies to gain."
Amarantha muttered, "At least he's honest..."
The man heard it, though, and looked. "So you have a silver dragon with you? That's a good start. Like I said, though, you need more than that. I'll help you because I'd be assisting in the removal of a large hindrance, and because it'd be making the world a little safer for my mate." He put his cheek against the captain's, cuddling with her.
The hero asked, "I know this may seem to be a strange request, but may I see your dragon form?"
The man grinned. "Of course. Let's go outside."
Once outside, the man struck a dramatic pose and surrounded himself in bright light. When the light faded, he, in his dragon form, stood there, gold scales glistening in the sun. He let out a blast of fire breath into the air. "Well, what do you think?"
The party, not being able to find the words, simply nodded. The dragon smiled, knowing he had stunned them with his dragon beauty. Amarantha recovered quickest, though, and asked, "Just out of curiosity, how old are you?"
He returned to his human form and smiled proudly. "As of tomorrow, I'll be 102!"
She turned away. "No wonder."
Before the dragon, now back in his form as a blond man, could ask what she meant, the succubus said, "Well, we've got some more powerful allies. We can't waste time, so let's get back to the city and sleep so we can head out tomorrow."
The man said, "If you want, I'll let you stay here tonight. Can I get you anything?"
The succubus said, "To be honest, I'm almost out of demon realm fruit. If you have any, I'd like to buy it. If not, I'd appreciate it if you could point me to the nearest person that sells it."
The man shook his head apologetically. "This far from the demon realm territory, it's rare to find anything like that. I don't have any. I'm sorry. ...Wait, you're a succubus, right? Why not simply feed off that man over there?" he said, pointing at the hero."Or is he gay?"
The hero yelled, "I'm not gay!"
The succubus glared at the man. "Not all succubi are as loose as our reputation makes us out to be. I'm quite picky, to say the least. Unless he manages to meet my standards, I'm not spreading my legs for him or anyone else."
The man nodded. "So you're the kind of girl that will only accept a man who's 'worthy', even though as a succubus, you'd become pretty much bed-ridden if you didn't feed, dying if you starved yourself for too long... I see."
The succubus narrowed her eyes. "That's a bleak way of seeing it."
The man shrugged. "I call it as I see it. ...Can't succubi also feed by extracting spirit energy simply from kissing? Or are you too picky to kiss anyone 'unworthy'?"
The succubus hung her head. "I'd be willing to kiss a man such as him, but feeding like that is less efficient and less fun. Besides, he's from The Order. He probably wouldn't let me feed off him unless I was about to die from starvation. He's a bit of a prude."
The hero stammered a little, then said, "Hey! I'm not some heartless asshole! If you really need to feed on spirit energy that bad, I'll let you. I can't do this without you."
The succubus blushed a little, mentally noting that he had come a little closer to meeting her standards. "Very well then. I warn you, unless you have a lot of spirit energy to spare, you'll feel tired. You might even pass out."
Zeraine held up his hand. "Wait, won't he die from that?"
The succubus shook her head. "No. That's a myth. If you get too low on spirit energy, you pass out. That's all."
He dropped his hand. "Okay, then. That's reassuring."
The succubus asked, "Well, Order knight? Do you think you can handle feeding me as often as needed?"
The hero, deciding in his mind that if frequently kissing a succubus to feed her was all that was needed to keep her healthy, it'd be fine, nodded. "I think I can handle it. Just let me know when it's time so I can be prepared."
The succubus nodded, satisfied at his answer. She didn't mind that her first kiss would be with him. "Fine. Since this gold dragon offered to let us stay here, I believe we should." She turned to him. "Where do we sleep?"
"I'll show you." He led them to a hallway on the second floor. "I assume that you two are going to share a room, since you need to feed her," he said, motioning at the hero and the succubus, "so you two can either share a room or have separate rooms. Your choice." he said, motioning to Zeraine and Amarantha.
Amarantha looked at Zeraine. "We've always shared our rooms before. No reason to stop now."
He hesitantly replied, "Yeah."
The succubus giggled, causing the hero to ask what was so funny. She replied, "The possible implications of that statement, 'sharing a room'."
He asked, "What do you mean?"
Grabbing his hand and beginning to lead him away from the rest of the party, she said, "Come on."
Once they were outside again, away from the rest of the party, the hero asked, "Okay, why did you bring me out here?"
She smiled. "Get this; Amarantha is in love with Zeraine, but despite her subtle hints, he's clueless! They've slept in the same bed several times before, sometimes with her naked, but he never got the hint! She's been waiting for him to make the first move, but he never has. You think we should try to help them?"
The hero was stunned. "And you learned this when?"
She coyly replied, "On the way to this mansion. When Amarantha and the captain were talking, I used my magic to listen in."
The hero gave her a scolding look. "You shouldn't eavesdrop on private conversations. Anyway, what do you mean 'help them'?"
She crossed her arms. "Why, I mean make them aware of each other's feelings, of course! We could possibly even play matchmaker for them."
The hero rubbed his temples. "And we should do this why, exactly?"
She conked him on the head with her staff, lightly. "Can't you sense the sexual tension between them? We need to make Zeraine aware of Amarantha's feelings, then get them to fuck! It seems Zeraine is very dense, so it might take some work on his part..."
The hero rubbed the spot where she hit him. "All men are dense! Women like to do their damn flirting and playing, leaving us clues we can't see, then they get mad when we didn't get the hint!"
The succubus raised an eyebrow. "No shit, genius. That's why we have to step in."
The hero, not wanting to further anger the succubus, reluctantly agreed to it. "So what am I supposed to do?"
She grinned. "You talk to Zeraine and get him to tell you how he feels about Amarantha, then report back to me. Once I know how he feels about her, I can plan the next step."
The hero sighed and walked back into the mansion as the succubus started giggling excitedly. The gold dragon, in human form, had been watching from the window, but didn't hear anything. "I wonder what that was about..."
Chapter 19
Spoiler: show
The hero returned to the room that Zeraine and Amarantha were sharing and knocked on the door. Amarantha answered the door. "Yes?"
"I need to talk to Zeraine for a bit."
After Amarantha called for him, Zeraine stepped out, wearing normal clothes instead of his armor. "Yeah, kid?"
"I need to talk to you for a bit. I've got a few questions."
Zeraine looked at Amarantha. "We'll finish that list when I get back." She nodded as he nudged the hero and walked away. "Let's take a walk, kid."
They went out to the garden. Once there, Zeraine sat down on a nearby bench. "So what did you want to ask me?"
The hero sat down on the next bench. "This may seem a bit sudden, but bear with me. How do you feel about Amarantha?"
Zeraine was knocked speechless for a full 10 seconds by the hero's question. He finally said, "What? Why do you ask? You planning on making a move on her?" he asked, traces of defensive jealousy creeping into his voice.
The hero quickly shook his head and said, "No. I was just wondering. You two seem to be fairly close, but..."
Zeraine cut him off. "Well, she's my best friend. We've been through a lot together, cheated death many times, and had plenty of fun and profitable adventures."
"Do you love her?"
Zeraine gave the hero a shocked stare. "What?"
"Do you love her? In the way a man loves woman, that is."
"What's got you so curious about it all of a sudden?"
"No real specific reason. I was just wondering."
"Well, yeah, I guess. It's just... I'm a human and she's a dragon. A silver dragon. She's so magnificent, and she's chosen to accompany me on my journeys. I'd be afraid to ask for anything more."
The hero thought for a second. "She spends most of her time in her human form, correct? Considering the time you two have been together, you must have seen her naked and stuff, right? She also said that you two have always shared your rooms at inns and stuff. So what's the deal?"
Zeraine raised an eyebrow, suspicious of the hero, but he answered honestly, "Yeah, I've seen her human form naked body. We share our rooms at inns to save money. We sleep in the same bed because rooms with one bed are usually cheaper. We've bathed together before, and she, for whatever reason, has slept naked next to me several times before, as well. ...Where are you going with this?"
The hero ignored Zeraine's question and asked, "So to summarize, you love her, but are afraid to make any moves because you feel that you'd be asking too much, thinking that being a human makes you unworthy of a dragon, right?"
"Pretty much. Why?"
The hero knew he couldn't just get up and walk away after asking such personal questions, so he thought up a half-truth. "Well, I want to know my teammates as well as I can, so that if need be, I can accommodate them in whatever way they need. I sort of have to, considering I'm the leader of this group. Knowing each other personally helps to build trust, too."
Zeraine mulled over the hero's words for a second, then shrugged. "I guess that makes sense. Any other questions?"
The hero shook his head. "I may ask to spar with you later, but I don't have any other questions for now. Thanks for being candid, my friend." He got up and left. Several seconds later, Zeraine got up and headed back to his and Amarantha's room.
Once the hero returned to the succubus, he told her everything that was said. She scoffed. "That idiot. This looks like one of those cases where the love is mutual, but neither party realizes it. Well, that or 'too close to see', or some combination of both in whatever proportions... Anyway, now we know how Zeraine feels about Amarantha. We already know how she feels about him. I suppose I need to go confess to listening in on her private talk with that girl captain, then tell her how her man feels about her. It looks like she'll have to make the first move, but she can't just jump him out of nowhere, because that would send the wrong message. She needs to tell him how she feels, get him to tell her how he feels, then get in bed and start fucking."
The hero partially raised his hand. "Uh, care to clarify something for me?"
"What?"
"What exactly is the end goal of this? Are we supposed to get them to have sex, or are we supposed to get them to announce and realize their feelings for one another, then deepen their relationship, allowing love to flourish, with them occasionally making love?"
The succubus pulled back in mild surprise. "What's the difference? They're going to have sex anyway after we're done, and their relationship is going to become stronger, as well."
"That doesn't answer my question."
"I guess it'd be both."
"I see. So now what?"
"Like I said, I'll go talk to Amarantha, tell her about my eavesdropping, offer to help her, tell her how Zeraine feels, then give her advice on how to 'acquire' him."
The hero hung his head. "Personally, I don't think letting you do that by yourself is a good idea. You're a succubus. Succubi tend to not have much of an understanding of love, if any, so-"
She slapped him.
"Ow! What was that for!?"
"Don't insult me! I know what I'm doing! If they don't fess up to each other, it could cause us problems later. It'd be healthy for them to do it anyway, so let's push them a little to help them along."
The hero rubbed his cheek. "Fine. Should we go together?"
The succubus crossed her arms and thought for a second. "No. I'll go get her, and if you're so hell-bent on being there, you can wait for us. I'll be bringing her to the pool area."
The hero shrugged. He thought to himself, "This girl... If she really wants to do this right, I need to help, because she could easily screw it up." He said, "Alright, then. I'll be waiting at the pool. With both of us together, we might be able to convince her."
The succubus smiled. "See you in a few minutes." She happily ran back into the mansion, leaving the hero to slowly walk to the pool area.
As the hero arrived at the pool, he saw the gold dragon, in human form, sitting at a table, grinning. "What could you have done to get that red handprint on your cheek, I wonder?" He laughed teasingly.
The hero plopped down in a chair at the same table. "Somehow she got insulted by something I said. Damn she can hit hard! The side of my face feels like it's on fire."
"Trying to score with her but failing?"
"No. Trying to play matchmaker for our other teammates."
The gold dragon leaned forward with an interested look. "Mind telling me about it?"
The hero leaned back in the chair. "It seems our friends, Zeraine and Amarantha, have feelings for each other. The problem is that they don't realize each other's feelings. That nosy succubus decided to meddle in their business by playing matchmaker, attempting to get them to become closer. She dragged me into it, too. So far, she's made me get Zeraine to tell me how he feels about Amarantha so I could tell her. This is a pain in the ass."
The gold dragon laughed. "Sure sounds like it. So let me guess, you, her, and the silver dragon girl are supposed to meet here to talk her into getting closer to him?"
"Yeah. That damn succubus seems to think that she can talk Amarantha into making a move on Zeraine, and since I believe that if she's going to do that, she should do it right, I'm going to supervise this and make sure she doesn't screw it up."
"It kind of sounds to me like you have feelings for that succubus, am I right?"
The hero jumped to a leaning-forward position, leaning on the table. "No way! She's a succubus, she's a pervert, she listens in on private conversations, she has these hare-brained ideas, and we're looking at having me feed her my spirit energy by kissing her, which from the sound of things, will leave me tired, possibly unconscious!"
The gold dragon laughed. "You do, but you don't realize it. Now that I've pointed it out, you'll deny it until you come to terms with it on your own. Once you accept it, I think you two would make a good couple."
The hero slammed his fist down on the table in protest. "I said I didn't! You're looking for things that aren't there!"
The gold dragon smiled. "Like I said, you're denying it now, but you'll accept it later. I'll leave so you three can work this stuff out. Let me know how it goes, okay? I'd like to hear of them getting together." He got up and left, grinning triumphantly the whole way back into his mansion.
The hero laid his head down on the table. "I'm tired. This shit is so draining. Damn it."
"I need to talk to Zeraine for a bit."
After Amarantha called for him, Zeraine stepped out, wearing normal clothes instead of his armor. "Yeah, kid?"
"I need to talk to you for a bit. I've got a few questions."
Zeraine looked at Amarantha. "We'll finish that list when I get back." She nodded as he nudged the hero and walked away. "Let's take a walk, kid."
They went out to the garden. Once there, Zeraine sat down on a nearby bench. "So what did you want to ask me?"
The hero sat down on the next bench. "This may seem a bit sudden, but bear with me. How do you feel about Amarantha?"
Zeraine was knocked speechless for a full 10 seconds by the hero's question. He finally said, "What? Why do you ask? You planning on making a move on her?" he asked, traces of defensive jealousy creeping into his voice.
The hero quickly shook his head and said, "No. I was just wondering. You two seem to be fairly close, but..."
Zeraine cut him off. "Well, she's my best friend. We've been through a lot together, cheated death many times, and had plenty of fun and profitable adventures."
"Do you love her?"
Zeraine gave the hero a shocked stare. "What?"
"Do you love her? In the way a man loves woman, that is."
"What's got you so curious about it all of a sudden?"
"No real specific reason. I was just wondering."
"Well, yeah, I guess. It's just... I'm a human and she's a dragon. A silver dragon. She's so magnificent, and she's chosen to accompany me on my journeys. I'd be afraid to ask for anything more."
The hero thought for a second. "She spends most of her time in her human form, correct? Considering the time you two have been together, you must have seen her naked and stuff, right? She also said that you two have always shared your rooms at inns and stuff. So what's the deal?"
Zeraine raised an eyebrow, suspicious of the hero, but he answered honestly, "Yeah, I've seen her human form naked body. We share our rooms at inns to save money. We sleep in the same bed because rooms with one bed are usually cheaper. We've bathed together before, and she, for whatever reason, has slept naked next to me several times before, as well. ...Where are you going with this?"
The hero ignored Zeraine's question and asked, "So to summarize, you love her, but are afraid to make any moves because you feel that you'd be asking too much, thinking that being a human makes you unworthy of a dragon, right?"
"Pretty much. Why?"
The hero knew he couldn't just get up and walk away after asking such personal questions, so he thought up a half-truth. "Well, I want to know my teammates as well as I can, so that if need be, I can accommodate them in whatever way they need. I sort of have to, considering I'm the leader of this group. Knowing each other personally helps to build trust, too."
Zeraine mulled over the hero's words for a second, then shrugged. "I guess that makes sense. Any other questions?"
The hero shook his head. "I may ask to spar with you later, but I don't have any other questions for now. Thanks for being candid, my friend." He got up and left. Several seconds later, Zeraine got up and headed back to his and Amarantha's room.
Once the hero returned to the succubus, he told her everything that was said. She scoffed. "That idiot. This looks like one of those cases where the love is mutual, but neither party realizes it. Well, that or 'too close to see', or some combination of both in whatever proportions... Anyway, now we know how Zeraine feels about Amarantha. We already know how she feels about him. I suppose I need to go confess to listening in on her private talk with that girl captain, then tell her how her man feels about her. It looks like she'll have to make the first move, but she can't just jump him out of nowhere, because that would send the wrong message. She needs to tell him how she feels, get him to tell her how he feels, then get in bed and start fucking."
The hero partially raised his hand. "Uh, care to clarify something for me?"
"What?"
"What exactly is the end goal of this? Are we supposed to get them to have sex, or are we supposed to get them to announce and realize their feelings for one another, then deepen their relationship, allowing love to flourish, with them occasionally making love?"
The succubus pulled back in mild surprise. "What's the difference? They're going to have sex anyway after we're done, and their relationship is going to become stronger, as well."
"That doesn't answer my question."
"I guess it'd be both."
"I see. So now what?"
"Like I said, I'll go talk to Amarantha, tell her about my eavesdropping, offer to help her, tell her how Zeraine feels, then give her advice on how to 'acquire' him."
The hero hung his head. "Personally, I don't think letting you do that by yourself is a good idea. You're a succubus. Succubi tend to not have much of an understanding of love, if any, so-"
She slapped him.
"Ow! What was that for!?"
"Don't insult me! I know what I'm doing! If they don't fess up to each other, it could cause us problems later. It'd be healthy for them to do it anyway, so let's push them a little to help them along."
The hero rubbed his cheek. "Fine. Should we go together?"
The succubus crossed her arms and thought for a second. "No. I'll go get her, and if you're so hell-bent on being there, you can wait for us. I'll be bringing her to the pool area."
The hero shrugged. He thought to himself, "This girl... If she really wants to do this right, I need to help, because she could easily screw it up." He said, "Alright, then. I'll be waiting at the pool. With both of us together, we might be able to convince her."
The succubus smiled. "See you in a few minutes." She happily ran back into the mansion, leaving the hero to slowly walk to the pool area.
As the hero arrived at the pool, he saw the gold dragon, in human form, sitting at a table, grinning. "What could you have done to get that red handprint on your cheek, I wonder?" He laughed teasingly.
The hero plopped down in a chair at the same table. "Somehow she got insulted by something I said. Damn she can hit hard! The side of my face feels like it's on fire."
"Trying to score with her but failing?"
"No. Trying to play matchmaker for our other teammates."
The gold dragon leaned forward with an interested look. "Mind telling me about it?"
The hero leaned back in the chair. "It seems our friends, Zeraine and Amarantha, have feelings for each other. The problem is that they don't realize each other's feelings. That nosy succubus decided to meddle in their business by playing matchmaker, attempting to get them to become closer. She dragged me into it, too. So far, she's made me get Zeraine to tell me how he feels about Amarantha so I could tell her. This is a pain in the ass."
The gold dragon laughed. "Sure sounds like it. So let me guess, you, her, and the silver dragon girl are supposed to meet here to talk her into getting closer to him?"
"Yeah. That damn succubus seems to think that she can talk Amarantha into making a move on Zeraine, and since I believe that if she's going to do that, she should do it right, I'm going to supervise this and make sure she doesn't screw it up."
"It kind of sounds to me like you have feelings for that succubus, am I right?"
The hero jumped to a leaning-forward position, leaning on the table. "No way! She's a succubus, she's a pervert, she listens in on private conversations, she has these hare-brained ideas, and we're looking at having me feed her my spirit energy by kissing her, which from the sound of things, will leave me tired, possibly unconscious!"
The gold dragon laughed. "You do, but you don't realize it. Now that I've pointed it out, you'll deny it until you come to terms with it on your own. Once you accept it, I think you two would make a good couple."
The hero slammed his fist down on the table in protest. "I said I didn't! You're looking for things that aren't there!"
The gold dragon smiled. "Like I said, you're denying it now, but you'll accept it later. I'll leave so you three can work this stuff out. Let me know how it goes, okay? I'd like to hear of them getting together." He got up and left, grinning triumphantly the whole way back into his mansion.
The hero laid his head down on the table. "I'm tired. This shit is so draining. Damn it."
Chapter 20
Spoiler: show
Meanwhile, the succubus went to Amarantha's room and knocked on the door. Amarantha answered. "What do you need?"
The succubus, barely able to keep from smiling, said, "I've got a couple of questions for you."
Zeraine looked from in the room, raising an eyebrow. He thought, "First the kid come to talk to me, now that succubus comes to talk to Ammie. What's going on, anyway? What are they up to?"
Amarantha walked with the succubus to the pool area. The hero was still sitting at the table, laying his head on it. "This armor prevents physical exhaustion from combat, but will it rejuvenate me after I feed her? So far I've discovered that when the tiredness is brought on by mental fatigue, the armor does nothing..." he complained to nobody in particular, not realizing that Amarantha and the succubus had arrived.
Amarantha looked at the hero, then back to the succubus. "It's not about him, is it?"
The succubus frowned and walked over to the hero. "Snap out of it!" She gave him a hard shove, nearly shoving him out of the chair.
"You're finally here."
The succubus pulled out two chairs, one for her, and one for Amarantha. "Please sit down. We have some things to discuss."
Amarantha did as she asked and sat down across the table from the succubus. "So what is it?"
The succubus almost spoke, but then paused and said, "First, an unrelated question. After that gold dragon told you his age, why did you say, 'no wonder'?"
Amarantha huffed and looked to the side. "Gold dragons are notorious for being immature jackasses until after they're 250 years old. We silver dragons, on the other hand, usually become mature and respectable after we're about 100 years old. He's younger than me, and it shows."
The hero quipped, "What about your exchanges with Sol?"
Amarantha narrowed her eyes. "You said it yourself. He and I fight like siblings. Anyone will act immature after being pushed enough, and he's good at pushing me to that point."
The succubus asked, "Okay, so on to the main questions. You remember how on the way here you talked with that female captain, right?"
Amarantha raised an eyebrow. "Of course I remember. I have a good memory. So what about it? You want me to tell you what we said?"
The succubus closed her eyes and smirked. "No need. You see, I listened in on your conversation, so I know everything."
Amarantha gave a look that was a mixture of being offended, being angry, and being embarrassed. "That's not nice of you."
The succubus waved it off. "Whatever. The fact is we know you are in love with Zeraine, but he's like most men, unable to see the hints."
Amarantha blushed. "So? What of it?"
The succubus gave her a big smile. "We can help you. A little bit ago, I had him talk to Zeraine," she said as she pointed at the hero. "He managed to get Zeraine to tell him how he feels about you, which he then reported to me. Do you know how he feels about you?"
Amarantha shrugged. "Best friends and nothing more?"
The succubus somehow managed to smile bigger. "No. He loves you, too, but he's afraid he's not worthy of the love of a silver dragon. Your attempts at getting him to do something by sleeping naked next to him only confused him."
Amarantha's face went redder. "Really?"
"Yes. Since your love is mutual, you can deepen it. The only thing is, it looks like you'll have to make the first move, since he's afraid to."
Amarantha's face was completely red, but she was very happy about this revelation. "So how do I go about doing that?"
The succubus gave a perverted smile. "Simple. Go back to your room, tell him how you feel, and tell him you won't take 'no' for an answer. Undress him, tearing his clothes off if you have to, then throw him down on the bed, mount him, and ride until you're both satisfied."
Amarantha let out a stammering yell of embarrassment. "W-w-w-wh-what!?"
The hero slammed his fist down on the table, then pointed at the succubus. "Wrong!" He looked at Amarantha. "The proper way would be to tell him how you feel and see if that causes him to admit his feelings. If it does, you two can proceed as the mood dictates. If he doesn't admit it, you already know the truth and can let him know that you know his true feelings. After that, if the mood is right, you might be able to get intimate. Trying to rape him like what she suggested would probably only drive him away."
The succubus frowned at the hero. "You can't rape the willing."
"But you can be too aggressive to the point of scaring him into no longer being willing, which then makes it rape."
The succubus frustratedly exhaled, but before she could try to counter the hero's statement, Amarantha said, "Thanks, guys. I'll go with the kid's method. I love him, and I don't want to screw this up." She got up to leave.
The succubus smiled. "Make sure that if you score tonight, you tell us every last detail tomorrow!"
Amarantha paused, imagining making love to Zeraine. Her face went redder than it had so far. "The details of what happens in bed between me and him is for us to know. If you want erotic stuff so bad, go read some porn or something." She walked back into the mansion.
The hero and the succubus watched until she was out of sight, then the succubus said, "My way would have worked perfectly. If they went with it, they'd be fucking before sundown. Your way could have them drag it out for weeks! She should just shove him down and have her way with him."
The hero shook his head. "Like I said, that'd be the wrong way to do it. If she did that, she could scare him off and they'd never be able to salvage their relationship. By going your way, she'd come off as some kind of pushy, dominating, horny, perverted slut. Zeraine would probably be heartbroken to see her act like nothing more than a bitch in heat, lusting after him, desperate for sex. Love is complicated, and it takes time to build it. You also have to be extremely careful not to screw anything up. At this stage of their relationship, where the love is mutual but they didn't realize it until now, acting too aggressively can destroy it. I know what I'm doing."
The succubus gritted her teeth. "I know what I'm doing! The sooner they have sex, the sooner they get past whatever barriers they might currently have in their relationship! Once they're torn down those barriers, they should be able to live out the rest of their lives together, having lots of sex, and once I'm Demon Lord, she'll be able to have kids with him, too! If your idea screws this up, I'll kick your ass!"
The hero, not able to think up a response to her comment about her becoming the Demon Lord, simply said, "Whatever. My method will work, just you wait and see. The fact is that I'm right and you're wrong. They'll hook up just fine."
The succubus glared at him. "No, I'm right! You're clueless!"
"No, you're wrong, and you're the one who's clueless! It sounds like the only experience in love that you have is from porn and erotic stories, and I can tell you right now, real love doesn't work that way!"
"Shut up! Some of my friends told me how their men enjoyed it when they shoved them down and took them!"
"You shut up! Not all men enjoy being dominated! Some guys prefer to do the dominating, while others prefer to be equal with their partners! Just because some of your succubi friends have submissive men doesn't mean that all men enjoy rough, forceful sex!"
"I said shut up! I know what I'm trying to do!"
"No you don't!
"Yes I do!"
"No, you don't!"
"Yes, I do!"
The hero stood up, leaning forward with his hands on the table. "I said you don't!"
The succubus jumped to her feet, leaning forward with her hands on the table just like the hero. "I said I do!"
They glared into each other's eyes, both of them furious. The succubus started shaking, seemingly having trouble supporting herself. The hero saw it and said, "Let's set aside our argument for now. Are you okay?"
She nodded. "I'm just a little drained. I burned up a lot of energy yelling at you." She looked into his eyes, her face gradually reddening. "I, um... need to feed." she said shyly.
The hero's face went red, too, knowing that he had to kiss her to feed her. "We should take care of that right now."
She nodded. The hero stepped around the table and started to lean in when she stopped him. "Do it right, damn it! ...Hold me."
Both of their faces went redder and the hero put his arms around her. She asked, "Are you ready?"
He hesitantly nodded. "Yeah, I think."
"Is it your first kiss?"
"Y-yeah, why?"
"Mine, too. You should feel honored, knowing that you get my first kiss, on top of the fact that you're giving your first kiss to a succubus. You're damn lucky, so you should really appreciate this, okay?"
He nodded and moved in. She grabbed his head with both hands and pulled herself to him. They kissed passionately, the kiss itself lasting several seconds. Before the kiss ended, the hero started feeling a bit faint. After the succubus broke the kiss off the hero fell forward and she caught him. She put his arm over her shoulder and helped him back toward their room. On the way there, they ran into the female captain. She asked, "What happened?"
The succubus blushed and answered, "He just fed me, and since it was through the fairly inefficient kissing method, he's exhausted."
"I see." She put the hero's other arm over her shoulder and helped the succubus bring him to the room. As they arrived at the second floor hallway, Zeraine and Amarantha were stepping out of their room.
When they beheld the sight, Amarantha asked, "What did you do to him?"
The succubus defensively said, "Nothing. I just had him feed me and it left him exhausted. He just needs to lay down for a while and he'll be fine. Dinner would help, too."
Zeraine took a closer look at the hero. "Are you sure he won't die from this?"
The succubus answered in an offended tone, "Of course I'm sure! The only times anyone has ever died while being with a succubus was when the fools tried to impress them by offering more sex than they could handle, which led them to die from exhaustion resulting from their own stupidity. And before you say anything, that only happened after weeks of the idiots deciding that fucking was more important than eating or sleeping."
Zeraine asked, "So let me get this straight, they decided to have sex rather than eat or sleep for weeks on end, and died from exhaustion, and it was their own fault? Not the succubus?"
"Yes. It was the fault of the stupid men that thought with their dicks far too much."
"And the succubi didn't try to stop them?"
"They tried, but they failed."
"That's sad. Anyway, since I'm stronger than you two, I'll handle him from here." Zeraine grabbed the hero from the girls and picked him up in a "fireman carry" position. He carried the hero into the room and laid him on the bed.
The hero spoke in a drowsy and slurred tone, "I'll be fine... I jusht need shome shleep..." He passed out, quietly snoring.
Zeraine said, "Well, Ammie?"
Amarantha said, "You go on ahead, I'll be right behind you."
Zeraine walked out of the room. Amarantha approached the succubus and whispered, "Zeraine and I finished making a list of things we need to make sure we have. We'll fill you and him in later. Right now, I'm about to go to the garden with Zeraine so I can ask him how he feels about me. Wish me luck, okay?"
The succubus said, "Sure. ...Wait-"
Amarantha held her hand up and stopped the succubus. "You tend to him." She glanced at the hero. "I think I can handle this without you hiding in the bushes."
The succubus reluctantly agreed. "Okay, fine, but let me know how it goes, alright?"
Amarantha nodded. "Will do." With that, she walked out of the room, leaving the succubus to tend to the sleeping hero.
The succubus, barely able to keep from smiling, said, "I've got a couple of questions for you."
Zeraine looked from in the room, raising an eyebrow. He thought, "First the kid come to talk to me, now that succubus comes to talk to Ammie. What's going on, anyway? What are they up to?"
Amarantha walked with the succubus to the pool area. The hero was still sitting at the table, laying his head on it. "This armor prevents physical exhaustion from combat, but will it rejuvenate me after I feed her? So far I've discovered that when the tiredness is brought on by mental fatigue, the armor does nothing..." he complained to nobody in particular, not realizing that Amarantha and the succubus had arrived.
Amarantha looked at the hero, then back to the succubus. "It's not about him, is it?"
The succubus frowned and walked over to the hero. "Snap out of it!" She gave him a hard shove, nearly shoving him out of the chair.
"You're finally here."
The succubus pulled out two chairs, one for her, and one for Amarantha. "Please sit down. We have some things to discuss."
Amarantha did as she asked and sat down across the table from the succubus. "So what is it?"
The succubus almost spoke, but then paused and said, "First, an unrelated question. After that gold dragon told you his age, why did you say, 'no wonder'?"
Amarantha huffed and looked to the side. "Gold dragons are notorious for being immature jackasses until after they're 250 years old. We silver dragons, on the other hand, usually become mature and respectable after we're about 100 years old. He's younger than me, and it shows."
The hero quipped, "What about your exchanges with Sol?"
Amarantha narrowed her eyes. "You said it yourself. He and I fight like siblings. Anyone will act immature after being pushed enough, and he's good at pushing me to that point."
The succubus asked, "Okay, so on to the main questions. You remember how on the way here you talked with that female captain, right?"
Amarantha raised an eyebrow. "Of course I remember. I have a good memory. So what about it? You want me to tell you what we said?"
The succubus closed her eyes and smirked. "No need. You see, I listened in on your conversation, so I know everything."
Amarantha gave a look that was a mixture of being offended, being angry, and being embarrassed. "That's not nice of you."
The succubus waved it off. "Whatever. The fact is we know you are in love with Zeraine, but he's like most men, unable to see the hints."
Amarantha blushed. "So? What of it?"
The succubus gave her a big smile. "We can help you. A little bit ago, I had him talk to Zeraine," she said as she pointed at the hero. "He managed to get Zeraine to tell him how he feels about you, which he then reported to me. Do you know how he feels about you?"
Amarantha shrugged. "Best friends and nothing more?"
The succubus somehow managed to smile bigger. "No. He loves you, too, but he's afraid he's not worthy of the love of a silver dragon. Your attempts at getting him to do something by sleeping naked next to him only confused him."
Amarantha's face went redder. "Really?"
"Yes. Since your love is mutual, you can deepen it. The only thing is, it looks like you'll have to make the first move, since he's afraid to."
Amarantha's face was completely red, but she was very happy about this revelation. "So how do I go about doing that?"
The succubus gave a perverted smile. "Simple. Go back to your room, tell him how you feel, and tell him you won't take 'no' for an answer. Undress him, tearing his clothes off if you have to, then throw him down on the bed, mount him, and ride until you're both satisfied."
Amarantha let out a stammering yell of embarrassment. "W-w-w-wh-what!?"
The hero slammed his fist down on the table, then pointed at the succubus. "Wrong!" He looked at Amarantha. "The proper way would be to tell him how you feel and see if that causes him to admit his feelings. If it does, you two can proceed as the mood dictates. If he doesn't admit it, you already know the truth and can let him know that you know his true feelings. After that, if the mood is right, you might be able to get intimate. Trying to rape him like what she suggested would probably only drive him away."
The succubus frowned at the hero. "You can't rape the willing."
"But you can be too aggressive to the point of scaring him into no longer being willing, which then makes it rape."
The succubus frustratedly exhaled, but before she could try to counter the hero's statement, Amarantha said, "Thanks, guys. I'll go with the kid's method. I love him, and I don't want to screw this up." She got up to leave.
The succubus smiled. "Make sure that if you score tonight, you tell us every last detail tomorrow!"
Amarantha paused, imagining making love to Zeraine. Her face went redder than it had so far. "The details of what happens in bed between me and him is for us to know. If you want erotic stuff so bad, go read some porn or something." She walked back into the mansion.
The hero and the succubus watched until she was out of sight, then the succubus said, "My way would have worked perfectly. If they went with it, they'd be fucking before sundown. Your way could have them drag it out for weeks! She should just shove him down and have her way with him."
The hero shook his head. "Like I said, that'd be the wrong way to do it. If she did that, she could scare him off and they'd never be able to salvage their relationship. By going your way, she'd come off as some kind of pushy, dominating, horny, perverted slut. Zeraine would probably be heartbroken to see her act like nothing more than a bitch in heat, lusting after him, desperate for sex. Love is complicated, and it takes time to build it. You also have to be extremely careful not to screw anything up. At this stage of their relationship, where the love is mutual but they didn't realize it until now, acting too aggressively can destroy it. I know what I'm doing."
The succubus gritted her teeth. "I know what I'm doing! The sooner they have sex, the sooner they get past whatever barriers they might currently have in their relationship! Once they're torn down those barriers, they should be able to live out the rest of their lives together, having lots of sex, and once I'm Demon Lord, she'll be able to have kids with him, too! If your idea screws this up, I'll kick your ass!"
The hero, not able to think up a response to her comment about her becoming the Demon Lord, simply said, "Whatever. My method will work, just you wait and see. The fact is that I'm right and you're wrong. They'll hook up just fine."
The succubus glared at him. "No, I'm right! You're clueless!"
"No, you're wrong, and you're the one who's clueless! It sounds like the only experience in love that you have is from porn and erotic stories, and I can tell you right now, real love doesn't work that way!"
"Shut up! Some of my friends told me how their men enjoyed it when they shoved them down and took them!"
"You shut up! Not all men enjoy being dominated! Some guys prefer to do the dominating, while others prefer to be equal with their partners! Just because some of your succubi friends have submissive men doesn't mean that all men enjoy rough, forceful sex!"
"I said shut up! I know what I'm trying to do!"
"No you don't!
"Yes I do!"
"No, you don't!"
"Yes, I do!"
The hero stood up, leaning forward with his hands on the table. "I said you don't!"
The succubus jumped to her feet, leaning forward with her hands on the table just like the hero. "I said I do!"
They glared into each other's eyes, both of them furious. The succubus started shaking, seemingly having trouble supporting herself. The hero saw it and said, "Let's set aside our argument for now. Are you okay?"
She nodded. "I'm just a little drained. I burned up a lot of energy yelling at you." She looked into his eyes, her face gradually reddening. "I, um... need to feed." she said shyly.
The hero's face went red, too, knowing that he had to kiss her to feed her. "We should take care of that right now."
She nodded. The hero stepped around the table and started to lean in when she stopped him. "Do it right, damn it! ...Hold me."
Both of their faces went redder and the hero put his arms around her. She asked, "Are you ready?"
He hesitantly nodded. "Yeah, I think."
"Is it your first kiss?"
"Y-yeah, why?"
"Mine, too. You should feel honored, knowing that you get my first kiss, on top of the fact that you're giving your first kiss to a succubus. You're damn lucky, so you should really appreciate this, okay?"
He nodded and moved in. She grabbed his head with both hands and pulled herself to him. They kissed passionately, the kiss itself lasting several seconds. Before the kiss ended, the hero started feeling a bit faint. After the succubus broke the kiss off the hero fell forward and she caught him. She put his arm over her shoulder and helped him back toward their room. On the way there, they ran into the female captain. She asked, "What happened?"
The succubus blushed and answered, "He just fed me, and since it was through the fairly inefficient kissing method, he's exhausted."
"I see." She put the hero's other arm over her shoulder and helped the succubus bring him to the room. As they arrived at the second floor hallway, Zeraine and Amarantha were stepping out of their room.
When they beheld the sight, Amarantha asked, "What did you do to him?"
The succubus defensively said, "Nothing. I just had him feed me and it left him exhausted. He just needs to lay down for a while and he'll be fine. Dinner would help, too."
Zeraine took a closer look at the hero. "Are you sure he won't die from this?"
The succubus answered in an offended tone, "Of course I'm sure! The only times anyone has ever died while being with a succubus was when the fools tried to impress them by offering more sex than they could handle, which led them to die from exhaustion resulting from their own stupidity. And before you say anything, that only happened after weeks of the idiots deciding that fucking was more important than eating or sleeping."
Zeraine asked, "So let me get this straight, they decided to have sex rather than eat or sleep for weeks on end, and died from exhaustion, and it was their own fault? Not the succubus?"
"Yes. It was the fault of the stupid men that thought with their dicks far too much."
"And the succubi didn't try to stop them?"
"They tried, but they failed."
"That's sad. Anyway, since I'm stronger than you two, I'll handle him from here." Zeraine grabbed the hero from the girls and picked him up in a "fireman carry" position. He carried the hero into the room and laid him on the bed.
The hero spoke in a drowsy and slurred tone, "I'll be fine... I jusht need shome shleep..." He passed out, quietly snoring.
Zeraine said, "Well, Ammie?"
Amarantha said, "You go on ahead, I'll be right behind you."
Zeraine walked out of the room. Amarantha approached the succubus and whispered, "Zeraine and I finished making a list of things we need to make sure we have. We'll fill you and him in later. Right now, I'm about to go to the garden with Zeraine so I can ask him how he feels about me. Wish me luck, okay?"
The succubus said, "Sure. ...Wait-"
Amarantha held her hand up and stopped the succubus. "You tend to him." She glanced at the hero. "I think I can handle this without you hiding in the bushes."
The succubus reluctantly agreed. "Okay, fine, but let me know how it goes, alright?"
Amarantha nodded. "Will do." With that, she walked out of the room, leaving the succubus to tend to the sleeping hero.
Chapter 21
Spoiler: show
The gold dragon's curiosity had overwhelmed him. Using an invisibility spell, he had been following the hero ever since his chat with him. It took him everything he had in the way of self-control to not burst out laughing when the hero and the succubus argued. To him, it sounded like a lovers' spat or a married couple's argument. He had strained to hold back from laughing to the point that it gave him a headache when the hero had to feed the succubus right after the temporary truce. He was worried he might not be able to handle any more hilarity without laughing, but his curiosity drove him onward. He told his butler to tell the cooks that one of them should make an "energizing" meal for the hero, seeing as he'd need it now that he had to feed the succubus. He snuck out to the garden and hid near Amarantha and Zeraine, who had just arrived and sat down. Zeraine had sat down in the exact same spot as when he talked with the hero earlier, while Amarantha sat down in the spot the hero did earlier.
After a few seconds of uncomfortable silence, Zeraine asked, "So what is it?"
Amarantha hesitated, then asked, "Zeraine, how long have we known each other?"
Surprised by the unexpected question, he thought for a second. "Uh, well, we've known each other for a very long time. So long, in fact, that I can't remember too well the time before we met. Why?"
She looked down at the ground beneath her feet. "After this long together, what do you think about me?"
Completely puzzled, he asked, "What do you mean?"
"How do you feel about me? What do you feel toward me?"
"Well, you're my best friend, the closest person to me ever, and my partner."
"Do you love me?"
Zeraine was almost blown off the bench by his shock. After several seconds of stammering, trying to form words, he said, "Yeah."
"In what way?"
"What do you mean?"
She looked at him, her inhumanly beautiful light-blue eyes gazing into his. "In what way do you love me? Is it as the love between siblings? Is it like the love between those who are just best friends? Or is it as a man loves a woman?"
Zeraine's face turned red in a few seconds. He was on the verge of panicking. He thought, "Whoa, whoa, whoa! Where's this line of questioning coming from!? Why is she asking me this!? Yes, I love her like a man loves a woman, but is she okay with that? I guess I'd better fess up. She doesn't like lies too well..." He cleared his throat and nodded at her. "Yeah, Amarantha, I love you like a man loves a woman."
She teared up at his response. Seeing this, he panicked. "Hey, are you alright!? If it's my answer, I-"
She interrupted him with her smile. It was one of pure happiness. "It's not that."
"Then what is it?" he asked, still worried.
"I'm so happy. Our feelings really are mutual, after all!"
Zeraine wore a blank stare for a few seconds, then her words sunk in. He realized that she loves him, too. Before he could think or say anything else, Amarantha had gotten up and walked over to him. She pulled him to his feet and looked in his eyes with a happy yet demanding gaze. "Kiss me."
Without any objection, he did as she asked. After a several-second-long deep kiss, they broke away and stared into each other's eyes lovingly. In unison, they said, "I love you."
Amarantha smiled at Zeraine and said, "You know what I expect out of you tonight, right?"
He nodded with a perverted grin. "I sure do. ...Is there something stopping us from doing it right now?"
She playfully hit him in the upper arm. "I'm not an exhibitionist. I refuse to do it out in the open in the middle of the day, especially when someone might be watching. You can hold it until tonight."
He gave a sour smile. "Someone watching? You mean like our succubus mage?"
She nodded. "Exactly. Don't worry, though. Come tonight, when we're done, you'll be empty, I'll be full, and we'll both be satisfied." She giggled and walked back into the mansion, heading for the room shared by the hero and the succubus.
Zeraine sat back down, trying to come to terms with what just happened. He muttered to himself, "Ammie just told me she loved me, and was fine with me loving her... Not only that, but we're going to make love tonight! I really hope this isn't a dream."
Meanwhile, after a short nap, the hero had awoken. He was still groggy, though, because even though his enchanted armor restored his physical stamina, it didn't restore lost spirit energy. He groaned, then yawned. As he tried to sit up, the delicate-looking hand of the succubus held him down. "You're not getting out of that bed until dinner time."
He looked at her, partially glaring. "Am I going to pass out every time I feed you?"
She took her hand off his chest. "If you can train yourself to have an abundance of spirit energy, then no. You might feel tired, but you'll stay awake and possibly even recover quickly. I suppose we should look into doing freelance work to get money so we can afford to get you some kind of enchanted armor or clothing that will restore your spirit energy. If you have such a thing, feeding me will just get easier for you."
He visibly calmed down. "So how did it go with Zeraine and Amarantha?"
She shrugged. "Don't know yet. She took him off to talk with him, and they haven't returned. For all we know, they could be fucking like rabbits right now."
The hero gave a sarcastic laugh. "Yeah, right."
"What?" she asked, giving him a slightly offended look.
"I don't think they're the type to do that right now."
She smiled. "Well, if they save it for tonight, all the better! I won't have to babysit you, and I can see for myself how well they do."
The hero paused for a second. "Wait, you're not talking about watching them if they have sex, are you!? That's an invasion of privacy! You might even get in their way if you do that!"
The succubus frowned. "Well, at least I can still listen to it through the wall..."
"...Is that why you chose this room? Because it's right next to theirs and you want to listen to them making love?"
"And what's wrong with that?"
"It makes you a pervert, stupid."
She visibly gritted her teeth. "Fine. If you won't stop bitching unless I decide not to watch or listen, then I'll cancel the idea. Happy?"
He gave her a frown and a victorious glare. "Yeah. What they do in bed is their business. You have no right to peep on them."
She gave him a somewhat evil smile. "Just remember, after dinner, you have to feed me again. Try not to pass out, okay?"
The hero grumbled as he rolled over, turning his back to her. A few seconds later, Amarantha walked in smiling from ear to ear. The succubus grinned at the sight. "Well?"
Amarantha could hardly contain herself. "He admitted it! He loves me!"
She and the succubus hugged each other, squealed with delight, and jumped up and down repeatedly. The succubus asked, "And you told him how you feel?"
"Yeah. I'm sure he's looking forward to tonight, too." She giggled suggestively.
The succubus gave a perverted grin. "Can I watch?"
Amarantha looked like she had been caught off-guard. "Hell no!"
The hero, without moving from his laying position, said, "Told you."
The succubus faced him and spoke in a raised voice. "Shut up!"
"You're awake?" She approached the hero and leaned down to whisper in his ear, "You'd be doing Zeraine and me a favor if you could do something about that girl. Maybe you could give her a good boning or something to keep her occupied?"
The hero waved his hand dismissively. "Have sex with her? No way. Never."
The succubus took offense to that. "What!? Are you saying that I'm not good enough for your dick!?"
Amarantha facepalmed and shouted, "Don't start!" She continued in a normal tone, "How about you teach him levitation, then?"
The hero said, "Sounds good, if she can do it."
The succubus growled at the hero, saying, "Of course I can, you moron!"
Amarantha yelled, "SAVE IT FOR ANOTHER TIME!" She walked out of the room, not letting the bickering between the hero and the succubus spoil her good mood.
After a few seconds of uncomfortable silence, Zeraine asked, "So what is it?"
Amarantha hesitated, then asked, "Zeraine, how long have we known each other?"
Surprised by the unexpected question, he thought for a second. "Uh, well, we've known each other for a very long time. So long, in fact, that I can't remember too well the time before we met. Why?"
She looked down at the ground beneath her feet. "After this long together, what do you think about me?"
Completely puzzled, he asked, "What do you mean?"
"How do you feel about me? What do you feel toward me?"
"Well, you're my best friend, the closest person to me ever, and my partner."
"Do you love me?"
Zeraine was almost blown off the bench by his shock. After several seconds of stammering, trying to form words, he said, "Yeah."
"In what way?"
"What do you mean?"
She looked at him, her inhumanly beautiful light-blue eyes gazing into his. "In what way do you love me? Is it as the love between siblings? Is it like the love between those who are just best friends? Or is it as a man loves a woman?"
Zeraine's face turned red in a few seconds. He was on the verge of panicking. He thought, "Whoa, whoa, whoa! Where's this line of questioning coming from!? Why is she asking me this!? Yes, I love her like a man loves a woman, but is she okay with that? I guess I'd better fess up. She doesn't like lies too well..." He cleared his throat and nodded at her. "Yeah, Amarantha, I love you like a man loves a woman."
She teared up at his response. Seeing this, he panicked. "Hey, are you alright!? If it's my answer, I-"
She interrupted him with her smile. It was one of pure happiness. "It's not that."
"Then what is it?" he asked, still worried.
"I'm so happy. Our feelings really are mutual, after all!"
Zeraine wore a blank stare for a few seconds, then her words sunk in. He realized that she loves him, too. Before he could think or say anything else, Amarantha had gotten up and walked over to him. She pulled him to his feet and looked in his eyes with a happy yet demanding gaze. "Kiss me."
Without any objection, he did as she asked. After a several-second-long deep kiss, they broke away and stared into each other's eyes lovingly. In unison, they said, "I love you."
Amarantha smiled at Zeraine and said, "You know what I expect out of you tonight, right?"
He nodded with a perverted grin. "I sure do. ...Is there something stopping us from doing it right now?"
She playfully hit him in the upper arm. "I'm not an exhibitionist. I refuse to do it out in the open in the middle of the day, especially when someone might be watching. You can hold it until tonight."
He gave a sour smile. "Someone watching? You mean like our succubus mage?"
She nodded. "Exactly. Don't worry, though. Come tonight, when we're done, you'll be empty, I'll be full, and we'll both be satisfied." She giggled and walked back into the mansion, heading for the room shared by the hero and the succubus.
Zeraine sat back down, trying to come to terms with what just happened. He muttered to himself, "Ammie just told me she loved me, and was fine with me loving her... Not only that, but we're going to make love tonight! I really hope this isn't a dream."
Meanwhile, after a short nap, the hero had awoken. He was still groggy, though, because even though his enchanted armor restored his physical stamina, it didn't restore lost spirit energy. He groaned, then yawned. As he tried to sit up, the delicate-looking hand of the succubus held him down. "You're not getting out of that bed until dinner time."
He looked at her, partially glaring. "Am I going to pass out every time I feed you?"
She took her hand off his chest. "If you can train yourself to have an abundance of spirit energy, then no. You might feel tired, but you'll stay awake and possibly even recover quickly. I suppose we should look into doing freelance work to get money so we can afford to get you some kind of enchanted armor or clothing that will restore your spirit energy. If you have such a thing, feeding me will just get easier for you."
He visibly calmed down. "So how did it go with Zeraine and Amarantha?"
She shrugged. "Don't know yet. She took him off to talk with him, and they haven't returned. For all we know, they could be fucking like rabbits right now."
The hero gave a sarcastic laugh. "Yeah, right."
"What?" she asked, giving him a slightly offended look.
"I don't think they're the type to do that right now."
She smiled. "Well, if they save it for tonight, all the better! I won't have to babysit you, and I can see for myself how well they do."
The hero paused for a second. "Wait, you're not talking about watching them if they have sex, are you!? That's an invasion of privacy! You might even get in their way if you do that!"
The succubus frowned. "Well, at least I can still listen to it through the wall..."
"...Is that why you chose this room? Because it's right next to theirs and you want to listen to them making love?"
"And what's wrong with that?"
"It makes you a pervert, stupid."
She visibly gritted her teeth. "Fine. If you won't stop bitching unless I decide not to watch or listen, then I'll cancel the idea. Happy?"
He gave her a frown and a victorious glare. "Yeah. What they do in bed is their business. You have no right to peep on them."
She gave him a somewhat evil smile. "Just remember, after dinner, you have to feed me again. Try not to pass out, okay?"
The hero grumbled as he rolled over, turning his back to her. A few seconds later, Amarantha walked in smiling from ear to ear. The succubus grinned at the sight. "Well?"
Amarantha could hardly contain herself. "He admitted it! He loves me!"
She and the succubus hugged each other, squealed with delight, and jumped up and down repeatedly. The succubus asked, "And you told him how you feel?"
"Yeah. I'm sure he's looking forward to tonight, too." She giggled suggestively.
The succubus gave a perverted grin. "Can I watch?"
Amarantha looked like she had been caught off-guard. "Hell no!"
The hero, without moving from his laying position, said, "Told you."
The succubus faced him and spoke in a raised voice. "Shut up!"
"You're awake?" She approached the hero and leaned down to whisper in his ear, "You'd be doing Zeraine and me a favor if you could do something about that girl. Maybe you could give her a good boning or something to keep her occupied?"
The hero waved his hand dismissively. "Have sex with her? No way. Never."
The succubus took offense to that. "What!? Are you saying that I'm not good enough for your dick!?"
Amarantha facepalmed and shouted, "Don't start!" She continued in a normal tone, "How about you teach him levitation, then?"
The hero said, "Sounds good, if she can do it."
The succubus growled at the hero, saying, "Of course I can, you moron!"
Amarantha yelled, "SAVE IT FOR ANOTHER TIME!" She walked out of the room, not letting the bickering between the hero and the succubus spoil her good mood.
Chapter 22
Spoiler: show
Zeraine decided that constantly thinking about tonight was not a good idea. He didn't want to be constantly walking around with a rock-hard erection. He figured it would be best if he practiced with his sword for a while, so he returned to his room to get his sword. With it slung over his shoulder by the sheath's strap, he headed outside. On his way, the gold dragon caught up with him.
"Hey, if you're looking to practice a little, I've got the perfect place. Follow me."
He led Zeraine to a raised stone platform. Zeraine couldn't tell how large it was, but it was huge. "This looks suspiciously like some sort of arena for a tournament."
The gold dragon (still in human form, obviously) smiled. "Yep. I was thinking about hosting some tournaments, but it would seem that now isn't exactly the time. You can practice here without worrying about damaging anything."
"What kind of fights did you plan on hosting?"
"Well, maybe some kind of martial arts tournament, or a place where lizardfolk can duel for love or whatever. Hell, maybe I can even host fights between powerful warriors or mages and dragons. That'd be a good way to ease the loneliness of many dragons, giving them a partner to adventure with or something."
"Human partners?"
"Not just humans. Imagine a Dullahan and a dragon as partners. Or possibly a dragon with a Lizardman or a salamander. A vampire might make an interesting partner for a dragon..."
Zeraine drew his sword from its sheath and set the sheath aside. "Do dragons really get lonely?"
The gold dragon nodded with a serious look on his face. "Yes. For most dragons, it's 'gather treasure and protect it'. Sometimes we find mates, but usually that's just to breed. On rare occasions, we can find mates that are truly compatible with us and we spend the rest of our lives together, but like I said, that's rare. I was lonely until I met the people in that city. At first, I was worried that they'd be like most humans, completely terrified of a dragon, wanting to kill me out of fear. Fortunately, those people were smart. We developed very good relations, and I even fell in love with a human woman, as you already know."
Zeraine did a few practice swings. "So Amarantha and I getting together is one of those rare occurrences?"
"Yes. You two are quite lucky, just as my girl and I are."
Zeraine stretched a little, then took up a stance. "You planning on watching me practice?"
The gold dragon shook his head. "No. I've got a few things to take care of. Good luck, friend." He walked away, heading back for his mansion.
Zeraine was about to practice one type of attack from his stance, but he paused. "What did he mean by 'good luck'?" He shrugged it off and resumed practicing.
Meanwhile, Amarantha had returned to the garden, thinking about how she should act. She couldn't decide whether she should be dominant or submissive. She held her head, trying to decide. After minutes of thinking, she decided it would be best if they just let their feelings guide them. To her, as long as her relationship with Zeraine deepened, it didn't matter who was on top or who had the lead.
All the while, the succubus was silently glaring at the hero's back. The hero was still laying on his side on the bed with his back turned to her. He hadn't said a word. After minutes of her glaring at him, he finally spoke. "Well, are you going to teach me how to levitate, or are you just going to glare at me for the rest of the afternoon? I can feel your glare, you know."
She crossed her arms and huffed. "You might not be smart enough to learn it. Why should I waste my time?"
The hero rolled over to face her. "Look, by traveling on foot, we move quite slowly. I know it's because of me and my complete lack of magic. You teaching me would benefit us all. Well?"
She looked away in defiance. "I'm still mad at you. Why should I try to teach you despite that?"
The hero got up and walked over to her. Before he could say anything, she angrily scolded him. "Get your stupid ass back in that bed! You shouldn't be up this soon!"
He gave her a teasing smile. "Oh? Are you worried about me?"
She blushed. "Who'd be worried about an idiot like you?"
"Your words don't match the look on your face."
"Shut up, fool!"
"Fool?" He grabbed her and shoved her down on the bed, pinning her arms down above her head.
She suddenly looked embarrassed, powerless, and helpless. Completely vulnerable. She even had a bit of fear in her eyes. "Are you going to violate me?"
He gave her a stern look. "Never. Not even if you wanted it. Now, stop acting like a little kid and teach me the magic I need."
She looked in his eyes. He was completely serious. She was upset over his saying that he wouldn't violate her even if she wanted it, but she didn't quite understand why. She thought, "Him violating me would be doing me against my will, right? How would I actually want that? Wait, why am I mad over him saying he wouldn't have sex with me? It'd be HIS loss, wouldn't it? I don't get it..." She closed her eyes in resignation. "Fine, I'll teach you. But you'd better be able to handle it! You just fed me a little bit ago, so it'll probably be tough for you. Don't expect to grasp it in one lesson, okay?"
He nodded and let her up. "Let's get started, then."
She got up, her face still slightly red. "Okay, here are the basics behind levitation..."
She taught him the process of casting a levitation spell, how to properly channel the energy, how to command it, how to use it. She demonstrated, step by step, what the process looked like. At the end, she was floating in the air. As the hero took in all the information, she said, "Now you try it."
He nodded and did just as she taught him. He concentrated, focusing the energy, shaping it, commanding it. He tried to cast the spell, but nothing happened. He tried again and got it right, managing to rise a few inches into the air before the spell ran out, causing him to drop back to the floor.
She smiled proudly. "You're getting it! Good job! With me as your teacher, you'll learn all kinds of useful and powerful magic! Nobody could teach you better than me! Hahahahaha!" Her haughty attitude was somewhat justified this time, since her student was doing so well. She dispelled her levitation and stopped the hero before he could try a third time. "Don't waste your energy. You got it right, so now you know how to do it. Practice when you're fully-rested and not having to look at feeding me for a few hours. It's already evening, so I'm sure our host will be coming to get us for dinner soon. Let's get you out of that armor, okay?"
As she reached to try to start taking his armor off, he backed up, holding his hands up as if to push her away. "No, it's fine. I can take it off and put it on myself."
"That takes too long, now hold still..." Despite his protests, she grabbed him and started trying to get his armor off.
It was time for dinner. The gold dragon saw that Zeraine was headed back to his room, his sword sheathed and slung over his shoulder. He decided to go to the garden, where Amarantha was still sitting, enjoying the sight of the flowers. He told her it was almost dinner time, and that she should gather her companions. She nodded and got up, heading for her room. Once there, she met Zeraine as he was turning around to leave. Their eyes met. They blushed and smiled at each other, knowing what was in store later, both of them looking forward to it.
Amarantha blinked a couple of times and cleared her throat, returning to the present. "It's time for dinner. Let's get those two and go eat."
He nodded and they left the room. Right next door was where the hero and the succubus were staying. Zeraine and Amarantha heard some sounds of a scuffle inside. They looked at each other, communicating without words, wondering if somehow, the hero and the succubus were having either a physical fight, or rough sex. They mentally prepared themselves and opened the door.
"Hey, if you're looking to practice a little, I've got the perfect place. Follow me."
He led Zeraine to a raised stone platform. Zeraine couldn't tell how large it was, but it was huge. "This looks suspiciously like some sort of arena for a tournament."
The gold dragon (still in human form, obviously) smiled. "Yep. I was thinking about hosting some tournaments, but it would seem that now isn't exactly the time. You can practice here without worrying about damaging anything."
"What kind of fights did you plan on hosting?"
"Well, maybe some kind of martial arts tournament, or a place where lizardfolk can duel for love or whatever. Hell, maybe I can even host fights between powerful warriors or mages and dragons. That'd be a good way to ease the loneliness of many dragons, giving them a partner to adventure with or something."
"Human partners?"
"Not just humans. Imagine a Dullahan and a dragon as partners. Or possibly a dragon with a Lizardman or a salamander. A vampire might make an interesting partner for a dragon..."
Zeraine drew his sword from its sheath and set the sheath aside. "Do dragons really get lonely?"
The gold dragon nodded with a serious look on his face. "Yes. For most dragons, it's 'gather treasure and protect it'. Sometimes we find mates, but usually that's just to breed. On rare occasions, we can find mates that are truly compatible with us and we spend the rest of our lives together, but like I said, that's rare. I was lonely until I met the people in that city. At first, I was worried that they'd be like most humans, completely terrified of a dragon, wanting to kill me out of fear. Fortunately, those people were smart. We developed very good relations, and I even fell in love with a human woman, as you already know."
Zeraine did a few practice swings. "So Amarantha and I getting together is one of those rare occurrences?"
"Yes. You two are quite lucky, just as my girl and I are."
Zeraine stretched a little, then took up a stance. "You planning on watching me practice?"
The gold dragon shook his head. "No. I've got a few things to take care of. Good luck, friend." He walked away, heading back for his mansion.
Zeraine was about to practice one type of attack from his stance, but he paused. "What did he mean by 'good luck'?" He shrugged it off and resumed practicing.
Meanwhile, Amarantha had returned to the garden, thinking about how she should act. She couldn't decide whether she should be dominant or submissive. She held her head, trying to decide. After minutes of thinking, she decided it would be best if they just let their feelings guide them. To her, as long as her relationship with Zeraine deepened, it didn't matter who was on top or who had the lead.
All the while, the succubus was silently glaring at the hero's back. The hero was still laying on his side on the bed with his back turned to her. He hadn't said a word. After minutes of her glaring at him, he finally spoke. "Well, are you going to teach me how to levitate, or are you just going to glare at me for the rest of the afternoon? I can feel your glare, you know."
She crossed her arms and huffed. "You might not be smart enough to learn it. Why should I waste my time?"
The hero rolled over to face her. "Look, by traveling on foot, we move quite slowly. I know it's because of me and my complete lack of magic. You teaching me would benefit us all. Well?"
She looked away in defiance. "I'm still mad at you. Why should I try to teach you despite that?"
The hero got up and walked over to her. Before he could say anything, she angrily scolded him. "Get your stupid ass back in that bed! You shouldn't be up this soon!"
He gave her a teasing smile. "Oh? Are you worried about me?"
She blushed. "Who'd be worried about an idiot like you?"
"Your words don't match the look on your face."
"Shut up, fool!"
"Fool?" He grabbed her and shoved her down on the bed, pinning her arms down above her head.
She suddenly looked embarrassed, powerless, and helpless. Completely vulnerable. She even had a bit of fear in her eyes. "Are you going to violate me?"
He gave her a stern look. "Never. Not even if you wanted it. Now, stop acting like a little kid and teach me the magic I need."
She looked in his eyes. He was completely serious. She was upset over his saying that he wouldn't violate her even if she wanted it, but she didn't quite understand why. She thought, "Him violating me would be doing me against my will, right? How would I actually want that? Wait, why am I mad over him saying he wouldn't have sex with me? It'd be HIS loss, wouldn't it? I don't get it..." She closed her eyes in resignation. "Fine, I'll teach you. But you'd better be able to handle it! You just fed me a little bit ago, so it'll probably be tough for you. Don't expect to grasp it in one lesson, okay?"
He nodded and let her up. "Let's get started, then."
She got up, her face still slightly red. "Okay, here are the basics behind levitation..."
She taught him the process of casting a levitation spell, how to properly channel the energy, how to command it, how to use it. She demonstrated, step by step, what the process looked like. At the end, she was floating in the air. As the hero took in all the information, she said, "Now you try it."
He nodded and did just as she taught him. He concentrated, focusing the energy, shaping it, commanding it. He tried to cast the spell, but nothing happened. He tried again and got it right, managing to rise a few inches into the air before the spell ran out, causing him to drop back to the floor.
She smiled proudly. "You're getting it! Good job! With me as your teacher, you'll learn all kinds of useful and powerful magic! Nobody could teach you better than me! Hahahahaha!" Her haughty attitude was somewhat justified this time, since her student was doing so well. She dispelled her levitation and stopped the hero before he could try a third time. "Don't waste your energy. You got it right, so now you know how to do it. Practice when you're fully-rested and not having to look at feeding me for a few hours. It's already evening, so I'm sure our host will be coming to get us for dinner soon. Let's get you out of that armor, okay?"
As she reached to try to start taking his armor off, he backed up, holding his hands up as if to push her away. "No, it's fine. I can take it off and put it on myself."
"That takes too long, now hold still..." Despite his protests, she grabbed him and started trying to get his armor off.
It was time for dinner. The gold dragon saw that Zeraine was headed back to his room, his sword sheathed and slung over his shoulder. He decided to go to the garden, where Amarantha was still sitting, enjoying the sight of the flowers. He told her it was almost dinner time, and that she should gather her companions. She nodded and got up, heading for her room. Once there, she met Zeraine as he was turning around to leave. Their eyes met. They blushed and smiled at each other, knowing what was in store later, both of them looking forward to it.
Amarantha blinked a couple of times and cleared her throat, returning to the present. "It's time for dinner. Let's get those two and go eat."
He nodded and they left the room. Right next door was where the hero and the succubus were staying. Zeraine and Amarantha heard some sounds of a scuffle inside. They looked at each other, communicating without words, wondering if somehow, the hero and the succubus were having either a physical fight, or rough sex. They mentally prepared themselves and opened the door.
Chapter 23
Spoiler: show
When Zeraine and Amarantha stepped in, they saw the hero with his chain mail leggings around his ankles and his pants around his knees. He still had on his underwear, fortunately. The succubus was trying quite hard to pull his over-the-armor shirt off, with him stumbling around, trying to resist. They stood there, unblinking, for several seconds before the succubus noticed and greeted them. "Oh? Hey, guys. What's up?"
Zeraine cleared his throat and said, "Look, guys, I'm happy that you seem to have improved your relationship to the point of wanting to have sex, but it's time for dinner. You can fuck to your hearts' content later."
The hero's voice, muffled by his over-the-armor shirt, which was over his head with him holding it, trying to keep the succubus from taking it off of him, called out, "Stop her! For the sake of my pride as a man, help me and stop her!"
Zeraine looked puzzled. "Huh?"
The succubus, trying to control her reaction of anger to Zeraine's comment, said, "I'm trying to help him take his armor off so he can go to dinner in normal clothes, but he wants to be a big stubborn baby about it."
Amarantha raised an eyebrow. "...And why are his pants around his knees?"
The succubus smiled mischievously. "He resisted, which caused me to accidentally pull his pants down when I tried to pull off his leggings."
The hero, in an almost pleading voice, said, "I said I can get out of my armor on my own! Get your hands off, dammit!" He finally managed to shake the succubus off.
She crossed her arms and huffed. "I was only trying to help, you ass."
The hero began taking off his armor, pausing long enough to pull his pants back up. "And I told you I didn't need it. Learn to respect other people's wishes."
Several minutes later, they were in the hallway, walking toward the stairway to the first floor, where the dining room was. The succubus asked Amarantha, "Did it really look like..."
She nodded. "It looked like you were trying to strip him, and because of his resistance, it looked like you might have been trying to rape him."
"Is that because I'm a succubus?" she asked, taking a slightly offended tone.
Amarantha coolly replied, "No. It's because you're a female and he's a male. If it were a female of any other race or 'species', we would have thought the same thing. If it were a male of any race or 'species', we would have thought it to be something similar, but much more disturbing."
The succubus was silent the rest of the way to the dinner table. All the while, she was slightly embarrassed, but was still smiling. She kind of enjoyed the hero's nervous resistance. They were seated at the table, and were soon served. The hero's dish was different from everyone else's. His meal largely consisted of things known for increasing a certain kind of stamina, as well as healthy, nutritious food known to quickly restore spirit energy. Everyone saw his plate and, knowing what was up, they grinned and snickered. The hero recognized a few of the things on his plate and, after several seconds of thought, figured out what was going on. He looked around. "Very funny."
The gold dragon, in human form with a large grin on his face, said, "Eat up, my friends. You, especially, Order knight. You'll need all the energy you can get to feed your succubus."
The succubus quickly snapped back with a slightly red face, "I don't belong to anyone."
As Zeraine and Amarantha tried to hold back from laughing, the gold dragon looked at them and said, "Have fun tonight, you two." He grinned suggestively.
The two of them looked at each other, mouths open in surprise. Their gaze spoke what was on their minds, "How and why does he know!?"
After a somewhat loud, enjoyable dinner, everyone returned to their rooms, their stomachs full. The hero was full of energy, feeling like he could take on the Demon Lord by himself right now, but then the succubus grabbed him by the shoulder and spun him around. "Aren't you forgetting to feed me? I'm a succubus. I can't live on just human food, you know." She gave him a dominant look and smiled, knowing that because he didn't particularly like kissing her, she could get back at him like this. He frowned and sighed in surrender, then fed her via the deep kiss. Afterward, the hero no longer felt brimming with energy. He instead felt tired. The succubus looked down at his groin teasingly. "You're energetic down there..." Her teasing was cut short by the fact that his bulge was going down. "..or at least, you were." She frowned.
The hero yawned and looked at the bed. It just now dawned on him that it was the only bed in the room. He looked at her with groggy eyes. "If you want a separate bed, go to the next room. I'm tired, so I'm going to lay down here." He walked over to the bed and laid down, then rolled so that his back was to her. The succubus got comfortable and laid down next to him. Without rolling over, he asked, "What are you doing?"
She got situated and said, "I don't feel like setting up in another room. We can share this bed. ...Unless having a supremely attractive succubus laying next to you makes you lust after her body too much for you to sleep." She smiled, trying to tease him to get revenge for their earlier arguments.
Instead, he simply said, "Whatever. Just let me sleep."
She frowned in disapproval. "Fine, but if you try anything while I'm sleeping, I'll kill you." She rolled over on her side so that her back was facing the hero's.
"Who'd be desperate enough to go after you?" He moved around a little, then fell asleep. She quietly growled in frustration, then thought about whether or not she should try to listen in on Zeraine and Amarantha. She decided that, because she was tired, she should sleep. Due to her anger and frustration, she didn't feel like masturbating, so she simply went to sleep.
...
Meanwhile, Zeraine and Amarantha took off their boots, then gazed at each other lovingly and lustfully. The time had finally arrived. They were going to make love. This thought aroused them both. After a few seconds of staring into each other's eyes, they stepped forward simultaneously with an aggressive advance. They could no longer contain their feelings, and thus let loose, grabbing each other in a passionate kiss lasting about 5 full seconds. They pulled away from each other, a strand of saliva connecting their tongues. Amarantha whispered in a sweet voice, "Zeraine, I can't wait much longer." They stripped each other and messily threw the clothes in random directions, not caring where said clothes landed, all the while kissing at every opportunity. For now, they only cared about indulging in one another's bodies. When they were both naked, they looked at each other's bodies. Zeraine gazed wantingly at Amarantha's sexy, perfectly toned body, her natural curves and somewhat large, perfectly-shaped breasts causing part of him to stand at attention. She stared lustfully at him, his well-defined muscles and throbbing manhood causing a tingling between her legs. They embraced, kissing passionately as they rubbed each other's unmentionables. Amarantha grabbed and stroked Zeraine's member, feeling its heat with her soft, feminine fingers. Between kisses, he groaned in pleasure as he rubbed her slit. She moaned in pleasure in response. It took only a few seconds of rubbing before Zeraine felt her wetness seeping out. He continued rubbing her, smearing her love juices all over and along the length of her vagina's opening. A few more seconds of rubbing her and there were wet noises coming from down there. She suddenly stopped stroking him, her hand and his penis covered in his precum. She grabbed his wrist with her "clean" hand, stopping him. "It's time."
With that, she walked over to the bed and laid down on her back, spreading her legs. The sight made Zeraine throb with lust and desire. She spread her soaking wet petals and looked in his eyes invitingly. "Come, make me a woman." With another throb from his groin, Zeraine quickly walked over to her and rested his penis at the entrance of her honeypot.
He looked at her and said, "Are you ready?" She nodded and took her hands away from her slit, allowing him to spread her with his fingers and insert himself. He put it in incredibly slowly so as to not hurt her when he broke her hymen. He managed to kiss her passionately while caressing her beautiful breasts, all the while pushing in so slowly that she felt no pain. Several seconds of kissing and breast-fondling later, he met her cervix. He broke away from her long enough to smile at her and say, "Congratulations, Amarantha. You're now a woman." He pressed a little, pushing up against her cervix. "Feel that? My dick's kissing your womb. How does it feel?" He started slowly grinding around with the head of his penis firmly pressed against the entrance to her womb. Unable to reply due to the pleasure she felt, she simply moaned erotically. This fueled Zeraine's desire to thrust with all his might, but he knew that women preferred slow, passionate sex rather than hard, fast, forceful sex. He slowly pulled out until only the head of his dick was still in her, then slowly slid it all the way back in. His very slow thrusting caused her great pleasure. A short while later, she wrapped her legs around his waist. He didn't stop, but he asked, "Don't want to let go of me?" He laughed a little.
She rubbed his cheek with her hand as she stared into his eyes lovingly. "I'm close."
He sped up just a little. "Me, too. Hold on and we'll cum together." He kissed her as he continued thrusting. About a minute later, her face contorted due to the approaching orgasm. She was panting hard. Both of them were covered in sweat and the sheet below Amarantha's ass was soaked with the two's juices.
She hugged Zeraine desperately as she announced to him, "I'm cumming! Zeraine, I'm cumming!"
He grunted as he tried to hold back and time it right. "Me, too. Let's cum, Ammie!"
She tried to endure the sensations she was feeling. "Cum inside me, Zeraine, please!" she begged.
He sped up, bringing them both closer and closer to the climax. Finally, he slammed all the way in and they came at the same time, his steaming hot sperm spurting out inside her soaking wet vagina. He collapsed on top of her, both of them panting. In a daze, she mumbled, "Your cum... Inside... Oh no, it's leaking out..."
He pulled out, allowing his semen to gush out of her and run down her ass cheeks, puddling on top of the wet spot on the sheet. He asked, "Am I too heavy?"
Her legs slid off of him, releasing him from her grasp. "Not at all."
"Still..." He gathered what little energy he had left and picked himself up off of her, then laid down next to her. "It'll be easier for both of us to sleep like this."
She let out a laugh as she wrapped her arms around him and pressed her head against his chest. She cuddled up to him as he put his arms around her. She gave a tired, loving sigh and said, "I want to sleep just like this. Wouldn't it be nice if we woke up in each other's arms, too?"
He pulled her up a little and kissed her. "I'm not letting go for the whole night."
She cuddled with him some more. "Good night, my love."
He stroked her head a couple of times, then held her tight. "Good night, dear."
They fell asleep in each other's arms, satisfied.
Zeraine cleared his throat and said, "Look, guys, I'm happy that you seem to have improved your relationship to the point of wanting to have sex, but it's time for dinner. You can fuck to your hearts' content later."
The hero's voice, muffled by his over-the-armor shirt, which was over his head with him holding it, trying to keep the succubus from taking it off of him, called out, "Stop her! For the sake of my pride as a man, help me and stop her!"
Zeraine looked puzzled. "Huh?"
The succubus, trying to control her reaction of anger to Zeraine's comment, said, "I'm trying to help him take his armor off so he can go to dinner in normal clothes, but he wants to be a big stubborn baby about it."
Amarantha raised an eyebrow. "...And why are his pants around his knees?"
The succubus smiled mischievously. "He resisted, which caused me to accidentally pull his pants down when I tried to pull off his leggings."
The hero, in an almost pleading voice, said, "I said I can get out of my armor on my own! Get your hands off, dammit!" He finally managed to shake the succubus off.
She crossed her arms and huffed. "I was only trying to help, you ass."
The hero began taking off his armor, pausing long enough to pull his pants back up. "And I told you I didn't need it. Learn to respect other people's wishes."
Several minutes later, they were in the hallway, walking toward the stairway to the first floor, where the dining room was. The succubus asked Amarantha, "Did it really look like..."
She nodded. "It looked like you were trying to strip him, and because of his resistance, it looked like you might have been trying to rape him."
"Is that because I'm a succubus?" she asked, taking a slightly offended tone.
Amarantha coolly replied, "No. It's because you're a female and he's a male. If it were a female of any other race or 'species', we would have thought the same thing. If it were a male of any race or 'species', we would have thought it to be something similar, but much more disturbing."
The succubus was silent the rest of the way to the dinner table. All the while, she was slightly embarrassed, but was still smiling. She kind of enjoyed the hero's nervous resistance. They were seated at the table, and were soon served. The hero's dish was different from everyone else's. His meal largely consisted of things known for increasing a certain kind of stamina, as well as healthy, nutritious food known to quickly restore spirit energy. Everyone saw his plate and, knowing what was up, they grinned and snickered. The hero recognized a few of the things on his plate and, after several seconds of thought, figured out what was going on. He looked around. "Very funny."
The gold dragon, in human form with a large grin on his face, said, "Eat up, my friends. You, especially, Order knight. You'll need all the energy you can get to feed your succubus."
The succubus quickly snapped back with a slightly red face, "I don't belong to anyone."
As Zeraine and Amarantha tried to hold back from laughing, the gold dragon looked at them and said, "Have fun tonight, you two." He grinned suggestively.
The two of them looked at each other, mouths open in surprise. Their gaze spoke what was on their minds, "How and why does he know!?"
After a somewhat loud, enjoyable dinner, everyone returned to their rooms, their stomachs full. The hero was full of energy, feeling like he could take on the Demon Lord by himself right now, but then the succubus grabbed him by the shoulder and spun him around. "Aren't you forgetting to feed me? I'm a succubus. I can't live on just human food, you know." She gave him a dominant look and smiled, knowing that because he didn't particularly like kissing her, she could get back at him like this. He frowned and sighed in surrender, then fed her via the deep kiss. Afterward, the hero no longer felt brimming with energy. He instead felt tired. The succubus looked down at his groin teasingly. "You're energetic down there..." Her teasing was cut short by the fact that his bulge was going down. "..or at least, you were." She frowned.
The hero yawned and looked at the bed. It just now dawned on him that it was the only bed in the room. He looked at her with groggy eyes. "If you want a separate bed, go to the next room. I'm tired, so I'm going to lay down here." He walked over to the bed and laid down, then rolled so that his back was to her. The succubus got comfortable and laid down next to him. Without rolling over, he asked, "What are you doing?"
She got situated and said, "I don't feel like setting up in another room. We can share this bed. ...Unless having a supremely attractive succubus laying next to you makes you lust after her body too much for you to sleep." She smiled, trying to tease him to get revenge for their earlier arguments.
Instead, he simply said, "Whatever. Just let me sleep."
She frowned in disapproval. "Fine, but if you try anything while I'm sleeping, I'll kill you." She rolled over on her side so that her back was facing the hero's.
"Who'd be desperate enough to go after you?" He moved around a little, then fell asleep. She quietly growled in frustration, then thought about whether or not she should try to listen in on Zeraine and Amarantha. She decided that, because she was tired, she should sleep. Due to her anger and frustration, she didn't feel like masturbating, so she simply went to sleep.
...
Meanwhile, Zeraine and Amarantha took off their boots, then gazed at each other lovingly and lustfully. The time had finally arrived. They were going to make love. This thought aroused them both. After a few seconds of staring into each other's eyes, they stepped forward simultaneously with an aggressive advance. They could no longer contain their feelings, and thus let loose, grabbing each other in a passionate kiss lasting about 5 full seconds. They pulled away from each other, a strand of saliva connecting their tongues. Amarantha whispered in a sweet voice, "Zeraine, I can't wait much longer." They stripped each other and messily threw the clothes in random directions, not caring where said clothes landed, all the while kissing at every opportunity. For now, they only cared about indulging in one another's bodies. When they were both naked, they looked at each other's bodies. Zeraine gazed wantingly at Amarantha's sexy, perfectly toned body, her natural curves and somewhat large, perfectly-shaped breasts causing part of him to stand at attention. She stared lustfully at him, his well-defined muscles and throbbing manhood causing a tingling between her legs. They embraced, kissing passionately as they rubbed each other's unmentionables. Amarantha grabbed and stroked Zeraine's member, feeling its heat with her soft, feminine fingers. Between kisses, he groaned in pleasure as he rubbed her slit. She moaned in pleasure in response. It took only a few seconds of rubbing before Zeraine felt her wetness seeping out. He continued rubbing her, smearing her love juices all over and along the length of her vagina's opening. A few more seconds of rubbing her and there were wet noises coming from down there. She suddenly stopped stroking him, her hand and his penis covered in his precum. She grabbed his wrist with her "clean" hand, stopping him. "It's time."
With that, she walked over to the bed and laid down on her back, spreading her legs. The sight made Zeraine throb with lust and desire. She spread her soaking wet petals and looked in his eyes invitingly. "Come, make me a woman." With another throb from his groin, Zeraine quickly walked over to her and rested his penis at the entrance of her honeypot.
He looked at her and said, "Are you ready?" She nodded and took her hands away from her slit, allowing him to spread her with his fingers and insert himself. He put it in incredibly slowly so as to not hurt her when he broke her hymen. He managed to kiss her passionately while caressing her beautiful breasts, all the while pushing in so slowly that she felt no pain. Several seconds of kissing and breast-fondling later, he met her cervix. He broke away from her long enough to smile at her and say, "Congratulations, Amarantha. You're now a woman." He pressed a little, pushing up against her cervix. "Feel that? My dick's kissing your womb. How does it feel?" He started slowly grinding around with the head of his penis firmly pressed against the entrance to her womb. Unable to reply due to the pleasure she felt, she simply moaned erotically. This fueled Zeraine's desire to thrust with all his might, but he knew that women preferred slow, passionate sex rather than hard, fast, forceful sex. He slowly pulled out until only the head of his dick was still in her, then slowly slid it all the way back in. His very slow thrusting caused her great pleasure. A short while later, she wrapped her legs around his waist. He didn't stop, but he asked, "Don't want to let go of me?" He laughed a little.
She rubbed his cheek with her hand as she stared into his eyes lovingly. "I'm close."
He sped up just a little. "Me, too. Hold on and we'll cum together." He kissed her as he continued thrusting. About a minute later, her face contorted due to the approaching orgasm. She was panting hard. Both of them were covered in sweat and the sheet below Amarantha's ass was soaked with the two's juices.
She hugged Zeraine desperately as she announced to him, "I'm cumming! Zeraine, I'm cumming!"
He grunted as he tried to hold back and time it right. "Me, too. Let's cum, Ammie!"
She tried to endure the sensations she was feeling. "Cum inside me, Zeraine, please!" she begged.
He sped up, bringing them both closer and closer to the climax. Finally, he slammed all the way in and they came at the same time, his steaming hot sperm spurting out inside her soaking wet vagina. He collapsed on top of her, both of them panting. In a daze, she mumbled, "Your cum... Inside... Oh no, it's leaking out..."
He pulled out, allowing his semen to gush out of her and run down her ass cheeks, puddling on top of the wet spot on the sheet. He asked, "Am I too heavy?"
Her legs slid off of him, releasing him from her grasp. "Not at all."
"Still..." He gathered what little energy he had left and picked himself up off of her, then laid down next to her. "It'll be easier for both of us to sleep like this."
She let out a laugh as she wrapped her arms around him and pressed her head against his chest. She cuddled up to him as he put his arms around her. She gave a tired, loving sigh and said, "I want to sleep just like this. Wouldn't it be nice if we woke up in each other's arms, too?"
He pulled her up a little and kissed her. "I'm not letting go for the whole night."
She cuddled with him some more. "Good night, my love."
He stroked her head a couple of times, then held her tight. "Good night, dear."
They fell asleep in each other's arms, satisfied.
Chapter 24
Spoiler: show
The hero had a dream. He dreamed that he was holding the succubus in his lap as they kissed passionately while he thrust his hips from underneath while she gyrated her hips. As they came together, he woke up, his face red. He thought, "Why the hell did I have a dream like that about her? She's pretty, but damn she's annoying! She's stuck up and arrogant and..." He broke off his thoughts when he realized it was morning. "I'd better get up."
At that same time, the succubus had a dream. She dreamed that she was straddling the hero, bouncing up and down, riding him in a cowgirl position as he thrust up from below. When they came, they came together. As they did so, she woke up with her face red. "A dream like that about this Order moron? Why? He's a fool! He looks good and has a nice body, but he's such a prude!" She noticed it was morning. "I guess it's time to get up."
They sat up at the same time, looking at each other in surprise. When their eyes met, they couldn't help but immediately think about the erotic dreams they had just had about each other. They both blushed, their faces turning a deep red. They both stammered, trying to break the uncomfortable silence. Simultaneously, they said, "Good morning." This awkward greeting only made them quickly look away from each other in embarrassment. They silently got up and got dressed.
The succubus asked hesitantly, "You need any help with your armor?"
The hero replied, "N-no, thanks."
Once they were dressed, the succubus led the way to the door and opened it.
Meanwhile, Zeraine woke up. He was thinking, "I hope that wasn't a-" When his vision came into focus, and when his brain fully woke up his sense of touch, he noticed that it wasn't a dream. Amarantha was still laying in his arms, naked, a pleasant smile on her face as she slept. He also noticed that her arms were still around him. He smiled happily, grateful that they had improved their relationship even further. Suddenly, in his mind he remembered her true form. He thought, "Right, she's not a human. She's a silver dragon, and last night, she and I..." He wasn't sure if he should be happy or not. The thought of her true form, combined with the fact that they made love last night, made him uneasy. "Why am I uncomfortable with this? We love each other." He stared off into space, still trying to come to terms with it.
Amarantha awoke and slowly opened her eyes to find her arms still around Zeraine, and Zeraine's arms still around her. She looked at him and smiled sweetly. "Good morning, darling."
Zeraine snapped out of his thoughts and smiled back lovingly. "Good morning, Ammie. Did you sleep well?"
She nodded and kissed him. "In your arms all night long, how couldn't I?"
They shared a few "good morning" kisses, then finally let go of each other. Amarantha got up and looked down at herself. "My crotch is all sticky. You sure let out a lot, Zeraine."
He grinned sheepishly. "Well, um, we finally had sex, and being in you felt so good..."
"You don't have to make excuses. It would make me happy, though, if you put out this much next time, too." She giggled.
He chuckled. "I'll do my best."
They looked at her bloodstain on the sheet, remembering that it was her first time; that Zeraine was her first man. If she had her way, he'd be her only man, and she'd be the only woman he'd ever be with for the rest of their lives, as well. They embraced each other lovingly and shared a deep kiss. Zeraine said, "Well, we should get cleaned up before we do anything else." Amarantha nodded in agreement, but before they could do anything else, there was a knock at the door. Amarantha stepped out of sight as Zeraine answered the door, leaning around from behind it to hide his exposed lower half.
It was a golem, pushing a cart that was piled with sheets, towels, bathrobes, and pillowcases. The golem handed Zeraine two bathrobes, one of which had a note sticking out of the pocket. It read:
Hope you two had fun last night! I've taken the liberty of providing you with bathrobes so you can make it to the bathroom and bathe without having to streak your way there. On the reverse side of this note, I've written the directions to the bathroom. After you're dressed, come to the dining room to have breakfast. You need to eat up for your journey of heroism, after all.
-Your gracious host
Zeraine took the bathrobes and closed the door. He handed one to Amarantha and put the other one on. As she put on her bathrobe, she asked, "What's the note say?" Without a word, Zeraine handed her the note and she read it. She blushed. "That jackass... Well, we do need a bath, so let's go."
They stepped out into the hallway, wearing their bathrobes, heading for the bathroom.
As the succubus and the hero stepped out into the hallway, they saw Zeraine and Amarantha wearing bathrobes. The hero greeted them. "Good morning, guys."
They returned the greeting, and the succubus smiled real big. She suppressed her giggling and asked, "Well? Was it fun? How did it feel?"
Zeraine and Amarantha both blushed and frowned. Neither of them wanted to give anyone the details of what happened between them last night. The hero grabbed her by one of her horns and said in a slightly growling tone, "Come on." He pulled her away so the two could be left to do what they needed.
She grabbed his wrist, trying to pull his hand off, then tried prying his fingers off of her horn. "Let go, dammit!" He did so, causing her to stumble backwards a few steps. She gave him a look of angry protest. "Asshole! What the hell was that for!?"
He gave her a scolding look. "What happened between them is their business, not yours. Don't try to pry. Now, let's go eat. I'll need to feed you again after breakfast, right? I'll need my energy."
She crossed her arms and turned her head. "You're so weak that you get tired after feeding me once. How are you going to keep me fed through this whole little adventure, huh?"
The hero shrugged. "We'll ask the gold dragon if he has some kind of enchanted piece of clothing or jewelry that restores spirit energy. If he does, and we ask nicely, he might give it to us, or at least let us buy it. If he doesn't, he might know where we can get one. Once we have that, I should be able to feed you and recover in minutes."
Unable to continue the little fight, the succubus followed the hero to the dining room.
Zeraine and Amarantha arrived at the bathroom. The tub was the size of a swimming pool. They looked at each other and shook their heads in disbelief. They were used to bathing quickly, and so they did. The thought of having sex again while they bathed never crossed their minds. After they were clean, they got out, dried off, put the robes back on, and returned to their room. They got dressed and headed for the dining room.
Upon arriving in the dining room, the hero and the succubus found the gold dragon (in human form) sitting next to the female captain, the two of them laughing and occasionally kissing. He noticed them and greeted them. "Did you two sleep well? I wouldn't have minded if you used separate rooms."
They looked at each other and blushed, then looked away. The hero said, "Well, except for the dream I had, I slept fine."
The succubus huffed. "Same here."
The hero said, "Well, one thing I'd like to ask; do you have any kind of enchanted piece of clothing or jewelry that restores spirit energy that we could buy from you?"
He shook his head. "Sorry."
The hero asked, "Do you know where we might find one?"
He shrugged. "Look in magic shops, ask mages, traders, and other knowledgeable people. That's all I can really tell you."
The hero nodded. "I see. Thanks anyway." He suddenly turned to the succubus and asked, "Hey, do you think Sol would have something?"
The succubus said, "Well, he owns and runs a magic shop, and he sells some enchanted stuff, so he might have one. We do have these crystals that allow us to communicate with him from almost anywhere... We could ask."
The hero nodded. "We'll ask after breakfast."
Just then, Zeraine and Amarantha walked in and sat down. After they did, the servants came and laid out the food. Everyone ate their fill of the delicious food. Afterward, they gathered their things, got together, and allowed the succubus to use her crystal to contact Sol.
At that same time, the succubus had a dream. She dreamed that she was straddling the hero, bouncing up and down, riding him in a cowgirl position as he thrust up from below. When they came, they came together. As they did so, she woke up with her face red. "A dream like that about this Order moron? Why? He's a fool! He looks good and has a nice body, but he's such a prude!" She noticed it was morning. "I guess it's time to get up."
They sat up at the same time, looking at each other in surprise. When their eyes met, they couldn't help but immediately think about the erotic dreams they had just had about each other. They both blushed, their faces turning a deep red. They both stammered, trying to break the uncomfortable silence. Simultaneously, they said, "Good morning." This awkward greeting only made them quickly look away from each other in embarrassment. They silently got up and got dressed.
The succubus asked hesitantly, "You need any help with your armor?"
The hero replied, "N-no, thanks."
Once they were dressed, the succubus led the way to the door and opened it.
Meanwhile, Zeraine woke up. He was thinking, "I hope that wasn't a-" When his vision came into focus, and when his brain fully woke up his sense of touch, he noticed that it wasn't a dream. Amarantha was still laying in his arms, naked, a pleasant smile on her face as she slept. He also noticed that her arms were still around him. He smiled happily, grateful that they had improved their relationship even further. Suddenly, in his mind he remembered her true form. He thought, "Right, she's not a human. She's a silver dragon, and last night, she and I..." He wasn't sure if he should be happy or not. The thought of her true form, combined with the fact that they made love last night, made him uneasy. "Why am I uncomfortable with this? We love each other." He stared off into space, still trying to come to terms with it.
Amarantha awoke and slowly opened her eyes to find her arms still around Zeraine, and Zeraine's arms still around her. She looked at him and smiled sweetly. "Good morning, darling."
Zeraine snapped out of his thoughts and smiled back lovingly. "Good morning, Ammie. Did you sleep well?"
She nodded and kissed him. "In your arms all night long, how couldn't I?"
They shared a few "good morning" kisses, then finally let go of each other. Amarantha got up and looked down at herself. "My crotch is all sticky. You sure let out a lot, Zeraine."
He grinned sheepishly. "Well, um, we finally had sex, and being in you felt so good..."
"You don't have to make excuses. It would make me happy, though, if you put out this much next time, too." She giggled.
He chuckled. "I'll do my best."
They looked at her bloodstain on the sheet, remembering that it was her first time; that Zeraine was her first man. If she had her way, he'd be her only man, and she'd be the only woman he'd ever be with for the rest of their lives, as well. They embraced each other lovingly and shared a deep kiss. Zeraine said, "Well, we should get cleaned up before we do anything else." Amarantha nodded in agreement, but before they could do anything else, there was a knock at the door. Amarantha stepped out of sight as Zeraine answered the door, leaning around from behind it to hide his exposed lower half.
It was a golem, pushing a cart that was piled with sheets, towels, bathrobes, and pillowcases. The golem handed Zeraine two bathrobes, one of which had a note sticking out of the pocket. It read:
Hope you two had fun last night! I've taken the liberty of providing you with bathrobes so you can make it to the bathroom and bathe without having to streak your way there. On the reverse side of this note, I've written the directions to the bathroom. After you're dressed, come to the dining room to have breakfast. You need to eat up for your journey of heroism, after all.
-Your gracious host
Zeraine took the bathrobes and closed the door. He handed one to Amarantha and put the other one on. As she put on her bathrobe, she asked, "What's the note say?" Without a word, Zeraine handed her the note and she read it. She blushed. "That jackass... Well, we do need a bath, so let's go."
They stepped out into the hallway, wearing their bathrobes, heading for the bathroom.
As the succubus and the hero stepped out into the hallway, they saw Zeraine and Amarantha wearing bathrobes. The hero greeted them. "Good morning, guys."
They returned the greeting, and the succubus smiled real big. She suppressed her giggling and asked, "Well? Was it fun? How did it feel?"
Zeraine and Amarantha both blushed and frowned. Neither of them wanted to give anyone the details of what happened between them last night. The hero grabbed her by one of her horns and said in a slightly growling tone, "Come on." He pulled her away so the two could be left to do what they needed.
She grabbed his wrist, trying to pull his hand off, then tried prying his fingers off of her horn. "Let go, dammit!" He did so, causing her to stumble backwards a few steps. She gave him a look of angry protest. "Asshole! What the hell was that for!?"
He gave her a scolding look. "What happened between them is their business, not yours. Don't try to pry. Now, let's go eat. I'll need to feed you again after breakfast, right? I'll need my energy."
She crossed her arms and turned her head. "You're so weak that you get tired after feeding me once. How are you going to keep me fed through this whole little adventure, huh?"
The hero shrugged. "We'll ask the gold dragon if he has some kind of enchanted piece of clothing or jewelry that restores spirit energy. If he does, and we ask nicely, he might give it to us, or at least let us buy it. If he doesn't, he might know where we can get one. Once we have that, I should be able to feed you and recover in minutes."
Unable to continue the little fight, the succubus followed the hero to the dining room.
Zeraine and Amarantha arrived at the bathroom. The tub was the size of a swimming pool. They looked at each other and shook their heads in disbelief. They were used to bathing quickly, and so they did. The thought of having sex again while they bathed never crossed their minds. After they were clean, they got out, dried off, put the robes back on, and returned to their room. They got dressed and headed for the dining room.
Upon arriving in the dining room, the hero and the succubus found the gold dragon (in human form) sitting next to the female captain, the two of them laughing and occasionally kissing. He noticed them and greeted them. "Did you two sleep well? I wouldn't have minded if you used separate rooms."
They looked at each other and blushed, then looked away. The hero said, "Well, except for the dream I had, I slept fine."
The succubus huffed. "Same here."
The hero said, "Well, one thing I'd like to ask; do you have any kind of enchanted piece of clothing or jewelry that restores spirit energy that we could buy from you?"
He shook his head. "Sorry."
The hero asked, "Do you know where we might find one?"
He shrugged. "Look in magic shops, ask mages, traders, and other knowledgeable people. That's all I can really tell you."
The hero nodded. "I see. Thanks anyway." He suddenly turned to the succubus and asked, "Hey, do you think Sol would have something?"
The succubus said, "Well, he owns and runs a magic shop, and he sells some enchanted stuff, so he might have one. We do have these crystals that allow us to communicate with him from almost anywhere... We could ask."
The hero nodded. "We'll ask after breakfast."
Just then, Zeraine and Amarantha walked in and sat down. After they did, the servants came and laid out the food. Everyone ate their fill of the delicious food. Afterward, they gathered their things, got together, and allowed the succubus to use her crystal to contact Sol.
Chapter 25
Spoiler: show
The crystal glowed with a dull light. They suddenly heard Sol's voice coming from the crystal. "I was wondering when you guys would call. What do you need? If you're hoping for that other Bag of Holding, I'm still looking for one."
The succubus decided to satisfy her curiosity first. "Hey, did you bang your lizard girls yet?"
The hero glared at her, but she ignored him. Zeraine and Amarantha were noticeably curious, too. Sol sighed and said, "No. Not yet. You guys probably already know that for my efforts in our 'cleaning up' of the cemetery, the count rewarded me with a 'special exception-slash-immunity'. This special privilege would allow me to have my way with them, or them to have their way with me, as much as we wanted, despite the fact that they are my employees, AND the fact that they're still underaged! One thing bugs me a little though... I don't know if the count slipped up or if he thinks I'm a pedophile, but the way it's worded would allow me to have sex with any woman, or even girl, whether she's human, monster, employee or not, underaged or not."
The succubus asked, "Isn't that a good thing? You can start your own harem! And after I've succeeded in that plan I told you about, you could have all the monster pussy you wanted!"
Sol said, "Eh... I don't want to be some kind of playboy, out to fuck every vagina on the planet. I'd rather have one or two women, monsters or not, that love me, rather than a giant group of sex-friends."
Amarantha asked, "Hey, Sol... You were kind of emphasizing the 'underaged' part. You haven't actually become a pedophile, have you?"
Sol snapped back, his tone clearly indicating he was offended. "Of course not! I don't want little girls! I want full-grown women with voluptuous bodies and big boobs!"
The succubus giggled and quietly mumbled, "Hehe... Score one for me, stupid witch..."
Zeraine scoffed and replied with a snark. "But Vicky and Hilda are flat-chested, and they're just teens, yet you love them and are aching to bed them. You're contradicting yourself."
Sol growled in frustration. "There are exceptions to everything! I prefer big boobs, but the emotional bonds I have with these girls makes tit size irrelevant! They still have nipples for me to rub, lick, kiss, pinch, pull, bite, and suck, so it's fine. Besides, once your pretty young succubus does her thing, my lizard girls will have perfectly sized boobs! Plenty to play with, enough for a tit-fuck, big and soft enough to use to lay my head on... I can't wait!"
The succubus started laughing. "Love them all you want until then. After the transformation, it'll be even better, so remember how it feels now for comparison."
"Will do, my friend." Sol let out a perverted laugh.
Amarantha asked, "So, since you have the legal permission, why haven't you done it yet?"
"Remember how I said my birthday was next month? The girls thought it'd be better if we waited until then. For helping to clear out the cemetery, I was rewarded with the right to have these two. For my birthday, I get to have fun with them. In other words, their virginities are my birthday presents! It's tough waiting, but I'll have them soon enough." Sol laughed proudly, with strong traces of perversion. He suddenly stopped and asked, "So, Ammie, did you get Zeraine yet?"
Amarantha and Zeraine both blushed as she answered. "Yes. We're 'together' now."
Sol could be heard clapping. "Congratulations! You two make a perfect couple, and I'm sure you'll have a great life together."
Amarantha smiled, even though Sol couldn't see it. "I'm looking forward to this succubus's plan's success, too."
Zeraine asked, "Does something special happen?"
The succubus conjured the ball of light and brought up her plan for Amarantha's new look, then showed Zeraine. "This is what she'll look like in her true form after my spell. You two will also be able to have kids."
Zeraine's face lit up with awe when he saw what Amarantha would look like, then went red at the mention of having kids.
Amarantha smiled at him, blushing.
Sol clapped louder. "That's even better! You two can make children and have a big, happy family and stuff, just like what I intend to do with my women."
The hero interrupted. "Are you guys always this vulgar!? What's with this shameless perversion!? What about our original purpose for contacting Sol?"
The succubus frowned at the hero. "Fine, spoilsport. Sol, do you have some sort of enchanted piece of clothing or jewelry that restores spirit energy?"
Sol paused for a moment. "I'd have to check my inventory list. Why?"
She replied, "Well, I'm out of demon realm fruit, and we can't seem to find any. Without the fruit, I need to get spirit energy by some other means, and this Order knight is my only option, but he gets tired after feeding me."
"Hmm... Does he really have that little spirit energy, or are you going overboard on the sex?"
The succubus was knocked back by his question. "Wha-? We're not fucking! I haven't had sex one single time! How dare you suggest I'd-"
"So you're using the kissing method? I see now. That's so damn inefficient it might as well not exist. Anyway, you want something powerful enough to restore him within a reasonable amount of time after feeding, right?" His voice got a little quieter as he turned away from the crystal that he was holding on his end. "Hilda, honey, can you hand me the list of enchanted gear I have in stock?"
Her voice could be heard in the background. "Here you go."
"Thanks, dear. Now..." Suddenly there was the sound of something being stuck into his mouth, preventing it from closing, followed by a moan from Hilda and Sol's incoherent half-complaint. A second later, Hilda could be heard laughing in delight as she walked away.
Zeraine asked, "Hey, man, you alright?"
Sol cleared his throat and spoke, traces of embarrassment in his voice. "Yeah. Hilda stuck her tongue in my mouth and gave me a forceful kiss. Anyway, I've got something here that'd work pretty nicely." Sol went on to describe the amulet and told them the price.
The hero and party looked over their total amount of funds and found that they didn't have enough. He groaned in distress, causing the succubus to ask, "What? Is kissing me really that bad?"
He blushed and replied, "Well, not really, but the lack of energy afterward is."
She nodded. "It's a problem for me, too, to be honest. Anyway, we need to see about making some money so we can buy it. I don't think we can do without it for much longer."
They all nodded in agreement. Sol said, "Alright then. I'll hold it for you until you either buy it or change your mind."
The succubus asked, "Why would we change our minds? We need it!"
"Well, there's always the possibility of finding something similar on your travels. For example, let's say you find the cave of a particularly old dragon that really likes to collect stuff. You might find something there. You also might find one among the treasure hoard of an echidna."
Amarantha spoke, pointing out the flaws with that idea. "Dragons tend to hate thieves. We'd be stealing from one by doing that, unless we managed to get some sort of chore to do from the dragon, and it rewards us with it. As for the echidna, we'd have to get through all kinds of deathtraps and stuff in a dungeon straight from a children's story, then grab it and run, going through all that again to get out. The best way would be to find some kind of paying temporary job to get the rest of the money needed to buy it."
"True. Very true. Well, I suppose that means I should be expecting you to contact me again fairly soon. Until then, do your best, guys."
The succubus smiled pervertedly and said, "Tell me every last detail of your birthday fun, okay?"
Sol flatly said, "No."
They broke off the communication, the crystal's glow fading. The hero looked around at everyone. "Well, we know what we need to do, so let's get to it."
They all nodded. The four of them, along with the female captain and the gold dragon (in human form), walked back to the city. Upon arrival, the gold dragon turned to the party. "Check the notice boards. There might be contracts for things like collecting certain ingredients for alchemists or helping to slay dangerous monsters for people. There might even be bounties to collect on notorious outlaws. I'll talk to the head honcho of the city and get him to side with you guys against the Demon Lord. Good luck."
His arm over the female captain's shoulder, the two of them walked away. The succubus grabbed the hero's Bag of Holding and took out the other sword and dagger she took from the Dark Elves that troubled her days ago. The hero looked at her in surprise. "Since when did we have those?"
"Since I took them from some idiot Dark Elves that tried to kill me when I was traveling on my own to the city where we met. These are the ones I couldn't sell yet because the merchants didn't have the money. Even with selling these, though, we won't have enough to buy the amulet. We'll still need money left over to pay for stuff like weapon and armor maintenance and rooms at inns, so keep that in mind."
She handed him back his Bag of Holding and grabbed him by the arm. "Come on. Let's go sell these, then look around town at those notice boards. Zeraine, you and Amarantha will look at the notice boards ahead of us and prescreen the available work."
The hero looked at her and said, "Why exactly do I need to go with you to sell these?"
She looked at him arrogantly. "It's a man's duty to escort a lady and protect her from the hidden dangers of the city."
The hero asked mockingly, "What lady? I don't see one here."
She promptly put a small but painful bump on his head with her staff, then pulled him along, almost dragging him.
Zeraine and Amarantha held back from laughing at the scene, then walked together in a different direction, looking for notice boards.
The succubus decided to satisfy her curiosity first. "Hey, did you bang your lizard girls yet?"
The hero glared at her, but she ignored him. Zeraine and Amarantha were noticeably curious, too. Sol sighed and said, "No. Not yet. You guys probably already know that for my efforts in our 'cleaning up' of the cemetery, the count rewarded me with a 'special exception-slash-immunity'. This special privilege would allow me to have my way with them, or them to have their way with me, as much as we wanted, despite the fact that they are my employees, AND the fact that they're still underaged! One thing bugs me a little though... I don't know if the count slipped up or if he thinks I'm a pedophile, but the way it's worded would allow me to have sex with any woman, or even girl, whether she's human, monster, employee or not, underaged or not."
The succubus asked, "Isn't that a good thing? You can start your own harem! And after I've succeeded in that plan I told you about, you could have all the monster pussy you wanted!"
Sol said, "Eh... I don't want to be some kind of playboy, out to fuck every vagina on the planet. I'd rather have one or two women, monsters or not, that love me, rather than a giant group of sex-friends."
Amarantha asked, "Hey, Sol... You were kind of emphasizing the 'underaged' part. You haven't actually become a pedophile, have you?"
Sol snapped back, his tone clearly indicating he was offended. "Of course not! I don't want little girls! I want full-grown women with voluptuous bodies and big boobs!"
The succubus giggled and quietly mumbled, "Hehe... Score one for me, stupid witch..."
Zeraine scoffed and replied with a snark. "But Vicky and Hilda are flat-chested, and they're just teens, yet you love them and are aching to bed them. You're contradicting yourself."
Sol growled in frustration. "There are exceptions to everything! I prefer big boobs, but the emotional bonds I have with these girls makes tit size irrelevant! They still have nipples for me to rub, lick, kiss, pinch, pull, bite, and suck, so it's fine. Besides, once your pretty young succubus does her thing, my lizard girls will have perfectly sized boobs! Plenty to play with, enough for a tit-fuck, big and soft enough to use to lay my head on... I can't wait!"
The succubus started laughing. "Love them all you want until then. After the transformation, it'll be even better, so remember how it feels now for comparison."
"Will do, my friend." Sol let out a perverted laugh.
Amarantha asked, "So, since you have the legal permission, why haven't you done it yet?"
"Remember how I said my birthday was next month? The girls thought it'd be better if we waited until then. For helping to clear out the cemetery, I was rewarded with the right to have these two. For my birthday, I get to have fun with them. In other words, their virginities are my birthday presents! It's tough waiting, but I'll have them soon enough." Sol laughed proudly, with strong traces of perversion. He suddenly stopped and asked, "So, Ammie, did you get Zeraine yet?"
Amarantha and Zeraine both blushed as she answered. "Yes. We're 'together' now."
Sol could be heard clapping. "Congratulations! You two make a perfect couple, and I'm sure you'll have a great life together."
Amarantha smiled, even though Sol couldn't see it. "I'm looking forward to this succubus's plan's success, too."
Zeraine asked, "Does something special happen?"
The succubus conjured the ball of light and brought up her plan for Amarantha's new look, then showed Zeraine. "This is what she'll look like in her true form after my spell. You two will also be able to have kids."
Zeraine's face lit up with awe when he saw what Amarantha would look like, then went red at the mention of having kids.
Amarantha smiled at him, blushing.
Sol clapped louder. "That's even better! You two can make children and have a big, happy family and stuff, just like what I intend to do with my women."
The hero interrupted. "Are you guys always this vulgar!? What's with this shameless perversion!? What about our original purpose for contacting Sol?"
The succubus frowned at the hero. "Fine, spoilsport. Sol, do you have some sort of enchanted piece of clothing or jewelry that restores spirit energy?"
Sol paused for a moment. "I'd have to check my inventory list. Why?"
She replied, "Well, I'm out of demon realm fruit, and we can't seem to find any. Without the fruit, I need to get spirit energy by some other means, and this Order knight is my only option, but he gets tired after feeding me."
"Hmm... Does he really have that little spirit energy, or are you going overboard on the sex?"
The succubus was knocked back by his question. "Wha-? We're not fucking! I haven't had sex one single time! How dare you suggest I'd-"
"So you're using the kissing method? I see now. That's so damn inefficient it might as well not exist. Anyway, you want something powerful enough to restore him within a reasonable amount of time after feeding, right?" His voice got a little quieter as he turned away from the crystal that he was holding on his end. "Hilda, honey, can you hand me the list of enchanted gear I have in stock?"
Her voice could be heard in the background. "Here you go."
"Thanks, dear. Now..." Suddenly there was the sound of something being stuck into his mouth, preventing it from closing, followed by a moan from Hilda and Sol's incoherent half-complaint. A second later, Hilda could be heard laughing in delight as she walked away.
Zeraine asked, "Hey, man, you alright?"
Sol cleared his throat and spoke, traces of embarrassment in his voice. "Yeah. Hilda stuck her tongue in my mouth and gave me a forceful kiss. Anyway, I've got something here that'd work pretty nicely." Sol went on to describe the amulet and told them the price.
The hero and party looked over their total amount of funds and found that they didn't have enough. He groaned in distress, causing the succubus to ask, "What? Is kissing me really that bad?"
He blushed and replied, "Well, not really, but the lack of energy afterward is."
She nodded. "It's a problem for me, too, to be honest. Anyway, we need to see about making some money so we can buy it. I don't think we can do without it for much longer."
They all nodded in agreement. Sol said, "Alright then. I'll hold it for you until you either buy it or change your mind."
The succubus asked, "Why would we change our minds? We need it!"
"Well, there's always the possibility of finding something similar on your travels. For example, let's say you find the cave of a particularly old dragon that really likes to collect stuff. You might find something there. You also might find one among the treasure hoard of an echidna."
Amarantha spoke, pointing out the flaws with that idea. "Dragons tend to hate thieves. We'd be stealing from one by doing that, unless we managed to get some sort of chore to do from the dragon, and it rewards us with it. As for the echidna, we'd have to get through all kinds of deathtraps and stuff in a dungeon straight from a children's story, then grab it and run, going through all that again to get out. The best way would be to find some kind of paying temporary job to get the rest of the money needed to buy it."
"True. Very true. Well, I suppose that means I should be expecting you to contact me again fairly soon. Until then, do your best, guys."
The succubus smiled pervertedly and said, "Tell me every last detail of your birthday fun, okay?"
Sol flatly said, "No."
They broke off the communication, the crystal's glow fading. The hero looked around at everyone. "Well, we know what we need to do, so let's get to it."
They all nodded. The four of them, along with the female captain and the gold dragon (in human form), walked back to the city. Upon arrival, the gold dragon turned to the party. "Check the notice boards. There might be contracts for things like collecting certain ingredients for alchemists or helping to slay dangerous monsters for people. There might even be bounties to collect on notorious outlaws. I'll talk to the head honcho of the city and get him to side with you guys against the Demon Lord. Good luck."
His arm over the female captain's shoulder, the two of them walked away. The succubus grabbed the hero's Bag of Holding and took out the other sword and dagger she took from the Dark Elves that troubled her days ago. The hero looked at her in surprise. "Since when did we have those?"
"Since I took them from some idiot Dark Elves that tried to kill me when I was traveling on my own to the city where we met. These are the ones I couldn't sell yet because the merchants didn't have the money. Even with selling these, though, we won't have enough to buy the amulet. We'll still need money left over to pay for stuff like weapon and armor maintenance and rooms at inns, so keep that in mind."
She handed him back his Bag of Holding and grabbed him by the arm. "Come on. Let's go sell these, then look around town at those notice boards. Zeraine, you and Amarantha will look at the notice boards ahead of us and prescreen the available work."
The hero looked at her and said, "Why exactly do I need to go with you to sell these?"
She looked at him arrogantly. "It's a man's duty to escort a lady and protect her from the hidden dangers of the city."
The hero asked mockingly, "What lady? I don't see one here."
She promptly put a small but painful bump on his head with her staff, then pulled him along, almost dragging him.
Zeraine and Amarantha held back from laughing at the scene, then walked together in a different direction, looking for notice boards.
Chapter 26
Spoiler: show
The hero and the succubus found the city's general trader, but he couldn't afford either weapon. They checked at one of the two blacksmiths, and were able to sell the sword. At the other blacksmith's shop, they were able to sell the dagger, thus getting rid of all the "loot" the succubus had gotten from the Dark Elves a couple of days ago. Quite happy over no longer having to lug around those weapons, as well as having more money now, the succubus smiled at the hero. "Let's regroup with Zeraine and Amarantha. Maybe they've found some acceptable work."
The hero was momentarily stunned by her smile. "Uh, yeah."
She grabbed his hand. "Let's go." She began pulling him along.
The hero thought, "What was with that smile? She seemed so cute and innocent... Damn it, I'm not supposed to be thinking about her like this! I've got my mission to worry about." The hero either didn't realize or didn't want to admit that he was making excuses.
Meanwhile, Zeraine and Amarantha had found a notice board and were looking at the available jobs. Zeraine mumbled as he looked over the notices, "Lost kitten, lost dog, ...lost beer mug? Spread recruitment pamphlets for the church, investigate and see if a man's wife is cheating on him... Here's one. 'Collect mushrooms for the city's alchemist'. Hmm... These mushrooms he's talking about grow deep in the forest, often in caves, too. I'm not too sure about the payment, though. It seems a bit small for that much walking, and potential danger. You find anything, Ammie?"
Amarantha held up one notice. "Judging by the condition of the paper, this one was just put up within the last few hours. Outside the city, there's a house that has a cockatrice that needs slaying. The job pays pretty good, too. How about it?"
Zeraine nodded. "Sounds good, but why would a cockatrice be in a house?"
Amarantha shrugged. She and Zeraine turned around just in time to see the hero, being pulled along by the succubus, approaching.
When they regrouped, the succubus finally let go of the hero. She then asked, "You guys find anything?"
Amarantha told her about the cockatrice contract, to which the hero said, "Wait a minute. Isn't this dangerous? Can't cockatrices turn people to stone with a glare?"
Zeraine tried not to laugh. "Nope. That's just some goofy rumor."
The succubus grinned. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's do it!"
They found the house in question. There was a fearful man waiting near it, who, upon seeing the approaching party, called out, "Hey, are you four here about the notice?"
The hero stepped forward. "Yeah. We understand that there's a cockatrice in that house, and someone wants it dead."
Zeraine asked, "What's a cockatrice even doing in that house, anyway?"
The man had a look of shame. "This is my brother's house. He and his family were living here, doing pretty well. One day, he found a baby cockatrice all alone out in the woods. He decided to bring it home and raise it. I told him it was a bad idea, but he insisted it would be fine. Things went pretty good for a while, then it started acting up. Earlier today, it attacked him. I looked in the window and saw that he and his family were all dead and partially eaten. Kill the damn creature for me, please! If only I had pushed harder to get him to reconsider..."
Zeraine said, "Well, kid? I think it'd be best if you and she went in and dealt with it." he said, pointing at the hero and the succubus. "All four of us going in would be stupid."
The hero nodded, then looked at the succubus. "You ready?"
She scoffed. "Of course. Should I lead the way?"
The hero knew she was teasing him, but didn't reply. Instead, he strapped his shield to his arm, drew his sword, and walked up to the door. The succubus stayed a few feet behind him, her staff at the ready. He took a deep breath, exhaled, then kicked the door open and rushed in, shield up. The succubus followed him, a lightning spell ready. Zeraine, Amarantha, and the man heard the cockatrice shrieking and hissing, with a few yells from the hero and some incoherent incantations from the succubus. There were also the sounds of furniture being hit and knocked around, as well as sparking and thunder from the lightning spells.
At one point, they heard the succubus yell, "Hold it still!", followed by the hero shouting, "Got 'em!" a few seconds later. Immediately after, the succubus shouted, "Sea Ku Endo Stroy De, Voy Vot!" Seconds later, the two of them exited the house. The hero's cheek was bruised and the succubus was panting, but they were otherwise fine.
The hero said, "The cockatrice is dead, but so are the people. They were killed and partially eaten, just like he said. It's pretty gruesome."
The man handed them a sack of gold coins. "That damn abomination is finally dead. Here's your payment."
The party counted their money. They saw that they now had enough to buy the amulet from Sol, but they wouldn't have enough left over for travel expenses. Zeraine shrugged and said, "I guess we need to do one more job, huh? The only one left that seems worth doing is this one." He handed the hero the notice about the mushrooms.
The hero said, "Well, let's get to it." He led the party to the alchemist's shop where they got directions to the best place to find the mushrooms. The alchemist warned them that it was rumored to be some kind of dungeon, home to an echidna, and that he had only ever picked the mushrooms from the first few rooms, never going in any farther.
The hero and party had a rather uneventful trip to the cave in question, but when they arrived, they saw that there weren't any mushrooms outside, nor in the first few rooms. There were, however, traces of the mushrooms, which indicated that the alchemist was correct in saying that they grew here. They mentally prepared themselves and went deeper into the cave. As they walked along, using light spells to see, the succubus thought about several things, including what she wanted to make cockatrices into. She decided that she should give them the petrifying glare in order to help them get a mate. She also realized that she had been in her true form for quite a while, but none of the people seemed to care that she was a succubus. This slightly upset her because she considered the possibility of it being them trying to insult her by ignoring her. She also thought it might be that her outfit wasn't revealing enough, but it was too cold to wear any kind of "mage's bikini armor" up here.
After thinking about what to do with cockatrices, and mulling over the fact that nothing had happened despite her being in her true form, she stopped when Zeraine noticed a small patch of the mushrooms they needed. There weren't enough to complete the job, but it was a start. Amarantha said, "Be careful, Zeraine. I know it sounds stupid at first, but you've heard about how echidnas' dungeons tend to be."
Zeraine laughed and said, "If you're worried about those 'floor pressure plate trap" type things, that's no problem." He levitated over to the mushrooms, picked them, and floated back. "Let's keep moving."
The party proceeded until they heard the sound of turning gears and swinging blades. They paused long enough to look at each other, then headed in the direction of the sound.
The hero was momentarily stunned by her smile. "Uh, yeah."
She grabbed his hand. "Let's go." She began pulling him along.
The hero thought, "What was with that smile? She seemed so cute and innocent... Damn it, I'm not supposed to be thinking about her like this! I've got my mission to worry about." The hero either didn't realize or didn't want to admit that he was making excuses.
Meanwhile, Zeraine and Amarantha had found a notice board and were looking at the available jobs. Zeraine mumbled as he looked over the notices, "Lost kitten, lost dog, ...lost beer mug? Spread recruitment pamphlets for the church, investigate and see if a man's wife is cheating on him... Here's one. 'Collect mushrooms for the city's alchemist'. Hmm... These mushrooms he's talking about grow deep in the forest, often in caves, too. I'm not too sure about the payment, though. It seems a bit small for that much walking, and potential danger. You find anything, Ammie?"
Amarantha held up one notice. "Judging by the condition of the paper, this one was just put up within the last few hours. Outside the city, there's a house that has a cockatrice that needs slaying. The job pays pretty good, too. How about it?"
Zeraine nodded. "Sounds good, but why would a cockatrice be in a house?"
Amarantha shrugged. She and Zeraine turned around just in time to see the hero, being pulled along by the succubus, approaching.
When they regrouped, the succubus finally let go of the hero. She then asked, "You guys find anything?"
Amarantha told her about the cockatrice contract, to which the hero said, "Wait a minute. Isn't this dangerous? Can't cockatrices turn people to stone with a glare?"
Zeraine tried not to laugh. "Nope. That's just some goofy rumor."
The succubus grinned. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's do it!"
They found the house in question. There was a fearful man waiting near it, who, upon seeing the approaching party, called out, "Hey, are you four here about the notice?"
The hero stepped forward. "Yeah. We understand that there's a cockatrice in that house, and someone wants it dead."
Zeraine asked, "What's a cockatrice even doing in that house, anyway?"
The man had a look of shame. "This is my brother's house. He and his family were living here, doing pretty well. One day, he found a baby cockatrice all alone out in the woods. He decided to bring it home and raise it. I told him it was a bad idea, but he insisted it would be fine. Things went pretty good for a while, then it started acting up. Earlier today, it attacked him. I looked in the window and saw that he and his family were all dead and partially eaten. Kill the damn creature for me, please! If only I had pushed harder to get him to reconsider..."
Zeraine said, "Well, kid? I think it'd be best if you and she went in and dealt with it." he said, pointing at the hero and the succubus. "All four of us going in would be stupid."
The hero nodded, then looked at the succubus. "You ready?"
She scoffed. "Of course. Should I lead the way?"
The hero knew she was teasing him, but didn't reply. Instead, he strapped his shield to his arm, drew his sword, and walked up to the door. The succubus stayed a few feet behind him, her staff at the ready. He took a deep breath, exhaled, then kicked the door open and rushed in, shield up. The succubus followed him, a lightning spell ready. Zeraine, Amarantha, and the man heard the cockatrice shrieking and hissing, with a few yells from the hero and some incoherent incantations from the succubus. There were also the sounds of furniture being hit and knocked around, as well as sparking and thunder from the lightning spells.
At one point, they heard the succubus yell, "Hold it still!", followed by the hero shouting, "Got 'em!" a few seconds later. Immediately after, the succubus shouted, "Sea Ku Endo Stroy De, Voy Vot!" Seconds later, the two of them exited the house. The hero's cheek was bruised and the succubus was panting, but they were otherwise fine.
The hero said, "The cockatrice is dead, but so are the people. They were killed and partially eaten, just like he said. It's pretty gruesome."
The man handed them a sack of gold coins. "That damn abomination is finally dead. Here's your payment."
The party counted their money. They saw that they now had enough to buy the amulet from Sol, but they wouldn't have enough left over for travel expenses. Zeraine shrugged and said, "I guess we need to do one more job, huh? The only one left that seems worth doing is this one." He handed the hero the notice about the mushrooms.
The hero said, "Well, let's get to it." He led the party to the alchemist's shop where they got directions to the best place to find the mushrooms. The alchemist warned them that it was rumored to be some kind of dungeon, home to an echidna, and that he had only ever picked the mushrooms from the first few rooms, never going in any farther.
The hero and party had a rather uneventful trip to the cave in question, but when they arrived, they saw that there weren't any mushrooms outside, nor in the first few rooms. There were, however, traces of the mushrooms, which indicated that the alchemist was correct in saying that they grew here. They mentally prepared themselves and went deeper into the cave. As they walked along, using light spells to see, the succubus thought about several things, including what she wanted to make cockatrices into. She decided that she should give them the petrifying glare in order to help them get a mate. She also realized that she had been in her true form for quite a while, but none of the people seemed to care that she was a succubus. This slightly upset her because she considered the possibility of it being them trying to insult her by ignoring her. She also thought it might be that her outfit wasn't revealing enough, but it was too cold to wear any kind of "mage's bikini armor" up here.
After thinking about what to do with cockatrices, and mulling over the fact that nothing had happened despite her being in her true form, she stopped when Zeraine noticed a small patch of the mushrooms they needed. There weren't enough to complete the job, but it was a start. Amarantha said, "Be careful, Zeraine. I know it sounds stupid at first, but you've heard about how echidnas' dungeons tend to be."
Zeraine laughed and said, "If you're worried about those 'floor pressure plate trap" type things, that's no problem." He levitated over to the mushrooms, picked them, and floated back. "Let's keep moving."
The party proceeded until they heard the sound of turning gears and swinging blades. They paused long enough to look at each other, then headed in the direction of the sound.
Chapter 27
Spoiler: show
As they arrived at the room, Zeraine shook his head in disbelief. "Come on, man! How cliche can you get?"
He was complaining about the design of the room, which had a long, very narrow stone walkway with large swinging blades and extending spikes between them. The succubus nodded. "It's like something out of one of those story books. The kind with the heroes exploring a dungeon filled with stupidly elaborate deathtraps, with a 'boss' monster at the end."
The hero looked at the "bridge" and said, "Well, if we go one at a time, we could make it through if we used proper timing. That is, unless we use levitation."
The succubus noticed the pattern of the swinging blades and extending spikes. "Yeah, levitation would be easier. Do you think you can handle it, knight?"
The hero fell victim to her provocation and confidently boasted, "Of course I can! I'm capable of levitating thanks to you, and I'm not going to fail my mission in any way, especially one as stupid as this one!"
The four of them levitated up to the ceiling and flew next to the openings where the swinging blades hung out. They reached the other side with no problems. As they proceeded, Amarantha snidely said, "So this is supposed to be home to an echidna? It must not have thought this through very well. Levitating past that cliched trap was too easy! It was more a waste of our time than anything. Oh, well. The sooner we get those mushrooms, the sooner we can get out of here."
Zeraine grabbed her shoulder. "Don't get too cocky, Ammie. That room might have just been like some sort of preliminary thing. There could very well easily be much harder traps up ahead. Keep your eyes and ears open and be careful."
Everyone nodded. As they continued, they came upon a room with a giant bed of spikes below them, with no floor or any sort of foot path to reach the doorway on the other side. There were, however, very strong-looking vines leading from the nearby wall up to the ceiling and across the room to near the door, and back down the wall next to it. Zeraine and the hero knew that the vines might not support them, due to the weight of their armor. They looked at each other, then to the girls. The hero asked, "Levitation?"
Everyone nodded. They flew across the room with levitation and proceeded through the door and down another hall. Amarantha commented, "It's still easy so far."
Zeraine looked around and saw painfully obvious pressure plate triggers on the floor, as well as small openings in the walls at about shoulder level on both sides, and at the wall in front of them at the corner. "Guys, look at this. These pressure plates must cause something to shoot out of those holes. If we simply avoid them, we'll be fine. Since the holes are all at shoulder-height, if we do set one off, we can just crawl the rest of the way."
The hero asked, "What do you think will shoot out of the holes?"
Zeraine shrugged. "I'd have to guess bolts. If the 'boss' of this 'dungeon' is even half-competent, they'll be dipped in some sort of poison. The safest thing to do is just watch where we step, crawl if we set something off, and not get shot."
The four of them proceeded through the corridor without setting off any traps. They ended up reaching a small room with a ladder that went down. Upon seeing the ladder, the hero asked, "Now wait a minute. If an echidna lives here, how does it get out if there's a ladder here?"
The succubus gave him a surprised look. "Echidnas can use magic to take on a fully-human form, just like many other sentient monsters. You've seen my human disguise form, so you should understand. Still, it'd be a bit far-fetched to think that the echidna would go through its own dungeon backwards just to get out, then back through everything again just to get home. It probably has some sort of back entrance that it uses, and said back entrance is probably heavily disguised or hidden. Either that, or it uses its powerful magic to teleport back and forth between its lair and whatever town it goes to to buy food or whatever."
The hero said, "They buy food?"
She nodded and continued, "Sometimes. I guess if they don't feel like going hunting or whatever, they'll disguise themselves as humans and go into town to buy food or whatever."
He asked, "How good is their disguise?"
"Good enough to fool anyone or anything that doesn't know some sort of truth-seeing spell, and even then, the person would have to suspect something to have any reason to cast such a spell. Why would you cast a spell like that if you didn't have a reason, you know? Anyway, there's pretty much no 'tell' that gives them away. Their disguises are pretty much perfect, and they're very good at blending in with society, should they so choose."
"So what about someone like Sol? He figured you out and dispelled your disguise within the first few minutes of seeing you. Would someone like him be able to see through it like he did with yours?"
She shrugged. "Either my disguise wasn't perfect, or he somehow sensed something, which led him to figure me out. The fact that he's almost an incubus might have something to do with it. I'm not sure if he could see through it without his magic, nor do I know if he'd sense anything that'd lead him to do so. Considering his apparent scale-fetish, he might somehow use lust or something to figure a female echidna out."
The hero asked, "Wait, wasn't Zeraine also almost an incubus?"
Zeraine said, "I'm right here, kid. Yes, I'm almost an incubus, too. Why?"
The hero said, "Well, which of you is closer to being an incubus, you or Sol?"
Zeraine scoffed. "Sol. It might be because he's older than me, or it might be because he's gone into some areas that are ridiculously dense with demonic energy, but he's 'farther along' than I am."
"Did you feel or suspect anything upon seeing her?" he asked, gesturing toward the succubus.
"No. I just thought she was really pretty. As far as I'm concerned, she's no match for Ammie, though. No offense."
The succubus nonchalantly replied, "None taken."
Amarantha was smiling and blushing. "Oh, Zeraine."
Zeraine looked at her. "What?"
She giggled. "If you want 'more', you don't have to try to flatter me. Just ask."
Zeraine blushed. "Ammie, I'm being serious. ...I might ask later."
The two of them laughed happily.
The succubus mumbled to herself, "Maybe his love for her blinded him to me? But Sol's love for Victoria and Hilda didn't prevent him from seeing through my disguise. Maybe he's more sensitive to something and that allowed him to notice?"
Aside from herself, only the hero heard her. He whispered to her, "It could be that Sol is more perceptive than Zeraine."
She whispered back, "What do you mean? Wouldn't Zeraine be the more perceptive one, since he's a spellsword?"
The hero shrugged and whispered, "Well, since it sounds like Sol often goes off on his own, and since he's a mage, he's got to be extremely perceptive to go to the areas he goes to so he doesn't die. If he overlooks even one thing, it could lead to his death. With Zeraine, it'd just be a pain in the ass the deal with and heal up later."
She replied in a normal voice, "I think I see what you mean. Those Dark Elves I mentioned caught me by surprise. I was lucky that their first arrow missed, which brought them to my attention. Had I been more aware, I might have managed to deal with them, or avoid them, and not have to be lucky."
The hero let a look of concern wash over his face as he looked at the succubus. "They almost got you? At least you lived."
The succubus saw his look of concern and grinned.
The hero looked at her questioningly. "What? What is it?"
Her grin turned into a smile that got bigger by the second. "So you do care about me. That's nice. With the way you've been treating me lately, I thought you hated me."
The hero fought to keep from blushing. "It's not that! It's just, well, um, I-I'm concerned because you're my teammate! ...And, uh... Look, I don't hate you, okay?"
"Then why have you been so cold? Is it because I'm a succubus?"
The hero looked around uncomfortably. "I'm not a human supremacist or anything like that. It's just..."
The succubus shoved him up against the wall, putting both of her hands on the wall on opposite sides of his head. "Stop avoiding the question. Answer me; is the fact that I'm a succubus the reason you've been a prick to me?"
The hero turned his head, trying to escape eye contact. "If I've hurt you, I'm sorry. I'm just uncomfortable with the thought of being too friendly with a monster."
She grabbed him by the chin and forced him to look into her eyes. "You realize that makes you an asshole, right? You're a human, traveling with a man who's almost an incubus, a silver dragon, and a succubus. The three of us are either 'monsters' or close to it. Your comment is very offensive to us, or at least potentially very offensive."
He stopped fighting her grip. "I'm sorry. You realize I've been raised pretty much entirely around humans, right? I think it's only natural that it'd take me some time to warm up to non-humans."
She continued glaring into his eyes. "Then stop being uncomfortable with the thought of being 'too friendly' with monsters."
"I've got no problems being friends with a monster, but..."
She backed away a little, grinning. "I see now. By 'too friendly', you meant getting into a romantic relationship with one. So you're fine with others doing it, but you're too scared to do it yourself?" The hero's silence indicated she was right. She continued, "Well, how do you feel about me? Dislike, like, hate, love, or do you just feel indifferent?" She suddenly realized that she probably shouldn't have asked that question, since his answer could cause a great deal of awkwardness between them, but she didn't let it show.
The hero hesitantly answered, "I don't hate you, and despite your faults, I don't dislike you."
She decided to press further. "Well, since you don't have any negative feelings toward me, how about the positive ones, hmm? Or are you neutral?"
"Well, indifference would require that I didn't care about your well-being at all, so... I guess I like you to an extent." He lost the fight in his attempt to keep from blushing. He wanted to turn his head, but she was still holding him by the chin.
She smiled. "Good. If you don't like me, achieving our end goal would be that much harder, if not impossible." She let go of him and backed away.
He asked, "Uh, just out of curiosity, how do you feel about me?"
She laughed. "Well, despite your faults, I like you. You're a good person."
His face went red as he stepped away from the wall. The succubus turned her back to him and headed for the ladder. She began blushing due to the possible implications of what she just said. As they both headed for the ladder, they saw Zeraine and Amarantha looking at them, smiling. The hero asked, "What?"
Zeraine smiled bigger and said, "So, was that a half-assed confession?"
The hero and the succubus froze in their tracks, looked at each other, then back to Zeraine and Amarantha, who had started snickering. They began simultaneously denying it, which came out as an incoherent mix of male and female voices. Amarantha burst out laughing and said, "Look, kids, we know you two are slowly but surely coming together. You might as well come to terms with it now, admit it, hook up, and move on."
Both of their faces red, the hero and the succubus both began objecting and denying it more strongly. Zeraine and Amarantha were laughing their asses off as the hero and the succubus continued to make themselves look like children denying being in love with their incoherent, unintelligible simultaneous objections. Zeraine and Amarantha descended the ladder, still laughing. The hero and the succubus were left standing next to each other, faces red, and an awkward silence between them. The hero cleared his throat and said, "You first."
The succubus nodded and climbed down the ladder, followed by the hero. After getting to the bottom, they followed Zeraine and Amarantha down the next corridor, which was strangely devoid of traps.
He was complaining about the design of the room, which had a long, very narrow stone walkway with large swinging blades and extending spikes between them. The succubus nodded. "It's like something out of one of those story books. The kind with the heroes exploring a dungeon filled with stupidly elaborate deathtraps, with a 'boss' monster at the end."
The hero looked at the "bridge" and said, "Well, if we go one at a time, we could make it through if we used proper timing. That is, unless we use levitation."
The succubus noticed the pattern of the swinging blades and extending spikes. "Yeah, levitation would be easier. Do you think you can handle it, knight?"
The hero fell victim to her provocation and confidently boasted, "Of course I can! I'm capable of levitating thanks to you, and I'm not going to fail my mission in any way, especially one as stupid as this one!"
The four of them levitated up to the ceiling and flew next to the openings where the swinging blades hung out. They reached the other side with no problems. As they proceeded, Amarantha snidely said, "So this is supposed to be home to an echidna? It must not have thought this through very well. Levitating past that cliched trap was too easy! It was more a waste of our time than anything. Oh, well. The sooner we get those mushrooms, the sooner we can get out of here."
Zeraine grabbed her shoulder. "Don't get too cocky, Ammie. That room might have just been like some sort of preliminary thing. There could very well easily be much harder traps up ahead. Keep your eyes and ears open and be careful."
Everyone nodded. As they continued, they came upon a room with a giant bed of spikes below them, with no floor or any sort of foot path to reach the doorway on the other side. There were, however, very strong-looking vines leading from the nearby wall up to the ceiling and across the room to near the door, and back down the wall next to it. Zeraine and the hero knew that the vines might not support them, due to the weight of their armor. They looked at each other, then to the girls. The hero asked, "Levitation?"
Everyone nodded. They flew across the room with levitation and proceeded through the door and down another hall. Amarantha commented, "It's still easy so far."
Zeraine looked around and saw painfully obvious pressure plate triggers on the floor, as well as small openings in the walls at about shoulder level on both sides, and at the wall in front of them at the corner. "Guys, look at this. These pressure plates must cause something to shoot out of those holes. If we simply avoid them, we'll be fine. Since the holes are all at shoulder-height, if we do set one off, we can just crawl the rest of the way."
The hero asked, "What do you think will shoot out of the holes?"
Zeraine shrugged. "I'd have to guess bolts. If the 'boss' of this 'dungeon' is even half-competent, they'll be dipped in some sort of poison. The safest thing to do is just watch where we step, crawl if we set something off, and not get shot."
The four of them proceeded through the corridor without setting off any traps. They ended up reaching a small room with a ladder that went down. Upon seeing the ladder, the hero asked, "Now wait a minute. If an echidna lives here, how does it get out if there's a ladder here?"
The succubus gave him a surprised look. "Echidnas can use magic to take on a fully-human form, just like many other sentient monsters. You've seen my human disguise form, so you should understand. Still, it'd be a bit far-fetched to think that the echidna would go through its own dungeon backwards just to get out, then back through everything again just to get home. It probably has some sort of back entrance that it uses, and said back entrance is probably heavily disguised or hidden. Either that, or it uses its powerful magic to teleport back and forth between its lair and whatever town it goes to to buy food or whatever."
The hero said, "They buy food?"
She nodded and continued, "Sometimes. I guess if they don't feel like going hunting or whatever, they'll disguise themselves as humans and go into town to buy food or whatever."
He asked, "How good is their disguise?"
"Good enough to fool anyone or anything that doesn't know some sort of truth-seeing spell, and even then, the person would have to suspect something to have any reason to cast such a spell. Why would you cast a spell like that if you didn't have a reason, you know? Anyway, there's pretty much no 'tell' that gives them away. Their disguises are pretty much perfect, and they're very good at blending in with society, should they so choose."
"So what about someone like Sol? He figured you out and dispelled your disguise within the first few minutes of seeing you. Would someone like him be able to see through it like he did with yours?"
She shrugged. "Either my disguise wasn't perfect, or he somehow sensed something, which led him to figure me out. The fact that he's almost an incubus might have something to do with it. I'm not sure if he could see through it without his magic, nor do I know if he'd sense anything that'd lead him to do so. Considering his apparent scale-fetish, he might somehow use lust or something to figure a female echidna out."
The hero asked, "Wait, wasn't Zeraine also almost an incubus?"
Zeraine said, "I'm right here, kid. Yes, I'm almost an incubus, too. Why?"
The hero said, "Well, which of you is closer to being an incubus, you or Sol?"
Zeraine scoffed. "Sol. It might be because he's older than me, or it might be because he's gone into some areas that are ridiculously dense with demonic energy, but he's 'farther along' than I am."
"Did you feel or suspect anything upon seeing her?" he asked, gesturing toward the succubus.
"No. I just thought she was really pretty. As far as I'm concerned, she's no match for Ammie, though. No offense."
The succubus nonchalantly replied, "None taken."
Amarantha was smiling and blushing. "Oh, Zeraine."
Zeraine looked at her. "What?"
She giggled. "If you want 'more', you don't have to try to flatter me. Just ask."
Zeraine blushed. "Ammie, I'm being serious. ...I might ask later."
The two of them laughed happily.
The succubus mumbled to herself, "Maybe his love for her blinded him to me? But Sol's love for Victoria and Hilda didn't prevent him from seeing through my disguise. Maybe he's more sensitive to something and that allowed him to notice?"
Aside from herself, only the hero heard her. He whispered to her, "It could be that Sol is more perceptive than Zeraine."
She whispered back, "What do you mean? Wouldn't Zeraine be the more perceptive one, since he's a spellsword?"
The hero shrugged and whispered, "Well, since it sounds like Sol often goes off on his own, and since he's a mage, he's got to be extremely perceptive to go to the areas he goes to so he doesn't die. If he overlooks even one thing, it could lead to his death. With Zeraine, it'd just be a pain in the ass the deal with and heal up later."
She replied in a normal voice, "I think I see what you mean. Those Dark Elves I mentioned caught me by surprise. I was lucky that their first arrow missed, which brought them to my attention. Had I been more aware, I might have managed to deal with them, or avoid them, and not have to be lucky."
The hero let a look of concern wash over his face as he looked at the succubus. "They almost got you? At least you lived."
The succubus saw his look of concern and grinned.
The hero looked at her questioningly. "What? What is it?"
Her grin turned into a smile that got bigger by the second. "So you do care about me. That's nice. With the way you've been treating me lately, I thought you hated me."
The hero fought to keep from blushing. "It's not that! It's just, well, um, I-I'm concerned because you're my teammate! ...And, uh... Look, I don't hate you, okay?"
"Then why have you been so cold? Is it because I'm a succubus?"
The hero looked around uncomfortably. "I'm not a human supremacist or anything like that. It's just..."
The succubus shoved him up against the wall, putting both of her hands on the wall on opposite sides of his head. "Stop avoiding the question. Answer me; is the fact that I'm a succubus the reason you've been a prick to me?"
The hero turned his head, trying to escape eye contact. "If I've hurt you, I'm sorry. I'm just uncomfortable with the thought of being too friendly with a monster."
She grabbed him by the chin and forced him to look into her eyes. "You realize that makes you an asshole, right? You're a human, traveling with a man who's almost an incubus, a silver dragon, and a succubus. The three of us are either 'monsters' or close to it. Your comment is very offensive to us, or at least potentially very offensive."
He stopped fighting her grip. "I'm sorry. You realize I've been raised pretty much entirely around humans, right? I think it's only natural that it'd take me some time to warm up to non-humans."
She continued glaring into his eyes. "Then stop being uncomfortable with the thought of being 'too friendly' with monsters."
"I've got no problems being friends with a monster, but..."
She backed away a little, grinning. "I see now. By 'too friendly', you meant getting into a romantic relationship with one. So you're fine with others doing it, but you're too scared to do it yourself?" The hero's silence indicated she was right. She continued, "Well, how do you feel about me? Dislike, like, hate, love, or do you just feel indifferent?" She suddenly realized that she probably shouldn't have asked that question, since his answer could cause a great deal of awkwardness between them, but she didn't let it show.
The hero hesitantly answered, "I don't hate you, and despite your faults, I don't dislike you."
She decided to press further. "Well, since you don't have any negative feelings toward me, how about the positive ones, hmm? Or are you neutral?"
"Well, indifference would require that I didn't care about your well-being at all, so... I guess I like you to an extent." He lost the fight in his attempt to keep from blushing. He wanted to turn his head, but she was still holding him by the chin.
She smiled. "Good. If you don't like me, achieving our end goal would be that much harder, if not impossible." She let go of him and backed away.
He asked, "Uh, just out of curiosity, how do you feel about me?"
She laughed. "Well, despite your faults, I like you. You're a good person."
His face went red as he stepped away from the wall. The succubus turned her back to him and headed for the ladder. She began blushing due to the possible implications of what she just said. As they both headed for the ladder, they saw Zeraine and Amarantha looking at them, smiling. The hero asked, "What?"
Zeraine smiled bigger and said, "So, was that a half-assed confession?"
The hero and the succubus froze in their tracks, looked at each other, then back to Zeraine and Amarantha, who had started snickering. They began simultaneously denying it, which came out as an incoherent mix of male and female voices. Amarantha burst out laughing and said, "Look, kids, we know you two are slowly but surely coming together. You might as well come to terms with it now, admit it, hook up, and move on."
Both of their faces red, the hero and the succubus both began objecting and denying it more strongly. Zeraine and Amarantha were laughing their asses off as the hero and the succubus continued to make themselves look like children denying being in love with their incoherent, unintelligible simultaneous objections. Zeraine and Amarantha descended the ladder, still laughing. The hero and the succubus were left standing next to each other, faces red, and an awkward silence between them. The hero cleared his throat and said, "You first."
The succubus nodded and climbed down the ladder, followed by the hero. After getting to the bottom, they followed Zeraine and Amarantha down the next corridor, which was strangely devoid of traps.
Chapter 28
Spoiler: show
As the hero and party walked down the fairly long corridor, the echidna, who had been watching with his scrying orb, was fairly angry. "Damn it! I tried to design my lair with traps that'd keep most people out, but I didn't count on them being able to levitate past everything so far. I guess it stands to reason, though, since I've only been here for a couple of years. That, and the fact that I haven't been able to afford to upgrade everything like I wanted to... Oh, well. All four of them look delectable... But that woman, the one with the really long black hair... She's very unpleasant. Insulting me without knowing my circumstances; how dare she!? I'll be sure to make it painful for her. Until then, if they make it here, that is, let's do something fun..." He kept watching and waiting until the hero and party got to the right spot.
The hero and party continued through a few more rooms that had parts and pieces of traps scattered about, making the rooms look like they weren't finished yet. Zeraine looked at them, commenting, "An incomplete dungeon?"
They descended another level via a stone staircase and arrived at another corridor. This one was fairly large; almost big enough for Amarantha to revert to her dragon form and still be able to walk.
The echidna, watching from his treasure room through his scrying orb, smiled devilishly and muttered, "Got you now..." When he saw the man in heavy plate armor step on a certain spot, he used his magic to remotely open the trap door in the corridor.
Unfortunately for Zeraine, it happened too fast. The floor fell out from under him and he fell down before he could try to levitate back up. Upon seeing this, Amarantha shouted his name, her tone a mix of concern, surprise, and horror, then she jumped down after him just before the trap door closed. The hero and the succubus were left standing there, staring at the spot where the trap door was. Without looking away, he asked, "Did that really just happen?"
The succubus, also without looking away from the trap door, said, "Yeah, I think it did. I can't believe she jumped after him, though. What was she thinking? He could fall down into a spike pit and die or something, and she just took the risk of following the same fate!"
The hero glanced at her. "Well, we know they're madly in love and fanatically devoted to each other, so I guess her impulse to follow him and possible pull him out of danger overrode her rational thinking, causing her to jump after him." He shrugged, not knowing any other explanation at the moment.
She looked at him and scoffed. "So love made her stupid for a second?"
The hero, attempting to shrug it off and end the discussion, said, "Love is said to be the most powerful force in existence. It can cause amazing things, like a man fighting and somehow defeating an army for the sake of his family, friends, or wife, or it can cause strange things like what we just saw. It can also cause evil things, but I'd rather not talk about that."
She stepped forward, carefully tapping her foot on the floor before putting her weight on it and moving forward. After repeating this, she was standing on the trap door, but it didn't open. It still didn't open after she jumped in place a few times. She turned around and looked at the hero with a dumbfounded expression. "I guess it's safe now."
The hero, trying to hide the worried look on his face, said, "Look, it's still dangerous. We don't know how it works. It could have been set off by some sort of pressure plate hidden in a floor tile, or it could have been set off by his weight. If it was set off by his weight, you might be too light to set it off, and it could open again once I walk onto it."
The succubus, happy at the hero's choice of words on the weight issue, walked across the trap door and waited. "If it is weight-sensitive, your weight alone might set if off, or it might take both of us or something. Come on over. If it opens, I'll catch you so you can cast Levitate and get out."
The hero nodded and began walking to her. After stepping right up beside her, they looked at each other, then back at the trap door. They simultaneously said, "Strange..."
They looked back at each other again, shrugged, and resumed walking. After a few seconds, the succubus, a hint of worry in her voice, asked, "So what about Zeraine and Amarantha?"
"We'll assume they're alive until we find evidence to the contrary, and we'll hope to find no such evidence."
"Sounds good, I guess."
They continued walking until they came through a door into a large, empty room.
Meanwhile, Zeraine had fallen down the trap door and onto a slick, smooth slope, which he slid down until he fell out of an opening in the wall into a pool of water. Fortunately for him, the pool was just deep enough to prevent him from being injured, but shallow enough for him to not need to worry about drowning. As he climbed out of the pool, he heard a splash behind him. Once he was out, he turned around and saw Amarantha swimming over to him. "Ammie? What the hell are you doing? Why'd you jump down after me?"
She pouted and said, "I couldn't stand to be separated from you."
He smiled warmly and extended his hand, which she grabbed. He helped her out of the pool, then took a look at his surroundings. "Well, if I had to guess, we're one level down from that corridor. The only way out is that way." He pointed at the only door in the whole room.
She wrung her hair out and said, "We'd better get going, then. The kid and the girl are probably worried, and the sooner we regroup, the better."
He nodded and stopped just long enough to look her over. He couldn't help but give her a perverted grin.
She noticed him looking at her and started blushing. "What?"
"For some reason, I think you look good when you're soaking wet like this."
She rolled her eyes, then smiled. "You're not so bad yourself, either. Let's move."
They had an uneventful walk through a long corridor, they came upon a large, empty room. They didn't know it, but the room was directly beneath the one that the hero and the succubus were currently in.
The whole time, the echidna had been watching, now using two scrying orbs to watch the two groups. "Heh, let's see how you handle this..." He used a spell to activate something in both rooms, which started to fill both of them with a gas that was invisible at first.
In each room, the hero and Zeraine just so happened to be doing pretty much the same thing. Unbeknownst to them, they both simultaneously began sniffing the air, then said to their respective companions, "Do you smell something sweet?"
In the room with Zeraine and Amarantha, Amarantha sniffed the air, too. "Yeah, I smell it." A couple of seconds later, she felt an itchy, tingling sensation between her legs. "I think it's an aphrodisiac."
Zeraine looked down at himself. "Yeah, I think you're right. We've already breathed enough for it to affect us, so what should we do?"
Amarantha smiled. "You want to take advantage of it?"
As the gas became visible, looking somewhat like a thin pink fog, Zeraine asked, "What do you mean?"
"How about we have sex until it wears off?"
"What about getting clean afterward?"
"Well, we could either go back to the pool and wash off there, or I could just try to hold it in. Failing that, I'd just have to enjoy my panties being soaked with your semen." She giggled pervertedly.
Zeraine pondered something for a second, then asked, "What if I cum outside, making sure to not hit you with a single drop?"
She glared at him. "Do you want to piss me off? If we fuck, you're cumming inside me. I won't accept any other 'ending'."
Zeraine held his hands up and chuckled sheepishly. "Okay, okay. Still, should we really do that? What if the echidna 'boss' sends some fodder after us while we're busy?"
Amarantha suddenly looked downcast. "Well, I guess we'd have to force ourselves to eliminate them, no matter how tired we were. Anyway, I'm wet in more ways than one, and I'm sure you're rock hard. Do you want to have sex or not?"
Zeraine scoffed. "Of course I want to do you, Ammie! If I didn't I wouldn't have done you back at the gold dragon's mansion. Let's get started!"
The two of them began undressing, anxious to relieve themselves of the condition the aphrodisiac gas has put them in.
...
Meanwhile, in the room the hero and the succubus were in, the succubus immediately recognized it. "Damn! It's an aphrodisiac gas! Cover your mouth and nose, quick!"
The hero did so, then gave her a quizzical look. "What, are you immune? ...Wait, I was under the impression that succubi would look upon this favorably."
She held her robe over her nose and mouth with one hand, and used the other hand to lightly hit the hero on the head with her staff. "Idiot, not all succubi like aphrodisiacs! Of course, in my plan for what to do with monsters, it'd be at least temporarily unavoidable... Anyway, if you don't want to suffer from a raging boner for the next couple of hours, don't breathe it! And no, I'm not immune."
The gas became visible, looking like a thin pink fog, just like in the room with Zeraine and Amarantha. The hero asked, "So, what do we do? Do we try to exit the room, possibly proceeding, or do we sit here and wait it out?"
The succubus tried both the door they came through and the door to proceed, and found that both were locked. "We don't have a choice. We'll have to wait it out. Keep your nose and mouth covered and we might not breathe enough of it to affect us too badly. Otherwise, we might end up doing something that you'd definitely regret, which I would probably also regret."
"Like what?"
She looked at him with a somewhat impatient glare. "It's an aphrodisiac, stupid! Figure it out!"
A few seconds later, the hero realized what she meant. "Oh..."
She shook her head in depression. "You're kind of slow when it comes to things like this, aren't you? Your problem is you're too prudish. You're not perverted enough."
"I'm not going to become a horny playboy, if that's what you're suggesting."
"I never said anything about doing such a thing! I'm just saying your mind isn't dirty enough to understand this stuff quick enough!"
The hero looked down, closed his eyes, and shook his head. "Let's not even go there, okay?"
The succubus turned away from him. "Fine." She felt that, despite covering her nose and mouth, the aphrodisiac gas had begun to affect her. Her crotch was getting wet, and she felt itchy and tingly down there. She thought, "Damn! This has me so sensitive that just the feeling of my clothes rubbing against my body is stimulating. Sure, I kind of like him, but to ask him under these conditions, he'd probably think it's the gas talking. I don't want to try to masturbate in front of him, either, because that'd be humiliating. What do I do?"
The hero finally let it show that he was suffering. Despite that, he didn't complain. He thought, "Now that I look at her, she's very alluring. Wait, is that the gas, or did I think like this before? Sure she's beautiful, and she's starting to grow on me, but... well, to do that just to ease our suffering... It just doesn't seem right. If she and I were to make love, it'd have to be when we're not under the effects of anything like this gas. ...Wait, am I actually starting to want her? It might just be the gas..."
In his treasure room, the echidna watched both groups. "Hoho, come on, now! That heavy-armor man and the black-haired woman are about to fuck, but the guy that looks like a knight from The Order and that succubus seem to be trying to resist it... That's stupid. Just give in and fuck! I wanna watch!"
The hero and party continued through a few more rooms that had parts and pieces of traps scattered about, making the rooms look like they weren't finished yet. Zeraine looked at them, commenting, "An incomplete dungeon?"
They descended another level via a stone staircase and arrived at another corridor. This one was fairly large; almost big enough for Amarantha to revert to her dragon form and still be able to walk.
The echidna, watching from his treasure room through his scrying orb, smiled devilishly and muttered, "Got you now..." When he saw the man in heavy plate armor step on a certain spot, he used his magic to remotely open the trap door in the corridor.
Unfortunately for Zeraine, it happened too fast. The floor fell out from under him and he fell down before he could try to levitate back up. Upon seeing this, Amarantha shouted his name, her tone a mix of concern, surprise, and horror, then she jumped down after him just before the trap door closed. The hero and the succubus were left standing there, staring at the spot where the trap door was. Without looking away, he asked, "Did that really just happen?"
The succubus, also without looking away from the trap door, said, "Yeah, I think it did. I can't believe she jumped after him, though. What was she thinking? He could fall down into a spike pit and die or something, and she just took the risk of following the same fate!"
The hero glanced at her. "Well, we know they're madly in love and fanatically devoted to each other, so I guess her impulse to follow him and possible pull him out of danger overrode her rational thinking, causing her to jump after him." He shrugged, not knowing any other explanation at the moment.
She looked at him and scoffed. "So love made her stupid for a second?"
The hero, attempting to shrug it off and end the discussion, said, "Love is said to be the most powerful force in existence. It can cause amazing things, like a man fighting and somehow defeating an army for the sake of his family, friends, or wife, or it can cause strange things like what we just saw. It can also cause evil things, but I'd rather not talk about that."
She stepped forward, carefully tapping her foot on the floor before putting her weight on it and moving forward. After repeating this, she was standing on the trap door, but it didn't open. It still didn't open after she jumped in place a few times. She turned around and looked at the hero with a dumbfounded expression. "I guess it's safe now."
The hero, trying to hide the worried look on his face, said, "Look, it's still dangerous. We don't know how it works. It could have been set off by some sort of pressure plate hidden in a floor tile, or it could have been set off by his weight. If it was set off by his weight, you might be too light to set it off, and it could open again once I walk onto it."
The succubus, happy at the hero's choice of words on the weight issue, walked across the trap door and waited. "If it is weight-sensitive, your weight alone might set if off, or it might take both of us or something. Come on over. If it opens, I'll catch you so you can cast Levitate and get out."
The hero nodded and began walking to her. After stepping right up beside her, they looked at each other, then back at the trap door. They simultaneously said, "Strange..."
They looked back at each other again, shrugged, and resumed walking. After a few seconds, the succubus, a hint of worry in her voice, asked, "So what about Zeraine and Amarantha?"
"We'll assume they're alive until we find evidence to the contrary, and we'll hope to find no such evidence."
"Sounds good, I guess."
They continued walking until they came through a door into a large, empty room.
Meanwhile, Zeraine had fallen down the trap door and onto a slick, smooth slope, which he slid down until he fell out of an opening in the wall into a pool of water. Fortunately for him, the pool was just deep enough to prevent him from being injured, but shallow enough for him to not need to worry about drowning. As he climbed out of the pool, he heard a splash behind him. Once he was out, he turned around and saw Amarantha swimming over to him. "Ammie? What the hell are you doing? Why'd you jump down after me?"
She pouted and said, "I couldn't stand to be separated from you."
He smiled warmly and extended his hand, which she grabbed. He helped her out of the pool, then took a look at his surroundings. "Well, if I had to guess, we're one level down from that corridor. The only way out is that way." He pointed at the only door in the whole room.
She wrung her hair out and said, "We'd better get going, then. The kid and the girl are probably worried, and the sooner we regroup, the better."
He nodded and stopped just long enough to look her over. He couldn't help but give her a perverted grin.
She noticed him looking at her and started blushing. "What?"
"For some reason, I think you look good when you're soaking wet like this."
She rolled her eyes, then smiled. "You're not so bad yourself, either. Let's move."
They had an uneventful walk through a long corridor, they came upon a large, empty room. They didn't know it, but the room was directly beneath the one that the hero and the succubus were currently in.
The whole time, the echidna had been watching, now using two scrying orbs to watch the two groups. "Heh, let's see how you handle this..." He used a spell to activate something in both rooms, which started to fill both of them with a gas that was invisible at first.
In each room, the hero and Zeraine just so happened to be doing pretty much the same thing. Unbeknownst to them, they both simultaneously began sniffing the air, then said to their respective companions, "Do you smell something sweet?"
In the room with Zeraine and Amarantha, Amarantha sniffed the air, too. "Yeah, I smell it." A couple of seconds later, she felt an itchy, tingling sensation between her legs. "I think it's an aphrodisiac."
Zeraine looked down at himself. "Yeah, I think you're right. We've already breathed enough for it to affect us, so what should we do?"
Amarantha smiled. "You want to take advantage of it?"
As the gas became visible, looking somewhat like a thin pink fog, Zeraine asked, "What do you mean?"
"How about we have sex until it wears off?"
"What about getting clean afterward?"
"Well, we could either go back to the pool and wash off there, or I could just try to hold it in. Failing that, I'd just have to enjoy my panties being soaked with your semen." She giggled pervertedly.
Zeraine pondered something for a second, then asked, "What if I cum outside, making sure to not hit you with a single drop?"
She glared at him. "Do you want to piss me off? If we fuck, you're cumming inside me. I won't accept any other 'ending'."
Zeraine held his hands up and chuckled sheepishly. "Okay, okay. Still, should we really do that? What if the echidna 'boss' sends some fodder after us while we're busy?"
Amarantha suddenly looked downcast. "Well, I guess we'd have to force ourselves to eliminate them, no matter how tired we were. Anyway, I'm wet in more ways than one, and I'm sure you're rock hard. Do you want to have sex or not?"
Zeraine scoffed. "Of course I want to do you, Ammie! If I didn't I wouldn't have done you back at the gold dragon's mansion. Let's get started!"
The two of them began undressing, anxious to relieve themselves of the condition the aphrodisiac gas has put them in.
...
Meanwhile, in the room the hero and the succubus were in, the succubus immediately recognized it. "Damn! It's an aphrodisiac gas! Cover your mouth and nose, quick!"
The hero did so, then gave her a quizzical look. "What, are you immune? ...Wait, I was under the impression that succubi would look upon this favorably."
She held her robe over her nose and mouth with one hand, and used the other hand to lightly hit the hero on the head with her staff. "Idiot, not all succubi like aphrodisiacs! Of course, in my plan for what to do with monsters, it'd be at least temporarily unavoidable... Anyway, if you don't want to suffer from a raging boner for the next couple of hours, don't breathe it! And no, I'm not immune."
The gas became visible, looking like a thin pink fog, just like in the room with Zeraine and Amarantha. The hero asked, "So, what do we do? Do we try to exit the room, possibly proceeding, or do we sit here and wait it out?"
The succubus tried both the door they came through and the door to proceed, and found that both were locked. "We don't have a choice. We'll have to wait it out. Keep your nose and mouth covered and we might not breathe enough of it to affect us too badly. Otherwise, we might end up doing something that you'd definitely regret, which I would probably also regret."
"Like what?"
She looked at him with a somewhat impatient glare. "It's an aphrodisiac, stupid! Figure it out!"
A few seconds later, the hero realized what she meant. "Oh..."
She shook her head in depression. "You're kind of slow when it comes to things like this, aren't you? Your problem is you're too prudish. You're not perverted enough."
"I'm not going to become a horny playboy, if that's what you're suggesting."
"I never said anything about doing such a thing! I'm just saying your mind isn't dirty enough to understand this stuff quick enough!"
The hero looked down, closed his eyes, and shook his head. "Let's not even go there, okay?"
The succubus turned away from him. "Fine." She felt that, despite covering her nose and mouth, the aphrodisiac gas had begun to affect her. Her crotch was getting wet, and she felt itchy and tingly down there. She thought, "Damn! This has me so sensitive that just the feeling of my clothes rubbing against my body is stimulating. Sure, I kind of like him, but to ask him under these conditions, he'd probably think it's the gas talking. I don't want to try to masturbate in front of him, either, because that'd be humiliating. What do I do?"
The hero finally let it show that he was suffering. Despite that, he didn't complain. He thought, "Now that I look at her, she's very alluring. Wait, is that the gas, or did I think like this before? Sure she's beautiful, and she's starting to grow on me, but... well, to do that just to ease our suffering... It just doesn't seem right. If she and I were to make love, it'd have to be when we're not under the effects of anything like this gas. ...Wait, am I actually starting to want her? It might just be the gas..."
In his treasure room, the echidna watched both groups. "Hoho, come on, now! That heavy-armor man and the black-haired woman are about to fuck, but the guy that looks like a knight from The Order and that succubus seem to be trying to resist it... That's stupid. Just give in and fuck! I wanna watch!"
Chapter 29
Spoiler: show
The succubus's knees started to give out, so she decided to sit down before she fell. The hero saw this and gave her a worried look. "Are you okay?"
She looked at him with a blank look, then started laughing. "That bulge in your pants screams that you're miserable, yet you're asking me if I'm okay? Is the gas affecting you that badly?"
He frowned. "This damn aphrodisiac gas is affecting us both, and despite my discomfort, I am worried, okay?"
She was happy that he cared, but didn't want to let the conversation carry on too long, lest the gas overcome them both. "Well, to tell you the truth, I'm probably in no better shape than you right now. My pussy is on fire, my knees are weak, and I'm aching for relief that I can't have. Otherwise, I'm fine."
The hero was stunned by her frankness and openness and couldn't give any decent response, so he hesitantly said, "I see..." Following that, he thought, "Does she have no shame? Is she not embarrassed by announcing that, or is the gas affecting her ability to think? I think it's trying to affect MY ability to think. After all, I wouldn't be thinking about that kind of stuff, right? ...Now that she talked about her vagina, the effects of this gas are preventing me from not thinking about it. Son of a bitch!"
He started to walk over to her, but she quickly held up her hand to stop him. "Don't come anywhere near me!"
He was a little hurt, and asked, "Why?"
Her tone indicating that she was getting impatient, she answered in an almost growling tone. "This gas is hard enough to resist already. If you get too close, one of us might not be able to hold back. Go sit over there." She pointed at what was pretty much the other side of the room.
He understood, realizing that he was having trouble keeping himself from approaching anyway. He walked over to the opposite wall and sat down. "How long do you think this gas will last?"
She shook her head. "There can't be an infinite amount of it, so it'll have to run out eventually. I don't know if the locked door is connected to the gas emitters somehow, but it can't keep us here forever. After the gas runs out, we'll still have to endure the lingering effects, and I can't tell you how long they'll last because I don't know. Until then, we need to stay away from each other. ...When I meet the echidna that lives here, I'm kicking its ass."
The hero sighed. "Get in line. Using something like this gas is completely unfair."
She chuckled, then suddenly had an idea. "Hey, you remember those communication amulets we got? I'm going to try to contact the others with it."
"Good idea. I forgot about those..."
She took her amulet and tried to contact Zeraine and Amarantha, but nothing happened, even when she poured extra power into the amulet and yelled. "I guess there's too much shit in the way. All this stone, earth... There might even be some kind of magic interference blocking the use of these."
The hero hung his head for a few seconds, then looked up. "Wait, what about contacting Sol? He might have some kind of potion that cures or inoculates us against this gas. Let me try..." The hero took out his crystal and tried to contact Sol to no avail.
The succubus asked, "Are you doing it right?" She tried with her crystal and met with the same result. "I guess we're too far underground."
...
The echidna was watching with frustration. "You idiots! You're supposed to fuck!" He looked into the other scrying orb. "Oh, well. I guess I'll just have to watch these two. ...Both of them have nice bodies..."
...
Zeraine and Amarantha finished stripping and embraced each other, passionately kissing. They stuck their tongues into each other's mouths and licked all around, entwining their tongues, desperately craving one another. When they finally broke the kiss, Zeraine reached for her ass, but she stopped him, waving her finger back and forth teasingly. "Not yet. First, I wanna do this..." She kissed him again, then kneeled down in front of him. As she looked over his manhood, she couldn't help but comment. "I didn't get to look at it real good our first time, but now that I see it, I must say it's very nice. So this was inside me..."
Zeraine looked down at her. "It sure was. And you felt so good that words can't describe it."
She looked up at him, looking into his eyes. "With this thing, you made me a woman. Now, there's something I want to try." Before he could ask what it was, she grabbed his penis and started stroking it. After a few second of stroking, she leaned in closer with her mouth open and her tongue out, but she stopped before anything happened. She thought, "This is a little strange... Still, I want to do this. I decided I was going to, and I'm not backing out! First I lick it..." After mentally preparing herself, she moved in the rest of the way and licked Zeraine's penis.
He looked at her, his eyes wide. "Ammie, what are you doing?"
She licked his throbbing erection a few more times, then resumed stroking it while she answered him. "It's called a blowjob. I read that guys really like it, so I wanted to give you one."
"And where did you read this?"
She looked away. "Actually, it was more like Sol told me what someone told him."
"And?"
"Well, one day I found one of his porn mags, showing various things like humans with lamias, lamias with lizardfolk, and humans with lizardfolk. There was also some human-on-mermaid stuff, but anyway, I tried to tease and chide him about it, but then he started showing me his favorite porn mags and erotic stories. I saw a picture of a lamia with a guy's dick in her mouth and asked Sol why she was doing that, and he told me she was giving him a blowjob. He explained what a blowjob is and let me read a story from a girl's point of view where the girl gave her man a blowjob. So yeah, I asked him if it was true, and he told me what someone told him."
"You're doing this because of what you read in some porn? Wait, when was this?"
"It was one time where you went to ask for info or something at the taverns and I hung out with Sol, Victoria, and Hilda while I waited."
Zeraine shook his head. "Sol..."
Amarantha looked at him with puppy-dog-eyes and asked, "What? Does it feel good or am I doing it wrong?"
"Well, you haven't done enough for me to judge yet."
She smiled. "Then I should get back to it." She resumed licking his penis, beginning at just the tip, then getting bolder by licking from the base to the tip, and all around the head. Then she licked the head in circles, then the length of the shaft on the sides. "How was that?"
Zeraine was panting. "This is your first time doing this?"
She squeezed his dick hard enough to make him feel like she was crushing it. "I've only ever done anything with you, Zeraine. I'm just copying what I read and saw in Sol's porn mags and ero-stories."
Shaking from the mix of pain and pleasure, Zeraine managed to choke out, "Alright, I'm sorry. It's just that you're really good."
She smiled proudly, then released him from her crushing squeeze. She moved so that she was sitting on her knees. Before proceeding, she thought, "Okay, now I put it in my mouth. I have to remember not to touch it with my teeth or bite down, and I need to use my tongue on it while it's in my mouth. Here I go..." She kissed the head of his dick, then took it into her mouth. At first, it was just the head of it, which she thoroughly licked while she held it in her mouth. After that, she slowly took more and more of his length into her mouth, sucking and licking it while holding it in her mouth. She then began moving slowly, pulling almost all the way off of his dick before taking about half of it back into her mouth. She continued this motion for a couple of minutes, at one point grabbing Zeraine by his hips to help herself move.
Zeraine was shaking from the new pleasure. He gently put one hand on Amarantha's head and warned, "If you keep that up, I'll end up cumming in your mouth."
She came off his dick just long enough to say, "Go ahead." She then tried to deep-throat him, but quickly jumped off when his penis hit the back of her throat. She coughed a few times, then looked up at Zeraine with an apologetic expression with tears in her eyes.
When he saw her face, he worriedly asked, "Are you alright, Ammie!?"
She tried to laugh it off. "I guess we shouldn't try to do too much at once, huh? I'll have to practice on you before I can deep-throat you without my gag reflex getting in the way. Sorry."
He sighed with relief. "Don't push yourself. Maybe I should take the lead now..."
She shook her head strongly, then grabbed his penis again. "I'm going to make you cum with my mouth first, then we're going to do other stuff, so just stand there and don't stop me." She took his penis into her mouth again, this time bringing slightly more than half of it into her mouth. She grabbed his hips to brace herself, then began moving her mouth, gradually speeding up. When he warned her that he was going to cum, she sucked harder. Several seconds later, he announced that he was cumming. As soon as she felt his semen shooting out in her mouth, she pulled off until just the head of his dick was in her mouth. She let him unload every drop in her mouth, then she brought over half of his dick back into her mouth, sucked really hard to make sure she got everything out, then pulled completely off. She smiled at Zeraine, then opened her mouth, showing him all the cum he shot out. Then she swallowed it, letting out a happy moan afterward. She looked up at him and giggled. "That solves the sticky, crusty panties problem."
He looked at her questioningly. She smiled bigger and said, "Your cum tastes good. If I drink it, I won't have to worry about getting my panties soaked with your semen when it seeps out of me, but I'd have to forgo you cumming inside, which is still my favorite. Anyway, now that I've sucked you off, how about you lick me?" With that, she rolled down onto her back and spread her legs, showing her soaking wet honeypot. Zeraine looked at it once, then swallowed, trying to keep himself from jumping on her. "Come on, big boy. Put your tongue in." She spread her beautiful petals, further tempting him.
He sat on his knees and put his hands on her thighs. "You don't have to try to tempt me, Ammie. Just lay back and enjoy this." He slid his hands slowly, lovingly, and seductively up her thighs to her hips, then picked her up by them, putting her legs over his shoulders. He proceeded to bury his face in her crotch, licking her love juice off of her inner thighs and her delicious bud. He licked from the back of her slit to her clit, making sure to flick it as he finished each pass, which caused her to shudder. He then spread her lips and licked around inside, sticking his tongue as deep into her as he could, then licking around. After a good amount of licking inside her, he pulled back the hood of her clit and began licking it, rolling it around on his tongue, flicking it, and ever so gently nibbling on it. When he gave her an extremely light bite on her clit, she jumped, shuddered violently, and cried out in a mix of pain and pleasure. He stopped, asking, "Are you okay?"
She looked at him, her face red. "I almost came from that."
A fire in his soul lit, Zeraine resumed licking Amarantha's tasty womanhood, savoring each moan, each jerk, and each drop of her female juices. When he had had enough of teasing her, he clamped his lips down on her vagina and gave her clit several hard sucks. She shook violently as she came, even squirting a little. He wiped some of it off of his face and tasted it. "I guess I did good, huh? I know this isn't urine." Without giving her a chance to respond or even catch her breath, he laid her bottom half down on the floor and brought his penis up to her wet pussy.
As soon as his dick touched her, she groggily looked, then her eyes went wide. "No, Zeraine, I just came!" He pressed a little harder. "Damn it, Zeraine! Don't! I just came! It's too sensitive for that!" He ignored her protests and inserted his dick, causing her to nearly scream in pleasure. "You jerk..." She looked at him with her eyes nearly overflowing with tears. He leaned in to kiss her, but she put her hands up. Her strength was gone, but Zeraine still stopped when she did so. She stammered for a second, then said, "My mouth was just full of your semen a little bit ago. Before that, I had your cock in my mouth for a good while. Are you sure you want to kiss me?"
He grinned. "I'm sure your saliva's taste will override everything else. Besides, it's you, and it's only a little bit of my own cum, if any. It's fine." Before any other protests, he gave her a passionate deep kiss as he started thrusting. More interested in holding her and kissing her than playing with her breasts, he simply held her head with one hand and her lower back with the other. They continued kissing as he pumped her with just the right amount of force to make her moan through the kisses and cum several times throughout the rest of the session. As he neared orgasm, he felt her wrap her legs around his waist as she hugged him as tight as she could, which was quite weakly due to her repeated orgasms. He broke off the kiss long enough to ask, "Are you sure you want me to cum inside?"
She looked in his eyes, giving him a look of slight anger. "Of course I do, now shut up, kiss me, and cum inside!" She managed to pull his face back to hers, and they resumed their passionate kiss. After a few more minutes of kissing and thrusting, they came together. For the second time in their lives, he filled her vagina completely with his semen. They managed to keep their lips locked together as they simultaneously came, which only heightened the pleasure they felt. After he finished squirting out his cum inside her, they broke off the kiss and laid there, panting, him on top of her. She sleepily said, "I love you, Zeraine."
He managed to catch his breath enough to return her proclamation. "I love you, too, Ammie."
During their love-making session, their amulets never reacted to the succubus's calls, due to her accurate guess of there being too much stone and earth between them.
The echidna let out a heavy sigh of relief. "Wow. That was awesome. I even managed to cum! I want both of them." It turns out he was jacking off while watching Zeraine and Amarantha. He turned his head and looked at the other scrying orb, noticing that the hero and the succubus were still resisting the gas's effects. The gas had already stopped, but he knew the effects were still there, because he knew it was long-lasting. "Stubborn idiots..." He used his magic to release the locks, allowing everyone to proceed. "Damn that was some passionate fucking. Maybe they can repeat it with me in a super hot threesome..."
She looked at him with a blank look, then started laughing. "That bulge in your pants screams that you're miserable, yet you're asking me if I'm okay? Is the gas affecting you that badly?"
He frowned. "This damn aphrodisiac gas is affecting us both, and despite my discomfort, I am worried, okay?"
She was happy that he cared, but didn't want to let the conversation carry on too long, lest the gas overcome them both. "Well, to tell you the truth, I'm probably in no better shape than you right now. My pussy is on fire, my knees are weak, and I'm aching for relief that I can't have. Otherwise, I'm fine."
The hero was stunned by her frankness and openness and couldn't give any decent response, so he hesitantly said, "I see..." Following that, he thought, "Does she have no shame? Is she not embarrassed by announcing that, or is the gas affecting her ability to think? I think it's trying to affect MY ability to think. After all, I wouldn't be thinking about that kind of stuff, right? ...Now that she talked about her vagina, the effects of this gas are preventing me from not thinking about it. Son of a bitch!"
He started to walk over to her, but she quickly held up her hand to stop him. "Don't come anywhere near me!"
He was a little hurt, and asked, "Why?"
Her tone indicating that she was getting impatient, she answered in an almost growling tone. "This gas is hard enough to resist already. If you get too close, one of us might not be able to hold back. Go sit over there." She pointed at what was pretty much the other side of the room.
He understood, realizing that he was having trouble keeping himself from approaching anyway. He walked over to the opposite wall and sat down. "How long do you think this gas will last?"
She shook her head. "There can't be an infinite amount of it, so it'll have to run out eventually. I don't know if the locked door is connected to the gas emitters somehow, but it can't keep us here forever. After the gas runs out, we'll still have to endure the lingering effects, and I can't tell you how long they'll last because I don't know. Until then, we need to stay away from each other. ...When I meet the echidna that lives here, I'm kicking its ass."
The hero sighed. "Get in line. Using something like this gas is completely unfair."
She chuckled, then suddenly had an idea. "Hey, you remember those communication amulets we got? I'm going to try to contact the others with it."
"Good idea. I forgot about those..."
She took her amulet and tried to contact Zeraine and Amarantha, but nothing happened, even when she poured extra power into the amulet and yelled. "I guess there's too much shit in the way. All this stone, earth... There might even be some kind of magic interference blocking the use of these."
The hero hung his head for a few seconds, then looked up. "Wait, what about contacting Sol? He might have some kind of potion that cures or inoculates us against this gas. Let me try..." The hero took out his crystal and tried to contact Sol to no avail.
The succubus asked, "Are you doing it right?" She tried with her crystal and met with the same result. "I guess we're too far underground."
...
The echidna was watching with frustration. "You idiots! You're supposed to fuck!" He looked into the other scrying orb. "Oh, well. I guess I'll just have to watch these two. ...Both of them have nice bodies..."
...
Zeraine and Amarantha finished stripping and embraced each other, passionately kissing. They stuck their tongues into each other's mouths and licked all around, entwining their tongues, desperately craving one another. When they finally broke the kiss, Zeraine reached for her ass, but she stopped him, waving her finger back and forth teasingly. "Not yet. First, I wanna do this..." She kissed him again, then kneeled down in front of him. As she looked over his manhood, she couldn't help but comment. "I didn't get to look at it real good our first time, but now that I see it, I must say it's very nice. So this was inside me..."
Zeraine looked down at her. "It sure was. And you felt so good that words can't describe it."
She looked up at him, looking into his eyes. "With this thing, you made me a woman. Now, there's something I want to try." Before he could ask what it was, she grabbed his penis and started stroking it. After a few second of stroking, she leaned in closer with her mouth open and her tongue out, but she stopped before anything happened. She thought, "This is a little strange... Still, I want to do this. I decided I was going to, and I'm not backing out! First I lick it..." After mentally preparing herself, she moved in the rest of the way and licked Zeraine's penis.
He looked at her, his eyes wide. "Ammie, what are you doing?"
She licked his throbbing erection a few more times, then resumed stroking it while she answered him. "It's called a blowjob. I read that guys really like it, so I wanted to give you one."
"And where did you read this?"
She looked away. "Actually, it was more like Sol told me what someone told him."
"And?"
"Well, one day I found one of his porn mags, showing various things like humans with lamias, lamias with lizardfolk, and humans with lizardfolk. There was also some human-on-mermaid stuff, but anyway, I tried to tease and chide him about it, but then he started showing me his favorite porn mags and erotic stories. I saw a picture of a lamia with a guy's dick in her mouth and asked Sol why she was doing that, and he told me she was giving him a blowjob. He explained what a blowjob is and let me read a story from a girl's point of view where the girl gave her man a blowjob. So yeah, I asked him if it was true, and he told me what someone told him."
"You're doing this because of what you read in some porn? Wait, when was this?"
"It was one time where you went to ask for info or something at the taverns and I hung out with Sol, Victoria, and Hilda while I waited."
Zeraine shook his head. "Sol..."
Amarantha looked at him with puppy-dog-eyes and asked, "What? Does it feel good or am I doing it wrong?"
"Well, you haven't done enough for me to judge yet."
She smiled. "Then I should get back to it." She resumed licking his penis, beginning at just the tip, then getting bolder by licking from the base to the tip, and all around the head. Then she licked the head in circles, then the length of the shaft on the sides. "How was that?"
Zeraine was panting. "This is your first time doing this?"
She squeezed his dick hard enough to make him feel like she was crushing it. "I've only ever done anything with you, Zeraine. I'm just copying what I read and saw in Sol's porn mags and ero-stories."
Shaking from the mix of pain and pleasure, Zeraine managed to choke out, "Alright, I'm sorry. It's just that you're really good."
She smiled proudly, then released him from her crushing squeeze. She moved so that she was sitting on her knees. Before proceeding, she thought, "Okay, now I put it in my mouth. I have to remember not to touch it with my teeth or bite down, and I need to use my tongue on it while it's in my mouth. Here I go..." She kissed the head of his dick, then took it into her mouth. At first, it was just the head of it, which she thoroughly licked while she held it in her mouth. After that, she slowly took more and more of his length into her mouth, sucking and licking it while holding it in her mouth. She then began moving slowly, pulling almost all the way off of his dick before taking about half of it back into her mouth. She continued this motion for a couple of minutes, at one point grabbing Zeraine by his hips to help herself move.
Zeraine was shaking from the new pleasure. He gently put one hand on Amarantha's head and warned, "If you keep that up, I'll end up cumming in your mouth."
She came off his dick just long enough to say, "Go ahead." She then tried to deep-throat him, but quickly jumped off when his penis hit the back of her throat. She coughed a few times, then looked up at Zeraine with an apologetic expression with tears in her eyes.
When he saw her face, he worriedly asked, "Are you alright, Ammie!?"
She tried to laugh it off. "I guess we shouldn't try to do too much at once, huh? I'll have to practice on you before I can deep-throat you without my gag reflex getting in the way. Sorry."
He sighed with relief. "Don't push yourself. Maybe I should take the lead now..."
She shook her head strongly, then grabbed his penis again. "I'm going to make you cum with my mouth first, then we're going to do other stuff, so just stand there and don't stop me." She took his penis into her mouth again, this time bringing slightly more than half of it into her mouth. She grabbed his hips to brace herself, then began moving her mouth, gradually speeding up. When he warned her that he was going to cum, she sucked harder. Several seconds later, he announced that he was cumming. As soon as she felt his semen shooting out in her mouth, she pulled off until just the head of his dick was in her mouth. She let him unload every drop in her mouth, then she brought over half of his dick back into her mouth, sucked really hard to make sure she got everything out, then pulled completely off. She smiled at Zeraine, then opened her mouth, showing him all the cum he shot out. Then she swallowed it, letting out a happy moan afterward. She looked up at him and giggled. "That solves the sticky, crusty panties problem."
He looked at her questioningly. She smiled bigger and said, "Your cum tastes good. If I drink it, I won't have to worry about getting my panties soaked with your semen when it seeps out of me, but I'd have to forgo you cumming inside, which is still my favorite. Anyway, now that I've sucked you off, how about you lick me?" With that, she rolled down onto her back and spread her legs, showing her soaking wet honeypot. Zeraine looked at it once, then swallowed, trying to keep himself from jumping on her. "Come on, big boy. Put your tongue in." She spread her beautiful petals, further tempting him.
He sat on his knees and put his hands on her thighs. "You don't have to try to tempt me, Ammie. Just lay back and enjoy this." He slid his hands slowly, lovingly, and seductively up her thighs to her hips, then picked her up by them, putting her legs over his shoulders. He proceeded to bury his face in her crotch, licking her love juice off of her inner thighs and her delicious bud. He licked from the back of her slit to her clit, making sure to flick it as he finished each pass, which caused her to shudder. He then spread her lips and licked around inside, sticking his tongue as deep into her as he could, then licking around. After a good amount of licking inside her, he pulled back the hood of her clit and began licking it, rolling it around on his tongue, flicking it, and ever so gently nibbling on it. When he gave her an extremely light bite on her clit, she jumped, shuddered violently, and cried out in a mix of pain and pleasure. He stopped, asking, "Are you okay?"
She looked at him, her face red. "I almost came from that."
A fire in his soul lit, Zeraine resumed licking Amarantha's tasty womanhood, savoring each moan, each jerk, and each drop of her female juices. When he had had enough of teasing her, he clamped his lips down on her vagina and gave her clit several hard sucks. She shook violently as she came, even squirting a little. He wiped some of it off of his face and tasted it. "I guess I did good, huh? I know this isn't urine." Without giving her a chance to respond or even catch her breath, he laid her bottom half down on the floor and brought his penis up to her wet pussy.
As soon as his dick touched her, she groggily looked, then her eyes went wide. "No, Zeraine, I just came!" He pressed a little harder. "Damn it, Zeraine! Don't! I just came! It's too sensitive for that!" He ignored her protests and inserted his dick, causing her to nearly scream in pleasure. "You jerk..." She looked at him with her eyes nearly overflowing with tears. He leaned in to kiss her, but she put her hands up. Her strength was gone, but Zeraine still stopped when she did so. She stammered for a second, then said, "My mouth was just full of your semen a little bit ago. Before that, I had your cock in my mouth for a good while. Are you sure you want to kiss me?"
He grinned. "I'm sure your saliva's taste will override everything else. Besides, it's you, and it's only a little bit of my own cum, if any. It's fine." Before any other protests, he gave her a passionate deep kiss as he started thrusting. More interested in holding her and kissing her than playing with her breasts, he simply held her head with one hand and her lower back with the other. They continued kissing as he pumped her with just the right amount of force to make her moan through the kisses and cum several times throughout the rest of the session. As he neared orgasm, he felt her wrap her legs around his waist as she hugged him as tight as she could, which was quite weakly due to her repeated orgasms. He broke off the kiss long enough to ask, "Are you sure you want me to cum inside?"
She looked in his eyes, giving him a look of slight anger. "Of course I do, now shut up, kiss me, and cum inside!" She managed to pull his face back to hers, and they resumed their passionate kiss. After a few more minutes of kissing and thrusting, they came together. For the second time in their lives, he filled her vagina completely with his semen. They managed to keep their lips locked together as they simultaneously came, which only heightened the pleasure they felt. After he finished squirting out his cum inside her, they broke off the kiss and laid there, panting, him on top of her. She sleepily said, "I love you, Zeraine."
He managed to catch his breath enough to return her proclamation. "I love you, too, Ammie."
During their love-making session, their amulets never reacted to the succubus's calls, due to her accurate guess of there being too much stone and earth between them.
The echidna let out a heavy sigh of relief. "Wow. That was awesome. I even managed to cum! I want both of them." It turns out he was jacking off while watching Zeraine and Amarantha. He turned his head and looked at the other scrying orb, noticing that the hero and the succubus were still resisting the gas's effects. The gas had already stopped, but he knew the effects were still there, because he knew it was long-lasting. "Stubborn idiots..." He used his magic to release the locks, allowing everyone to proceed. "Damn that was some passionate fucking. Maybe they can repeat it with me in a super hot threesome..."
Chapter 30
Spoiler: show
The hero and the succubus both heard the sound of the door unlocking, for it was quite loud. They both struggled to their feet and looked at each other, then they nodded and exited through the door. Their legs were still weak, which made it slow and difficult, and due to an agreement, they stayed about 20 feet away from each other to avoid any "problems" from the lingering effects of the aphrodisiac gas. As they slowly made their way down the corridor and into a large room with stone stairs, they heard voices. After listening closer, they found the voices to be familiar.
...
Zeraine and Amarantha heard the door unlocking, and silently got up and got dressed. Rather than try to backtrack to the pool to clean up, they decided to proceed and try to regroup with the hero and the succubus. They walked down a long corridor toward a large room with stone stairs. While near the end of the corridor, Amarantha muttered, "Crap..."
Zeraine glanced over at her and asked, "What is it?"
She smiled at him suggestively. "I couldn't hold it in anymore. My panties are soaked with your semen. It's wet and sticky..."
"Maybe we should have went back to the pool."
She giggled. "No. It feels weird but good. I know they're going to be stiff and crusty later, but it's fine."
Zeraine decided to change the subject when they got into the stair-room. "Where do you think these stairs lead?"
She shrugged. "It looks like they lead up one level, and down one level. Since we fell from one level up, that must be where the others are. If we head down to the bottom level, we should be able to proceed to where the echidna is, if there's one here, which there seems to be. It might have more of the mushrooms in its treasure room or whatever."
Zeraine looked up and saw two figures slowly heading down the stairs, leaning up against the wall. "Hey, that's them!" He ran up the stairs, Amarantha following him. "Hey, guys!" As he got closer, he saw how weak they looked. "You alright?"
As he tried to step closer, they both simultaneously yelled, "Stay back!"
He took a step back instinctively. "Hey, it's me, Zeraine! Did something happen?"
The succubus, who was out front, angrily replied, "Yes, as a matter of fact something did happen. We tried to go through a room, the fucking doors locked on us, and the room filled up with an aphrodisiac gas! We're miserable and sensitive right now, so don't come near either of us."
Amarantha looked puzzled. "We got hit by a similar gas, possibly even the same gas, in the room we went through, but we're fine."
The succubus gritted her teeth to continue enduring the lingering effects while she said, "Well, you two probably relieved each other. We had to endure it!"
Zeraine and Amarantha looked at each other. They both said, "Oh..." Zeraine gave the hero a thumbs-up. "Congrats on enduring it, kid. You're pretty strong."
The hero sarcastically replied, "Yeah. Let's continue. Maybe our host has some antidote or something."
Zeraine asked, "Did you try calling Sol?"
The succubus answered. "Yeah. It didn't work. I think we're too far underground. We need to buy that amulet anyway, so we probably can't afford any potions or anything to inoculate us against shit like that gas. When I see the echidna that lives here, nobody had better stand in my way, 'cause I'm kicking its ass!"
The hero chimed in, saying, "Get in line, woman. Wait, since we both owe it an ass-kicking, let's do it together. Deal?"
She nodded. "Sounds good."
They proceeded very slowly down the stairs to the bottom, then down yet another corridor. They finally got to a large room that had a strange darkness about it. The hero asked, "Does this darkness seem strange to anyone else? It doesn't feel natural..."
The succubus looked around. "That's because it's not natural. This is from a Darkness spell. Keep alert."
The echidna's voice rang out in the room, seeming to come from everywhere at once. "Well, well... You four made it. Congratulations. Now that I look at all of you, you all look quite delicious. I want all four of you."
The succubus yelled, "Shut up and come out, coward! My boot's due a meeting with your ass!"
He laughed. "Now, now, no need to be so hostile. I don't intend to kill you. I just want to squeeze you a little."
Zeraine whispered to Amarantha, "This guy seems a bit strange, doesn't he?"
She whispered back, "Yeah. Something's a bit off..."
The hero asked in a raised voice, "Were you the one behind that aphrodisiac gas?"
The echidna laughed. "Yes, I was. You're not mad about it, are you? If you and your succubus had only 'done it', you would be in as good a shape as your friends. Speaking of which, that was a damn good show you two put on for me. Can I join in next time?"
Zeraine and Amarantha looked at each other in shock, then looked around in a panic. Amarantha yelled, "You were watching!? Come out here, you son of a bitch! I'll grind your skull to dust!"
He said in a slightly fearful tone, "Hey, hey! Calm down! I didn't mean any harm. I just wanted to watch as two lovers did their thing. I must say, though, both of you have magnificent bodies."
Zeraine was visibly pissed off. "Dispel!" He cast Dispel, which banished the Darkness, allowing them to see the surprised echidna, who had begun slithering backwards, trying to find a place to "run" to get away. Zeraine then pulled his great sword out of his Bag of Holding and took a fighting stance.
The echidna, visibly scared, stammered. "W-w-w-wait! Th-th-there's-there's no n-need for that!"
The succubus stepped forward with a very evil grin on her face. "Lightning Bolt!" She nailed him with Lightning Bolt, causing him to scream and gibber as he shook. He then fell over, then noticed Zeraine's great sword resting over his neck.
He slowly turned and looked up at Zeraine and gave a nervous grin. "You mind not killing me, please?"
Amarantha stepped forward and cracked her knuckles, her body glowing with mana, indicating that she had Mana Burst active. "Oh, I don't know about killing you, but we're DEFINITELY going to pound the living shit out of you. Nobody spies on Zeraine and me when we're making love and gets away with it!"
After the party gave the echidna a very thorough beating, they managed to calm down. He apologized and used his magic to remove the effects of the gas from the hero and the succubus. "I'm sorry. I swear I didn't mean to offend you like this. ...So I guess a threesome or fivesome is out of the question?" The hero and party raised their fists menacingly, causing him to shrink in fear. "So what are you four here for, anyway?"
The hero stepped forward and held up one of the mushrooms they had gathered. "We're looking for these. We need 20, but we only have 8. Are there any around here?"
The echidna pointed at a few large patches of the mushrooms in one corner of the room. "Help yourselves. So you braved my unfinished dungeon just for these mushrooms?"
Zeraine nodded. "We need to give these mushrooms to the alchemist in the city so we can get paid. Once we've got that money, we can buy an amulet that restores spirit energy for the kid, since he's the one that has to feed the succubus."
The echidna looked completely confused. "Wait, he's 'feeding' her? If that's so, why didn't they just give in to the gas?"
"They're using the kissing method. It drains the hell out of him because it's so inefficient. You wouldn't happen to have something that restores spirit energy, would you?"
"Nope. Sorry. Still, they kind of seem to like each other, you know?"
Zeraine laughed. "Buddy, we already know. They like each other, but they won't admit it. I don't know if you helped or hurt their progress with that gas stunt, but I'm sure they'll eventually hook up. Just give 'em time. Oh, by the way, sorry for going overboard on you."
The echidna looked down. "It's okay. The stuff I did... It's understandable. ...It doesn't make it hurt any less, though." He rubbed his head.
The hero and the succubus walked back over to Zeraine and the echidna. She said, "We've got the mushrooms. Let's go."
The echidna stopped them. "Wait! Don't go all the way back through the dungeon, let me teleport you out."
Glad to accept the shortcut out, they waited as the echidna drew a magic circle on the floor. Once he was finished, they stepped inside the circle and he cast the spell. In the next instant, they found themselves outside the cave. They breathed a sigh of relief, happy to be away from that pervert of an echidna. They then proceeded back to town.
...
Zeraine and Amarantha heard the door unlocking, and silently got up and got dressed. Rather than try to backtrack to the pool to clean up, they decided to proceed and try to regroup with the hero and the succubus. They walked down a long corridor toward a large room with stone stairs. While near the end of the corridor, Amarantha muttered, "Crap..."
Zeraine glanced over at her and asked, "What is it?"
She smiled at him suggestively. "I couldn't hold it in anymore. My panties are soaked with your semen. It's wet and sticky..."
"Maybe we should have went back to the pool."
She giggled. "No. It feels weird but good. I know they're going to be stiff and crusty later, but it's fine."
Zeraine decided to change the subject when they got into the stair-room. "Where do you think these stairs lead?"
She shrugged. "It looks like they lead up one level, and down one level. Since we fell from one level up, that must be where the others are. If we head down to the bottom level, we should be able to proceed to where the echidna is, if there's one here, which there seems to be. It might have more of the mushrooms in its treasure room or whatever."
Zeraine looked up and saw two figures slowly heading down the stairs, leaning up against the wall. "Hey, that's them!" He ran up the stairs, Amarantha following him. "Hey, guys!" As he got closer, he saw how weak they looked. "You alright?"
As he tried to step closer, they both simultaneously yelled, "Stay back!"
He took a step back instinctively. "Hey, it's me, Zeraine! Did something happen?"
The succubus, who was out front, angrily replied, "Yes, as a matter of fact something did happen. We tried to go through a room, the fucking doors locked on us, and the room filled up with an aphrodisiac gas! We're miserable and sensitive right now, so don't come near either of us."
Amarantha looked puzzled. "We got hit by a similar gas, possibly even the same gas, in the room we went through, but we're fine."
The succubus gritted her teeth to continue enduring the lingering effects while she said, "Well, you two probably relieved each other. We had to endure it!"
Zeraine and Amarantha looked at each other. They both said, "Oh..." Zeraine gave the hero a thumbs-up. "Congrats on enduring it, kid. You're pretty strong."
The hero sarcastically replied, "Yeah. Let's continue. Maybe our host has some antidote or something."
Zeraine asked, "Did you try calling Sol?"
The succubus answered. "Yeah. It didn't work. I think we're too far underground. We need to buy that amulet anyway, so we probably can't afford any potions or anything to inoculate us against shit like that gas. When I see the echidna that lives here, nobody had better stand in my way, 'cause I'm kicking its ass!"
The hero chimed in, saying, "Get in line, woman. Wait, since we both owe it an ass-kicking, let's do it together. Deal?"
She nodded. "Sounds good."
They proceeded very slowly down the stairs to the bottom, then down yet another corridor. They finally got to a large room that had a strange darkness about it. The hero asked, "Does this darkness seem strange to anyone else? It doesn't feel natural..."
The succubus looked around. "That's because it's not natural. This is from a Darkness spell. Keep alert."
The echidna's voice rang out in the room, seeming to come from everywhere at once. "Well, well... You four made it. Congratulations. Now that I look at all of you, you all look quite delicious. I want all four of you."
The succubus yelled, "Shut up and come out, coward! My boot's due a meeting with your ass!"
He laughed. "Now, now, no need to be so hostile. I don't intend to kill you. I just want to squeeze you a little."
Zeraine whispered to Amarantha, "This guy seems a bit strange, doesn't he?"
She whispered back, "Yeah. Something's a bit off..."
The hero asked in a raised voice, "Were you the one behind that aphrodisiac gas?"
The echidna laughed. "Yes, I was. You're not mad about it, are you? If you and your succubus had only 'done it', you would be in as good a shape as your friends. Speaking of which, that was a damn good show you two put on for me. Can I join in next time?"
Zeraine and Amarantha looked at each other in shock, then looked around in a panic. Amarantha yelled, "You were watching!? Come out here, you son of a bitch! I'll grind your skull to dust!"
He said in a slightly fearful tone, "Hey, hey! Calm down! I didn't mean any harm. I just wanted to watch as two lovers did their thing. I must say, though, both of you have magnificent bodies."
Zeraine was visibly pissed off. "Dispel!" He cast Dispel, which banished the Darkness, allowing them to see the surprised echidna, who had begun slithering backwards, trying to find a place to "run" to get away. Zeraine then pulled his great sword out of his Bag of Holding and took a fighting stance.
The echidna, visibly scared, stammered. "W-w-w-wait! Th-th-there's-there's no n-need for that!"
The succubus stepped forward with a very evil grin on her face. "Lightning Bolt!" She nailed him with Lightning Bolt, causing him to scream and gibber as he shook. He then fell over, then noticed Zeraine's great sword resting over his neck.
He slowly turned and looked up at Zeraine and gave a nervous grin. "You mind not killing me, please?"
Amarantha stepped forward and cracked her knuckles, her body glowing with mana, indicating that she had Mana Burst active. "Oh, I don't know about killing you, but we're DEFINITELY going to pound the living shit out of you. Nobody spies on Zeraine and me when we're making love and gets away with it!"
After the party gave the echidna a very thorough beating, they managed to calm down. He apologized and used his magic to remove the effects of the gas from the hero and the succubus. "I'm sorry. I swear I didn't mean to offend you like this. ...So I guess a threesome or fivesome is out of the question?" The hero and party raised their fists menacingly, causing him to shrink in fear. "So what are you four here for, anyway?"
The hero stepped forward and held up one of the mushrooms they had gathered. "We're looking for these. We need 20, but we only have 8. Are there any around here?"
The echidna pointed at a few large patches of the mushrooms in one corner of the room. "Help yourselves. So you braved my unfinished dungeon just for these mushrooms?"
Zeraine nodded. "We need to give these mushrooms to the alchemist in the city so we can get paid. Once we've got that money, we can buy an amulet that restores spirit energy for the kid, since he's the one that has to feed the succubus."
The echidna looked completely confused. "Wait, he's 'feeding' her? If that's so, why didn't they just give in to the gas?"
"They're using the kissing method. It drains the hell out of him because it's so inefficient. You wouldn't happen to have something that restores spirit energy, would you?"
"Nope. Sorry. Still, they kind of seem to like each other, you know?"
Zeraine laughed. "Buddy, we already know. They like each other, but they won't admit it. I don't know if you helped or hurt their progress with that gas stunt, but I'm sure they'll eventually hook up. Just give 'em time. Oh, by the way, sorry for going overboard on you."
The echidna looked down. "It's okay. The stuff I did... It's understandable. ...It doesn't make it hurt any less, though." He rubbed his head.
The hero and the succubus walked back over to Zeraine and the echidna. She said, "We've got the mushrooms. Let's go."
The echidna stopped them. "Wait! Don't go all the way back through the dungeon, let me teleport you out."
Glad to accept the shortcut out, they waited as the echidna drew a magic circle on the floor. Once he was finished, they stepped inside the circle and he cast the spell. In the next instant, they found themselves outside the cave. They breathed a sigh of relief, happy to be away from that pervert of an echidna. They then proceeded back to town.
Chapter 31
Spoiler: show
The party had made it back to the city's alchemist and delivered the mushrooms, receiving the payment without incident. They finally had enough money to buy the amulet from Sol without having to worry about travel expenses. As they were just about to use one of their crystals to call Sol, Zeraine looked over at Amarantha. She had been strangely quiet since "teaching" the echidna a "lesson". She had also seemed to still be a bit angry.
"You know, Ammie, you shouldn't frown like that. It detracts from your beauty." She looked at Zeraine and blushed slightly, but didn't say anything. He continued, "Are you alright? You haven't said anything since... you know."
She finally spoke. "That jackass pissed me off. How dare he spy on us and our private activities!?"
He cleared his throat and hesitantly said, "Well, to be fair, we decided to 'use' the gas rather than resist it, so..."
Before he could say anything else, she said, "Speaking of which, what the hell was the deal with that gas, anyway? Was he somehow intending for a group of at least two people, at least one of them male and one of them female, to come poking around in his cave just so he could hit them with it and watch them fuck? Or was he hoping that they'd resist it until they got to his lair so he could have a gang-bang? Sick bastard."
The hero stepped in. "While I agree that his habits were disgusting, I don't think we should dwell on it. We gave him a very strong reprimanding-"
The succubus quickly interjected, "-In the form of a good ass-kicking-"
The hero paused for a moment, trying not to grin, then continued, "-so he should rethink his ways, lest he encounter another group like us, or worse for him, a group that's not as forgiving."
Amarantha huffed. "Who said I forgave him? Despite it being partially our fault, he still watched Zeraine and me. After something like that, I'm supposed to just forgive him?"
Zeraine put his hand on Amarantha's shoulder. "Ammie, calm down. What's done is done. We already beat the hell out of him, so let's move on."
The succubus grinned. "Don't tell me that some of this lingering hostility was because he was clearly bisexual, was it? You're not getting jealous because a male echidna had the hots for your man, are you?"
Amarantha glared at the succubus. "If you'll remember, he was eyeing all of us, which means me, Zeraine, you, and your Order knight."
"Ah..." The succubus grimaced, then quickly looked back up at Amarantha, then the hero, then back to Amarantha. "We're not together."
The hero interrupted, changing the subject. "Let's call Sol and buy that amulet." He looked at the succubus. "You need me to feed you again, right?"
She blushed, remembering the thoughts she had in the room when she and the hero were alone together. "Y-yeah, I guess..." She took the crystal out of her pocket and used it to contact Sol.
Seconds after the crystal was glowing, the party heard his voice. "Hey, guys. What's happening?"
The succubus replied, "Do you really want to know?"
"I take it something... 'disagreeable' happened? If you don't want to tell me, you don't have to. So, you got the money? I have the amulet in my hand right here..."
"Yeah, we finally got the money. So how is this going to go?"
"Well, I'll zero in on your location with my scrying orb, teleport there with the amulet, hand it to you, you'll give me the money, and I'll teleport back to my shop. It's that simple."
"When should we expect your arrival?"
"In about a minute. If I had been looking for you with my scrying orb while we were talking, I'd be there right now. Hang on..."
After about a minute, Sol announced, "Ah, there you are. Teleporting now." He appeared through what looked like a ripple in the air. "Business first. Here's the amulet; where's the money?"
The hero handed Sol the gold, which he counted like he always does. After finishing counting the money, Sol smiled at the party. "Pleasure doing business with you. Make sure to come to me for all your potion needs." He handed the hero the amulet. "You might as well wear that full-time, unless you and her plan on stepping up your relationship..." He grinned in a perverted manner.
The hero and the succubus both blushed and simultaneously said, "We're not- Ah..." When they caught themselves saying the same thing at the same time, their faces got redder.
Sol snickered. "Did something good happen?"
The hero glared at Sol. "Nothing happened."
Sol glanced around at the party. "Really? Why is Amarantha upset, then?"
Before anyone could attempt to steer the conversation away, Amarantha said, "'Upset' doesn't quite say it, Sol. If you really want to know, I can tell you later, but you'll have to get me something to hit, because I'll need to vent."
"You'd really tell me?"
"You're like an annoying-yet-caring little brother. Yes, I'd tell you. Zeraine might have to join us, since he and I were both 'victims' in the matter in question."
"Well then, my dear grouchy big sister, how about after I close up shop for the evening, I'll bring Vicky and Hilda, and the seven of us go to a nice restaurant for dinner? My treat. After the meal, we can step outside of town and you and your hubby can tell me what happened while Vicky and I summon creatures for you to pound on."
Amarantha visibly cheered up at Sol's offer. "Sure. See you then."
The succubus stepped up with a suggestive grin. "You get any lizard-girl pussy yet?"
Sol shook his head. "It's not my birthday yet. When it is, I'm going to get all I can possibly stand, though. I intend to pass out in the arms of my scaly beauties after creampie-ing them at least five times each." He smiled, drooling a little while imagining it.
The succubus gave him a wide-eyed look. "Can you really last that long?"
Sol scoffed. "Of course I can! It'd be even more possible when you consider the fact that I'm not jacking off at all between now and then, so I'll have plenty saved up. Considering that it's them, yes, I could go that many times, too."
She shook her head in disbelief. "I meant could you really stand to wait until then to have them, but damn! At least five shots for each? Not stroking one out at all until then? You must have one hell of a strong will."
Sol smiled proudly. "Yes, I can wait until then. The girls and I would rather not, but it happening on my birthday would make it even more special, so we're waiting. And yes, I've got god-level willpower! Anyway, back to work. See you guys later!" He teleported away.
The hero, who had been facepalming since the beginning of the lewd part of the conversation, sighed and dropped his hand. "Must you be so vulgar?"
The succubus nonchalantly waved it off. "Put on the amulet. It's past time to feed me, and we finally have this much-needed thing."
The hero put on the amulet. "I think I feel something..."
The succubus stood in front of him, slightly blushing. "We'll find out if it works good enough in a minute, won't we?" She closed her eyes and puckered up, leaning a bit forward with her hands behind her back.
"Yeah..." The hero put his hands on her shoulders and kissed her, beginning the process. As usual, he felt himself getting tired from it after a couple of seconds. Much to his surprise, the succubus stuck her tongue into his mouth, licking around and entwining her tongue with his. The shock of this caused him to step back, breaking the kiss off.
She looked at him with a mix of sadness and disappointment. "What's wrong?"
His face red, he replied, "You put your tongue in my mouth."
"I did?" After about a second, she realized that she had, indeed, put her tongue in his mouth while they were kissing. "Ah..." Her face quickly went red. "I-I-I didn't mean to! I didn't know I was-"
She was interrupted by Zeraine and Amarantha laughing at them. Amarantha said, "How do you stick your tongue in his mouth without intending to? Were you so absorbed in the kiss that you didn't know what you were doing? I find that hard to believe."
Deciding the change the subject before they could make fun of her any further, she asked the hero, "Well? How's the amulet?"
He looked down at it. "It seems to be working pretty well. Normally, I'd be almost too tired to stand, but I can feel myself slowly recovering."
The succubus nodded, satisfied with the results. "This is good. We'll find out just how long it takes you to recover, then we can judge just how much more often you can feed me."
The hero said, "Wait, you said before that you needed to be fed three times a day. What's with this 'feed you more often' thing?"
"The 'three times a day' was bare minimum. About the same as a human eating just enough bread and drinking just enough water to get them through the day. Now, it can be equivalent to a human eating and drinking their fill."
"So you were doing the equivalent of going hungry? Why?"
She blushed. "As you know, I'm extremely picky about my partner. I'm not about to have sex with anyone if they don't meet my standards, and that includes you. Having sex with a man would be the most efficient way for me to 'feed', which would probably remove the need for the amulet, as well as not wear the man out, unless we overindulged, but since I refuse to do that, kissing you is the only alternative, due to demon realm fruit being unavailable or illegal, depending on where you go around here. As you've personally experienced, the kissing method is just enough to get me through the day, but it's not quite enough if it's only three times a day, and it wears you out to the point that we can't do it any more than that. With this amulet, we'll be able to have you 'feed' me more often; more than three times a day. I'll be able to fully 'recharge', and you'll be able to handle it."
The hero nodded, feeling a little guilty for some reason. "Well, what should we do for the rest of the day? Sol's going to treat us to dinner, but it's a little past lunch time now, and I'm getting hungry. Should we go find some food and cook out?"
Zeraine added, "After we eat, we could check the notice boards again and see if there are any small jobs to do that pay. We might be able to build up a little bit of money to use later."
All of them in agreement, they headed for the market area to get some fresh fruits, vegetables, and meat to cook. On the way there, Amarantha grabbed the succubus by the shoulder and slowed down, causing the two of them to fall behind by several yards. "So, what's the real reason you started the tongue action, huh? Come on, don't be shy."
The succubus blushed a deep shade of red. "S-sh-shut up! I-it's not like I like him in that way or anything..."
Amarantha held back from laughing as best she could. "Come on! Admit it! You like him. I know you do; I just want to hear you say it."
The succubus shook Amarantha's hand off her shoulder and sped back up to rejoin the others.
Amarantha shrugged, then did the same.
"You know, Ammie, you shouldn't frown like that. It detracts from your beauty." She looked at Zeraine and blushed slightly, but didn't say anything. He continued, "Are you alright? You haven't said anything since... you know."
She finally spoke. "That jackass pissed me off. How dare he spy on us and our private activities!?"
He cleared his throat and hesitantly said, "Well, to be fair, we decided to 'use' the gas rather than resist it, so..."
Before he could say anything else, she said, "Speaking of which, what the hell was the deal with that gas, anyway? Was he somehow intending for a group of at least two people, at least one of them male and one of them female, to come poking around in his cave just so he could hit them with it and watch them fuck? Or was he hoping that they'd resist it until they got to his lair so he could have a gang-bang? Sick bastard."
The hero stepped in. "While I agree that his habits were disgusting, I don't think we should dwell on it. We gave him a very strong reprimanding-"
The succubus quickly interjected, "-In the form of a good ass-kicking-"
The hero paused for a moment, trying not to grin, then continued, "-so he should rethink his ways, lest he encounter another group like us, or worse for him, a group that's not as forgiving."
Amarantha huffed. "Who said I forgave him? Despite it being partially our fault, he still watched Zeraine and me. After something like that, I'm supposed to just forgive him?"
Zeraine put his hand on Amarantha's shoulder. "Ammie, calm down. What's done is done. We already beat the hell out of him, so let's move on."
The succubus grinned. "Don't tell me that some of this lingering hostility was because he was clearly bisexual, was it? You're not getting jealous because a male echidna had the hots for your man, are you?"
Amarantha glared at the succubus. "If you'll remember, he was eyeing all of us, which means me, Zeraine, you, and your Order knight."
"Ah..." The succubus grimaced, then quickly looked back up at Amarantha, then the hero, then back to Amarantha. "We're not together."
The hero interrupted, changing the subject. "Let's call Sol and buy that amulet." He looked at the succubus. "You need me to feed you again, right?"
She blushed, remembering the thoughts she had in the room when she and the hero were alone together. "Y-yeah, I guess..." She took the crystal out of her pocket and used it to contact Sol.
Seconds after the crystal was glowing, the party heard his voice. "Hey, guys. What's happening?"
The succubus replied, "Do you really want to know?"
"I take it something... 'disagreeable' happened? If you don't want to tell me, you don't have to. So, you got the money? I have the amulet in my hand right here..."
"Yeah, we finally got the money. So how is this going to go?"
"Well, I'll zero in on your location with my scrying orb, teleport there with the amulet, hand it to you, you'll give me the money, and I'll teleport back to my shop. It's that simple."
"When should we expect your arrival?"
"In about a minute. If I had been looking for you with my scrying orb while we were talking, I'd be there right now. Hang on..."
After about a minute, Sol announced, "Ah, there you are. Teleporting now." He appeared through what looked like a ripple in the air. "Business first. Here's the amulet; where's the money?"
The hero handed Sol the gold, which he counted like he always does. After finishing counting the money, Sol smiled at the party. "Pleasure doing business with you. Make sure to come to me for all your potion needs." He handed the hero the amulet. "You might as well wear that full-time, unless you and her plan on stepping up your relationship..." He grinned in a perverted manner.
The hero and the succubus both blushed and simultaneously said, "We're not- Ah..." When they caught themselves saying the same thing at the same time, their faces got redder.
Sol snickered. "Did something good happen?"
The hero glared at Sol. "Nothing happened."
Sol glanced around at the party. "Really? Why is Amarantha upset, then?"
Before anyone could attempt to steer the conversation away, Amarantha said, "'Upset' doesn't quite say it, Sol. If you really want to know, I can tell you later, but you'll have to get me something to hit, because I'll need to vent."
"You'd really tell me?"
"You're like an annoying-yet-caring little brother. Yes, I'd tell you. Zeraine might have to join us, since he and I were both 'victims' in the matter in question."
"Well then, my dear grouchy big sister, how about after I close up shop for the evening, I'll bring Vicky and Hilda, and the seven of us go to a nice restaurant for dinner? My treat. After the meal, we can step outside of town and you and your hubby can tell me what happened while Vicky and I summon creatures for you to pound on."
Amarantha visibly cheered up at Sol's offer. "Sure. See you then."
The succubus stepped up with a suggestive grin. "You get any lizard-girl pussy yet?"
Sol shook his head. "It's not my birthday yet. When it is, I'm going to get all I can possibly stand, though. I intend to pass out in the arms of my scaly beauties after creampie-ing them at least five times each." He smiled, drooling a little while imagining it.
The succubus gave him a wide-eyed look. "Can you really last that long?"
Sol scoffed. "Of course I can! It'd be even more possible when you consider the fact that I'm not jacking off at all between now and then, so I'll have plenty saved up. Considering that it's them, yes, I could go that many times, too."
She shook her head in disbelief. "I meant could you really stand to wait until then to have them, but damn! At least five shots for each? Not stroking one out at all until then? You must have one hell of a strong will."
Sol smiled proudly. "Yes, I can wait until then. The girls and I would rather not, but it happening on my birthday would make it even more special, so we're waiting. And yes, I've got god-level willpower! Anyway, back to work. See you guys later!" He teleported away.
The hero, who had been facepalming since the beginning of the lewd part of the conversation, sighed and dropped his hand. "Must you be so vulgar?"
The succubus nonchalantly waved it off. "Put on the amulet. It's past time to feed me, and we finally have this much-needed thing."
The hero put on the amulet. "I think I feel something..."
The succubus stood in front of him, slightly blushing. "We'll find out if it works good enough in a minute, won't we?" She closed her eyes and puckered up, leaning a bit forward with her hands behind her back.
"Yeah..." The hero put his hands on her shoulders and kissed her, beginning the process. As usual, he felt himself getting tired from it after a couple of seconds. Much to his surprise, the succubus stuck her tongue into his mouth, licking around and entwining her tongue with his. The shock of this caused him to step back, breaking the kiss off.
She looked at him with a mix of sadness and disappointment. "What's wrong?"
His face red, he replied, "You put your tongue in my mouth."
"I did?" After about a second, she realized that she had, indeed, put her tongue in his mouth while they were kissing. "Ah..." Her face quickly went red. "I-I-I didn't mean to! I didn't know I was-"
She was interrupted by Zeraine and Amarantha laughing at them. Amarantha said, "How do you stick your tongue in his mouth without intending to? Were you so absorbed in the kiss that you didn't know what you were doing? I find that hard to believe."
Deciding the change the subject before they could make fun of her any further, she asked the hero, "Well? How's the amulet?"
He looked down at it. "It seems to be working pretty well. Normally, I'd be almost too tired to stand, but I can feel myself slowly recovering."
The succubus nodded, satisfied with the results. "This is good. We'll find out just how long it takes you to recover, then we can judge just how much more often you can feed me."
The hero said, "Wait, you said before that you needed to be fed three times a day. What's with this 'feed you more often' thing?"
"The 'three times a day' was bare minimum. About the same as a human eating just enough bread and drinking just enough water to get them through the day. Now, it can be equivalent to a human eating and drinking their fill."
"So you were doing the equivalent of going hungry? Why?"
She blushed. "As you know, I'm extremely picky about my partner. I'm not about to have sex with anyone if they don't meet my standards, and that includes you. Having sex with a man would be the most efficient way for me to 'feed', which would probably remove the need for the amulet, as well as not wear the man out, unless we overindulged, but since I refuse to do that, kissing you is the only alternative, due to demon realm fruit being unavailable or illegal, depending on where you go around here. As you've personally experienced, the kissing method is just enough to get me through the day, but it's not quite enough if it's only three times a day, and it wears you out to the point that we can't do it any more than that. With this amulet, we'll be able to have you 'feed' me more often; more than three times a day. I'll be able to fully 'recharge', and you'll be able to handle it."
The hero nodded, feeling a little guilty for some reason. "Well, what should we do for the rest of the day? Sol's going to treat us to dinner, but it's a little past lunch time now, and I'm getting hungry. Should we go find some food and cook out?"
Zeraine added, "After we eat, we could check the notice boards again and see if there are any small jobs to do that pay. We might be able to build up a little bit of money to use later."
All of them in agreement, they headed for the market area to get some fresh fruits, vegetables, and meat to cook. On the way there, Amarantha grabbed the succubus by the shoulder and slowed down, causing the two of them to fall behind by several yards. "So, what's the real reason you started the tongue action, huh? Come on, don't be shy."
The succubus blushed a deep shade of red. "S-sh-shut up! I-it's not like I like him in that way or anything..."
Amarantha held back from laughing as best she could. "Come on! Admit it! You like him. I know you do; I just want to hear you say it."
The succubus shook Amarantha's hand off her shoulder and sped back up to rejoin the others.
Amarantha shrugged, then did the same.
Chapter 32
Spoiler: show
As the party sat around their campfire, with Amarantha doing the cooking, the gold dragon (in human form) approached. "Hey, everyone. You know, if I had caught you sooner, we could be heading back to my place to eat."
The hero shook his head. "I'm sorry. It wouldn't feel right imposing on you again."
"I understand." He looked at Amarantha and smiled. "Cooking for your man?"
She cocked her head to the side and rolled her eyes. "I'm cooking for everyone. I do intend to cook especially for Zeraine some time, though...
Although she mumbled it, everyone heard. Zeraine was visibly happy, the succubus found herself imagining cooking for the hero while wearing nothing but an apron, which caused her to blush. The hero was completely indifferent. He asked, "So how'd it go?"
"Ah, it went pretty good. When the time comes to fight the good fight, this city's army and I will be there with you. As I've said before, you'll need more than what you have now. If I were you, I'd head out west to the coast. I don't know if you might need naval support, of if they'd be willing to send their armies, but it's worth a shot."
"Will do. Thanks."
"So, if you don't mind my asking, do you have any plans for dinner?"
Zeraine took a bite of his apple, swallowed it, and answered, "Yep. Our friend Sol offered to treat us to dinner tonight, so we're pretty much just waiting for evening to come. After lunch, we're planning on trying to find an odd job or two to pass the time, then we'll meet with him for dinner."
The gold dragon paused for a second, his eyebrows furrowed as he thought. "Would you happen to be talking about the world's third-best alchemist, the man who makes the more 'rare and unique' potions for sale at reasonable prices unlike the two alchemists better than him?"
Zeraine nodded. "Why do you ask?"
"You think you could maybe arrange a meeting with him for me? I'd like to see what he sells."
"I'll tell him tonight. Should I tell him that a gold dragon might want to do business?"
"Well, telling him what I am... I don't really care if you do or not."
"Alright. Knowing him, he'll want to head straight there right after dinner, so you should probably expect him tonight."
"Thanks. By the way... How do you know him?"
"Heh. He and I have been doing business for years. Whenever I'm in the area, I go to his shop to get what I need. After a while, we got to be buddies." Zeraine turned to Amarantha. "Hey, Ammie? Were we together back when I first met Sol?"
She examined the meat, then replied, "No. If you'll remember, you told me that you had been buying from him for a long time right before you brought me into his shop and introduced me. ...You forgot?"
"...I guess I did. Sorry. Anyway," he looked back to the gold dragon and continued, "like she said, I had been buying from him for years before even meeting her. The two of them quickly became like siblings, her being the big sister and him being the little brother. Some of their antics are pretty funny at times, but their bickering can get old fast."
Amarantha protested. "Zeraine! Keep trying to embarrass me and I'll burn the meat on purpose!"
"Sorry!" He cleared his throat. "So, yeah. After staying regular customers for a long time, he eventually got a bit more work than he could handle, and not long after that, he had a new employee."
The gold dragon nodded. "He'd have to have employees. One man alone can't handle a business like his."
"Back then, he didn't have many customers. As he got more, though, he had to hire help. He wound up hiring a young female Lizardman named Victoria, and some time later, he also hired a young female salamander named Hilda."
Amarantha chuckled. "And he's crazy about them, too."
The gold dragon asked, "What do you mean?"
She snickered. "He's completely, totally in love with both of them, and the feelings are mutual. They seem to be fine with the idea of sharing him, too, so he's got no problems there. He's teaching Victoria magic, and Hilda's teaching both of them how to wrestle and fight with a sword. I think she's also teaching them how to fight hand-to-hand... Anyway, they've got a nice little thing going. If he intends to keep getting more customers, he'll have to hire more help."
Zeraine gave a half scoff, half laugh and said, "Knowing him, he'll try to only hire females, and add them to his little 'harem'."
The gold dragon closed his eyes in thought. "Well, normally I'd kind of look down on polygamy, but if everyone in the relationship is fine with it and happy, and the 'owner' of the 'harem' doesn't play favorites, I guess it's fine. ...He must be quite a guy."
The succubus shook her head. "He hasn't done them yet. He will next month, though." She giggled.
Amarantha announced, "Food's done. Get it while it's hot."
The gold dragon gave the party a friendly smile. "Well, I need to get back home. Next time you're in the area, feel free to stop by for a visit. See you later."
The party waved as he left, then ate.
...
After eating, they went back into the city and looked at the notice boards again. The hero managed to find a new notice for a job. The job was to protect a teenage girl as she went into the forest to examine the local flowers and herbs. The party followed the directions on the notice to the girl's house. As it turned out, she was from a fairly well-off family and was plenty capable of paying the amount specified. As they made their way out into the forest, Zeraine asked, "So, little girl, why exactly are you out here doing this?"
She raised an eyebrow at the "little girl" part, but replied, "I have to write a report on the local flowers and herbs for school. I know the forest is dangerous, so I put out the notice. All you four have to do is keep me safe on this little trip and everything will be fine."
The hero asked, "So how long do you think it'll take?"
"Assuming we don't encounter anything, it shouldn't take more than an hour or two."
Satisfied with the girl's estimate, they continued in silence as they escorted her through the forest, keeping an eye out while she closely examined several different types of flowers and herbs. As they continued the job, they started seeing familiar things. Amarantha asked, "Hey, guys, does this area look familiar to you?"
The succubus looked around. "Yeah, it does. Why?"
Before Amarantha could answer, there was a loud snap, followed by the girl being hoisted into the air in a rope net. From a slight distance, they heard a familiar voice. "Got something!"
They all looked at each other and grimaced. The girl was obviously terrified, repeatedly pleading for the party to get her down. The hero strapped his shield to his arm and drew his sword as Zeraine readied his great sword. Amarantha assumed an offensive stance while the succubus looked around, trying to see where the ropes went so she could release the girl from the net. Soon, they heard the sound of something slithering. After that, the being came into view and stopped when it saw the party. "Ah..." It was the echidna again.
Amarantha filled her body with so much demonic energy that her eyes glowed red and her body became surrounded in a black mist. She stepped forward, slamming a fist into her open palm. "And just what do you think you're doing, snake?"
He held his hands up and shrunk back, obviously scared. "W-wait! Hold on! This trap was meant for deer, I swear!"
"So you're not trying to kidnap anyone?" the hero asked, slightly lowering his shield.
"No! Of course not! Here, let me release her..." He slithered back the way he came for a short distance, then untied one set of ropes, gently lowering the now less terrified girl to the ground. "See? I'm not doing anything wrong."
The black mist dissipated and Amarantha skeptically asked, "So why are you hunting deer with this kind of thing? Don't you have a bow?"
"Actually, no I don't. It wouldn't do me any good anyway, since the deer would run off before I could get within range. Sliding my body along the ground makes more noise than a human walking does, and I'm too tired from healing myself after your vicious beating to use a transformation spell."
The teenage girl, her fear almost completely gone, got up, untangled herself from the rope net, dusted herself off, and remarked, "An echidna... Do you know each other?"
The succubus said, "We were collecting mushrooms for the city's alchemist and had to explore his dungeon to get enough. The prick put us through hell and we stomped his ass for it."
The echidna frowned. "I apologized for that, you know." He cautiously slithered closer to the girl. "I'm really sorry about this, miss. Like I said earlier, I meant to catch a deer, but... Shit happens, I guess." He noticed that the girl was staring at him. "What is it?"
She snapped out of it and said, "Nothing. It's just that it's rare to see an echidna at all, let alone one outside of its lair."
"Oh. Well, everyone has to eat."
She looked him over, then looked down shyly. "You're pretty good-looking for a non-human."
He smiled. "Thanks. ...Wait, what do you mean 'for a non-human'?"
"Well, you're not human. You're an echidna; a race of 'monster'."
"Oh. So you really think I look good?"
She blushed a little. "Yes."
The hero and party all cringed. Amarantha interrupted, "Look, girl, you don't want this echidna. He's a shameless pervert, he's bisexual..."
The succubus added, "He uses aphrodisiac gas traps on people..."
Amarantha resumed, "...He's no good. He'll ruin your future. Get away from him as quickly as you can, and never associate with him. Ever."
The echidna looked around at everyone, obviously displeased. "Are you done?" He looked back to the girl. "After nearly getting beaten to death by these four, I rethought my life and am a changed man- uh, snake, now. I won't use aphrodisiac gas on people anymore, I promise. As for being a pervert... I'll try to tone it down, and I can't change my sexual preference, so I'm staying bi."
The girl mulled over everything, then said, "Despite all that, I wouldn't mind getting to know you. If what you say is true, and you are trying to become a better person, I think I can help you."
He looked at her with hope-filled eyes. "You mean it!?" She nodded, causing him to nearly tie himself in a knot with happiness. "I'll make sure the path to my lair is safe, and I'll set up something to alert me to your arrival. You're welcome to visit any time!"
She smiled pleasantly. "Thank you. I have to finish my school work first, but I might be able to come visit this weekend."
"I'll look forward to it."
The echidna set his rope net trap up again and went back to hiding. The girl and the party resumed their respective tasks. As they got far enough away, the girl commented, "He seemed nice enough."
Amarantha scoffed. "Yeah, probably because we were there."
Ignoring her, the girl eventually finished her work and had the party escort her back home. She paid them and thanked them, then disappeared into her house. After the job was done, the hero said, "Okay, I'm willing to give that snake-man the benefit of the doubt, but do you guys really think things will go good?"
They all shook their heads. The succubus sighed. "Well, it was her decision, therefore we should just wash our hands of it. If she wants to hook up with that idiot, let her. We have the world to save, remember? Our journeying around for military support, looking for strong monsters for allies, trying to become stronger ourselves... We've got more important things to do than worry about some rich little girl and a jackass echidna."
The rest of the party reluctantly nodded in agreement, then headed for a spot to sit and rest for a while. It was nearing the time to meet with Sol for dinner.
The hero shook his head. "I'm sorry. It wouldn't feel right imposing on you again."
"I understand." He looked at Amarantha and smiled. "Cooking for your man?"
She cocked her head to the side and rolled her eyes. "I'm cooking for everyone. I do intend to cook especially for Zeraine some time, though...
Although she mumbled it, everyone heard. Zeraine was visibly happy, the succubus found herself imagining cooking for the hero while wearing nothing but an apron, which caused her to blush. The hero was completely indifferent. He asked, "So how'd it go?"
"Ah, it went pretty good. When the time comes to fight the good fight, this city's army and I will be there with you. As I've said before, you'll need more than what you have now. If I were you, I'd head out west to the coast. I don't know if you might need naval support, of if they'd be willing to send their armies, but it's worth a shot."
"Will do. Thanks."
"So, if you don't mind my asking, do you have any plans for dinner?"
Zeraine took a bite of his apple, swallowed it, and answered, "Yep. Our friend Sol offered to treat us to dinner tonight, so we're pretty much just waiting for evening to come. After lunch, we're planning on trying to find an odd job or two to pass the time, then we'll meet with him for dinner."
The gold dragon paused for a second, his eyebrows furrowed as he thought. "Would you happen to be talking about the world's third-best alchemist, the man who makes the more 'rare and unique' potions for sale at reasonable prices unlike the two alchemists better than him?"
Zeraine nodded. "Why do you ask?"
"You think you could maybe arrange a meeting with him for me? I'd like to see what he sells."
"I'll tell him tonight. Should I tell him that a gold dragon might want to do business?"
"Well, telling him what I am... I don't really care if you do or not."
"Alright. Knowing him, he'll want to head straight there right after dinner, so you should probably expect him tonight."
"Thanks. By the way... How do you know him?"
"Heh. He and I have been doing business for years. Whenever I'm in the area, I go to his shop to get what I need. After a while, we got to be buddies." Zeraine turned to Amarantha. "Hey, Ammie? Were we together back when I first met Sol?"
She examined the meat, then replied, "No. If you'll remember, you told me that you had been buying from him for a long time right before you brought me into his shop and introduced me. ...You forgot?"
"...I guess I did. Sorry. Anyway," he looked back to the gold dragon and continued, "like she said, I had been buying from him for years before even meeting her. The two of them quickly became like siblings, her being the big sister and him being the little brother. Some of their antics are pretty funny at times, but their bickering can get old fast."
Amarantha protested. "Zeraine! Keep trying to embarrass me and I'll burn the meat on purpose!"
"Sorry!" He cleared his throat. "So, yeah. After staying regular customers for a long time, he eventually got a bit more work than he could handle, and not long after that, he had a new employee."
The gold dragon nodded. "He'd have to have employees. One man alone can't handle a business like his."
"Back then, he didn't have many customers. As he got more, though, he had to hire help. He wound up hiring a young female Lizardman named Victoria, and some time later, he also hired a young female salamander named Hilda."
Amarantha chuckled. "And he's crazy about them, too."
The gold dragon asked, "What do you mean?"
She snickered. "He's completely, totally in love with both of them, and the feelings are mutual. They seem to be fine with the idea of sharing him, too, so he's got no problems there. He's teaching Victoria magic, and Hilda's teaching both of them how to wrestle and fight with a sword. I think she's also teaching them how to fight hand-to-hand... Anyway, they've got a nice little thing going. If he intends to keep getting more customers, he'll have to hire more help."
Zeraine gave a half scoff, half laugh and said, "Knowing him, he'll try to only hire females, and add them to his little 'harem'."
The gold dragon closed his eyes in thought. "Well, normally I'd kind of look down on polygamy, but if everyone in the relationship is fine with it and happy, and the 'owner' of the 'harem' doesn't play favorites, I guess it's fine. ...He must be quite a guy."
The succubus shook her head. "He hasn't done them yet. He will next month, though." She giggled.
Amarantha announced, "Food's done. Get it while it's hot."
The gold dragon gave the party a friendly smile. "Well, I need to get back home. Next time you're in the area, feel free to stop by for a visit. See you later."
The party waved as he left, then ate.
...
After eating, they went back into the city and looked at the notice boards again. The hero managed to find a new notice for a job. The job was to protect a teenage girl as she went into the forest to examine the local flowers and herbs. The party followed the directions on the notice to the girl's house. As it turned out, she was from a fairly well-off family and was plenty capable of paying the amount specified. As they made their way out into the forest, Zeraine asked, "So, little girl, why exactly are you out here doing this?"
She raised an eyebrow at the "little girl" part, but replied, "I have to write a report on the local flowers and herbs for school. I know the forest is dangerous, so I put out the notice. All you four have to do is keep me safe on this little trip and everything will be fine."
The hero asked, "So how long do you think it'll take?"
"Assuming we don't encounter anything, it shouldn't take more than an hour or two."
Satisfied with the girl's estimate, they continued in silence as they escorted her through the forest, keeping an eye out while she closely examined several different types of flowers and herbs. As they continued the job, they started seeing familiar things. Amarantha asked, "Hey, guys, does this area look familiar to you?"
The succubus looked around. "Yeah, it does. Why?"
Before Amarantha could answer, there was a loud snap, followed by the girl being hoisted into the air in a rope net. From a slight distance, they heard a familiar voice. "Got something!"
They all looked at each other and grimaced. The girl was obviously terrified, repeatedly pleading for the party to get her down. The hero strapped his shield to his arm and drew his sword as Zeraine readied his great sword. Amarantha assumed an offensive stance while the succubus looked around, trying to see where the ropes went so she could release the girl from the net. Soon, they heard the sound of something slithering. After that, the being came into view and stopped when it saw the party. "Ah..." It was the echidna again.
Amarantha filled her body with so much demonic energy that her eyes glowed red and her body became surrounded in a black mist. She stepped forward, slamming a fist into her open palm. "And just what do you think you're doing, snake?"
He held his hands up and shrunk back, obviously scared. "W-wait! Hold on! This trap was meant for deer, I swear!"
"So you're not trying to kidnap anyone?" the hero asked, slightly lowering his shield.
"No! Of course not! Here, let me release her..." He slithered back the way he came for a short distance, then untied one set of ropes, gently lowering the now less terrified girl to the ground. "See? I'm not doing anything wrong."
The black mist dissipated and Amarantha skeptically asked, "So why are you hunting deer with this kind of thing? Don't you have a bow?"
"Actually, no I don't. It wouldn't do me any good anyway, since the deer would run off before I could get within range. Sliding my body along the ground makes more noise than a human walking does, and I'm too tired from healing myself after your vicious beating to use a transformation spell."
The teenage girl, her fear almost completely gone, got up, untangled herself from the rope net, dusted herself off, and remarked, "An echidna... Do you know each other?"
The succubus said, "We were collecting mushrooms for the city's alchemist and had to explore his dungeon to get enough. The prick put us through hell and we stomped his ass for it."
The echidna frowned. "I apologized for that, you know." He cautiously slithered closer to the girl. "I'm really sorry about this, miss. Like I said earlier, I meant to catch a deer, but... Shit happens, I guess." He noticed that the girl was staring at him. "What is it?"
She snapped out of it and said, "Nothing. It's just that it's rare to see an echidna at all, let alone one outside of its lair."
"Oh. Well, everyone has to eat."
She looked him over, then looked down shyly. "You're pretty good-looking for a non-human."
He smiled. "Thanks. ...Wait, what do you mean 'for a non-human'?"
"Well, you're not human. You're an echidna; a race of 'monster'."
"Oh. So you really think I look good?"
She blushed a little. "Yes."
The hero and party all cringed. Amarantha interrupted, "Look, girl, you don't want this echidna. He's a shameless pervert, he's bisexual..."
The succubus added, "He uses aphrodisiac gas traps on people..."
Amarantha resumed, "...He's no good. He'll ruin your future. Get away from him as quickly as you can, and never associate with him. Ever."
The echidna looked around at everyone, obviously displeased. "Are you done?" He looked back to the girl. "After nearly getting beaten to death by these four, I rethought my life and am a changed man- uh, snake, now. I won't use aphrodisiac gas on people anymore, I promise. As for being a pervert... I'll try to tone it down, and I can't change my sexual preference, so I'm staying bi."
The girl mulled over everything, then said, "Despite all that, I wouldn't mind getting to know you. If what you say is true, and you are trying to become a better person, I think I can help you."
He looked at her with hope-filled eyes. "You mean it!?" She nodded, causing him to nearly tie himself in a knot with happiness. "I'll make sure the path to my lair is safe, and I'll set up something to alert me to your arrival. You're welcome to visit any time!"
She smiled pleasantly. "Thank you. I have to finish my school work first, but I might be able to come visit this weekend."
"I'll look forward to it."
The echidna set his rope net trap up again and went back to hiding. The girl and the party resumed their respective tasks. As they got far enough away, the girl commented, "He seemed nice enough."
Amarantha scoffed. "Yeah, probably because we were there."
Ignoring her, the girl eventually finished her work and had the party escort her back home. She paid them and thanked them, then disappeared into her house. After the job was done, the hero said, "Okay, I'm willing to give that snake-man the benefit of the doubt, but do you guys really think things will go good?"
They all shook their heads. The succubus sighed. "Well, it was her decision, therefore we should just wash our hands of it. If she wants to hook up with that idiot, let her. We have the world to save, remember? Our journeying around for military support, looking for strong monsters for allies, trying to become stronger ourselves... We've got more important things to do than worry about some rich little girl and a jackass echidna."
The rest of the party reluctantly nodded in agreement, then headed for a spot to sit and rest for a while. It was nearing the time to meet with Sol for dinner.
Chapter 33
Spoiler: show
The party was now expecting Sol to show up at any minute. The succubus shyly said to the hero, "Um, you know, that kiss earlier? You didn't quite feed me enough."
The hero's face went slightly red. "And who do you think is responsible for that?" he said sarcastically.
She snapped back, "Shut up! I didn't know I was doing that. Now, feed me again, damn it!"
Zeraine and Amarantha stayed silent, enjoying the scene while trying not to laugh. The hero shrugged. "Yeah, yeah." He leaned in and kissed her. He felt the energy draining from his body as she fed off his spirit energy through the kiss. When she finished, he felt somewhat winded, but thanks to the amulet, he was already recovering. "Is that good enough for now?"
She smiled, part proudly, part mischievously. "Yep. Now that you can feed me more often, I'll be much more able to hold my own in battle, thus pull my own weight in our group."
He looked at her with a surprised expression. "You were already doing pretty well, I thought. Are you telling me that you'll be even more powerful now or something?"
She nodded, her expression indicating that she was anxious to show off a little. "Just wait until you see my magic now that I'm fully fed. I think you'll like it."
Zeraine was intending to tease the hero and the succubus about the kiss, but he and Amarantha were both now interested in just how much stronger the succubus's magic was. He was just about to ask for a small demonstration, but didn't get the chance.
"You sure that wasn't just an excuse to kiss him?"
They turned and saw Sol fade into view, indicative of him dispelling an invisibility spell. Victoria and Hilda also faded into view. His left arm was draped over Victoria's shoulder, and his right arm was draped over Hilda's shoulder. The two lizard girls were trying not to smile, but Sol was wearing a very large grin. The succubus shouted, "You- how long have you been there? What did you see and hear?"
Sol's grin became more teasing and mischievous. "The girls and I were watching and listening to the whole thing." He looked at the hero. "So how's that amulet working?"
The hero stammered for a second, then replied, "It's good so far. I'm already almost fully recovered from the, uh... you know."
"Good. So now that you're not 'feeding just enough to stay alive and use a little magic', how much more powerful are you, future Demon Lord?"
The succubus scoffed. "Powerful enough to take on a vampire, I think."
"You think? Don't go assuming you can win. Raw power doesn't decide the outcome. As Zeraine can testify to, the one with the better plan, coupled with successful execution of said plan, is the one that wins. Overconfidence can get you killed."
The succubus turned her head. "So are you taking us to dinner or not?"
Sol snickered. "Of course I am. I've even got us a private room booked so we can eat and converse all we want, no matter the subject, without worrying about offending anyone but the Order kid."
The hero frowned. "Are the conversations you're talking about going to be mostly lewd?"
Sol nearly burst out laughing. "Kid, listen, you've got Zeraine and me, both of us being nearly incubi, as well as two lizard girls, a silver dragon, and a succubus. Out of that, your succubus, my lizard girls, and I are definite perverts. How can the conversations not be lewd?"
The hero sighed. "Right..."
Hilda looked back and forth between Sol and the succubus. "Hey, what about that thing you told us about?"
Sol looked at her questioningly, then said, "Oh, you mean that thing about her plan and what you two will look like afterward." He grinned at the succubus. "You mind showing them?"
The succubus, more than happy to get more support for her plan to turns monsters into more humanoid monster women, gladly conjured up the ball of light and proudly showed them. Hilda excitedly said, "I'll have boobs! Big ones, too! Awesome!"
Victoria blushed. "So will I. And look; Sol's going to be lusting after us all the time with our thighs and asses looking like that."
Sol grinned and rubbed both lizard girls' hips. "You damn right, Vicky. As you know, I'm already lusting after you two to the point that I find it hard to resist shoving you down and taking you, but we agreed to make my upcoming birthday a very special one, so I'll manage until then. After this woman transforms you two, I doubt I'll be able to keep my hands off you." He laughed in a very perverted manner, causing the two of them to look very embarrassed, yet happy.
The succubus dissipated the ball of light, then asked, "Have you tried any foreplay with them yet?"
Sol shook his head. "I'm afraid that if we start that, I won't be able to stop, thus our plans for my birthday will be ruined. I plan to lick every last scale on their bodies when that day comes, though. I'm a little worried I might cut my tongue on certain areas, but I'm a mage, so I can just heal myself and keep licking."
Zeraine interrupted, "Shouldn't we get going?"
"Yes. Let's go." Sol led everyone to a very nice restaurant, then to a private dining room.
Amarantha looked him in the eye. "When did you reserve this?"
Sol smiled smugly. "Earlier today. After getting a bit of a slowdown at my shop, I teleported back here and reserved the table for this evening. Neat, huh?"
She shook her head. "Mages..."
Sol raised an eyebrow. "We're not all crazy. I am, though."
Everyone ordered their meals. As they sat, waiting for the food to be served, they continued conversing. The succubus asked, "I've got a question; I know you shouldn't go by stereotypes, but the stereotype for the Lizardman race is that they're a race of warriors. Same thing with the salamander race, except they're usually less refined and more wild. How is it that your Victoria is a mage?"
Sol was about to speak, but Victoria answered, "My parents were fairly magically-inclined. It kind of helped that my father was the village shaman, and my mother was a healer. I guess I inherited some of that affinity for magic. I also was fascinated with magic, since it's really powerful. Why waste your energy in a long, drawn-out sword fight when a well-placed fireball can end the threat in an instant?"
The succubus continued, "But what about your race's famous tradition of challenging one another for marriage rights, dueling possible partners and stuff? Aren't you bound by your code to duel the person who wants you, or am I mistaken?"
"For the warriors of our race, if one male wants a female, but she is skeptical of his 'worthiness', she'll duel him to test him. If he beats her, she'll usually deem him worthy and agree to be his mate. If the two already like each other, the duel isn't necessary. The same is true if the roles are reversed, with the female challenging the male. If he doesn't think she's worthy of him, but is open to giving her the chance, he'll duel her. If she fights well enough or beats him, he'll accept her. Actually, the 'good enough performance or victory of the one being tested' is the same for both situations."
"I see. That's pretty interesting. So how about you and Sol? Both of you are mages, just like me. Are you two going to have some sort of magic competition, or have you already done it? Or do you even need to?"
If the succubus's plan was already complete, with monsters turned into monster girls, Victoria would have blushed before answering. Because Victoria was still a monster, though, her completely scaly face didn't allow her to blush. Despite being incapable of blushing, her embarrassment was plain as day, though. "Well, he and I are both perverts, just like he said earlier. We don't have to duel since we're already both aching to jump each other, therefore the duel is unnecessary."
"How did you two meet, anyway?"
"Well, I was getting up to the age that I'd have to set out on my own and make a life for myself, as is customary for my kind. Sol was a regular visitor to our village, selling potions and the occasional magic item to the residents, mostly my parents. I still don't quite know why, but I wound up getting a crush on him. One day, when he was chatting with my father, I overheard him mention that he needed to hire some help. It was then that I decided I wanted to work for him, so I talked to my parents about it, and they seemed perfectly fine with it. The next time he visited the village, I approached him and asked if he'd hire me."
Sol interrupted, "The way you approached me, trying to act brave and confident when you were obviously shy, was incredibly cute. I needed the help, so I hired you. I quickly became glad that I did, since you're such a great employee. My fetish for scaly girls and the fact that we got real close real quick helped our mutual feelings develop like they did, too."
Hilda protested, "Hey, what about me? Aren't I a good employee, too?"
Sol smiled at her. "Yes, but not at first. At first, you were a bit clumsy and you fought with Vicky all the time. After you got over that stuff, you became great, too."
Victoria cleared her throat and continued, "Anyway, he agree to hire me, and I've been working for him ever since. Despite the aforementioned early quarreling with Hilda, it's been a lot of fun. Due to my fascination with magic, at one point I asked him if he'd teach me, and he did. That pretty much means that I've been both his student and his employee for a long time. He and I both have been Hilda's students for a long time, too, when you take into account her teaching both of us how to wrestle and fight hand-to-hand and with swords."
The succubus said, "Wow." She looked at Hilda. "How about you? How did you meet him and hire on?"
Hilda smiled, reminiscing as she recalled it. "It's kind of similar to how he met Vicky, actually. He was a regular visitor to my home village, too. Almost every time he came to visit, he'd play with me and my brothers, and we'd all have a blast. Occasionally, he'd show off his magic or something, but regardless, every time he visited, I had fun. The more he played with us, the more my tail flames began reacting. I thought it was a little strange, and naturally, my brothers made fun of me for getting that excited over playing with a human male, but I didn't care. I was just about ready to follow him regardless of whether he was okay with it or not, but then he asked me to work for him. I agreed, of course, because it meant I could be around him a lot more. Sol always liked to tease me and Vicky about how we fought, saying we got along well because of our vastly different personalities, but whatever. For a while, I was kind of competing with Vicky for his attention and affection, which made me make bold moves like suddenly tackling him, trying to get him to take me, but he'd always remind me of that damn law in the city, which forced me to back off out of fear of losing him to those extremists that hijacked, what, half of The Order? Anyway, he eventually told us that he couldn't possibly choose between us, since picking either of us would leave him heartbroken and feeling guilty, so we decided to share him. I'm sure there's enough of him for both of us..." She looked at Sol, then at his crotch, and licked her lips. "I hate having to wait for his birthday, but it's fine. I've waited this long, so I can stand waiting for another week or so."
The succubus then asked, "How old are the two of you?"
Victoria answered, "15."
Hilda answered, "I'm 14."
Sol said, "And the 'legal age' in the city is 18, which is why that special privilege is so nice. I can have them both at once rather than forcing Hilda to wait a whole year, watching or listening to me as I wear Vicky out every night, waiting for her turn in my bed. ...That assumes, of course, that I sold my business to someone else, or fired these two, neither of which I could do, so I'd basically be stuck with two girls I want to take, said girls wanting me to take them, but the law holding me back."
Victoria asked, "If you don't mind my asking, how old are you?"
The succubus answered, "I'm 21. ...What about everyone else here?"
The hero said, "I'm 22."
Zeraine said, "85."
Amarantha said, "143."
Sol said, "On my 98th birthday next month, I'll be deflowering these lizards. Wait, do you two have hymens?" he asked, looking at the two.
Victoria was too embarrassed to answer, but Hilda said, "You'll just have to put it in and see."
Sol smiled and said, "Oh, I will. I'll definitely be putting it in... Every night."
The succubus said, "So you're going to have a big family after I transform them, huh?"
"Of course! After you turn them into those forms, which I somehow find even more attractive than their current ones, possible due to the fact that they'll have boobs and soft skin for me to lick, I don't think I'll be able to stay out of them for very long, if you know what I mean." He gave a perverted grin.
The succubus scoffed. "You're almost an incubus, so I'd expect you to have a nearly unlimited sex-drive, with the ability to bang them from now on without ever stopping, aside from allowing them to recover, that is. You do them too long and they'll get sore."
Sol, Victoria, and Hilda laughed. Sol then looked at the hero and said, "You seem to be able to handle listening to these conversations a little better now. Are you getting more comfortable with lewd and sexual-themed discussions?"
The hero narrowed his eyes at Sol. "Look, The Order is against this kind of thing. If you want to talk about dirty stuff, do it with your significant other in the privacy of your home. Don't go bragging to people about it, and definitely don't talk about it at the dinner table! Don't be a pervert, damn it! Be virtuous!"
"Be virtuous? You mean like her?" Sol pointed with his chin at the succubus, which caused her to give him a surprised look.
The hero was silent for a full four seconds, then said, "What?"
Sol laughed a little, then said, "I did some checking up on you, miss. It seems that, despite being a succubus, you are, indeed, a virgin. You use your excessive pride to support your willpower as you search for and dream of your 'one special man', thus allowing you to subsist off of demon realm fruit and save yourself for him until now. Since you've ran out, you've had to resort to using the kissing method to feed off of the young knight. You needed the amulet to enable him to feed you as often as needed, rather than 'just barely enough'. You also seem to like kissing him, which is a good start. How long until you two accept each other?"
The hero and the succubus were too embarrassed to try to counter Sol's statements. The food finally came, and everyone ate their fill. As they sat there, letting their food settle, Sol asked, "So, Ammie, tell your dear little brother all about your adventure so far. You can leave out the bedroom stuff, since it'd only make me lust after these two even more." He gestured to Victoria and Hilda.
Amarantha rolled her eyes. "You're going kind of overboard with the sibling stuff, aren't you? Sure, it's like you're my little brother at times, but we're really not related and I think you're kind of running it into the ground."
"Oh, don't be that way, Onee-chan!" He grinned teasingly.
"Don't start throwing Zipangu words into your sentences. ...Alright, fine, I'll tell you."
She went on to tell him all about the adventure, including the "exterminator" job with the large mice, the gold dragon, the cockatrice, and the echidna.
Sol gave an impressed whistle. "You've done quite a bit, haven't you? Sounds like that echidna and I could be good buddies."
Amarantha glared at him and said, "He'd probably be lusting after you, too, so don't even think about it."
Sol took the opportunity to ham it up by taking on an expression of exaggerated happiness. "Big sis is worried about her little brother!? I'm so touched!"
Amarantha facepalmed. "You just won't quit, will you?"
Zeraine snapped his fingers and said, "That's right, I almost forgot. Sol, the gold dragon wanted to meet with you as soon as possible. He might end up being another 'direct-buy' customer. He lives in that mansion out in the forest to the north."
Sol's eyes lit up at the prospect of doing business and making money. "Then I'll have to head up there after you guys go to whatever inn you're staying at, unless he'll let you stay there another night?"
The hero shook his head. "We already said we weren't going to impose on him again. I'd rather not go back on my word."
"Suit yourself. Still, the girls and I are going as soon as you guys turn in for the night."
Zeraine nodded. "Exactly as I expected."
"What?"
"I told him to expect you tonight, since you were most likely to visit immediately after receiving the news. I was right."
"Yeah, yeah, don't try to tease me about being predictable or anything, man."
Sol paid for the meal, then saw everyone off. As he walked toward the city gate, hand-in-hand with both of his beloved lizard girls, the hero and party went into a decent inn and rented two rooms. Once again, Zeraine and Amarantha shared a room, and the hero and the succubus shared the other. There was one bed in each room, which meant that they had to sleep together again. Zeraine and Amarantha didn't have sex that night. Instead, she had to peel her sticky, crusty panties off and use a few water magic spells to clean them, washing Zeraine's semen out of them. While she was at it, she washed her crotch off, too. She then put her now-clean panties back on, stripped until she was only wearing her bra and panties, then climbed into bed with Zeraine, who had stripped to his boxers. They cuddled up and fell asleep in each other's arms.
Meanwhile, in the other room, the hero and the succubus looked at each other, then at the bed. The succubus said, "The bed's a little small..."
The hero said, "We can't afford to rent three rooms each time just so you and I can have separate beds. Let's just try to get some sleep."
They stripped down to their normal clothes, which meant that the succubus took off her boots and cloak, and the hero, after refusing the succubus's offer to help, took off his armor. They laid down on the bed and rolled onto their sides, facing away from each other. The succubus said, "A quick warning; if you try to do anything to me while I'm asleep, I'll show you just how powerful my lightning is when I'm properly fed."
The hero replied in an offended tone. "You actually think I'd do something so perverted and despicable?"
The succubus paused for a second. "Right. You're enough of a prude that my safety is assured. Sorry. Good night."
The hero slowly exhaled. "Good night."
They fell asleep, almost back-to-back.
The hero's face went slightly red. "And who do you think is responsible for that?" he said sarcastically.
She snapped back, "Shut up! I didn't know I was doing that. Now, feed me again, damn it!"
Zeraine and Amarantha stayed silent, enjoying the scene while trying not to laugh. The hero shrugged. "Yeah, yeah." He leaned in and kissed her. He felt the energy draining from his body as she fed off his spirit energy through the kiss. When she finished, he felt somewhat winded, but thanks to the amulet, he was already recovering. "Is that good enough for now?"
She smiled, part proudly, part mischievously. "Yep. Now that you can feed me more often, I'll be much more able to hold my own in battle, thus pull my own weight in our group."
He looked at her with a surprised expression. "You were already doing pretty well, I thought. Are you telling me that you'll be even more powerful now or something?"
She nodded, her expression indicating that she was anxious to show off a little. "Just wait until you see my magic now that I'm fully fed. I think you'll like it."
Zeraine was intending to tease the hero and the succubus about the kiss, but he and Amarantha were both now interested in just how much stronger the succubus's magic was. He was just about to ask for a small demonstration, but didn't get the chance.
"You sure that wasn't just an excuse to kiss him?"
They turned and saw Sol fade into view, indicative of him dispelling an invisibility spell. Victoria and Hilda also faded into view. His left arm was draped over Victoria's shoulder, and his right arm was draped over Hilda's shoulder. The two lizard girls were trying not to smile, but Sol was wearing a very large grin. The succubus shouted, "You- how long have you been there? What did you see and hear?"
Sol's grin became more teasing and mischievous. "The girls and I were watching and listening to the whole thing." He looked at the hero. "So how's that amulet working?"
The hero stammered for a second, then replied, "It's good so far. I'm already almost fully recovered from the, uh... you know."
"Good. So now that you're not 'feeding just enough to stay alive and use a little magic', how much more powerful are you, future Demon Lord?"
The succubus scoffed. "Powerful enough to take on a vampire, I think."
"You think? Don't go assuming you can win. Raw power doesn't decide the outcome. As Zeraine can testify to, the one with the better plan, coupled with successful execution of said plan, is the one that wins. Overconfidence can get you killed."
The succubus turned her head. "So are you taking us to dinner or not?"
Sol snickered. "Of course I am. I've even got us a private room booked so we can eat and converse all we want, no matter the subject, without worrying about offending anyone but the Order kid."
The hero frowned. "Are the conversations you're talking about going to be mostly lewd?"
Sol nearly burst out laughing. "Kid, listen, you've got Zeraine and me, both of us being nearly incubi, as well as two lizard girls, a silver dragon, and a succubus. Out of that, your succubus, my lizard girls, and I are definite perverts. How can the conversations not be lewd?"
The hero sighed. "Right..."
Hilda looked back and forth between Sol and the succubus. "Hey, what about that thing you told us about?"
Sol looked at her questioningly, then said, "Oh, you mean that thing about her plan and what you two will look like afterward." He grinned at the succubus. "You mind showing them?"
The succubus, more than happy to get more support for her plan to turns monsters into more humanoid monster women, gladly conjured up the ball of light and proudly showed them. Hilda excitedly said, "I'll have boobs! Big ones, too! Awesome!"
Victoria blushed. "So will I. And look; Sol's going to be lusting after us all the time with our thighs and asses looking like that."
Sol grinned and rubbed both lizard girls' hips. "You damn right, Vicky. As you know, I'm already lusting after you two to the point that I find it hard to resist shoving you down and taking you, but we agreed to make my upcoming birthday a very special one, so I'll manage until then. After this woman transforms you two, I doubt I'll be able to keep my hands off you." He laughed in a very perverted manner, causing the two of them to look very embarrassed, yet happy.
The succubus dissipated the ball of light, then asked, "Have you tried any foreplay with them yet?"
Sol shook his head. "I'm afraid that if we start that, I won't be able to stop, thus our plans for my birthday will be ruined. I plan to lick every last scale on their bodies when that day comes, though. I'm a little worried I might cut my tongue on certain areas, but I'm a mage, so I can just heal myself and keep licking."
Zeraine interrupted, "Shouldn't we get going?"
"Yes. Let's go." Sol led everyone to a very nice restaurant, then to a private dining room.
Amarantha looked him in the eye. "When did you reserve this?"
Sol smiled smugly. "Earlier today. After getting a bit of a slowdown at my shop, I teleported back here and reserved the table for this evening. Neat, huh?"
She shook her head. "Mages..."
Sol raised an eyebrow. "We're not all crazy. I am, though."
Everyone ordered their meals. As they sat, waiting for the food to be served, they continued conversing. The succubus asked, "I've got a question; I know you shouldn't go by stereotypes, but the stereotype for the Lizardman race is that they're a race of warriors. Same thing with the salamander race, except they're usually less refined and more wild. How is it that your Victoria is a mage?"
Sol was about to speak, but Victoria answered, "My parents were fairly magically-inclined. It kind of helped that my father was the village shaman, and my mother was a healer. I guess I inherited some of that affinity for magic. I also was fascinated with magic, since it's really powerful. Why waste your energy in a long, drawn-out sword fight when a well-placed fireball can end the threat in an instant?"
The succubus continued, "But what about your race's famous tradition of challenging one another for marriage rights, dueling possible partners and stuff? Aren't you bound by your code to duel the person who wants you, or am I mistaken?"
"For the warriors of our race, if one male wants a female, but she is skeptical of his 'worthiness', she'll duel him to test him. If he beats her, she'll usually deem him worthy and agree to be his mate. If the two already like each other, the duel isn't necessary. The same is true if the roles are reversed, with the female challenging the male. If he doesn't think she's worthy of him, but is open to giving her the chance, he'll duel her. If she fights well enough or beats him, he'll accept her. Actually, the 'good enough performance or victory of the one being tested' is the same for both situations."
"I see. That's pretty interesting. So how about you and Sol? Both of you are mages, just like me. Are you two going to have some sort of magic competition, or have you already done it? Or do you even need to?"
If the succubus's plan was already complete, with monsters turned into monster girls, Victoria would have blushed before answering. Because Victoria was still a monster, though, her completely scaly face didn't allow her to blush. Despite being incapable of blushing, her embarrassment was plain as day, though. "Well, he and I are both perverts, just like he said earlier. We don't have to duel since we're already both aching to jump each other, therefore the duel is unnecessary."
"How did you two meet, anyway?"
"Well, I was getting up to the age that I'd have to set out on my own and make a life for myself, as is customary for my kind. Sol was a regular visitor to our village, selling potions and the occasional magic item to the residents, mostly my parents. I still don't quite know why, but I wound up getting a crush on him. One day, when he was chatting with my father, I overheard him mention that he needed to hire some help. It was then that I decided I wanted to work for him, so I talked to my parents about it, and they seemed perfectly fine with it. The next time he visited the village, I approached him and asked if he'd hire me."
Sol interrupted, "The way you approached me, trying to act brave and confident when you were obviously shy, was incredibly cute. I needed the help, so I hired you. I quickly became glad that I did, since you're such a great employee. My fetish for scaly girls and the fact that we got real close real quick helped our mutual feelings develop like they did, too."
Hilda protested, "Hey, what about me? Aren't I a good employee, too?"
Sol smiled at her. "Yes, but not at first. At first, you were a bit clumsy and you fought with Vicky all the time. After you got over that stuff, you became great, too."
Victoria cleared her throat and continued, "Anyway, he agree to hire me, and I've been working for him ever since. Despite the aforementioned early quarreling with Hilda, it's been a lot of fun. Due to my fascination with magic, at one point I asked him if he'd teach me, and he did. That pretty much means that I've been both his student and his employee for a long time. He and I both have been Hilda's students for a long time, too, when you take into account her teaching both of us how to wrestle and fight hand-to-hand and with swords."
The succubus said, "Wow." She looked at Hilda. "How about you? How did you meet him and hire on?"
Hilda smiled, reminiscing as she recalled it. "It's kind of similar to how he met Vicky, actually. He was a regular visitor to my home village, too. Almost every time he came to visit, he'd play with me and my brothers, and we'd all have a blast. Occasionally, he'd show off his magic or something, but regardless, every time he visited, I had fun. The more he played with us, the more my tail flames began reacting. I thought it was a little strange, and naturally, my brothers made fun of me for getting that excited over playing with a human male, but I didn't care. I was just about ready to follow him regardless of whether he was okay with it or not, but then he asked me to work for him. I agreed, of course, because it meant I could be around him a lot more. Sol always liked to tease me and Vicky about how we fought, saying we got along well because of our vastly different personalities, but whatever. For a while, I was kind of competing with Vicky for his attention and affection, which made me make bold moves like suddenly tackling him, trying to get him to take me, but he'd always remind me of that damn law in the city, which forced me to back off out of fear of losing him to those extremists that hijacked, what, half of The Order? Anyway, he eventually told us that he couldn't possibly choose between us, since picking either of us would leave him heartbroken and feeling guilty, so we decided to share him. I'm sure there's enough of him for both of us..." She looked at Sol, then at his crotch, and licked her lips. "I hate having to wait for his birthday, but it's fine. I've waited this long, so I can stand waiting for another week or so."
The succubus then asked, "How old are the two of you?"
Victoria answered, "15."
Hilda answered, "I'm 14."
Sol said, "And the 'legal age' in the city is 18, which is why that special privilege is so nice. I can have them both at once rather than forcing Hilda to wait a whole year, watching or listening to me as I wear Vicky out every night, waiting for her turn in my bed. ...That assumes, of course, that I sold my business to someone else, or fired these two, neither of which I could do, so I'd basically be stuck with two girls I want to take, said girls wanting me to take them, but the law holding me back."
Victoria asked, "If you don't mind my asking, how old are you?"
The succubus answered, "I'm 21. ...What about everyone else here?"
The hero said, "I'm 22."
Zeraine said, "85."
Amarantha said, "143."
Sol said, "On my 98th birthday next month, I'll be deflowering these lizards. Wait, do you two have hymens?" he asked, looking at the two.
Victoria was too embarrassed to answer, but Hilda said, "You'll just have to put it in and see."
Sol smiled and said, "Oh, I will. I'll definitely be putting it in... Every night."
The succubus said, "So you're going to have a big family after I transform them, huh?"
"Of course! After you turn them into those forms, which I somehow find even more attractive than their current ones, possible due to the fact that they'll have boobs and soft skin for me to lick, I don't think I'll be able to stay out of them for very long, if you know what I mean." He gave a perverted grin.
The succubus scoffed. "You're almost an incubus, so I'd expect you to have a nearly unlimited sex-drive, with the ability to bang them from now on without ever stopping, aside from allowing them to recover, that is. You do them too long and they'll get sore."
Sol, Victoria, and Hilda laughed. Sol then looked at the hero and said, "You seem to be able to handle listening to these conversations a little better now. Are you getting more comfortable with lewd and sexual-themed discussions?"
The hero narrowed his eyes at Sol. "Look, The Order is against this kind of thing. If you want to talk about dirty stuff, do it with your significant other in the privacy of your home. Don't go bragging to people about it, and definitely don't talk about it at the dinner table! Don't be a pervert, damn it! Be virtuous!"
"Be virtuous? You mean like her?" Sol pointed with his chin at the succubus, which caused her to give him a surprised look.
The hero was silent for a full four seconds, then said, "What?"
Sol laughed a little, then said, "I did some checking up on you, miss. It seems that, despite being a succubus, you are, indeed, a virgin. You use your excessive pride to support your willpower as you search for and dream of your 'one special man', thus allowing you to subsist off of demon realm fruit and save yourself for him until now. Since you've ran out, you've had to resort to using the kissing method to feed off of the young knight. You needed the amulet to enable him to feed you as often as needed, rather than 'just barely enough'. You also seem to like kissing him, which is a good start. How long until you two accept each other?"
The hero and the succubus were too embarrassed to try to counter Sol's statements. The food finally came, and everyone ate their fill. As they sat there, letting their food settle, Sol asked, "So, Ammie, tell your dear little brother all about your adventure so far. You can leave out the bedroom stuff, since it'd only make me lust after these two even more." He gestured to Victoria and Hilda.
Amarantha rolled her eyes. "You're going kind of overboard with the sibling stuff, aren't you? Sure, it's like you're my little brother at times, but we're really not related and I think you're kind of running it into the ground."
"Oh, don't be that way, Onee-chan!" He grinned teasingly.
"Don't start throwing Zipangu words into your sentences. ...Alright, fine, I'll tell you."
She went on to tell him all about the adventure, including the "exterminator" job with the large mice, the gold dragon, the cockatrice, and the echidna.
Sol gave an impressed whistle. "You've done quite a bit, haven't you? Sounds like that echidna and I could be good buddies."
Amarantha glared at him and said, "He'd probably be lusting after you, too, so don't even think about it."
Sol took the opportunity to ham it up by taking on an expression of exaggerated happiness. "Big sis is worried about her little brother!? I'm so touched!"
Amarantha facepalmed. "You just won't quit, will you?"
Zeraine snapped his fingers and said, "That's right, I almost forgot. Sol, the gold dragon wanted to meet with you as soon as possible. He might end up being another 'direct-buy' customer. He lives in that mansion out in the forest to the north."
Sol's eyes lit up at the prospect of doing business and making money. "Then I'll have to head up there after you guys go to whatever inn you're staying at, unless he'll let you stay there another night?"
The hero shook his head. "We already said we weren't going to impose on him again. I'd rather not go back on my word."
"Suit yourself. Still, the girls and I are going as soon as you guys turn in for the night."
Zeraine nodded. "Exactly as I expected."
"What?"
"I told him to expect you tonight, since you were most likely to visit immediately after receiving the news. I was right."
"Yeah, yeah, don't try to tease me about being predictable or anything, man."
Sol paid for the meal, then saw everyone off. As he walked toward the city gate, hand-in-hand with both of his beloved lizard girls, the hero and party went into a decent inn and rented two rooms. Once again, Zeraine and Amarantha shared a room, and the hero and the succubus shared the other. There was one bed in each room, which meant that they had to sleep together again. Zeraine and Amarantha didn't have sex that night. Instead, she had to peel her sticky, crusty panties off and use a few water magic spells to clean them, washing Zeraine's semen out of them. While she was at it, she washed her crotch off, too. She then put her now-clean panties back on, stripped until she was only wearing her bra and panties, then climbed into bed with Zeraine, who had stripped to his boxers. They cuddled up and fell asleep in each other's arms.
Meanwhile, in the other room, the hero and the succubus looked at each other, then at the bed. The succubus said, "The bed's a little small..."
The hero said, "We can't afford to rent three rooms each time just so you and I can have separate beds. Let's just try to get some sleep."
They stripped down to their normal clothes, which meant that the succubus took off her boots and cloak, and the hero, after refusing the succubus's offer to help, took off his armor. They laid down on the bed and rolled onto their sides, facing away from each other. The succubus said, "A quick warning; if you try to do anything to me while I'm asleep, I'll show you just how powerful my lightning is when I'm properly fed."
The hero replied in an offended tone. "You actually think I'd do something so perverted and despicable?"
The succubus paused for a second. "Right. You're enough of a prude that my safety is assured. Sorry. Good night."
The hero slowly exhaled. "Good night."
They fell asleep, almost back-to-back.
Chapter 34
Spoiler: show
The succubus woke up and looked around. She saw that the sun was already up, and the hero was still on his side, his back turned to her. She yawned and stretched, then tried to wake him up. First, she shook him a little. Then, she shook him more forcefully. When that still didn't wake him up, she rolled him over onto his back. "Get up, damn it!" She grabbed him by both shoulders and shook him some more, which still didn't wake him up. "I didn't know this guy could sleep like this." She threw the covers off and gasped a little. "At least one part of him is awake..."
Completely relying on her pride to keep herself from reaching for it, she instead sat on his abdomen and "lightly" hit him on the chest, which finally woke him up.
The hit was actually a bit painful, and he groaned before opening his eyes. He blinked a few times, then mentally acknowledged what he saw. "Last night, you told me that you'd zap me if I tried to do anything to you while you were asleep. This morning, I wake up to find you sitting on me like this. I'm willing to give you the benefit of the doubt and not assume you were up to no good, but only because I know how you are. So what exactly are you doing?"
"Sitting here, listening to you complain. Before that, I was trying to wake you up, which I obviously succeeded in doing. You didn't wake up even when I shook you pretty hard."
"And you decided to hit me to wake me up?"
"You'd be even more upset if I had kissed you, plus you'd have probably gotten the wrong idea, so this was the next best thing. I doubt you'd want me to wake you up by conjuring some water and dumping it on your face, right?"
He sighed, unable to contest her statements. "Alright, fine. Now, get off, would you? ...Wait, why would you have kissed me to wake me up?"
"You know that one story about the handsome prince who kisses that girl to break some curse or something and wake her up? It'd be kind of like that, but with the roles reversed and the absence of a curse."
"I don't remember any such story, but I never did read such things very much. Now, about the 'letting me get up' part?"
She shook her head. "It's morning, we just woke up, and I need to be fed. You might want to lay back down, or stay laying there, for a few minutes afterward. You're still wearing the amulet, right?"
He frowned. "It's on the nightstand. I'm not the type of person who wears jewelry to bed."
She looked and it was indeed on the nightstand. She used a little telekinesis to grab it, then handed it to the hero. "Put it on."
"So you're trying to order me around now? I thought Dark Elves were more the type to do that, not succubi." He put the amulet on, then tried to stretch, despite her still sitting on him.
"You have to wear that amulet to recover quickly after feeding me. Now, how about it?"
"How about what? Feeding you? I can't exactly sit up in this situation..."
"True, which is why I'll lean down when you're ready." She paused for a second, then started blushing. "Hey, um... You want to try something?"
"Depends on what that something is."
"Well, I want to try a little 'tongue action' and see what it's like. Are you willing?"
His face went noticeably red. "Does this have to do with the time before last?"
She nodded. "A little."
"And you're asking me if I'm willing to put my tongue in the mouth of a succubus, while letting her put her tongue in mine?"
She nodded again, looking at him with a slight pleading look.
"Alright, why not? Let's do it." Giving in to her wish, he relaxed a little, trying to ready himself.
She giggled with glee, put her hands on his cheeks, and repositioned herself so she could lean down and kiss him without "bumping into anything". They shared a very deep kiss as she fed off of his spirit energy. They put their tongues in one another's mouths and licked around, entwining their tongues as they kissed. After getting enough spirit energy, she slowly broke the kiss off and looked him in the eye. Both of their faces were red, and the hero was obviously tired. She quickly got off of him and out of bed. As she went to put her boots back on, she shyly said, "Um... That was good."
The hero recovered enough to talk within seconds, thanks to the amulet. He cleared his throat and said, "Thanks. Are you, uh, all set?"
All she had left to do was put on her cloak and grab her staff. She gestured toward said items, then asked, "You need any help with your armor?"
He stood up, then shook his head as he walked over to the neatly arranged pile that was his armor.
"Do you want any help with your armor?"
"No. What about you? Do you need or want any help with your hair or anything?"
"I'm fine. We should get going."
Once the hero was done putting his armor on, the two of them stepped out into the hall.
...
This time, it was Amarantha who woke up first. Noticing that she and Zeraine were still in each other's arms, she decided to snuggle while she waited for him to wake up. A few minutes of watching him sleep later, he woke up. "Good morning, Ammie."
"Good morning, Zeraine."
They gave each other a "good morning" kiss and got up, got dressed and gathered their things. As they were about to leave the room, Amarantha said, "Hey, Zeraine?"
"Yeah?"
"I love you." She gave him a hug and a kiss, causing him to smile.
"I love you, too." He returned the hug and kiss, then they stepped out into the hall. When they did, they noticed the hero and the succubus doing the same. The four of them checked out of the inn, stopped long enough to eat a decent sized breakfast at a restaurant, said restaurant being not nearly as fancy as the one they ate dinner in last night.
Once they left the city via the gate and were back on the road, the hero said, "Well, we'll head west, to the coast, just like the gold dragon suggested. Let's go."
After about an hour of walking, they heard yelling and the sound of metal clanging. They stopped long enough for the hero to strap his shield to his arm and Zeraine to ready his great sword. After preparing for battle, they cautiously followed the noise.
Completely relying on her pride to keep herself from reaching for it, she instead sat on his abdomen and "lightly" hit him on the chest, which finally woke him up.
The hit was actually a bit painful, and he groaned before opening his eyes. He blinked a few times, then mentally acknowledged what he saw. "Last night, you told me that you'd zap me if I tried to do anything to you while you were asleep. This morning, I wake up to find you sitting on me like this. I'm willing to give you the benefit of the doubt and not assume you were up to no good, but only because I know how you are. So what exactly are you doing?"
"Sitting here, listening to you complain. Before that, I was trying to wake you up, which I obviously succeeded in doing. You didn't wake up even when I shook you pretty hard."
"And you decided to hit me to wake me up?"
"You'd be even more upset if I had kissed you, plus you'd have probably gotten the wrong idea, so this was the next best thing. I doubt you'd want me to wake you up by conjuring some water and dumping it on your face, right?"
He sighed, unable to contest her statements. "Alright, fine. Now, get off, would you? ...Wait, why would you have kissed me to wake me up?"
"You know that one story about the handsome prince who kisses that girl to break some curse or something and wake her up? It'd be kind of like that, but with the roles reversed and the absence of a curse."
"I don't remember any such story, but I never did read such things very much. Now, about the 'letting me get up' part?"
She shook her head. "It's morning, we just woke up, and I need to be fed. You might want to lay back down, or stay laying there, for a few minutes afterward. You're still wearing the amulet, right?"
He frowned. "It's on the nightstand. I'm not the type of person who wears jewelry to bed."
She looked and it was indeed on the nightstand. She used a little telekinesis to grab it, then handed it to the hero. "Put it on."
"So you're trying to order me around now? I thought Dark Elves were more the type to do that, not succubi." He put the amulet on, then tried to stretch, despite her still sitting on him.
"You have to wear that amulet to recover quickly after feeding me. Now, how about it?"
"How about what? Feeding you? I can't exactly sit up in this situation..."
"True, which is why I'll lean down when you're ready." She paused for a second, then started blushing. "Hey, um... You want to try something?"
"Depends on what that something is."
"Well, I want to try a little 'tongue action' and see what it's like. Are you willing?"
His face went noticeably red. "Does this have to do with the time before last?"
She nodded. "A little."
"And you're asking me if I'm willing to put my tongue in the mouth of a succubus, while letting her put her tongue in mine?"
She nodded again, looking at him with a slight pleading look.
"Alright, why not? Let's do it." Giving in to her wish, he relaxed a little, trying to ready himself.
She giggled with glee, put her hands on his cheeks, and repositioned herself so she could lean down and kiss him without "bumping into anything". They shared a very deep kiss as she fed off of his spirit energy. They put their tongues in one another's mouths and licked around, entwining their tongues as they kissed. After getting enough spirit energy, she slowly broke the kiss off and looked him in the eye. Both of their faces were red, and the hero was obviously tired. She quickly got off of him and out of bed. As she went to put her boots back on, she shyly said, "Um... That was good."
The hero recovered enough to talk within seconds, thanks to the amulet. He cleared his throat and said, "Thanks. Are you, uh, all set?"
All she had left to do was put on her cloak and grab her staff. She gestured toward said items, then asked, "You need any help with your armor?"
He stood up, then shook his head as he walked over to the neatly arranged pile that was his armor.
"Do you want any help with your armor?"
"No. What about you? Do you need or want any help with your hair or anything?"
"I'm fine. We should get going."
Once the hero was done putting his armor on, the two of them stepped out into the hall.
...
This time, it was Amarantha who woke up first. Noticing that she and Zeraine were still in each other's arms, she decided to snuggle while she waited for him to wake up. A few minutes of watching him sleep later, he woke up. "Good morning, Ammie."
"Good morning, Zeraine."
They gave each other a "good morning" kiss and got up, got dressed and gathered their things. As they were about to leave the room, Amarantha said, "Hey, Zeraine?"
"Yeah?"
"I love you." She gave him a hug and a kiss, causing him to smile.
"I love you, too." He returned the hug and kiss, then they stepped out into the hall. When they did, they noticed the hero and the succubus doing the same. The four of them checked out of the inn, stopped long enough to eat a decent sized breakfast at a restaurant, said restaurant being not nearly as fancy as the one they ate dinner in last night.
Once they left the city via the gate and were back on the road, the hero said, "Well, we'll head west, to the coast, just like the gold dragon suggested. Let's go."
After about an hour of walking, they heard yelling and the sound of metal clanging. They stopped long enough for the hero to strap his shield to his arm and Zeraine to ready his great sword. After preparing for battle, they cautiously followed the noise.
Chapter 35
Spoiler: show
The party heard a couple of yells and the death-scream of a man, which caused them to run. When they arrived, they found a man in very evil-looking armor attacking an Order stagecoach. The knights were fighting back quite well, but they were still visibly losing. One knight lay dead, a large gash on his chest. The assailant was fighting with a claymore, and was driving back the five remaining Order knights, who were armed with long swords and shields.
Zeraine couldn't help but utter, "Whoa..."
As the hero prepared to charge in to help, one knight managed a lucky strike, which seemed to behead the attacker. Something was wrong, though. The body turned as if to look at the head, then back to the knights. Pure darkness began seeping out of the man's neck and a deep, echoing laugh resounded from the head.
The succubus grabbed the hero by his arm, then threw her arms around his shoulders, stopping him from charging in. He turned to look at her and saw that her face was abnormally pale. Before he could ask what's wrong, she looked into his eyes. Terrified, she said, "It's a Dullahan! Be extremely careful. They're incredibly powerful."
Zeraine said, "I'm not sure I can take a Dullahan by myself..."
Amarantha nodded. "I'm sure I could do well if I were to transform into my true form, but we don't know if these guys are from the good part of The Order like the kid here, or if it's from the xenophobic zealots that are taking over."
The hero swallowed nervously. He remembered reading about how skilled and powerful Dullahans were, and was not looking forward to fighting one. He looked at the succubus. "You know that disguise you had when we met? Do it." She nodded as he looked at Zeraine. "Alright, Zeraine, you and I will rush in and distract it, Amarantha will be ready to step in, and our mage will attack from a safe distance. Let's go!"
The hero charged in, shield half up, watching the Dullahan's movements. Zeraine was right behind him, great sword raised. Amarantha got ready to rush in, and the succubus readied a lightning spell after assuming her disguise. The Dullahan was just about to disarm and kill one of the knights, but he heard the footsteps of the hero and Zeraine. He gave a thumbs-down to the knights, then turned to face the hero. The hero ran in with a thrust to the right shoulder, but the Dullahan easily parried it. If it weren't for Zeraine's mighty swing that followed, the Dullahan would have finished him off. The swing was a vertical downward chop that kicked up dirt when it hit the ground after the Dullahan hopped to the side, dodging it. The hero had regained his balance and swept his sword at the Dullahan's right knee, but he simply slapped the sword off-course, causing it to harmlessly bounce off his metal boot. At the same time, Zeraine tried a diagonal left-to-right downward swing, but the Dullahan caught the sword with one hand, stopping it.
Amarantha took that as her cue to rush in. "Dragon Kick!" She rushed in and kicked the Dullahan right in the middle of its chest, knocking it down. She quickly jumped aside, getting out of the way.
The succubus, with excellent timing, called down a lightning bolt to strike the Dullahan before he could get back up. This caused him to yell in pain and spasm. It looked at little strange seeing the headless body spasming on the ground while the head, which was on the ground several feet away, yelled in pain, but the danger didn't allow for the slightest pause, even for the shortest of witty comments. The hero, Zeraine, and Amarantha quickly backed away and got ready for the next attack. The knights, more than happy to receive the help, finally acknowledged the party. Fortunately, they didn't seem to have seen the succubus before she put up her disguise. "Thanks for the assist!"
The hero nodded at them, then looked at the Dullahan as he got up. The Dullahan raised his hand, reaching out for his head, which floated to his hand. He laughed as he put his head back on.
"Destroy the head! That's the only way to kill it!" the succubus said as she prepared a fireball.
The Dullahan glared at the succubus, then gave her an evil smile. The hero got a sick feeling in his gut, then yelled, "NO!"
The Dullahan charged at the succubus. She hit him square in the chest with the fireball, which did nothing. The orange shimmer indicated he had a fire shield active. Two lightning bolts, one from Zeraine and one from Amarantha, hit the Dullahan, causing him to stumble long enough for the succubus to use an ice spell to freeze his feet to the ground. After seeing that the Dullahan was stuck, the hero, Zeraine, and Amarantha all rushed in and began attacking. Despite being unable to move his feet, the Dullahan managed to block or parry every attack and even do a few attacks of his own. The three were able to evade or defend against the attacks, but they still came close to doing damage.
The succubus shouted, "Aim for his head, damn it!" She poured a lot of power into an ice spell, ready to cast it.
Zeraine shouted back, "Easier said than done! This guy's good!"
The Dullahan laughed. "Thank you for the compliment, human. You're pretty good yourself."
The unexpected comment caused everyone to pause, which created an opening that the Dullahan attempted to exploit. Unfortunately for him, the hero, Zeraine, and Amarantha had quick enough reflexes to thwart it. Before he could swing again, the succubus unleashed her ice spell, encasing his right shoulder and upper arm in ice. Amarantha used a high roundhouse kick to knock his head off, then said, "Kid, do it!"
The hero rushed over to the Dullahan's head. "What made you attack them?"
The Dullahan sneered. The succubus saw that the ice on his shoulder was beginning to crack. "Kill him!"
Without further hesitation or pause, the hero stabbed his sword down through the Dullahan's head, killing it. Its body and head dissolved in black smoke and dissipated.
The threat gone, the party checked on the people they had saved. One of the knights stepped forward. "I can't thank you enough. You saved our lives."
Zeraine asked, "Did you guys try to use gold?"
The knight nodded. "Either that's some silly myth, or this one wasn't afraid. We tried showing it a few gold coins, but it didn't react to them."
The hero asked, "What chapter are you from and where are you going?"
The knight replied, "We're heading back to our chapter now. Or rather, we were before we were attacked. Thanks again for saving us."
The succubus, disguised as the pretty woman with brown hair and green eyes, walked up to the hero. "Are you okay?"
He nodded. "What about you?"
Still shaking, she looked in his eyes with impotent anger. "What do you think?"
He hugged her, trying to calm her down.
One of the other knights stepped forward and shook hands with Zeraine, then Amarantha. "That was some excellent teamwork. Had we hand warriors of your level, as well as a mage, we might have stood a chance. Alas, the only man with us that was any good with magic is dead. He tried to hit the Dullahan with a flaming punch, but nearly got cut completely open..."
After letting the succubus rest her head on his chest for several seconds, the hero asked, "You good now?"
She nodded and let go. As she did, the knight that had shaken hands with Zeraine and Amarantha approached and shook hands with the hero, then her. He said, "Nice use of ice and lightning, miss. Why didn't fire do anything?"
Her voice now mostly calm again, she replied, "He had a fire shield up. It was apparently strong enough to make him immune to fire."
The hero looked around at the stagecoach, noticing that it seemed to be heading in the same direction as he and his companions were. "Should the four of us escort you back to your chapter?"
The knight shrugged. "If you don't mind doing so, it'd be reassuring for us. After what just happened..."
The hero nodded. "We'll go with you back to your chapter, then continue on our way."
After the survivors collected the body of their fallen comrade, the hero and party walked with them in the direction of their chapter. While on the way, Zeraine commented, "That Dullahan used an ordinary steel claymore and fought six guys at once, never taking a single hit, then he killed one of them and nearly overwhelmed us when we attacked! The bastard had some skills, that's for sure. I couldn't have took him by myself."
The hero gave a sharp exhale. "And if it weren't for you attacking right after me, he'd have killed me. He was so far beyond my level it's ridiculous."
The rest of the trip proved uneventful and they arrived at the "home chapter" of these Order knights without incident. Fortunately for the hero and party, the succubus recognized it as being another of the "good" Order chapters. She was still unwilling to drop her disguise, though.
They arrived at the gate and called out to the guards.
Zeraine couldn't help but utter, "Whoa..."
As the hero prepared to charge in to help, one knight managed a lucky strike, which seemed to behead the attacker. Something was wrong, though. The body turned as if to look at the head, then back to the knights. Pure darkness began seeping out of the man's neck and a deep, echoing laugh resounded from the head.
The succubus grabbed the hero by his arm, then threw her arms around his shoulders, stopping him from charging in. He turned to look at her and saw that her face was abnormally pale. Before he could ask what's wrong, she looked into his eyes. Terrified, she said, "It's a Dullahan! Be extremely careful. They're incredibly powerful."
Zeraine said, "I'm not sure I can take a Dullahan by myself..."
Amarantha nodded. "I'm sure I could do well if I were to transform into my true form, but we don't know if these guys are from the good part of The Order like the kid here, or if it's from the xenophobic zealots that are taking over."
The hero swallowed nervously. He remembered reading about how skilled and powerful Dullahans were, and was not looking forward to fighting one. He looked at the succubus. "You know that disguise you had when we met? Do it." She nodded as he looked at Zeraine. "Alright, Zeraine, you and I will rush in and distract it, Amarantha will be ready to step in, and our mage will attack from a safe distance. Let's go!"
The hero charged in, shield half up, watching the Dullahan's movements. Zeraine was right behind him, great sword raised. Amarantha got ready to rush in, and the succubus readied a lightning spell after assuming her disguise. The Dullahan was just about to disarm and kill one of the knights, but he heard the footsteps of the hero and Zeraine. He gave a thumbs-down to the knights, then turned to face the hero. The hero ran in with a thrust to the right shoulder, but the Dullahan easily parried it. If it weren't for Zeraine's mighty swing that followed, the Dullahan would have finished him off. The swing was a vertical downward chop that kicked up dirt when it hit the ground after the Dullahan hopped to the side, dodging it. The hero had regained his balance and swept his sword at the Dullahan's right knee, but he simply slapped the sword off-course, causing it to harmlessly bounce off his metal boot. At the same time, Zeraine tried a diagonal left-to-right downward swing, but the Dullahan caught the sword with one hand, stopping it.
Amarantha took that as her cue to rush in. "Dragon Kick!" She rushed in and kicked the Dullahan right in the middle of its chest, knocking it down. She quickly jumped aside, getting out of the way.
The succubus, with excellent timing, called down a lightning bolt to strike the Dullahan before he could get back up. This caused him to yell in pain and spasm. It looked at little strange seeing the headless body spasming on the ground while the head, which was on the ground several feet away, yelled in pain, but the danger didn't allow for the slightest pause, even for the shortest of witty comments. The hero, Zeraine, and Amarantha quickly backed away and got ready for the next attack. The knights, more than happy to receive the help, finally acknowledged the party. Fortunately, they didn't seem to have seen the succubus before she put up her disguise. "Thanks for the assist!"
The hero nodded at them, then looked at the Dullahan as he got up. The Dullahan raised his hand, reaching out for his head, which floated to his hand. He laughed as he put his head back on.
"Destroy the head! That's the only way to kill it!" the succubus said as she prepared a fireball.
The Dullahan glared at the succubus, then gave her an evil smile. The hero got a sick feeling in his gut, then yelled, "NO!"
The Dullahan charged at the succubus. She hit him square in the chest with the fireball, which did nothing. The orange shimmer indicated he had a fire shield active. Two lightning bolts, one from Zeraine and one from Amarantha, hit the Dullahan, causing him to stumble long enough for the succubus to use an ice spell to freeze his feet to the ground. After seeing that the Dullahan was stuck, the hero, Zeraine, and Amarantha all rushed in and began attacking. Despite being unable to move his feet, the Dullahan managed to block or parry every attack and even do a few attacks of his own. The three were able to evade or defend against the attacks, but they still came close to doing damage.
The succubus shouted, "Aim for his head, damn it!" She poured a lot of power into an ice spell, ready to cast it.
Zeraine shouted back, "Easier said than done! This guy's good!"
The Dullahan laughed. "Thank you for the compliment, human. You're pretty good yourself."
The unexpected comment caused everyone to pause, which created an opening that the Dullahan attempted to exploit. Unfortunately for him, the hero, Zeraine, and Amarantha had quick enough reflexes to thwart it. Before he could swing again, the succubus unleashed her ice spell, encasing his right shoulder and upper arm in ice. Amarantha used a high roundhouse kick to knock his head off, then said, "Kid, do it!"
The hero rushed over to the Dullahan's head. "What made you attack them?"
The Dullahan sneered. The succubus saw that the ice on his shoulder was beginning to crack. "Kill him!"
Without further hesitation or pause, the hero stabbed his sword down through the Dullahan's head, killing it. Its body and head dissolved in black smoke and dissipated.
The threat gone, the party checked on the people they had saved. One of the knights stepped forward. "I can't thank you enough. You saved our lives."
Zeraine asked, "Did you guys try to use gold?"
The knight nodded. "Either that's some silly myth, or this one wasn't afraid. We tried showing it a few gold coins, but it didn't react to them."
The hero asked, "What chapter are you from and where are you going?"
The knight replied, "We're heading back to our chapter now. Or rather, we were before we were attacked. Thanks again for saving us."
The succubus, disguised as the pretty woman with brown hair and green eyes, walked up to the hero. "Are you okay?"
He nodded. "What about you?"
Still shaking, she looked in his eyes with impotent anger. "What do you think?"
He hugged her, trying to calm her down.
One of the other knights stepped forward and shook hands with Zeraine, then Amarantha. "That was some excellent teamwork. Had we hand warriors of your level, as well as a mage, we might have stood a chance. Alas, the only man with us that was any good with magic is dead. He tried to hit the Dullahan with a flaming punch, but nearly got cut completely open..."
After letting the succubus rest her head on his chest for several seconds, the hero asked, "You good now?"
She nodded and let go. As she did, the knight that had shaken hands with Zeraine and Amarantha approached and shook hands with the hero, then her. He said, "Nice use of ice and lightning, miss. Why didn't fire do anything?"
Her voice now mostly calm again, she replied, "He had a fire shield up. It was apparently strong enough to make him immune to fire."
The hero looked around at the stagecoach, noticing that it seemed to be heading in the same direction as he and his companions were. "Should the four of us escort you back to your chapter?"
The knight shrugged. "If you don't mind doing so, it'd be reassuring for us. After what just happened..."
The hero nodded. "We'll go with you back to your chapter, then continue on our way."
After the survivors collected the body of their fallen comrade, the hero and party walked with them in the direction of their chapter. While on the way, Zeraine commented, "That Dullahan used an ordinary steel claymore and fought six guys at once, never taking a single hit, then he killed one of them and nearly overwhelmed us when we attacked! The bastard had some skills, that's for sure. I couldn't have took him by myself."
The hero gave a sharp exhale. "And if it weren't for you attacking right after me, he'd have killed me. He was so far beyond my level it's ridiculous."
The rest of the trip proved uneventful and they arrived at the "home chapter" of these Order knights without incident. Fortunately for the hero and party, the succubus recognized it as being another of the "good" Order chapters. She was still unwilling to drop her disguise, though.
They arrived at the gate and called out to the guards.
Chapter 36
Spoiler: show
They had been let in without any problems and were now talking to the head of the chapter. The hero had explained to the man about his mission from the Grandmaster and his need for support. The man closed his eyes in deep thought, then said, "While we do owe you for saving us from that Dullahan, to ask us to repay you by fighting against an army of them-"
The hero cut him off. "The battle won't happen any time soon. We need to unite as many Order chapters, city and town militaries, county armies, and monster volunteers as possible. You'll have plenty of time to train your men so they'll stand a chance against the Demon Lord's army, and you won't be alone. If things go as I plan, we will outnumber them."
The man nodded. "Well, humanity itself will perish if we don't fight back, and we are in your debt. From the sound of things, we'll have plenty of time to prepare, so that's another plus. We'll help you. Please, stay here for the night. You and your friends earned it."
The hero smiled. "Thank you."
The meeting over, the hero and party were brought to the guest house of the chapter. The guest houses at the Order chapters were usually used for when officials of various influential groups traveled under Order protection, giving them safe places to stop and sleep at during the night. Their guide, who was the second-in-command, said, "It might be a tad uncomfortable for you due to there being four of you. We apologize for any discomfort. Usually, there's only one, two at the most, who use the guest house."
The hero waved his hand. "It's fine. Thank you for your hospitality."
The second-in-command bowed respectfully. "Anything for a brother or sister of The Order."
He left, leaving the team to themselves. The hero looked everyone in the eye, then they all nodded at each other and sat down on the floor in a circle-like formation. "As you three know, we are hurting for strength and skill, despite having a veteran spellsword and a silver dragon on our team. That Dullahan would have killed me if Zeraine hadn't attacked him right after me, and he would have killed you," he said, looking at the succubus, "had Zeraine and Amarantha not nailed him with their lightning magic. Because they did, you ended up with enough time to freeze him in place, but he still easily defended against us, despite that."
Zeraine nodded. "Even though you, me, and Ammie were all attacking him at once, AND even though his feet were frozen to the ground, rendering him unable to walk, we still couldn't get any hits in. It wasn't until our mage froze his right arm that we were able to kill him. Despite my experience and skill, I admit I couldn't have taken him alone. Even with Ammie's help, I doubt I could have handled him."
Amarantha gave Zeraine a light slap to his armored upper-arm, which hurt a little despite the steel plate and padding underneath. "Because we didn't know whether or not these Order guys were good, I couldn't transform back to my dragon form. If I did, you and I could have stomped his ass. In my dragon form, my ice breath is plenty effective to freeze him in his entirety, and-"
Zeraine interrupted her. "Ammie, we can't always rely on your true form. Despite you being one hell of a martial artist, you still can't handle a Dullahan, even with my help. And I doubt your chlorine breath would faze him."
The hero butted in, "Wait, you can breathe chlorine gas?"
Amarantha nodded. "In my true form, yes. Judging by the times I've used it in the past, it's deadly. Zeraine could be right, though, considering that the Dullahan is a type of undead. Poison usually doesn't work on undead creatures. Still, my size, power, speed, and ice breath in my dragon form would have given us what we needed to win without the difficulty we faced. And before you repeat it, yes, I understand that I couldn't use my true form because we didn't know if they were good or not."
The hero sighed. "So what do we do? Obviously, I need a lot of work, and I need to learn some powerful magic. Sword and shield alone won't be anywhere near sufficient. I suppose for the time being, I could make do with some simple, if weak, spells, just to practice and get used to using magic. Could you guys teach me?"
Zeraine grinned. "You've got a good head on your shoulders, kid. Your beloved succubus could teach you actual magic better than Ammie or I could, but I could show you a few things about swords and spears. Ammie can teach you some hand-to-hand stuff, and I guess for something simple, I could teach you a couple of Signs."
"Signs? What are those and what kind of magic are they?" the hero asked.
The succubus answered, "Signs are very simple magic techniques, used by a certain group of professional monster-slayers for hire. I can't remember what they're called, but that's irrelevant. Anyway, Signs are quick and easy, which is why they use them most often. All you need is concentrated will and a handsign. I know them, and it seems Zeraine knows them, too. Either one of us could teach you. One thing about them, though, is that they use your physical energy, not your spirit energy. I took a look at your armor and saw that it has a powerful enchantment that restores your physical energy quickly. This would enable you to use Signs fairly frequently until you're ready for the higher-level stuff. Once you get into that, you'll be using your spirit energy to cast spells, so that amulet we bought from Sol will be invaluable. You'll have to use it, probably never taking it off unless we find or buy a better one, so that you'll be able to cast spells and feed me enough. If you use magic too often, you'll need to drink our potions that we bought. After all, you have to feed me your spirit energy, plus you have to use it for casting spells, and that amulet, as nice as it is, won't be able to handle all of that."
The hero nodded. "Sounds like, if those Signs are useful enough, I'll have to use them most often until we can either stockpile a ridiculous amount of potions that restore spirit energy, or somehow get me to have such a high amount of it, possibly with a fast enough recovery rate, that I can do whatever I need to. I don't know how we'd accomplish that, though. Practice?"
She hesitated in her reply. "Um, you know, if you became an incubus, you'd have so much spirit energy that feeding me and slinging spells everywhere wouldn't be a problem." Her face started turning red.
Before the hero could question her, Zeraine asked, "Hey, what about me and Sol? Both of us are almost incubi, and we aren't much more powerful or anything than we were as full-humans."
The succubus said, "That's because you're not actually incubi yet. When you've fully made the transition, you'll feel an explosive increase in spirit energy capacity and magic power."
Seemingly satisfied with that, Zeraine nodded and asked, "So how would I go about completing the transition? Go to an area with a high concentration of demonic energy and sit around until I grow horns?"
The hero frowned. "Look, becoming an incubus is not an option. Sure, I'm obviously uncomfortable with the idea of becoming one, but it'd take too much time even if I had no qualms about it. Are there any other options?"
The succubus looked at Zeraine. "Not everybody grows horns. Some do, some get wings similar to mine, some grow tails not that different from mine, some get combinations of the three, some get all three, and some don't get any new features, except maybe slightly better looks. I don't know how you'll turn out, but that method would take too long, even with your 'progress'." She looked at the hero and blushed, then glanced around at everyone. "...Which leads us to the next thing. Um, there's a way to speed it up, but..."
The hero raised an eyebrow and pressured her. "What is it?"
Her face went red when she looked at him. "Well, for Zeraine, if Amarantha is good at channeling and manipulating demonic energy, she could 'inject' it into him as they made love, but it'd make the sex less fun because they'd both need to concentrate. Her to channel the energy into him, and him to accept and absorb the energy. If he doesn't concentrate on it, his body could reject it, thus making her efforts wasted. If she doesn't concentrate, he won't get enough for anything to happen. There is the option of just channeling the energy into him through her, but doing it through sex is easiest. As for you, um..."
As she tried to work up the nerve to tell the hero, Zeraine and Amarantha were looking at each other, silently communicating, discussing the issue simply by looking into each other's eyes. Their bond was that strong. They were that close. They silently agreed to pursue it at the next available opportunity.
The hero, tired of the succubus's stalling, forcefully said, "Spit it out, woman!"
She glared at him, then used the anger to enable herself to tell him. "If you had enough demonic energy channeled into you, you could become an incubus quickly, as well. That would require either someone very skilled at manipulating demonic energy, with large reserves of it, some such person in an area with enough demonic energy to pull it off, or enough sex with a succubus." Her anger subsided, making way for embarrassment over her comment.
The hero's face went red as he took in what she just said. "Are you suggesting that you'd be the succubus?"
Her face went redder. "You won't accept any others, will you? And I'm the only one you're familiar with, so you'd probably be more comfortable with me doing it than any other succubus, right?"
The hero's face got redder, too. "Uh, well, I guess I trust you due to knowing you, which means I'd be able to accept it more readily than from anyone else, but..."
"But what?"
"Well, I'm not comfortable with the thought of my first time being out of some desperate move to ensure my survival or whatever."
"I feel the same way, but what can we do? If the Demon Lord decides to start sending TEAMS of Dullahans after us, we won't stand a chance unless you and Zeraine both become incubi. For you to become an incubus soon enough, you and I will have to fuck like rabbits."
The hero's face was completely red after her comment, as was hers. He collected himself and said, "Still, I'd prefer my first time to be with someone I love, with nothing 'extra' in the way. I don't want it to be out of need to survive, desperation, or whatever, nor do I want to have anything else forcing me to do it. I don't know how you feel about the matter, but personally, I'd like to see you do the same; save yourself for the man you end up with and do it out of love."
Unbeknownst to him, he had just proven himself worthy of her in her eyes. She said, "I appreciate your feelings. I'd like to do just that, but we need to be realistic. We all need to get stronger, and this is the fastest way. I suppose you could take comfort in knowing that I like you."
Zeraine and Amarantha suddenly had mischievous grins on their faces, but they waited. The hero asked, "What? Look, I know you like me. You said so back in the echidna's dungeon. I'm a good person in your eyes, and that's why you like me, but for me, sex-friends isn't good enough."
The succubus sighed. "Damn, you're dense."
Offended, the hero said, "What was that?"
She glared at him. "I'm trying to get though to you, dumbass!"
He frowned. "And just what are you trying to get through to me?"
"I love you, you idiot." She looked away in embarrassment.
After being stunned for a full three seconds, the hero said, "Wait, what? Since when?"
"Since you proved yourself to me a minute or so ago. I've decided that you're the man I want. Knowing this, would you be comfortable with having sex with me?"
He began stuttering, but managed to reply. "Wait, this, this is a little too much at once! I mean, um..."
She gently shoved him down and kissed him, mouth to mouth. This time, she didn't feed at all. This time, it was a kiss to express her feelings. "Get over it."
"Now wait, this is quite a shock, you know?"
She kissed him again. "How do you feel about me? Do you love me?"
"Uh, I don't know. I do have a fairly favorable opinion of you, and I think you're a very interesting person. Does that count?"
"You don't seem to be resisting my attempts to kiss you. Are you starting to enjoy kissing me? Are you starting to want to lock lips with me?"
"Uh..." The hero was too nervous to reply anymore.
She got off him, letting him sit up. "Now, feed me."
With only a slight hesitation at the start, the hero kissed her to feed her. After feeding her, and recovering from the drain, she said, "Now, I want you to kiss me of your own free will."
He hesitated more now than he did before feeding her, but he did so. He made an effort to make it a good kiss. After they broke it off, he asked, "How'd I do?"
She gave a satisfied nod. "Not bad."
Finally, Zeraine couldn't stay quiet anymore. "So, you guys finally confessed and did some necking. It's about damn time."
Amarantha scooted over next to Zeraine and said, "Yeah, we were beginning to get worried that you two might not ever realize your mutual feelings. Sure, only she flat out confessed, but it's a start. All that needs to happen now is for you to admit to yourself that you like her, then confess to her, kid."
Their comments brought the hero and the succubus back to their senses, as well as reminding them that they were not alone. The hero looked at Zeraine and Amarantha, his face quickly reddening as he realized that they had seen and heard everything, as well as how he had completely lost awareness of the fact that they were there when he and the succubus had this little incident. He passed out from embarrassment.
The succubus glared at them. "What, you want to try to make a big deal out of this or something? You should be focusing on what to teach him, as well as fucking until you become an incubus," she said, looking at Zeraine.
Amarantha said, "Calm down. We're just happy for you. Still, you're a succubus. How did you make it this long without a man?"
"Didn't I tell you already? My pride, my willpower, and fruit from the demon realm."
The hero quickly recovered, sitting back up in a half-daze. Zeraine said, "Hey, I've got a quick question. You feed off of spirit energy to 'refill' your own demonic energy, right? What about our potions? Couldn't you have used those instead of leeching off the kid?"
The succubus shook her head. "I don't know exactly how they work, but they don't affect that. No matter how many potions I drank, I'd still have to feed, be it from demon realm fruit, due to its properties, or from a man, which from now on will undoubtedly be ONLY him." She looked at the hero with a look of part-love, part-lust. She broke her gaze and looked at the others. "Well, what about you two? Have you thought any at all about any of this?"
Amarantha nodded. "While you two were deepening your bond, Zeraine and I discussed it. I think I can manipulate demonic energy well enough to channel it into him at night. We can't do it here, but we've agreed to do it at every available opportunity."
The succubus looked confused. "Wait, you two never talked!"
Amarantha cuddled up to Zeraine. "We're so close that we can discuss things without talking."
The hero stared for a second, then shook his head. "Moving on, is there anything else of immediate importance?"
The party continued brainstorming, trying to think of everything they could.
The hero cut him off. "The battle won't happen any time soon. We need to unite as many Order chapters, city and town militaries, county armies, and monster volunteers as possible. You'll have plenty of time to train your men so they'll stand a chance against the Demon Lord's army, and you won't be alone. If things go as I plan, we will outnumber them."
The man nodded. "Well, humanity itself will perish if we don't fight back, and we are in your debt. From the sound of things, we'll have plenty of time to prepare, so that's another plus. We'll help you. Please, stay here for the night. You and your friends earned it."
The hero smiled. "Thank you."
The meeting over, the hero and party were brought to the guest house of the chapter. The guest houses at the Order chapters were usually used for when officials of various influential groups traveled under Order protection, giving them safe places to stop and sleep at during the night. Their guide, who was the second-in-command, said, "It might be a tad uncomfortable for you due to there being four of you. We apologize for any discomfort. Usually, there's only one, two at the most, who use the guest house."
The hero waved his hand. "It's fine. Thank you for your hospitality."
The second-in-command bowed respectfully. "Anything for a brother or sister of The Order."
He left, leaving the team to themselves. The hero looked everyone in the eye, then they all nodded at each other and sat down on the floor in a circle-like formation. "As you three know, we are hurting for strength and skill, despite having a veteran spellsword and a silver dragon on our team. That Dullahan would have killed me if Zeraine hadn't attacked him right after me, and he would have killed you," he said, looking at the succubus, "had Zeraine and Amarantha not nailed him with their lightning magic. Because they did, you ended up with enough time to freeze him in place, but he still easily defended against us, despite that."
Zeraine nodded. "Even though you, me, and Ammie were all attacking him at once, AND even though his feet were frozen to the ground, rendering him unable to walk, we still couldn't get any hits in. It wasn't until our mage froze his right arm that we were able to kill him. Despite my experience and skill, I admit I couldn't have taken him alone. Even with Ammie's help, I doubt I could have handled him."
Amarantha gave Zeraine a light slap to his armored upper-arm, which hurt a little despite the steel plate and padding underneath. "Because we didn't know whether or not these Order guys were good, I couldn't transform back to my dragon form. If I did, you and I could have stomped his ass. In my dragon form, my ice breath is plenty effective to freeze him in his entirety, and-"
Zeraine interrupted her. "Ammie, we can't always rely on your true form. Despite you being one hell of a martial artist, you still can't handle a Dullahan, even with my help. And I doubt your chlorine breath would faze him."
The hero butted in, "Wait, you can breathe chlorine gas?"
Amarantha nodded. "In my true form, yes. Judging by the times I've used it in the past, it's deadly. Zeraine could be right, though, considering that the Dullahan is a type of undead. Poison usually doesn't work on undead creatures. Still, my size, power, speed, and ice breath in my dragon form would have given us what we needed to win without the difficulty we faced. And before you repeat it, yes, I understand that I couldn't use my true form because we didn't know if they were good or not."
The hero sighed. "So what do we do? Obviously, I need a lot of work, and I need to learn some powerful magic. Sword and shield alone won't be anywhere near sufficient. I suppose for the time being, I could make do with some simple, if weak, spells, just to practice and get used to using magic. Could you guys teach me?"
Zeraine grinned. "You've got a good head on your shoulders, kid. Your beloved succubus could teach you actual magic better than Ammie or I could, but I could show you a few things about swords and spears. Ammie can teach you some hand-to-hand stuff, and I guess for something simple, I could teach you a couple of Signs."
"Signs? What are those and what kind of magic are they?" the hero asked.
The succubus answered, "Signs are very simple magic techniques, used by a certain group of professional monster-slayers for hire. I can't remember what they're called, but that's irrelevant. Anyway, Signs are quick and easy, which is why they use them most often. All you need is concentrated will and a handsign. I know them, and it seems Zeraine knows them, too. Either one of us could teach you. One thing about them, though, is that they use your physical energy, not your spirit energy. I took a look at your armor and saw that it has a powerful enchantment that restores your physical energy quickly. This would enable you to use Signs fairly frequently until you're ready for the higher-level stuff. Once you get into that, you'll be using your spirit energy to cast spells, so that amulet we bought from Sol will be invaluable. You'll have to use it, probably never taking it off unless we find or buy a better one, so that you'll be able to cast spells and feed me enough. If you use magic too often, you'll need to drink our potions that we bought. After all, you have to feed me your spirit energy, plus you have to use it for casting spells, and that amulet, as nice as it is, won't be able to handle all of that."
The hero nodded. "Sounds like, if those Signs are useful enough, I'll have to use them most often until we can either stockpile a ridiculous amount of potions that restore spirit energy, or somehow get me to have such a high amount of it, possibly with a fast enough recovery rate, that I can do whatever I need to. I don't know how we'd accomplish that, though. Practice?"
She hesitated in her reply. "Um, you know, if you became an incubus, you'd have so much spirit energy that feeding me and slinging spells everywhere wouldn't be a problem." Her face started turning red.
Before the hero could question her, Zeraine asked, "Hey, what about me and Sol? Both of us are almost incubi, and we aren't much more powerful or anything than we were as full-humans."
The succubus said, "That's because you're not actually incubi yet. When you've fully made the transition, you'll feel an explosive increase in spirit energy capacity and magic power."
Seemingly satisfied with that, Zeraine nodded and asked, "So how would I go about completing the transition? Go to an area with a high concentration of demonic energy and sit around until I grow horns?"
The hero frowned. "Look, becoming an incubus is not an option. Sure, I'm obviously uncomfortable with the idea of becoming one, but it'd take too much time even if I had no qualms about it. Are there any other options?"
The succubus looked at Zeraine. "Not everybody grows horns. Some do, some get wings similar to mine, some grow tails not that different from mine, some get combinations of the three, some get all three, and some don't get any new features, except maybe slightly better looks. I don't know how you'll turn out, but that method would take too long, even with your 'progress'." She looked at the hero and blushed, then glanced around at everyone. "...Which leads us to the next thing. Um, there's a way to speed it up, but..."
The hero raised an eyebrow and pressured her. "What is it?"
Her face went red when she looked at him. "Well, for Zeraine, if Amarantha is good at channeling and manipulating demonic energy, she could 'inject' it into him as they made love, but it'd make the sex less fun because they'd both need to concentrate. Her to channel the energy into him, and him to accept and absorb the energy. If he doesn't concentrate on it, his body could reject it, thus making her efforts wasted. If she doesn't concentrate, he won't get enough for anything to happen. There is the option of just channeling the energy into him through her, but doing it through sex is easiest. As for you, um..."
As she tried to work up the nerve to tell the hero, Zeraine and Amarantha were looking at each other, silently communicating, discussing the issue simply by looking into each other's eyes. Their bond was that strong. They were that close. They silently agreed to pursue it at the next available opportunity.
The hero, tired of the succubus's stalling, forcefully said, "Spit it out, woman!"
She glared at him, then used the anger to enable herself to tell him. "If you had enough demonic energy channeled into you, you could become an incubus quickly, as well. That would require either someone very skilled at manipulating demonic energy, with large reserves of it, some such person in an area with enough demonic energy to pull it off, or enough sex with a succubus." Her anger subsided, making way for embarrassment over her comment.
The hero's face went red as he took in what she just said. "Are you suggesting that you'd be the succubus?"
Her face went redder. "You won't accept any others, will you? And I'm the only one you're familiar with, so you'd probably be more comfortable with me doing it than any other succubus, right?"
The hero's face got redder, too. "Uh, well, I guess I trust you due to knowing you, which means I'd be able to accept it more readily than from anyone else, but..."
"But what?"
"Well, I'm not comfortable with the thought of my first time being out of some desperate move to ensure my survival or whatever."
"I feel the same way, but what can we do? If the Demon Lord decides to start sending TEAMS of Dullahans after us, we won't stand a chance unless you and Zeraine both become incubi. For you to become an incubus soon enough, you and I will have to fuck like rabbits."
The hero's face was completely red after her comment, as was hers. He collected himself and said, "Still, I'd prefer my first time to be with someone I love, with nothing 'extra' in the way. I don't want it to be out of need to survive, desperation, or whatever, nor do I want to have anything else forcing me to do it. I don't know how you feel about the matter, but personally, I'd like to see you do the same; save yourself for the man you end up with and do it out of love."
Unbeknownst to him, he had just proven himself worthy of her in her eyes. She said, "I appreciate your feelings. I'd like to do just that, but we need to be realistic. We all need to get stronger, and this is the fastest way. I suppose you could take comfort in knowing that I like you."
Zeraine and Amarantha suddenly had mischievous grins on their faces, but they waited. The hero asked, "What? Look, I know you like me. You said so back in the echidna's dungeon. I'm a good person in your eyes, and that's why you like me, but for me, sex-friends isn't good enough."
The succubus sighed. "Damn, you're dense."
Offended, the hero said, "What was that?"
She glared at him. "I'm trying to get though to you, dumbass!"
He frowned. "And just what are you trying to get through to me?"
"I love you, you idiot." She looked away in embarrassment.
After being stunned for a full three seconds, the hero said, "Wait, what? Since when?"
"Since you proved yourself to me a minute or so ago. I've decided that you're the man I want. Knowing this, would you be comfortable with having sex with me?"
He began stuttering, but managed to reply. "Wait, this, this is a little too much at once! I mean, um..."
She gently shoved him down and kissed him, mouth to mouth. This time, she didn't feed at all. This time, it was a kiss to express her feelings. "Get over it."
"Now wait, this is quite a shock, you know?"
She kissed him again. "How do you feel about me? Do you love me?"
"Uh, I don't know. I do have a fairly favorable opinion of you, and I think you're a very interesting person. Does that count?"
"You don't seem to be resisting my attempts to kiss you. Are you starting to enjoy kissing me? Are you starting to want to lock lips with me?"
"Uh..." The hero was too nervous to reply anymore.
She got off him, letting him sit up. "Now, feed me."
With only a slight hesitation at the start, the hero kissed her to feed her. After feeding her, and recovering from the drain, she said, "Now, I want you to kiss me of your own free will."
He hesitated more now than he did before feeding her, but he did so. He made an effort to make it a good kiss. After they broke it off, he asked, "How'd I do?"
She gave a satisfied nod. "Not bad."
Finally, Zeraine couldn't stay quiet anymore. "So, you guys finally confessed and did some necking. It's about damn time."
Amarantha scooted over next to Zeraine and said, "Yeah, we were beginning to get worried that you two might not ever realize your mutual feelings. Sure, only she flat out confessed, but it's a start. All that needs to happen now is for you to admit to yourself that you like her, then confess to her, kid."
Their comments brought the hero and the succubus back to their senses, as well as reminding them that they were not alone. The hero looked at Zeraine and Amarantha, his face quickly reddening as he realized that they had seen and heard everything, as well as how he had completely lost awareness of the fact that they were there when he and the succubus had this little incident. He passed out from embarrassment.
The succubus glared at them. "What, you want to try to make a big deal out of this or something? You should be focusing on what to teach him, as well as fucking until you become an incubus," she said, looking at Zeraine.
Amarantha said, "Calm down. We're just happy for you. Still, you're a succubus. How did you make it this long without a man?"
"Didn't I tell you already? My pride, my willpower, and fruit from the demon realm."
The hero quickly recovered, sitting back up in a half-daze. Zeraine said, "Hey, I've got a quick question. You feed off of spirit energy to 'refill' your own demonic energy, right? What about our potions? Couldn't you have used those instead of leeching off the kid?"
The succubus shook her head. "I don't know exactly how they work, but they don't affect that. No matter how many potions I drank, I'd still have to feed, be it from demon realm fruit, due to its properties, or from a man, which from now on will undoubtedly be ONLY him." She looked at the hero with a look of part-love, part-lust. She broke her gaze and looked at the others. "Well, what about you two? Have you thought any at all about any of this?"
Amarantha nodded. "While you two were deepening your bond, Zeraine and I discussed it. I think I can manipulate demonic energy well enough to channel it into him at night. We can't do it here, but we've agreed to do it at every available opportunity."
The succubus looked confused. "Wait, you two never talked!"
Amarantha cuddled up to Zeraine. "We're so close that we can discuss things without talking."
The hero stared for a second, then shook his head. "Moving on, is there anything else of immediate importance?"
The party continued brainstorming, trying to think of everything they could.
Chapter 37
Spoiler: show
After minutes of silence, each member in deep thought, the hero said, "I can't really think of anything else. How about you guys?"
Everyone else shook their heads. The succubus said, "Well, since we can't think of anything else to discuss, we should get to training, practicing, and whatever else." She turned to the hero. "What do you want to learn first? Sword stuff from Zeraine, hand-to-hand stuff from Amarantha, or the Signs from me?"
"Hmm..." The hero thought for a full 5 seconds, then said, "Well, personally, I think my sword skills are good enough for the time being. Hand-to-hand would be nice to know in the event that I get disarmed, but I'd like to hear more about those Signs before I decide."
She nodded. "Well, there's four that you'd definitely find useful, and one other you might be uncomfortable with. The four that you'd find useful are Aard, Igni, Yrden, and Quen. Simply put, Aard is a telekinetic thrust that's good at knocking people down. Once you get good enough at using it, you'll be able to use it as a projectile, too. You should be able to use Igni as both a fireball and as a gush or wave of flame. You get familiar enough with it and you'll be able to use it as a constant stream of fire. Yrden is, for all intents and purposes, a magic trap. It'll damage and temporarily immobilize the enemy, but you have to get them to step on it. Quen is basically a magical shield or barrier that blocks all attacks. Unless you're really good, it'll be knocked out in a few hits against average monster enemies."
The hero considered everything. "Well, knocking down enemies would help me get out of situations like being surrounded. That Sign, Aard, was it? It'd be very useful from the sound of things. Let me guess, it'd knock and enemy's shield away?"
"If you hit them just right with it, yes. You'd probably be better off just hitting them squarely to knock them on their ass so you can finish them off quickly, or knock down a few enemies to gain a better position."
"That fire one, Igni, would help, too. From the sound of things, it'd have utility uses as well, so..."
"If you wanted to light a fire, yes, you could use Igni to do so. Right now, though, we're focusing on teaching you how to use it to set an enemy on fire."
"Right. Well, anyway, that trap Sign, Yrden; how similar is it to other magic traps?"
"What do you mean?"
Zeraine said, "You weren't with us when we escorted Sol through a cemetery to some sorceress's house out in the middle of the forest. He set up a bunch of Fire Traps and Holy Traps, which we used against the skeletons, zombies, and ghouls."
The succubus said, "Oh. Well, it's kind of similar, but notably different. With the regular magic traps like those, you can be standing anywhere and set them anywhere you want. With Yrden, you place it at your feet."
The hero thought for a second. "I see. So I'd have to set it, then lead an enemy into it, right?"
"Pretty much."
"Am I limited to placing one at a time?"
"At first, you probably will be. As you get better, you'll be able to set more than one, but you'll have to stay focused to maintain them until they're set off."
"Okay. So then, that shield, you called it Quen? If it'll only be good for a few hits, what's the point?"
"It'll protect you from everything until it goes out. Running with your shield up is slower than running normally, correct? If you set up Quen, you could charge at your enemy without holding your shield up, thus closing the distance faster. Also, if there's an enemy about to hit you with something that you're incapable of blocking with your shield, you can use Quen. Such an attack would probably knock it out in one shot at your probable starting level, but it's better than being sent flying, right?"
"I get it. Are there any other perks to it?"
"Well, just like with everything else in life, the more you practice at it, the better you'll get, which means you'll be able to make it last longer and withstand more hits. Once you get really good with it, you can even use it to reflect the force of the enemy's attack, basically causing them to hurt themselves every time they try to hit you."
"I'm guessing that'd be VERY useful against a Dullahan?"
"Against a Dullahan, you'd have to be extremely good with it to have it last for very long. You'd also be best off using multiple Signs. For example, you lay down an Yrden, set up Quen, exchange a couple of blows with it, lead it or force it into the Yrden, then get a good, strong hit in or light it up with Igni, then hit it a few times, then back off, use Aard if it gets too close, whatever. Be creative."
"What about that one you said I'd be uncomfortable with?"
"That would be Axii. It allows you to tamper with someone's mind. You can make them believe you're their best friend, causing them to come to your aid in battle, or you can use it to do stuff like calm, charm, or enrage someone."
"Yeah, I'd be a bit uncomfortable with that, except maybe the 'calm' part. That could have its uses."
"Yes. Now, we need to find out if they have a place for you to practice, since doing so in here would be both stupid and dangerous."
They got up and left the guest house, looking for the nearest guard. After they left, Zeraine said, "Well, what do we do?"
Amarantha replied, "I don't know. We can't have sex for fear of being watched, heard, or 'caught', and I can't simply try to channel demonic energy into you because someone might sense it. We'll have to wait until we're on the road again before we can do either."
"True, but it's not time for bed yet, and there's not really anything else to do."
"Boredom sucks. ...How about we call Sol and chat with him for a bit?"
"Sounds good, if he's not busy."
Amarantha pulled out her crystal and contacted Sol. As soon as he answered, she asked, "Hey, Sol. Still managing to hold it for them?"
"Yep. It's not easy, but we're almost there. Just a few more days and all three of us can let everything out. How are you guys doing?"
Zeraine said, "Well, we're doing okay. We fought a Dullahan and managed to win."
"A Dullahan!? What's one doing out there!?"
Amarantha shrugged, even thought Sol couldn't see it, and said, "We don't know. We couldn't exactly ask him because he was pretty committed to killing us." She recounted the incident, telling him everything.
Sol said, "Huh. At least you're all okay. Still, for a Dullahan to be out there... That's pretty strange. Oh, by the way, thanks for recommending me to that gold dragon. I made a good bit of money selling some stuff to him last night."
"Good for you. I guess she should see about steering more business your way if possible?"
"As long as you don't flood me with too many customers. Anyway, tomorrow, I'll be leaving to go to a somewhat secluded area of the Demon Realm. There's some rare, hard-to-get ingredients there that I need. I'll be taking Vicky and Hilda both with me, leaving my shop closed and locked while I'm gone. If you need to contact me, remember that, because it might slow down any deliveries you need."
"We'll make a note of it, though I doubt we'll need to have anything delivered. We haven't even used any scrolls or potions yet."
"You've had it fairly easy, then. That's good, though, since you definitely don't want the 'baptism by fire' hard way. Well, I need to be getting to sleep. I'm going to need my rest for tomorrow. Good night, guys."
Zeraine and Amarantha simultaneously said, "Good night."
They broke off the communication and Amarantha put away her crystal. Zeraine looked around the room and said, "Well, let's get our sleeping arrangements in order while we wait for them."
Amarantha nodded and they began rearranging the room.
Everyone else shook their heads. The succubus said, "Well, since we can't think of anything else to discuss, we should get to training, practicing, and whatever else." She turned to the hero. "What do you want to learn first? Sword stuff from Zeraine, hand-to-hand stuff from Amarantha, or the Signs from me?"
"Hmm..." The hero thought for a full 5 seconds, then said, "Well, personally, I think my sword skills are good enough for the time being. Hand-to-hand would be nice to know in the event that I get disarmed, but I'd like to hear more about those Signs before I decide."
She nodded. "Well, there's four that you'd definitely find useful, and one other you might be uncomfortable with. The four that you'd find useful are Aard, Igni, Yrden, and Quen. Simply put, Aard is a telekinetic thrust that's good at knocking people down. Once you get good enough at using it, you'll be able to use it as a projectile, too. You should be able to use Igni as both a fireball and as a gush or wave of flame. You get familiar enough with it and you'll be able to use it as a constant stream of fire. Yrden is, for all intents and purposes, a magic trap. It'll damage and temporarily immobilize the enemy, but you have to get them to step on it. Quen is basically a magical shield or barrier that blocks all attacks. Unless you're really good, it'll be knocked out in a few hits against average monster enemies."
The hero considered everything. "Well, knocking down enemies would help me get out of situations like being surrounded. That Sign, Aard, was it? It'd be very useful from the sound of things. Let me guess, it'd knock and enemy's shield away?"
"If you hit them just right with it, yes. You'd probably be better off just hitting them squarely to knock them on their ass so you can finish them off quickly, or knock down a few enemies to gain a better position."
"That fire one, Igni, would help, too. From the sound of things, it'd have utility uses as well, so..."
"If you wanted to light a fire, yes, you could use Igni to do so. Right now, though, we're focusing on teaching you how to use it to set an enemy on fire."
"Right. Well, anyway, that trap Sign, Yrden; how similar is it to other magic traps?"
"What do you mean?"
Zeraine said, "You weren't with us when we escorted Sol through a cemetery to some sorceress's house out in the middle of the forest. He set up a bunch of Fire Traps and Holy Traps, which we used against the skeletons, zombies, and ghouls."
The succubus said, "Oh. Well, it's kind of similar, but notably different. With the regular magic traps like those, you can be standing anywhere and set them anywhere you want. With Yrden, you place it at your feet."
The hero thought for a second. "I see. So I'd have to set it, then lead an enemy into it, right?"
"Pretty much."
"Am I limited to placing one at a time?"
"At first, you probably will be. As you get better, you'll be able to set more than one, but you'll have to stay focused to maintain them until they're set off."
"Okay. So then, that shield, you called it Quen? If it'll only be good for a few hits, what's the point?"
"It'll protect you from everything until it goes out. Running with your shield up is slower than running normally, correct? If you set up Quen, you could charge at your enemy without holding your shield up, thus closing the distance faster. Also, if there's an enemy about to hit you with something that you're incapable of blocking with your shield, you can use Quen. Such an attack would probably knock it out in one shot at your probable starting level, but it's better than being sent flying, right?"
"I get it. Are there any other perks to it?"
"Well, just like with everything else in life, the more you practice at it, the better you'll get, which means you'll be able to make it last longer and withstand more hits. Once you get really good with it, you can even use it to reflect the force of the enemy's attack, basically causing them to hurt themselves every time they try to hit you."
"I'm guessing that'd be VERY useful against a Dullahan?"
"Against a Dullahan, you'd have to be extremely good with it to have it last for very long. You'd also be best off using multiple Signs. For example, you lay down an Yrden, set up Quen, exchange a couple of blows with it, lead it or force it into the Yrden, then get a good, strong hit in or light it up with Igni, then hit it a few times, then back off, use Aard if it gets too close, whatever. Be creative."
"What about that one you said I'd be uncomfortable with?"
"That would be Axii. It allows you to tamper with someone's mind. You can make them believe you're their best friend, causing them to come to your aid in battle, or you can use it to do stuff like calm, charm, or enrage someone."
"Yeah, I'd be a bit uncomfortable with that, except maybe the 'calm' part. That could have its uses."
"Yes. Now, we need to find out if they have a place for you to practice, since doing so in here would be both stupid and dangerous."
They got up and left the guest house, looking for the nearest guard. After they left, Zeraine said, "Well, what do we do?"
Amarantha replied, "I don't know. We can't have sex for fear of being watched, heard, or 'caught', and I can't simply try to channel demonic energy into you because someone might sense it. We'll have to wait until we're on the road again before we can do either."
"True, but it's not time for bed yet, and there's not really anything else to do."
"Boredom sucks. ...How about we call Sol and chat with him for a bit?"
"Sounds good, if he's not busy."
Amarantha pulled out her crystal and contacted Sol. As soon as he answered, she asked, "Hey, Sol. Still managing to hold it for them?"
"Yep. It's not easy, but we're almost there. Just a few more days and all three of us can let everything out. How are you guys doing?"
Zeraine said, "Well, we're doing okay. We fought a Dullahan and managed to win."
"A Dullahan!? What's one doing out there!?"
Amarantha shrugged, even thought Sol couldn't see it, and said, "We don't know. We couldn't exactly ask him because he was pretty committed to killing us." She recounted the incident, telling him everything.
Sol said, "Huh. At least you're all okay. Still, for a Dullahan to be out there... That's pretty strange. Oh, by the way, thanks for recommending me to that gold dragon. I made a good bit of money selling some stuff to him last night."
"Good for you. I guess she should see about steering more business your way if possible?"
"As long as you don't flood me with too many customers. Anyway, tomorrow, I'll be leaving to go to a somewhat secluded area of the Demon Realm. There's some rare, hard-to-get ingredients there that I need. I'll be taking Vicky and Hilda both with me, leaving my shop closed and locked while I'm gone. If you need to contact me, remember that, because it might slow down any deliveries you need."
"We'll make a note of it, though I doubt we'll need to have anything delivered. We haven't even used any scrolls or potions yet."
"You've had it fairly easy, then. That's good, though, since you definitely don't want the 'baptism by fire' hard way. Well, I need to be getting to sleep. I'm going to need my rest for tomorrow. Good night, guys."
Zeraine and Amarantha simultaneously said, "Good night."
They broke off the communication and Amarantha put away her crystal. Zeraine looked around the room and said, "Well, let's get our sleeping arrangements in order while we wait for them."
Amarantha nodded and they began rearranging the room.
Chapter 38
Spoiler: show
Meanwhile, the hero and the succubus found a guard and asked about a place to practice magic with relative safety. The guard led them to the training area, where there were many things used for training soldiers, such as straw-filled burlap sacks tied together into the shape of a human with small targets painted on then indicating vital areas, in other words, training dummies. In the middle of the training courtyard, there was a very large paved stone floor, which the succubus decided would prove suitable for training the hero in the use of Igni.
The hero looked around. "So then, what are you going to teach me first?"
The succubus conjured an animated training dummy and ordered it to stand still for the moment. "First, I'm going to teach you Yrden. If you can get far enough away from enemies and lay one down, it'd be a good idea to do so. It's best if you set one before getting into the thick of things, though. This is how you do it..."
She explained how to focus his will to perform it, and taught him the hand sign needed to actually do it. After she finished explaining, the hero asked, "That's all there is to it?"
She nodded and said, "Now, show me that you can use it. Lay one down."
The hero focused his will, made the hand sign, and successfully set an Yrden. "Done. So what's the animated training dummy for?"
The succubus, pleased with the hero's ease of using Yrden, smiled proudly at him. "It's to show you the effect. Now step back and I'll have it set it off."
The hero took a few steps back. The succubus then made the dummy walk into the Yrden, causing it to become immobilized. The succubus then said, "Now, attack it."
The hero shrugged and hit the dummy with a haymaker, knocking it down. "Like that?"
She nodded. "Just like that. Remember, Yrden hurts them some, AND temporarily immobilizes them. Use that opportunity to strike them while they're defenseless, and try to make it a killing blow."
The hero asked, "Let's say we had to capture someone. Would I be able to get next to them, set and Yrden, have it go off, then restrain them while they're paralyzed?"
The succubus thought for a second. "Well, you probably could, but Axii would be better in that situation. Anyway, time to learn Aard..."
She taught him how to use Aard. After her explanation, he said, "These Signs are pretty easy, huh?"
She said, "That's the idea. Now, hit the dummy with Aard."
The hero did so, knocking it down.
"Good. Now try using it as a projectile. Before you do, walk to the other side of the courtyard."
He did as instructed, successfully using the projectile version of Aard to knock the dummy down from the other side of the courtyard. He said, "That was pretty easy."
She smiled at him again. "Yes. Now, you can knock people on their asses, or at least stun them if they happen to have really good footing and balance. You can also clear away debris, rubble, or knock down weak walls. For the stronger walls, you'll have to let me do it. Now, you will learn Igni."
The hero walked back over to her and she proceeded to teach him the Igni Sign. Once she was done, he asked, "Attack the dummy with it again?"
She nodded. "There's a bit more to it than that, though. First, I want you to do the flame-wave version. After that, you'll use the fireball version on the dummy. Get far enough away from the dummy and aim at the stone wall. It won't go that far, but do it anyway."
He nodded, walked out until he was a few dozen feet from the dummy, then demonstrated his successful learning of the Sign. He looked back at her and grinned proudly, which she responded to with a proud smile of her own. Without further instructions or orders, the hero then used the fireball version of Igni to set the dummy on fire, burning it until it was nothing more than a small pile of ashes. He walked back over to her and asked, "What's next?"
She replied, "That's three down. We just have two more to teach you, Quen, and Axii. Quen will be simple, but I'm not sure how we'll test your ability to use Axii..." She shrugged, then taught him Quen. "The aura will confirm that you've cast it, but I think we should demonstrate, too. Stand in the middle of the courtyard and cast it."
He nodded, suspicious of what she meant by 'demonstrate', and walked to the middle of the courtyard. He then successfully cast Quen. He stood there, Quen active, waiting. The succubus then gathered energy in her left hand, aiming her palm directly at the hero. "Uh, what are you doing?"
Rather than explain herself, she shouted the incantation. "Damned!"
She hit him dead-center with the spell, but just as she had told him it would, Quen blocked it, breaking in the process. When the smoke from the explosion cleared, he looked at her with an expression that was a mix of anger and shock. "What the fuck, woman!?"
She grinned smugly, then said, "Shut up. It worked just as I told you it would. Now that you've learned these, we need to find a situation in which you can demonstrate your ability to use Axii. First, I have to teach you, so come here."
"You're not going to try to blow me up?" he asked, slowly approaching.
She sighed discontentedly and said, "No, idiot. That was just to show you how good Quen works."
He returned to her side and she taught him the Axii Sign. He asked, "Can't we just assume I can do it because I learned all the others, too?"
"No. We need to find a person or animal for you to test it on. Come on." She grabbed his wrist and began leading him around, looking for an opportunity. She eventually found one in the form of a cat stuck in a tree. "...Not exactly a spectacular way to demonstrate, but good enough."
There were two guards standing around the bottom of the tree, looking up at the cat, trying to coax it down. The succubus, who was obviously still in her 'human disguise form', just as she had been since before meeting the knights that they saved from the Dullahan, approached. "What's the problem, boys?"
One of the guards replied, "It's one of our cats that we keep to drive away the rats and mice. He's gone and gotten himself stuck in the tree and won't come down."
The succubus already knew the situation just from looking, but she felt that feigning ignorance before acting was the best course of action. She said, "We'll get him down, then." She turned to the hero. "Dear? Get their cat for them."
The hero gave her a questioning look. "'Dear'?"
She pulled him close and whispered in his ear, "The cat is terrified. You can tell if you look. Use Axii to calm it, then levitate up and grab it."
He looked up at the cat, then at the guards, then back to the succubus. "Alright, fine." He looked back up to the cat, then used Axii, successfully calming it. After that, he levitated up and grabbed the cat, then floated back down and set it down on the ground. It began purring and rubbing on his leg.
The other guard chuckled and said, "Looks like he likes you, young man. So you're a mage?"
The hero shook his head and pointed at the succubus with his thumb. "She's the mage. I'm the warrior-turning-spellsword that she's teaching magic to."
The first guard shook the hero's hand. "Regardless, thanks for the help, brother." He picked the cat up and cradled it in his arms. "Let's get you some tuna. What do ya say?" The cat meowed, obviously getting excited about getting some tuna. The two guards walked off, leaving the hero and the succubus standing near the tree.
She quickly gave him a kiss. "Good job. You've learned all five Signs. Let's go back and get some sleep."
He grabbed her shoulder, stopping her. "Wait. Why exactly did you call me 'dear'? We're not married, or close enough to use 'pet names', are we?"
She shrugged, moving his hand off of her shoulder in the process. "I thought it'd be best if we appeared to be a married couple. Your Order might look down on us if they knew the truth."
The hero thought for a second. "They most likely wouldn't be very thrilled about me, a high-ranking knight, being together with a succubus, but I don't think they'd have a problem with an Order knight and his friends traveling around. They would probably be indifferent to the thought of an Order knight and what appears to be a human woman, the two not being married to each other, traveling together, sleeping in the same room. Sleeping in the same bed might get us looks of disapproval, though. You might be right, though. If we pretend to be a married couple, we might encounter less problems."
The succubus raised an eyebrow as she looked at him. "What, uncomfortable with the deception?"
He nodded, to which she mumbled, "We might not have to keep it up for long. It might turn into the truth."
He glanced at her. "Huh?"
"What?"
"Did you say something?"
She shook her head, not wanting to repeat what she mumbled.
They went back to the guest house and found Zeraine and Amarantha getting ready to sleep. The succubus said, "Well, we're back."
Zeraine asked, "Well? How did it go? Did you learn the Signs?"
The hero nodded. "They were pretty easy." He chose not to mention the cat in the tree or the succubus hitting him with Damned, taking down his Quen.
As she got undressed, the succubus said, "Since he's confident about his sword skills for now, how about you teach him some hand-to-hand stuff during our next bit of down time, Amarantha?"
Amarantha, cuddling up to Zeraine, said, "Sure."
Once the hero was done getting out of his armor, he laid down. He was still wearing his normal clothes that he had on underneath. The succubus had thought it best to do just as the hero did. Once she had her robe and boots off, she stayed in her clothes and laid down next to him. She thought it wasn't yet time to sleep next to him in her underwear. He looked over at her. "We're sleeping on large pads on the floor. They gave us four. Do you really need to sleep there?"
She gave him a half-assed glare. "You should be honored to have such a beautiful woman sleep next to you, so stop complaining." She kissed him. "Good night." She puckered up and waited.
Seeing this, the hero rolled his eyes, thinking, "This girl..." He kissed her and said, "Good night."
The two of them thought they heard Zeraine and Amarantha quietly laughing, but didn't do anything. The hero and the succubus fell asleep, her arm over his chest, her leg over one of his. Naturally, this made it difficult for the hero to fall asleep, but he still managed it.
The hero looked around. "So then, what are you going to teach me first?"
The succubus conjured an animated training dummy and ordered it to stand still for the moment. "First, I'm going to teach you Yrden. If you can get far enough away from enemies and lay one down, it'd be a good idea to do so. It's best if you set one before getting into the thick of things, though. This is how you do it..."
She explained how to focus his will to perform it, and taught him the hand sign needed to actually do it. After she finished explaining, the hero asked, "That's all there is to it?"
She nodded and said, "Now, show me that you can use it. Lay one down."
The hero focused his will, made the hand sign, and successfully set an Yrden. "Done. So what's the animated training dummy for?"
The succubus, pleased with the hero's ease of using Yrden, smiled proudly at him. "It's to show you the effect. Now step back and I'll have it set it off."
The hero took a few steps back. The succubus then made the dummy walk into the Yrden, causing it to become immobilized. The succubus then said, "Now, attack it."
The hero shrugged and hit the dummy with a haymaker, knocking it down. "Like that?"
She nodded. "Just like that. Remember, Yrden hurts them some, AND temporarily immobilizes them. Use that opportunity to strike them while they're defenseless, and try to make it a killing blow."
The hero asked, "Let's say we had to capture someone. Would I be able to get next to them, set and Yrden, have it go off, then restrain them while they're paralyzed?"
The succubus thought for a second. "Well, you probably could, but Axii would be better in that situation. Anyway, time to learn Aard..."
She taught him how to use Aard. After her explanation, he said, "These Signs are pretty easy, huh?"
She said, "That's the idea. Now, hit the dummy with Aard."
The hero did so, knocking it down.
"Good. Now try using it as a projectile. Before you do, walk to the other side of the courtyard."
He did as instructed, successfully using the projectile version of Aard to knock the dummy down from the other side of the courtyard. He said, "That was pretty easy."
She smiled at him again. "Yes. Now, you can knock people on their asses, or at least stun them if they happen to have really good footing and balance. You can also clear away debris, rubble, or knock down weak walls. For the stronger walls, you'll have to let me do it. Now, you will learn Igni."
The hero walked back over to her and she proceeded to teach him the Igni Sign. Once she was done, he asked, "Attack the dummy with it again?"
She nodded. "There's a bit more to it than that, though. First, I want you to do the flame-wave version. After that, you'll use the fireball version on the dummy. Get far enough away from the dummy and aim at the stone wall. It won't go that far, but do it anyway."
He nodded, walked out until he was a few dozen feet from the dummy, then demonstrated his successful learning of the Sign. He looked back at her and grinned proudly, which she responded to with a proud smile of her own. Without further instructions or orders, the hero then used the fireball version of Igni to set the dummy on fire, burning it until it was nothing more than a small pile of ashes. He walked back over to her and asked, "What's next?"
She replied, "That's three down. We just have two more to teach you, Quen, and Axii. Quen will be simple, but I'm not sure how we'll test your ability to use Axii..." She shrugged, then taught him Quen. "The aura will confirm that you've cast it, but I think we should demonstrate, too. Stand in the middle of the courtyard and cast it."
He nodded, suspicious of what she meant by 'demonstrate', and walked to the middle of the courtyard. He then successfully cast Quen. He stood there, Quen active, waiting. The succubus then gathered energy in her left hand, aiming her palm directly at the hero. "Uh, what are you doing?"
Rather than explain herself, she shouted the incantation. "Damned!"
She hit him dead-center with the spell, but just as she had told him it would, Quen blocked it, breaking in the process. When the smoke from the explosion cleared, he looked at her with an expression that was a mix of anger and shock. "What the fuck, woman!?"
She grinned smugly, then said, "Shut up. It worked just as I told you it would. Now that you've learned these, we need to find a situation in which you can demonstrate your ability to use Axii. First, I have to teach you, so come here."
"You're not going to try to blow me up?" he asked, slowly approaching.
She sighed discontentedly and said, "No, idiot. That was just to show you how good Quen works."
He returned to her side and she taught him the Axii Sign. He asked, "Can't we just assume I can do it because I learned all the others, too?"
"No. We need to find a person or animal for you to test it on. Come on." She grabbed his wrist and began leading him around, looking for an opportunity. She eventually found one in the form of a cat stuck in a tree. "...Not exactly a spectacular way to demonstrate, but good enough."
There were two guards standing around the bottom of the tree, looking up at the cat, trying to coax it down. The succubus, who was obviously still in her 'human disguise form', just as she had been since before meeting the knights that they saved from the Dullahan, approached. "What's the problem, boys?"
One of the guards replied, "It's one of our cats that we keep to drive away the rats and mice. He's gone and gotten himself stuck in the tree and won't come down."
The succubus already knew the situation just from looking, but she felt that feigning ignorance before acting was the best course of action. She said, "We'll get him down, then." She turned to the hero. "Dear? Get their cat for them."
The hero gave her a questioning look. "'Dear'?"
She pulled him close and whispered in his ear, "The cat is terrified. You can tell if you look. Use Axii to calm it, then levitate up and grab it."
He looked up at the cat, then at the guards, then back to the succubus. "Alright, fine." He looked back up to the cat, then used Axii, successfully calming it. After that, he levitated up and grabbed the cat, then floated back down and set it down on the ground. It began purring and rubbing on his leg.
The other guard chuckled and said, "Looks like he likes you, young man. So you're a mage?"
The hero shook his head and pointed at the succubus with his thumb. "She's the mage. I'm the warrior-turning-spellsword that she's teaching magic to."
The first guard shook the hero's hand. "Regardless, thanks for the help, brother." He picked the cat up and cradled it in his arms. "Let's get you some tuna. What do ya say?" The cat meowed, obviously getting excited about getting some tuna. The two guards walked off, leaving the hero and the succubus standing near the tree.
She quickly gave him a kiss. "Good job. You've learned all five Signs. Let's go back and get some sleep."
He grabbed her shoulder, stopping her. "Wait. Why exactly did you call me 'dear'? We're not married, or close enough to use 'pet names', are we?"
She shrugged, moving his hand off of her shoulder in the process. "I thought it'd be best if we appeared to be a married couple. Your Order might look down on us if they knew the truth."
The hero thought for a second. "They most likely wouldn't be very thrilled about me, a high-ranking knight, being together with a succubus, but I don't think they'd have a problem with an Order knight and his friends traveling around. They would probably be indifferent to the thought of an Order knight and what appears to be a human woman, the two not being married to each other, traveling together, sleeping in the same room. Sleeping in the same bed might get us looks of disapproval, though. You might be right, though. If we pretend to be a married couple, we might encounter less problems."
The succubus raised an eyebrow as she looked at him. "What, uncomfortable with the deception?"
He nodded, to which she mumbled, "We might not have to keep it up for long. It might turn into the truth."
He glanced at her. "Huh?"
"What?"
"Did you say something?"
She shook her head, not wanting to repeat what she mumbled.
They went back to the guest house and found Zeraine and Amarantha getting ready to sleep. The succubus said, "Well, we're back."
Zeraine asked, "Well? How did it go? Did you learn the Signs?"
The hero nodded. "They were pretty easy." He chose not to mention the cat in the tree or the succubus hitting him with Damned, taking down his Quen.
As she got undressed, the succubus said, "Since he's confident about his sword skills for now, how about you teach him some hand-to-hand stuff during our next bit of down time, Amarantha?"
Amarantha, cuddling up to Zeraine, said, "Sure."
Once the hero was done getting out of his armor, he laid down. He was still wearing his normal clothes that he had on underneath. The succubus had thought it best to do just as the hero did. Once she had her robe and boots off, she stayed in her clothes and laid down next to him. She thought it wasn't yet time to sleep next to him in her underwear. He looked over at her. "We're sleeping on large pads on the floor. They gave us four. Do you really need to sleep there?"
She gave him a half-assed glare. "You should be honored to have such a beautiful woman sleep next to you, so stop complaining." She kissed him. "Good night." She puckered up and waited.
Seeing this, the hero rolled his eyes, thinking, "This girl..." He kissed her and said, "Good night."
The two of them thought they heard Zeraine and Amarantha quietly laughing, but didn't do anything. The hero and the succubus fell asleep, her arm over his chest, her leg over one of his. Naturally, this made it difficult for the hero to fall asleep, but he still managed it.
Chapter 39
Spoiler: show
The party awoke at around the same time, each of them getting dressed at their own pace and gathering their things. Once they were all ready, the hero and the succubus stepped out, leaving Zeraine and Amarantha behind to rearrange the room, returning it to its previous setup. After the hero thanked the commander of the chapter for letting them spend the night, the party regrouped at the gate and left. They continued west until they began smelling the scent of the beach and ocean. That meant that they smelled a hint of saltwater, but mostly the smell of barbequed and grilled food. As they arrived at the beach, they noticed a large number of men fawning over a woman. The woman had blond hair that came down to the middle of her back, green eyes, very nice curves, and very large breasts. Her bikini barely covered anything.
Upon seeing it, Zeraine gave a quiet whistle. "Damn..."
Amarantha, almost as if it were instinct, grabbed him by his wrist, squeezing hard enough to cause him to grunt in pain and bend over, trying to pry her hand off. She glared at him and scolded him in a growling tone, "Zeraine."
His voice clearly indicated how much pain he was in. "Ammie, you should know that no woman on the face of this planet could possibly look as good as you, so let go, please?"
She let off a little, but didn't let go. "Good. You still haven't stopped stealing glances, though."
Zeraine laughed nervously. "How could I, as a man, not look at that? I mean, just look at what she's wearing! No man, not even one who's already taken, could resist looking at that."
She squeezed a little harder. "Would you look only at me if I were to wear such a bikini?"
Zeraine looked at her, a mix of emotions in his eyes. "Ammie, if you had such a thing, I wouldn't want you to wear it unless we were alone together. I don't want other people to see you like I have."
At that, she let go and smiled. "So you want to be the only one to ever see me naked? Good. You still want to see me in a swimsuit, don't you?"
Zeraine rubbed his wrist. "Well, I think you'd look good in one, but if you plan on wearing one here, I don't want you showing a lot of skin."
She giggled and said, "Then how about we go pick one?"
The hero stepped in. "Sorry to spoil things, but we don't have the time or the money to do such things. We need to find the coastal city and get their support."
The succubus, having been looking at the blond woman with great suspicion, said, "Don't be such a tight-ass. We're at the beach, we have plenty of time, and we can probably make a bit more money to cover everything, so let's enjoy it."
The hero was about to object, but saw that he was outnumbered. He was the only one who wasn't looking to have fun at the beach. He sighed with resignation and said, "Fine. We'll get the support of the city's military, making sure we have the navy's support should we need it, then we'll celebrate by relaxing at the beach for a while, okay?"
They all agreed. That matter settled, the succubus turned her attention back to the blond woman. No longer able to sit by and watch, she approached, wanting to confirm her suspicion. "Priscilla?"
The blond woman looked at her and smiled. "Well, well, look who's here. What are you doing all the way out here?"
The succubus ran up to her and they hugged. "It's a long story. What brings you here?"
Priscilla grinned and nodded toward the drooling men. "Man-hunting."
The rest of the party joined the succubus. The hero asked, "A friend of yours?"
The succubus nodded and smiled. "Everyone, this is Priscilla. She's a good friend of mine from back when I lived in the demon realm."
Priscilla smiled. "Nice to meet you."
The hero asked, "She's also a succubus?"
Priscilla said, "Yes. From your armor, I take it you're an Order knight, but you're traveling with her, and you already know she's a succubus. You don't have anything against succubi?"
He shook his head. "Aside from the perversion and lewdness, no."
The succubus said, "He's a bit of a prude."
Priscilla looked him over. "Even so, he's pretty good... Mind if I have some?"
The succubus glared at her friend. "Hands off."
Priscilla looked a little surprised. "Oh? He's yours?"
The succubus's face turned a little red. "I'd say so. So why are you out here, 'man-hunting'?"
Priscilla sighed. "Come on, let's go sit down." She led the party to an outdoor dining area, with park benches and circular tables. "Borrowing men from my sister's harem was okay and all, but I want my own man. I came here to find one, and all I've found are men that are good-looking, but they're dumb as a rock. I don't think they'd be able to find the right hole if they had a map."
The succubus patted her on the back. "So you're like me now?"
Priscilla shook her head. "I'm not nearly as picky as you. I just want some quality to them, you know?"
"I guess I got lucky. He's smart, level-headed, kind, tolerant, good-looking, a good person, and a pretty good warrior. I've taught him the Signs, and he easily got them down. He learns fast."
Priscilla shrugged. "I'm not a mage, so I am unable to fully appreciate what you're saying. All I can gather is that he did very well, right?"
She nodded, looking at the hero, his face red from her compliments. "I'll teach him other magic when he gets better, but he's doing great. ...Oh! I forgot to introduce you to the others!" She pointed at Zeraine. "This is Zeraine, our veteran spellsword."
He reached out to shake hands. "Nice to meet you, miss."
The succubus then pointed at Amarantha. "And this is Amarantha. She's a silver dragon, and is very good with hand-to-hand fighting."
Amarantha shook hands with Priscilla. Priscilla looked between the two and asked, "I'm guessing he belongs to you?"
Amarantha nodded. "Zeraine is the man I've chosen as my mate. When we can, I intend for us to get married like humans do."
Priscilla clapped her hands. "Very good. I'm jealous. You realize you can't make babies, though, right?"
The succubus smiled. "They will when I've reached certain goals."
Priscilla looked at her. "You mind telling me what those goals are?"
Smiling even more proudly, she said, "I'm going to become the Demon Lord. Once I have that position and title, I'm going to make a few changes, monsters being able to breed with humans being one of them."
Priscilla laughed. "There's a lot of mermaids and merrows around that'll be happy to hear that."
The hero got up. "Well, if you guys want to play, we should get our work done first. Let's go talk these people into supporting us, then we can look into other things."
Priscilla glanced at each member of the party. "Just to make sure, do you guys have swimsuits?"
Everyone looked at each other, then to Priscilla. "No," they said in unison.
She smiled. "Well, as soon as you get done, come back here. I'll buy you guys the swimsuits."
Amarantha was stunned. "You'd do that?"
She shrugged it off. "You're friends of my friend, so why not? You look like you could use the fun anyway."
They thanked her and headed for the city.
Upon seeing it, Zeraine gave a quiet whistle. "Damn..."
Amarantha, almost as if it were instinct, grabbed him by his wrist, squeezing hard enough to cause him to grunt in pain and bend over, trying to pry her hand off. She glared at him and scolded him in a growling tone, "Zeraine."
His voice clearly indicated how much pain he was in. "Ammie, you should know that no woman on the face of this planet could possibly look as good as you, so let go, please?"
She let off a little, but didn't let go. "Good. You still haven't stopped stealing glances, though."
Zeraine laughed nervously. "How could I, as a man, not look at that? I mean, just look at what she's wearing! No man, not even one who's already taken, could resist looking at that."
She squeezed a little harder. "Would you look only at me if I were to wear such a bikini?"
Zeraine looked at her, a mix of emotions in his eyes. "Ammie, if you had such a thing, I wouldn't want you to wear it unless we were alone together. I don't want other people to see you like I have."
At that, she let go and smiled. "So you want to be the only one to ever see me naked? Good. You still want to see me in a swimsuit, don't you?"
Zeraine rubbed his wrist. "Well, I think you'd look good in one, but if you plan on wearing one here, I don't want you showing a lot of skin."
She giggled and said, "Then how about we go pick one?"
The hero stepped in. "Sorry to spoil things, but we don't have the time or the money to do such things. We need to find the coastal city and get their support."
The succubus, having been looking at the blond woman with great suspicion, said, "Don't be such a tight-ass. We're at the beach, we have plenty of time, and we can probably make a bit more money to cover everything, so let's enjoy it."
The hero was about to object, but saw that he was outnumbered. He was the only one who wasn't looking to have fun at the beach. He sighed with resignation and said, "Fine. We'll get the support of the city's military, making sure we have the navy's support should we need it, then we'll celebrate by relaxing at the beach for a while, okay?"
They all agreed. That matter settled, the succubus turned her attention back to the blond woman. No longer able to sit by and watch, she approached, wanting to confirm her suspicion. "Priscilla?"
The blond woman looked at her and smiled. "Well, well, look who's here. What are you doing all the way out here?"
The succubus ran up to her and they hugged. "It's a long story. What brings you here?"
Priscilla grinned and nodded toward the drooling men. "Man-hunting."
The rest of the party joined the succubus. The hero asked, "A friend of yours?"
The succubus nodded and smiled. "Everyone, this is Priscilla. She's a good friend of mine from back when I lived in the demon realm."
Priscilla smiled. "Nice to meet you."
The hero asked, "She's also a succubus?"
Priscilla said, "Yes. From your armor, I take it you're an Order knight, but you're traveling with her, and you already know she's a succubus. You don't have anything against succubi?"
He shook his head. "Aside from the perversion and lewdness, no."
The succubus said, "He's a bit of a prude."
Priscilla looked him over. "Even so, he's pretty good... Mind if I have some?"
The succubus glared at her friend. "Hands off."
Priscilla looked a little surprised. "Oh? He's yours?"
The succubus's face turned a little red. "I'd say so. So why are you out here, 'man-hunting'?"
Priscilla sighed. "Come on, let's go sit down." She led the party to an outdoor dining area, with park benches and circular tables. "Borrowing men from my sister's harem was okay and all, but I want my own man. I came here to find one, and all I've found are men that are good-looking, but they're dumb as a rock. I don't think they'd be able to find the right hole if they had a map."
The succubus patted her on the back. "So you're like me now?"
Priscilla shook her head. "I'm not nearly as picky as you. I just want some quality to them, you know?"
"I guess I got lucky. He's smart, level-headed, kind, tolerant, good-looking, a good person, and a pretty good warrior. I've taught him the Signs, and he easily got them down. He learns fast."
Priscilla shrugged. "I'm not a mage, so I am unable to fully appreciate what you're saying. All I can gather is that he did very well, right?"
She nodded, looking at the hero, his face red from her compliments. "I'll teach him other magic when he gets better, but he's doing great. ...Oh! I forgot to introduce you to the others!" She pointed at Zeraine. "This is Zeraine, our veteran spellsword."
He reached out to shake hands. "Nice to meet you, miss."
The succubus then pointed at Amarantha. "And this is Amarantha. She's a silver dragon, and is very good with hand-to-hand fighting."
Amarantha shook hands with Priscilla. Priscilla looked between the two and asked, "I'm guessing he belongs to you?"
Amarantha nodded. "Zeraine is the man I've chosen as my mate. When we can, I intend for us to get married like humans do."
Priscilla clapped her hands. "Very good. I'm jealous. You realize you can't make babies, though, right?"
The succubus smiled. "They will when I've reached certain goals."
Priscilla looked at her. "You mind telling me what those goals are?"
Smiling even more proudly, she said, "I'm going to become the Demon Lord. Once I have that position and title, I'm going to make a few changes, monsters being able to breed with humans being one of them."
Priscilla laughed. "There's a lot of mermaids and merrows around that'll be happy to hear that."
The hero got up. "Well, if you guys want to play, we should get our work done first. Let's go talk these people into supporting us, then we can look into other things."
Priscilla glanced at each member of the party. "Just to make sure, do you guys have swimsuits?"
Everyone looked at each other, then to Priscilla. "No," they said in unison.
She smiled. "Well, as soon as you get done, come back here. I'll buy you guys the swimsuits."
Amarantha was stunned. "You'd do that?"
She shrugged it off. "You're friends of my friend, so why not? You look like you could use the fun anyway."
They thanked her and headed for the city.
Chapter 40
Spoiler: show
Once the hero and party secured a conversation with the city's baron, they went to his mansion and sat down in his excessively fancy dining room to talk. The hero explained his mission and intentions, as well as what they had accomplished so far. The baron was impressed. "Truly deeds befitting a hero. It just so happens that I have something that needs to be done. If you take care of this, I'll give you my support."
The hero nodded. "What is it?"
The baron frowned. "A series of murders."
Zeraine commented, "We're not detectives. What makes these special enough to ask us to do them? Who were the victims?"
The baron closed his eyes. He was obviously displeased with his inability thus far to do anything about it. "As you know, we're a coastal city, right next to the ocean. We live quite happily with our sea-dwelling neighbors. We trade with them for various things, including mermaid blood. You know how valuable that is?"
Zeraine nodded. "Mermaid blood is rare, expensive, and highly sought after. It is said to cure any disease and lengthen one's life. What does that have to do with anything?"
"It's the only motive we can think of right now. As you may have guessed, the victims were mermaids, merrows, and a few sea bishops. We think they were killed for their blood, but we're not sure. It's the only motive we can think of, though."
The succubus, still in her disguise, leaned forward, obviously upset. "What kind of scumbag son-of-a-bitch would do such a thing!?"
The hero gave her a hard pat on the arm. "Watch your language."
The baron shook his head. "It's fine. She shares the same view as us. To answer your question, young lady, we honestly don't know. We suspect either pirates or young, monster-hating fools out to make a quick fortune. This cannot be tolerated. The task I give you is to find these bastards and bring them to justice. If you can bring them in alive, good. We'll be able to publicly identify them, publicly denounce them, and execute them. If you can't, no loss. They'll end up dead one way or the other, and as long as they are dead, and we learn the who and why, it's fine. Will you do it?"
The hero, anger in his eyes, said, "Of course. Mermaids are gentle, sapient monsters. Killing them out of hate is despicable, and killing them for their blood is even more deplorable. We'll do what we can, but I suspect we'll end up killing the bastards."
The baron gave a satisfied grin. "Good to hear. You should start asking around town and see if anyone saw anything. There might be witnesses."
The hero and party got up. As they started to leave, he said, "Will do. Should we report back at any point?"
The baron got up. "If you find out who is doing it and can't handle them by yourselves, sure. I don't think you'd have to unless you were up against an army, though."
The baron escorted the party to the door. They decided that they should start with someone close; someone who's most likely to open up. Before going to ask Priscilla, they asked the nearby guard for details. he said, "Sorry, I only know what everyone else does. We've been finding the bodies of our seagoing neighbors washed up on shore and floating out in the water. The wounds indicated that they were killed with sharp blades such as knives or swords."
Amarantha sighed. "That doesn't give us much."
The guard apologized again and they returned to the beach to find Priscilla surrounded by men who were waiting on her, hand and foot. It was as if she were some kind of high-born girl with lots of servants attending to her every want. She casually got up and shoved the men aside. "You're back. What's up?"
The succubus said, "We've been asked to find out about the murdered mermaids. Have you seen anything?"
Priscilla shook her head. "I've heard about it, but I haven't seen anything. If you want to find out, your best bet would be to ask around at the harbor and pier. Maybe a sailor or fisherman saw something. Now, to better blend in, you should get your swimwear. Come on."
She led them back to the city to a shop that sold various water-related things, including swimsuits. Once in the shop, they began looking for appropriate swimwear. Amarantha laughed and grabbed one off a hanger. "Hey, Zeraine, how about this one for you?"
Zeraine looked at it and frowned. "I'm not wearing a man-thong. Ever."
She laughed and put it back. The succubus, after seeing it, looked at the hero inquisitively. He shook his head. "No way. And get the image of it out of your head!"
She giggled. "But I didn't even say anything. Now that you've told me not to think about it, I can't help it. It's hard to imagine, though, because I haven't seen you naked..."
He gave her a light chop to the head. "Stop."
She huffed. "Fine, spoilsport."
Priscilla was trying not to laugh. "How far have you two gotten, anyway?"
The succubus gave an exaggerated expression of melancholy. "Kissing and sleeping next to each other, sadly."
"Wow. Is he that much of a prude or did it take him so long to prove himself that you haven't made it any farther?"
"A little of both." The succubus chose a bikini and held it up for the hero to see. "How about this one?"
The hero blushed. "That's nothing more than strings!"
She faked some pouting. "But it'd look good on me, wouldn't it?"
His face red, he growled, "Pick a different one!"
Zeraine found a suitable pair of swimming trunks. "I'll go with this."
Amarantha nodded approvingly. "Not bad. Do you like this one?" She held up a two-piece bikini.
He mulled over it before saying, "Well, it'd look great on you, but if you look at the way it's made, there's too much risk of it falling off. Plus, it shows a little too much skin. I don't want everyone giving you perverted looks."
Amarantha put it back and resumed looking. "As beautiful as I am, it's going to happen anyway. ...How's this?" She held up a high-cut one-piece swimsuit.
Zeraine imagined her wearing it, realizing it would show off every curve of her body. "Uh, it'd be great, but what about it being high-cut? Wouldn't you have to 'fix' it often?"
She gave him a slightly frustrated look. "So what if I get a wedgie from it?"
Priscilla said, "Go try it on. The changing room's over there." She pointed toward the back of the shop.
Amarantha went off to change while the succubus continued looking for a swimsuit that wouldn't upset the hero. She finally found a decent, normal-looking two-piece bikini. "You like this one?"
He looked at it. "Now that is a good choice. You won't spill out of it, and you won't be mistaken for a pervert or a slut."
Both she and Priscilla glared at the hero. The succubus said, "Was that supposed to mean something?"
The hero held up his hands and stepped back. "N-no, forget it. Just go try it on or whatever." He picked out a pair of swimming trunks as she went to join Amarantha.
Amarantha stepped out of the room as the succubus went in. She posed in front of Zeraine and said, "Well, what do you think?"
Unable to keep from giving her a lustful stare, he nodded. "It's good. It's not riding up?"
"Not so far. Let me walk around a little..." She walked around the store a bit, her magnificent body accentuated by the swimsuit. "I like it. It's not like what most people complain about." She looked at Zeraine, who was nearly drooling. "Save it for tonight, dear."
Zeraine nodded. "Will do, Ammie."
Priscilla clapped her hands. "Great! You boys have your trunks, your silver dragon has her one-piece... Now we're just waiting on my friend."
Shortly after that, the succubus stepped out of the changing room, wearing the bikini. The hero's face went red and he found himself unable to stop staring. He thought, "I had no idea she looked that good..."
She smiled at the hero and asked, "Does it look good?"
Unable to form words, he simply nodded.
Priscilla saw everything, but decided not to tease them about it. "Well, boys? Go get changed. I'm sure that armor is hot in this sun and heat, right?"
Zeraine was the first to get changed, followed by the hero. When the hero stepped out, wearing his trunks, the succubus was the one staring and blushing. Priscilla paid for their new swimwear and led them to the beach. In the end, they had put all of their clothes into their Bags of Holding. The hero had on a plain white pair of trunks. Zeraine's trunks were light gray. Amarantha's high-cut one-piece was a darker gray that still managed to match Zeraine's trunks. The succubus's bikini was pink with black flower patterns.
Priscilla shouted happily, "Let's go swimming!"
The hero shot her down, though. "Sorry. We have to solve the murders before we can play. We'll see you later."
As they walked around the city, heading for the harbor, they found that Priscilla was somewhat right. They no longer got strange looks. Instead, they got either casual glances or impressed looks, the latter sometimes being lustful. They split up and began asking around.
The hero nodded. "What is it?"
The baron frowned. "A series of murders."
Zeraine commented, "We're not detectives. What makes these special enough to ask us to do them? Who were the victims?"
The baron closed his eyes. He was obviously displeased with his inability thus far to do anything about it. "As you know, we're a coastal city, right next to the ocean. We live quite happily with our sea-dwelling neighbors. We trade with them for various things, including mermaid blood. You know how valuable that is?"
Zeraine nodded. "Mermaid blood is rare, expensive, and highly sought after. It is said to cure any disease and lengthen one's life. What does that have to do with anything?"
"It's the only motive we can think of right now. As you may have guessed, the victims were mermaids, merrows, and a few sea bishops. We think they were killed for their blood, but we're not sure. It's the only motive we can think of, though."
The succubus, still in her disguise, leaned forward, obviously upset. "What kind of scumbag son-of-a-bitch would do such a thing!?"
The hero gave her a hard pat on the arm. "Watch your language."
The baron shook his head. "It's fine. She shares the same view as us. To answer your question, young lady, we honestly don't know. We suspect either pirates or young, monster-hating fools out to make a quick fortune. This cannot be tolerated. The task I give you is to find these bastards and bring them to justice. If you can bring them in alive, good. We'll be able to publicly identify them, publicly denounce them, and execute them. If you can't, no loss. They'll end up dead one way or the other, and as long as they are dead, and we learn the who and why, it's fine. Will you do it?"
The hero, anger in his eyes, said, "Of course. Mermaids are gentle, sapient monsters. Killing them out of hate is despicable, and killing them for their blood is even more deplorable. We'll do what we can, but I suspect we'll end up killing the bastards."
The baron gave a satisfied grin. "Good to hear. You should start asking around town and see if anyone saw anything. There might be witnesses."
The hero and party got up. As they started to leave, he said, "Will do. Should we report back at any point?"
The baron got up. "If you find out who is doing it and can't handle them by yourselves, sure. I don't think you'd have to unless you were up against an army, though."
The baron escorted the party to the door. They decided that they should start with someone close; someone who's most likely to open up. Before going to ask Priscilla, they asked the nearby guard for details. he said, "Sorry, I only know what everyone else does. We've been finding the bodies of our seagoing neighbors washed up on shore and floating out in the water. The wounds indicated that they were killed with sharp blades such as knives or swords."
Amarantha sighed. "That doesn't give us much."
The guard apologized again and they returned to the beach to find Priscilla surrounded by men who were waiting on her, hand and foot. It was as if she were some kind of high-born girl with lots of servants attending to her every want. She casually got up and shoved the men aside. "You're back. What's up?"
The succubus said, "We've been asked to find out about the murdered mermaids. Have you seen anything?"
Priscilla shook her head. "I've heard about it, but I haven't seen anything. If you want to find out, your best bet would be to ask around at the harbor and pier. Maybe a sailor or fisherman saw something. Now, to better blend in, you should get your swimwear. Come on."
She led them back to the city to a shop that sold various water-related things, including swimsuits. Once in the shop, they began looking for appropriate swimwear. Amarantha laughed and grabbed one off a hanger. "Hey, Zeraine, how about this one for you?"
Zeraine looked at it and frowned. "I'm not wearing a man-thong. Ever."
She laughed and put it back. The succubus, after seeing it, looked at the hero inquisitively. He shook his head. "No way. And get the image of it out of your head!"
She giggled. "But I didn't even say anything. Now that you've told me not to think about it, I can't help it. It's hard to imagine, though, because I haven't seen you naked..."
He gave her a light chop to the head. "Stop."
She huffed. "Fine, spoilsport."
Priscilla was trying not to laugh. "How far have you two gotten, anyway?"
The succubus gave an exaggerated expression of melancholy. "Kissing and sleeping next to each other, sadly."
"Wow. Is he that much of a prude or did it take him so long to prove himself that you haven't made it any farther?"
"A little of both." The succubus chose a bikini and held it up for the hero to see. "How about this one?"
The hero blushed. "That's nothing more than strings!"
She faked some pouting. "But it'd look good on me, wouldn't it?"
His face red, he growled, "Pick a different one!"
Zeraine found a suitable pair of swimming trunks. "I'll go with this."
Amarantha nodded approvingly. "Not bad. Do you like this one?" She held up a two-piece bikini.
He mulled over it before saying, "Well, it'd look great on you, but if you look at the way it's made, there's too much risk of it falling off. Plus, it shows a little too much skin. I don't want everyone giving you perverted looks."
Amarantha put it back and resumed looking. "As beautiful as I am, it's going to happen anyway. ...How's this?" She held up a high-cut one-piece swimsuit.
Zeraine imagined her wearing it, realizing it would show off every curve of her body. "Uh, it'd be great, but what about it being high-cut? Wouldn't you have to 'fix' it often?"
She gave him a slightly frustrated look. "So what if I get a wedgie from it?"
Priscilla said, "Go try it on. The changing room's over there." She pointed toward the back of the shop.
Amarantha went off to change while the succubus continued looking for a swimsuit that wouldn't upset the hero. She finally found a decent, normal-looking two-piece bikini. "You like this one?"
He looked at it. "Now that is a good choice. You won't spill out of it, and you won't be mistaken for a pervert or a slut."
Both she and Priscilla glared at the hero. The succubus said, "Was that supposed to mean something?"
The hero held up his hands and stepped back. "N-no, forget it. Just go try it on or whatever." He picked out a pair of swimming trunks as she went to join Amarantha.
Amarantha stepped out of the room as the succubus went in. She posed in front of Zeraine and said, "Well, what do you think?"
Unable to keep from giving her a lustful stare, he nodded. "It's good. It's not riding up?"
"Not so far. Let me walk around a little..." She walked around the store a bit, her magnificent body accentuated by the swimsuit. "I like it. It's not like what most people complain about." She looked at Zeraine, who was nearly drooling. "Save it for tonight, dear."
Zeraine nodded. "Will do, Ammie."
Priscilla clapped her hands. "Great! You boys have your trunks, your silver dragon has her one-piece... Now we're just waiting on my friend."
Shortly after that, the succubus stepped out of the changing room, wearing the bikini. The hero's face went red and he found himself unable to stop staring. He thought, "I had no idea she looked that good..."
She smiled at the hero and asked, "Does it look good?"
Unable to form words, he simply nodded.
Priscilla saw everything, but decided not to tease them about it. "Well, boys? Go get changed. I'm sure that armor is hot in this sun and heat, right?"
Zeraine was the first to get changed, followed by the hero. When the hero stepped out, wearing his trunks, the succubus was the one staring and blushing. Priscilla paid for their new swimwear and led them to the beach. In the end, they had put all of their clothes into their Bags of Holding. The hero had on a plain white pair of trunks. Zeraine's trunks were light gray. Amarantha's high-cut one-piece was a darker gray that still managed to match Zeraine's trunks. The succubus's bikini was pink with black flower patterns.
Priscilla shouted happily, "Let's go swimming!"
The hero shot her down, though. "Sorry. We have to solve the murders before we can play. We'll see you later."
As they walked around the city, heading for the harbor, they found that Priscilla was somewhat right. They no longer got strange looks. Instead, they got either casual glances or impressed looks, the latter sometimes being lustful. They split up and began asking around.
Chapter 41
Spoiler: show
They each went in different directions, Zeraine checking around the harbor, Amarantha investigating near the market area, the succubus asking around the residential area, and the hero poking around in the lower-quality area where the taverns were.
Zeraine asked the various fishermen and sailors about the incident, but didn't get anything. He merely got comments of how disgusting the murders were, how appalled the people were about them, or accounts of mermaid blood curing different sicknesses and making old men feel young again. At one point he ran across some young women who invited him to go sailing with them, but he turned them down, saying he was taken and that Ammie would kill him.
Amarantha fared no better than Zeraine as far as collecting info went. She got similar stories about mermaid blood, as well as various men, from teenagers to middle-aged men, complimenting her on her beauty and comparing hers to that of mermaids and merrows. She was a little upset over being compared to others, but she enjoyed the compliments. Unfortunately for her, a small group of four shady-looking guys tried to ask her out for a "date". She insisted that she was taken and tried to get away, but the fools were too persistent. She ended up being forced to beat them to a bloody pulp, which was incredibly easy for her. The leader, who had been the most annoying, got a kick to his groin so hard that he passed out in a small puddle of his own vomit. One person watching commented that he'd never have kids thanks to that. Naturally, Amarantha didn't get any vomit on her. She was too good to let that happen.
The succubus met with similar stories, but also had kids tell her about strange lights at night out at sea when no boats should have been there. Because it was children telling her this, she was skeptical, but she kept it in mind. For whatever reason, she, like Amarantha, had been accosted by obviously horny, obviously stupid men. Fortunately, she only had to face two. After ordering them to leave her alone, which didn't work, she quickly and mercilessly took care of the problem by conjuring a large rock over the head of one of them, dropping it on him, while channeling some demonic energy down her leg to strengthen her kick to the other man's groin. The energy manifested in a similar effect to the Aard Sign that she taught the hero last night. In other words, the kick to his balls sent him flying into the air and backwards by several feet. He would be unable to walk properly for weeks, and his friend, who was laying unconscious by the succubus's feet, would have a large bump on his head, as well as constant head pain, for days. Her actions would have been less wasteful had she had her staff, which slightly helped her channel her magic power, but she had left it with the hero, in his Bag of Holding. Being the only party member without one was quickly becoming dangerous.
The hero coldly shrugged off pick-up attempts from the local women while asking everyone he could get to listen about the murders. He only ended up with rumors similar to what the succubus obtained from the children. Because it was adults telling him this, he treated it as a serious lead.
They regrouped in the park after two hours of searching and asking. Zeraine shared his lack of findings with the party, followed by Amarantha. The succubus then said, "Well, I didn't get much either. Some kids told me they saw strange lights out at sea at night, but I'm not sure we should go only on that. I mean, they're kids."
The hero, after getting over the surprise at the coincidence, said, "Let's not be so quick to write it off. I got similar accounts from some adults while I was asking around. Maybe there's something to them."
Amarantha crossed her arms, which made her breasts even more apparent, much to Zeraine's nearly perfectly-hidden delight. "So what do we do? Act on these and ask around? And Zeraine? Stop staring at my breasts like that. You can look, stare, and fondle all you want tonight."
Having been discovered despite his attempt at the opposite, Zeraine snapped out of it and said, "Well, we didn't go around knocking on people's doors, asking everyone. Also, maybe some people will answer about those strange lights when they wouldn't about the murders."
The hero nodded. "And those people would be the ones living in the shacks at the pier. Let's go."
They went to the pier and started knocking on doors, asking about strange lights at night. At one point, the succubus decided to ask about any citizens acting strangely. This brought up mention of a merrow who owned a shack on the pier. The party went to the shack in question and knocked on the door. A pretty young woman with short, wavy red hair, wearing a two-piece bikini made to look like seashells answered the door. The party was a bit skeptical about her being a merrow, considering that she had legs, but with transformation magic easily enabling such a thing, they gave her the benefit of the doubt. She was obviously nervous, her eyes darting around.
"What is it?"
The hero said, "We want to ask you if you saw strange lights out at sea during the night, or anything else unusual."
She shook her head. "No, you're here to ask me about what I know about the murders, and whether or not I know who did it."
The party was shocked, but the hero quickly recovered and said, "Well, since you seem to know exactly why we're here, that should make it easier, right? Yes, we want to know who did it, and how to stop them. Will you tell us?"
She looked them over. "Only if you actually get rid of them. I'm not sticking my neck out otherwise."
The succubus grinned arrogantly and summoned a ball of fire, holding it in her hand. "You tell us, and we'll blast them to pieces. No worries." She dissipated the fireball.
The merrow scoffed. "Alright, then. Bring me this, and I'll tell you." She handed them a small piece of paper with something written on it.
The hero looked at it, then back to the merrow. "What's this?"
Before the merrow could answer, Zeraine chuckled and said, "It's an erotic romance story, with pictures."
The merrow nodded. "Exactly. Bring me the porn I want and I'll tell you about what I saw. After that, you kill them, okay?"
The hero agreed. He'd rather arrest the murderers and have them brought to justice, but skipping that would be acceptable in this situation. They walked back to the park and sat down on a bench, taking a break. The hero asked, "Where are we going to find it around here?"
Everyone else shrugged. Zeraine asked, "Hey, do you think Sol would know?"
Amarantha laughed. "With his porn collection? He just might. Ah, but he's out with Victoria and Hilda collecting alchemical ingredients in the Demon Realm."
Zeraine nodded. "True, but he could probably spare a few seconds to tell us, assuming he knows anything."
The succubus held out her hand to the hero. "Let me have my crystal. I'll call him."
The hero handed her the crystal and she called Sol. He answered, "Hey, guys. Need anything?"
The hero asked, "Where would we find porn around here?"
Sol laughed. "So you're finally getting interested in naked women?"
The hero's face went red. "It's not like that! We need to get a certain erotic romance story for a merrow so she'll help us solve this series of murders!"
"Ah, there you are. The aptly-named 'God of Porn' has his shop in that area. I've been there many times. His selection is unparalleled. Come to think of it, there's a new volume of girl-on-girl Lizardman porn I've been meaning to get, but I never got around to it... How about this, I'll teleport there and lead you to the store. That way, you can get the porn for that merrow, and I can get what I want, okay?"
Amarantha asked, "What about your little excursion to the Demon Realm?"
"I finished that about an hour ago. Oh, speaking of which, have I got a surprise for you! Just wait until I get there. It's fucking awesome!"
A few seconds later, Priscilla approached. "What's up, everyone? You find anything?"
The succubus shook her head. "No, not much. We need a certain porn story for a merrow before she'll tell us who did it."
Sol said, "Wait, you said something about a series of murders. What's going on?"
Amarantha told him everything they had learned about the situation.
After a short pause, Sol said, "The only thing I can think of that would piss me off more would be if someone tried to hurt Vicky or Hilda. You mind if I tag along during the rest of your investigation?"
The succubus said, "Another mage would definitely help."
"Hmm. Be right there..." The party heard Sol tell his girls to watch the store and close early. He then materialized a few feet from the party. The first thing he did was point at his new horns and smile, saying, "Well? What do you think?"
The succubus said, "When did you become an incubus?"
"Earlier this morning. I decided to absorb a large bit of demonic energy, and I ended up turning as a result. All I got was these horns, as far as noticeable changes go, but I feel stronger, more energetic, and my magic is more powerful. Neat, huh?"
"Considering that incubi are mostly meant for sex, did anything 'strange' happen?"
"Well, I was overcome with the 'need for release'. It was so bad that Vicky and Hilda had to handjob me until I calmed down. I'll tell you right now, the soft scales on their palms felt incredible. It leaves me wondering, if their hands felt that good, how much better will it be when we do it?"
Priscilla stepped forward, looking Sol over with an approving look. "Hey there. You free?"
Sol looked Priscilla over and shrugged. "I'm just not into blonds. Sorry."
Priscilla hung her head. "Damn."
Amarantha decided to add in, "He also has a scale fetish, and is romantically involved with a young Lizardman and a young salamander. He's still a virgin, but he's taken. You never stood a chance."
This only made Priscilla feel worse. "Will I ever find a decent man?"
Sol shrugged. "Look for mages, alchemists, or other people in professions that require intelligence."
Priscilla looked at him questioningly. "How did you know?"
Sol grinned. "Know what? That you want a better man than what's available around here? With your looks, and that crowd of drooling morons behind you, I suspected that you don't want some good-looking-but-unforgivably-dumb guy as a fuck-toy. Since you so eagerly eyed me over before learning that I'm out of your reach, I suspected that you wanted a smart guy that looked good. You're aiming pretty high, but there's nothing wrong with that. Don't give up. You might find someone when you least expect it."
Priscilla looked at him suspiciously. "You're too perceptive."
Sol ignored her and asked the hero, "So, you think we'll meet some mermaids I can talk to about trading? I'd like to trade potions for money or mermaid blood, if they're willing."
Zeraine laughed. "Same old Sol. Still money hungry after becoming an incubus..."
Sol ignored that, too. "So, this merrow you mentioned... Would she be interested in a vampire? He could protect her easily, and he's a pretty nice guy, if a bit haughty. I'd have to meet her to know more, but..."
The hero held up his hand. "Let's just go get that porn. That way, we can deliver it while you ask her about it. If she agrees, good. If not, Priscilla can have a shot, right?"
Priscilla shrugged, causing her barely-covered breasts to jiggle. "I'd have to meet him."
Sol pointed with his staff. "Follow me."
Amarantha stepped up beside him. "How did you meet a vampire? Wait, this was in the Demon Realm, right? How did you meet one, live, and return in one piece, let alone come back as an incubus?"
He smiled. "I'll tell you later."
Zeraine asked the various fishermen and sailors about the incident, but didn't get anything. He merely got comments of how disgusting the murders were, how appalled the people were about them, or accounts of mermaid blood curing different sicknesses and making old men feel young again. At one point he ran across some young women who invited him to go sailing with them, but he turned them down, saying he was taken and that Ammie would kill him.
Amarantha fared no better than Zeraine as far as collecting info went. She got similar stories about mermaid blood, as well as various men, from teenagers to middle-aged men, complimenting her on her beauty and comparing hers to that of mermaids and merrows. She was a little upset over being compared to others, but she enjoyed the compliments. Unfortunately for her, a small group of four shady-looking guys tried to ask her out for a "date". She insisted that she was taken and tried to get away, but the fools were too persistent. She ended up being forced to beat them to a bloody pulp, which was incredibly easy for her. The leader, who had been the most annoying, got a kick to his groin so hard that he passed out in a small puddle of his own vomit. One person watching commented that he'd never have kids thanks to that. Naturally, Amarantha didn't get any vomit on her. She was too good to let that happen.
The succubus met with similar stories, but also had kids tell her about strange lights at night out at sea when no boats should have been there. Because it was children telling her this, she was skeptical, but she kept it in mind. For whatever reason, she, like Amarantha, had been accosted by obviously horny, obviously stupid men. Fortunately, she only had to face two. After ordering them to leave her alone, which didn't work, she quickly and mercilessly took care of the problem by conjuring a large rock over the head of one of them, dropping it on him, while channeling some demonic energy down her leg to strengthen her kick to the other man's groin. The energy manifested in a similar effect to the Aard Sign that she taught the hero last night. In other words, the kick to his balls sent him flying into the air and backwards by several feet. He would be unable to walk properly for weeks, and his friend, who was laying unconscious by the succubus's feet, would have a large bump on his head, as well as constant head pain, for days. Her actions would have been less wasteful had she had her staff, which slightly helped her channel her magic power, but she had left it with the hero, in his Bag of Holding. Being the only party member without one was quickly becoming dangerous.
The hero coldly shrugged off pick-up attempts from the local women while asking everyone he could get to listen about the murders. He only ended up with rumors similar to what the succubus obtained from the children. Because it was adults telling him this, he treated it as a serious lead.
They regrouped in the park after two hours of searching and asking. Zeraine shared his lack of findings with the party, followed by Amarantha. The succubus then said, "Well, I didn't get much either. Some kids told me they saw strange lights out at sea at night, but I'm not sure we should go only on that. I mean, they're kids."
The hero, after getting over the surprise at the coincidence, said, "Let's not be so quick to write it off. I got similar accounts from some adults while I was asking around. Maybe there's something to them."
Amarantha crossed her arms, which made her breasts even more apparent, much to Zeraine's nearly perfectly-hidden delight. "So what do we do? Act on these and ask around? And Zeraine? Stop staring at my breasts like that. You can look, stare, and fondle all you want tonight."
Having been discovered despite his attempt at the opposite, Zeraine snapped out of it and said, "Well, we didn't go around knocking on people's doors, asking everyone. Also, maybe some people will answer about those strange lights when they wouldn't about the murders."
The hero nodded. "And those people would be the ones living in the shacks at the pier. Let's go."
They went to the pier and started knocking on doors, asking about strange lights at night. At one point, the succubus decided to ask about any citizens acting strangely. This brought up mention of a merrow who owned a shack on the pier. The party went to the shack in question and knocked on the door. A pretty young woman with short, wavy red hair, wearing a two-piece bikini made to look like seashells answered the door. The party was a bit skeptical about her being a merrow, considering that she had legs, but with transformation magic easily enabling such a thing, they gave her the benefit of the doubt. She was obviously nervous, her eyes darting around.
"What is it?"
The hero said, "We want to ask you if you saw strange lights out at sea during the night, or anything else unusual."
She shook her head. "No, you're here to ask me about what I know about the murders, and whether or not I know who did it."
The party was shocked, but the hero quickly recovered and said, "Well, since you seem to know exactly why we're here, that should make it easier, right? Yes, we want to know who did it, and how to stop them. Will you tell us?"
She looked them over. "Only if you actually get rid of them. I'm not sticking my neck out otherwise."
The succubus grinned arrogantly and summoned a ball of fire, holding it in her hand. "You tell us, and we'll blast them to pieces. No worries." She dissipated the fireball.
The merrow scoffed. "Alright, then. Bring me this, and I'll tell you." She handed them a small piece of paper with something written on it.
The hero looked at it, then back to the merrow. "What's this?"
Before the merrow could answer, Zeraine chuckled and said, "It's an erotic romance story, with pictures."
The merrow nodded. "Exactly. Bring me the porn I want and I'll tell you about what I saw. After that, you kill them, okay?"
The hero agreed. He'd rather arrest the murderers and have them brought to justice, but skipping that would be acceptable in this situation. They walked back to the park and sat down on a bench, taking a break. The hero asked, "Where are we going to find it around here?"
Everyone else shrugged. Zeraine asked, "Hey, do you think Sol would know?"
Amarantha laughed. "With his porn collection? He just might. Ah, but he's out with Victoria and Hilda collecting alchemical ingredients in the Demon Realm."
Zeraine nodded. "True, but he could probably spare a few seconds to tell us, assuming he knows anything."
The succubus held out her hand to the hero. "Let me have my crystal. I'll call him."
The hero handed her the crystal and she called Sol. He answered, "Hey, guys. Need anything?"
The hero asked, "Where would we find porn around here?"
Sol laughed. "So you're finally getting interested in naked women?"
The hero's face went red. "It's not like that! We need to get a certain erotic romance story for a merrow so she'll help us solve this series of murders!"
"Ah, there you are. The aptly-named 'God of Porn' has his shop in that area. I've been there many times. His selection is unparalleled. Come to think of it, there's a new volume of girl-on-girl Lizardman porn I've been meaning to get, but I never got around to it... How about this, I'll teleport there and lead you to the store. That way, you can get the porn for that merrow, and I can get what I want, okay?"
Amarantha asked, "What about your little excursion to the Demon Realm?"
"I finished that about an hour ago. Oh, speaking of which, have I got a surprise for you! Just wait until I get there. It's fucking awesome!"
A few seconds later, Priscilla approached. "What's up, everyone? You find anything?"
The succubus shook her head. "No, not much. We need a certain porn story for a merrow before she'll tell us who did it."
Sol said, "Wait, you said something about a series of murders. What's going on?"
Amarantha told him everything they had learned about the situation.
After a short pause, Sol said, "The only thing I can think of that would piss me off more would be if someone tried to hurt Vicky or Hilda. You mind if I tag along during the rest of your investigation?"
The succubus said, "Another mage would definitely help."
"Hmm. Be right there..." The party heard Sol tell his girls to watch the store and close early. He then materialized a few feet from the party. The first thing he did was point at his new horns and smile, saying, "Well? What do you think?"
The succubus said, "When did you become an incubus?"
"Earlier this morning. I decided to absorb a large bit of demonic energy, and I ended up turning as a result. All I got was these horns, as far as noticeable changes go, but I feel stronger, more energetic, and my magic is more powerful. Neat, huh?"
"Considering that incubi are mostly meant for sex, did anything 'strange' happen?"
"Well, I was overcome with the 'need for release'. It was so bad that Vicky and Hilda had to handjob me until I calmed down. I'll tell you right now, the soft scales on their palms felt incredible. It leaves me wondering, if their hands felt that good, how much better will it be when we do it?"
Priscilla stepped forward, looking Sol over with an approving look. "Hey there. You free?"
Sol looked Priscilla over and shrugged. "I'm just not into blonds. Sorry."
Priscilla hung her head. "Damn."
Amarantha decided to add in, "He also has a scale fetish, and is romantically involved with a young Lizardman and a young salamander. He's still a virgin, but he's taken. You never stood a chance."
This only made Priscilla feel worse. "Will I ever find a decent man?"
Sol shrugged. "Look for mages, alchemists, or other people in professions that require intelligence."
Priscilla looked at him questioningly. "How did you know?"
Sol grinned. "Know what? That you want a better man than what's available around here? With your looks, and that crowd of drooling morons behind you, I suspected that you don't want some good-looking-but-unforgivably-dumb guy as a fuck-toy. Since you so eagerly eyed me over before learning that I'm out of your reach, I suspected that you wanted a smart guy that looked good. You're aiming pretty high, but there's nothing wrong with that. Don't give up. You might find someone when you least expect it."
Priscilla looked at him suspiciously. "You're too perceptive."
Sol ignored her and asked the hero, "So, you think we'll meet some mermaids I can talk to about trading? I'd like to trade potions for money or mermaid blood, if they're willing."
Zeraine laughed. "Same old Sol. Still money hungry after becoming an incubus..."
Sol ignored that, too. "So, this merrow you mentioned... Would she be interested in a vampire? He could protect her easily, and he's a pretty nice guy, if a bit haughty. I'd have to meet her to know more, but..."
The hero held up his hand. "Let's just go get that porn. That way, we can deliver it while you ask her about it. If she agrees, good. If not, Priscilla can have a shot, right?"
Priscilla shrugged, causing her barely-covered breasts to jiggle. "I'd have to meet him."
Sol pointed with his staff. "Follow me."
Amarantha stepped up beside him. "How did you meet a vampire? Wait, this was in the Demon Realm, right? How did you meet one, live, and return in one piece, let alone come back as an incubus?"
He smiled. "I'll tell you later."
Chapter 42
Spoiler: show
Sol led the party to the place he mentioned, which was a short distance outside of town. The building was huge and ordinary-looking. Sol turned around. "Okay, we're here. Don't let the outside fool you; this is the absolute best porn shop in the world. It's run by a man named Zym. As you might be able to guess, merrows love him because of his selection. He's got a lot of girlfriends, many of them merrows. Anyway, you guys get the porn you need, I'm going to get the one I want, then we'll get some info out of that merrow, then see what we need to do from there."
They entered the shop, Sol splitting off from the group, heading for the section that had the lesbian Lizardman porn he wanted. From his movements, it was obvious that he had been here many times before. The succubus approached the counter, where Zym was sitting, reading some porn. He looked up and asked, "What do you need?"
She handed him the paper and said, "We need this for a friend."
Zym looked at the paper and grinned. "Why didn't Holly come here herself?"
Zeraine asked, "Her name is Holly? Wait, how did you know?"
Zym smiled. "She's the only person around here who likes hardcore bondage porn, and she had a copy of this issue reserved."
The five of them looked among each other, their looks saying 'What kind of person are we associating with!?' among other things. Zym took out the reserved copy of the porn for Holly and set it on the counter. "She already paid half, so unless she gave you the money to cover the rest, you'll have to pay it."
As soon as the party finished paying, Sol returned and set a porn mag on the counter. Zym looked at him and paused. "Sol? What's with the horns?"
Sol grinned proudly. "I'm an incubus now. The stories about becoming more powerful upon transformation were true, too."
Zym looked down at the mag Sol wanted. "Female Lizardman-on-female salamander? Is that wishful thinking I sense?"
"Nope. I just need to stay current with my favorite porn series, and as you know, I find this incredibly hot."
"Why don't you just have your girls do it in real life while you watch?"
"Because until I myself have them, nothing is going to happen, not even girl-on-girl between them. I don't think they'd be too happy with the request, either, but..."
"Oh, well. So, you bone them yet?"
"No. We decided that the best birthday present I could have this year is their virginities, so we're waiting. I did get a few handjobs from both of them at once earlier, though."
"Couldn't wait anymore?"
"It was right after transforming into an incubus. My lust skyrocketed and I had one of those 'so hard it hurts and it's trying to get harder' boners that wouldn't go away. I was suffering bad, fighting to keep from jumping them. They realized what was wrong and stroked me off about four times, which gave me enough relief to allow me to regain full control of myself."
"Didn't it hurt? Or were they good enough at it to not touch you with their claws?"
"Well, it was both of them at once, so they sort of did their hand like this..." Sol held up his hands, putting then together and interlocking his fingers. "...and they used their palms."
"So no claws?"
"No, just the really soft scaly skin of their palms. I'll tell you one thing, though. Since that, I've been wondering, if their hands felt that good, how much better will the rest of their bodies feel?"
"Having a harder time waiting now that you've had a taste?"
"Yeah. Anyway, good seeing you again, God of Porn." Sol laughed.
Zym started laughing, too. "Remember, you want porn, you come here. I've got it all."
As they finished their transactions and left, both the succubus and Priscilla were imagining what Sol went through. The two succubi continued thinking about it until they arrived at Holly's shack. As soon as they entered, Holly looked Sol over. "Who's this and why does he have horns?"
Sol stepped forward, offering to shake hands. "My name is Sol. I run a magic shop in another city. Just this morning, I became an incubus, which is why I have horns. My friends here have told me about the series of murders that have happened here recently, and I'm pissed. I want to boil the bodily fluids of the murderers until they die. You don't have to worry about me, but your enemies do." He smiled innocently, which only served to amplify the effect of his words.
Holly shook his hand anyway, since he was apparently no danger to her. "So what about the porn I asked for?"
The succubus handed her the mag. "Right here. What kind of merrow is into hardcore bondage porn, anyway?"
Holly looked slightly offended. "Everyone has their fetishes. I like reading porn where someone gets bound and dominated, whether it's a man or a woman. I'm sure there's people out there that enjoy stories about minotaurs raping human women, too, so my fetish isn't that bad."
Sol decided to chime in, saying, "And my fetish for scaly female monsters is fairly tame. There's nothing wrong with looking at female Lizardmen and salamanders getting it on, you know?"
Holly glanced at Sol, suddenly more comfortable with him, but now slightly embarrassed. As a merrow, she qualified as a "scaly female monster" to some extent. She hesitantly asked, "How do you feel about merrows?"
Sol shrugged. "I prefer the reptile types like Lizardmen, salamanders, dragons, lamias, and echidnas, but I'm fine with fish girls like mermaids and merrows, too. I don't know how female vampires are, so I can't say whether I'd like them or not. Same for Dark Elves. From what I've heard, they're total bitches, so... Anyway, I'm curious about Dullahans, but even after becoming an incubus, I'm still uncomfortable with the thought of going to the Demon Realm to find a female one to talk to. I'm sure there are decent ones out there, but I'm not risking my neck to find one. I also like succubi..."
Priscilla perked up when she heard him say that.
"...as long as they're not blond. I just don't like blonds."
She hung her head again.
Sol continued, "Anyway, I'm taken, so I shouldn't really be thinking about looking for other female monsters."
Holly looked a little sad. "What do you mean 'other' female monsters?"
Amarantha answered for him, saying, "He has two female monsters working for him, and he's head over heels for them. It's mutual, too. Victoria, a Lizardman, and Hilda, a salamander."
The hero butted in. "We can chat about our personal relationships some other time. For now, let's focus on solving the case and bringing the murderers to justice. Holly, tell us what you know."
Holly took a deep breath, a solemn look on her face. "Okay, I'll start by telling you that it's The Order."
The hero was shocked. "The Order!? Why would they be killing mermaids!?"
Holly gave him a suspicious look, then continued, "They hate us. Just because we're not human, they believe we should die. It's bullshit, but it's how they think. One night, I was swimming with a few friends, and we heard some kind of sound. We went to check it out and saw that other mermaids and merrows were investigating, too. Unfortunately, they got caught. My friends and I were far enough away to escape the nearly invisible net they used, but the ones we saw that were closer got caught. We quietly swam closer after they pulled the net out of the water, then climbed up some ropes on the side of their boat. We heard the men insulting them, and we even saw them spitting on them. After the scumbags had their fill of that, they drew their swords, cut the net open, and began slaughtering them. We climbed back down into the water as quietly as we could and swam away. My friends live underwater, so they're safe, but I live up here. If you six can get rid of them, thus making me safe, I'd be grateful. As it stands right now, I've put myself in great danger just by telling you this."
The air became strangely heavy and filled with malice. When everyone looked around, they saw Sol, standing there with his eyes glowing bright red, a fierce scowl on his face as he grit his teeth. Amarantha cautiously said, "Sol?"
Sol said in a low tone, his voice filled with venom, "Yeah, I'm definitely going to kill those faggots. I'm going to slowly cut them open and hang them by their own intestines!"
Zeraine put his hand on Sol's shoulder. "Slow down, man! You'll be able to vent at the bastards soon, possibly tonight. Just stay calm, okay?"
The glow faded and he said, "I'm still going to make it as slow and painful as possible for them. They deserve it."
Priscilla said, "Let's go to the beach. We can play for a little while, then get a nap in preparation for tonight."
Everyone agreed. Sol said, "Maybe I should go back real quick, close up shop for the day, and bring the girls. What do you think?"
The succubus nodded. "I'm sure they'd enjoy it. I'm also sure you'd love to see them in bikinis." She grinned, somewhat teasingly.
Sol smiled pervertedly and said, "Damn right I would! It could end up being even better than seeing them in their underwear!"
She looked at him, slightly surprised. "Haven't you seen them naked before? You live with them..."
"Yes, I have. It's just that a bikini, like a nice set of lingerie, can enhance the experience, just like icing on a cake. I'm also worried that if I see them naked, I might pursue them. I have to hold it until my birthday, damn it!"
"Won't you be lusting after them the whole time, then?"
"I always am."
Priscilla said, "You know, if you need relief, I could help."
Sol looked at her. "Are you offering yourself to me?"
She held up her hands, waving them in front of her. "Hear me out. Look, I'd rather not feed off the idiots around here. It'd be killing two birds with one stone, so to speak. I'd get to feed, and you'd get relief."
Sol shook his head. "If I put it in, I'd be giving my first time to you, and it's reserved for them."
"How about a blowjob, then? You'd keep your virginity for them while still getting relief, and I'd get to feed from a guy who isn't outdone in thinking capability by a bar of soap."
"Unless they've done it, nobody else gets to. Sorry."
Priscilla hung her head in depression. The succubus said, "Sol, you're a virgin, and so are your lizard girls. Which one gets to have the 'mutual first time' with you?"
"Victoria. We've already talked it out, and since she was there first, she gets my first time."
All the while, Holly was blushing. Her mind was racing, imagining everything suggested and discussed. Priscilla thought for a second, then said, "Wait, Sol? How about this, you get blowjobs from your girls, then let me give you one?"
Sol shrugged. "You'd have to talk it over with them."
Amarantha asked, "You've been 'borrowing' men from your sister's harem so far, right? Why not 'take' one?"
Priscilla shook her head. "She's greedy. She wouldn't give up any of her men for anything. She only lets me 'borrow' her men because I'm her sister."
The succubus gave her a sympathetic look. "As your friend, I know how much pride you have, too. I know you wouldn't be comfortable with bumming a guy off your sister. You want to earn your own."
Priscilla nodded. "Which is why I'm so far away from home, 'man-hunting'. I'd like to have this man here," she said, hugging Sol's arm, strongly pressing her breasts against him, "even if it's just once to feed."
Amarantha grinned. "If you had scales, he'd probably be all over you right now."
"Just out of curiosity..." Priscilla reached down and felt Sol's crotch. "He's not even partially hard! What gives!?"
Sol looked at her apologetically while Amarantha giggled. She said, "Like I said, scales. You don't have them, so you've got almost no chance of getting him hard. If you want some of him, you'd first have to get Vicky and Hilda to share, then you'd have to join in with them, having either a threesome or a foursome, depending on whether or not he was going to do both of them."
Priscilla let go, disheartened. Holly, despite the fact that she was drooling while fantasizing about all the sexual activities being discussed, asked, "What's this about feeding and the Demon Realm?"
Priscilla dispelled her disguise, which equated to her horns, wings, and tail showing where they weren't before. "I'm a succubus."
The party's resident mage and virgin succubus dropped her disguise, too. "As am I."
Priscilla said, "Succubi have sex with men in order to feed. ...Of course, it doesn't have to be human men. We can feed off any 'male', be it human or monster. Personally, I only go for human men and incubi, but my sister has male Elves and Dark Elves, too. I think I heard her mumbling about getting a vampire, too, but I'm not sure. She might have just been complaining about one certain vampire that is extra harsh when dealing with her." She shrugged.
Holly looked a bit skeptical of their intentions, but decided that since they offered to help her, she could trust them for now. "Well, some people around here are wary of succubi, so keep your disguises up. I don't know how Sol got around without someone calling attention to his horns, but I guess he's fine?"
Sol snapped his fingers. "That's right! I almost forgot, Holly, how would you feel about dating a vampire?"
Holly frowned. "I'm not really big on the idea of having my blood sucked, even though it's customary for some mermaids and merrows to give their blood to their mates. I just don't like the thought of having my neck bitten like that."
He shrugged, then glanced at Priscilla. "Well, if you don't care to meet him, I suppose Priscilla here could check him out. She might like him."
Holly thought for a second, then said, "I'll meet him, but if he insists too much on drinking my blood, or is too eager to get into my panties, or is an asshole, I'll reject him."
Sol clapped his hands. "Splendid. Now, let's get going. There's swimming to be done and fun to be had! I have to go get my girls first, so I'll meet you guys there. I'll make a quick detour to the Demon Realm to tell that vampire about this, and he can meet up with Holly, go on a date, and see how things work out. See you later!"
Before anyone could say anything, Sol had teleported away.
Everyone looked at each other, shrugged, then left, heading for the beach. Naturally, right before they left, the two succubi reassumed their disguises. On the way, the hero asked, "Wait, don't vampires burn to death in the sun?"
The succubus shook her head. "No. Their powers are weaker, and their strength is reduced to that of barely above-human, but they don't die."
They entered the shop, Sol splitting off from the group, heading for the section that had the lesbian Lizardman porn he wanted. From his movements, it was obvious that he had been here many times before. The succubus approached the counter, where Zym was sitting, reading some porn. He looked up and asked, "What do you need?"
She handed him the paper and said, "We need this for a friend."
Zym looked at the paper and grinned. "Why didn't Holly come here herself?"
Zeraine asked, "Her name is Holly? Wait, how did you know?"
Zym smiled. "She's the only person around here who likes hardcore bondage porn, and she had a copy of this issue reserved."
The five of them looked among each other, their looks saying 'What kind of person are we associating with!?' among other things. Zym took out the reserved copy of the porn for Holly and set it on the counter. "She already paid half, so unless she gave you the money to cover the rest, you'll have to pay it."
As soon as the party finished paying, Sol returned and set a porn mag on the counter. Zym looked at him and paused. "Sol? What's with the horns?"
Sol grinned proudly. "I'm an incubus now. The stories about becoming more powerful upon transformation were true, too."
Zym looked down at the mag Sol wanted. "Female Lizardman-on-female salamander? Is that wishful thinking I sense?"
"Nope. I just need to stay current with my favorite porn series, and as you know, I find this incredibly hot."
"Why don't you just have your girls do it in real life while you watch?"
"Because until I myself have them, nothing is going to happen, not even girl-on-girl between them. I don't think they'd be too happy with the request, either, but..."
"Oh, well. So, you bone them yet?"
"No. We decided that the best birthday present I could have this year is their virginities, so we're waiting. I did get a few handjobs from both of them at once earlier, though."
"Couldn't wait anymore?"
"It was right after transforming into an incubus. My lust skyrocketed and I had one of those 'so hard it hurts and it's trying to get harder' boners that wouldn't go away. I was suffering bad, fighting to keep from jumping them. They realized what was wrong and stroked me off about four times, which gave me enough relief to allow me to regain full control of myself."
"Didn't it hurt? Or were they good enough at it to not touch you with their claws?"
"Well, it was both of them at once, so they sort of did their hand like this..." Sol held up his hands, putting then together and interlocking his fingers. "...and they used their palms."
"So no claws?"
"No, just the really soft scaly skin of their palms. I'll tell you one thing, though. Since that, I've been wondering, if their hands felt that good, how much better will the rest of their bodies feel?"
"Having a harder time waiting now that you've had a taste?"
"Yeah. Anyway, good seeing you again, God of Porn." Sol laughed.
Zym started laughing, too. "Remember, you want porn, you come here. I've got it all."
As they finished their transactions and left, both the succubus and Priscilla were imagining what Sol went through. The two succubi continued thinking about it until they arrived at Holly's shack. As soon as they entered, Holly looked Sol over. "Who's this and why does he have horns?"
Sol stepped forward, offering to shake hands. "My name is Sol. I run a magic shop in another city. Just this morning, I became an incubus, which is why I have horns. My friends here have told me about the series of murders that have happened here recently, and I'm pissed. I want to boil the bodily fluids of the murderers until they die. You don't have to worry about me, but your enemies do." He smiled innocently, which only served to amplify the effect of his words.
Holly shook his hand anyway, since he was apparently no danger to her. "So what about the porn I asked for?"
The succubus handed her the mag. "Right here. What kind of merrow is into hardcore bondage porn, anyway?"
Holly looked slightly offended. "Everyone has their fetishes. I like reading porn where someone gets bound and dominated, whether it's a man or a woman. I'm sure there's people out there that enjoy stories about minotaurs raping human women, too, so my fetish isn't that bad."
Sol decided to chime in, saying, "And my fetish for scaly female monsters is fairly tame. There's nothing wrong with looking at female Lizardmen and salamanders getting it on, you know?"
Holly glanced at Sol, suddenly more comfortable with him, but now slightly embarrassed. As a merrow, she qualified as a "scaly female monster" to some extent. She hesitantly asked, "How do you feel about merrows?"
Sol shrugged. "I prefer the reptile types like Lizardmen, salamanders, dragons, lamias, and echidnas, but I'm fine with fish girls like mermaids and merrows, too. I don't know how female vampires are, so I can't say whether I'd like them or not. Same for Dark Elves. From what I've heard, they're total bitches, so... Anyway, I'm curious about Dullahans, but even after becoming an incubus, I'm still uncomfortable with the thought of going to the Demon Realm to find a female one to talk to. I'm sure there are decent ones out there, but I'm not risking my neck to find one. I also like succubi..."
Priscilla perked up when she heard him say that.
"...as long as they're not blond. I just don't like blonds."
She hung her head again.
Sol continued, "Anyway, I'm taken, so I shouldn't really be thinking about looking for other female monsters."
Holly looked a little sad. "What do you mean 'other' female monsters?"
Amarantha answered for him, saying, "He has two female monsters working for him, and he's head over heels for them. It's mutual, too. Victoria, a Lizardman, and Hilda, a salamander."
The hero butted in. "We can chat about our personal relationships some other time. For now, let's focus on solving the case and bringing the murderers to justice. Holly, tell us what you know."
Holly took a deep breath, a solemn look on her face. "Okay, I'll start by telling you that it's The Order."
The hero was shocked. "The Order!? Why would they be killing mermaids!?"
Holly gave him a suspicious look, then continued, "They hate us. Just because we're not human, they believe we should die. It's bullshit, but it's how they think. One night, I was swimming with a few friends, and we heard some kind of sound. We went to check it out and saw that other mermaids and merrows were investigating, too. Unfortunately, they got caught. My friends and I were far enough away to escape the nearly invisible net they used, but the ones we saw that were closer got caught. We quietly swam closer after they pulled the net out of the water, then climbed up some ropes on the side of their boat. We heard the men insulting them, and we even saw them spitting on them. After the scumbags had their fill of that, they drew their swords, cut the net open, and began slaughtering them. We climbed back down into the water as quietly as we could and swam away. My friends live underwater, so they're safe, but I live up here. If you six can get rid of them, thus making me safe, I'd be grateful. As it stands right now, I've put myself in great danger just by telling you this."
The air became strangely heavy and filled with malice. When everyone looked around, they saw Sol, standing there with his eyes glowing bright red, a fierce scowl on his face as he grit his teeth. Amarantha cautiously said, "Sol?"
Sol said in a low tone, his voice filled with venom, "Yeah, I'm definitely going to kill those faggots. I'm going to slowly cut them open and hang them by their own intestines!"
Zeraine put his hand on Sol's shoulder. "Slow down, man! You'll be able to vent at the bastards soon, possibly tonight. Just stay calm, okay?"
The glow faded and he said, "I'm still going to make it as slow and painful as possible for them. They deserve it."
Priscilla said, "Let's go to the beach. We can play for a little while, then get a nap in preparation for tonight."
Everyone agreed. Sol said, "Maybe I should go back real quick, close up shop for the day, and bring the girls. What do you think?"
The succubus nodded. "I'm sure they'd enjoy it. I'm also sure you'd love to see them in bikinis." She grinned, somewhat teasingly.
Sol smiled pervertedly and said, "Damn right I would! It could end up being even better than seeing them in their underwear!"
She looked at him, slightly surprised. "Haven't you seen them naked before? You live with them..."
"Yes, I have. It's just that a bikini, like a nice set of lingerie, can enhance the experience, just like icing on a cake. I'm also worried that if I see them naked, I might pursue them. I have to hold it until my birthday, damn it!"
"Won't you be lusting after them the whole time, then?"
"I always am."
Priscilla said, "You know, if you need relief, I could help."
Sol looked at her. "Are you offering yourself to me?"
She held up her hands, waving them in front of her. "Hear me out. Look, I'd rather not feed off the idiots around here. It'd be killing two birds with one stone, so to speak. I'd get to feed, and you'd get relief."
Sol shook his head. "If I put it in, I'd be giving my first time to you, and it's reserved for them."
"How about a blowjob, then? You'd keep your virginity for them while still getting relief, and I'd get to feed from a guy who isn't outdone in thinking capability by a bar of soap."
"Unless they've done it, nobody else gets to. Sorry."
Priscilla hung her head in depression. The succubus said, "Sol, you're a virgin, and so are your lizard girls. Which one gets to have the 'mutual first time' with you?"
"Victoria. We've already talked it out, and since she was there first, she gets my first time."
All the while, Holly was blushing. Her mind was racing, imagining everything suggested and discussed. Priscilla thought for a second, then said, "Wait, Sol? How about this, you get blowjobs from your girls, then let me give you one?"
Sol shrugged. "You'd have to talk it over with them."
Amarantha asked, "You've been 'borrowing' men from your sister's harem so far, right? Why not 'take' one?"
Priscilla shook her head. "She's greedy. She wouldn't give up any of her men for anything. She only lets me 'borrow' her men because I'm her sister."
The succubus gave her a sympathetic look. "As your friend, I know how much pride you have, too. I know you wouldn't be comfortable with bumming a guy off your sister. You want to earn your own."
Priscilla nodded. "Which is why I'm so far away from home, 'man-hunting'. I'd like to have this man here," she said, hugging Sol's arm, strongly pressing her breasts against him, "even if it's just once to feed."
Amarantha grinned. "If you had scales, he'd probably be all over you right now."
"Just out of curiosity..." Priscilla reached down and felt Sol's crotch. "He's not even partially hard! What gives!?"
Sol looked at her apologetically while Amarantha giggled. She said, "Like I said, scales. You don't have them, so you've got almost no chance of getting him hard. If you want some of him, you'd first have to get Vicky and Hilda to share, then you'd have to join in with them, having either a threesome or a foursome, depending on whether or not he was going to do both of them."
Priscilla let go, disheartened. Holly, despite the fact that she was drooling while fantasizing about all the sexual activities being discussed, asked, "What's this about feeding and the Demon Realm?"
Priscilla dispelled her disguise, which equated to her horns, wings, and tail showing where they weren't before. "I'm a succubus."
The party's resident mage and virgin succubus dropped her disguise, too. "As am I."
Priscilla said, "Succubi have sex with men in order to feed. ...Of course, it doesn't have to be human men. We can feed off any 'male', be it human or monster. Personally, I only go for human men and incubi, but my sister has male Elves and Dark Elves, too. I think I heard her mumbling about getting a vampire, too, but I'm not sure. She might have just been complaining about one certain vampire that is extra harsh when dealing with her." She shrugged.
Holly looked a bit skeptical of their intentions, but decided that since they offered to help her, she could trust them for now. "Well, some people around here are wary of succubi, so keep your disguises up. I don't know how Sol got around without someone calling attention to his horns, but I guess he's fine?"
Sol snapped his fingers. "That's right! I almost forgot, Holly, how would you feel about dating a vampire?"
Holly frowned. "I'm not really big on the idea of having my blood sucked, even though it's customary for some mermaids and merrows to give their blood to their mates. I just don't like the thought of having my neck bitten like that."
He shrugged, then glanced at Priscilla. "Well, if you don't care to meet him, I suppose Priscilla here could check him out. She might like him."
Holly thought for a second, then said, "I'll meet him, but if he insists too much on drinking my blood, or is too eager to get into my panties, or is an asshole, I'll reject him."
Sol clapped his hands. "Splendid. Now, let's get going. There's swimming to be done and fun to be had! I have to go get my girls first, so I'll meet you guys there. I'll make a quick detour to the Demon Realm to tell that vampire about this, and he can meet up with Holly, go on a date, and see how things work out. See you later!"
Before anyone could say anything, Sol had teleported away.
Everyone looked at each other, shrugged, then left, heading for the beach. Naturally, right before they left, the two succubi reassumed their disguises. On the way, the hero asked, "Wait, don't vampires burn to death in the sun?"
The succubus shook her head. "No. Their powers are weaker, and their strength is reduced to that of barely above-human, but they don't die."
Chapter 43
Spoiler: show
As soon as they arrived at the beach, Priscilla jumped up and down happily, then cheerfully yelled, "Race you to the water!"
She bolted off toward the sea, quickly followed by Zeraine and Amarantha. The hero and the succubus didn't feel like racing, so they simply walked together toward the water. The hero said, "So vampires are really powerful, huh?"
She nodded. "Yep. If you have to kill one, you have to do enough damage to overpower its regeneration, then do something to prevent it from reviving. I don't know what that would be, since I never got to that during my private studies, but I don't think we'll have to worry about that for quite a while."
"How much weaker are their powers in the daytime?"
"For most, their powers are pretty much unusable. For the really powerful ones, their powers are noticeably weaker, but they can still use them. Anyway, let's relax until tonight, okay?"
The hero nodded, knowing that tonight, they'd try to stop the supposed Order members from further killing of mermaids. He wondered whether or not Holly was mistaken. Those of The Order who still followed the Grandmaster's teachings would defend mermaids in any way they could, not kill them, because mermaids were generally good. This caused the hero to conclude that the people Holly saw were either part of the "corrupted" Order, or were wearing similar-looking uniforms for the sake of either besmirching the name and image of The Order, or for killing mermaids out of some sort of racist, bigoted hatred, which was likely unwarranted. He'd have to confirm who they really were before passing judgment, so he set aside those thoughts for now.
Before the pair entered the water, the succubus stopped the hero. "Hey, it's been a while since you fed me. I can see you're still wearing the amulet, so how about 'filling me up' before playtime?"
Because the two were taking so long, Zeraine, Amarantha, and Priscilla were watching them. The previous feedings had been uneventful, but now someone was watching who could possibly provide some sort of commentary. The person in question was Priscilla, of course. The hero agreed, then hugged her, pulled her close, and kissed her. After a few seconds of her feeding off his energy from the kiss, they broke it off. As always, the hero was feeling a little tired, and the succubus was full of energy. When it was done, Priscilla said, "Lame. I heard about being able to do that, but I heard how it's pretty much useless. Looking at your man, he's tired now. Why not just go off into the nearby cove and get it on?"
This comment caused both the hero and the succubus to blush and look away from each other in embarrassment. The hero managed to reply, "Because I believe that sex isn't the only thing in life, and I'd prefer to only do it at the proper time."
The succubus added, "And I respect his wishes, despite said wishes being a burden to us both."
Priscilla shrugged, shaking her head. "Whatever. Sex is still better for feeding. Anyway, what are you waiting for? Join us!"
Almost as if on cue, a portal opened on the beach and Sol stepped out, wearing his swimming trunks, which were mostly blue, but had different elemental patterns and magic signs on them. The signs were just for decoration, but it made them seem even more fitting for a mage. Following him were Victoria and Hilda. Victoria was wearing a simple two-piece bikini. It was a shade of green that matched her scales nicely. Hilda was wearing a red two-piece bikini with flame patterns on it. The red part matched her scales very well, and the flame patterns further drove home the point that she was a salamander. Sol smiled and adjusted his glasses. "Don't tell me you were going to start without us?"
He closed the portal and approached everyone, his lizard girls in tow. Amarantha asked, "What about that vampire friend?"
"He's meeting with Holly right now. They just might join us. Anyway, what are we doing first? Swimming? Beach volleyball?"
Priscilla said, "Let's swim a little first, then you can watch my boobs bounce as I play volleyball, okay?"
Sol shrugged. "I like big boobs, but you just don't appeal to me. These two, however," he said, pulling Vitoria and Hilda close, "have me completely smitten. With them, I don't care if they have flat chests or not, I love them."
The two lizard girls had looks that were a mix of pride, happiness, and embarrassment. They liked the thought that, despite the fact that the guy they love is an incubus, he still favors them over a big-breasted succubus. They also remembered what they had to do earlier shortly after he became one, which added to their embarrassment. Priscilla, however, was saddened and a little bit insulted. For the first time, there existed a man that didn't immediately lust after her, and said man claimed that it was due to her hair color.
The hero held up his hands. "Okay, can we keep the lewdness and perversion to a minimum? I'd like to enjoy this time at the beach without all the sex talk, alright?"
Sol rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah."
Priscilla faced the succubus and asked, "Hey, why exactly is it that you change your hair color when you put up your disguise?"
The succubus answered in a matter-of-fact tone, "Because white isn't a normal hair color in humans. They either have to have been through a ridiculous amount of stress, or they have to be an albino. Either way, most humans would shun such people, so by giving myself and normal hair color, I can get by with a lot less bullshit. The same goes for my eye color. Red isn't normal unless you are an albino, or for some reason have a serious lack of melanin in your irises. That's why I randomly chose green."
Zeraine decided to ask her, "About earlier, when Holly told us about the incident and Sol's eyes glowed red... Why did that happen?"
She replied, "Simple. After becoming an incubus, his energy is a bit more free to flow, thus when he gets angry, his eyes will likely glow red. The intensity of the glow will most likely be proportionate to his level of anger. The same will happen to you when your dragoness finishes changing you. It'll also happen to him after we've... you know." She gestured toward the hero as she spoke her last sentence.
Amarantha crossed her arms. "So, Sol, when are you going to tell us how you not only survived an encounter with a vampire, but befriended him?"
Sol shrugged. "I guess now's as good a time as any, since you're all gathered here. As you guys know, I took Vicky and Hilda and went to the Demon Realm this morning for alchemy ingredients. While we were there, I started getting a strange feeling. It's like we were being watched with focused hostility. As a precaution, I absorbed the demonic energy in the surrounding area, which caused me to finish my transformation into an incubus. These horns grew out, I felt stronger, and found that my magic was more powerful. It was then that the vampire approached me. He-"
Suddenly, a man wearing black swimming trunks with bat patterns walked up, his arm over Holly's shoulder, and interrupted, "That's when I approached him and told him that a human man transforming into an incubus was incredibly rare, and that it'd be a waste to kill him. It'd be stupid, too, since such an event, being as rare as it is, should be celebrated. Despite the fact that he was trespassing, I thought it best to drop the issue in favor of the 'miracle' I witnessed. That, and he was with those lizard girls, and his behavior indicated that his relationship with them was not only good, but it was far deeper than 'fellow co-workers' or 'good friends'. He and I talked a bit and I found out that he was the one who made the potions that allowed my guards to thwart an assassination attempt on me. After finding out who he was, there was no way I could allow him to die, which is the usual punishment for trespassing on my property."
Sol nodded and added, "He and I struck a deal. I can gather ingredients, herbs, and other alchemy-related stuff on his property whenever I want as long as I let him know first, in return for keeping him supplied with certain potions at a discount rate." He then motioned back and forth between the vampire and everyone else. "Everyone, meet Viktor."
Viktor met everyone, mentioning that while he didn't like humans at all, because Zeraine was so close to becoming an incubus himself, he'd get treated with respect. The hero, however, would not, because he didn't have any "taint" to him. Even though the succubus told him how thing were, he still refused to be nice to the hero until he gets far enough along in his transformation. This stance left Holly disgruntled, but she let it go. She didn't know enough about him yet to decide if she should accept him or reject him.
Sol and his lizard girls started heading for the water, but Priscilla stopped them. "Hey, wait, won't it hurt a salamander to get wet?"
Hilda shook her head. "What gave you that idea?"
"Your tail flames. What happens in they go out?"
Hilda scoffed. "It looks strange. I can relight them easily, however, so that's not important. What did you think would happen?"
Holly said, "Probably that she'd die, right?"
Priscilla nodded.
Everyone looked around at each other. The succubus turned to Sol. "Do you want to tell her or should I? Or maybe have Hilda say it?"
Sol shrugged. "A salamander dying from its tail flame going out is only in very poorly-written stories. In reality, if the tail flames go out, nothing of any significance happens. Sure, some get a little tired maybe, but nothing serious."
Everyone looked among one another. Seeing that there weren't any more subjects to discuss for the moment, they all went into the water. Holly reverted to her normal, true form as a merrow, swimming circles around everyone else.
She bolted off toward the sea, quickly followed by Zeraine and Amarantha. The hero and the succubus didn't feel like racing, so they simply walked together toward the water. The hero said, "So vampires are really powerful, huh?"
She nodded. "Yep. If you have to kill one, you have to do enough damage to overpower its regeneration, then do something to prevent it from reviving. I don't know what that would be, since I never got to that during my private studies, but I don't think we'll have to worry about that for quite a while."
"How much weaker are their powers in the daytime?"
"For most, their powers are pretty much unusable. For the really powerful ones, their powers are noticeably weaker, but they can still use them. Anyway, let's relax until tonight, okay?"
The hero nodded, knowing that tonight, they'd try to stop the supposed Order members from further killing of mermaids. He wondered whether or not Holly was mistaken. Those of The Order who still followed the Grandmaster's teachings would defend mermaids in any way they could, not kill them, because mermaids were generally good. This caused the hero to conclude that the people Holly saw were either part of the "corrupted" Order, or were wearing similar-looking uniforms for the sake of either besmirching the name and image of The Order, or for killing mermaids out of some sort of racist, bigoted hatred, which was likely unwarranted. He'd have to confirm who they really were before passing judgment, so he set aside those thoughts for now.
Before the pair entered the water, the succubus stopped the hero. "Hey, it's been a while since you fed me. I can see you're still wearing the amulet, so how about 'filling me up' before playtime?"
Because the two were taking so long, Zeraine, Amarantha, and Priscilla were watching them. The previous feedings had been uneventful, but now someone was watching who could possibly provide some sort of commentary. The person in question was Priscilla, of course. The hero agreed, then hugged her, pulled her close, and kissed her. After a few seconds of her feeding off his energy from the kiss, they broke it off. As always, the hero was feeling a little tired, and the succubus was full of energy. When it was done, Priscilla said, "Lame. I heard about being able to do that, but I heard how it's pretty much useless. Looking at your man, he's tired now. Why not just go off into the nearby cove and get it on?"
This comment caused both the hero and the succubus to blush and look away from each other in embarrassment. The hero managed to reply, "Because I believe that sex isn't the only thing in life, and I'd prefer to only do it at the proper time."
The succubus added, "And I respect his wishes, despite said wishes being a burden to us both."
Priscilla shrugged, shaking her head. "Whatever. Sex is still better for feeding. Anyway, what are you waiting for? Join us!"
Almost as if on cue, a portal opened on the beach and Sol stepped out, wearing his swimming trunks, which were mostly blue, but had different elemental patterns and magic signs on them. The signs were just for decoration, but it made them seem even more fitting for a mage. Following him were Victoria and Hilda. Victoria was wearing a simple two-piece bikini. It was a shade of green that matched her scales nicely. Hilda was wearing a red two-piece bikini with flame patterns on it. The red part matched her scales very well, and the flame patterns further drove home the point that she was a salamander. Sol smiled and adjusted his glasses. "Don't tell me you were going to start without us?"
He closed the portal and approached everyone, his lizard girls in tow. Amarantha asked, "What about that vampire friend?"
"He's meeting with Holly right now. They just might join us. Anyway, what are we doing first? Swimming? Beach volleyball?"
Priscilla said, "Let's swim a little first, then you can watch my boobs bounce as I play volleyball, okay?"
Sol shrugged. "I like big boobs, but you just don't appeal to me. These two, however," he said, pulling Vitoria and Hilda close, "have me completely smitten. With them, I don't care if they have flat chests or not, I love them."
The two lizard girls had looks that were a mix of pride, happiness, and embarrassment. They liked the thought that, despite the fact that the guy they love is an incubus, he still favors them over a big-breasted succubus. They also remembered what they had to do earlier shortly after he became one, which added to their embarrassment. Priscilla, however, was saddened and a little bit insulted. For the first time, there existed a man that didn't immediately lust after her, and said man claimed that it was due to her hair color.
The hero held up his hands. "Okay, can we keep the lewdness and perversion to a minimum? I'd like to enjoy this time at the beach without all the sex talk, alright?"
Sol rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah."
Priscilla faced the succubus and asked, "Hey, why exactly is it that you change your hair color when you put up your disguise?"
The succubus answered in a matter-of-fact tone, "Because white isn't a normal hair color in humans. They either have to have been through a ridiculous amount of stress, or they have to be an albino. Either way, most humans would shun such people, so by giving myself and normal hair color, I can get by with a lot less bullshit. The same goes for my eye color. Red isn't normal unless you are an albino, or for some reason have a serious lack of melanin in your irises. That's why I randomly chose green."
Zeraine decided to ask her, "About earlier, when Holly told us about the incident and Sol's eyes glowed red... Why did that happen?"
She replied, "Simple. After becoming an incubus, his energy is a bit more free to flow, thus when he gets angry, his eyes will likely glow red. The intensity of the glow will most likely be proportionate to his level of anger. The same will happen to you when your dragoness finishes changing you. It'll also happen to him after we've... you know." She gestured toward the hero as she spoke her last sentence.
Amarantha crossed her arms. "So, Sol, when are you going to tell us how you not only survived an encounter with a vampire, but befriended him?"
Sol shrugged. "I guess now's as good a time as any, since you're all gathered here. As you guys know, I took Vicky and Hilda and went to the Demon Realm this morning for alchemy ingredients. While we were there, I started getting a strange feeling. It's like we were being watched with focused hostility. As a precaution, I absorbed the demonic energy in the surrounding area, which caused me to finish my transformation into an incubus. These horns grew out, I felt stronger, and found that my magic was more powerful. It was then that the vampire approached me. He-"
Suddenly, a man wearing black swimming trunks with bat patterns walked up, his arm over Holly's shoulder, and interrupted, "That's when I approached him and told him that a human man transforming into an incubus was incredibly rare, and that it'd be a waste to kill him. It'd be stupid, too, since such an event, being as rare as it is, should be celebrated. Despite the fact that he was trespassing, I thought it best to drop the issue in favor of the 'miracle' I witnessed. That, and he was with those lizard girls, and his behavior indicated that his relationship with them was not only good, but it was far deeper than 'fellow co-workers' or 'good friends'. He and I talked a bit and I found out that he was the one who made the potions that allowed my guards to thwart an assassination attempt on me. After finding out who he was, there was no way I could allow him to die, which is the usual punishment for trespassing on my property."
Sol nodded and added, "He and I struck a deal. I can gather ingredients, herbs, and other alchemy-related stuff on his property whenever I want as long as I let him know first, in return for keeping him supplied with certain potions at a discount rate." He then motioned back and forth between the vampire and everyone else. "Everyone, meet Viktor."
Viktor met everyone, mentioning that while he didn't like humans at all, because Zeraine was so close to becoming an incubus himself, he'd get treated with respect. The hero, however, would not, because he didn't have any "taint" to him. Even though the succubus told him how thing were, he still refused to be nice to the hero until he gets far enough along in his transformation. This stance left Holly disgruntled, but she let it go. She didn't know enough about him yet to decide if she should accept him or reject him.
Sol and his lizard girls started heading for the water, but Priscilla stopped them. "Hey, wait, won't it hurt a salamander to get wet?"
Hilda shook her head. "What gave you that idea?"
"Your tail flames. What happens in they go out?"
Hilda scoffed. "It looks strange. I can relight them easily, however, so that's not important. What did you think would happen?"
Holly said, "Probably that she'd die, right?"
Priscilla nodded.
Everyone looked around at each other. The succubus turned to Sol. "Do you want to tell her or should I? Or maybe have Hilda say it?"
Sol shrugged. "A salamander dying from its tail flame going out is only in very poorly-written stories. In reality, if the tail flames go out, nothing of any significance happens. Sure, some get a little tired maybe, but nothing serious."
Everyone looked among one another. Seeing that there weren't any more subjects to discuss for the moment, they all went into the water. Holly reverted to her normal, true form as a merrow, swimming circles around everyone else.
Chapter 44
Spoiler: show
After some swimming, and a few swimming races, everyone decided to get some grilled food to eat. Once they were done with their meal, they played volleyball on the beach. During their three-on-three match with Sol, Victoria, and Hilda on one side, and the hero, the succubus, and Priscilla on the other, Priscilla once again tried to tempt Sol with her sizable chest, but he was too focused on Victoria and Hilda. The two lizards could almost feel his lustful yet loving gaze as he stared at their scaly bodies. Priscilla managed to notice this, and, upset that Sol didn't even look at her, she tried to hit him with the ball and make it look like an accident. Hilda's reflexes were too quick, though. She and Victoria saw it, and she bounced the ball up, allowing Victoria to spike it right into Priscilla's top, causing it to fall down, revealing her pink protrusions. Priscilla's unofficial fanclub nearly had a massive simultaneous involuntary ejaculation, but Sol didn't react at all. His eyes were glued to his beloved lizards. He never saw Priscilla's wardrobe malfunction, and probably wouldn't have cared if he did. Priscilla sighed with discontent, then put her top back on, never once attempting to hide herself before doing so.
Their match ended in a tie, both sides too tired to continue. Sol's team stood a decent chance at winning, but because he spent almost the entire match staring at Victoria and Hilda, he mostly dragged them down. The only reason they did so well was because of the efforts of Victoria and Hilda. The hero's team could have taken advantage of this, but he found himself unable to keep from glancing at the succubus's bouncing breasts. He was a guy, after all. When Priscilla's top fell down, exposing her breasts, he turned his head. Forcing himself to stay calm after seeing such a sight had drained him. It helped that he had fallen in love with the ambitious young succubus he was traveling with, too. As they went to relax under some beach umbrellas, the next match started. It was a two-on-two with Zeraine and Amarantha on one side, and Viktor and Holly on the other.
As they rested, Sol decided to chat a little. "So, what kind of plan do you guys have?"
The succubus said, "Well, if it's The Order that's killing mermaids, it's undoubtedly the work of the bastards that have corrupted it. It sounds like they have their own boat, which means that they can sail in and out as they please. We'll need a boat of our own to meet them. I don't know if their boat will have cannons or not, but we should be ready for such a thing. How are you with offensive spells?"
"Well, before I turned, I was pretty much average. I focused more on the 'utility' spells, but my 'attack magic' was strong enough to get the job done. Now, since the magic I've used so far has been more powerful, undoubtedly my attack magic will be stronger, too. And as you may have concluded from my actions in Holly's shack, I'm in this case with you guys to the end. I've got a personal issue with it."
The succubus grinned suggestively. "Your scale fetish extends to mermaids, right?"
"Yep, although Vicky and Hilda would have to be okay with it before I add any others to my 'harem'." He looked over at Victoria and Hilda, who were basking in the sun, out of earshot.
Her attempt at teasing him having fallen flat, she continued, "Obviously you're pissed off over this. Just don't let your anger consume you when we deal with them."
"It won't. Now, since we need to explore all of our options, let's talk beam-style spells."
"What about them?"
"Surely you've heard that you can cross them to make them more powerful, as long as there aren't any opposing elements-"
"Which would cause an explosion that could kill one or both casters. Yes, I know."
"Good. Then you've also heard about the 'Steam-'lectric Beam', right?"
"The what?"
"Seeing as you already know about the system of magic I'm talking about, I'll skip that part. Out of a maximum of five 'slots' for your spell, you combine fire and water twice to make two 'units' of steam, then you use one 'unit' of arcane energy, then two 'units' of lightning, which makes a beam spell of very nice power."
"Oh. Where I come from, they call it the 'Super Steam Lightning Beam'."
"Yes, and if both of us were to cross said beams, I think we'd deal a devastating first-strike to them when we encounter them."
"We'd be on a boat. There's a high possibility of being wet. With that system of magic, we'd take a big risk of killing ourselves when trying to conjure up the lightning element units due to being wet."
"If we used the 'wetness immunity' possible in that very same system of magic, we could still do that."
"Well, I'll keep it in mind, but I'd rather do things differently."
"Why and how do you mean?"
"Van Dera, Intelipeli, Voy Vot, to name a few."
"I can't argue with that. I like those spells, too. Anyway, I guess we've decided on our magic use, huh?"
"Pretty much. We're going to blast them into atoms."
"Sounds good." Sol looked past her at the hero. "Hey, kid?"
"What?"
"How are you going to handle this? You could be fighting your Order brethren tonight."
"If they murder harmless, sapient monsters, then they have turned away from the Grandmaster's teachings. Everything they do slanders and besmirches the name of The Order and insults everything it stands for. They must be punished. If they won't allow us to arrest them, we'll kill them."
"That's the spirit. We don't need you having doubts at the 'moment of truth'."
They turned their attention back to the volleyball match. This one, too, was fairly even. Zeraine managed to not ogle Amarantha during the match, which allowed him to stand up to Holly, and Amarantha pitted herself against Viktor, thus it was silver dragon against vampire. Their match also ended in a tie, with Amarantha and Viktor doing most of the work throughout the match.
Priscilla said, "Hey, how about after we rest for a bit, we go another round of volleyball, this time with different teams?"
The hero asked, "How do you mean?"
"Maybe boys against girls?"
The hero said, "We have four guys and six girls. The teams would be uneven."
Sol exhaled loudly, laying back. A quick look would enable one to see that the heat was starting to get to him. "I'll sit out the next round. It's too hot for me to do any more."
The hero shrugged. "That leaves us with three guys and four girls. To have even teams, one girl must sit out. Who would it be?"
They looked amongst each other until Priscilla suggested, "How about I sit out? The teams that we've had so far have almost been groups of one-on-one. Just look at the most recent match. Amarantha was pretty much focused on out-playing the vampire guy."
The succubus said, "And?"
Priscilla smiled. "Well, it could be lovers pitted against one another! You versus your Order knight, that spellsword guy against his dragon; what do you say?"
The succubus and the hero looked at each other, then back to Priscilla. The succubus smiled and said, "Sounds like it might be fun."
The hero held up one finger, his index finger, and said, "Wait a minute, wouldn't that be a little unfair? It'd be two human guys against a succubus and a dragon. The girls would have too much of an advantage."
Priscilla shrugged and shook her head. "Well then, how about you two versus them? You could see which couple is stronger."
The succubus glanced at the hero. "That could be good."
As the others finished their stuff at the net, they began conversing. Viktor commented, "Dragons truly are magnificent. You were a very worthy opponent, miss. As for you, human... Not bad."
The hero heard it and asked, "Viktor? Why do you look down on humans so much? Do you have a legitimate reason for hating us?"
Viktor ran his fingers through his short black hair, then scratched his neatly-trimmed goatee. "Well, for starters, you humans are disgustingly weak. Only a very rare few of you end up being worth anything. Most of you fear monsters because of stupid reasons. You're either afraid of us because we're stronger than you, you hate us out of simply bigotry, or you use moronic stereotypes to try to justify killing us all when a good number of us haven't done anything to you. What's worse is the fact that that's how humans were programmed to be."
The hero said, "Who told you that?"
Viktor sighed. "That's the way the gods made things. The Demon Lord was created and appointed by them to maintain some piss-poor balance of humans vs. monsters, with all of us killing each other all the time, hoping that you humans would unite against a common enemy. Obviously, their plan failed. Why? They decided to give us sapient monsters and you humans a little thing called 'free will'. Because of free will, we all, humans and monsters, pursued our own paths through life, and that earned us all the hatred of the gods. How do I know this? The Demon Lord reminds all of the residents of the Demon Realm on a monthly basis."
The succubus nodded. "I remember having to listen to that before I got exiled."
Viktor asked her, "What got you exiled?"
She grinned. "I didn't listen to him, I insulted him, rebelled against him on a regular basis... General stuff that pissed him off. Rather than make a martyr of me by killing me, which would provoke more of such behavior, he exiled me."
"So you hate him, too?"
"Yeah, do you?"
Viktor laughed. "Yes. I want to do my own thing, not murder humans because I'm ordered to. I want to become the baron of a city, but I'm stuck with sitting around, waiting for the Demon Lord to order me to kill another human."
The hero narrowed his eyes at Viktor and asked, "You've killed humans before?"
Viktor casually replied, "Yes. I've had the occasional armed human try to kill me, and I've killed them in self-defense. I've also murdered humans on orders from the Demon Lord. If he didn't order me to, I wouldn't do it."
The hero asked, "Then why not just not listen?"
His voice full of sorrow, Viktor said, "Well, that's one thing about you humans that I like better than my kind. You wouldn't make a permanent laughing stock out of an exile, where as a vampire would be disgraced, pretty much forever."
The hero said, "Sounds like vampires have it tough. In my opinion, you can't really justify calling yourselves completely superior after what you've told me."
Viktor shrugged. "Still, most humans aren't as refined as we are, they don't look as good, and they're pathetically weak. Part of why I became acquainted with Sol is because, as an incubus, I don't have to worry about him getting captured and executed, as long as he keeps any anti-Demon Lord stuff to himself."
The hero mulled over this for a bit, then said, "So you didn't want to make friends or even get acquainted as long as you had to worry about being ordered to kill him, or know that he got killed? I can understand. It sounds like you really hate the Demon Lord. Will you help us when the final battle takes place?"
Viktor scoffed. "That's only part of it. I still hate humans in general. Anyway, maybe. If it looks like you'll win, I might help, but I'd rather play it safe and not take sides until I see how things look at that time."
The ten of them laid back, enjoying the shade of their large beach umbrellas while they rested. During Viktor's conversation with the hero, Victoria and Hilda had came back and laid down on opposite sides of Sol, cuddling with him. Zeraine and Amarantha were also cuddling. They rested for about an hour.
Their match ended in a tie, both sides too tired to continue. Sol's team stood a decent chance at winning, but because he spent almost the entire match staring at Victoria and Hilda, he mostly dragged them down. The only reason they did so well was because of the efforts of Victoria and Hilda. The hero's team could have taken advantage of this, but he found himself unable to keep from glancing at the succubus's bouncing breasts. He was a guy, after all. When Priscilla's top fell down, exposing her breasts, he turned his head. Forcing himself to stay calm after seeing such a sight had drained him. It helped that he had fallen in love with the ambitious young succubus he was traveling with, too. As they went to relax under some beach umbrellas, the next match started. It was a two-on-two with Zeraine and Amarantha on one side, and Viktor and Holly on the other.
As they rested, Sol decided to chat a little. "So, what kind of plan do you guys have?"
The succubus said, "Well, if it's The Order that's killing mermaids, it's undoubtedly the work of the bastards that have corrupted it. It sounds like they have their own boat, which means that they can sail in and out as they please. We'll need a boat of our own to meet them. I don't know if their boat will have cannons or not, but we should be ready for such a thing. How are you with offensive spells?"
"Well, before I turned, I was pretty much average. I focused more on the 'utility' spells, but my 'attack magic' was strong enough to get the job done. Now, since the magic I've used so far has been more powerful, undoubtedly my attack magic will be stronger, too. And as you may have concluded from my actions in Holly's shack, I'm in this case with you guys to the end. I've got a personal issue with it."
The succubus grinned suggestively. "Your scale fetish extends to mermaids, right?"
"Yep, although Vicky and Hilda would have to be okay with it before I add any others to my 'harem'." He looked over at Victoria and Hilda, who were basking in the sun, out of earshot.
Her attempt at teasing him having fallen flat, she continued, "Obviously you're pissed off over this. Just don't let your anger consume you when we deal with them."
"It won't. Now, since we need to explore all of our options, let's talk beam-style spells."
"What about them?"
"Surely you've heard that you can cross them to make them more powerful, as long as there aren't any opposing elements-"
"Which would cause an explosion that could kill one or both casters. Yes, I know."
"Good. Then you've also heard about the 'Steam-'lectric Beam', right?"
"The what?"
"Seeing as you already know about the system of magic I'm talking about, I'll skip that part. Out of a maximum of five 'slots' for your spell, you combine fire and water twice to make two 'units' of steam, then you use one 'unit' of arcane energy, then two 'units' of lightning, which makes a beam spell of very nice power."
"Oh. Where I come from, they call it the 'Super Steam Lightning Beam'."
"Yes, and if both of us were to cross said beams, I think we'd deal a devastating first-strike to them when we encounter them."
"We'd be on a boat. There's a high possibility of being wet. With that system of magic, we'd take a big risk of killing ourselves when trying to conjure up the lightning element units due to being wet."
"If we used the 'wetness immunity' possible in that very same system of magic, we could still do that."
"Well, I'll keep it in mind, but I'd rather do things differently."
"Why and how do you mean?"
"Van Dera, Intelipeli, Voy Vot, to name a few."
"I can't argue with that. I like those spells, too. Anyway, I guess we've decided on our magic use, huh?"
"Pretty much. We're going to blast them into atoms."
"Sounds good." Sol looked past her at the hero. "Hey, kid?"
"What?"
"How are you going to handle this? You could be fighting your Order brethren tonight."
"If they murder harmless, sapient monsters, then they have turned away from the Grandmaster's teachings. Everything they do slanders and besmirches the name of The Order and insults everything it stands for. They must be punished. If they won't allow us to arrest them, we'll kill them."
"That's the spirit. We don't need you having doubts at the 'moment of truth'."
They turned their attention back to the volleyball match. This one, too, was fairly even. Zeraine managed to not ogle Amarantha during the match, which allowed him to stand up to Holly, and Amarantha pitted herself against Viktor, thus it was silver dragon against vampire. Their match also ended in a tie, with Amarantha and Viktor doing most of the work throughout the match.
Priscilla said, "Hey, how about after we rest for a bit, we go another round of volleyball, this time with different teams?"
The hero asked, "How do you mean?"
"Maybe boys against girls?"
The hero said, "We have four guys and six girls. The teams would be uneven."
Sol exhaled loudly, laying back. A quick look would enable one to see that the heat was starting to get to him. "I'll sit out the next round. It's too hot for me to do any more."
The hero shrugged. "That leaves us with three guys and four girls. To have even teams, one girl must sit out. Who would it be?"
They looked amongst each other until Priscilla suggested, "How about I sit out? The teams that we've had so far have almost been groups of one-on-one. Just look at the most recent match. Amarantha was pretty much focused on out-playing the vampire guy."
The succubus said, "And?"
Priscilla smiled. "Well, it could be lovers pitted against one another! You versus your Order knight, that spellsword guy against his dragon; what do you say?"
The succubus and the hero looked at each other, then back to Priscilla. The succubus smiled and said, "Sounds like it might be fun."
The hero held up one finger, his index finger, and said, "Wait a minute, wouldn't that be a little unfair? It'd be two human guys against a succubus and a dragon. The girls would have too much of an advantage."
Priscilla shrugged and shook her head. "Well then, how about you two versus them? You could see which couple is stronger."
The succubus glanced at the hero. "That could be good."
As the others finished their stuff at the net, they began conversing. Viktor commented, "Dragons truly are magnificent. You were a very worthy opponent, miss. As for you, human... Not bad."
The hero heard it and asked, "Viktor? Why do you look down on humans so much? Do you have a legitimate reason for hating us?"
Viktor ran his fingers through his short black hair, then scratched his neatly-trimmed goatee. "Well, for starters, you humans are disgustingly weak. Only a very rare few of you end up being worth anything. Most of you fear monsters because of stupid reasons. You're either afraid of us because we're stronger than you, you hate us out of simply bigotry, or you use moronic stereotypes to try to justify killing us all when a good number of us haven't done anything to you. What's worse is the fact that that's how humans were programmed to be."
The hero said, "Who told you that?"
Viktor sighed. "That's the way the gods made things. The Demon Lord was created and appointed by them to maintain some piss-poor balance of humans vs. monsters, with all of us killing each other all the time, hoping that you humans would unite against a common enemy. Obviously, their plan failed. Why? They decided to give us sapient monsters and you humans a little thing called 'free will'. Because of free will, we all, humans and monsters, pursued our own paths through life, and that earned us all the hatred of the gods. How do I know this? The Demon Lord reminds all of the residents of the Demon Realm on a monthly basis."
The succubus nodded. "I remember having to listen to that before I got exiled."
Viktor asked her, "What got you exiled?"
She grinned. "I didn't listen to him, I insulted him, rebelled against him on a regular basis... General stuff that pissed him off. Rather than make a martyr of me by killing me, which would provoke more of such behavior, he exiled me."
"So you hate him, too?"
"Yeah, do you?"
Viktor laughed. "Yes. I want to do my own thing, not murder humans because I'm ordered to. I want to become the baron of a city, but I'm stuck with sitting around, waiting for the Demon Lord to order me to kill another human."
The hero narrowed his eyes at Viktor and asked, "You've killed humans before?"
Viktor casually replied, "Yes. I've had the occasional armed human try to kill me, and I've killed them in self-defense. I've also murdered humans on orders from the Demon Lord. If he didn't order me to, I wouldn't do it."
The hero asked, "Then why not just not listen?"
His voice full of sorrow, Viktor said, "Well, that's one thing about you humans that I like better than my kind. You wouldn't make a permanent laughing stock out of an exile, where as a vampire would be disgraced, pretty much forever."
The hero said, "Sounds like vampires have it tough. In my opinion, you can't really justify calling yourselves completely superior after what you've told me."
Viktor shrugged. "Still, most humans aren't as refined as we are, they don't look as good, and they're pathetically weak. Part of why I became acquainted with Sol is because, as an incubus, I don't have to worry about him getting captured and executed, as long as he keeps any anti-Demon Lord stuff to himself."
The hero mulled over this for a bit, then said, "So you didn't want to make friends or even get acquainted as long as you had to worry about being ordered to kill him, or know that he got killed? I can understand. It sounds like you really hate the Demon Lord. Will you help us when the final battle takes place?"
Viktor scoffed. "That's only part of it. I still hate humans in general. Anyway, maybe. If it looks like you'll win, I might help, but I'd rather play it safe and not take sides until I see how things look at that time."
The ten of them laid back, enjoying the shade of their large beach umbrellas while they rested. During Viktor's conversation with the hero, Victoria and Hilda had came back and laid down on opposite sides of Sol, cuddling with him. Zeraine and Amarantha were also cuddling. They rested for about an hour.
Chapter 45
Spoiler: show
After they rested, Viktor got up, dusted the sand off of his body, and said, "Well, I'd better go home. I've got to rest for tonight. I've got another party to go to."
The hero glanced at him. "Party?"
"Yes. Unfortunately, it's not as enjoyable as you might think. The whole idea is basically to stand around and look important for about three hours, occasionally discussing the different types of blood that various humans and monsters have, as well as the best ways to get the best taste from them. You'd probably find it more boring than I do, since I'm actually interested in the blood-based discussions."
"Whatever." The hero stretched, then continued laying on the blanket.
Viktor looked at Holly. "You want to meet again?"
Holly gave him an apologetic look. "Sorry. I'm just not into vampires."
He shrugged. "Vampires tend to stick to their own kind anyway, so... Anyway, nice meeting you." He walked away, turning into a cloud of mist and dissipating as he neared some stone stairs.
Sol, without opening his eyes, asked, "Let me guess, you don't like him because he's a bit of a bastard, right?"
Holly nodded, frowning. "Aren't all vampires?"
The succubus chimed in, saying, "All vampires have some degree of haughtiness. Some more than others, but they're all stuck-up."
"Are we going to have to fight any?" the hero asked, a hint of worry in his voice.
The succubus gave him a quick kiss and said, "Most likely. Don't worry, though. By that time, we'll know how to incapacitate or kill them, and we'll have the skill to do so. You and I are going to have to turn you into and incubus at some point, though."
The hero blushed, knowing what that meant. Priscilla giggled mischievously and suggested, "You guys have to be up tonight to deal with that job, right? Why don't we go to an inn and you two can get started on that?"
The succubus joined the hero in their embarrassed blushing. Sol laughed and said, "I was going to jokingly suggest that, but they seem a bit too shy for it. I wonder when they'll take the next step..."
The hero growled, "Shut up! She and I will... make love... when we're ready and not a moment sooner!"
Sol smiled teasingly. "When will that be, I wonder? When she's starving to the point that the kissing method won't work fast enough?"
Priscilla butted in, "Speaking of feeding, what about me?"
Sol raised an eyebrow, asking, "What is it?"
She said, "Well, I'll need to feed soon, and I'd rather not feed off of the morons around here. I find that it's more satisfying to feed off a smart guy that has good looks, but failing that, I'll go for decent intelligence with average looks. I really don't want to feed off those guys," she said, pointing to her unofficial fanclub, "but I need to feed. Out of respect for my friend, I won't try to get her to share her man with me, and I can tell that the dragon over there is too yandere to share, so you're pretty much my only option."
Sol gave her a quizzical look. "You've heard of those terms before? Have you been to Zipangu?"
She shook her head. "No. They were in some translated erotic stories I read. There were some translation notes in between the chapters that gave the definitions or the terms."
"Ah. Okay. And?"
She gave him a pleading look. "Like I said, you're my only option. Please let me feed on you. Your energy, to be precise."
Sol managed to shrug despite his arms being under Victoria and Hilda, who were obviously displeased, but remained silent, confident that their beloved would stay devoted to them. "Sorry. My first time goes to Victoria. Immediately after that, Hilda gets me."
Priscilla strengthened her look of pleading. "Please? It doesn't have to be sex; I can just give you a blowjob, okay? One blowjob so I can make it back home and get my fill from someone in my sister's harem, that's all I'm asking."
Sol didn't seem to react. "After you 'fill up' on some guy in your sister's harem, what then?"
She looked a bit puzzled. "Well, after that, I'm coming back here to play again tomorrow, of course. All of us will relax and have fun all day tomorrow, then I'll go home when you guys leave. I've already seen the available men around here, and they're not worth a damn. I'll have to look elsewhere for my own man, but until then, I can make it if you let me suck you off just this one time so I can get home."
Sol sighed. Her felt a little sorry for her, having no acceptable men to use other than him, but he didn't want to be unfaithful in the slightest bit to Victoria and Hilda. He looked back and forth between them, who had now softened their expressions a little. "Well, girls? Should we help her?"
Priscilla asked, "'We'?"
Sol glanced at her and said, "As you know, you're unable to arouse me. The only way you could feed off me is if these two were in on it, too."
Priscilla thought for a second. In her mind, she pondered, "A foursome? That'd be kind of fun, maybe... I'd rather it be just me with three men, though. Anyway, I said I only needed to blow him, so that's what I'll do if they agree. I won't ask for any more than that, since it'd apparently be nigh-impossible to GET it."
Hilda grumbled a bit, then said, "Well, if she really needs it as bad as she's implying, and if it'll shut her up, I guess it'd be fine just this once. Vicky?"
Victoria was obviously very upset. She was fine with sharing Sol with Hilda, but she was completely against sharing him with anyone else. After a long silence, she said, "I object to this, but I guess it'd be best to go ahead with it. From what I see, she won't stop until she gets it, so the sooner we let her have a little, the sooner she'll stop bothering him."
Priscilla frowned. "You don't have to be so hostile. It's not like I'm trying to take him from you. I just want to borrow him for one time. I promise I won't go after him again, in any way, so can I?"
Hilda glared at her, then said, "We'll let you, but we get to go first."
Victoria nodded in agreement. Priscilla smiled happily. "Thanks! Seriously, the guys around here would make me feel stupid if I did it with them."
"Know your place, succubus. As Hilda said, we go first. After we've had him, then you can join in," Victoria said, still glaring at Priscilla.
"And not a moment sooner," Hilda added. "Even though this will just be oral, until Vicky and I have done him once each, you don't even get to touch him."
Priscilla held up her hands and waved them somewhat defensively. "Alright, alright, I get it. I'll just watch until it's my turn. Should we get started?"
Zeraine got up, then helped Amarantha up, even though it was unnecessary, and said, "Well, to be honest, we really should get over to the inn and get a nap in before tonight. Let's go, guys."
He and Amarantha held hands as they headed for the city, with Sol, Victoria, Hilda, and Priscilla following them, Sol and the lizardfolk holding hands as well. The hero let out a disgruntled sigh, then sat up. The succubus also sat up and smiled apologetically. "Sorry. The personalities of succubi are as varied as those of humans, and it just so happens that Priscilla is very forward about her sexual desires. ...If you weren't such a prude, I would be, too, but only toward you."
The hero shook his head. "There's nothing for you to apologize for. We should also rest up."
They got up and caught up to the others, following them to a decent-looking inn, where they rented three rooms, one for Zeraine and Amarantha, one for the hero and the succubus, and one for Sol, Victoria, Hilda, and Priscilla. Fortunately, the beds were plenty big enough for two people to share them. Three people could fit in one, but they'd have to be close, which was perfectly fine with Sol and his lizards. Priscilla had already decided to head home as soon as she finished feeding.
The hero glanced at him. "Party?"
"Yes. Unfortunately, it's not as enjoyable as you might think. The whole idea is basically to stand around and look important for about three hours, occasionally discussing the different types of blood that various humans and monsters have, as well as the best ways to get the best taste from them. You'd probably find it more boring than I do, since I'm actually interested in the blood-based discussions."
"Whatever." The hero stretched, then continued laying on the blanket.
Viktor looked at Holly. "You want to meet again?"
Holly gave him an apologetic look. "Sorry. I'm just not into vampires."
He shrugged. "Vampires tend to stick to their own kind anyway, so... Anyway, nice meeting you." He walked away, turning into a cloud of mist and dissipating as he neared some stone stairs.
Sol, without opening his eyes, asked, "Let me guess, you don't like him because he's a bit of a bastard, right?"
Holly nodded, frowning. "Aren't all vampires?"
The succubus chimed in, saying, "All vampires have some degree of haughtiness. Some more than others, but they're all stuck-up."
"Are we going to have to fight any?" the hero asked, a hint of worry in his voice.
The succubus gave him a quick kiss and said, "Most likely. Don't worry, though. By that time, we'll know how to incapacitate or kill them, and we'll have the skill to do so. You and I are going to have to turn you into and incubus at some point, though."
The hero blushed, knowing what that meant. Priscilla giggled mischievously and suggested, "You guys have to be up tonight to deal with that job, right? Why don't we go to an inn and you two can get started on that?"
The succubus joined the hero in their embarrassed blushing. Sol laughed and said, "I was going to jokingly suggest that, but they seem a bit too shy for it. I wonder when they'll take the next step..."
The hero growled, "Shut up! She and I will... make love... when we're ready and not a moment sooner!"
Sol smiled teasingly. "When will that be, I wonder? When she's starving to the point that the kissing method won't work fast enough?"
Priscilla butted in, "Speaking of feeding, what about me?"
Sol raised an eyebrow, asking, "What is it?"
She said, "Well, I'll need to feed soon, and I'd rather not feed off of the morons around here. I find that it's more satisfying to feed off a smart guy that has good looks, but failing that, I'll go for decent intelligence with average looks. I really don't want to feed off those guys," she said, pointing to her unofficial fanclub, "but I need to feed. Out of respect for my friend, I won't try to get her to share her man with me, and I can tell that the dragon over there is too yandere to share, so you're pretty much my only option."
Sol gave her a quizzical look. "You've heard of those terms before? Have you been to Zipangu?"
She shook her head. "No. They were in some translated erotic stories I read. There were some translation notes in between the chapters that gave the definitions or the terms."
"Ah. Okay. And?"
She gave him a pleading look. "Like I said, you're my only option. Please let me feed on you. Your energy, to be precise."
Sol managed to shrug despite his arms being under Victoria and Hilda, who were obviously displeased, but remained silent, confident that their beloved would stay devoted to them. "Sorry. My first time goes to Victoria. Immediately after that, Hilda gets me."
Priscilla strengthened her look of pleading. "Please? It doesn't have to be sex; I can just give you a blowjob, okay? One blowjob so I can make it back home and get my fill from someone in my sister's harem, that's all I'm asking."
Sol didn't seem to react. "After you 'fill up' on some guy in your sister's harem, what then?"
She looked a bit puzzled. "Well, after that, I'm coming back here to play again tomorrow, of course. All of us will relax and have fun all day tomorrow, then I'll go home when you guys leave. I've already seen the available men around here, and they're not worth a damn. I'll have to look elsewhere for my own man, but until then, I can make it if you let me suck you off just this one time so I can get home."
Sol sighed. Her felt a little sorry for her, having no acceptable men to use other than him, but he didn't want to be unfaithful in the slightest bit to Victoria and Hilda. He looked back and forth between them, who had now softened their expressions a little. "Well, girls? Should we help her?"
Priscilla asked, "'We'?"
Sol glanced at her and said, "As you know, you're unable to arouse me. The only way you could feed off me is if these two were in on it, too."
Priscilla thought for a second. In her mind, she pondered, "A foursome? That'd be kind of fun, maybe... I'd rather it be just me with three men, though. Anyway, I said I only needed to blow him, so that's what I'll do if they agree. I won't ask for any more than that, since it'd apparently be nigh-impossible to GET it."
Hilda grumbled a bit, then said, "Well, if she really needs it as bad as she's implying, and if it'll shut her up, I guess it'd be fine just this once. Vicky?"
Victoria was obviously very upset. She was fine with sharing Sol with Hilda, but she was completely against sharing him with anyone else. After a long silence, she said, "I object to this, but I guess it'd be best to go ahead with it. From what I see, she won't stop until she gets it, so the sooner we let her have a little, the sooner she'll stop bothering him."
Priscilla frowned. "You don't have to be so hostile. It's not like I'm trying to take him from you. I just want to borrow him for one time. I promise I won't go after him again, in any way, so can I?"
Hilda glared at her, then said, "We'll let you, but we get to go first."
Victoria nodded in agreement. Priscilla smiled happily. "Thanks! Seriously, the guys around here would make me feel stupid if I did it with them."
"Know your place, succubus. As Hilda said, we go first. After we've had him, then you can join in," Victoria said, still glaring at Priscilla.
"And not a moment sooner," Hilda added. "Even though this will just be oral, until Vicky and I have done him once each, you don't even get to touch him."
Priscilla held up her hands and waved them somewhat defensively. "Alright, alright, I get it. I'll just watch until it's my turn. Should we get started?"
Zeraine got up, then helped Amarantha up, even though it was unnecessary, and said, "Well, to be honest, we really should get over to the inn and get a nap in before tonight. Let's go, guys."
He and Amarantha held hands as they headed for the city, with Sol, Victoria, Hilda, and Priscilla following them, Sol and the lizardfolk holding hands as well. The hero let out a disgruntled sigh, then sat up. The succubus also sat up and smiled apologetically. "Sorry. The personalities of succubi are as varied as those of humans, and it just so happens that Priscilla is very forward about her sexual desires. ...If you weren't such a prude, I would be, too, but only toward you."
The hero shook his head. "There's nothing for you to apologize for. We should also rest up."
They got up and caught up to the others, following them to a decent-looking inn, where they rented three rooms, one for Zeraine and Amarantha, one for the hero and the succubus, and one for Sol, Victoria, Hilda, and Priscilla. Fortunately, the beds were plenty big enough for two people to share them. Three people could fit in one, but they'd have to be close, which was perfectly fine with Sol and his lizards. Priscilla had already decided to head home as soon as she finished feeding.
Chapter 46
Spoiler: show
Coincidentally enough, their rooms were right next to each other. If you were looking at them from the hallway, the room for Zeraine and Amarantha was right in the middle, with the hero and the succubus staying in the room to the left, and Sol, his lizardfolk, and Priscilla in the room to the right.
Zeraine walked to the bed, then looked at Amarantha. "Well, should we get a nap?"
Amarantha shrugged. "We don't know if we'll be able to sleep yet."
Zeraine paused for a moment, then realized that she was talking about Sol's room. "Oh. Right. I guess we could lay here together until we know for sure..." he said, a bit of seductiveness in his voice.
Amarantha smiled happily. "Should we do it anyway?"
He grinned pervertedly and said, "Well, I'd like to. ...Wait, what about you channeling demonic energy into me while we make love? I do need to become an incubus, after all."
She remembered the Dullahan incident and nodded. "I almost forgot. Yeah, I can do that, but it won't do much here, since there's not much demonic energy around here. I guess every little bit would help, but we could also wait until we're in a demonic energy-rich area, and just have sex normally for now. It's up to you, dear."
He scratched his chin a little, then said, "The sooner the better. Let's do what we can. We'll only do one round, though, because we won't get enough sleep if we go any more than that."
She smiled and posed in front of him, making sure to show off her hips and her bust. "That's fine. Someday we'll be able to satisfy ourselves, but until then, we can just do it when we can." She walked over to him, making sure to shake her hips as she walked, putting just enough of a bounce in her step to cause her breasts to bounce. The swimsuit really brought out her curves, much to Zeraine's delight. Before he could do anything, though, she had already kneeled down and yanked down his trunks, exposing his throbbing erection. She looked up at him and smiled lustfully. "Looks like you're ready down here..."
Zeraine swallowed and said, "Remember, one round."
"And how do you want it?"
"I want your pussy."
She giggled with glee as she stood up, grabbed him by the shoulder, dragged him over to the bed, and threw him down on it, him landing face-up. "And so you shall have it."
He tried to sit up, but she used her foot, putting it in the center of his chest, to shove him back down. "What are you doing?" he complained.
She got on top of him, mounting him. "Cowgirl. It'll let me enjoy riding you, and I'll be able to channel the energy at the same time. If you were on top, it'd be harder to concentrate."
"Because I'm heavy due to being a guy?"
She shook her head and said, "Because you're so good at pleasing me that I wouldn't be able to focus."
She slipped her swimsuit down off of her shoulders, revealing her breasts as she peeled it off. She rubbed her crotch on his penis through her swimsuit, moaning in pleasure as she did. He looked at her, seeing how horny she was. "Ammie?"
She peeled her swimsuit down far enough for him to see her neatly-trimmed pubic hair. She frowned at the thought of having to get up, but did so in order to step out of her swimsuit. "Yeah?"
"You're pretty eager... Are all dragons like this?"
She mounted him again, pressing her now-naked vagina against his penis as she sat on him. "Some of us end up very horny toward our mates, but no, not all dragons are like me."
"I see. How long have you been wanting to do it again?"
"Since shortly after we finished last time."
Zeraine looked a little surprised. "Really?"
She looked him in the eye, allowing him to catch a glimpse of just how horny she was. "You're that good. On that subject, how do you feel about me? How often do you want me?"
He blushed at her compliment, then answered, "All the time. Back at that Order fort, I was seriously considering asking you for a quick round of 'stealth-sex'."
She smiled, letting out a couple of joyful tears, then she threw her arms around him, laying down on top of him in the process, pressing her breasts against his chest, which caused him to shudder a little. "I love you, Zeraine!" She passionately kissed him as if she were trying desperately to devour him. Needless to say, he very much enjoyed it.
He put his arms around her, too and kissed back, not wanting to falter on showing his affection. When she broke the kiss off for the sake of catching her breath, he said, "I love you, too, Ammie."
She moved her hips in a circular motion, grinding her crotch against his in the process. "It's about time you 'entered the dragon', don't you think?" she said, raising her hips to allow room so she could grab his penis and line it up with her honeypot, which was wet and dripping now.
He looked down and saw her juice dripping all over his crotch, which only fueled his lust. He badly wanted to thrust upward, ramming into her with all his might, but he let her slowly descend on him, taking him into her wet, steaming hot depths. He jerked a little as he felt the still-somewhat-unfamiliar collision between his dick and her cervix. When he "hit bottom", she let out a moan that made it sound as if she almost came.
She sat up, ready to start bouncing in his lap. As she was just about to raise up, they both heard Priscilla's voice from the next room as she said, "Come on! Hurry up, will ya? I'm dying over here!"
Hilda's voice came next, taunting, "Right now, he gets both of us for two rounds, one load going to each of us. After that, you can join in. Until then, just keep fingering yourself and shut up."
After that was Sol's voice, saying, "Now, now, be nice. She only gets this one time, whereas you two can have me whenever you want. ...Gah! The soft scales of your hands, the heat from your mouths, your wet tongues... It's too much! Vicky!"
Amarantha and Zeraine looked at each other, nearly laughing. Amarantha sighed and said, "I guess either they're that good or his fetishes that they fulfill are causing him to feel it that much."
Zeraine shrugged and shook his head. "Yeah."
Her expression instantly switched from one of happiness to one of wild lust. "Let's continue!"
Zeraine reached up to grab her breasts, but she caught his wrists and pinned them down with her hands. "Nah-ah. You're going to lay there and behave yourself," she said, truly enjoying this mild domination of her partner.
He frowned and said, "Just remember to focus. Channel the demonic energy, and we can finish when we can't hold it anymore."
She leaned down and kissed him, then said, "I know what I'm doing."
They heard Priscilla's voice from the next room again. She could be heard saying, "He can shoot that much? Give me some!"
Victoria's voice was heard next, her saying, "Forget it. It's mine."
A couple of seconds later, they heard what must have been Victoria coughing as if she were choking. Sol's worried voice rang out, "Vicky? Are you okay?"
Zeraine and Amarantha looked at each other again. He commented, "The walls seem to be a bit thin..."
She nodded, kissed him again, and said, "It doesn't matter. Soon, we'll be too busy focusing on ourselves."
Zeraine added, "And each other."
She grinned. "Of course." She sat back up and started bouncing in his lap, going down far enough for him to hit her cervix with each bounce.
As she rode him, she concentrated on gathering what little demonic energy there was in the area and "injecting" it into Zeraine through kisses, as well as their genital-contact. Within a few bounces, she had forced all the surrounding demonic energy into him. She then decided to give him some of her own. She continued riding him as she poured her demonic energy into him, unable to keep from moaning as her cervix collided with his penis as she did. Soon, she stopped transferring her energy into him because she was getting tired. Also, neither of them could hold it anymore. Without a word, they acknowledged it by looking into each other's eyes, then they came together. She collapsed onto him, still twitching in orgasm as he continued to squirt his semen out inside her.
She drowsily said, "I'm so full..." She raised her head up to look him in the eye and asked, "How was it for you?"
He caught his breath and made eye contact with her. "It was great. At first, I was uncomfortable with being dominated, but you were gentle about it, so it was fine."
She laughed sheepishly. "I got a little carried away. If you're fine with me dominating you like that, I could do it again next time."
He shook his head. "Maybe once in a while, but I'd like to do some moving, too."
"As long as I'm filling you with demonic energy, you can't. That means next time, I'll be on top again. We can do it without domination, but it was fun pinning you down like that."
"We'll do normal cowgirl next time, okay?"
She pouted a little, then said, "Alright."
They heard Sol's voice from the next room as he said, "Hilda, if you keep that up I'll- GAH!"
Priscilla could be heard moaning, broken up by Victoria saying, "Hilda, be careful."
A few seconds later, Hilda said, "It wasn't easy, but I drank it, Sol, Vicky. ...Now, you horny demon-girl, you get the head. Vicky and I get the shaft and the balls."
Priscilla moaned a little more, then said, "Finally! I came five times while watching you guys. Now, let me have some cum!"
Zeraine and Amarantha were too tired to comment. Instead, they just looked at each other, rolled their eyes, and fell asleep.
...
Meanwhile, the succubus had been attempting to ignore the hero's scoldings as she crouched down with her ear to the wall, listening to Zeraine and Amarantha as they went at it. The only reason she hadn't begun fingering herself is because she was too proud to do it while the hero, or anyone else for that matter, was watching. His scolding didn't help, either, but she was still horny after hearing the lovers in the next room. "It seems they're done now... I could almost feel the passion through the wall! I definitely felt the manipulation of demonic energy, though."
The hero gave her a look of admonishment, then asked, "So they're trying to rush his transformation?"
She stood up, her legs a bit weak, and nodded. "Yeah. Nothing wrong with that, though."
"You still shouldn't listen in."
"It can't be helped with walls this thin."
She started to walk toward the bed, but nearly fell as her legs tried to give out. Fortunately, the hero caught her in time, but when he grabbed her, she shuddered somewhat violently. Now worried, he asked, "You okay?"
She nodded. "I'm fine. It's just that I'm really turned on right now. Look." She pointed at her legs, allowing the hero to see her juice as it ran down her thighs.
His face turned very red. "Cover yourself!"
She scoffed. "I'm wearing a bikini. Now, do you feel up to helping me?"
He looked away, very embarrassed. "Help you with what?"
She gave him a light punch to his upper arm. "With this, of course! I'm so horny I can barely walk right, we are in love, in a room by ourselves, I'm wet, and I know what that bulge in your pants is. We also need to turn you into an incubus if we want to succeed, and to do that, you and I have to have sex and lots of it. When are we going to start?"
He stammered, unable to talk due to the sudden sex-related stuff.
She frowned at him, then used a little magic to increase her strength, allowing her to shove him over to the bed and onto it. She mounted him as the spell wore off, looking at him angrily. He held up his hand, trying to stop her. "W-wait! You can't do this if I don't consent!"
She crossed her arms. "And when will you? I'm hurting right now, and I can tell you are, too. The best thing to do would be to just do it."
He weighed the situation in his mind, thinking, "Okay, okay, I know that I won't succeed if I don't become an incubus. I DO love her, and she loves me... We're in the right place for it, sort of. My thing is so hard it hurts, and she's ready, wanting me... I guess now's the time to man up." He cleared his throat, looked her in the eye, and said, "Alright. We both want it, and we both need it. Just let me prepare myself, okay?"
She raised an eyebrow, then dropped her disguise. "What? Your dick is rock-hard and my pussy is soaking wet. What more preparation is needed?"
He looked at her pleadingly, his face red. "I'm not ready yet."
His expression caused her to blush and soften hers. "What, it hasn't sunk in yet that you're about to make love to a succubus?"
She got off, letting him get up. He said, "Sort of. It's just... It's my first time, you know?"
She grabbed her top, then stopped, deciding that making him undress her would be more fun. "It's my first time, too. Don't freak out when you see the blood, okay?"
He turned his back to her and gathered his courage.
Zeraine walked to the bed, then looked at Amarantha. "Well, should we get a nap?"
Amarantha shrugged. "We don't know if we'll be able to sleep yet."
Zeraine paused for a moment, then realized that she was talking about Sol's room. "Oh. Right. I guess we could lay here together until we know for sure..." he said, a bit of seductiveness in his voice.
Amarantha smiled happily. "Should we do it anyway?"
He grinned pervertedly and said, "Well, I'd like to. ...Wait, what about you channeling demonic energy into me while we make love? I do need to become an incubus, after all."
She remembered the Dullahan incident and nodded. "I almost forgot. Yeah, I can do that, but it won't do much here, since there's not much demonic energy around here. I guess every little bit would help, but we could also wait until we're in a demonic energy-rich area, and just have sex normally for now. It's up to you, dear."
He scratched his chin a little, then said, "The sooner the better. Let's do what we can. We'll only do one round, though, because we won't get enough sleep if we go any more than that."
She smiled and posed in front of him, making sure to show off her hips and her bust. "That's fine. Someday we'll be able to satisfy ourselves, but until then, we can just do it when we can." She walked over to him, making sure to shake her hips as she walked, putting just enough of a bounce in her step to cause her breasts to bounce. The swimsuit really brought out her curves, much to Zeraine's delight. Before he could do anything, though, she had already kneeled down and yanked down his trunks, exposing his throbbing erection. She looked up at him and smiled lustfully. "Looks like you're ready down here..."
Zeraine swallowed and said, "Remember, one round."
"And how do you want it?"
"I want your pussy."
She giggled with glee as she stood up, grabbed him by the shoulder, dragged him over to the bed, and threw him down on it, him landing face-up. "And so you shall have it."
He tried to sit up, but she used her foot, putting it in the center of his chest, to shove him back down. "What are you doing?" he complained.
She got on top of him, mounting him. "Cowgirl. It'll let me enjoy riding you, and I'll be able to channel the energy at the same time. If you were on top, it'd be harder to concentrate."
"Because I'm heavy due to being a guy?"
She shook her head and said, "Because you're so good at pleasing me that I wouldn't be able to focus."
She slipped her swimsuit down off of her shoulders, revealing her breasts as she peeled it off. She rubbed her crotch on his penis through her swimsuit, moaning in pleasure as she did. He looked at her, seeing how horny she was. "Ammie?"
She peeled her swimsuit down far enough for him to see her neatly-trimmed pubic hair. She frowned at the thought of having to get up, but did so in order to step out of her swimsuit. "Yeah?"
"You're pretty eager... Are all dragons like this?"
She mounted him again, pressing her now-naked vagina against his penis as she sat on him. "Some of us end up very horny toward our mates, but no, not all dragons are like me."
"I see. How long have you been wanting to do it again?"
"Since shortly after we finished last time."
Zeraine looked a little surprised. "Really?"
She looked him in the eye, allowing him to catch a glimpse of just how horny she was. "You're that good. On that subject, how do you feel about me? How often do you want me?"
He blushed at her compliment, then answered, "All the time. Back at that Order fort, I was seriously considering asking you for a quick round of 'stealth-sex'."
She smiled, letting out a couple of joyful tears, then she threw her arms around him, laying down on top of him in the process, pressing her breasts against his chest, which caused him to shudder a little. "I love you, Zeraine!" She passionately kissed him as if she were trying desperately to devour him. Needless to say, he very much enjoyed it.
He put his arms around her, too and kissed back, not wanting to falter on showing his affection. When she broke the kiss off for the sake of catching her breath, he said, "I love you, too, Ammie."
She moved her hips in a circular motion, grinding her crotch against his in the process. "It's about time you 'entered the dragon', don't you think?" she said, raising her hips to allow room so she could grab his penis and line it up with her honeypot, which was wet and dripping now.
He looked down and saw her juice dripping all over his crotch, which only fueled his lust. He badly wanted to thrust upward, ramming into her with all his might, but he let her slowly descend on him, taking him into her wet, steaming hot depths. He jerked a little as he felt the still-somewhat-unfamiliar collision between his dick and her cervix. When he "hit bottom", she let out a moan that made it sound as if she almost came.
She sat up, ready to start bouncing in his lap. As she was just about to raise up, they both heard Priscilla's voice from the next room as she said, "Come on! Hurry up, will ya? I'm dying over here!"
Hilda's voice came next, taunting, "Right now, he gets both of us for two rounds, one load going to each of us. After that, you can join in. Until then, just keep fingering yourself and shut up."
After that was Sol's voice, saying, "Now, now, be nice. She only gets this one time, whereas you two can have me whenever you want. ...Gah! The soft scales of your hands, the heat from your mouths, your wet tongues... It's too much! Vicky!"
Amarantha and Zeraine looked at each other, nearly laughing. Amarantha sighed and said, "I guess either they're that good or his fetishes that they fulfill are causing him to feel it that much."
Zeraine shrugged and shook his head. "Yeah."
Her expression instantly switched from one of happiness to one of wild lust. "Let's continue!"
Zeraine reached up to grab her breasts, but she caught his wrists and pinned them down with her hands. "Nah-ah. You're going to lay there and behave yourself," she said, truly enjoying this mild domination of her partner.
He frowned and said, "Just remember to focus. Channel the demonic energy, and we can finish when we can't hold it anymore."
She leaned down and kissed him, then said, "I know what I'm doing."
They heard Priscilla's voice from the next room again. She could be heard saying, "He can shoot that much? Give me some!"
Victoria's voice was heard next, her saying, "Forget it. It's mine."
A couple of seconds later, they heard what must have been Victoria coughing as if she were choking. Sol's worried voice rang out, "Vicky? Are you okay?"
Zeraine and Amarantha looked at each other again. He commented, "The walls seem to be a bit thin..."
She nodded, kissed him again, and said, "It doesn't matter. Soon, we'll be too busy focusing on ourselves."
Zeraine added, "And each other."
She grinned. "Of course." She sat back up and started bouncing in his lap, going down far enough for him to hit her cervix with each bounce.
As she rode him, she concentrated on gathering what little demonic energy there was in the area and "injecting" it into Zeraine through kisses, as well as their genital-contact. Within a few bounces, she had forced all the surrounding demonic energy into him. She then decided to give him some of her own. She continued riding him as she poured her demonic energy into him, unable to keep from moaning as her cervix collided with his penis as she did. Soon, she stopped transferring her energy into him because she was getting tired. Also, neither of them could hold it anymore. Without a word, they acknowledged it by looking into each other's eyes, then they came together. She collapsed onto him, still twitching in orgasm as he continued to squirt his semen out inside her.
She drowsily said, "I'm so full..." She raised her head up to look him in the eye and asked, "How was it for you?"
He caught his breath and made eye contact with her. "It was great. At first, I was uncomfortable with being dominated, but you were gentle about it, so it was fine."
She laughed sheepishly. "I got a little carried away. If you're fine with me dominating you like that, I could do it again next time."
He shook his head. "Maybe once in a while, but I'd like to do some moving, too."
"As long as I'm filling you with demonic energy, you can't. That means next time, I'll be on top again. We can do it without domination, but it was fun pinning you down like that."
"We'll do normal cowgirl next time, okay?"
She pouted a little, then said, "Alright."
They heard Sol's voice from the next room as he said, "Hilda, if you keep that up I'll- GAH!"
Priscilla could be heard moaning, broken up by Victoria saying, "Hilda, be careful."
A few seconds later, Hilda said, "It wasn't easy, but I drank it, Sol, Vicky. ...Now, you horny demon-girl, you get the head. Vicky and I get the shaft and the balls."
Priscilla moaned a little more, then said, "Finally! I came five times while watching you guys. Now, let me have some cum!"
Zeraine and Amarantha were too tired to comment. Instead, they just looked at each other, rolled their eyes, and fell asleep.
...
Meanwhile, the succubus had been attempting to ignore the hero's scoldings as she crouched down with her ear to the wall, listening to Zeraine and Amarantha as they went at it. The only reason she hadn't begun fingering herself is because she was too proud to do it while the hero, or anyone else for that matter, was watching. His scolding didn't help, either, but she was still horny after hearing the lovers in the next room. "It seems they're done now... I could almost feel the passion through the wall! I definitely felt the manipulation of demonic energy, though."
The hero gave her a look of admonishment, then asked, "So they're trying to rush his transformation?"
She stood up, her legs a bit weak, and nodded. "Yeah. Nothing wrong with that, though."
"You still shouldn't listen in."
"It can't be helped with walls this thin."
She started to walk toward the bed, but nearly fell as her legs tried to give out. Fortunately, the hero caught her in time, but when he grabbed her, she shuddered somewhat violently. Now worried, he asked, "You okay?"
She nodded. "I'm fine. It's just that I'm really turned on right now. Look." She pointed at her legs, allowing the hero to see her juice as it ran down her thighs.
His face turned very red. "Cover yourself!"
She scoffed. "I'm wearing a bikini. Now, do you feel up to helping me?"
He looked away, very embarrassed. "Help you with what?"
She gave him a light punch to his upper arm. "With this, of course! I'm so horny I can barely walk right, we are in love, in a room by ourselves, I'm wet, and I know what that bulge in your pants is. We also need to turn you into an incubus if we want to succeed, and to do that, you and I have to have sex and lots of it. When are we going to start?"
He stammered, unable to talk due to the sudden sex-related stuff.
She frowned at him, then used a little magic to increase her strength, allowing her to shove him over to the bed and onto it. She mounted him as the spell wore off, looking at him angrily. He held up his hand, trying to stop her. "W-wait! You can't do this if I don't consent!"
She crossed her arms. "And when will you? I'm hurting right now, and I can tell you are, too. The best thing to do would be to just do it."
He weighed the situation in his mind, thinking, "Okay, okay, I know that I won't succeed if I don't become an incubus. I DO love her, and she loves me... We're in the right place for it, sort of. My thing is so hard it hurts, and she's ready, wanting me... I guess now's the time to man up." He cleared his throat, looked her in the eye, and said, "Alright. We both want it, and we both need it. Just let me prepare myself, okay?"
She raised an eyebrow, then dropped her disguise. "What? Your dick is rock-hard and my pussy is soaking wet. What more preparation is needed?"
He looked at her pleadingly, his face red. "I'm not ready yet."
His expression caused her to blush and soften hers. "What, it hasn't sunk in yet that you're about to make love to a succubus?"
She got off, letting him get up. He said, "Sort of. It's just... It's my first time, you know?"
She grabbed her top, then stopped, deciding that making him undress her would be more fun. "It's my first time, too. Don't freak out when you see the blood, okay?"
He turned his back to her and gathered his courage.
Chapter 47
Spoiler: show
The succubus tapped her foot on the floor impatiently. "I'm waiting, Order knight."
"J-just a minute, damn it!" he pleaded, still trying to steel himself.
"If you wuss out on me, I won't talk to you for a week, I won't help you at all unless you'd die if I didn't, I'll try to get either Amarantha to let me feed from Zeraine or the lizards to let me feed off Sol, or I'll figure something else out, and I'll kick your ass. What'll it be?"
"Alright, alright! Fine, let's do it." He took a deep breath, exhaled, then turned around to face her. His face was completely red, and he couldn't look at her out of embarrassment. He was, after all, a knight of The Order, and they don't train you on what to do when you fall in love, nor do they train you on how to handle yourself when it comes time to have sex with your beloved. He stepped over to her, not sure what to do.
Noticing this, she asked, "Do you even know what you're doing?"
He shook his head. "Honestly, no."
She sighed. "Let me guess, all you know is that your dick goes in my pussy, then you ejaculate, then, if I were a human woman, we'd have at least one kid about a year or so later, right? Personally, I don't know if a succubus can get pregnant from a human man, but..." The thought of having his kids made her blush. She cleared her throat and continued, "Anyway, it looks like I need to guide you through this, so for starters, take my top off."
The sudden shock of her order caused him to look her in the eyes. "Huh!?"
She gave him a slightly mean smile and said, "I'm not stripping myself. You are gonna strip me. Now then, do it."
He did as ordered and clumsily slipped her top off, exposing her perky, beautifully-shaped, pale breasts and half-erect nipples. He dropped her top on the floor, then looked at her.
"I'll forgive you this time, since this is your first time, but I really wish you'd be more sensual or erotic about this. You didn't rub my breasts before taking my top off, you're not touching them right now... Actually, you haven't even touched them yet. What's worse is that you haven't even kissed me yet. Don't you want to touch and rub the breasts of the woman you love while kissing her passionately!?"
He stammered a bit, unable to form words. He eventually managed to choke out, "I'm sorry."
She could tell he was shaking. She didn't know if it was fear, nervousness, or both, but she was going to cure him of that. By the time she was done with him, he'd have no qualms about playing with her naked body. "Whatever. I guess I don't get my boobs massaged this time unless I do it myself... Anyway, pull my bottom down and take a good look at my naked pussy."
His face went even redder as he gave her a questioning look.
She frowned at him and urged, "Do it! I want you to see it. If you have the balls, lick me while you're down there."
As she expected, however, he only hesitantly pulled her bottom down, letting it drop to the floor once he had pulled it down past her knees. He didn't even look at her vagina.
She sighed, adding another minus to her mental image of him that she'd have to correct. "I'm sure you've had anatomy lessons and know which hole it goes in right?"
"Y-yeah..."
"Well, I guess that's good... I'm almost certain you wouldn't know what to do to please me, though, so I guess I have to take the lead. Hold still..." She yanked his trunks down, almost angrily, then gave an impressed whistle when she saw his manhood standing tall despite his obvious nervousness. She stepped out of her bottom, which was still around her ankles, then grabbed the hero and pulled him by the upper arm, allowing him to step out of his trunks as she led him over to the bed. "Lay down."
He got on the bed and laid down, then looked away, a mix of fear, nervousness, embarrassment, shyness, and shame on his face.
She straddled him, then grabbed his head on both sides with her hands, forcefully turning his head to make him look at her. She examined his expression closely, then said, "Throw that shame out the window. So what if the girl you love is a succubus? So what if you're about to have sex with said succubus? That's nothing to be ashamed of."
"R-right. Um..."
"Now, to start this part right..." She leaned down and gave him a passionate kiss that lasted a full three seconds. After their lips parted she continued, "Now that we've finally kissed, let's get going." She grabbed his penis, which made him jerk in surprise, then she lined it up and pressed the head against her lower lips. She looked at him, seeing that he was enjoying just being pressed against her. "Don't cum prematurely, darling, you're not even in me yet." She giggled then descended on him, moving a bit quickly. As soon as he was all the way inside her, she stopped. Her face twisted into one of pain and her eyes teared up. "Ghh! Mmmmph..."
The hero looked at her pained expression and regained some of his courage. He worriedly asked, "Are you alright?"
She looked at him somewhat pleadingly and said, "It hurts. My friends never told me it'd hurt this much..." Just then, a trickle of blood ran from her pussy down his dick, getting partially scattered once it reached his crotch hair. She forced a smile and said, "Congratulations, knight. You're one of the extremely rare few that have had the privilege to have a mutual first time with a succubus that loves you. How do you feel?"
He looked between her face and the blood seeping out of her vagina. "Worried. Are you really okay? How bad does it hurt? Should we stop?"
She shook her head. "No! We're not stopping! I'm fine. As soon as the pain goes away, I'll start moving. Just hold on..."
"Is there anything I can do to take your mind off the pain?"
"Unless you can use some sort of spell that acts as a painkiller, no." She thought for a second, "Damn! Why didn't they tell me that having my hymen broken would hurt this much!? Did it hurt like this when Amarantha did it with Zeraine? Was that her first time? I can't remember if she said anything... Did she even have a hymen? Anyway, this guy doesn't know anything useful about sex, so I know he won't be able to play with my tits to pleasure me to take my mind off the pain in my pussy..." She then looked at the hero sternly and said, "Give me the best kiss you can. Maybe that'll help."
He nodded as she laid down on him, her wincing in pain as he shifted inside her during the movement. She took a couple of breaths, then locked lips with him. They kissed passionately for several seconds, entwining their tongues and thoroughly licking around inside each other's mouths. They stopped long enough to catch their breath, as it was hard to breathe while kissing so intensely. She looked at him with eyes full of both love and lust, desire and craving, then said, "Again!" She kissed him again, not really letting him agree or do anything before her lips pressed against his again. Several seconds of intense, lustful, desperate kissing later, she sat up, assuming cowgirl position. Her vagina still hurt, but not nearly as much as before. Unfortunately, it still hurt too much when either of them moved to actually begin. She gave the hero a smile coupled with a look of haughty embarrassment and said, "Lucky you, dear. You get to see me do this..."
He was awestruck when he saw what she did next. What did she do? She gave her own breast a squeeze, squeezing her right breast with her left hand as she reached for her nether-regions with her right hand. She rubbed her clitoris through its hood with her index and middle fingers, giving the hero an embarrassed smile as she did. She managed to stop moaning and panting long enough to say, "Enjoying the show? No one else has ever seen me do this, you know. I'll teach you next time how to rub me down here to make me feel good, okay?" She then peeled back the hood of her clit and rubbed it directly, shuddering at the intense feeling of pleasure. She stopped playing with herself after a little bit, noticing that the pain had subsided to the point that she could stand to start moving. She then grinned at the hero and said, "I can move now. Try to hold it, okay?"
He looked a little relieved when he saw that she was now fine. "What do you mean?"
She leaned down and kissed him, then said, "I mean don't cum too soon, got it?"
He braced himself as best he could and nodded. She started off slow, carefully moving her hips up and down, gently pressing her crotch against his when she came down, moving slowly and trying to lightly squeeze his dick with her pussy as she went up. This continued for a few minutes, after which she gradually started speeding up. At one point, she decided to stop bouncing and start grinding for a little bit. She tried to firmly squeeze him with the muscles of her vagina, but got a sudden spike of pain and quickly backed off from that idea. She saw that he was trying to hold on as he slid around inside her honeypot, which caused her to smile at him lovingly. "Having a hard time holding it? It's okay. Go ahead. Cum inside me. I'll let you do it now, but you have to stay hard for me, okay?"
He shook his head and said, "I have to last until the end, right? I don't want to be the only one feeling good from this. I'll-"
She put her finger over his mouth, silencing him. "I'm a succubus. My pussy is naturally better than that of any human's. With this being your first time, and the fact that you're probably ridiculously backed up, you have no chance of holding it until I cum. It'll take several sessions until you can even hope to last until I even come close to orgasm. Let it out."
He gently pushed her hand away from his mouth and tried to protest, but only managed to say, "But-"
...Before she interrupted with, "You idiot! You'll hurt yourself if you try that! Just cum, damn it! Men are supposed to be good for more than one shot, so let out your first one. Now."
He stopped attempting to argue with her and simply let go, unleashing a torrent of semen deep into her vagina. She was considerate enough to stop moving while he came so as to not make him pass out from over-stimulation. She let out a moan of pleasure as she felt his semen spread within her, filling her up inside. He laid there panting, tired from trying to hold back for so long. Suddenly, the succubus said, "Ah... Shit."
He looked up at her and said, "What?"
She grinned sheepishly and said, "I forgot to feed from that, and I didn't inject any of my demonic energy into you. Sorry."
He quickly caught his breath and asked, "How do you forget to feed?"
She laughed nervously and said, "Most succubi can control whether or not they feed off a man when kissing or fucking. It lets us 'train' our partners to become better able to handle us sucking out their spirit energy. I guess a hypothetical example would be best... Okay, let's say for example that there's a succubus who is quite fond of a certain man, but he's kind of physically weak or lacking in stamina or something. She can fuck the guy without feeding at all, letting him 'exercise' by fucking her until he can handle it when she starts to feed from him during the act. She can also make it go a little faster by taking the risk of infusing him with demonic energy in order to build him up so she can feed while fucking him sooner. Since situations like that rarely happen, most succubi just feed as they do it with their partner or partners. We actually have to pay attention to what we're doing so that we can control it, though. If we lose focus, we'll end up doing whatever it is our bodies are used to or something. I don't know how it works, really. I just know that everyone's different, and it seems that if I don't watch what I'm doing, I won't feed."
The hero took in everything she said, nodding as he mulled over it. "I think I get it..."
She then said, "Are you ready for round two?"
He looked her in the eyes questioningly.
She scoffed and answered his unasked question. "I didn't cum. You did, though. It felt great, but it would have been better if you did so with me, but that's too much to hope for at this point. Let's go again. Maybe now that you've fired once, you can last a while without trying to hurt yourself, huh?"
She started moving again. His first load of semen provided excellent lubrication as she bounced in his lap, his penis getting a white coating of his own semen as she went. This time, she made sure to feed from him while infusing him with her demonic energy. She rode him for several more minutes, gradually speeding up, moaning louder and louder as she kept it up. The hero kept himself from moaning and groaning by simply making sure to breathe deep and hard, as well as keep breathing. Eventually, he started throbbing inside her. He came inside again, much to her delight. She was also a little upset, though, and scolded him, saying, "Warn me when you're going to cum."
"Got it."
She looked down at her abdomen and smiled. "I've got two loads of your cum in me, but I still haven't had an orgasm. You know what that means, right?"
He nodded. "Obviously we have to keep going. It's not fair for you if only I.. you know."
She smiled, then kissed him again. "How do you feel after this round, dear?"
He looked down at where they were connected, then back to her face and said, "I'm not as tired as I was after the first time. Is it because you gave me demonic energy?"
She nodded happily. "Precisely. I gave you a little too much, though, and I'm getting a bit fatigued. Had I given you the proper amount, I'd still be full of energy, and you'd be a bit winded, but less so than after our first round. Ready for round three?"
He asked, "How many times are we going to go?"
She gave him a strangely innocent grin and said, "As many times as it takes for you to make me cum."
She resumed riding him, continuing to ride him for another several minutes. This time, after feeling the pleasure of riding him for this long, and after the pain from having her hymen broken went away, she was finally nearing orgasm. He was, too. She said, "Okay, this time, hold it until I tell you."
"You sure?"
"Yes. I'm finally close to cumming. Hold it until I do, okay? I'll tell you when to shoot."
He agreed, then held back as she kept going. Eventually, she looked at him excitedly and said, "Get ready! I'm almost- Now!"
He let it out as her insides twitched and spasmed as she came. She decided that that was enough for now and simply laid down on top of him, cuddling as they laid there, his penis eventually slipping out of her vagina, letting all of the semen that he had shot inside her flow out onto his crotch. He didn't care that a large amount of his own semen was all over him down there, though. He was too tired. He fell asleep as she held him, laying on top of him. She eventually moved a little so she could lay her head down on his chest, and fell asleep shortly after.
"J-just a minute, damn it!" he pleaded, still trying to steel himself.
"If you wuss out on me, I won't talk to you for a week, I won't help you at all unless you'd die if I didn't, I'll try to get either Amarantha to let me feed from Zeraine or the lizards to let me feed off Sol, or I'll figure something else out, and I'll kick your ass. What'll it be?"
"Alright, alright! Fine, let's do it." He took a deep breath, exhaled, then turned around to face her. His face was completely red, and he couldn't look at her out of embarrassment. He was, after all, a knight of The Order, and they don't train you on what to do when you fall in love, nor do they train you on how to handle yourself when it comes time to have sex with your beloved. He stepped over to her, not sure what to do.
Noticing this, she asked, "Do you even know what you're doing?"
He shook his head. "Honestly, no."
She sighed. "Let me guess, all you know is that your dick goes in my pussy, then you ejaculate, then, if I were a human woman, we'd have at least one kid about a year or so later, right? Personally, I don't know if a succubus can get pregnant from a human man, but..." The thought of having his kids made her blush. She cleared her throat and continued, "Anyway, it looks like I need to guide you through this, so for starters, take my top off."
The sudden shock of her order caused him to look her in the eyes. "Huh!?"
She gave him a slightly mean smile and said, "I'm not stripping myself. You are gonna strip me. Now then, do it."
He did as ordered and clumsily slipped her top off, exposing her perky, beautifully-shaped, pale breasts and half-erect nipples. He dropped her top on the floor, then looked at her.
"I'll forgive you this time, since this is your first time, but I really wish you'd be more sensual or erotic about this. You didn't rub my breasts before taking my top off, you're not touching them right now... Actually, you haven't even touched them yet. What's worse is that you haven't even kissed me yet. Don't you want to touch and rub the breasts of the woman you love while kissing her passionately!?"
He stammered a bit, unable to form words. He eventually managed to choke out, "I'm sorry."
She could tell he was shaking. She didn't know if it was fear, nervousness, or both, but she was going to cure him of that. By the time she was done with him, he'd have no qualms about playing with her naked body. "Whatever. I guess I don't get my boobs massaged this time unless I do it myself... Anyway, pull my bottom down and take a good look at my naked pussy."
His face went even redder as he gave her a questioning look.
She frowned at him and urged, "Do it! I want you to see it. If you have the balls, lick me while you're down there."
As she expected, however, he only hesitantly pulled her bottom down, letting it drop to the floor once he had pulled it down past her knees. He didn't even look at her vagina.
She sighed, adding another minus to her mental image of him that she'd have to correct. "I'm sure you've had anatomy lessons and know which hole it goes in right?"
"Y-yeah..."
"Well, I guess that's good... I'm almost certain you wouldn't know what to do to please me, though, so I guess I have to take the lead. Hold still..." She yanked his trunks down, almost angrily, then gave an impressed whistle when she saw his manhood standing tall despite his obvious nervousness. She stepped out of her bottom, which was still around her ankles, then grabbed the hero and pulled him by the upper arm, allowing him to step out of his trunks as she led him over to the bed. "Lay down."
He got on the bed and laid down, then looked away, a mix of fear, nervousness, embarrassment, shyness, and shame on his face.
She straddled him, then grabbed his head on both sides with her hands, forcefully turning his head to make him look at her. She examined his expression closely, then said, "Throw that shame out the window. So what if the girl you love is a succubus? So what if you're about to have sex with said succubus? That's nothing to be ashamed of."
"R-right. Um..."
"Now, to start this part right..." She leaned down and gave him a passionate kiss that lasted a full three seconds. After their lips parted she continued, "Now that we've finally kissed, let's get going." She grabbed his penis, which made him jerk in surprise, then she lined it up and pressed the head against her lower lips. She looked at him, seeing that he was enjoying just being pressed against her. "Don't cum prematurely, darling, you're not even in me yet." She giggled then descended on him, moving a bit quickly. As soon as he was all the way inside her, she stopped. Her face twisted into one of pain and her eyes teared up. "Ghh! Mmmmph..."
The hero looked at her pained expression and regained some of his courage. He worriedly asked, "Are you alright?"
She looked at him somewhat pleadingly and said, "It hurts. My friends never told me it'd hurt this much..." Just then, a trickle of blood ran from her pussy down his dick, getting partially scattered once it reached his crotch hair. She forced a smile and said, "Congratulations, knight. You're one of the extremely rare few that have had the privilege to have a mutual first time with a succubus that loves you. How do you feel?"
He looked between her face and the blood seeping out of her vagina. "Worried. Are you really okay? How bad does it hurt? Should we stop?"
She shook her head. "No! We're not stopping! I'm fine. As soon as the pain goes away, I'll start moving. Just hold on..."
"Is there anything I can do to take your mind off the pain?"
"Unless you can use some sort of spell that acts as a painkiller, no." She thought for a second, "Damn! Why didn't they tell me that having my hymen broken would hurt this much!? Did it hurt like this when Amarantha did it with Zeraine? Was that her first time? I can't remember if she said anything... Did she even have a hymen? Anyway, this guy doesn't know anything useful about sex, so I know he won't be able to play with my tits to pleasure me to take my mind off the pain in my pussy..." She then looked at the hero sternly and said, "Give me the best kiss you can. Maybe that'll help."
He nodded as she laid down on him, her wincing in pain as he shifted inside her during the movement. She took a couple of breaths, then locked lips with him. They kissed passionately for several seconds, entwining their tongues and thoroughly licking around inside each other's mouths. They stopped long enough to catch their breath, as it was hard to breathe while kissing so intensely. She looked at him with eyes full of both love and lust, desire and craving, then said, "Again!" She kissed him again, not really letting him agree or do anything before her lips pressed against his again. Several seconds of intense, lustful, desperate kissing later, she sat up, assuming cowgirl position. Her vagina still hurt, but not nearly as much as before. Unfortunately, it still hurt too much when either of them moved to actually begin. She gave the hero a smile coupled with a look of haughty embarrassment and said, "Lucky you, dear. You get to see me do this..."
He was awestruck when he saw what she did next. What did she do? She gave her own breast a squeeze, squeezing her right breast with her left hand as she reached for her nether-regions with her right hand. She rubbed her clitoris through its hood with her index and middle fingers, giving the hero an embarrassed smile as she did. She managed to stop moaning and panting long enough to say, "Enjoying the show? No one else has ever seen me do this, you know. I'll teach you next time how to rub me down here to make me feel good, okay?" She then peeled back the hood of her clit and rubbed it directly, shuddering at the intense feeling of pleasure. She stopped playing with herself after a little bit, noticing that the pain had subsided to the point that she could stand to start moving. She then grinned at the hero and said, "I can move now. Try to hold it, okay?"
He looked a little relieved when he saw that she was now fine. "What do you mean?"
She leaned down and kissed him, then said, "I mean don't cum too soon, got it?"
He braced himself as best he could and nodded. She started off slow, carefully moving her hips up and down, gently pressing her crotch against his when she came down, moving slowly and trying to lightly squeeze his dick with her pussy as she went up. This continued for a few minutes, after which she gradually started speeding up. At one point, she decided to stop bouncing and start grinding for a little bit. She tried to firmly squeeze him with the muscles of her vagina, but got a sudden spike of pain and quickly backed off from that idea. She saw that he was trying to hold on as he slid around inside her honeypot, which caused her to smile at him lovingly. "Having a hard time holding it? It's okay. Go ahead. Cum inside me. I'll let you do it now, but you have to stay hard for me, okay?"
He shook his head and said, "I have to last until the end, right? I don't want to be the only one feeling good from this. I'll-"
She put her finger over his mouth, silencing him. "I'm a succubus. My pussy is naturally better than that of any human's. With this being your first time, and the fact that you're probably ridiculously backed up, you have no chance of holding it until I cum. It'll take several sessions until you can even hope to last until I even come close to orgasm. Let it out."
He gently pushed her hand away from his mouth and tried to protest, but only managed to say, "But-"
...Before she interrupted with, "You idiot! You'll hurt yourself if you try that! Just cum, damn it! Men are supposed to be good for more than one shot, so let out your first one. Now."
He stopped attempting to argue with her and simply let go, unleashing a torrent of semen deep into her vagina. She was considerate enough to stop moving while he came so as to not make him pass out from over-stimulation. She let out a moan of pleasure as she felt his semen spread within her, filling her up inside. He laid there panting, tired from trying to hold back for so long. Suddenly, the succubus said, "Ah... Shit."
He looked up at her and said, "What?"
She grinned sheepishly and said, "I forgot to feed from that, and I didn't inject any of my demonic energy into you. Sorry."
He quickly caught his breath and asked, "How do you forget to feed?"
She laughed nervously and said, "Most succubi can control whether or not they feed off a man when kissing or fucking. It lets us 'train' our partners to become better able to handle us sucking out their spirit energy. I guess a hypothetical example would be best... Okay, let's say for example that there's a succubus who is quite fond of a certain man, but he's kind of physically weak or lacking in stamina or something. She can fuck the guy without feeding at all, letting him 'exercise' by fucking her until he can handle it when she starts to feed from him during the act. She can also make it go a little faster by taking the risk of infusing him with demonic energy in order to build him up so she can feed while fucking him sooner. Since situations like that rarely happen, most succubi just feed as they do it with their partner or partners. We actually have to pay attention to what we're doing so that we can control it, though. If we lose focus, we'll end up doing whatever it is our bodies are used to or something. I don't know how it works, really. I just know that everyone's different, and it seems that if I don't watch what I'm doing, I won't feed."
The hero took in everything she said, nodding as he mulled over it. "I think I get it..."
She then said, "Are you ready for round two?"
He looked her in the eyes questioningly.
She scoffed and answered his unasked question. "I didn't cum. You did, though. It felt great, but it would have been better if you did so with me, but that's too much to hope for at this point. Let's go again. Maybe now that you've fired once, you can last a while without trying to hurt yourself, huh?"
She started moving again. His first load of semen provided excellent lubrication as she bounced in his lap, his penis getting a white coating of his own semen as she went. This time, she made sure to feed from him while infusing him with her demonic energy. She rode him for several more minutes, gradually speeding up, moaning louder and louder as she kept it up. The hero kept himself from moaning and groaning by simply making sure to breathe deep and hard, as well as keep breathing. Eventually, he started throbbing inside her. He came inside again, much to her delight. She was also a little upset, though, and scolded him, saying, "Warn me when you're going to cum."
"Got it."
She looked down at her abdomen and smiled. "I've got two loads of your cum in me, but I still haven't had an orgasm. You know what that means, right?"
He nodded. "Obviously we have to keep going. It's not fair for you if only I.. you know."
She smiled, then kissed him again. "How do you feel after this round, dear?"
He looked down at where they were connected, then back to her face and said, "I'm not as tired as I was after the first time. Is it because you gave me demonic energy?"
She nodded happily. "Precisely. I gave you a little too much, though, and I'm getting a bit fatigued. Had I given you the proper amount, I'd still be full of energy, and you'd be a bit winded, but less so than after our first round. Ready for round three?"
He asked, "How many times are we going to go?"
She gave him a strangely innocent grin and said, "As many times as it takes for you to make me cum."
She resumed riding him, continuing to ride him for another several minutes. This time, after feeling the pleasure of riding him for this long, and after the pain from having her hymen broken went away, she was finally nearing orgasm. He was, too. She said, "Okay, this time, hold it until I tell you."
"You sure?"
"Yes. I'm finally close to cumming. Hold it until I do, okay? I'll tell you when to shoot."
He agreed, then held back as she kept going. Eventually, she looked at him excitedly and said, "Get ready! I'm almost- Now!"
He let it out as her insides twitched and spasmed as she came. She decided that that was enough for now and simply laid down on top of him, cuddling as they laid there, his penis eventually slipping out of her vagina, letting all of the semen that he had shot inside her flow out onto his crotch. He didn't care that a large amount of his own semen was all over him down there, though. He was too tired. He fell asleep as she held him, laying on top of him. She eventually moved a little so she could lay her head down on his chest, and fell asleep shortly after.
Chapter 48
Spoiler: show
Hours later, in the "middle room", Zeraine and Amarantha woke up, glad to still be in each other's arms. They got up, fixed their hair, cleaned themselves off through use of a towel and a low-level water spell, then got suited up in their armor and weapons. Looking outside, they saw that the sun had set and that it was time to head out and look for the murderers. They planned on either asking to borrow someone's boat or using levitation to discreetly fly out, find the bastards, and deal with them.
Examining the blade of his claymore, Zeraine commented, "I hope the kid doesn't crack or anything. From what Holly said, we're up against The Order. It sounds like the 'new guys' that have corrupted it, but still..."
Amarantha flexed and stretched, the feeling of Zeraine's warmth still on her mind. "I'm sure it'll be fine. He's a good kid. ...Using your claymore again?"
Zeraine put it in its sheath and slung it over his shoulder, strapping it down tightly. "Yeah. My spear's not going to do any good in any situations we end up in on their ship, and my great sword would be a bit too big and heavy for that."
Amarantha nodded, finding his choice reasonable. "When our young succubus takes the throne, I'll have a tail to use along with my fists and feet, you know?"
"Why can't you transform into that now?"
"Because it'd be complicated. This human form is one of my two forms, a part of me. It's my base human form, as you know, and I can easily switch between it and my 'true' form as a dragon. I don't know any transformation magic, so I can't transform into anything else."
"Ah, right. It's that natural ability that most dragons are born with; their dragon form and a human form that they can switch between at will."
"Mhm. ...Those two sure went at it for a while, didn't they? They even woke us up."
"Heh, yeah. At least they actually did it, though. I was starting to get worried about them, you know?"
"Yeah."
As they started to laugh at their companions' relationship, they heard Priscilla's voice through the wall. She was obviously upset. "For fuck's sake! I've been using all my best techniques on your dick and you still haven't blown your load for me! What the hell's the deal, damn it!?"
Amarantha and Zeraine looked at each other in total shock, then to the wall that separated them from Sol, his lizards, and Priscilla. Amarantha uttered, "They're still at it?"
They heard Sol's voice as he replied, "Sorry."
Priscilla angrily said, "You came so quickly when these two did it! I go at you and you still haven't cum! Why!? I'm a succubus! I'm supposed to be naturally better than the lizardfolk at giving head!"
Sol apologized again, saying, "I'm sorry, but I don't know what's up either."
Victoria's voice was next, her saying, "Sol? My mouth and arms are tired."
Hilda then said, "Mine, too. What do we do?"
After several seconds, Sol said, "Alright, how's this? Priscilla, get off."
She protested, "What? But you're supposed to feed me!"
He calmly replied, "I've got an idea. Just do it. Sit back and stay ready to get back on."
A second or two later, Priscilla said, "You're planning on doing it again with both of them, and just them, then calling me in at the end?"
Sol must have nodded, because he then said, "Vicky? Hilda? Just a little more and you can rest, okay?"
They both replied simultaneously, "Yes."
About a minute later, he said, "Priscilla! Now!"
Another couple of minutes later, and she, still upset, said, "It took you long enough. I guess me just being in on it decreased the pleasure you felt because it wasn't ONLY those two? That's insulting, you know."
Sol replied, "I can't help it. My body desires Vicky and Hilda, and ONLY them. At least you got fed, though. How was it?"
Her tone indicated that she had calmed down a bit. "It was good, just as I'd expect from an incubus, but after this hassle, I'm never feeding from you again. I either try to have fun and end up not getting fed, or I don't have any fun and only get fed? Screw that. I'd rather have a guy that actually cums from ME sucking his dick. Of course, I'd also prefer that he be capable of fucking me, too, due to him not being already attached to anyone, but..."
...
Meanwhile, in the "left room", the hero woke up first, noticing that the succubus was sleeping on top of him, her head on his chest. He also saw that she had fallen asleep in her true form, and was worried that she might have an accident involving her horns and his eyes. He shoved aside that thought and moved just a little to see her face, causing her to moan in her sleep. As he looked at her sleeping face, he thought, "She really is beautiful. She's really pushy and kind of mean at times, but right now, she looks so defenseless... If it weren't for the obvious 'succubus-parts', I could mistake her for an angel or something."
He began stroking her head, running his fingers through her hair. After a little bit, he got curious and started touching her horns. The only time he'd ever touched them was when he grabbed them to pull her along, and he was wearing his armor, thus he had on his gauntlets. For the first time, he could touch them directly with his bare hands. Her horns were hard and smooth, with "rings" at the spots where they bent, said "rings" looking sort of like indentations or grooves that went around the circumference of the horns. She didn't seem to be feeling anything, though, so he continued feeling them, getting a bit carried away and shaking her a little.
She woke up to the feeling of having her head moved around slightly, then opened her eyes slightly to see the hero's arm reaching up to her head. She felt his other hand on the back of her head, feeling his fingers as he ran them through her hair. His playing with her horns was bothering her, though. "Having fun with my head while I'm asleep, darling?" Her tone was slightly perturbed, slightly teasing.
He quickly took his hand off her horn and laughed nervously. "Sorry. It's just, it's interesting. It's the first time I've been able to touch them with my hands, you know?"
She looked up at him, grinning. "Curious about my body? It's about damn time! Touch me all you want. Go ahead."
He started to reach for her horn again, but stopped, his face turning red as he understood what she meant. "It's time. We should get dressed so we can solve the case, okay?"
She pouted. "You're not even going to examine my wings or my tail?"
"Uh... Maybe later..." He looked away, not wanting to let her goad him into anything. He gently pushed at her, trying to signal her to get off and let him up.
She instead jumped up and straddled him, smiling at him, letting her tail swish around in the air behind her, the tip flicking itself around. "Not so fast. Where's my good-morning kiss?"
Seeing her naked body again, with her once again sitting on him, he turned his head, trying not to get hard. "It's not morning. It's night now."
She traced various shapes on his chest with her finger and said, "So? That doesn't matter. What matters is that I just woke up and you haven't kissed me yet. Are you going to fix that or what?"
"..." He made a few nearly inaudible mumbling noises, then said, "Alright. Let me get up first..."
She laid down on him and said, "Nuh-uh. Kiss me right now." She puckered up, waiting for him.
"It's gotta be your way, doesn't it?" Still puckered up, she nodded and pointed at her lips. "Fine." He kissed her.
She sat back up, her mood noticeably better. "That's more like it." When he turned his head away again, she frowned and asked, "What is it?"
He said, "You're still naked, and you're sitting on me again."
She raised an eyebrow. "And you got an eyeful earlier. You came inside me three times, too. You have no reason to be embarrassed anymore."
He grumbled, "That's not how it works. It's still new to me, okay? It's not something I can get over just from that."
"One time's not enough? How about we go again, then?" She pressed her vagina against his abdomen.
"We don't have time! Get off!" Sure, he could have simply pushed her off, but he didn't want to be that forceful.
She sighed. "Would you go again if we didn't have to deal with these murders?"
"Huh? A-asking me that..."
She grabbed his head and forced him to look her in the eye. "Would you?"
He tried to avoid eye-contact as his face got redder. "Um... Probably..."
She smiled and let go. "Fine. I'll let you up now." She got off and stood up. "Hey, you're half-hard. Want me to-"
"No! Leave it alone!" He quickly got up out of bed, ending up on the opposite side from her. "Just what's the deal, anyway? You've been able to hold back all this time, and now you're suddenly acting kind of like you're desperate for me. What happened?"
She crossed her arms. "I got a taste of sex with the man I love, that's what. I'm a succubus, in case you've forgotten." She pointed at her horns with one hand, her wings with the other as she spread them, and vigorously shook her tail around.
He sighed. "So even you went slutty after losing your virginity?"
"What did you just say?" she growled. He immediately regretted insulting her, as she cast Damned at him. He managed to block it with the Quen Sign, which broke after absorbing the spell. "Don't you dare call me a slut! I'm only interested in YOU, you dumbass! I refuse to have anyone but you! Just because I want you more frequently than a human would, you think I'm a slut!?"
He panicked and held up his hands as if to surrender. "Wait, stop! I'm sorry! I didn't mean it!"
She held up another ball of magic energy in her hands, obviously about to cast Damned again. "Then why did you say it?"
"I'm sorry! Just calm down, please!" He took the risk of approaching her. "I won't do it again, I promise! Please forgive me."
She let the magic energy dissipate, then slapped him. Hard. "Jerk."
The hero rubbed his cheek, where a red handprint was becoming apparent. He saw that her eyes were teary. He felt horrible now, seeing that he had brought her to tears. He hugged her, rubbing her head softly. "I'm sorry."
She sniffled a little, then said, "You can't take back what's been said."
"I was wrong. You're not a slut. Forgive me. How can I make it up to you?"
"Never insult me like that again. Never betray me. Never leave me. If you do, I'll kill you."
He held her tighter, staying like that for several seconds. He slowly let go and said, "We should get cleaned up and get dressed. Let's-"
She forcefully grabbed him and angrily kissed him. "Remember, call me that again and I'll cut your balls off. Now, to get cleaned up..."
She used a bit of water magic to wash them both off, then some hot air to dry them. Afterwards, they got dressed. They, too put on their normal clothes.
...
After getting dressed and having their little conversation, Zeraine and Amarantha were just about to leave the room when they heard the hero and the succubus fighting. After hearing the succubus's objection to the hero's accusation, Amarantha looked at Zeraine and said, "He called her a slut? What's wrong with him?"
Zeraine shook his head. "Never call someone like her a slut, kid."
Almost as if on cue, they heard the explosion. They rushed out of the room only to meet Priscilla, Sol, and his lizards in the hallway. They were all fully-clothed, Priscilla in her tiny bikini again. She worriedly asked, "What happened? We heard the explosion-"
Amarantha replied, "The idiot called her a slut and she retaliated."
Priscilla facepalmed. "Is he still alive?"
Zeraine answered, "We think so."
They knocked on the door.
...
With the succubus's help, the hero had just finished getting his armor on. As he grabbed his belt, they heard the knock. The succubus answered, seeing everyone standing there. "We're almost ready."
Zeraine said, "We heard the explosion. Is everything alright?" Farther in the room, he saw the hero waving his hands frantically, trying to motion for him to not delve into it.
She said, "Yeah, we're fine. Just a little... disagreement."
Once they were all ready, they went downstairs, where the innkeeper, who was obviously scared, asked them, "Is everything alright upstairs?"
Zeraine pointed over his shoulder with his thumb, pointing between the hero and the succubus, who had, along with Priscilla, reassumed her disguise, and said, "Yeah. Just the newlyweds having a lovers' quarrel. Nothing to worry about."
Skeptical but accepting it, the innkeeper calmed down a little and they stepped outside. Priscilla gave a sharp exhale and held herself. "The ocean breeze at night this time of year is damn cold! Anyway, knight, I wanna talk to you for a minute."
The hero followed her several yards away, out of earshot. The succubus watched, knowing that Priscilla respected her enough to not try anything. Once they got far enough away from the rest of the group, the hero asked, "What is it?"
She glared at him. "The walls of the inn are thin. Zeraine and Amarantha heard what you called my friend. Let's get one thing straight here, okay? You know two succubi, and out of the both of them, only I am a slut."
The hero blinked a few times in disbelief. "You admit to it?"
She scoffed. "Sure, I have my preferences for the quality of a man, but within my standards of quality, I don't have any particular attachment or anything. Out of all the men who I find acceptable, I'd fuck any of them. Even several of them at once. I am a slut. She isn't, got it?" she said, pointing at her friend.
He nodded and said, "I apologized and asked for forgiveness, but I still feel like a bastard. I'm still kicking myself in the ass over making the woman I love cry."
Priscilla huffed. "If she forgave you, I guess it's fine now, but from what you're saying, you still haven't forgiven yourself. Make sure to kick your own ass thoroughly so you never fuck up like that again, okay?"
"Yeah. Got it."
Priscilla looked around to make sure nobody else was watching, then she dropped her disguise and flew away. The hero returned to the rest of the party and said, "Let's get going."
They headed for the harbor, the hero still deeply regretting what he had done.
Examining the blade of his claymore, Zeraine commented, "I hope the kid doesn't crack or anything. From what Holly said, we're up against The Order. It sounds like the 'new guys' that have corrupted it, but still..."
Amarantha flexed and stretched, the feeling of Zeraine's warmth still on her mind. "I'm sure it'll be fine. He's a good kid. ...Using your claymore again?"
Zeraine put it in its sheath and slung it over his shoulder, strapping it down tightly. "Yeah. My spear's not going to do any good in any situations we end up in on their ship, and my great sword would be a bit too big and heavy for that."
Amarantha nodded, finding his choice reasonable. "When our young succubus takes the throne, I'll have a tail to use along with my fists and feet, you know?"
"Why can't you transform into that now?"
"Because it'd be complicated. This human form is one of my two forms, a part of me. It's my base human form, as you know, and I can easily switch between it and my 'true' form as a dragon. I don't know any transformation magic, so I can't transform into anything else."
"Ah, right. It's that natural ability that most dragons are born with; their dragon form and a human form that they can switch between at will."
"Mhm. ...Those two sure went at it for a while, didn't they? They even woke us up."
"Heh, yeah. At least they actually did it, though. I was starting to get worried about them, you know?"
"Yeah."
As they started to laugh at their companions' relationship, they heard Priscilla's voice through the wall. She was obviously upset. "For fuck's sake! I've been using all my best techniques on your dick and you still haven't blown your load for me! What the hell's the deal, damn it!?"
Amarantha and Zeraine looked at each other in total shock, then to the wall that separated them from Sol, his lizards, and Priscilla. Amarantha uttered, "They're still at it?"
They heard Sol's voice as he replied, "Sorry."
Priscilla angrily said, "You came so quickly when these two did it! I go at you and you still haven't cum! Why!? I'm a succubus! I'm supposed to be naturally better than the lizardfolk at giving head!"
Sol apologized again, saying, "I'm sorry, but I don't know what's up either."
Victoria's voice was next, her saying, "Sol? My mouth and arms are tired."
Hilda then said, "Mine, too. What do we do?"
After several seconds, Sol said, "Alright, how's this? Priscilla, get off."
She protested, "What? But you're supposed to feed me!"
He calmly replied, "I've got an idea. Just do it. Sit back and stay ready to get back on."
A second or two later, Priscilla said, "You're planning on doing it again with both of them, and just them, then calling me in at the end?"
Sol must have nodded, because he then said, "Vicky? Hilda? Just a little more and you can rest, okay?"
They both replied simultaneously, "Yes."
About a minute later, he said, "Priscilla! Now!"
Another couple of minutes later, and she, still upset, said, "It took you long enough. I guess me just being in on it decreased the pleasure you felt because it wasn't ONLY those two? That's insulting, you know."
Sol replied, "I can't help it. My body desires Vicky and Hilda, and ONLY them. At least you got fed, though. How was it?"
Her tone indicated that she had calmed down a bit. "It was good, just as I'd expect from an incubus, but after this hassle, I'm never feeding from you again. I either try to have fun and end up not getting fed, or I don't have any fun and only get fed? Screw that. I'd rather have a guy that actually cums from ME sucking his dick. Of course, I'd also prefer that he be capable of fucking me, too, due to him not being already attached to anyone, but..."
...
Meanwhile, in the "left room", the hero woke up first, noticing that the succubus was sleeping on top of him, her head on his chest. He also saw that she had fallen asleep in her true form, and was worried that she might have an accident involving her horns and his eyes. He shoved aside that thought and moved just a little to see her face, causing her to moan in her sleep. As he looked at her sleeping face, he thought, "She really is beautiful. She's really pushy and kind of mean at times, but right now, she looks so defenseless... If it weren't for the obvious 'succubus-parts', I could mistake her for an angel or something."
He began stroking her head, running his fingers through her hair. After a little bit, he got curious and started touching her horns. The only time he'd ever touched them was when he grabbed them to pull her along, and he was wearing his armor, thus he had on his gauntlets. For the first time, he could touch them directly with his bare hands. Her horns were hard and smooth, with "rings" at the spots where they bent, said "rings" looking sort of like indentations or grooves that went around the circumference of the horns. She didn't seem to be feeling anything, though, so he continued feeling them, getting a bit carried away and shaking her a little.
She woke up to the feeling of having her head moved around slightly, then opened her eyes slightly to see the hero's arm reaching up to her head. She felt his other hand on the back of her head, feeling his fingers as he ran them through her hair. His playing with her horns was bothering her, though. "Having fun with my head while I'm asleep, darling?" Her tone was slightly perturbed, slightly teasing.
He quickly took his hand off her horn and laughed nervously. "Sorry. It's just, it's interesting. It's the first time I've been able to touch them with my hands, you know?"
She looked up at him, grinning. "Curious about my body? It's about damn time! Touch me all you want. Go ahead."
He started to reach for her horn again, but stopped, his face turning red as he understood what she meant. "It's time. We should get dressed so we can solve the case, okay?"
She pouted. "You're not even going to examine my wings or my tail?"
"Uh... Maybe later..." He looked away, not wanting to let her goad him into anything. He gently pushed at her, trying to signal her to get off and let him up.
She instead jumped up and straddled him, smiling at him, letting her tail swish around in the air behind her, the tip flicking itself around. "Not so fast. Where's my good-morning kiss?"
Seeing her naked body again, with her once again sitting on him, he turned his head, trying not to get hard. "It's not morning. It's night now."
She traced various shapes on his chest with her finger and said, "So? That doesn't matter. What matters is that I just woke up and you haven't kissed me yet. Are you going to fix that or what?"
"..." He made a few nearly inaudible mumbling noises, then said, "Alright. Let me get up first..."
She laid down on him and said, "Nuh-uh. Kiss me right now." She puckered up, waiting for him.
"It's gotta be your way, doesn't it?" Still puckered up, she nodded and pointed at her lips. "Fine." He kissed her.
She sat back up, her mood noticeably better. "That's more like it." When he turned his head away again, she frowned and asked, "What is it?"
He said, "You're still naked, and you're sitting on me again."
She raised an eyebrow. "And you got an eyeful earlier. You came inside me three times, too. You have no reason to be embarrassed anymore."
He grumbled, "That's not how it works. It's still new to me, okay? It's not something I can get over just from that."
"One time's not enough? How about we go again, then?" She pressed her vagina against his abdomen.
"We don't have time! Get off!" Sure, he could have simply pushed her off, but he didn't want to be that forceful.
She sighed. "Would you go again if we didn't have to deal with these murders?"
"Huh? A-asking me that..."
She grabbed his head and forced him to look her in the eye. "Would you?"
He tried to avoid eye-contact as his face got redder. "Um... Probably..."
She smiled and let go. "Fine. I'll let you up now." She got off and stood up. "Hey, you're half-hard. Want me to-"
"No! Leave it alone!" He quickly got up out of bed, ending up on the opposite side from her. "Just what's the deal, anyway? You've been able to hold back all this time, and now you're suddenly acting kind of like you're desperate for me. What happened?"
She crossed her arms. "I got a taste of sex with the man I love, that's what. I'm a succubus, in case you've forgotten." She pointed at her horns with one hand, her wings with the other as she spread them, and vigorously shook her tail around.
He sighed. "So even you went slutty after losing your virginity?"
"What did you just say?" she growled. He immediately regretted insulting her, as she cast Damned at him. He managed to block it with the Quen Sign, which broke after absorbing the spell. "Don't you dare call me a slut! I'm only interested in YOU, you dumbass! I refuse to have anyone but you! Just because I want you more frequently than a human would, you think I'm a slut!?"
He panicked and held up his hands as if to surrender. "Wait, stop! I'm sorry! I didn't mean it!"
She held up another ball of magic energy in her hands, obviously about to cast Damned again. "Then why did you say it?"
"I'm sorry! Just calm down, please!" He took the risk of approaching her. "I won't do it again, I promise! Please forgive me."
She let the magic energy dissipate, then slapped him. Hard. "Jerk."
The hero rubbed his cheek, where a red handprint was becoming apparent. He saw that her eyes were teary. He felt horrible now, seeing that he had brought her to tears. He hugged her, rubbing her head softly. "I'm sorry."
She sniffled a little, then said, "You can't take back what's been said."
"I was wrong. You're not a slut. Forgive me. How can I make it up to you?"
"Never insult me like that again. Never betray me. Never leave me. If you do, I'll kill you."
He held her tighter, staying like that for several seconds. He slowly let go and said, "We should get cleaned up and get dressed. Let's-"
She forcefully grabbed him and angrily kissed him. "Remember, call me that again and I'll cut your balls off. Now, to get cleaned up..."
She used a bit of water magic to wash them both off, then some hot air to dry them. Afterwards, they got dressed. They, too put on their normal clothes.
...
After getting dressed and having their little conversation, Zeraine and Amarantha were just about to leave the room when they heard the hero and the succubus fighting. After hearing the succubus's objection to the hero's accusation, Amarantha looked at Zeraine and said, "He called her a slut? What's wrong with him?"
Zeraine shook his head. "Never call someone like her a slut, kid."
Almost as if on cue, they heard the explosion. They rushed out of the room only to meet Priscilla, Sol, and his lizards in the hallway. They were all fully-clothed, Priscilla in her tiny bikini again. She worriedly asked, "What happened? We heard the explosion-"
Amarantha replied, "The idiot called her a slut and she retaliated."
Priscilla facepalmed. "Is he still alive?"
Zeraine answered, "We think so."
They knocked on the door.
...
With the succubus's help, the hero had just finished getting his armor on. As he grabbed his belt, they heard the knock. The succubus answered, seeing everyone standing there. "We're almost ready."
Zeraine said, "We heard the explosion. Is everything alright?" Farther in the room, he saw the hero waving his hands frantically, trying to motion for him to not delve into it.
She said, "Yeah, we're fine. Just a little... disagreement."
Once they were all ready, they went downstairs, where the innkeeper, who was obviously scared, asked them, "Is everything alright upstairs?"
Zeraine pointed over his shoulder with his thumb, pointing between the hero and the succubus, who had, along with Priscilla, reassumed her disguise, and said, "Yeah. Just the newlyweds having a lovers' quarrel. Nothing to worry about."
Skeptical but accepting it, the innkeeper calmed down a little and they stepped outside. Priscilla gave a sharp exhale and held herself. "The ocean breeze at night this time of year is damn cold! Anyway, knight, I wanna talk to you for a minute."
The hero followed her several yards away, out of earshot. The succubus watched, knowing that Priscilla respected her enough to not try anything. Once they got far enough away from the rest of the group, the hero asked, "What is it?"
She glared at him. "The walls of the inn are thin. Zeraine and Amarantha heard what you called my friend. Let's get one thing straight here, okay? You know two succubi, and out of the both of them, only I am a slut."
The hero blinked a few times in disbelief. "You admit to it?"
She scoffed. "Sure, I have my preferences for the quality of a man, but within my standards of quality, I don't have any particular attachment or anything. Out of all the men who I find acceptable, I'd fuck any of them. Even several of them at once. I am a slut. She isn't, got it?" she said, pointing at her friend.
He nodded and said, "I apologized and asked for forgiveness, but I still feel like a bastard. I'm still kicking myself in the ass over making the woman I love cry."
Priscilla huffed. "If she forgave you, I guess it's fine now, but from what you're saying, you still haven't forgiven yourself. Make sure to kick your own ass thoroughly so you never fuck up like that again, okay?"
"Yeah. Got it."
Priscilla looked around to make sure nobody else was watching, then she dropped her disguise and flew away. The hero returned to the rest of the party and said, "Let's get going."
They headed for the harbor, the hero still deeply regretting what he had done.
Chapter 49
Spoiler: show
As the group walked to the harbor, they were surrounded in a heavy cloud of awkwardness. The succubus replayed the earlier incident over and over in her mind, getting more and more upset at herself for losing her temper so badly. She hid this, though, and nobody noticed. She got depressed, too, knowing that had it not been for the hero's reflexes and her teaching him the Signs, she'd have killed him. She loved him, but came close to blasting him to pieces. This fact ate away at her incessantly.
At the same time, the hero was still beating himself up over having insulted the succubus. One thing the Grandmaster, who had raised him and many others, had said was, "Never make a girl cry." The memory of this, and that of the earlier incident, made him feel like shit. He was completely unfocused, in a daze as he walked along with everyone.
Zeraine, Amarantha, Sol, Victoria, and even Hilda, all noticed the awkwardness. They all wanted to do something, but didn't have any ideas. Zeraine nudged Sol and Amarantha, getting their attention and making the "signal" for Sol to telepathically connect them. The "telepathic conference" established, Zeraine said in his mind, "Guys, we need to do something. We're about to go to battle, and we've got two party members that pretty much can't function. Any ideas?"
Amarantha responded similarly, speaking in her mind, "No, unfortunately. Things have calmed down, but look at them. They're both depressed over it."
Sol, in his usual tone that gave hints of disinterest in anything that wasn't Victoria, Hilda, or money, added, "And depression in battle will get you killed, and possibly your allies, too."
Zeraine then said, "How's this idea? We grab him, drag him aside, and try to cheer him up or whip him into shape, get him to focus, or something?"
Sol said, "Good idea, but I think Amarantha should stay here. Just us guys will talk it over, and she can stay with the girls and try to help your mage."
Amarantha mentally protested, "Just a minute! She's a mage, and a pretty powerful one at that! Isn't it pretty much an unwritten rule that if you want to live, never piss off a mage? What if I say something wrong? I don't want to be the two of a one-two punch, nor do I want to have my blood boiled!"
Zeraine said, "Calm down, Ammie. I know you can do it. It'll be fine. How will we start, though?"
Sol suggested, "How about I state the obvious about how using Damned was going overboard and that her temper seems to be worse than Ammie's?"
Amarantha mentally yelled at him, saying, "First off, don't push me! You're like a little brother to me, but I WILL stomp your ass if you start that shit now. Second, how about we instead start off by having Sol ask Vicky and Hilda if they'll wait at the inn. If they were to actually agree, it'd be safer for them, and if not, then it'll serve as pointless, off-topic chatting that'll lead up to you two dragging the kid away and having a few words with him. I'll go ahead and try to deal with the succubus, like Sol suggested. By the way, Sol, if that idea ends badly for me, I'll haunt you for the rest of your days."
Zeraine said, "Alright, let's get to it."
The three of them nodded and Sol ended the "telepathic conference". He broke the awkward silence by saying, "Hey, Vicky, Hilda? If I told you two to wait back at the inn..."
The two simultaneously answered with a smile, "We wouldn't listen."
He cocked his head to the side and said, "Riiiiiight..."
A few seconds later, Zeraine grabbed Sol and the hero. "Come on, you two. We've got a couple of things to talk about."
Playing her part well, Amarantha asked, "What things?"
Zeraine replied, "Guy stuff. Go on ahead to the harbor. We'll catch up in a little bit."
He dragged the two off past a building and into an alley.
Once there, the hero asked, "What's this all about?"
Zeraine let go of him and Sol, then said, "You know why Ammie and I call you 'kid'?"
The hero frowned and said, "Because compared to you I'm a greenhorn?"
Zeraine shook his head. "It's because of your age. That's all. As far as our ages go, we're easily old enough to be your great-grandparents. Compared to us, you're really young. That's why we call you 'kid'."
The hero, now understanding that is was just some nickname, not some kind of hazing, grinned for a second. "That's good to know. I know you didn't drag us out here just to tell me that, though. What is it?"
Zeraine sighed. "We all know what happened between you and her. Calling her that was obviously a really bad idea. That word seems to be a taboo with her, so make sure you watch it from now on. That said, the blame isn't only yours. She overreacted when she used Damned. That spell is easily capable of blowing away a decent size house, leaving only the foundation. I've also heard of a much stronger version of it, called 'Damnation', but I've never witnessed it. Rumor has it that it's a 'dark magic' form of Damned. Regardless, it was still unwarranted."
Sol asked, "How did you survive it?"
The hero smiled weakly. "She taught me some stuff a while ago. She said they're called "Signs". One of them was called "Quen". I used that, but it broke after blocking it."
"Ah, the Signs," Sol said, nodding. "Quite useful, aren't they? They allow the magically-inept to get started, or at least give them something to work with for a while. They remain useful at times even after you've learned and master some of the bigger spells, too. Before, I could use a few before having to catch my breath, but now, as an incubus, I don't know how many I could use. That armor of yours, judging by its enchantment, would allow you to frequently use them. Make sure you do. They're very useful. Also, remember the scrolls I sold you. They could come in handy, too."
Zeraine then said, "Yeah, it's a good idea to focus on the upcoming battle. So, kid, are you better?"
The hero looked at him quizzically, then said, "Well, I think I can handle the fight now."
"Good. Let's go regroup with the others." Zeraine led the way as they went to the harbor.
...
Meanwhile, after Zeraine left with Sol and the hero, Amarantha put her hand on the succubus's shoulder. "Are you alright?"
The succubus looked at her with the gloomiest expression she had ever seen. "Yeah..."
Amarantha frowned. "Liar. Something's weighing heavily on your mind. Tell me."
The succubus hesitated for a few seconds, then said, "We both know the walls at the inn are thin. I'm sure you heard almost everything."
"And?"
The succubus turned away in shame. "I blew up at him and almost killed him. If he didn't use Quen, I would have."
"Why did you use Damned?"
"It the first spell that comes to mind when I'm pissed off. It's powerful and destructive. For as long as I can remember, it's always the first spell I use in situations where someone has set me off."
"That 'reflexive action' nearly caused you to kill your man."
"I know! I know that, but..."
"But you flew into a rage when he accused you of being slutty. Why did that accusation set you off like that?"
"I've managed to use my pride and willpower to stay a virgin until a few hours ago. I finally found my ideal man, though he's in need of some improvement. I give him my first time, and he says that? Someone I..."
"Someone you feel so strongly about has a brain-fart and calls you something he shouldn't, and that pushes you into an uncontrollable rage in which you almost kill him, and now, after calming down and thinking about it, you feel really bad. Am I right?"
"Yeah. It's just, you know... I..."
"Let me guess, you've prided yourself in your ability to stay 'pure' despite being a succubus, and due to the nature and reputation of succubi in general, it became a grave insult to you when someone tries to apply the stereotype to you, right?"
The succubus nodded.
"Well, at least he's fine. You two can make up whenever you're ready, you just have to forgive each other, and yourselves. From what I can tell by looking at you two, you're both still beating yourselves up over it. Stop and have a little talk, sort things out, make up, and move on, okay?" She rubbed the succubus's back comfortingly. She knew it was going to be a bit more complicated than that, but it would be a good start.
The succubus managed to pull herself together a bit as they finished the walk to the harbor. After arriving, a man in a dark, hooded robe approached them. "Are you the ones that are supposed to be investigating the murders of our mermaid population?"
Amarantha looked him over suspiciously, replying, "Yeah. Why?"
He gestured toward a small boat, one that was barely big enough for everyone. "Courtesy of the baron. Row yourselves out to sea, find the ship, board it, and take care of things."
"Was he having us followed?" she asked, a little upset.
The man bowed slightly and replied, "I'm afraid so. It was necessary. Regardless, if you can return the boat in one piece, preferably undamaged, the baron will be quite happy. Good luck, ladies." He bowed again and left.
Victoria asked, "What's taking the others so long?"
Just then, Zeraine, the hero, and Sol walked into view. Zeraine said, "We're back. How are we going to go about this?"
Amarantha pointed at the boat. "The baron is lending us that boat. We're supposed to use it to row out to sea, find the assholes, and 'take care of things'."
The succubus approached the hero, avoiding eye contact. "Um..."
Zeraine said, "We'll just leave you two to talk things over. We'll be waiting."
The group left, walking down the pier to the rowboat, leaving the hero and the succubus alone together. They both tried to start speaking at once, saying, "Uh, I-"
They stopped, looked around, then the hero said, "Uh, you first."
The succubus forced herself to look him in the eye. "I'm sorry. I lost my temper and let my anger control me. I almost killed you because of that."
The hero said, "I forgive you."
Hearing him say those words lifted a weight off her shoulders, made her weak in the knees, and caused her eyes to get watery. "Do you still love me?"
He hugged her. "Of course I do. That's not going to change no matter how many times you try to blow me up."
She started laughing. "That's not fair."
"What isn't?"
"That joke."
"It wasn't a joke. I mean it."
She stopped laughing, looked in his eyes, and saw that he was serious. She pulled him into a kiss, kissing him as if it were the last time she'd be able to. After breaking it off, she said, "I forgive you for your slip of the tongue. Don't let it happen again, okay?" Her voice was shaky, indicating she was trying to be funny, but was holding back her tears as hard as she could. He patted her on the back of her head as she rested it on his shoulder, leaning it against his.
He said, "We should get going."
She reluctantly pulled herself away from him, nodding in agreement. They walked down the pier, joining the rest of the group at the boat. Zeraine noticed that they seemed closer than before, as did Amarantha. There was still some awkwardness between the two, but it had greatly lessened. Zeraine and Amarantha took comfort in the fact that some good had been done, restoring at least partial functionality to the hero and the succubus.
After getting in the boat, Amarantha commented, "I doubt I'll be able to use my dragon form..."
Zeraine shrugged, putting his arm around her shoulder. "Too bad. You'll just have to make use of that bone-shattering strength of yours, and your hand-to-hand skill to send them over the horizon."
Amarantha dryly replied, "I can't hit that hard, Zeraine."
He grinned and said, "Well, at least you can easily send their battered husks into the sea far enough away that they'll have no chance of not drowning, right?"
"You..." She giggled and playfully elbowed him in the side, which he felt through his armor.
"Ow..."
As for the hero and the succubus, they were sitting next to each other, the hero with his arm draped over the succubus's shoulder. They both were still uneasy and feeling bad about their earlier altercation. It would take time for them to get over it, but at least they had taken the first steps. She decided to try to lighten the mood a bit by saying, "I forgave you, but you're not off the hook yet."
He looked over at her in shock. "What?"
"You still have to make it up to me."
"How?"
"You know how," she said, her voice suggestive, as she put her hand on the hero's thigh, rubbing it through his chainmail.
"Oh..."
"And why exactly is it that I have to row us out?" Sol complained, grunting in effort as he worked the oars.
Hilda playfully slapped him on the back, causing him to rise off his ass an inch or two, and said, "Because, you need to build those arms up! How else are you going to carry Vicky and me around, huh?"
"You two can walk."
Victoria whispered in his ear, "She's talking about you carrying us around the house as you fuck us."
"Oh. Right."
At the same time, the hero was still beating himself up over having insulted the succubus. One thing the Grandmaster, who had raised him and many others, had said was, "Never make a girl cry." The memory of this, and that of the earlier incident, made him feel like shit. He was completely unfocused, in a daze as he walked along with everyone.
Zeraine, Amarantha, Sol, Victoria, and even Hilda, all noticed the awkwardness. They all wanted to do something, but didn't have any ideas. Zeraine nudged Sol and Amarantha, getting their attention and making the "signal" for Sol to telepathically connect them. The "telepathic conference" established, Zeraine said in his mind, "Guys, we need to do something. We're about to go to battle, and we've got two party members that pretty much can't function. Any ideas?"
Amarantha responded similarly, speaking in her mind, "No, unfortunately. Things have calmed down, but look at them. They're both depressed over it."
Sol, in his usual tone that gave hints of disinterest in anything that wasn't Victoria, Hilda, or money, added, "And depression in battle will get you killed, and possibly your allies, too."
Zeraine then said, "How's this idea? We grab him, drag him aside, and try to cheer him up or whip him into shape, get him to focus, or something?"
Sol said, "Good idea, but I think Amarantha should stay here. Just us guys will talk it over, and she can stay with the girls and try to help your mage."
Amarantha mentally protested, "Just a minute! She's a mage, and a pretty powerful one at that! Isn't it pretty much an unwritten rule that if you want to live, never piss off a mage? What if I say something wrong? I don't want to be the two of a one-two punch, nor do I want to have my blood boiled!"
Zeraine said, "Calm down, Ammie. I know you can do it. It'll be fine. How will we start, though?"
Sol suggested, "How about I state the obvious about how using Damned was going overboard and that her temper seems to be worse than Ammie's?"
Amarantha mentally yelled at him, saying, "First off, don't push me! You're like a little brother to me, but I WILL stomp your ass if you start that shit now. Second, how about we instead start off by having Sol ask Vicky and Hilda if they'll wait at the inn. If they were to actually agree, it'd be safer for them, and if not, then it'll serve as pointless, off-topic chatting that'll lead up to you two dragging the kid away and having a few words with him. I'll go ahead and try to deal with the succubus, like Sol suggested. By the way, Sol, if that idea ends badly for me, I'll haunt you for the rest of your days."
Zeraine said, "Alright, let's get to it."
The three of them nodded and Sol ended the "telepathic conference". He broke the awkward silence by saying, "Hey, Vicky, Hilda? If I told you two to wait back at the inn..."
The two simultaneously answered with a smile, "We wouldn't listen."
He cocked his head to the side and said, "Riiiiiight..."
A few seconds later, Zeraine grabbed Sol and the hero. "Come on, you two. We've got a couple of things to talk about."
Playing her part well, Amarantha asked, "What things?"
Zeraine replied, "Guy stuff. Go on ahead to the harbor. We'll catch up in a little bit."
He dragged the two off past a building and into an alley.
Once there, the hero asked, "What's this all about?"
Zeraine let go of him and Sol, then said, "You know why Ammie and I call you 'kid'?"
The hero frowned and said, "Because compared to you I'm a greenhorn?"
Zeraine shook his head. "It's because of your age. That's all. As far as our ages go, we're easily old enough to be your great-grandparents. Compared to us, you're really young. That's why we call you 'kid'."
The hero, now understanding that is was just some nickname, not some kind of hazing, grinned for a second. "That's good to know. I know you didn't drag us out here just to tell me that, though. What is it?"
Zeraine sighed. "We all know what happened between you and her. Calling her that was obviously a really bad idea. That word seems to be a taboo with her, so make sure you watch it from now on. That said, the blame isn't only yours. She overreacted when she used Damned. That spell is easily capable of blowing away a decent size house, leaving only the foundation. I've also heard of a much stronger version of it, called 'Damnation', but I've never witnessed it. Rumor has it that it's a 'dark magic' form of Damned. Regardless, it was still unwarranted."
Sol asked, "How did you survive it?"
The hero smiled weakly. "She taught me some stuff a while ago. She said they're called "Signs". One of them was called "Quen". I used that, but it broke after blocking it."
"Ah, the Signs," Sol said, nodding. "Quite useful, aren't they? They allow the magically-inept to get started, or at least give them something to work with for a while. They remain useful at times even after you've learned and master some of the bigger spells, too. Before, I could use a few before having to catch my breath, but now, as an incubus, I don't know how many I could use. That armor of yours, judging by its enchantment, would allow you to frequently use them. Make sure you do. They're very useful. Also, remember the scrolls I sold you. They could come in handy, too."
Zeraine then said, "Yeah, it's a good idea to focus on the upcoming battle. So, kid, are you better?"
The hero looked at him quizzically, then said, "Well, I think I can handle the fight now."
"Good. Let's go regroup with the others." Zeraine led the way as they went to the harbor.
...
Meanwhile, after Zeraine left with Sol and the hero, Amarantha put her hand on the succubus's shoulder. "Are you alright?"
The succubus looked at her with the gloomiest expression she had ever seen. "Yeah..."
Amarantha frowned. "Liar. Something's weighing heavily on your mind. Tell me."
The succubus hesitated for a few seconds, then said, "We both know the walls at the inn are thin. I'm sure you heard almost everything."
"And?"
The succubus turned away in shame. "I blew up at him and almost killed him. If he didn't use Quen, I would have."
"Why did you use Damned?"
"It the first spell that comes to mind when I'm pissed off. It's powerful and destructive. For as long as I can remember, it's always the first spell I use in situations where someone has set me off."
"That 'reflexive action' nearly caused you to kill your man."
"I know! I know that, but..."
"But you flew into a rage when he accused you of being slutty. Why did that accusation set you off like that?"
"I've managed to use my pride and willpower to stay a virgin until a few hours ago. I finally found my ideal man, though he's in need of some improvement. I give him my first time, and he says that? Someone I..."
"Someone you feel so strongly about has a brain-fart and calls you something he shouldn't, and that pushes you into an uncontrollable rage in which you almost kill him, and now, after calming down and thinking about it, you feel really bad. Am I right?"
"Yeah. It's just, you know... I..."
"Let me guess, you've prided yourself in your ability to stay 'pure' despite being a succubus, and due to the nature and reputation of succubi in general, it became a grave insult to you when someone tries to apply the stereotype to you, right?"
The succubus nodded.
"Well, at least he's fine. You two can make up whenever you're ready, you just have to forgive each other, and yourselves. From what I can tell by looking at you two, you're both still beating yourselves up over it. Stop and have a little talk, sort things out, make up, and move on, okay?" She rubbed the succubus's back comfortingly. She knew it was going to be a bit more complicated than that, but it would be a good start.
The succubus managed to pull herself together a bit as they finished the walk to the harbor. After arriving, a man in a dark, hooded robe approached them. "Are you the ones that are supposed to be investigating the murders of our mermaid population?"
Amarantha looked him over suspiciously, replying, "Yeah. Why?"
He gestured toward a small boat, one that was barely big enough for everyone. "Courtesy of the baron. Row yourselves out to sea, find the ship, board it, and take care of things."
"Was he having us followed?" she asked, a little upset.
The man bowed slightly and replied, "I'm afraid so. It was necessary. Regardless, if you can return the boat in one piece, preferably undamaged, the baron will be quite happy. Good luck, ladies." He bowed again and left.
Victoria asked, "What's taking the others so long?"
Just then, Zeraine, the hero, and Sol walked into view. Zeraine said, "We're back. How are we going to go about this?"
Amarantha pointed at the boat. "The baron is lending us that boat. We're supposed to use it to row out to sea, find the assholes, and 'take care of things'."
The succubus approached the hero, avoiding eye contact. "Um..."
Zeraine said, "We'll just leave you two to talk things over. We'll be waiting."
The group left, walking down the pier to the rowboat, leaving the hero and the succubus alone together. They both tried to start speaking at once, saying, "Uh, I-"
They stopped, looked around, then the hero said, "Uh, you first."
The succubus forced herself to look him in the eye. "I'm sorry. I lost my temper and let my anger control me. I almost killed you because of that."
The hero said, "I forgive you."
Hearing him say those words lifted a weight off her shoulders, made her weak in the knees, and caused her eyes to get watery. "Do you still love me?"
He hugged her. "Of course I do. That's not going to change no matter how many times you try to blow me up."
She started laughing. "That's not fair."
"What isn't?"
"That joke."
"It wasn't a joke. I mean it."
She stopped laughing, looked in his eyes, and saw that he was serious. She pulled him into a kiss, kissing him as if it were the last time she'd be able to. After breaking it off, she said, "I forgive you for your slip of the tongue. Don't let it happen again, okay?" Her voice was shaky, indicating she was trying to be funny, but was holding back her tears as hard as she could. He patted her on the back of her head as she rested it on his shoulder, leaning it against his.
He said, "We should get going."
She reluctantly pulled herself away from him, nodding in agreement. They walked down the pier, joining the rest of the group at the boat. Zeraine noticed that they seemed closer than before, as did Amarantha. There was still some awkwardness between the two, but it had greatly lessened. Zeraine and Amarantha took comfort in the fact that some good had been done, restoring at least partial functionality to the hero and the succubus.
After getting in the boat, Amarantha commented, "I doubt I'll be able to use my dragon form..."
Zeraine shrugged, putting his arm around her shoulder. "Too bad. You'll just have to make use of that bone-shattering strength of yours, and your hand-to-hand skill to send them over the horizon."
Amarantha dryly replied, "I can't hit that hard, Zeraine."
He grinned and said, "Well, at least you can easily send their battered husks into the sea far enough away that they'll have no chance of not drowning, right?"
"You..." She giggled and playfully elbowed him in the side, which he felt through his armor.
"Ow..."
As for the hero and the succubus, they were sitting next to each other, the hero with his arm draped over the succubus's shoulder. They both were still uneasy and feeling bad about their earlier altercation. It would take time for them to get over it, but at least they had taken the first steps. She decided to try to lighten the mood a bit by saying, "I forgave you, but you're not off the hook yet."
He looked over at her in shock. "What?"
"You still have to make it up to me."
"How?"
"You know how," she said, her voice suggestive, as she put her hand on the hero's thigh, rubbing it through his chainmail.
"Oh..."
"And why exactly is it that I have to row us out?" Sol complained, grunting in effort as he worked the oars.
Hilda playfully slapped him on the back, causing him to rise off his ass an inch or two, and said, "Because, you need to build those arms up! How else are you going to carry Vicky and me around, huh?"
"You two can walk."
Victoria whispered in his ear, "She's talking about you carrying us around the house as you fuck us."
"Oh. Right."
Chapter 50
Spoiler: show
As Sol rowed everyone out to sea, the party kept watch in all directions. There was no fog, few clouds in the sky, and the water was clear, sparkling in the light of the nearly-full moon. The starts were beautiful, but the party couldn't enjoy it, for they were on a mission. They had to find the murderers and stop them. Just then, the hero pointed at something. "Hey, look. Is that them?"
Everyone looked and saw that it was a ship. A typical ship with the one main deck, a raised platform where the wheel was, one large mast in the middle of the ship, one smaller mast at the bow, another at the stern, and lights scattered around the deck. As they got closer, they saw that there were men standing on the deck, surrounding a large net that was suspended above the deck, hanging from the horizontal part of the middle mast, port-side. They heard one man speaking in a very raised voice, his tone both threatening and hateful, but they were too far away to make out what he was saying. As they got even closer, they saw that the anchor was down. The men were wearing the uniform of The Order. In the large net, there were several mermaids, a few merrows, and even a sea bishop. The men were laughing, spitting on them, insulting them, and even hitting them through the net.
The party looked amongst each other, then the hero and the succubus looked at each other. The succubus dropped her disguise and whispered, "They're not far from killing them! We have to do something quick!"
The hero whispered back, "Had we gotten here sooner, we probably could have spared them this abuse. Did our earlier incident hold us back, giving them this 'head start'?"
Zeraine leaned forward. "Guys, can the bullshit. We have to hurry!"
When Sol got everyone close enough, the hero, the succubus, Zeraine, and Amarantha levitated up out of the rowboat. Sol stood up, ready to join them, but Amarantha shook her head. "You stay with the boat, Sol."
He shrugged and sat back down, then telepathically told her, "Let me know when you're done. I want to loot the ship."
Amarantha facepalmed and shook her head, then followed everyone up to the bottom of the railing. The men were too focused on beating and abusing the sea-people to notice four heads that barely peeked above the deck. Zeraine tapped Amarantha on the shoulder and flew with her around to the starboard side, keeping out of sight. As they got into position, they heard the man who was apparently the leader say, "Have fun all you want, but I want at least five of them dead in ten minutes." He then went below-deck. The party took that as their signal to board the ship. The hero already had his shield strapped to his arm and his sword halfway out of its sheath as he touched down, kicking one man in the ass from behind and slamming the pommel of his sword into the temple of another's head. Similarly, on the starboard side, Zeraine impaled one man with his claymore through the gap at the armor's waist, lifted him up, and tossed him toward the bow. Amarantha grabbed one man by his helmet, pulled him backwards to her, and crushed his head, helmet and all, between her hands. It took a full second before they reacted to the sudden attack.
One of the men yelled, "What in the Chief God's name is going on!? Who are you!? Why are you attacking us!?"
The hero partially raised his shield and countered, "Why are you killing mermaids?"
The man spat on one of the mermaids and said, "We're The Order. If that uniform isn't stolen, you are, too, so you should know that The Order kills all monsters. If you repent for your friends killing our men, we'll let you in on the action."
The hero and the succubus both simultaneously yelled, "Go to hell!"
The hero used the Aard Sign, in its "telekinetic thrust" form, to knock several of them down as he ran toward the bow, creating space between him and the men. At that same time, the succubus cast Prismatic Missile, riddling the group with crystals of light, preventing them from following the hero or her as she joined him in putting space between them and the enemies.
With Zeraine and Amarantha, they were doing very well, Zeraine swinging his claymore, knocking down or killing those he hit, the occasional severed body part flying through the air, and Amarantha using her martial arts skill to shatter or crush armor, send enemies flying into the masts, cracking them, and otherwise deal blows strong enough that the men surrounding her unfortunate current target could hear bones snapping and internal organs rupturing.
Back with the hero and the succubus, the hero was panting, having repeatedly used Aard to keep the enemies off their feet and away from him and the succubus as he prudently finished off the occasional downed enemy, making sure to take no risks about getting hit as he did so. The succubus had helped him by using her own blasts of wind for the same effects. The succubus yelled, "Keep them off me! I've got an idea!"
Magic energy began swirling around her as she focused. The hero, now seeing that she wasn't going to help him keep them back for a while, decided that he needed to change his tactics. He thought, "Okay, Aard is very good at putting them on their asses, but it's not enough unless I have her help due to the number of enemies. I'm not using all my options, here... Let's try this..."
His energy now back, but the enemies back on their feet, he grinned confidently, charged at them, and used another Aard to knock enough of them down so they couldn't reach him quickly due to having to either step over or help up the downed ones. He then hopped backward a few times and used Axii to hex one enemy, gaining a temporary ally in the form of one of the enemies up front. Panic ensued as the man turned on his brethren, killing one of them and attempting to kill another two before they turned on him. As they were busy killing the hexed man, the hero pulled a Scroll of Fire Trap out of his Bag of Holding, set it in the approximate middle of the small group that he was facing, and watched as, almost as if on cue, as soon as the man he hexed with Axii died, the trap went off, blowing off one leg of the unfortunate fool that ended up standing on it, and setting three others on fire. The flaming men screamed and ran around like chickens with their heads cut off. Two of them burned to death, and one dove overboard, apparently forgetting that his armor would make him sink. Nobody knows whether he died from the burns or from drowning, but he was definitely out of the battle permanently.
Zeraine and Amarantha were both spattered with the blood of the enemies they had killed so far. Amarantha's face was covered in it and her hair was dripping it everywhere. Zeraine parried the attack from one man, killing him with a riposte in the form of a back-spin slash that beheaded him. He glanced over at Amarantha and saw that she was apparently enjoying herself. She had done a spear-hand thrust to one man's chest, penetrating his armor, and body, judging by how much he was bleeding. The fact that she had driven her hand into his body became abundantly clear when she retracted said hand, tearing out two of the man's ribs and using them to stab another man in both his left eye and neck, which killed him. She finished off the first man by twisting his head around, nearly ripping it off. She laughed, then shouted, "Hey, Zeraine! These small fry are pathetic!" then went back to brutalizing the now-fleeing men, killing one by knocking his helmet off and crushing his head with one hand.
Zeraine shouted back, "Yeah, compared to that Dullahan, these guys are a cakewalk!" He continued expertly parrying and riposting, but only when he had a clear opportunity. He also threw in the occasional well-aimed slash that dented armor or took off heads, too.
The hero, hoping that the succubus was almost done, cast Quen, then charged at the remaining enemies, using Igni in its "fire-wave" form, to set several more enemies on fire, followed by shield-ramming another. As luck would have it, the man was in the perfect position. This was demonstrated clearly when he fell backward, hitting two of his comrades and dragging them down with him. The hero exploited the fact that Quen was active and finished off the man he shield-rammed, standing back up and backing off as a couple of blows from another man knocked his Quen out. The hero then made use of his sword and shield to block, parry, and attack, finishing off three more men consecutively. It was then that the succubus called to him, saying, "Move!"
He did just that, diving to the side, allowing the succubus to cast her spell. "Sea Ku Endo Stroy De, Voy Vot!"
The hero didn't know, since he had pretty much no knowledge of magic, but the reason she had to "charge up" for this spell was so that she could cast it on multiple targets simultaneously. She had, naturally, charged up enough power to select every remaining enemy as a target, and cast her spell. The reason she had the hero get out of the way was so she could see all of them in order to properly target them. The men screamed in fear and pain as their blood and other bodily fluids literally boiled, killing them in a horribly painful way. Their group of enemies now taken care of, they looked to see if they could help Zeraine or Amarantha.
Zeraine had used an ice spell to conjure up large "spears" of ice and impale several of his opponents, finishing them off with his claymore after parrying the last unharmed man before him, countering with a kick to the man's knee and a stab to his throat.
Amarantha was gracefully dodging the last man's panicked, wild swings. She stepped back, leaned, weaved, and spun, the blade missing both her and her blood-soaked hair. She then jerked her head, lashing out with her hair, covering the man's eyes. As he fumbled around, trying to wipe her hair out of his face, she wrapped her arms around him just below his armpits, and squeezed. Accompanied by the sound of his armor being bent in on itself, his scream echoed through the night air as his ribs shattered, puncturing his lungs, causing him to cough up blood onto Amarantha's head before he died. It didn't bother her, though. She was already covered in blood from the earlier enemies. She ran up to Zeraine and hugged him. "Ahh, that was fun!"
Zeraine smirked. "Yeah, it kind of was. Now, we just have to kill the leader."
The succubus approached and said, "First, we have to free them." She pointed at the net with the bewildered sea-folk in it.
The hero sighed with relief and walked over to them. "I'm on it." He cut the net open, allowing them to spill out onto the deck.
The mermaids and merrows were very shaken, wary of the hero because of The Order's insignia on his armor. The succubus looked the girls over, healing the ones that needed it. She said, "Don't worry. We're here to help. My husband is not one of those bastards. He's one of the good guys from the part of The Order that hasn't been corrupted."
The hero, hearing this, blushed slightly and said, "W-we're not married yet!"
The succubus gave him a big smile and teased, "Ah, you said, 'yet'."
His face went redder as he tried to retort. "Huh? But- Sh-shut up..."
She and some of the other mermaids giggled at his reaction. The sea bishop had finally collected herself and was able to speak. "Thank you for saving us. They lured us here with the voice of a friend of mine. We wanted to see if she was alright, but we got caught in the net. When they raised us out of the water, I heard her voice from below deck. Can you save her?"
The hero nodded. "We'll get right on it-"
"So you managed to kill all my men. Who are you?" The voice came from the stairs leading below deck. The man had his helmet on, but the hero recognized his voice.
"Wait a minute... Gerald?"
The man looked at the hero. "Heh, well if it isn't one of the Grandmaster's prodigies. The old fool... What are you doing out here?"
The hero was now pissed. "If anyone's a fool, it's you. What made you turn away from the Grandmaster's teachings? What made you start killing mermaids? Why are you doing this? Don't you know that, with every action such as this that you take, you're slandering the name and image of The Order!?"
Gerald scoffed. "I'd spit at you and that naive bullshit of yours if I wasn't wearing my helmet. The Order kills monsters. ALL monsters. These fish-people are monsters, things, not human. What, you think humans and monsters can coexist? You're an idiot. I wonder if that succubus over there warped your mind or something... Maybe it was the old man's bullshit that brainwashed you, and possibly him that had his mind warped by a succubus or something. Regardless, humans and monsters just can't live together. The monsters will always be plotting to kill us humans, looking for any opportunity."
Amarantha yelled, "Shut that shit up! I'm a silver dragon and I've been living and traveling with this man for decades, and not once did I EVER seriously think about killing him!" pointing at Zeraine.
Gerald gave her a sidelong glare and said, "Heh, then you're a freak. How do I know you're not lying? Still, if you're telling the truth, then you've turned away from the gods. May you be damned, heathen."
She stepped forward, gritting her teeth in fury, but Zeraine stopped her. She gave him a look of protest, but he said, "I don't want you touching a piece of shit like him. Not even his armor; not even to do the world a favor by killing him."
She calmed down, then glared at Gerald and said, "If it weren't for him, I'd tear your head off and shove it up your ass."
The hero stomped his foot down on the deck as he took a threatening stance. "No, you're the heathen, Gerald. You've fallen to the level of a scumbag bigot and a murderer. I think we're done talking."
He arrogantly put his hand on his hip and said, "What, you're challenging me to a duel? You're not going to have your bitch girlfriend succubus whore use her magic?"
The succubus flew into a rage, but managed to stop herself from doing anything by remembering what had just happened back at the inn. She knew she couldn't think clearly enough right now to hit Gerald without hitting the hero. "Kick. his. ass."
The hero nodded. "Nobody insults her like that. NOBODY!" He cast Quen and charged, shield up.
Gerald drew his mace and checked his buckler. "Magic, huh? The taint of the Demon Lord is strong in you." He took a few running steps forward and blocked the hero's initial strike with his shield, quickly swinging his mace in a counterstrike. The hero let Gerald hit him with the mace, letting Quen absorb the strike, in favor of headbutting him, followed by kicking him. The headbutt knocked out what was left of Quen, but it also surprised Gerald, allowing the hero's kick to land squarely in his gut. The hero tried to follow up with a shield bash to his head, but he thrust his shield up, causing them to collide. Deciding that a contest of strength was not the best idea, the hero stopped pushing and jumped back, using the force of Gerald's shove to help him make it that extra couple of feet. As Gerald was getting up, he hero set an Yrden and backed off.
Gerald laughed scornfully and said, "You think those pathetic 'imitation spells' will work on me?"
He ran around the Yrden and attacked, swinging his mace horizontally. The hero blocked it with his shield and stomped Gerald's knee, then shoved him back into the Yrden. Effectively paralyzed, Gerald could do nothing but watch as the hero thrust his sword into the gap between his helmet and the collar of his armor. Blood poured out of the gap and Gerald's body fell limp, making a pool of blood under it.
The succubus stepped closer and asked, "You knew him. Care to explain?"
The hero wiped his sword off on the tunic of one of the corpses' armor and sheathed it. "He used to be stationed at The Order's main base. He seemed like a decent guy, but he was known for hating anything and everything to do with magic. I don't know if he always thought like this or not, but I guess I didn't really know him... Anyway, we're done here. Let's check below deck and see if we can save that sea bishop's friend."
He headed for the stairs and the succubus followed him.
Amarantha walked over to the port side railing and called out, "Sol, we killed them all. We're fine, too. You can come up now."
Sol levitated up, carrying Hilda, with Victoria beside him. They stepped down onto the deck and he set Hilda down. "What a nice, gory little mess you've made," he said, smiling. "Where are the mermaids?"
Victoria and Hilda looked away, unable to stomach the sight. Amarantha sighed and said, "They crawled off the starboard side of the ship when the bastards' leader appeared. Anyway, these guys were filth. I don't know how you can stand the thought of looting their corpses."
Sol grinned at her. "Actually, I was originally thinking of only looting the ship, but that's not a bad idea. I can either sell the swords, or enchant them and then sell them. I won't bother with the armor, though. Too much trouble. Where are the 'newlyweds'?"
Zeraine gestured toward the stairs leading below deck. "They went downstairs to try to save a mermaid. If you hurry, you can be done by the time they get back. Then you can go down and take whatever you want down there."
Sol was already walking around, gathering the swords and putting them into his Bag of Holding. "Actually, I think I'll loot the ship at my leisure, regardless of what anyone thinks about it. There's money to be made from selling this stuff."
Meanwhile, below deck, the hero and the succubus cautiously made their way through the ship, looking for the mermaid. They didn't want to take the risk of there being another goon down here that could catch them off-guard. They eventually found the mermaid without incident. She was in terrible shape. The webbing of her fins was torn in several places, some of her scales had been pulled off, possibly with pliers, her hair was a mess, she had countless cuts and bruises all over her body, and she was having trouble breathing. Most of these wounds were obviously made within the last several minutes, shortly before Gerald appeared. The hero growled, "That son of a bitch..."
The succubus stepped forward and examined the mermaid. "She's unconscious, but alive. Give me a mana potion. I can heal this, but I'm a little drained after that Voy Vot and the other healing, and we don't have time for the way I'd prefer."
The hero pulled a mana potion out of his Bag of Holding and handed it to her. She drank it quickly, then coughed a few times. "Ugh, these things always taste bad..." He stepped out of her way, allowing her to heal the mermaid. He watched as the cuts closed, the bruises faded, and the scales grew back. The webbing of the mermaid's fins also mended. Seconds later, her body was in perfect condition. She woke up to see the succubus breathing hard and the hero with a sour look on his face. "What happened?"
The hero said, "I guess these bastards used you as bait to lure some of your friends in so they could kill them. We stopped them in time, though, and they're all fine."
"Thank you. Why is the insignia on your armor the same as theirs?"
"I'm from The Order. They were, too, but they had become corrupt. The true members of The Order would never have done this."
"I see... Still, thanks. You saved my life."
Just then, Sol came down the stairs in a bit of a rush, looking in every crate, barrel, basket, and box for anything that he could take and sell. The mermaid looked at him, then back to the hero and asked, "And him?"
The hero crossed his arms and sighed. "He's a... friend of ours. He runs a magic shop in Westcreek, a 'sanctuary city' right next to The Order's main headquarters. He has basically offered to supply us with potions, as well as try to obtain any enchanted gear we might need, and sell them to us."
The succubus added, "He also mentioned earlier that he was interested in trading for mermaid blood. Know anyone he could talk to?"
The mermaid nodded, sweeping her hair out of her face with her hands. "Yeah. He helped you guys, right? I'm sure that'll earn him the right."
The hero said, "Uh... Actually, he just rowed us out here. He didn't help with any of the fighting."
Sol, having made it over close to the hero while on his looting spree, said, "That's because Amarantha told me to stay in the boat. I did, and made out with Vicky and Hilda the whole time."
The hero's jaw dropped. "But shortly before we left, they were..."
Closing the lid of an empty crate, Sol said, "Yeah, they had been licking and sucking my dick for about five hours, non-stop, but I don't care."
The mermaid's face was bright red after hearing that and she looked at the succubus, who said, "He's also a shameless pervert."
Sol finished looking in the last box and said, "I'm not shameless, but I am a pervert. I'll admit that. Now, I've taken everything of any value, and you've found her, so let's get back to town." Sol jogged off back up the stairs.
The hero and the succubus looked at each other, then sighed. He picked up the mermaid and gently carried her up to the deck.
Once up top, Zeraine greeted them. "Hey, you found her."
The succubus said, "Yeah, and she was in really bad shape. That Gerald guy did a number on her while we were disposing of this trash."
The hero said, "That's Zeraine, our veteran spellsword. He and the woman over there, Amarantha, who is actually a silver dragon, helped with the fighting, as you can plainly see."
The mermaid saw how both of them were covered in blood and dryly said, "No kidding."
The hero then asked, "So what now?"
The mermaid pointed at the railing. "Just drop me over the railing. How long are you guys going to be around here, anyway?"
The succubus, obviously tired from all the spellcasting, said, "We're going to relax all day tomorrow and leave the day after."
"Good. I'll talk to a few people and see if there's something we can do to reward you."
The hero carried her over to the railing and looked down at the water. "Just drop you?"
She nodded. "Head-first, preferably. You could hold me for a little bit longer, but I don't think your girlfriend would like that."
The succubus pointed at her and shouted, "That's not funny!"
The hero asked, "How did you know?"
The mermaid smiled. "I can tell, and she just confirmed it."
He dropped her over overboard head-first, allowing her to "dive" into the water. She then popped her head up out of the water and asked, "Will you be at the beach tomorrow?"
The hero said, "Probably. Take care."
She waved and swam away, saying, "You, too."
After the mermaid left, the succubus said, "I didn't know it was called 'Westcreek'."
The hero looked at her, puzzled, then said, "You didn't pay attention to the names of the places we've been? Also, what did you mean 'the way you'd prefer'?"
She looked at him with a slightly disgruntled expression and said, "I doubt any of us have. We don't have a map, either. And you know damn good and well what I meant."
"Oh..." he said, the meaning of her words sinking in, causing his face to redden.
The succubus looked at Zeraine and Amarantha, then to the hero. "Give me a kiss and let me feed. I don't want to waste a potion just for the sake of cleaning them up."
The hero and the succubus kissed, her feeding off his spirit energy. After the kiss, she used some water magic to clean the blood off of Zeraine and Amarantha, then walked over to the port side railing. "Let's go back."
They all got back in the rowboat, in the same seats they were in on the way out. Sol was again forced to do the rowing. "Damn it, a mage shouldn't have to do the rowing!"
Amarantha teasingly said, "You're more of an alchemist than a mage."
"So? It's still not something I should be doing."
Victoria and Hilda, having managed to push the scene of carnage out of their minds, kissed Sol simultaneously, then Hilda said, "Just think about the benefit this will have when your birthday arrives."
The hero said, "Well, I guess we'll just let the baron take care of the ship, huh?"
Zeraine nodded. "Yeah, none of us know how to sail it, and personally, I'd rather not make a blunder like destroying the pier by accident. Surely he's got people that can do it."
Amarantha asked, "Did anyone count the enemies? I didn't keep track of how many I killed, and it was too much of a mess to try to count afterward."
Sol said, "I took 28 swords and one mace, as well as all of the shields, but not all of them had shields."
The hero said, "And one jumped overboard, so I guess there were 30?"
Zeraine looked at the hero and asked, "You okay, kid?"
"Yeah, why?" he answered.
"Well, you just killed a bunch of Order guys, and they were humans. Ammie and I are used to this kind of thing, so we're not bothered by it, but what about you?"
"They were criminals and traitors. Not much different from the drunken bandits I killed when I saved Victoria on my way to the city from The Order's HQ. They don't deserve my pity, my sympathy, or my mourning. I'm not about to feel bad about cleaning up the world a little."
Zeraine and Amarantha nodded in approval, and the succubus said, "It sucks how there's so many people like that in the world. I want humans and monsters to coexist peacefully, not kill each other."
Sol said, "Stupidity is something that'll never go away. The majority of humans will always be stupid as hell, and that fact will never change. The gods designed humans to be that way, after all."
The hero asked, "How would you know that?"
Sol scoffed and said, "Why would it be like that if it wasn't the gods' intention?"
Too tired to try to think of an answer, or not caring enough to try, everyone stayed silent on the way back to the pier.
Everyone looked and saw that it was a ship. A typical ship with the one main deck, a raised platform where the wheel was, one large mast in the middle of the ship, one smaller mast at the bow, another at the stern, and lights scattered around the deck. As they got closer, they saw that there were men standing on the deck, surrounding a large net that was suspended above the deck, hanging from the horizontal part of the middle mast, port-side. They heard one man speaking in a very raised voice, his tone both threatening and hateful, but they were too far away to make out what he was saying. As they got even closer, they saw that the anchor was down. The men were wearing the uniform of The Order. In the large net, there were several mermaids, a few merrows, and even a sea bishop. The men were laughing, spitting on them, insulting them, and even hitting them through the net.
The party looked amongst each other, then the hero and the succubus looked at each other. The succubus dropped her disguise and whispered, "They're not far from killing them! We have to do something quick!"
The hero whispered back, "Had we gotten here sooner, we probably could have spared them this abuse. Did our earlier incident hold us back, giving them this 'head start'?"
Zeraine leaned forward. "Guys, can the bullshit. We have to hurry!"
When Sol got everyone close enough, the hero, the succubus, Zeraine, and Amarantha levitated up out of the rowboat. Sol stood up, ready to join them, but Amarantha shook her head. "You stay with the boat, Sol."
He shrugged and sat back down, then telepathically told her, "Let me know when you're done. I want to loot the ship."
Amarantha facepalmed and shook her head, then followed everyone up to the bottom of the railing. The men were too focused on beating and abusing the sea-people to notice four heads that barely peeked above the deck. Zeraine tapped Amarantha on the shoulder and flew with her around to the starboard side, keeping out of sight. As they got into position, they heard the man who was apparently the leader say, "Have fun all you want, but I want at least five of them dead in ten minutes." He then went below-deck. The party took that as their signal to board the ship. The hero already had his shield strapped to his arm and his sword halfway out of its sheath as he touched down, kicking one man in the ass from behind and slamming the pommel of his sword into the temple of another's head. Similarly, on the starboard side, Zeraine impaled one man with his claymore through the gap at the armor's waist, lifted him up, and tossed him toward the bow. Amarantha grabbed one man by his helmet, pulled him backwards to her, and crushed his head, helmet and all, between her hands. It took a full second before they reacted to the sudden attack.
One of the men yelled, "What in the Chief God's name is going on!? Who are you!? Why are you attacking us!?"
The hero partially raised his shield and countered, "Why are you killing mermaids?"
The man spat on one of the mermaids and said, "We're The Order. If that uniform isn't stolen, you are, too, so you should know that The Order kills all monsters. If you repent for your friends killing our men, we'll let you in on the action."
The hero and the succubus both simultaneously yelled, "Go to hell!"
The hero used the Aard Sign, in its "telekinetic thrust" form, to knock several of them down as he ran toward the bow, creating space between him and the men. At that same time, the succubus cast Prismatic Missile, riddling the group with crystals of light, preventing them from following the hero or her as she joined him in putting space between them and the enemies.
With Zeraine and Amarantha, they were doing very well, Zeraine swinging his claymore, knocking down or killing those he hit, the occasional severed body part flying through the air, and Amarantha using her martial arts skill to shatter or crush armor, send enemies flying into the masts, cracking them, and otherwise deal blows strong enough that the men surrounding her unfortunate current target could hear bones snapping and internal organs rupturing.
Back with the hero and the succubus, the hero was panting, having repeatedly used Aard to keep the enemies off their feet and away from him and the succubus as he prudently finished off the occasional downed enemy, making sure to take no risks about getting hit as he did so. The succubus had helped him by using her own blasts of wind for the same effects. The succubus yelled, "Keep them off me! I've got an idea!"
Magic energy began swirling around her as she focused. The hero, now seeing that she wasn't going to help him keep them back for a while, decided that he needed to change his tactics. He thought, "Okay, Aard is very good at putting them on their asses, but it's not enough unless I have her help due to the number of enemies. I'm not using all my options, here... Let's try this..."
His energy now back, but the enemies back on their feet, he grinned confidently, charged at them, and used another Aard to knock enough of them down so they couldn't reach him quickly due to having to either step over or help up the downed ones. He then hopped backward a few times and used Axii to hex one enemy, gaining a temporary ally in the form of one of the enemies up front. Panic ensued as the man turned on his brethren, killing one of them and attempting to kill another two before they turned on him. As they were busy killing the hexed man, the hero pulled a Scroll of Fire Trap out of his Bag of Holding, set it in the approximate middle of the small group that he was facing, and watched as, almost as if on cue, as soon as the man he hexed with Axii died, the trap went off, blowing off one leg of the unfortunate fool that ended up standing on it, and setting three others on fire. The flaming men screamed and ran around like chickens with their heads cut off. Two of them burned to death, and one dove overboard, apparently forgetting that his armor would make him sink. Nobody knows whether he died from the burns or from drowning, but he was definitely out of the battle permanently.
Zeraine and Amarantha were both spattered with the blood of the enemies they had killed so far. Amarantha's face was covered in it and her hair was dripping it everywhere. Zeraine parried the attack from one man, killing him with a riposte in the form of a back-spin slash that beheaded him. He glanced over at Amarantha and saw that she was apparently enjoying herself. She had done a spear-hand thrust to one man's chest, penetrating his armor, and body, judging by how much he was bleeding. The fact that she had driven her hand into his body became abundantly clear when she retracted said hand, tearing out two of the man's ribs and using them to stab another man in both his left eye and neck, which killed him. She finished off the first man by twisting his head around, nearly ripping it off. She laughed, then shouted, "Hey, Zeraine! These small fry are pathetic!" then went back to brutalizing the now-fleeing men, killing one by knocking his helmet off and crushing his head with one hand.
Zeraine shouted back, "Yeah, compared to that Dullahan, these guys are a cakewalk!" He continued expertly parrying and riposting, but only when he had a clear opportunity. He also threw in the occasional well-aimed slash that dented armor or took off heads, too.
The hero, hoping that the succubus was almost done, cast Quen, then charged at the remaining enemies, using Igni in its "fire-wave" form, to set several more enemies on fire, followed by shield-ramming another. As luck would have it, the man was in the perfect position. This was demonstrated clearly when he fell backward, hitting two of his comrades and dragging them down with him. The hero exploited the fact that Quen was active and finished off the man he shield-rammed, standing back up and backing off as a couple of blows from another man knocked his Quen out. The hero then made use of his sword and shield to block, parry, and attack, finishing off three more men consecutively. It was then that the succubus called to him, saying, "Move!"
He did just that, diving to the side, allowing the succubus to cast her spell. "Sea Ku Endo Stroy De, Voy Vot!"
The hero didn't know, since he had pretty much no knowledge of magic, but the reason she had to "charge up" for this spell was so that she could cast it on multiple targets simultaneously. She had, naturally, charged up enough power to select every remaining enemy as a target, and cast her spell. The reason she had the hero get out of the way was so she could see all of them in order to properly target them. The men screamed in fear and pain as their blood and other bodily fluids literally boiled, killing them in a horribly painful way. Their group of enemies now taken care of, they looked to see if they could help Zeraine or Amarantha.
Zeraine had used an ice spell to conjure up large "spears" of ice and impale several of his opponents, finishing them off with his claymore after parrying the last unharmed man before him, countering with a kick to the man's knee and a stab to his throat.
Amarantha was gracefully dodging the last man's panicked, wild swings. She stepped back, leaned, weaved, and spun, the blade missing both her and her blood-soaked hair. She then jerked her head, lashing out with her hair, covering the man's eyes. As he fumbled around, trying to wipe her hair out of his face, she wrapped her arms around him just below his armpits, and squeezed. Accompanied by the sound of his armor being bent in on itself, his scream echoed through the night air as his ribs shattered, puncturing his lungs, causing him to cough up blood onto Amarantha's head before he died. It didn't bother her, though. She was already covered in blood from the earlier enemies. She ran up to Zeraine and hugged him. "Ahh, that was fun!"
Zeraine smirked. "Yeah, it kind of was. Now, we just have to kill the leader."
The succubus approached and said, "First, we have to free them." She pointed at the net with the bewildered sea-folk in it.
The hero sighed with relief and walked over to them. "I'm on it." He cut the net open, allowing them to spill out onto the deck.
The mermaids and merrows were very shaken, wary of the hero because of The Order's insignia on his armor. The succubus looked the girls over, healing the ones that needed it. She said, "Don't worry. We're here to help. My husband is not one of those bastards. He's one of the good guys from the part of The Order that hasn't been corrupted."
The hero, hearing this, blushed slightly and said, "W-we're not married yet!"
The succubus gave him a big smile and teased, "Ah, you said, 'yet'."
His face went redder as he tried to retort. "Huh? But- Sh-shut up..."
She and some of the other mermaids giggled at his reaction. The sea bishop had finally collected herself and was able to speak. "Thank you for saving us. They lured us here with the voice of a friend of mine. We wanted to see if she was alright, but we got caught in the net. When they raised us out of the water, I heard her voice from below deck. Can you save her?"
The hero nodded. "We'll get right on it-"
"So you managed to kill all my men. Who are you?" The voice came from the stairs leading below deck. The man had his helmet on, but the hero recognized his voice.
"Wait a minute... Gerald?"
The man looked at the hero. "Heh, well if it isn't one of the Grandmaster's prodigies. The old fool... What are you doing out here?"
The hero was now pissed. "If anyone's a fool, it's you. What made you turn away from the Grandmaster's teachings? What made you start killing mermaids? Why are you doing this? Don't you know that, with every action such as this that you take, you're slandering the name and image of The Order!?"
Gerald scoffed. "I'd spit at you and that naive bullshit of yours if I wasn't wearing my helmet. The Order kills monsters. ALL monsters. These fish-people are monsters, things, not human. What, you think humans and monsters can coexist? You're an idiot. I wonder if that succubus over there warped your mind or something... Maybe it was the old man's bullshit that brainwashed you, and possibly him that had his mind warped by a succubus or something. Regardless, humans and monsters just can't live together. The monsters will always be plotting to kill us humans, looking for any opportunity."
Amarantha yelled, "Shut that shit up! I'm a silver dragon and I've been living and traveling with this man for decades, and not once did I EVER seriously think about killing him!" pointing at Zeraine.
Gerald gave her a sidelong glare and said, "Heh, then you're a freak. How do I know you're not lying? Still, if you're telling the truth, then you've turned away from the gods. May you be damned, heathen."
She stepped forward, gritting her teeth in fury, but Zeraine stopped her. She gave him a look of protest, but he said, "I don't want you touching a piece of shit like him. Not even his armor; not even to do the world a favor by killing him."
She calmed down, then glared at Gerald and said, "If it weren't for him, I'd tear your head off and shove it up your ass."
The hero stomped his foot down on the deck as he took a threatening stance. "No, you're the heathen, Gerald. You've fallen to the level of a scumbag bigot and a murderer. I think we're done talking."
He arrogantly put his hand on his hip and said, "What, you're challenging me to a duel? You're not going to have your bitch girlfriend succubus whore use her magic?"
The succubus flew into a rage, but managed to stop herself from doing anything by remembering what had just happened back at the inn. She knew she couldn't think clearly enough right now to hit Gerald without hitting the hero. "Kick. his. ass."
The hero nodded. "Nobody insults her like that. NOBODY!" He cast Quen and charged, shield up.
Gerald drew his mace and checked his buckler. "Magic, huh? The taint of the Demon Lord is strong in you." He took a few running steps forward and blocked the hero's initial strike with his shield, quickly swinging his mace in a counterstrike. The hero let Gerald hit him with the mace, letting Quen absorb the strike, in favor of headbutting him, followed by kicking him. The headbutt knocked out what was left of Quen, but it also surprised Gerald, allowing the hero's kick to land squarely in his gut. The hero tried to follow up with a shield bash to his head, but he thrust his shield up, causing them to collide. Deciding that a contest of strength was not the best idea, the hero stopped pushing and jumped back, using the force of Gerald's shove to help him make it that extra couple of feet. As Gerald was getting up, he hero set an Yrden and backed off.
Gerald laughed scornfully and said, "You think those pathetic 'imitation spells' will work on me?"
He ran around the Yrden and attacked, swinging his mace horizontally. The hero blocked it with his shield and stomped Gerald's knee, then shoved him back into the Yrden. Effectively paralyzed, Gerald could do nothing but watch as the hero thrust his sword into the gap between his helmet and the collar of his armor. Blood poured out of the gap and Gerald's body fell limp, making a pool of blood under it.
The succubus stepped closer and asked, "You knew him. Care to explain?"
The hero wiped his sword off on the tunic of one of the corpses' armor and sheathed it. "He used to be stationed at The Order's main base. He seemed like a decent guy, but he was known for hating anything and everything to do with magic. I don't know if he always thought like this or not, but I guess I didn't really know him... Anyway, we're done here. Let's check below deck and see if we can save that sea bishop's friend."
He headed for the stairs and the succubus followed him.
Amarantha walked over to the port side railing and called out, "Sol, we killed them all. We're fine, too. You can come up now."
Sol levitated up, carrying Hilda, with Victoria beside him. They stepped down onto the deck and he set Hilda down. "What a nice, gory little mess you've made," he said, smiling. "Where are the mermaids?"
Victoria and Hilda looked away, unable to stomach the sight. Amarantha sighed and said, "They crawled off the starboard side of the ship when the bastards' leader appeared. Anyway, these guys were filth. I don't know how you can stand the thought of looting their corpses."
Sol grinned at her. "Actually, I was originally thinking of only looting the ship, but that's not a bad idea. I can either sell the swords, or enchant them and then sell them. I won't bother with the armor, though. Too much trouble. Where are the 'newlyweds'?"
Zeraine gestured toward the stairs leading below deck. "They went downstairs to try to save a mermaid. If you hurry, you can be done by the time they get back. Then you can go down and take whatever you want down there."
Sol was already walking around, gathering the swords and putting them into his Bag of Holding. "Actually, I think I'll loot the ship at my leisure, regardless of what anyone thinks about it. There's money to be made from selling this stuff."
Meanwhile, below deck, the hero and the succubus cautiously made their way through the ship, looking for the mermaid. They didn't want to take the risk of there being another goon down here that could catch them off-guard. They eventually found the mermaid without incident. She was in terrible shape. The webbing of her fins was torn in several places, some of her scales had been pulled off, possibly with pliers, her hair was a mess, she had countless cuts and bruises all over her body, and she was having trouble breathing. Most of these wounds were obviously made within the last several minutes, shortly before Gerald appeared. The hero growled, "That son of a bitch..."
The succubus stepped forward and examined the mermaid. "She's unconscious, but alive. Give me a mana potion. I can heal this, but I'm a little drained after that Voy Vot and the other healing, and we don't have time for the way I'd prefer."
The hero pulled a mana potion out of his Bag of Holding and handed it to her. She drank it quickly, then coughed a few times. "Ugh, these things always taste bad..." He stepped out of her way, allowing her to heal the mermaid. He watched as the cuts closed, the bruises faded, and the scales grew back. The webbing of the mermaid's fins also mended. Seconds later, her body was in perfect condition. She woke up to see the succubus breathing hard and the hero with a sour look on his face. "What happened?"
The hero said, "I guess these bastards used you as bait to lure some of your friends in so they could kill them. We stopped them in time, though, and they're all fine."
"Thank you. Why is the insignia on your armor the same as theirs?"
"I'm from The Order. They were, too, but they had become corrupt. The true members of The Order would never have done this."
"I see... Still, thanks. You saved my life."
Just then, Sol came down the stairs in a bit of a rush, looking in every crate, barrel, basket, and box for anything that he could take and sell. The mermaid looked at him, then back to the hero and asked, "And him?"
The hero crossed his arms and sighed. "He's a... friend of ours. He runs a magic shop in Westcreek, a 'sanctuary city' right next to The Order's main headquarters. He has basically offered to supply us with potions, as well as try to obtain any enchanted gear we might need, and sell them to us."
The succubus added, "He also mentioned earlier that he was interested in trading for mermaid blood. Know anyone he could talk to?"
The mermaid nodded, sweeping her hair out of her face with her hands. "Yeah. He helped you guys, right? I'm sure that'll earn him the right."
The hero said, "Uh... Actually, he just rowed us out here. He didn't help with any of the fighting."
Sol, having made it over close to the hero while on his looting spree, said, "That's because Amarantha told me to stay in the boat. I did, and made out with Vicky and Hilda the whole time."
The hero's jaw dropped. "But shortly before we left, they were..."
Closing the lid of an empty crate, Sol said, "Yeah, they had been licking and sucking my dick for about five hours, non-stop, but I don't care."
The mermaid's face was bright red after hearing that and she looked at the succubus, who said, "He's also a shameless pervert."
Sol finished looking in the last box and said, "I'm not shameless, but I am a pervert. I'll admit that. Now, I've taken everything of any value, and you've found her, so let's get back to town." Sol jogged off back up the stairs.
The hero and the succubus looked at each other, then sighed. He picked up the mermaid and gently carried her up to the deck.
Once up top, Zeraine greeted them. "Hey, you found her."
The succubus said, "Yeah, and she was in really bad shape. That Gerald guy did a number on her while we were disposing of this trash."
The hero said, "That's Zeraine, our veteran spellsword. He and the woman over there, Amarantha, who is actually a silver dragon, helped with the fighting, as you can plainly see."
The mermaid saw how both of them were covered in blood and dryly said, "No kidding."
The hero then asked, "So what now?"
The mermaid pointed at the railing. "Just drop me over the railing. How long are you guys going to be around here, anyway?"
The succubus, obviously tired from all the spellcasting, said, "We're going to relax all day tomorrow and leave the day after."
"Good. I'll talk to a few people and see if there's something we can do to reward you."
The hero carried her over to the railing and looked down at the water. "Just drop you?"
She nodded. "Head-first, preferably. You could hold me for a little bit longer, but I don't think your girlfriend would like that."
The succubus pointed at her and shouted, "That's not funny!"
The hero asked, "How did you know?"
The mermaid smiled. "I can tell, and she just confirmed it."
He dropped her over overboard head-first, allowing her to "dive" into the water. She then popped her head up out of the water and asked, "Will you be at the beach tomorrow?"
The hero said, "Probably. Take care."
She waved and swam away, saying, "You, too."
After the mermaid left, the succubus said, "I didn't know it was called 'Westcreek'."
The hero looked at her, puzzled, then said, "You didn't pay attention to the names of the places we've been? Also, what did you mean 'the way you'd prefer'?"
She looked at him with a slightly disgruntled expression and said, "I doubt any of us have. We don't have a map, either. And you know damn good and well what I meant."
"Oh..." he said, the meaning of her words sinking in, causing his face to redden.
The succubus looked at Zeraine and Amarantha, then to the hero. "Give me a kiss and let me feed. I don't want to waste a potion just for the sake of cleaning them up."
The hero and the succubus kissed, her feeding off his spirit energy. After the kiss, she used some water magic to clean the blood off of Zeraine and Amarantha, then walked over to the port side railing. "Let's go back."
They all got back in the rowboat, in the same seats they were in on the way out. Sol was again forced to do the rowing. "Damn it, a mage shouldn't have to do the rowing!"
Amarantha teasingly said, "You're more of an alchemist than a mage."
"So? It's still not something I should be doing."
Victoria and Hilda, having managed to push the scene of carnage out of their minds, kissed Sol simultaneously, then Hilda said, "Just think about the benefit this will have when your birthday arrives."
The hero said, "Well, I guess we'll just let the baron take care of the ship, huh?"
Zeraine nodded. "Yeah, none of us know how to sail it, and personally, I'd rather not make a blunder like destroying the pier by accident. Surely he's got people that can do it."
Amarantha asked, "Did anyone count the enemies? I didn't keep track of how many I killed, and it was too much of a mess to try to count afterward."
Sol said, "I took 28 swords and one mace, as well as all of the shields, but not all of them had shields."
The hero said, "And one jumped overboard, so I guess there were 30?"
Zeraine looked at the hero and asked, "You okay, kid?"
"Yeah, why?" he answered.
"Well, you just killed a bunch of Order guys, and they were humans. Ammie and I are used to this kind of thing, so we're not bothered by it, but what about you?"
"They were criminals and traitors. Not much different from the drunken bandits I killed when I saved Victoria on my way to the city from The Order's HQ. They don't deserve my pity, my sympathy, or my mourning. I'm not about to feel bad about cleaning up the world a little."
Zeraine and Amarantha nodded in approval, and the succubus said, "It sucks how there's so many people like that in the world. I want humans and monsters to coexist peacefully, not kill each other."
Sol said, "Stupidity is something that'll never go away. The majority of humans will always be stupid as hell, and that fact will never change. The gods designed humans to be that way, after all."
The hero asked, "How would you know that?"
Sol scoffed and said, "Why would it be like that if it wasn't the gods' intention?"
Too tired to try to think of an answer, or not caring enough to try, everyone stayed silent on the way back to the pier.
Chapter 51
Spoiler: show
As they arrived at the pier, the party saw the man in the hooded cloak waiting for them. He approached them and said, "Congratulations. The baron is waiting for your report. Don't worry about the ship. After sunrise, we'll retrieve it."
The party gave an acknowledging nod and left, heading for the baron's mansion. When they arrived, they were shown in and told to wait at the entrance. Moments later, the baron appeared and handed the hero a somewhat heavy bag of gold. "I must apologize. You already know I've had you followed, and I know you were successful. My spies tell me that your work was quick and effective. It's a shame that you couldn't arrest at least one of them, but not much of one. The world, and especially our little city, is better off without scum like them. Thank you all for your help, and good luck on the rest of your journeys. Should you need naval support during that future battle, I will assist you. Good night, heroes."
The party left the baron's mansion and returned to the inn. As they went upstairs to their rooms, the succubus nudged the hero and asked, "When we got there, they already had the mermaids caught in that net. Did our argument and make-up delay us to that point?"
The hero shook his head. "I don't know, but the battle probably would have been harder had we got there and attacked earlier. The way things worked out, we got them by surprise. Sure, if we were more powerful, and especially if the two of us were more powerful, we could have simply flown out there with levitation or something and blown them to pieces or whatever, but we're not, so we can't. We've got a long way to go before we can pull off feats like that."
The succubus, trying to push the lingering doubts and regret of their fight out of her head, said, "And turning you into an incubus would speed that up. Of course, that means sex with me, and lots of it. Can you handle it?"
The hero, similarly trying to get over his earlier fight with her, said, "I did last time, didn't I?"
She grinned and said, "Yeah, but it took you three shots with breaks in between, and an accident on my part with transferring the demonic energy. You think you can do it again?"
He scoffed and said, "Well, if I can't yet, you'll see to it that I can soon, right?"
She grabbed him by the arm and started for their room, but stopped. "Wait for me in our room. I need to talk to Amarantha first."
He decided to not ask why and simply went into their room. Everyone else heard their conversation, of course, and Amarantha let Zeraine go ahead and wait for her in their room. "What is it?"
"When you and Zeraine did it for the first time, did it hurt?"
Amarantha blushed at her sudden personal question and answered, "No. Why?"
"Because when I did it with him, it hurt like hell."
Amarantha thought for a second, then asked, "How did the insertion go?"
The succubus suddenly had a blank look on her face. "What? What do you mean?"
Amarantha smiled shyly and said, "When Zeraine put it in, he did it super slow. It didn't hurt at all, and I didn't know it was all the way in until I felt him pressing against my womb. I still bled, but it didn't hurt at all. How did your man put it in?"
"He didn't. I mounted him, assumed cowgirl position, then brought myself down on him. I guess going fast made it hurt?"
Amarantha nodded her head.
The succubus sighed in self-derision. "Well, at least now my hymen's torn, so I don't have to worry about it hurting again like that."
Amarantha shrugged. "You might want to take it easy anyway, for maybe a day or two, to let it recover. Anyway, good night."
She and the succubus went into their respective rooms to join their men. Sol, who had been listening in, said, "Well, girls, now you know that we have to do it slow when the time comes. Now then, since you two worked so hard on me with your mouths earlier, should I repay you?"
Hilda asked, "By eating us out? I'm not sure that's a good idea right now."
"Why?"
Victoria answered, "Because it would probably make you unable to hold back anymore. As much as we both want you to do us, we want it to be special, so you've got to wait until your birthday."
Sol sighed. "Then let's just go to sleep. As always, I want to feel your soft, scaly bodies on mine, so your underwear, your swimsuits, or nude. Your choice."
Victoria rolled her eyes and said, "If we slept nude, you'd probably fuck us in your sleep during some kind of weird sleepwalking thing."
The three of them went back to their room and went to bed.
As for the "main party", the two couples had sex again. The succubus tried to teach the hero a few different thrusting techniques she read about in porn, while at the same time feeding and pouring demonic energy into him, and Zeraine and Amarantha decided to ignore trying to turn him into an incubus in favor of just passionately making love. After their lovemaking sessions, they fell asleep.
...
The next morning, everyone gradually woke up, got cleaned up, and got dressed (in their swimwear), except for the succubus. Zeraine and Amarantha were fine. Sol was slightly upset at not being able to eat his beloved lizard girls out, but was otherwise okay, as were Victoria and Hilda. The hero was alright as well, but the succubus was in a bit of pain.
"Are you okay?" the hero asked, making sure his trunks were on tight.
"Ugh... I should have listened to Amarantha..."
"About what?"
"She advised me, saying I should take it easy for a day or two, but I didn't, and now my vagina is sore inside."
"How can it be sore?"
"They didn't teach you about women's bodies in The Order, did they? Because of how we did it, it hurt like hell when I broke my hymen on your dick. I didn't let it rest long enough, and now it's really sore."
"Do you need me to carry you? I think you're light enough..."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Uh, nothing."
She threw a pillow at him, which he caught. "Never insinuate that a woman is heavy! Now get over here and kiss me until I feel better." She held out her arms.
He thought, "She looks really cute when she does that..." He chuckled as he walked over to her and started to lean over her.
"Not like that, damn it!"
He stopped, wondering what she meant. "Then how?"
She sighed. "I mean get in bed and get on top of me. At least pretend that you're being assertive."
He nodded, then got back in bed, laying next to her, but partially over her with his upper body, and began kissing her.
In between kisses, she shoved him back a little and, with a perverted smile on her face, asked, "Are you getting hard? I'm still naked, you know."
He rolled his eyes. "Shut up, honey." He resumed kissing her, the pleasure she felt being intensified by him calling her "honey".
After a few minutes of making out, she looked at the obvious bulge in his trunks, and sighed sadly. "I think I can move without it hurting now, but unless you're okay with me sucking you off, I can't give you any relief."
The hero stroked her back and said, "I'm not comfortable with the idea of you putting it in your mouth."
She kissed him one more time before getting out of bed. She was obviously still uncomfortable as she put on her bikini, but tried to brave it.
The hero got up and asked, "Can't you heal it with your magic?"
She shook her head. "I can't concentrate to cast a spell right now. Besides, I should be fine soon. It'll be alright. ...Just stay close. I might need to lean on you if a pain-spike makes my legs give out or something."
He nodded and walked with her out into the hallway, where Zeraine and Amarantha were waiting, dressed in their swimwear, him squeezing her ass while she traced shapes on his muscular chest. The two quickly stopped when they noticed them. Zeraine said, "We're just waiting on Sol now."
As if on cue, Sol stepped out in his trunks, followed by Victoria and Hilda, who were wearing their bikinis. He said, "A vacation sure is nice. Guys, I think I'm going to be starting off by relaxing on the beach with these two."
Amarantha raised an eyebrow. "You just woke up and you're already going to laze around?"
He grinned. "Not exactly. My tongue is going to be very busy."
The succubus ignored her soreness long enough to joke, "Don't wear them out. You want them awake to feel it, right?"
Sol smiled, then gave his lizard-girls a lustful look. "I know what I'm doing. Make sure you don't wear him out, okay?"
She giggled. "He'll be fine. Let's go to the beach now."
When they arrived at the beach, they found Priscilla waiting for them, wearing the same tiny bikini that she had on yesterday. "How'd it go, guys?"
The succubus smiled proudly. "We tore 'em a new one, then my man kicked their leader's ass! It was great. We also saved a bunch of mermaids, too. The bastards were about to kill them, but we got there just in time."
Priscilla hugged her and said, "That's awesome! I wish I could have seen it... So, you two made up?"
She nodded. "We even did it again last night, but I wish we hadn't..."
"Why?" Priscilla asked, a confused look on her face.
"It didn't heal enough yet, and now it's sore again."
"Oh..." Priscilla gave her a sympathetic look, then said, "I don't remember my first time. I think I borrowed some lotion or something from my sister so it wouldn't hurt, though. Unfortunately, you have to put it on before you do it, and since you've already done it, it won't help..."
She waved it off. "If I rest for a bit, it should heal. I'll be fine."
Priscilla looked at her for a second, then said, "You should still see about finding a way to keep it closed. If saltwater got in right now, you'd be sorry."
The succubus said, "Well, I'm not planning on going in the water for a while, so..."
"You're going to use magic to heal it?"
"Yeah, I think I will. As soon as I can focus, I'm doing it. To hell with trying to bear it, I want to swim with everyone!"
The hero put his hand on her shoulder. "I'll stay with you until you're okay."
She hugged him, a happy expression on her face.
Sol, Victoria, and Hilda laid on one beach blanket, making out and cuddling, occasionally stopping to allow him to lick their necks and tails. The hero and the succubus sat down together and chatted about the Signs and his progress, which was acceptable thus far. Zeraine, Amarantha, and Priscilla had some fun swimming and splashing water on each other for a while, but were interrupted by a sea bishop. The sea bishop swam up and greeted them. "You're the ones who saved the mermaids last night, correct?"
Amarantha answered, "Yeah. Did anything happen?"
She shook her head. "Everyone's fine. You should get your friends and come with me."
Zeraine asked, "Where to?"
The sea bishop pointed in a direction, but there seemed to be nothing there. "To one of Poseidon's temples. She wishes to speak with you."
The three of them, Zeraine, Amarantha, and Priscilla, looked between each other, then quickly headed for the others. The sea bishop transformed her lower half to give herself legs and followed, her long robe flowing with each step.
The hero asked, "What's going on?"
The sea bishop said, "As I told your friends, Poseidon wants to meet with you at her temple on the small island out there." She pointed in the same direction as before, but there still didn't seem to be anything out there. "Come with me."
The hero, the succubus, Zeraine, Amarantha, Priscilla, Sol, Victoria, and Hilda all followed the sea bishop, who had returned to normal after returning to the water, everyone but the succubus swimming. Instead, she reverted to her true form and flew using her wings. They followed her for a long time, eventually arriving at a small island with a nearly-new-looking temple made of marble. After they arrived, the sea bishop had them wait outside and stepped in by herself. Moments later, she returned and motioned them in. "Poseidon is waiting."
The party gave an acknowledging nod and left, heading for the baron's mansion. When they arrived, they were shown in and told to wait at the entrance. Moments later, the baron appeared and handed the hero a somewhat heavy bag of gold. "I must apologize. You already know I've had you followed, and I know you were successful. My spies tell me that your work was quick and effective. It's a shame that you couldn't arrest at least one of them, but not much of one. The world, and especially our little city, is better off without scum like them. Thank you all for your help, and good luck on the rest of your journeys. Should you need naval support during that future battle, I will assist you. Good night, heroes."
The party left the baron's mansion and returned to the inn. As they went upstairs to their rooms, the succubus nudged the hero and asked, "When we got there, they already had the mermaids caught in that net. Did our argument and make-up delay us to that point?"
The hero shook his head. "I don't know, but the battle probably would have been harder had we got there and attacked earlier. The way things worked out, we got them by surprise. Sure, if we were more powerful, and especially if the two of us were more powerful, we could have simply flown out there with levitation or something and blown them to pieces or whatever, but we're not, so we can't. We've got a long way to go before we can pull off feats like that."
The succubus, trying to push the lingering doubts and regret of their fight out of her head, said, "And turning you into an incubus would speed that up. Of course, that means sex with me, and lots of it. Can you handle it?"
The hero, similarly trying to get over his earlier fight with her, said, "I did last time, didn't I?"
She grinned and said, "Yeah, but it took you three shots with breaks in between, and an accident on my part with transferring the demonic energy. You think you can do it again?"
He scoffed and said, "Well, if I can't yet, you'll see to it that I can soon, right?"
She grabbed him by the arm and started for their room, but stopped. "Wait for me in our room. I need to talk to Amarantha first."
He decided to not ask why and simply went into their room. Everyone else heard their conversation, of course, and Amarantha let Zeraine go ahead and wait for her in their room. "What is it?"
"When you and Zeraine did it for the first time, did it hurt?"
Amarantha blushed at her sudden personal question and answered, "No. Why?"
"Because when I did it with him, it hurt like hell."
Amarantha thought for a second, then asked, "How did the insertion go?"
The succubus suddenly had a blank look on her face. "What? What do you mean?"
Amarantha smiled shyly and said, "When Zeraine put it in, he did it super slow. It didn't hurt at all, and I didn't know it was all the way in until I felt him pressing against my womb. I still bled, but it didn't hurt at all. How did your man put it in?"
"He didn't. I mounted him, assumed cowgirl position, then brought myself down on him. I guess going fast made it hurt?"
Amarantha nodded her head.
The succubus sighed in self-derision. "Well, at least now my hymen's torn, so I don't have to worry about it hurting again like that."
Amarantha shrugged. "You might want to take it easy anyway, for maybe a day or two, to let it recover. Anyway, good night."
She and the succubus went into their respective rooms to join their men. Sol, who had been listening in, said, "Well, girls, now you know that we have to do it slow when the time comes. Now then, since you two worked so hard on me with your mouths earlier, should I repay you?"
Hilda asked, "By eating us out? I'm not sure that's a good idea right now."
"Why?"
Victoria answered, "Because it would probably make you unable to hold back anymore. As much as we both want you to do us, we want it to be special, so you've got to wait until your birthday."
Sol sighed. "Then let's just go to sleep. As always, I want to feel your soft, scaly bodies on mine, so your underwear, your swimsuits, or nude. Your choice."
Victoria rolled her eyes and said, "If we slept nude, you'd probably fuck us in your sleep during some kind of weird sleepwalking thing."
The three of them went back to their room and went to bed.
As for the "main party", the two couples had sex again. The succubus tried to teach the hero a few different thrusting techniques she read about in porn, while at the same time feeding and pouring demonic energy into him, and Zeraine and Amarantha decided to ignore trying to turn him into an incubus in favor of just passionately making love. After their lovemaking sessions, they fell asleep.
...
The next morning, everyone gradually woke up, got cleaned up, and got dressed (in their swimwear), except for the succubus. Zeraine and Amarantha were fine. Sol was slightly upset at not being able to eat his beloved lizard girls out, but was otherwise okay, as were Victoria and Hilda. The hero was alright as well, but the succubus was in a bit of pain.
"Are you okay?" the hero asked, making sure his trunks were on tight.
"Ugh... I should have listened to Amarantha..."
"About what?"
"She advised me, saying I should take it easy for a day or two, but I didn't, and now my vagina is sore inside."
"How can it be sore?"
"They didn't teach you about women's bodies in The Order, did they? Because of how we did it, it hurt like hell when I broke my hymen on your dick. I didn't let it rest long enough, and now it's really sore."
"Do you need me to carry you? I think you're light enough..."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Uh, nothing."
She threw a pillow at him, which he caught. "Never insinuate that a woman is heavy! Now get over here and kiss me until I feel better." She held out her arms.
He thought, "She looks really cute when she does that..." He chuckled as he walked over to her and started to lean over her.
"Not like that, damn it!"
He stopped, wondering what she meant. "Then how?"
She sighed. "I mean get in bed and get on top of me. At least pretend that you're being assertive."
He nodded, then got back in bed, laying next to her, but partially over her with his upper body, and began kissing her.
In between kisses, she shoved him back a little and, with a perverted smile on her face, asked, "Are you getting hard? I'm still naked, you know."
He rolled his eyes. "Shut up, honey." He resumed kissing her, the pleasure she felt being intensified by him calling her "honey".
After a few minutes of making out, she looked at the obvious bulge in his trunks, and sighed sadly. "I think I can move without it hurting now, but unless you're okay with me sucking you off, I can't give you any relief."
The hero stroked her back and said, "I'm not comfortable with the idea of you putting it in your mouth."
She kissed him one more time before getting out of bed. She was obviously still uncomfortable as she put on her bikini, but tried to brave it.
The hero got up and asked, "Can't you heal it with your magic?"
She shook her head. "I can't concentrate to cast a spell right now. Besides, I should be fine soon. It'll be alright. ...Just stay close. I might need to lean on you if a pain-spike makes my legs give out or something."
He nodded and walked with her out into the hallway, where Zeraine and Amarantha were waiting, dressed in their swimwear, him squeezing her ass while she traced shapes on his muscular chest. The two quickly stopped when they noticed them. Zeraine said, "We're just waiting on Sol now."
As if on cue, Sol stepped out in his trunks, followed by Victoria and Hilda, who were wearing their bikinis. He said, "A vacation sure is nice. Guys, I think I'm going to be starting off by relaxing on the beach with these two."
Amarantha raised an eyebrow. "You just woke up and you're already going to laze around?"
He grinned. "Not exactly. My tongue is going to be very busy."
The succubus ignored her soreness long enough to joke, "Don't wear them out. You want them awake to feel it, right?"
Sol smiled, then gave his lizard-girls a lustful look. "I know what I'm doing. Make sure you don't wear him out, okay?"
She giggled. "He'll be fine. Let's go to the beach now."
When they arrived at the beach, they found Priscilla waiting for them, wearing the same tiny bikini that she had on yesterday. "How'd it go, guys?"
The succubus smiled proudly. "We tore 'em a new one, then my man kicked their leader's ass! It was great. We also saved a bunch of mermaids, too. The bastards were about to kill them, but we got there just in time."
Priscilla hugged her and said, "That's awesome! I wish I could have seen it... So, you two made up?"
She nodded. "We even did it again last night, but I wish we hadn't..."
"Why?" Priscilla asked, a confused look on her face.
"It didn't heal enough yet, and now it's sore again."
"Oh..." Priscilla gave her a sympathetic look, then said, "I don't remember my first time. I think I borrowed some lotion or something from my sister so it wouldn't hurt, though. Unfortunately, you have to put it on before you do it, and since you've already done it, it won't help..."
She waved it off. "If I rest for a bit, it should heal. I'll be fine."
Priscilla looked at her for a second, then said, "You should still see about finding a way to keep it closed. If saltwater got in right now, you'd be sorry."
The succubus said, "Well, I'm not planning on going in the water for a while, so..."
"You're going to use magic to heal it?"
"Yeah, I think I will. As soon as I can focus, I'm doing it. To hell with trying to bear it, I want to swim with everyone!"
The hero put his hand on her shoulder. "I'll stay with you until you're okay."
She hugged him, a happy expression on her face.
Sol, Victoria, and Hilda laid on one beach blanket, making out and cuddling, occasionally stopping to allow him to lick their necks and tails. The hero and the succubus sat down together and chatted about the Signs and his progress, which was acceptable thus far. Zeraine, Amarantha, and Priscilla had some fun swimming and splashing water on each other for a while, but were interrupted by a sea bishop. The sea bishop swam up and greeted them. "You're the ones who saved the mermaids last night, correct?"
Amarantha answered, "Yeah. Did anything happen?"
She shook her head. "Everyone's fine. You should get your friends and come with me."
Zeraine asked, "Where to?"
The sea bishop pointed in a direction, but there seemed to be nothing there. "To one of Poseidon's temples. She wishes to speak with you."
The three of them, Zeraine, Amarantha, and Priscilla, looked between each other, then quickly headed for the others. The sea bishop transformed her lower half to give herself legs and followed, her long robe flowing with each step.
The hero asked, "What's going on?"
The sea bishop said, "As I told your friends, Poseidon wants to meet with you at her temple on the small island out there." She pointed in the same direction as before, but there still didn't seem to be anything out there. "Come with me."
The hero, the succubus, Zeraine, Amarantha, Priscilla, Sol, Victoria, and Hilda all followed the sea bishop, who had returned to normal after returning to the water, everyone but the succubus swimming. Instead, she reverted to her true form and flew using her wings. They followed her for a long time, eventually arriving at a small island with a nearly-new-looking temple made of marble. After they arrived, the sea bishop had them wait outside and stepped in by herself. Moments later, she returned and motioned them in. "Poseidon is waiting."
Chapter 52
Spoiler: show
The sea bishop, who had once again used transformation magic to give herself legs, led the party inside. Once they entered, they all looked around, but found that they, along with the sea bishop, were the only people there. There was, however, an altar with a statue of Poseidon. The statue depicted an adult woman with hair that came down to her feet, and a billowing toga, posed in a gentle yet commanding way. A voice came from the direction of the statue. It sounded mature, womanly, and depressed, yet there were traces of joy, too. "Welcome. As my loyal servant has told you, I wish to speak with you. I know that you saved many mermaids recently, as well as one of my highest-ranked sea bishops. They tell me that the ones who had been murdering my precious maidens of the deep were humans from The Order. They also tell me that The Order has become corrupted, and these men were from the corrupted part. What say you to this?"
The hero stepped forward. "Milady, it is true. The Order has lost over half of itself to this corruption. The men we killed were indeed from the corrupted part of The Order, and were killing mermaids for the sole reason that they weren't human. Fortunately, we managed to save their most recent 'catch' and stop them permanently."
Poseidon's voice continued, "That is most unfortunate. In the beginning, I was charged with the task of creating the monsters of the sea. I was proud of my creations. The Chief God, however, wasn't exactly clear in the commandment. 'Chiefy' wanted monsters that killed humans. The trait of 'eating humans' was optional, but preferred. To appease the Chief God, I created monsters and creatures that kill humans. Due to their potential, I took a liking to humans, as did my mermaids. I'm sure you know all about how many humans worship me, even at times begging me not to harm them on their sea-voyages, so I won't get into that. Still, by order of the Chief God, I am supposed to conjure up storms that kill humans, to remind them of nature's power and wrath, as well as to keep them in constant fear of the gods. I quickly grew tired of it, and I only do it because I have to."
The succubus said, "Why not simply refuse? Is there some reason you can't?"
Poseidon laughed sadly and said, "You don't know, and you won't know for a while yet, little succubus, but yes, there are certain 'rules' that prevent me from stopping. Unfortunately, with how things are now, I am stuck with the 'lesser of two evils', or at least, that's how I see it. It fills me with joy to see my mermaids fall in love with good human men, and I don't want to prevent that. Might you have a solution?"
Sol carelessly commented, "A goddess asking for help? From a human that's going to become an incubus some day, a guy that's almost an incubus, a succubus, and a silver dragon?"
Poseidon responded in the sort of tone a mother would use to scold an unruly child, saying, "A second succubus, if we count her, a man who recently became an incubus, if we count you, as well as a Lizardman and a salamander, both of them female, if we count the targets of your love. Regardless, you should be respectful, for you are in the presence of a god."
Sol held up his hands apologetically. "I'm sorry, it's just that this is strange. I was under the impression that all gods were omnipotent, since that's what everyone who worships them says."
Priscilla asked, "I'm just a succubus that's good at seducing men. What could I possibly even be able help with?"
Poseidon said, "First, Sol, no god is omnipotent. Some of us are more powerful than others, but none of us are actually omnipotent. It just seems that way to the humans that have blinded themselves with their faith in us. Second, Priscilla, I was merely using you as an example, but if you wish, I may be able to assign you some tasks."
Priscilla shook her head. "Thanks for the offer, but I'm not good at anything aside from making men cum, so I'm going to have to refuse."
After a moment's pause, Sol said, "Wait a minute, how did you know all this about what we are and stuff?"
Poseidon giggled and said, "I have my ways. To ease your mind a bit, as a god, I can tell when someone's a human or a monster in disguise. The signs of you having transformed into an incubus are still fresh, as well. Also, with the way you're constantly staring at the two female lizard-folk, it's not hard to see your feelings for them. Just please refrain from trying to do anything sexual in my temple. That would displease me."
The succubus cleared her throat and said, "I think I've got a solution to your problem, but it won't be instantaneous. I won't be able to make it happen for a long time, unfortunately."
Poseidon, her tone indicating that she was quite interested, said, "Do tell."
The succubus smiled confidently and began, "I've got a plan that will allow humans and ALL monsters to live together in peace and harmony, and if it works, you won't have to kill people anymore."
Poseidon, her tone more happy now, said, "Please continue."
"Well, first, my friends and I are going to travel around the world, following my future husband's mission. We're going to gain the military support of as many cities and towns as we can, as well as get as powerful as we can, then we'll invade the Demon Realm, storm the Demon Lord's castle, and kill him. After that, I'll take the throne, become the new Demon Lord, and use a spell I've been developing to transform all monsters in monster girls. They'll all be given at least a basic level of intelligence, allowing them to communicate with people, they won't kill or eat humans anymore, and they'll be all female. They'll be able to breed with human men, and will desire as such, seeking out men for mates. They will keep some of their monster traits, but will be made more human in appearance. Sound good?"
"Yes, but I'm afraid it is not so easy to change the divine mandate. That will take the power of a god, or someone with equal power. It will probably also take time. Were you planning on attempting to relieve me of my duty of conjuring storms, sinking ships, and killing people?"
The succubus thought for a second, then said, "Well, if I can't change that part, then I'll try and tamper with it until you're no longer required to kill people. Then, you'd still be conjuring storms and sinking ships, but it'd be to bring men to your sea-based monster girls. How hard is it and how rare is it for one of your sea-monsters to hook up with a man?"
"It's uncommon. Most men prefer human women, and unless it's a coastal city, they tend not to meet mermaids, let alone get romantically involved with them. I've seen a disturbing rise in humans hunting and killing my mermaids for their blood, too. Could that be attributed to the corrupted Order?"
The succubus shrugged. "Some of them might have become greedy assholes that want to live for a long time via the blood, others might begrudgingly take the blood and sell it to make money off their murders. The group we got rid of was just in it to kill them, though."
Zeraine stepped forward hesitantly. "Uh, you already know we're out to kill the Demon Lord... Is there anything you could tell us that'd help us prepare?"
Poseidon scoffed. "He's the biggest asshole on the planet. He tortures and rapes his own forces, regardless of gender, and mind-controls them so they can't fight back or rebel. The succubus clan has a high resistance to his mind control, possibly to the point of immunity, but because they're so weak, they obey him anyway. The Dullahans, despite their power, work for him, usually willingly, because it's the only line of work they can actually do, because distrustful humans would kill them otherwise. Sure, the majority of them and their choice to work for the Demon Lord are responsible for that image and the lack of trust, but because they're not human, humans don't give the 'independent' ones a chance. Anyway, if you want to usurp the throne, you should get some of the monsters on your side, too. Recruit the succubi, see about trying to negotiate with the Dullahans... If you were fortunate enough to unite the world against the Demon Lord, you could beat him."
The succubus asked, "Is it true that the Chief God created the Demon Lord and appointed him to his current position?"
"Yes. The Chief God... He's an idiot. He created humans, then had all the rest of us create monsters, making them a 'higher order of being'. He also created a few monsters, himself, and they're 'above humans' as well. He intentionally made humans weak, intentionally made monsters strong, created the Demon Lord and put him in control of most of the monsters, and is now bitching about how the Demon Lord is too powerful and how his supposedly 'beloved' humans are losing."
The hero asked, "Milady, is there anything else we can help you with?"
"No. I just wanted to thank you for saving my mermaids, and have you lend your ears to listen to my grievances. Also, I like your plan, young succubus. When the time comes, I think I'll switch to your side. Good luck on your journey, heroes. Sol, you stay. I have a merrow waiting to talk with you about trading in mermaid blood."
Sol's eyes lit up, knowing that there was money to be made. He stayed and waited as everyone left, Priscilla included. Outside, the sea bishop asked, "Shall I escort you back?"
The hero shook his head. "We know the way. Thanks for the offer, though."
Zeraine, Amarantha, Priscilla, and the hero swam back, while the succubus flew. Once back at the beach, the hero asked the succubus, "Are you okay?"
She had reassumed her disguise immediately upon landing. Fortunately for her, nobody noticed her transformation when she left the beach, nor when she returned. She answered, "Yeah, I'm fine. I think I can heal myself now, so..." She cast a healing spell on herself, then sighed with relief as the pain left her body.
"You should still wait a day or so, just to be safe," Amarantha advised.
The succubus nodded, then looked around, trying to decide how they should spend the day, and what to do next.
The hero stepped forward. "Milady, it is true. The Order has lost over half of itself to this corruption. The men we killed were indeed from the corrupted part of The Order, and were killing mermaids for the sole reason that they weren't human. Fortunately, we managed to save their most recent 'catch' and stop them permanently."
Poseidon's voice continued, "That is most unfortunate. In the beginning, I was charged with the task of creating the monsters of the sea. I was proud of my creations. The Chief God, however, wasn't exactly clear in the commandment. 'Chiefy' wanted monsters that killed humans. The trait of 'eating humans' was optional, but preferred. To appease the Chief God, I created monsters and creatures that kill humans. Due to their potential, I took a liking to humans, as did my mermaids. I'm sure you know all about how many humans worship me, even at times begging me not to harm them on their sea-voyages, so I won't get into that. Still, by order of the Chief God, I am supposed to conjure up storms that kill humans, to remind them of nature's power and wrath, as well as to keep them in constant fear of the gods. I quickly grew tired of it, and I only do it because I have to."
The succubus said, "Why not simply refuse? Is there some reason you can't?"
Poseidon laughed sadly and said, "You don't know, and you won't know for a while yet, little succubus, but yes, there are certain 'rules' that prevent me from stopping. Unfortunately, with how things are now, I am stuck with the 'lesser of two evils', or at least, that's how I see it. It fills me with joy to see my mermaids fall in love with good human men, and I don't want to prevent that. Might you have a solution?"
Sol carelessly commented, "A goddess asking for help? From a human that's going to become an incubus some day, a guy that's almost an incubus, a succubus, and a silver dragon?"
Poseidon responded in the sort of tone a mother would use to scold an unruly child, saying, "A second succubus, if we count her, a man who recently became an incubus, if we count you, as well as a Lizardman and a salamander, both of them female, if we count the targets of your love. Regardless, you should be respectful, for you are in the presence of a god."
Sol held up his hands apologetically. "I'm sorry, it's just that this is strange. I was under the impression that all gods were omnipotent, since that's what everyone who worships them says."
Priscilla asked, "I'm just a succubus that's good at seducing men. What could I possibly even be able help with?"
Poseidon said, "First, Sol, no god is omnipotent. Some of us are more powerful than others, but none of us are actually omnipotent. It just seems that way to the humans that have blinded themselves with their faith in us. Second, Priscilla, I was merely using you as an example, but if you wish, I may be able to assign you some tasks."
Priscilla shook her head. "Thanks for the offer, but I'm not good at anything aside from making men cum, so I'm going to have to refuse."
After a moment's pause, Sol said, "Wait a minute, how did you know all this about what we are and stuff?"
Poseidon giggled and said, "I have my ways. To ease your mind a bit, as a god, I can tell when someone's a human or a monster in disguise. The signs of you having transformed into an incubus are still fresh, as well. Also, with the way you're constantly staring at the two female lizard-folk, it's not hard to see your feelings for them. Just please refrain from trying to do anything sexual in my temple. That would displease me."
The succubus cleared her throat and said, "I think I've got a solution to your problem, but it won't be instantaneous. I won't be able to make it happen for a long time, unfortunately."
Poseidon, her tone indicating that she was quite interested, said, "Do tell."
The succubus smiled confidently and began, "I've got a plan that will allow humans and ALL monsters to live together in peace and harmony, and if it works, you won't have to kill people anymore."
Poseidon, her tone more happy now, said, "Please continue."
"Well, first, my friends and I are going to travel around the world, following my future husband's mission. We're going to gain the military support of as many cities and towns as we can, as well as get as powerful as we can, then we'll invade the Demon Realm, storm the Demon Lord's castle, and kill him. After that, I'll take the throne, become the new Demon Lord, and use a spell I've been developing to transform all monsters in monster girls. They'll all be given at least a basic level of intelligence, allowing them to communicate with people, they won't kill or eat humans anymore, and they'll be all female. They'll be able to breed with human men, and will desire as such, seeking out men for mates. They will keep some of their monster traits, but will be made more human in appearance. Sound good?"
"Yes, but I'm afraid it is not so easy to change the divine mandate. That will take the power of a god, or someone with equal power. It will probably also take time. Were you planning on attempting to relieve me of my duty of conjuring storms, sinking ships, and killing people?"
The succubus thought for a second, then said, "Well, if I can't change that part, then I'll try and tamper with it until you're no longer required to kill people. Then, you'd still be conjuring storms and sinking ships, but it'd be to bring men to your sea-based monster girls. How hard is it and how rare is it for one of your sea-monsters to hook up with a man?"
"It's uncommon. Most men prefer human women, and unless it's a coastal city, they tend not to meet mermaids, let alone get romantically involved with them. I've seen a disturbing rise in humans hunting and killing my mermaids for their blood, too. Could that be attributed to the corrupted Order?"
The succubus shrugged. "Some of them might have become greedy assholes that want to live for a long time via the blood, others might begrudgingly take the blood and sell it to make money off their murders. The group we got rid of was just in it to kill them, though."
Zeraine stepped forward hesitantly. "Uh, you already know we're out to kill the Demon Lord... Is there anything you could tell us that'd help us prepare?"
Poseidon scoffed. "He's the biggest asshole on the planet. He tortures and rapes his own forces, regardless of gender, and mind-controls them so they can't fight back or rebel. The succubus clan has a high resistance to his mind control, possibly to the point of immunity, but because they're so weak, they obey him anyway. The Dullahans, despite their power, work for him, usually willingly, because it's the only line of work they can actually do, because distrustful humans would kill them otherwise. Sure, the majority of them and their choice to work for the Demon Lord are responsible for that image and the lack of trust, but because they're not human, humans don't give the 'independent' ones a chance. Anyway, if you want to usurp the throne, you should get some of the monsters on your side, too. Recruit the succubi, see about trying to negotiate with the Dullahans... If you were fortunate enough to unite the world against the Demon Lord, you could beat him."
The succubus asked, "Is it true that the Chief God created the Demon Lord and appointed him to his current position?"
"Yes. The Chief God... He's an idiot. He created humans, then had all the rest of us create monsters, making them a 'higher order of being'. He also created a few monsters, himself, and they're 'above humans' as well. He intentionally made humans weak, intentionally made monsters strong, created the Demon Lord and put him in control of most of the monsters, and is now bitching about how the Demon Lord is too powerful and how his supposedly 'beloved' humans are losing."
The hero asked, "Milady, is there anything else we can help you with?"
"No. I just wanted to thank you for saving my mermaids, and have you lend your ears to listen to my grievances. Also, I like your plan, young succubus. When the time comes, I think I'll switch to your side. Good luck on your journey, heroes. Sol, you stay. I have a merrow waiting to talk with you about trading in mermaid blood."
Sol's eyes lit up, knowing that there was money to be made. He stayed and waited as everyone left, Priscilla included. Outside, the sea bishop asked, "Shall I escort you back?"
The hero shook his head. "We know the way. Thanks for the offer, though."
Zeraine, Amarantha, Priscilla, and the hero swam back, while the succubus flew. Once back at the beach, the hero asked the succubus, "Are you okay?"
She had reassumed her disguise immediately upon landing. Fortunately for her, nobody noticed her transformation when she left the beach, nor when she returned. She answered, "Yeah, I'm fine. I think I can heal myself now, so..." She cast a healing spell on herself, then sighed with relief as the pain left her body.
"You should still wait a day or so, just to be safe," Amarantha advised.
The succubus nodded, then looked around, trying to decide how they should spend the day, and what to do next.
Chapter 53
Spoiler: show
Just then, two voices called out in unison, "Hey, you wenches!" The voices were somewhat high-pitched, but belonged to men.
The succubus and Amarantha turned and saw them, each recognizing one group. They both sighed heavily, and in unison, said, "Not these idiots again..."
The two groups of men looked at each other, as did the succubus and Amarantha. Silently confirming that they had experienced similar incidents, the two groups of men furiously glared at the two women. The succubus and Amarantha could also tell that they'd had similar experiences. Zeraine stepped in front of Amarantha while the hero did the same with the succubus. The hero asked, "Is there a problem?"
The leader from one group pointed at the succubus and yelled, "That bitch used her magic to give us these injuries!" He showed how he and his follower had various injuries associated with what she had done to them earlier. "Nobody humiliates us like this and gets away with it!"
The hero glared at the man, causing him to shrink back. "Call her that again and I'll cut your tongue out. Now leave."
The leader of the other group protested, saying, "We're not leavin' until we pay these bitches back! That one is a freak! Her strength is absurd!" He pointed at Amarantha, then to the injuries he and his men had. His yelling encouraged the other group, and they all stood up as best they could, for some of them still couldn't walk normally.
Zeraine tried to diffuse the situation. "Look guys, if you want to tangle with them, you've gotta go through us first, and we're not pushovers. If, by some ridiculous, poorly-aimed miracle, you guys actually got past us, you'd just get more of the same from them. Now, how about we do this all civil-like and you voice your grievances in a respectable manner, okay?"
The leader from the group that had harassed Amarantha told his story, which was full of lies and half-truths, painting Amarantha as the one in the wrong, and doing a very poor job of it. The sheer level of stupidity in their "account" of the event was cringe-worthy, and Zeraine knew better. "Ammie? Your side?"
Amarantha knew that Zeraine knew her well enough to realize that these fools were lying. She started, "They're full of shit." She recounted how it actually happened, causing feeble protests from the men.
Taking his cue, the hero asked, "And your problem?" to the leader of the other group.
The leader of the other group told a similar, equally-poor story of how evil and mean the succubus had been. The hero actually cringed from the idiocy of the poorly-concocted story. He glanced at the succubus and whispered, "I can tell they're lying about most of it, but did you really use that kind of magic on them?"
She leaned forward and whispered back, "They wouldn't leave me alone. They were stupid and persistent, and I had to do SOMETHING, so I dropped a large rock on that guy's head, then gave that guy a quick kick to his groin with a spell similar to the Aard Sign channeled through my leg. It sent him flying." She grinned, remembering it.
The hero tried not to laugh as he attempted to scold her, whispering, "I understand, but you shouldn't be that rough on them. They're only human, after all." She frowned and dug her fingernail into his back, causing him to grimace. In an attempt to get her to stop, he asked, "How about you tell us your side now?"
She recited, word-for-word, everything that happened. The hero couldn't stop himself from grinning. The leader angrily yelled, "You think this is funny!?"
Zeraine clapped his hands together once, loudly. "You guys don't get it, do you? YOU were in the wrong, and you still are."
The leader from the group of four shouted, "Get outta our way, fool! Our business is with them, not you!"
Amarantha shoved Zeraine aside and gave the man a murderous glare, gritting her teeth and growling, "No one insults Zeraine. NO ONE!"
Zeraine quickly grabbed her. "Calm down, Ammie! He's only an idiot and his insult was nothing."
The hero quickly chimed in, saying, "Look, guys, it seems you don't get this either... We're not trying to protect them from you, we're trying to protect you from them. Take it from us, as their companions that have been with them for a long time, we know that you do NOT want to mess with them. If you want to fight, you can fight us. We'll let you off VERY easy compared to them. Compared to us, they're monsters. Whatever they'd do to you is FAR worse than what we would, so either leave or fight us. I'd prefer that you leave and save yourselves from further injury."
The men all looked at each other, then yelled scattered, incoherent disagreements and insults. The succubus and Amarantha looked at each other and nodded. They simultaneously shoved their men aside and said, "Enough of this bullshit." The men tried to rush them, but the succubus used her magic to manipulate the sand, tripping one man and holding another two by the ankles. Amarantha dashed forward and hit one man with a palm-strike to the chest, sending him flying backwards several feet, then rolling a few more once he landed. Before anyone could react to it, she was already on to her next move, which was to give one of the remaining unrestrained men a jab to the face to stun him, then grab him by his ankles and use him as a club to hit the other one.
Watching this unfold, Zeraine shrugged and said, "Well, we tried."
The hero asked, "Should we try to stop them?"
Sol said, "Obviously not. Look at 'em. They hit you by accident and you'd be hurting. Bad."
The hero turned around and asked, "When did you get back?"
"Just now, via high-speed levitation, at the 'voice your grievances' part. I didn't want to interrupt anything, so I waited. Nice try on the 'compared to us, they're monsters' bit."
The hero scratched his head, then looked back, seeing that the succubus had taken control of a large amount of sand, shaping it into a large, hammer-like form, and was about to bring it down on one man. Before he could try to stop her, she nailed him with it, knocking him out. At the same time, Amarantha had grabbed the two restrained men by their heads and turned them around, then slammed the backs of their heads together, knocking them out, too. The "fight" was over, and the results showed that the men never stood a chance. After the situation had calmed down, a few city guards approached. As the rest began dragging the men away, one said, "These troublemakers again? You ladies sure did a number on them. Take care." He left before anyone could respond, mumbling some kind of complaint about paperwork.
The succubus walked up to the hero, then gave him a chop to the head. He shrunk back, holding his head. "Ow! What was that for!?"
She crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow at him. "We are monsters, remember?"
He paused for a second, then said, "Oh, right... I was referring to your tendencies for disproportionate retribution, though. By comparison, we would have been going easy on them, had it been me and Zeraine that fought them. At least none of them died..."
Amarantha shrugged it off, then grabbed Zeraine. "Come on, let's go somewhere private."
He asked, "Why?" trying to slip out of her grip so he could regain his balance as she pulled him along.
"That little incident got me worked up. As my mate, it's your job to calm me down. You understand what I'm saying?" she said, running her fingers sensually up his arm while smashing her breasts against it, trying to sandwich it between them.
He grinned knowingly. "You want a massage first?"
The two of them laughed as they walked away, looking for a secluded spot near the beach. The succubus watched enviously as Zeraine and Amarantha left, knowing what they were about to do. She looked at the hero and grinned. "Wanna go watch?"
The hero blushed a deep shade of red, then said, "They'd kill us. Let's just leave them alone. Besides, you shouldn't be thinking about peeping anyway."
She frowned, then said, "I have to wait at least a day before we can do it again. I'm a succubus. Do the math."
He sighed. "Is there something that'll settle you down aside from sex?"
"First of all, you fell in love with me, knowing that I was a succubus, so don't go bitching about my libido. Also remember that, as far as sex goes, my desire is completely focused on you, so as the only man I'll ever want, you have to do it. Second, to answer your question, no, there isn't. It would take my mind off my nether-region if you made me proud in some way, such as learning to use Igni as a constant stream of fire, though. Want to try?"
He nodded and they went to a spot on the beach that was fairly empty. She reminded him of how to do it and he tried several times to use Igni as a flamethrower-type attack, but couldn't. Because he wasn't wearing his armor, he got tired from it, too. He sat down to catch his breath, leaving the succubus a little disappointed. He gave her an apologetic look and said, "I guess I can't do it yet."
She shrugged it off. "Big deal. We have plenty of time for you to practice, and as fast as you learn, I didn't overestimate you. I knew you wouldn't be able to master it in 30 minutes. Just like with weapons, magic takes time to master. Once you master it, however, you get more power at your fingertips than any swordmaster could ever dream of. You still have to hold back, though, because if you don't, you'd be laying waste to everything every time you did anything of any significance..."
He laid back and said, "I've sure got a long way to go, don't I?"
She sat down next to him, then moved so that she was giving him a lap-pillow. She stroked his cheeks gently and said, "You sure do. I do, too, but once I've turned you into an incubus, it'll get easier. You'll get a helpful boost to your magic power and capacity, along with a bunch of other bonuses that I don't feel like mentioning right now."
He blushed at this treatment, then looked her in the eyes. "Someday, you'll have to tell me the entirety of your plan."
She gave him a quizzical look, then realized it. "Oh, you mean my plan to unite humans and monsters?"
He nodded. "You think we can pull it off?"
She smiled egotistically and huffed. "Of course we can! No, we will! We'll do it for sure. We just have to get ridiculously powerful, basically becoming 'living gods', then get to work. Of course, the Demon Lord has to go, first, and I have to take the throne, but it'll all work out."
He laughed. "That's quite a to-do list. Anyway, you said back there that your staff would have made it easier on you and those guys, but you left it with me. We really need another Bag of Holding, don't we?"
"We need a map, too. One of this continent, and one of each country we plan to visit, actually."
The two continued to enjoy their tender moment together until it became too hot to stay out in the sun. Once it was, they returned to the beach, finding that Zeraine and Amarantha were still "busy" and Sol was discreetly feeling up Victoria and Hilda. Priscilla was nowhere to be seen.
The succubus and Amarantha turned and saw them, each recognizing one group. They both sighed heavily, and in unison, said, "Not these idiots again..."
The two groups of men looked at each other, as did the succubus and Amarantha. Silently confirming that they had experienced similar incidents, the two groups of men furiously glared at the two women. The succubus and Amarantha could also tell that they'd had similar experiences. Zeraine stepped in front of Amarantha while the hero did the same with the succubus. The hero asked, "Is there a problem?"
The leader from one group pointed at the succubus and yelled, "That bitch used her magic to give us these injuries!" He showed how he and his follower had various injuries associated with what she had done to them earlier. "Nobody humiliates us like this and gets away with it!"
The hero glared at the man, causing him to shrink back. "Call her that again and I'll cut your tongue out. Now leave."
The leader of the other group protested, saying, "We're not leavin' until we pay these bitches back! That one is a freak! Her strength is absurd!" He pointed at Amarantha, then to the injuries he and his men had. His yelling encouraged the other group, and they all stood up as best they could, for some of them still couldn't walk normally.
Zeraine tried to diffuse the situation. "Look guys, if you want to tangle with them, you've gotta go through us first, and we're not pushovers. If, by some ridiculous, poorly-aimed miracle, you guys actually got past us, you'd just get more of the same from them. Now, how about we do this all civil-like and you voice your grievances in a respectable manner, okay?"
The leader from the group that had harassed Amarantha told his story, which was full of lies and half-truths, painting Amarantha as the one in the wrong, and doing a very poor job of it. The sheer level of stupidity in their "account" of the event was cringe-worthy, and Zeraine knew better. "Ammie? Your side?"
Amarantha knew that Zeraine knew her well enough to realize that these fools were lying. She started, "They're full of shit." She recounted how it actually happened, causing feeble protests from the men.
Taking his cue, the hero asked, "And your problem?" to the leader of the other group.
The leader of the other group told a similar, equally-poor story of how evil and mean the succubus had been. The hero actually cringed from the idiocy of the poorly-concocted story. He glanced at the succubus and whispered, "I can tell they're lying about most of it, but did you really use that kind of magic on them?"
She leaned forward and whispered back, "They wouldn't leave me alone. They were stupid and persistent, and I had to do SOMETHING, so I dropped a large rock on that guy's head, then gave that guy a quick kick to his groin with a spell similar to the Aard Sign channeled through my leg. It sent him flying." She grinned, remembering it.
The hero tried not to laugh as he attempted to scold her, whispering, "I understand, but you shouldn't be that rough on them. They're only human, after all." She frowned and dug her fingernail into his back, causing him to grimace. In an attempt to get her to stop, he asked, "How about you tell us your side now?"
She recited, word-for-word, everything that happened. The hero couldn't stop himself from grinning. The leader angrily yelled, "You think this is funny!?"
Zeraine clapped his hands together once, loudly. "You guys don't get it, do you? YOU were in the wrong, and you still are."
The leader from the group of four shouted, "Get outta our way, fool! Our business is with them, not you!"
Amarantha shoved Zeraine aside and gave the man a murderous glare, gritting her teeth and growling, "No one insults Zeraine. NO ONE!"
Zeraine quickly grabbed her. "Calm down, Ammie! He's only an idiot and his insult was nothing."
The hero quickly chimed in, saying, "Look, guys, it seems you don't get this either... We're not trying to protect them from you, we're trying to protect you from them. Take it from us, as their companions that have been with them for a long time, we know that you do NOT want to mess with them. If you want to fight, you can fight us. We'll let you off VERY easy compared to them. Compared to us, they're monsters. Whatever they'd do to you is FAR worse than what we would, so either leave or fight us. I'd prefer that you leave and save yourselves from further injury."
The men all looked at each other, then yelled scattered, incoherent disagreements and insults. The succubus and Amarantha looked at each other and nodded. They simultaneously shoved their men aside and said, "Enough of this bullshit." The men tried to rush them, but the succubus used her magic to manipulate the sand, tripping one man and holding another two by the ankles. Amarantha dashed forward and hit one man with a palm-strike to the chest, sending him flying backwards several feet, then rolling a few more once he landed. Before anyone could react to it, she was already on to her next move, which was to give one of the remaining unrestrained men a jab to the face to stun him, then grab him by his ankles and use him as a club to hit the other one.
Watching this unfold, Zeraine shrugged and said, "Well, we tried."
The hero asked, "Should we try to stop them?"
Sol said, "Obviously not. Look at 'em. They hit you by accident and you'd be hurting. Bad."
The hero turned around and asked, "When did you get back?"
"Just now, via high-speed levitation, at the 'voice your grievances' part. I didn't want to interrupt anything, so I waited. Nice try on the 'compared to us, they're monsters' bit."
The hero scratched his head, then looked back, seeing that the succubus had taken control of a large amount of sand, shaping it into a large, hammer-like form, and was about to bring it down on one man. Before he could try to stop her, she nailed him with it, knocking him out. At the same time, Amarantha had grabbed the two restrained men by their heads and turned them around, then slammed the backs of their heads together, knocking them out, too. The "fight" was over, and the results showed that the men never stood a chance. After the situation had calmed down, a few city guards approached. As the rest began dragging the men away, one said, "These troublemakers again? You ladies sure did a number on them. Take care." He left before anyone could respond, mumbling some kind of complaint about paperwork.
The succubus walked up to the hero, then gave him a chop to the head. He shrunk back, holding his head. "Ow! What was that for!?"
She crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow at him. "We are monsters, remember?"
He paused for a second, then said, "Oh, right... I was referring to your tendencies for disproportionate retribution, though. By comparison, we would have been going easy on them, had it been me and Zeraine that fought them. At least none of them died..."
Amarantha shrugged it off, then grabbed Zeraine. "Come on, let's go somewhere private."
He asked, "Why?" trying to slip out of her grip so he could regain his balance as she pulled him along.
"That little incident got me worked up. As my mate, it's your job to calm me down. You understand what I'm saying?" she said, running her fingers sensually up his arm while smashing her breasts against it, trying to sandwich it between them.
He grinned knowingly. "You want a massage first?"
The two of them laughed as they walked away, looking for a secluded spot near the beach. The succubus watched enviously as Zeraine and Amarantha left, knowing what they were about to do. She looked at the hero and grinned. "Wanna go watch?"
The hero blushed a deep shade of red, then said, "They'd kill us. Let's just leave them alone. Besides, you shouldn't be thinking about peeping anyway."
She frowned, then said, "I have to wait at least a day before we can do it again. I'm a succubus. Do the math."
He sighed. "Is there something that'll settle you down aside from sex?"
"First of all, you fell in love with me, knowing that I was a succubus, so don't go bitching about my libido. Also remember that, as far as sex goes, my desire is completely focused on you, so as the only man I'll ever want, you have to do it. Second, to answer your question, no, there isn't. It would take my mind off my nether-region if you made me proud in some way, such as learning to use Igni as a constant stream of fire, though. Want to try?"
He nodded and they went to a spot on the beach that was fairly empty. She reminded him of how to do it and he tried several times to use Igni as a flamethrower-type attack, but couldn't. Because he wasn't wearing his armor, he got tired from it, too. He sat down to catch his breath, leaving the succubus a little disappointed. He gave her an apologetic look and said, "I guess I can't do it yet."
She shrugged it off. "Big deal. We have plenty of time for you to practice, and as fast as you learn, I didn't overestimate you. I knew you wouldn't be able to master it in 30 minutes. Just like with weapons, magic takes time to master. Once you master it, however, you get more power at your fingertips than any swordmaster could ever dream of. You still have to hold back, though, because if you don't, you'd be laying waste to everything every time you did anything of any significance..."
He laid back and said, "I've sure got a long way to go, don't I?"
She sat down next to him, then moved so that she was giving him a lap-pillow. She stroked his cheeks gently and said, "You sure do. I do, too, but once I've turned you into an incubus, it'll get easier. You'll get a helpful boost to your magic power and capacity, along with a bunch of other bonuses that I don't feel like mentioning right now."
He blushed at this treatment, then looked her in the eyes. "Someday, you'll have to tell me the entirety of your plan."
She gave him a quizzical look, then realized it. "Oh, you mean my plan to unite humans and monsters?"
He nodded. "You think we can pull it off?"
She smiled egotistically and huffed. "Of course we can! No, we will! We'll do it for sure. We just have to get ridiculously powerful, basically becoming 'living gods', then get to work. Of course, the Demon Lord has to go, first, and I have to take the throne, but it'll all work out."
He laughed. "That's quite a to-do list. Anyway, you said back there that your staff would have made it easier on you and those guys, but you left it with me. We really need another Bag of Holding, don't we?"
"We need a map, too. One of this continent, and one of each country we plan to visit, actually."
The two continued to enjoy their tender moment together until it became too hot to stay out in the sun. Once it was, they returned to the beach, finding that Zeraine and Amarantha were still "busy" and Sol was discreetly feeling up Victoria and Hilda. Priscilla was nowhere to be seen.
Chapter 54
Spoiler: show
The hero cleared his throat, which got their attention, then said, "If you three want to do that kind of stuff, you should go back to the inn."
Hilda stifled a moan when Sol rubbed the underside of the base of her tail, then said, "Don't interrupt us."
Victoria shuddered as Sol ran the fingers of his other hand lightly over her inner thigh. "I don't want him to stop..."
Sol laughed. "Sorry, knight, but I can't stop myself, and none of us want me to."
The succubus hugged the hero from behind, making sure to press her breasts against his back firmly. "Aw, let 'em have fun. There's nothing wrong with feeling each other up on the beach while you're all in swimwear, right?" She gently blew into his ear, then put her hand on his chest, slowly sliding it down toward his trunks.
He panicked and stepped forward, out of her embrace. "Not in public, damn it!"
She grinned. "You're fine with my advances?"
He blushed and stammered a little before answering, "As long as we do it in private, yeah, I guess."
She smiled victoriously, then turned her attention to Sol. "Where'd Priscilla go?"
Sol finished licking Victoria's neck, then said, "I don't know. She wasn't here when I got back."
Suddenly, the hero got curious. "So how'd it go with Poseidon after we left?"
Sol reluctantly stopped fondling both lizards and sat up. "She still didn't appear, but she's really nice. She got a merrow to meet with me for discussing trading for mermaid blood. You know how coveted, rare, and expensive mermaid blood is? Can you guess the markup I can get away with putting on it? I can sell it for less than everyone else and still make a killing off it!"
The succubus asked, "And you're going to trade gold and potions for it?"
He nodded. "And enchanted stuff, too. I'll eventually become the richest man on the planet! And all my money will be gotten through completely legitimate means, too, which means I can be proud of it!"
The hero nodded in agreement. Becoming rich was often difficult for people that weren't merchants from wealthy merchant families, lucky adventurers, or royalty. "If we keep throwing new business your way, you'll have to start hiring soon. Are you scouting for new employees?"
Sol shook his head. "Not at the moment. I was thinking about only hiring women, just so I can have some eye-candy." He snickered, then was shoved down by both Victoria and Hilda.
"You have us, remember?" Hilda scolded.
He grinned and said, "Don't worry. I'm against infidelity, and would never be unfaithful to you two. Anyway..." He rubbed Victoria's left nipple through her bikini top with his left hand, causing her to moan and lighten up, while simultaneously doing the same thing to Hilda's right nipple with his right hand, having a similar effect. This allowed him to sit back up, while they gave him looks of protest for his "unfair" move. "...Since Westcreek is a 'sanctuary city', where enough smart people live to know and understand that the sapient races of monsters have feelings, too, and are capable of peacefully living side-by-side with humans, I was thinking about helping said sapient monsters by hiring them."
The hero said, "An all-monster employee roster?"
"Yeah. Think about it for a second. The sapient races of monsters, like my two soulmates here, are completely capable of doing the same work as humans. This point will be driven home if you remember that they tend to have their own villages and stuff. You know how vampires, like Viktor, are not much different from human nobles in their attitudes and stuff, right? Echidnas can disguise themselves and live among humans with no problems, though they prefer to live in dungeons for some reason, and I guess that their appearance tends to frighten all but the most knowledgeable people. Succubi can also disguise themselves and live among humans with little difficulty. Lizardmen, salamanders, and lamias usually have their own villages, which are quite often just like human villages, aside from the resident, of course. I don't know about Dullahans, aside from that they're as intelligent as humans, sometimes even more so, and even though I'm an incubus now, I'm still not about to visit the Demon Realm to try and chat. It's too damn dangerous. Elves aren't monsters, nor are Dark Elves, but the only thing that prevents them from coexisting with humans is their excessive pride and haughtiness. If they could get over that and stop looking down on everyone but their own race, they could easily coexist. Dark Elves, however, have problems such as their general cruelty and their love of torturing anything that isn't a Dark Elf. From what I hear, they even have a hard time getting along amongst themselves, so..."
The succubus thought for several seconds, soaking in everything Sol was saying. "Well, I can tell you that Dullahans often much like human knights. They just have detachable heads and are almost always cold and distant. Maybe after I've become the Demon Lord, I can do something about Elves and Dark Elves, though..."
The hero asked, "What do you have in mind?"
She shrugged. "Nothing, yet."
Sol thought, then said, "How about doing a little tampering with their pride, and kicking it down several hundred notches?"
She shook her head. "Elves and Dark Elves aren't monsters. I'd have to turn them into monsters first, then change that." She suddenly had an idea. She thought that making the female Elves into succubi, or at least, part succubi, and instilling within them a desire for human men would help pave the way for coexistence. But would it work? She didn't know, but it was the only decent idea she had so far for that.
"Oh, well," Sol said, shrugging with disinterest. "Regardless, what do you guys think? I hire monsters, male and female, take advantage of the 'sanctuary city' aspect of Westcreek, and allow the good monsters of the world to work for a living, working at an honest job?"
The hero and the succubus looked at each other. He said, "Well, I like it."
She said, "Me, too. And after I've cast that spell, maybe all monsters, or at least most, will have that same opportunity. Since they'll be more human in appearance, maybe the not-too-smart humans will more readily accept them."
Sol laughed with a mocking dismissiveness. "Unless you change the deeply-instilled, pre-programmed bigotry that the gods designed humans to have, or teach them from an early age, humans are still going to be total assholes. Just look, mermaids are nice monsters, and they're very human in appearance and behavior, but those corrupted Order fools still killed them. If you look long and hard enough, I'm sure you'll even find someone who lives here that either dislikes or hates mermaids just because they're not human."
The succubus frowned. "Why are you such a pessimist?"
Sol put his arms around Victoria and Hilda, pulling them close and closing his eyes, savoring the feeling of their bodies against his, then reopened his eyes and said, "You know how old I am. In my time, I've seen a lot. Most of it disgusted me. People often looked down on me just because I associated with monsters. Some were like your beloved Order knight. They didn't care that I associated with monsters, but when they learned about my relationship with these two, they usually either condemned it or looked down on me for it."
The hero interrupted. "Hey, I never looked down on you. I just wasn't comfortable with the thought of it."
"The 'didn't care that I associated with monsters' part was what I meant when I likened them to you. I guess you're no longer disturbed by me being with them, since you've seen enough to become desensitized to it, right?"
"Oh. Well, I guess it doesn't bother me anymore, since I've experienced quite a few human-monster relationships recently."
"Heh," Sol laughed. "You know, it's kind of funny. Westcreek is right next to The Order's HQ, and it's a sanctuary city. The Order, back before it got corrupt, was fine with the sapient monsters interacting with humans, as long as they behaved themselves. They often even stood up against the injustices of things like humans trying to treat said monsters as sub-human or second-class citizens. Now, after the corruption, it's a sensitive issue. If they try to stand against injustice toward sapient monsters, thanks to the propaganda from the corrupted parts of The Order, said remaining good parts are denounced as the corrupted ones. What's worst is that most people are stupid enough to believe it. You should prepare yourself for that same treatment, should everyone find out that you're in love with a succubus."
This hit the hero hard. Being that he was from The Order, he knew all too well of their policies that forbade speaking kindly of monsters in public. "So it used to be better?"
"A lot better. I seem to remember The Order having a Lizardman or two for members at one point and that they were quite famous..."
The succubus thought hard for several seconds. "I think I've got a plan, but I'll wait until Zeraine and Amarantha are back before I discuss it. It just might solve this problem."
The hero considered what the succubus said, then asked, "How do your new horns not attract attention, Sol?"
"You mean why people don't give me problems over them? Well, I'm not nearly as powerful as your succubus, but I'm still a mage. Mages have a reputation as being people that you don't want to fuck with. I make it plenty obvious that I'm a mage, too. There are also enchanted accessories that look like horns, which is what some people might think these are. These horns are neat, but I'd rather not have them. They get in the way."
The succubus waved her hand and said, "Just use your transformation magic. As an incubus, you should be more than capable of a permanent transformation now, if you want."
"I guess I could..."
After a minute of silence, the succubus said, "Damn, how long are those two going to take?"
Hilda stifled a moan when Sol rubbed the underside of the base of her tail, then said, "Don't interrupt us."
Victoria shuddered as Sol ran the fingers of his other hand lightly over her inner thigh. "I don't want him to stop..."
Sol laughed. "Sorry, knight, but I can't stop myself, and none of us want me to."
The succubus hugged the hero from behind, making sure to press her breasts against his back firmly. "Aw, let 'em have fun. There's nothing wrong with feeling each other up on the beach while you're all in swimwear, right?" She gently blew into his ear, then put her hand on his chest, slowly sliding it down toward his trunks.
He panicked and stepped forward, out of her embrace. "Not in public, damn it!"
She grinned. "You're fine with my advances?"
He blushed and stammered a little before answering, "As long as we do it in private, yeah, I guess."
She smiled victoriously, then turned her attention to Sol. "Where'd Priscilla go?"
Sol finished licking Victoria's neck, then said, "I don't know. She wasn't here when I got back."
Suddenly, the hero got curious. "So how'd it go with Poseidon after we left?"
Sol reluctantly stopped fondling both lizards and sat up. "She still didn't appear, but she's really nice. She got a merrow to meet with me for discussing trading for mermaid blood. You know how coveted, rare, and expensive mermaid blood is? Can you guess the markup I can get away with putting on it? I can sell it for less than everyone else and still make a killing off it!"
The succubus asked, "And you're going to trade gold and potions for it?"
He nodded. "And enchanted stuff, too. I'll eventually become the richest man on the planet! And all my money will be gotten through completely legitimate means, too, which means I can be proud of it!"
The hero nodded in agreement. Becoming rich was often difficult for people that weren't merchants from wealthy merchant families, lucky adventurers, or royalty. "If we keep throwing new business your way, you'll have to start hiring soon. Are you scouting for new employees?"
Sol shook his head. "Not at the moment. I was thinking about only hiring women, just so I can have some eye-candy." He snickered, then was shoved down by both Victoria and Hilda.
"You have us, remember?" Hilda scolded.
He grinned and said, "Don't worry. I'm against infidelity, and would never be unfaithful to you two. Anyway..." He rubbed Victoria's left nipple through her bikini top with his left hand, causing her to moan and lighten up, while simultaneously doing the same thing to Hilda's right nipple with his right hand, having a similar effect. This allowed him to sit back up, while they gave him looks of protest for his "unfair" move. "...Since Westcreek is a 'sanctuary city', where enough smart people live to know and understand that the sapient races of monsters have feelings, too, and are capable of peacefully living side-by-side with humans, I was thinking about helping said sapient monsters by hiring them."
The hero said, "An all-monster employee roster?"
"Yeah. Think about it for a second. The sapient races of monsters, like my two soulmates here, are completely capable of doing the same work as humans. This point will be driven home if you remember that they tend to have their own villages and stuff. You know how vampires, like Viktor, are not much different from human nobles in their attitudes and stuff, right? Echidnas can disguise themselves and live among humans with no problems, though they prefer to live in dungeons for some reason, and I guess that their appearance tends to frighten all but the most knowledgeable people. Succubi can also disguise themselves and live among humans with little difficulty. Lizardmen, salamanders, and lamias usually have their own villages, which are quite often just like human villages, aside from the resident, of course. I don't know about Dullahans, aside from that they're as intelligent as humans, sometimes even more so, and even though I'm an incubus now, I'm still not about to visit the Demon Realm to try and chat. It's too damn dangerous. Elves aren't monsters, nor are Dark Elves, but the only thing that prevents them from coexisting with humans is their excessive pride and haughtiness. If they could get over that and stop looking down on everyone but their own race, they could easily coexist. Dark Elves, however, have problems such as their general cruelty and their love of torturing anything that isn't a Dark Elf. From what I hear, they even have a hard time getting along amongst themselves, so..."
The succubus thought for several seconds, soaking in everything Sol was saying. "Well, I can tell you that Dullahans often much like human knights. They just have detachable heads and are almost always cold and distant. Maybe after I've become the Demon Lord, I can do something about Elves and Dark Elves, though..."
The hero asked, "What do you have in mind?"
She shrugged. "Nothing, yet."
Sol thought, then said, "How about doing a little tampering with their pride, and kicking it down several hundred notches?"
She shook her head. "Elves and Dark Elves aren't monsters. I'd have to turn them into monsters first, then change that." She suddenly had an idea. She thought that making the female Elves into succubi, or at least, part succubi, and instilling within them a desire for human men would help pave the way for coexistence. But would it work? She didn't know, but it was the only decent idea she had so far for that.
"Oh, well," Sol said, shrugging with disinterest. "Regardless, what do you guys think? I hire monsters, male and female, take advantage of the 'sanctuary city' aspect of Westcreek, and allow the good monsters of the world to work for a living, working at an honest job?"
The hero and the succubus looked at each other. He said, "Well, I like it."
She said, "Me, too. And after I've cast that spell, maybe all monsters, or at least most, will have that same opportunity. Since they'll be more human in appearance, maybe the not-too-smart humans will more readily accept them."
Sol laughed with a mocking dismissiveness. "Unless you change the deeply-instilled, pre-programmed bigotry that the gods designed humans to have, or teach them from an early age, humans are still going to be total assholes. Just look, mermaids are nice monsters, and they're very human in appearance and behavior, but those corrupted Order fools still killed them. If you look long and hard enough, I'm sure you'll even find someone who lives here that either dislikes or hates mermaids just because they're not human."
The succubus frowned. "Why are you such a pessimist?"
Sol put his arms around Victoria and Hilda, pulling them close and closing his eyes, savoring the feeling of their bodies against his, then reopened his eyes and said, "You know how old I am. In my time, I've seen a lot. Most of it disgusted me. People often looked down on me just because I associated with monsters. Some were like your beloved Order knight. They didn't care that I associated with monsters, but when they learned about my relationship with these two, they usually either condemned it or looked down on me for it."
The hero interrupted. "Hey, I never looked down on you. I just wasn't comfortable with the thought of it."
"The 'didn't care that I associated with monsters' part was what I meant when I likened them to you. I guess you're no longer disturbed by me being with them, since you've seen enough to become desensitized to it, right?"
"Oh. Well, I guess it doesn't bother me anymore, since I've experienced quite a few human-monster relationships recently."
"Heh," Sol laughed. "You know, it's kind of funny. Westcreek is right next to The Order's HQ, and it's a sanctuary city. The Order, back before it got corrupt, was fine with the sapient monsters interacting with humans, as long as they behaved themselves. They often even stood up against the injustices of things like humans trying to treat said monsters as sub-human or second-class citizens. Now, after the corruption, it's a sensitive issue. If they try to stand against injustice toward sapient monsters, thanks to the propaganda from the corrupted parts of The Order, said remaining good parts are denounced as the corrupted ones. What's worst is that most people are stupid enough to believe it. You should prepare yourself for that same treatment, should everyone find out that you're in love with a succubus."
This hit the hero hard. Being that he was from The Order, he knew all too well of their policies that forbade speaking kindly of monsters in public. "So it used to be better?"
"A lot better. I seem to remember The Order having a Lizardman or two for members at one point and that they were quite famous..."
The succubus thought hard for several seconds. "I think I've got a plan, but I'll wait until Zeraine and Amarantha are back before I discuss it. It just might solve this problem."
The hero considered what the succubus said, then asked, "How do your new horns not attract attention, Sol?"
"You mean why people don't give me problems over them? Well, I'm not nearly as powerful as your succubus, but I'm still a mage. Mages have a reputation as being people that you don't want to fuck with. I make it plenty obvious that I'm a mage, too. There are also enchanted accessories that look like horns, which is what some people might think these are. These horns are neat, but I'd rather not have them. They get in the way."
The succubus waved her hand and said, "Just use your transformation magic. As an incubus, you should be more than capable of a permanent transformation now, if you want."
"I guess I could..."
After a minute of silence, the succubus said, "Damn, how long are those two going to take?"
Chapter 55
Spoiler: show
A few more minutes of waiting later, and the two finally returned. They were both red in the face and sweating. Zeraine was carrying Amarantha, and she was panting with a satisfied look on her face. The hero asked, "What took you so long?"
Zeraine grinned, gently laid Amarantha down on a blanket under one of the beach umbrellas, and said, "Sorry. We got a bit carried away."
"Don't get overheated. You know what happens then, right?" Sol warned.
Zeraine nodded. "Yeah, I remember when it happened to you. I guess you've managed to rebuild your resistance to the heat?"
"Mostly. Still..." Sol used a weak ice spell to conjure up a cloud of frost around everyone, helping Zeraine and Amarantha cool back down, and helping everyone stay somewhat comfortable.
After letting Amarantha catch her breath, the succubus said, "Okay, you're all here, so it's about time I discussed this."
Zeraine asked, "Discussed what? And what about your friend, Priscilla?"
She looked around, then shrugged. "I doubt she'd care, anyway. Now, you all know about the corruption of The Order, the rampant stupidity among humans, the racism, bigotry, and all that bullshit, right? Well, I've got an idea on how to fix some of it. As you know, I want humans and monsters to live together in peace and harmony. When I say that, I mean all monsters. Since a lot of monsters aren't sapient, that would be impossible right now. My plan is that, after I become the Demon Lord, I'll cast a spell that will affect the entire world. It will turn monsters into humanoid females, and they'll keep some of their monster traits and appearance, but they'll be desirable to human men. Also, the so-far-set-in-stone aspect of them killing and/or eating humans will be erased. They will instead desire human men to mate with."
Amarantha asked, "What about male monsters? What'll happen with them? Will they be turned into females, too? And how is this supposed to solve the problem, anyway?"
"Simple. In order to understand one another, you must meet and get to know each other. Because humans are so fearful of anything that isn't human, they will reject it. By making all monsters into highly desirable humanoid females, people will be a little bit more inclined to give them a chance. As for the male monsters, I guess I'll transform them, too, but their existence would pose a problem."
The hero asked, "How and why?"
"Well, my plan is to basically unite the species. To do that, I need one species to be the males and one to be the females. Since female monsters would be easier to work with than males, I'll make them the females or the species. If I allowed male monsters to be born, too, the females would have non-human males to breed with, and that could ruin everything."
He said, "So you intend to make human men the males of the species, and monsters into the females?"
She nodded. "Exactly. If their only choices for breeding partners are human men, they'll naturally seek them out."
"What about the human women?"
"I'll have to turn them into monsters, too."
"Why?"
"Because, if human men can choose human women, they'll most likely ignore the monsters, and peace will never be reached. If human men have no choice but to seek female monsters for love, breeding, companionship, or whatever, they would, if begrudgingly, accept them. Eventually, they'll get used to it, and maybe after a few generations, the hatred of monsters will disappear."
Everyone pondered what she had said so far. The hero asked, "Is there another way? One that doesn't involve such... extreme measures?"
She shook her head sadly. "No. If we allow the opportunity for hatred between the two species to exist, with the capability of them not breeding with one another, nothing will change. This is the only way that'll work."
"What about after? Let's say you succeed in uniting the species. After the racism, bigotry, and unwarranted hatred are done away with, will you bring back human women and male monsters?"
"I might, but I'm worried about such a thing causing a rift between human and monsters, thus undoing all that work."
As a human who had lived around humans all his life, the hero knew that the succubus's radical plan was the only thing that'd work with any kind of decency, but there were still flaws. For now, though, this was all they had. "Hmm... I can get behind your plan, since it would succeed in a way, but what about other stuff, like the Elves, and the effects of demonic energy?"
She sighed. "Well, first I'd have to take care of the effects of demonic energy. I'd change it so that the only results would be that a man or woman would become an incubus or succubus, respectively. It'd also boost the sex drives of men and women. The increased lust would help the species unite via sexual attraction."
Zeraine scoffed. "Uniting the species through sex? Will it work, though?"
She raised an eyebrow at him, the pointed at everyone. "Sol is in love with Victoria and Hilda, he was before becoming an incubus, he wants to fuck them so bad he can't stand it, they want it equally bad, but they're waiting for his birthday so they can make it extra-special. I understand the purpose of waiting, but I don't exactly agree with it. Still, if it makes them want to stay together that much more, so be it. All three of them have already shown great interest and support for my plan to make monsters more human in appearance. And you, Zeraine, you're in love with a silver dragon. She's taken on a human form, and you two have had quite a bit of sex recently. You know what her 'true form' is, yet you're fine with boning her for hours in her human form. I've shown you two what she'll look like after my spell, and you both like it. Priscilla likes human men and incubi. I am a succubus, and our own knight of The Order loves me, and it's mutual. Here we have plenty of examples of humans and monsters living together and even loving one another. My plan will basically amplify this and cause it to spread throughout the world. If everything goes smoothly, men and the monster girls will love each other, live together, and the constant war will stop."
The hero asked, "And the Elves?"
"I'll have to corrupt them. Same with Dark Elves and Dwarves. If I turn them into at least part-succubi, as well as instill within them a desire for human men the Elves might set aside their haughtiness in favor of marrying a human. Dark Elves would turn their desire for torturing things into a desire to dominate human men, which is much more tame, and probably even enjoyable for both parties. As for the Dwarves..."
Sol interrupted, "You idea will definitely go over big with the Dwarves. They're like a bunch of midget sailors, and they tend to want to fuck more than their wives will put out. Making their wives part-succubi would mean that they get pussy whenever they want, and they'd love it."
The hero asked, "And you know this how?"
"Heh, I've heard all kinds of stories, as well as met a few Dwarves. Those guys are funny. Foul-mouthed as hell, but entertaining."
Amarantha asked, "What about the gods? Would they be on your side? Poseidon said she'd switch to your side when the time comes, but I'm guessing that's out of her own self-interest in taking care of her mermaids. Would you be able to convince the Chief God that this would be better?"
The succubus shook her head. "If he's really that much of an idiot, then no. You can't change the mind of a fool who's dead-set in his beliefs. I guess that means I'd have to be constantly vigilant, though, since he might try to change things back all of a sudden."
The hero asked, "What would happen then?"
She scowled and said, "If that happened, it would be a disaster. The monsters that weren't sapient before would run away or kill, possibly even eat, their men, and the ones that were sapient before? They'd probably lose interest in their partners, unless it's like our examples here, in which everyone's a pervert. Then, they'd stay together, but be unhappy at the reversion."
The hero looked offended. "What do you mean by 'everyone's a pervert'?"
Sol said, "Think about it. Most human men prefer human women, except for those that want succubi for the sex or Elves for the bragging rights. Most monster species prefer their own kind. I've got a strong fetish for scales, which caused me to fall in love with these two, and they somehow became perverted enough to reciprocate that love. Zeraine and Amarantha have been in love for a long time, but they didn't know it until you and your succubus gave them the necessary push. Now, they're obviously happy, but they're still perverts. Why? Because you just don't hear stories about people falling in love with dragons, or vice versa. You don't hear men bragging about seducing dragons and fucking them. You don't hear about dragons seducing people, either. It just doesn't happen. Sure, there are stories about humans and dragons becoming best friends and partners for life, but there's no mention of sex. And finally, you're in love with a succubus. Said succubus loves you back. That's uncommon. Most people think that, for a man to be in love with something like a succubus, which has a reputation of being incredibly horny most of the time, often sleeping with hundreds of men before settling on a partner, if ever, he must be a pervert."
The hero frowned. "That's unfair."
The succubus crossed her arms. "Now you understand how I've been feeling all along. Do you support me?"
The hero looked her in the eye and said, "Of course. The end result of your plan would be much better than the current state of our world."
She smiled. "Well, since our discussion is pretty much over, and I have your support, what now? We need to get some maps for our future traveling, but is there anything else?"
Zeraine asked, "What about support from other countries? The Pharaoh in the desert to the southeast, for example."
She shrugged. "I haven't thought about that yet."
They continued brainstorming, trying to make sure they thought everything out, as well as trying to make sure they were adequately prepared.
Zeraine grinned, gently laid Amarantha down on a blanket under one of the beach umbrellas, and said, "Sorry. We got a bit carried away."
"Don't get overheated. You know what happens then, right?" Sol warned.
Zeraine nodded. "Yeah, I remember when it happened to you. I guess you've managed to rebuild your resistance to the heat?"
"Mostly. Still..." Sol used a weak ice spell to conjure up a cloud of frost around everyone, helping Zeraine and Amarantha cool back down, and helping everyone stay somewhat comfortable.
After letting Amarantha catch her breath, the succubus said, "Okay, you're all here, so it's about time I discussed this."
Zeraine asked, "Discussed what? And what about your friend, Priscilla?"
She looked around, then shrugged. "I doubt she'd care, anyway. Now, you all know about the corruption of The Order, the rampant stupidity among humans, the racism, bigotry, and all that bullshit, right? Well, I've got an idea on how to fix some of it. As you know, I want humans and monsters to live together in peace and harmony. When I say that, I mean all monsters. Since a lot of monsters aren't sapient, that would be impossible right now. My plan is that, after I become the Demon Lord, I'll cast a spell that will affect the entire world. It will turn monsters into humanoid females, and they'll keep some of their monster traits and appearance, but they'll be desirable to human men. Also, the so-far-set-in-stone aspect of them killing and/or eating humans will be erased. They will instead desire human men to mate with."
Amarantha asked, "What about male monsters? What'll happen with them? Will they be turned into females, too? And how is this supposed to solve the problem, anyway?"
"Simple. In order to understand one another, you must meet and get to know each other. Because humans are so fearful of anything that isn't human, they will reject it. By making all monsters into highly desirable humanoid females, people will be a little bit more inclined to give them a chance. As for the male monsters, I guess I'll transform them, too, but their existence would pose a problem."
The hero asked, "How and why?"
"Well, my plan is to basically unite the species. To do that, I need one species to be the males and one to be the females. Since female monsters would be easier to work with than males, I'll make them the females or the species. If I allowed male monsters to be born, too, the females would have non-human males to breed with, and that could ruin everything."
He said, "So you intend to make human men the males of the species, and monsters into the females?"
She nodded. "Exactly. If their only choices for breeding partners are human men, they'll naturally seek them out."
"What about the human women?"
"I'll have to turn them into monsters, too."
"Why?"
"Because, if human men can choose human women, they'll most likely ignore the monsters, and peace will never be reached. If human men have no choice but to seek female monsters for love, breeding, companionship, or whatever, they would, if begrudgingly, accept them. Eventually, they'll get used to it, and maybe after a few generations, the hatred of monsters will disappear."
Everyone pondered what she had said so far. The hero asked, "Is there another way? One that doesn't involve such... extreme measures?"
She shook her head sadly. "No. If we allow the opportunity for hatred between the two species to exist, with the capability of them not breeding with one another, nothing will change. This is the only way that'll work."
"What about after? Let's say you succeed in uniting the species. After the racism, bigotry, and unwarranted hatred are done away with, will you bring back human women and male monsters?"
"I might, but I'm worried about such a thing causing a rift between human and monsters, thus undoing all that work."
As a human who had lived around humans all his life, the hero knew that the succubus's radical plan was the only thing that'd work with any kind of decency, but there were still flaws. For now, though, this was all they had. "Hmm... I can get behind your plan, since it would succeed in a way, but what about other stuff, like the Elves, and the effects of demonic energy?"
She sighed. "Well, first I'd have to take care of the effects of demonic energy. I'd change it so that the only results would be that a man or woman would become an incubus or succubus, respectively. It'd also boost the sex drives of men and women. The increased lust would help the species unite via sexual attraction."
Zeraine scoffed. "Uniting the species through sex? Will it work, though?"
She raised an eyebrow at him, the pointed at everyone. "Sol is in love with Victoria and Hilda, he was before becoming an incubus, he wants to fuck them so bad he can't stand it, they want it equally bad, but they're waiting for his birthday so they can make it extra-special. I understand the purpose of waiting, but I don't exactly agree with it. Still, if it makes them want to stay together that much more, so be it. All three of them have already shown great interest and support for my plan to make monsters more human in appearance. And you, Zeraine, you're in love with a silver dragon. She's taken on a human form, and you two have had quite a bit of sex recently. You know what her 'true form' is, yet you're fine with boning her for hours in her human form. I've shown you two what she'll look like after my spell, and you both like it. Priscilla likes human men and incubi. I am a succubus, and our own knight of The Order loves me, and it's mutual. Here we have plenty of examples of humans and monsters living together and even loving one another. My plan will basically amplify this and cause it to spread throughout the world. If everything goes smoothly, men and the monster girls will love each other, live together, and the constant war will stop."
The hero asked, "And the Elves?"
"I'll have to corrupt them. Same with Dark Elves and Dwarves. If I turn them into at least part-succubi, as well as instill within them a desire for human men the Elves might set aside their haughtiness in favor of marrying a human. Dark Elves would turn their desire for torturing things into a desire to dominate human men, which is much more tame, and probably even enjoyable for both parties. As for the Dwarves..."
Sol interrupted, "You idea will definitely go over big with the Dwarves. They're like a bunch of midget sailors, and they tend to want to fuck more than their wives will put out. Making their wives part-succubi would mean that they get pussy whenever they want, and they'd love it."
The hero asked, "And you know this how?"
"Heh, I've heard all kinds of stories, as well as met a few Dwarves. Those guys are funny. Foul-mouthed as hell, but entertaining."
Amarantha asked, "What about the gods? Would they be on your side? Poseidon said she'd switch to your side when the time comes, but I'm guessing that's out of her own self-interest in taking care of her mermaids. Would you be able to convince the Chief God that this would be better?"
The succubus shook her head. "If he's really that much of an idiot, then no. You can't change the mind of a fool who's dead-set in his beliefs. I guess that means I'd have to be constantly vigilant, though, since he might try to change things back all of a sudden."
The hero asked, "What would happen then?"
She scowled and said, "If that happened, it would be a disaster. The monsters that weren't sapient before would run away or kill, possibly even eat, their men, and the ones that were sapient before? They'd probably lose interest in their partners, unless it's like our examples here, in which everyone's a pervert. Then, they'd stay together, but be unhappy at the reversion."
The hero looked offended. "What do you mean by 'everyone's a pervert'?"
Sol said, "Think about it. Most human men prefer human women, except for those that want succubi for the sex or Elves for the bragging rights. Most monster species prefer their own kind. I've got a strong fetish for scales, which caused me to fall in love with these two, and they somehow became perverted enough to reciprocate that love. Zeraine and Amarantha have been in love for a long time, but they didn't know it until you and your succubus gave them the necessary push. Now, they're obviously happy, but they're still perverts. Why? Because you just don't hear stories about people falling in love with dragons, or vice versa. You don't hear men bragging about seducing dragons and fucking them. You don't hear about dragons seducing people, either. It just doesn't happen. Sure, there are stories about humans and dragons becoming best friends and partners for life, but there's no mention of sex. And finally, you're in love with a succubus. Said succubus loves you back. That's uncommon. Most people think that, for a man to be in love with something like a succubus, which has a reputation of being incredibly horny most of the time, often sleeping with hundreds of men before settling on a partner, if ever, he must be a pervert."
The hero frowned. "That's unfair."
The succubus crossed her arms. "Now you understand how I've been feeling all along. Do you support me?"
The hero looked her in the eye and said, "Of course. The end result of your plan would be much better than the current state of our world."
She smiled. "Well, since our discussion is pretty much over, and I have your support, what now? We need to get some maps for our future traveling, but is there anything else?"
Zeraine asked, "What about support from other countries? The Pharaoh in the desert to the southeast, for example."
She shrugged. "I haven't thought about that yet."
They continued brainstorming, trying to make sure they thought everything out, as well as trying to make sure they were adequately prepared.
Chapter 56
Spoiler: show
The hero sighed. "Okay, so we know we need several maps so we'll know where we're going and where we've been. We'll take care of that this evening. And to paraphrase your plan," he said, turning to look at the succubus, "you intend to eventually unite humans and monsters by making monsters into monster girls, and human women into succubi. I'm guessing you intend to transform the male monsters into monster boys, correct?"
She nodded. "For most of them, I'd have to to keep them from slaughtering their females. For the others, it'd be to keep them somewhat desirable until old age claims them. After all the male monsters die of old age, I won't have to worry about that anymore. Also, I intend to make it so that monsters will give birth to both female monsters and human males. At first, I'm going to set it so that monsters can only give birth to female monsters, thus allowing my plan to progress a little faster. After the male monsters are all gone, I'll change it so they can birth human males, too. If I set it that way from the start, there'd be chaos and rampant accusations of infidelity, or possibly the disowning or abandoning of the human males, so I'm not going to risk that."
He looked down. "I wish there was another way that didn't involve the 'necessary' elimination of one gender from each species..."
She sighed. "There's no other effective way, unless you can convince the Chief God to rewrite human behavior or find someone to take his place and do that, and since that's a bit on the impossible side, we've got to go with this. Mutual need and lots of sexual attraction will definitely get everything started."
Sol said, "So you're just going to corrupt the female Elves, Dark Elves, and Dwarves, and make it so that they'll only give birth to more females of their own kind until your plan reaches the next stage?"
She nodded.
He stood up. "Well, I'm going to miss those foul-mouthed, hilarious-when-drunk little guys, but since I'm affected by the success of your plan, I'm on your side."
Victoria added, "We are, too, since we'll be able to bear his children."
Hilda grinned and rubbed Sol's thigh. "When that time comes, I want to have a lot of kids."
As he started to walk away, Zeraine asked, "Where are you going?"
Before Victoria of Hilda could get up, he said, "I'm going to see if this little city has a library. Vicky? Hilda? I need you two to stay here for now. I'll need to pay attention to what I'm looking for rather than your sexy, petite, scaly bodies."
The succubus interrupted, "They won't be petite forever. And they'll have some human-like skin, too. And boobs. Anyway, you mind telling us what you're going to look up?"
"I'm going to refresh my memory on the Pharaoh. I think there might be something you can do to get his- ...her?... support. Or, at least, something you can use to make it easier."
The succubus said, "I don't know the Pharaoh's gender, either, but I do know that the kingdom that he or she ruled over was destroyed not long ago by the Demon Lord. If you're talking about 'tugging at strings' in an attempt to use the idea of getting revenge to get the Pharaoh on our side, then good thinking. What do you think, guys?"
The hero grumbled and said, "Manipulating people like that..."
Zeraine said, "It's a great idea with a high chance of success. And kid? Being a 'hero' means you're going to have to do stuff that you don't like, if you want to actually succeed and not just be some poser for the politicians to use. You'll have to do unflattering things, disturbing things, and even disgusting things, to get the job done. Our idea of gathering lots of support and declaring war of the Demon Lord? Unless you want to try the 'honor before reason' crap of trying to defeat their ENTIRE army of Dullahans, and whatever else the bastard has, before challenging him, which would definitely not go over very well, then you'll have to use the armies to distract his forces while we slip into the castle, find him, and kill him. You know what that plan boils down to? Assassination."
"I know. I know that it needs to be done, but it still irks me. I guess the only thing I can think of about it that makes it any more tolerable is that it's for the greatest good that we can achieve in the short term, with the final 'adjustments' making it work in the long term."
Zeraine, Amarantha, and even Sol, looked upon the hero with approving gazes. "I guess that removes the need for me to visit the library, if this city has one..." he said, sitting back down.
"Don't lose your purity, kid. You're strong, and Zeraine and I can see it. If you and your future wife can pull all this off without losing yourselves, you'd probably gain the respect and admiration of most of the world, unless someone such as the corrupted part of The Order fucks it up somehow," Amarantha said, her tone congratulatory and reassuring.
A minute or so later, Priscilla returned carrying a bag. "Hey, I bought this for you." She handed the bag to the succubus.
She looked inside and saw clothes, then took the clothes out and looked at them, smiling happily. "Priscilla, you.."
Priscilla smiled. "It took me a little while to remember your sizes, but I couldn't let you continue running around in those old, plain clothes of yours. They made you look like you were poor or something. These, however, look nice. I took into account your boyfriend's attitude, too, so while they don't show much skin, they still manage to show off your figure if you keep the cloak open, and serve their purpose as clothes. Do you like them?"
She stood up and held them up. "Yeah. Thanks, Priscilla!" She hugged Priscilla, thanking her.
She let go and faced the hero, then held the clothes up to her body. "Well?"
"They'd look good on you. Definitely." He gave her a thumbs-up.
The succubus put the clothes back in the bag and thanked Priscilla again. After that, the eight of them sat around in the shade, enjoying the cloud of frost Sol had conjured up. At one point, the succubus asked, "Hey, Priscilla? What are your feeding arrangements?"
Priscilla grinned. "Well, since the only guy here I was able to feed off of yesterday is too much of a pain to work with, I took my favorite guy from my sister's harem and 'milked' him, filling up a small jar with his spirit-energy-filled semen. When I need to feed again, I'll drink it."
Sol snidely apologized, saying, "Well, sorry for not liking extremely loose blond women that have had more partners than the number of times I've had dirty or perverted thoughts about Vicky and Hilda, and who don't have scales."
She put on a fake smile. "Blond hair is really that much of a turn-off to you?"
"Yes."
"And you don't like it unless it has scales?"
"It seems that way. I'm not truly attracted to anyone but these two, so..."
She gave a shrug of surrender. "I never had a chance, did I?"
He adjusted his glasses. "I know it hurts your 'pride as a succubus' or whatever, knowing that there's a man, an incubus at that, that you can't even arouse, let alone seduce, but that's just too bad. My body won't accept anyone but these two, and neither will my heart."
Victoria and Hilda were a little embarrassed by his comment. Priscilla shook her head. "Even for an incubus, you're twisted as hell."
"I was that way before. Becoming an incubus did nothing except give me horns and an even greater desire for my beloved lizards. ...Well, it made my magic more powerful, too, but, that's a little different."
The succubus leaned over and whispered in the hero's ear, "You think I should make it so that monsters will be that attracted to their chosen mates?"
He whispered back, "You mean make the monsters have the same level of love, devotion, or obsession with their partners as Sol has for his employees? I don't think that'd be a good idea..."
Rather than continue this discussion now, she decided to talk with him later about it, back at the inn. Once they had had enough sitting around on the beach for a while, they went into the water and swam, raced, and played, relaxing until that evening.
She nodded. "For most of them, I'd have to to keep them from slaughtering their females. For the others, it'd be to keep them somewhat desirable until old age claims them. After all the male monsters die of old age, I won't have to worry about that anymore. Also, I intend to make it so that monsters will give birth to both female monsters and human males. At first, I'm going to set it so that monsters can only give birth to female monsters, thus allowing my plan to progress a little faster. After the male monsters are all gone, I'll change it so they can birth human males, too. If I set it that way from the start, there'd be chaos and rampant accusations of infidelity, or possibly the disowning or abandoning of the human males, so I'm not going to risk that."
He looked down. "I wish there was another way that didn't involve the 'necessary' elimination of one gender from each species..."
She sighed. "There's no other effective way, unless you can convince the Chief God to rewrite human behavior or find someone to take his place and do that, and since that's a bit on the impossible side, we've got to go with this. Mutual need and lots of sexual attraction will definitely get everything started."
Sol said, "So you're just going to corrupt the female Elves, Dark Elves, and Dwarves, and make it so that they'll only give birth to more females of their own kind until your plan reaches the next stage?"
She nodded.
He stood up. "Well, I'm going to miss those foul-mouthed, hilarious-when-drunk little guys, but since I'm affected by the success of your plan, I'm on your side."
Victoria added, "We are, too, since we'll be able to bear his children."
Hilda grinned and rubbed Sol's thigh. "When that time comes, I want to have a lot of kids."
As he started to walk away, Zeraine asked, "Where are you going?"
Before Victoria of Hilda could get up, he said, "I'm going to see if this little city has a library. Vicky? Hilda? I need you two to stay here for now. I'll need to pay attention to what I'm looking for rather than your sexy, petite, scaly bodies."
The succubus interrupted, "They won't be petite forever. And they'll have some human-like skin, too. And boobs. Anyway, you mind telling us what you're going to look up?"
"I'm going to refresh my memory on the Pharaoh. I think there might be something you can do to get his- ...her?... support. Or, at least, something you can use to make it easier."
The succubus said, "I don't know the Pharaoh's gender, either, but I do know that the kingdom that he or she ruled over was destroyed not long ago by the Demon Lord. If you're talking about 'tugging at strings' in an attempt to use the idea of getting revenge to get the Pharaoh on our side, then good thinking. What do you think, guys?"
The hero grumbled and said, "Manipulating people like that..."
Zeraine said, "It's a great idea with a high chance of success. And kid? Being a 'hero' means you're going to have to do stuff that you don't like, if you want to actually succeed and not just be some poser for the politicians to use. You'll have to do unflattering things, disturbing things, and even disgusting things, to get the job done. Our idea of gathering lots of support and declaring war of the Demon Lord? Unless you want to try the 'honor before reason' crap of trying to defeat their ENTIRE army of Dullahans, and whatever else the bastard has, before challenging him, which would definitely not go over very well, then you'll have to use the armies to distract his forces while we slip into the castle, find him, and kill him. You know what that plan boils down to? Assassination."
"I know. I know that it needs to be done, but it still irks me. I guess the only thing I can think of about it that makes it any more tolerable is that it's for the greatest good that we can achieve in the short term, with the final 'adjustments' making it work in the long term."
Zeraine, Amarantha, and even Sol, looked upon the hero with approving gazes. "I guess that removes the need for me to visit the library, if this city has one..." he said, sitting back down.
"Don't lose your purity, kid. You're strong, and Zeraine and I can see it. If you and your future wife can pull all this off without losing yourselves, you'd probably gain the respect and admiration of most of the world, unless someone such as the corrupted part of The Order fucks it up somehow," Amarantha said, her tone congratulatory and reassuring.
A minute or so later, Priscilla returned carrying a bag. "Hey, I bought this for you." She handed the bag to the succubus.
She looked inside and saw clothes, then took the clothes out and looked at them, smiling happily. "Priscilla, you.."
Priscilla smiled. "It took me a little while to remember your sizes, but I couldn't let you continue running around in those old, plain clothes of yours. They made you look like you were poor or something. These, however, look nice. I took into account your boyfriend's attitude, too, so while they don't show much skin, they still manage to show off your figure if you keep the cloak open, and serve their purpose as clothes. Do you like them?"
She stood up and held them up. "Yeah. Thanks, Priscilla!" She hugged Priscilla, thanking her.
She let go and faced the hero, then held the clothes up to her body. "Well?"
"They'd look good on you. Definitely." He gave her a thumbs-up.
The succubus put the clothes back in the bag and thanked Priscilla again. After that, the eight of them sat around in the shade, enjoying the cloud of frost Sol had conjured up. At one point, the succubus asked, "Hey, Priscilla? What are your feeding arrangements?"
Priscilla grinned. "Well, since the only guy here I was able to feed off of yesterday is too much of a pain to work with, I took my favorite guy from my sister's harem and 'milked' him, filling up a small jar with his spirit-energy-filled semen. When I need to feed again, I'll drink it."
Sol snidely apologized, saying, "Well, sorry for not liking extremely loose blond women that have had more partners than the number of times I've had dirty or perverted thoughts about Vicky and Hilda, and who don't have scales."
She put on a fake smile. "Blond hair is really that much of a turn-off to you?"
"Yes."
"And you don't like it unless it has scales?"
"It seems that way. I'm not truly attracted to anyone but these two, so..."
She gave a shrug of surrender. "I never had a chance, did I?"
He adjusted his glasses. "I know it hurts your 'pride as a succubus' or whatever, knowing that there's a man, an incubus at that, that you can't even arouse, let alone seduce, but that's just too bad. My body won't accept anyone but these two, and neither will my heart."
Victoria and Hilda were a little embarrassed by his comment. Priscilla shook her head. "Even for an incubus, you're twisted as hell."
"I was that way before. Becoming an incubus did nothing except give me horns and an even greater desire for my beloved lizards. ...Well, it made my magic more powerful, too, but, that's a little different."
The succubus leaned over and whispered in the hero's ear, "You think I should make it so that monsters will be that attracted to their chosen mates?"
He whispered back, "You mean make the monsters have the same level of love, devotion, or obsession with their partners as Sol has for his employees? I don't think that'd be a good idea..."
Rather than continue this discussion now, she decided to talk with him later about it, back at the inn. Once they had had enough sitting around on the beach for a while, they went into the water and swam, raced, and played, relaxing until that evening.
Chapter 57
Spoiler: show
That evening, Priscilla left, heading for home. The hero, the succubus, Zeraine, Amarantha, Sol, Victoria, and Hilda, all retired to their rooms. Zeraine and Amarantha decided not to have sex again, since they had already worn themselves out from making love in private, followed by expending so much energy playing at the beach. They simply got out of their swimwear, put on their undergarments, and went to sleep, holding each other tightly. The hero and the succubus both wanted to talk a little before going to sleep, so they sat down on the bed next to each other. The succubus asked, "What did you mean earlier when you said it wouldn't be a good idea?"
The hero, knowing what she was referring to, said, "I'm pretty sure that, in most cases, that level of 'devotion' would be disturbing to the man."
She thought for a second. "Then should I make some alterations to the properties of demonic energy, causing it to change the man's mind so that he won't be disturbed by it?"
He shook his head. "No. If anything, you should make it so that they are just as devoted as a normal, loving wife in a happy relationship. Bringing it to that level would be better, I think."
She thought some more. "I'd like to be more sure about the level of attraction between the men and the monster girls. I want them to stay together once they hook up, you know? I think making them lust after each other, and only each other, would do the trick."
"Inspire them to become monogamously inclined due to lust that's directed entirely at their partner? I guess that's alright..."
"What problems could you have with it?" she asked, a bit of annoyance in her voice.
"If they're happily married, then nothing. How much sex they want to have would and should be up to them. It shouldn't be their only focus, though."
"If they're not a living doormat, it should be fine."
"What do you mean?"
"What, by 'living doormat'? If their will is so weak that they'll let anyone 'use' them, making them do favors and errands or whatever, then I can't help that. If they'll do anything that anyone tells them, or if they just have a weak will, the lust could end up at least partially controlling them, but most people should be fine. I think."
Drawing a blank on what to talk about next, the hero said, "We should get some sleep. We have to go buy those maps tomorrow, discuss where we've been, decide where to go next, what route to take..." He got up, walked a few steps from the bed to the chest of drawers that his bag of holding was sitting on, and turned his back.
He started to slip off his trunks when she said, "You don't have to turn away, you know. I've seen it already, and you've even had it inside me."
He turned his head to look at her, keeping his groin out of view. His face red, he grumbled, "I'm still trying to come to terms with it. I haven't exactly had an opportunity to let the reality of it sink in yet, if you'll remember."
She looked over at the bag that Priscilla gave her. She smiled, looking forward to wearing her new clothes tomorrow. She laid back on the bed and dropped her disguise. After a couple of seconds of silence as the hero put his underwear on, she started giggling. Before he could ask what was so funny, she asked, "Am I going to wake up to you playing with my horns again? Or will you check out my wings? Maybe my tail?"
He cleared his throat. "I guess that'd depend on who wakes up first. If you don't want me to, I could refrain from it..."
She sat back up, gazing at him with her bright red eyes, a smile on her face. "If you want to touch, please do. Touch me anywhere you want." She posed teasingly, her voice full of erotic seduction on the second part of her reply.
He paused for a second, then shook it off. "Just get ready for bed, okay?" He was trying to keep himself calm.
She pouted and got up, then when she was sure he could see, she quickly took off her bikini and stood there naked. "I wonder... How long will it take you to get used to this body of mine? When can I expect you to hug me from behind, kiss the nape of my neck, and whisper in my ear how bad you want me?" Her smile was lustful and devilish, yet loving, longing, and "pure" at the same time.
Ignoring the contradiction, and his own now-hard member, the hero, making sure not to speak too loudly so as to not disturb Zeraine and Amarantha, said, "Just put your clothes on and go to sleep!" His face was red, which only fueled her desire to continue.
She jumped onto the bed on all fours and crawled from the foot of the bed up to the hero, straddling him. Despite her doing this, he didn't lay down while trying to back away like she expected. Instead, he sat there, merely leaning back as she got closer. "Should I sleep naked? Would you like to wake up to feel my firm, uncovered breasts against your chest? Or would you rather us sleep in the spooning position?"
He managed to remain able to speak normally, partly by remembering that she needed to wait a day or so for safety's sake before having sex again. "Don't you need to wait a day or so, just to be safe?"
At that, she paused, then got depressed. Without a word, she let her head drop, causing her horns to nearly hit him in the face. A few seconds later, she said, "Damn it. You're right."
As she got back up off the bed, she looked similar to a young girl that had just been rejected by the guy she liked. He was a little worried, and decided to try to cheer her up. "We can do it sometime later on, right? We'll be together from now on, so we'll have plenty of time and opportunities."
She had just finished putting her bra and panties back on when he said that. She gave him a loving smile and said, "Thanks." She got into bed, then said, "Feed me."
"Huh?" he replied, caught off guard by the sudden request.
She changed to a scolding look and said, "Feed me while giving me my 'good night' kiss."
"Oh. Okay." He then kissed her, allowing her to feed. She made sure to use her tongue, savoring what intimacy she could get for now as she fed. The feeding left him exhausted, in perfect condition to easily fall asleep. She used her magic to blow out the candles that lit the room.
Unfortunately, he was still awake a few minutes later, due to her tossing and turning. Before he could ask what was wrong, she complained, "Damn it..."
"What is it?"
She rolled over and looked at him. He could see her look of discomfort in the moonlight that shined in through the unobstructed window. "You really need to ask? I'm in bed, with my beloved, we're both in our underwear, and, due to an error in judgment, I got a little worked up from teasing you. In other words, I'm horny as hell right now. The problem is that I can't relieve myself because I need to be safe about letting my vagina recover. I can't masturbate, nor can we have sex. I'm sure you can understand that I'm suffering quite a bit here."
"I'm sorry..."
"It's not your fault, stupid." She sighed in discontent. "Had I listened to Amarantha the first time, you could plough me good before we go to sleep, and I could then go to sleep satisfied. ...Actually, it'd be me riding you. It'd have to be, because when it comes to using your hips in bed, you suck."
"Hey, now..." he started, frowning.
Ignoring him, she said, "I'll eventually teach you enough to let you have the lead, but until then, I'm on top. It sucks because I'd be doing all the work each time, but it feels good enough for me to get off, so it's okay as long as you can last."
"Am I really that bad?"
"To be honest, yes. Don't like my evaluation of your sexual prowess?" She rolled over, turning face-down. "Then spank me." She wiggled her hips, playfully provoking him.
He huffed, then rolled over onto his side, facing away from her, and adjusted himself to get comfortable.
She spooned him, pressing her breasts against his back. "Come on, don't be like that. I'm in bad shape here!"
She let go so he could roll over. "Is there anything I could do to help?"
She looked lost. "I want you so bad I can't stand it, but we can't fuck for now..."
He put his arms around her and held her close. "Does this help?"
She laid her head against his chest, listening to his heartbeat for a few seconds. "A little..."
He fell asleep with her in his arms. She eventually managed to fall asleep by focusing on his heartbeat, allowing it to drown out all of her other thoughts.
The hero, knowing what she was referring to, said, "I'm pretty sure that, in most cases, that level of 'devotion' would be disturbing to the man."
She thought for a second. "Then should I make some alterations to the properties of demonic energy, causing it to change the man's mind so that he won't be disturbed by it?"
He shook his head. "No. If anything, you should make it so that they are just as devoted as a normal, loving wife in a happy relationship. Bringing it to that level would be better, I think."
She thought some more. "I'd like to be more sure about the level of attraction between the men and the monster girls. I want them to stay together once they hook up, you know? I think making them lust after each other, and only each other, would do the trick."
"Inspire them to become monogamously inclined due to lust that's directed entirely at their partner? I guess that's alright..."
"What problems could you have with it?" she asked, a bit of annoyance in her voice.
"If they're happily married, then nothing. How much sex they want to have would and should be up to them. It shouldn't be their only focus, though."
"If they're not a living doormat, it should be fine."
"What do you mean?"
"What, by 'living doormat'? If their will is so weak that they'll let anyone 'use' them, making them do favors and errands or whatever, then I can't help that. If they'll do anything that anyone tells them, or if they just have a weak will, the lust could end up at least partially controlling them, but most people should be fine. I think."
Drawing a blank on what to talk about next, the hero said, "We should get some sleep. We have to go buy those maps tomorrow, discuss where we've been, decide where to go next, what route to take..." He got up, walked a few steps from the bed to the chest of drawers that his bag of holding was sitting on, and turned his back.
He started to slip off his trunks when she said, "You don't have to turn away, you know. I've seen it already, and you've even had it inside me."
He turned his head to look at her, keeping his groin out of view. His face red, he grumbled, "I'm still trying to come to terms with it. I haven't exactly had an opportunity to let the reality of it sink in yet, if you'll remember."
She looked over at the bag that Priscilla gave her. She smiled, looking forward to wearing her new clothes tomorrow. She laid back on the bed and dropped her disguise. After a couple of seconds of silence as the hero put his underwear on, she started giggling. Before he could ask what was so funny, she asked, "Am I going to wake up to you playing with my horns again? Or will you check out my wings? Maybe my tail?"
He cleared his throat. "I guess that'd depend on who wakes up first. If you don't want me to, I could refrain from it..."
She sat back up, gazing at him with her bright red eyes, a smile on her face. "If you want to touch, please do. Touch me anywhere you want." She posed teasingly, her voice full of erotic seduction on the second part of her reply.
He paused for a second, then shook it off. "Just get ready for bed, okay?" He was trying to keep himself calm.
She pouted and got up, then when she was sure he could see, she quickly took off her bikini and stood there naked. "I wonder... How long will it take you to get used to this body of mine? When can I expect you to hug me from behind, kiss the nape of my neck, and whisper in my ear how bad you want me?" Her smile was lustful and devilish, yet loving, longing, and "pure" at the same time.
Ignoring the contradiction, and his own now-hard member, the hero, making sure not to speak too loudly so as to not disturb Zeraine and Amarantha, said, "Just put your clothes on and go to sleep!" His face was red, which only fueled her desire to continue.
She jumped onto the bed on all fours and crawled from the foot of the bed up to the hero, straddling him. Despite her doing this, he didn't lay down while trying to back away like she expected. Instead, he sat there, merely leaning back as she got closer. "Should I sleep naked? Would you like to wake up to feel my firm, uncovered breasts against your chest? Or would you rather us sleep in the spooning position?"
He managed to remain able to speak normally, partly by remembering that she needed to wait a day or so for safety's sake before having sex again. "Don't you need to wait a day or so, just to be safe?"
At that, she paused, then got depressed. Without a word, she let her head drop, causing her horns to nearly hit him in the face. A few seconds later, she said, "Damn it. You're right."
As she got back up off the bed, she looked similar to a young girl that had just been rejected by the guy she liked. He was a little worried, and decided to try to cheer her up. "We can do it sometime later on, right? We'll be together from now on, so we'll have plenty of time and opportunities."
She had just finished putting her bra and panties back on when he said that. She gave him a loving smile and said, "Thanks." She got into bed, then said, "Feed me."
"Huh?" he replied, caught off guard by the sudden request.
She changed to a scolding look and said, "Feed me while giving me my 'good night' kiss."
"Oh. Okay." He then kissed her, allowing her to feed. She made sure to use her tongue, savoring what intimacy she could get for now as she fed. The feeding left him exhausted, in perfect condition to easily fall asleep. She used her magic to blow out the candles that lit the room.
Unfortunately, he was still awake a few minutes later, due to her tossing and turning. Before he could ask what was wrong, she complained, "Damn it..."
"What is it?"
She rolled over and looked at him. He could see her look of discomfort in the moonlight that shined in through the unobstructed window. "You really need to ask? I'm in bed, with my beloved, we're both in our underwear, and, due to an error in judgment, I got a little worked up from teasing you. In other words, I'm horny as hell right now. The problem is that I can't relieve myself because I need to be safe about letting my vagina recover. I can't masturbate, nor can we have sex. I'm sure you can understand that I'm suffering quite a bit here."
"I'm sorry..."
"It's not your fault, stupid." She sighed in discontent. "Had I listened to Amarantha the first time, you could plough me good before we go to sleep, and I could then go to sleep satisfied. ...Actually, it'd be me riding you. It'd have to be, because when it comes to using your hips in bed, you suck."
"Hey, now..." he started, frowning.
Ignoring him, she said, "I'll eventually teach you enough to let you have the lead, but until then, I'm on top. It sucks because I'd be doing all the work each time, but it feels good enough for me to get off, so it's okay as long as you can last."
"Am I really that bad?"
"To be honest, yes. Don't like my evaluation of your sexual prowess?" She rolled over, turning face-down. "Then spank me." She wiggled her hips, playfully provoking him.
He huffed, then rolled over onto his side, facing away from her, and adjusted himself to get comfortable.
She spooned him, pressing her breasts against his back. "Come on, don't be like that. I'm in bad shape here!"
She let go so he could roll over. "Is there anything I could do to help?"
She looked lost. "I want you so bad I can't stand it, but we can't fuck for now..."
He put his arms around her and held her close. "Does this help?"
She laid her head against his chest, listening to his heartbeat for a few seconds. "A little..."
He fell asleep with her in his arms. She eventually managed to fall asleep by focusing on his heartbeat, allowing it to drown out all of her other thoughts.
Chapter 58
Spoiler: show
The next morning, the succubus awoke. She had not slept very well due to her arousal, as well as a bad dream in which the events of the night before last replayed themselves, but with the hero not being able to use Quen in time, causing Damned to hit. Fortunately for her, she woke up before she could see the effects. She was very bothered by the resurfacing memories, but took comfort in the fact that she was still in his arms, and that he was still very much alive. She thought, "Okay, from now on, after my pussy is capable of sex without pain, he and I are going to do it every night that we possibly can, and maybe even a few times during the day, too. I'll have him wear me out so that I'm so tired I won't dream. Anyway, I'll just enjoy this until he wakes up."
A few minutes later and he awoke. The first thing he saw when he opened his eyes was her white hair and horns, for her head was pressed against his chest. "Good morning."
She took this as her cue, quickly rolling him onto his back and mounting him. "Good morning," she said, smiling happily as her tail flicked about behind her.
The hero blinked a few times, then rubbed his eyes. "Is mounting me going to be a daily thing?"
She gave him a quick kiss and giggled. "If you don't like it, I guess I could stop, assuming I'm not looking to relieve this morning wood of yours..." She rubbed his penis through his boxers, gazing at him lustfully, nearly drooling.
He tried to sit up, but she shoved him back down. Not bothering to try again, he said, "Can you let me up? I doubt it's a good idea to have sex immediately after waking up."
She looked at him pleadingly and asked, "Can't I relieve you of this?" while running her index finger along the shaft from base to tip.
He shuddered from the pleasure, then grabbed her by the shoulders and rolled over, pinning her down. "We have things to do."
She grinned. "You're mounting me now."
"Huh?" He realized that she was right, but was unable to pull away before she wrapped her legs around his waist.
"Come on, darling, practice playing with my body," she said, her voice as sweet as honey.
For some reason, he suspected that something was wrong. On a hunch, he asked, "What's wrong?"
She looked shocked by his question, letting go as she asked, "What do you mean?"
He looked her in the eye and said, "I've got a feeling that something's wrong. What is it?"
She looked away in shame. "No sense in hiding it, I guess... I had a nightmare. In it, we fought like the night before last, but you didn't use Quen."
Upon being reminded of the incident, he went limp. "It's okay. I'm still alive, we made up, and we're both fine, okay?"
She nodded, holding out her arms, wanting a hug, which he gave. After savoring the hug, she said, "I do think that we have enough time for you to practice rubbing my breasts, though."
He sighed. "We have to get dressed. You yourself said that we need to go buy some maps and retrace our steps thus far, as well as plan our trip to the Old Kingdom."
"'Old Kingdom'? You mean the Pharaoh's territory?"
"Yeah. That's what I'm going to call it for now, considering that there was a kingdom there, and it was destroyed by the Demon Lord. I'm also guessing it was around for a long time before he laid waste to it, right?"
"Yeah, I guess..." She looked around the room, then said, "Okay, fine. We'll get dressed and take care of business. After that, we'll leave. I expect sex tonight, though, so you had better be ready."
He got up, heading over to his clothing and armor, which were neatly piled on top of the chest of drawers. "As long as nothing comes up that prevents it, I promise to take care of you."
She got up as well, and got dressed, putting on her new clothes. Because it was a fairly simple dress with a hooded cloak, she was able to put it on before the hero could get his chainmail leggings situated. With the hood pulled back, she looked herself over, then asked, "How do I look?"
He turned around, dropping his chainmail cuirass, as well as his jaw, when he saw her. After marveling at how much better she looked in her new clothes compared to her old ones, he finally said, "You look great. How are you dealing with your wings and tail, though?"
She slowly turned around, allowing him to see her from all angles, and said, "I've got my wings wrapped around my waist and my tail pointing straight down. They don't show up, do they?"
"No, but I'd imagine that it'd be hard to hide your horns, even with that hood. I'd recommend using that disguise form when we're traveling around."
She nodded, then assumed the disguise. "How about now? As you know, in this form, I don't have my horns, wings, or tail."
He nodded. "You look great."
She smiled and hugged him, then began putting her boots on while he picked his armor back up and resumed donning it. Once he was finished, they made sure to grab their belongings and left the room.
...
Zeraine and Amarantha woke up at about the same time. After yawning and stretching, they gave each other good-morning kisses, then got up and got dressed. After gathering their things, they stepped out of the room and met Sol, Victoria, and Hilda in the hallway. Sol held up a piece of paper. "Hey, guys. Give this to your resident demoness when she comes out. My girls and I need to get back to my shop. I've probably got a bunch of work piled up..."
Zeraine took the paper. "What is it?" He glanced at it, not bothering to see anything more about it than the fact that it was folded in half and had words written on it.
"Priscilla left it. It's obviously a note to her friend." He walked past Zeraine, leaving Victoria and Hilda in the hallway. He proceeded downstairs to check out, then returned and opened a teleportation portal to his shop. "This vacation has been great, you know? I got to grope and fondle my beloved lizard-girls more than I normally can, and they even sucked me off."
Hilda yawned, then said, "You still can't eat us out, though. If you tried, you'd probably lose control of yourself and try to deflower us. As much as all three of us want it, we want your birthday to be extra-special, so we have to hold it."
Victoria, a little embarrassed by their comments, said, "If you get to where you can't hold it anymore, we can still use our hands."
Sol gave her a confused look. "Why not your mouths?"
She said, "Well, unless you continue to insist on 69, I suppose we could do that, too."
He shrugged, then said, "Well, whatever. Anyway, Zeraine, Ammie, as soon as I've caught up on my work, I'll get back to looking for that Bag of Holding for your succubus, so don't worry. Bye." He and his two employees walked into the portal and it closed behind them.
Just as Amarantha was about to ask if they should read the letter, the hero and the succubus stepped out of their room. Zeraine greeted them, saying, "Good morning, you two. Priscilla left this for you..." He handed the succubus the letter.
She looked at it, then read it aloud. "It says, 'I hope you and your knight both like your new outfit. Unfortunately, even with the hood, because of your red eyes you wouldn't be able to wander around without your disguise form. Still, it should prove comfortable and good-looking. It should serve you well. It's much better than those worn-out rags you were wearing, that's for sure. Someone of your standing should wear nice stuff, you know?'"
Zeraine nodded. "It does look good on you."
Amarantha agreed, saying, "Very nice. Does he like it?"
She smiled. "He dropped both his jaw and his cuirass when he first saw me wearing it."
The hero's face was a little red. Rather than risk embarrassing himself by responding to what they said, he asked, "What does she mean by 'someone of your standing'?"
The succubus paused for a second, then folded the letter and stuffed it into her satchel. "N-nothing. Let's go." She led the way out of the inn, checking the party out and returning her room key first.
The other three were suspicious of her reply, but none of them said anything. The hero thought, "Why did she reply like that? 'Someone of her standing'? Could she be some kind of Demon Realm nobility or something? If she doesn't feel comfortable talking about it, I guess I respect her decision, but I don't like her keeping things from me..." They also returned their room keys, then followed the succubus.
Once in the market area, the group looked around, deciding that the best place to find the maps they needed was the general goods merchant. They headed in that direction.
A few minutes later and he awoke. The first thing he saw when he opened his eyes was her white hair and horns, for her head was pressed against his chest. "Good morning."
She took this as her cue, quickly rolling him onto his back and mounting him. "Good morning," she said, smiling happily as her tail flicked about behind her.
The hero blinked a few times, then rubbed his eyes. "Is mounting me going to be a daily thing?"
She gave him a quick kiss and giggled. "If you don't like it, I guess I could stop, assuming I'm not looking to relieve this morning wood of yours..." She rubbed his penis through his boxers, gazing at him lustfully, nearly drooling.
He tried to sit up, but she shoved him back down. Not bothering to try again, he said, "Can you let me up? I doubt it's a good idea to have sex immediately after waking up."
She looked at him pleadingly and asked, "Can't I relieve you of this?" while running her index finger along the shaft from base to tip.
He shuddered from the pleasure, then grabbed her by the shoulders and rolled over, pinning her down. "We have things to do."
She grinned. "You're mounting me now."
"Huh?" He realized that she was right, but was unable to pull away before she wrapped her legs around his waist.
"Come on, darling, practice playing with my body," she said, her voice as sweet as honey.
For some reason, he suspected that something was wrong. On a hunch, he asked, "What's wrong?"
She looked shocked by his question, letting go as she asked, "What do you mean?"
He looked her in the eye and said, "I've got a feeling that something's wrong. What is it?"
She looked away in shame. "No sense in hiding it, I guess... I had a nightmare. In it, we fought like the night before last, but you didn't use Quen."
Upon being reminded of the incident, he went limp. "It's okay. I'm still alive, we made up, and we're both fine, okay?"
She nodded, holding out her arms, wanting a hug, which he gave. After savoring the hug, she said, "I do think that we have enough time for you to practice rubbing my breasts, though."
He sighed. "We have to get dressed. You yourself said that we need to go buy some maps and retrace our steps thus far, as well as plan our trip to the Old Kingdom."
"'Old Kingdom'? You mean the Pharaoh's territory?"
"Yeah. That's what I'm going to call it for now, considering that there was a kingdom there, and it was destroyed by the Demon Lord. I'm also guessing it was around for a long time before he laid waste to it, right?"
"Yeah, I guess..." She looked around the room, then said, "Okay, fine. We'll get dressed and take care of business. After that, we'll leave. I expect sex tonight, though, so you had better be ready."
He got up, heading over to his clothing and armor, which were neatly piled on top of the chest of drawers. "As long as nothing comes up that prevents it, I promise to take care of you."
She got up as well, and got dressed, putting on her new clothes. Because it was a fairly simple dress with a hooded cloak, she was able to put it on before the hero could get his chainmail leggings situated. With the hood pulled back, she looked herself over, then asked, "How do I look?"
He turned around, dropping his chainmail cuirass, as well as his jaw, when he saw her. After marveling at how much better she looked in her new clothes compared to her old ones, he finally said, "You look great. How are you dealing with your wings and tail, though?"
She slowly turned around, allowing him to see her from all angles, and said, "I've got my wings wrapped around my waist and my tail pointing straight down. They don't show up, do they?"
"No, but I'd imagine that it'd be hard to hide your horns, even with that hood. I'd recommend using that disguise form when we're traveling around."
She nodded, then assumed the disguise. "How about now? As you know, in this form, I don't have my horns, wings, or tail."
He nodded. "You look great."
She smiled and hugged him, then began putting her boots on while he picked his armor back up and resumed donning it. Once he was finished, they made sure to grab their belongings and left the room.
...
Zeraine and Amarantha woke up at about the same time. After yawning and stretching, they gave each other good-morning kisses, then got up and got dressed. After gathering their things, they stepped out of the room and met Sol, Victoria, and Hilda in the hallway. Sol held up a piece of paper. "Hey, guys. Give this to your resident demoness when she comes out. My girls and I need to get back to my shop. I've probably got a bunch of work piled up..."
Zeraine took the paper. "What is it?" He glanced at it, not bothering to see anything more about it than the fact that it was folded in half and had words written on it.
"Priscilla left it. It's obviously a note to her friend." He walked past Zeraine, leaving Victoria and Hilda in the hallway. He proceeded downstairs to check out, then returned and opened a teleportation portal to his shop. "This vacation has been great, you know? I got to grope and fondle my beloved lizard-girls more than I normally can, and they even sucked me off."
Hilda yawned, then said, "You still can't eat us out, though. If you tried, you'd probably lose control of yourself and try to deflower us. As much as all three of us want it, we want your birthday to be extra-special, so we have to hold it."
Victoria, a little embarrassed by their comments, said, "If you get to where you can't hold it anymore, we can still use our hands."
Sol gave her a confused look. "Why not your mouths?"
She said, "Well, unless you continue to insist on 69, I suppose we could do that, too."
He shrugged, then said, "Well, whatever. Anyway, Zeraine, Ammie, as soon as I've caught up on my work, I'll get back to looking for that Bag of Holding for your succubus, so don't worry. Bye." He and his two employees walked into the portal and it closed behind them.
Just as Amarantha was about to ask if they should read the letter, the hero and the succubus stepped out of their room. Zeraine greeted them, saying, "Good morning, you two. Priscilla left this for you..." He handed the succubus the letter.
She looked at it, then read it aloud. "It says, 'I hope you and your knight both like your new outfit. Unfortunately, even with the hood, because of your red eyes you wouldn't be able to wander around without your disguise form. Still, it should prove comfortable and good-looking. It should serve you well. It's much better than those worn-out rags you were wearing, that's for sure. Someone of your standing should wear nice stuff, you know?'"
Zeraine nodded. "It does look good on you."
Amarantha agreed, saying, "Very nice. Does he like it?"
She smiled. "He dropped both his jaw and his cuirass when he first saw me wearing it."
The hero's face was a little red. Rather than risk embarrassing himself by responding to what they said, he asked, "What does she mean by 'someone of your standing'?"
The succubus paused for a second, then folded the letter and stuffed it into her satchel. "N-nothing. Let's go." She led the way out of the inn, checking the party out and returning her room key first.
The other three were suspicious of her reply, but none of them said anything. The hero thought, "Why did she reply like that? 'Someone of her standing'? Could she be some kind of Demon Realm nobility or something? If she doesn't feel comfortable talking about it, I guess I respect her decision, but I don't like her keeping things from me..." They also returned their room keys, then followed the succubus.
Once in the market area, the group looked around, deciding that the best place to find the maps they needed was the general goods merchant. They headed in that direction.
Chapter 59
Spoiler: show
Upon stepping into the merchant's shop, they met the same man in the hooded cloak from the night before their fight with the murderers. The hero asked, "Is there something else?"
The man replied, "The baron wanted me to tell you that we did a post-incident investigation. It seems they were operating out of a nearby, fairly well-hidden fortress, long thought to be abandoned."
The succubus asked, "Where was this fortress?"
"It was a little to the north, up the coast, built underground inside of a large hill. Obviously, by 'well-hidden' we mean 'the entrances were completely hidden by various plants that have grown to obstruct the view of them, and we only found them because we had records of the place'. What's important is that you did indeed get them all. We won't have to worry about anything like that again, at least not for a long time. Congratulations, heroes."
The hero said, "Thanks. So that means we can leave without worrying about whether we got them all or not-"
The succubus added, "Which we hadn't actually considered until just now."
The man nodded. "Correct. If you hadn't thought about it until just now, then you need to do whatever you need to do in order to think about such things next time. You were fortunate that they were all together this time, but they might be smarter next time. Unfortunately, we didn't find anything that could help you with rooting out other corrupted parts of The Order. There was nothing but the usual stuff, such as weapons, food, other supplies, and anti-nonhuman hate-speeches."
The hero frowned. "What makes them think like that?"
The man shrugged and shook his head. "Nobody knows. Too bad, but people like that must be eliminated. We can't have our citizens living in fear of being killed for associating with monsters, nor can we have our monster citizens living in fear of being murdered for not being human. Anyway, I've got other work to do, so I'll be going now."
He left before any of the party could say anything else, his footsteps somehow making no noise at all. After a moment's pause, the party talked with the merchant and bought a few maps. They got one of the continent, one of the west-coast region, one of the southern desert, also called the Old Kingdom, and one of the mid-west region. They took these maps with them to the library and studied them.
"Okay, we're here," the succubus said, putting her finger on the west-coast region map, pointing at Whitesands Beach. "We all met at Westcreek, went north through a few places that aren't on the map, and stayed at Windgate for a little bit. That's where we met that gold dragon, and where Zeraine and Amarantha finally 'got together'. Now, we've decided to head southeast, to the Old Kingdom, to seek help from the Pharaoh. It's a long journey, and we'll need to try to stay at inns in towns and cities. Failing that, we'll have to be careful about camping out at night. We'll need to keep a supply of food and water, of course, and we'll have to keep our equipment maintained. We can't take any big risks, got it?"
The hero asked, "Before we met, you came from the Demon Realm, right?"
She nodded. "Yeah. I was exiled to the outer-areas of the Demon Realm."
Zeraine asked, "Isn't there some kind of warding field spell you can use to protect our camp at night, when we're forced to do so?"
"There is, and I know it, but I can't maintain it long enough to use it, and he can't keep me 'fueled' enough to maintain it, either," she said, gesturing to the hero, "so until I'm more powerful, we have to do it like regular people."
The hero asked, "And why is that?"
"Why is what? The part about you being unable to keep me 'fueled'? It's the truth. You can feed me quite well, but I know for certain that you don't have what it takes to go all night long, and you won't until I've turned you into an incubus. Don't worry about that, though. You're only human, after all."
The hero frowned, not exactly happy with that comment. Obviously, she had just told him that in order to maintain the warding field, the two of them would have to have sex non-stop, all night long, so he could keep her energized. The fact that he was human, and the fact that it was making him and his friends slightly vulnerable in certain ways, upset him. He didn't like feeling like an anchor.
Amarantha said, "Okay, if we want to go the easiest route, this is it." She traced a path with her finger, showing them going along the major roads, passing through different cities, giving them plenty of opportunities to stop for supplies, rest, or whatever else they might need to stop for. "It's a bit long, but it'd be an easy trip. Add to that the fact that we could stop in some of the cities to ask for military support, and possibly gain it, I think it'd be the best route."
The hero nodded. "Yeah, because otherwise, we'd be skipping places that we'd have to go to, making us have to turn around or try on the way back, and that'd be no good, or we'd be taking some potentially dangerous paths, and roads of that size are pretty much never maintained, especially in those kinds of areas."
The succubus joined in, saying, "So then, our route is decided. Now, let's keep in mind the fact that there hasn't been enough time for someone to update the maps of the desert, and this is from before its destruction. We can expect to use this map only for making sure that we're walking in the right direction. We're probably going to be 'flying blind' for most of our time there. Other things to consider are the heat during the day and the number of caves rumored to be there. During the day, it's hot as hell, and we'll need to be careful about our bodily conditions. The place is rumored to have lots of caves, which is both good and bad. It's good in that we can get out of the sun during the hottest part of the day, and bad in that we don't know, and won't know until we're there, whether the caves are occupied, which means we need to be alert in case of an ambush. Small groups of travelers are nice prey for bandits and monsters, you know. We need to research the monsters that inhabit the area, so we can prepare. I guess I'll do it." She looked at the hero. "You come with me. Zeraine and Amarantha, you two have free time to look up whatever you want. We'll meet back at this table in one hour."
Zeraine and Amarantha walked off together, leaving the hero and the succubus to look for books on the monsters of the desert. As they looked, the hero asked, "Is there any special reason why I had to help you with this?"
Without stopping to look at him, she said, "If you're nearby, I think I can manage to hold out until tonight. Otherwise, I'll probably find you, drag you off, and demand that we make time for you to relieve me."
He thought, "That doesn't really make sense... Not unless you're using the sight of me as some sort of comforting thing that reinforces your willpower and allows you to fight it, that is." He asked, "Is it that bad for you?"
"Yes. I could try to show you what it's like, if you're willing. I guarantee you won't enjoy it."
"I'll just take your word for it, then..."
She found a book and began skimming through it. "I found one. Let's see..." She read closer, committing to memory the information. After several minutes of reading, she closed the book. "We'll need to show this to the others. Can you think of anything else we need to look up?"
The hero thought for a second. "Do they tend to have books on magic in public libraries? If they do, we can look at one or two, and you might learn some new spells, or be able to teach me something."
"I'm not teaching you anything else in magic until you master the Signs. Still, that's a good idea. Let's go look."
She led him around the library, looking for stuff on magic. She learned a new spell from one of the books they looked at. Once the agreed time arrived, they returned to the table and waited for Zeraine and Amarantha. Once the two of them returned, the succubus set the book on desert monsters on the table. "According to this book, it's not going to be easy. The Anubis and the sphinx are sapient monsters, so we might be able to talk our way in. Still, there are mummies and giant scorpions called 'Girtablilu'. The book says they're capable of communication, but they tend to favor just stealthily killing anyone they catch. We have enough time for you to read the info, too, if you want."
Zeraine said, "Sure, we'll look at it. From what I've heard, mummies are slow and annoying. They're persistent, but easily dealt with. As for those scorpions, I guess we should look into some kind of enchanted gear that warns us of approaching danger, right?"
The succubus hung her head. "Unfortunately, those kinds of things are stupidly expensive and very rare. We won't be able to get the money quick enough, and we probably won't find anything like that along the way, so we'll just have to stay sharp. One good thing is that it's a long trip, so we can practice a lot between now and then, which would allow us to handle it better."
They looked at the maps, and Zeraine, Amarantha, and the hero read the book on desert monsters. They then proceeded to put away the books and gather their maps. Making sure they didn't leave anything behind, they left the library. They went over their supplies, making sure they had everything they needed. After that, they went to a diner to eat. Once they had taken care of everything they could think of, the hero asked, "Are we ready?"
Everyone nodded, then they left, walking east along the main road, looking for where it branched south.
The man replied, "The baron wanted me to tell you that we did a post-incident investigation. It seems they were operating out of a nearby, fairly well-hidden fortress, long thought to be abandoned."
The succubus asked, "Where was this fortress?"
"It was a little to the north, up the coast, built underground inside of a large hill. Obviously, by 'well-hidden' we mean 'the entrances were completely hidden by various plants that have grown to obstruct the view of them, and we only found them because we had records of the place'. What's important is that you did indeed get them all. We won't have to worry about anything like that again, at least not for a long time. Congratulations, heroes."
The hero said, "Thanks. So that means we can leave without worrying about whether we got them all or not-"
The succubus added, "Which we hadn't actually considered until just now."
The man nodded. "Correct. If you hadn't thought about it until just now, then you need to do whatever you need to do in order to think about such things next time. You were fortunate that they were all together this time, but they might be smarter next time. Unfortunately, we didn't find anything that could help you with rooting out other corrupted parts of The Order. There was nothing but the usual stuff, such as weapons, food, other supplies, and anti-nonhuman hate-speeches."
The hero frowned. "What makes them think like that?"
The man shrugged and shook his head. "Nobody knows. Too bad, but people like that must be eliminated. We can't have our citizens living in fear of being killed for associating with monsters, nor can we have our monster citizens living in fear of being murdered for not being human. Anyway, I've got other work to do, so I'll be going now."
He left before any of the party could say anything else, his footsteps somehow making no noise at all. After a moment's pause, the party talked with the merchant and bought a few maps. They got one of the continent, one of the west-coast region, one of the southern desert, also called the Old Kingdom, and one of the mid-west region. They took these maps with them to the library and studied them.
"Okay, we're here," the succubus said, putting her finger on the west-coast region map, pointing at Whitesands Beach. "We all met at Westcreek, went north through a few places that aren't on the map, and stayed at Windgate for a little bit. That's where we met that gold dragon, and where Zeraine and Amarantha finally 'got together'. Now, we've decided to head southeast, to the Old Kingdom, to seek help from the Pharaoh. It's a long journey, and we'll need to try to stay at inns in towns and cities. Failing that, we'll have to be careful about camping out at night. We'll need to keep a supply of food and water, of course, and we'll have to keep our equipment maintained. We can't take any big risks, got it?"
The hero asked, "Before we met, you came from the Demon Realm, right?"
She nodded. "Yeah. I was exiled to the outer-areas of the Demon Realm."
Zeraine asked, "Isn't there some kind of warding field spell you can use to protect our camp at night, when we're forced to do so?"
"There is, and I know it, but I can't maintain it long enough to use it, and he can't keep me 'fueled' enough to maintain it, either," she said, gesturing to the hero, "so until I'm more powerful, we have to do it like regular people."
The hero asked, "And why is that?"
"Why is what? The part about you being unable to keep me 'fueled'? It's the truth. You can feed me quite well, but I know for certain that you don't have what it takes to go all night long, and you won't until I've turned you into an incubus. Don't worry about that, though. You're only human, after all."
The hero frowned, not exactly happy with that comment. Obviously, she had just told him that in order to maintain the warding field, the two of them would have to have sex non-stop, all night long, so he could keep her energized. The fact that he was human, and the fact that it was making him and his friends slightly vulnerable in certain ways, upset him. He didn't like feeling like an anchor.
Amarantha said, "Okay, if we want to go the easiest route, this is it." She traced a path with her finger, showing them going along the major roads, passing through different cities, giving them plenty of opportunities to stop for supplies, rest, or whatever else they might need to stop for. "It's a bit long, but it'd be an easy trip. Add to that the fact that we could stop in some of the cities to ask for military support, and possibly gain it, I think it'd be the best route."
The hero nodded. "Yeah, because otherwise, we'd be skipping places that we'd have to go to, making us have to turn around or try on the way back, and that'd be no good, or we'd be taking some potentially dangerous paths, and roads of that size are pretty much never maintained, especially in those kinds of areas."
The succubus joined in, saying, "So then, our route is decided. Now, let's keep in mind the fact that there hasn't been enough time for someone to update the maps of the desert, and this is from before its destruction. We can expect to use this map only for making sure that we're walking in the right direction. We're probably going to be 'flying blind' for most of our time there. Other things to consider are the heat during the day and the number of caves rumored to be there. During the day, it's hot as hell, and we'll need to be careful about our bodily conditions. The place is rumored to have lots of caves, which is both good and bad. It's good in that we can get out of the sun during the hottest part of the day, and bad in that we don't know, and won't know until we're there, whether the caves are occupied, which means we need to be alert in case of an ambush. Small groups of travelers are nice prey for bandits and monsters, you know. We need to research the monsters that inhabit the area, so we can prepare. I guess I'll do it." She looked at the hero. "You come with me. Zeraine and Amarantha, you two have free time to look up whatever you want. We'll meet back at this table in one hour."
Zeraine and Amarantha walked off together, leaving the hero and the succubus to look for books on the monsters of the desert. As they looked, the hero asked, "Is there any special reason why I had to help you with this?"
Without stopping to look at him, she said, "If you're nearby, I think I can manage to hold out until tonight. Otherwise, I'll probably find you, drag you off, and demand that we make time for you to relieve me."
He thought, "That doesn't really make sense... Not unless you're using the sight of me as some sort of comforting thing that reinforces your willpower and allows you to fight it, that is." He asked, "Is it that bad for you?"
"Yes. I could try to show you what it's like, if you're willing. I guarantee you won't enjoy it."
"I'll just take your word for it, then..."
She found a book and began skimming through it. "I found one. Let's see..." She read closer, committing to memory the information. After several minutes of reading, she closed the book. "We'll need to show this to the others. Can you think of anything else we need to look up?"
The hero thought for a second. "Do they tend to have books on magic in public libraries? If they do, we can look at one or two, and you might learn some new spells, or be able to teach me something."
"I'm not teaching you anything else in magic until you master the Signs. Still, that's a good idea. Let's go look."
She led him around the library, looking for stuff on magic. She learned a new spell from one of the books they looked at. Once the agreed time arrived, they returned to the table and waited for Zeraine and Amarantha. Once the two of them returned, the succubus set the book on desert monsters on the table. "According to this book, it's not going to be easy. The Anubis and the sphinx are sapient monsters, so we might be able to talk our way in. Still, there are mummies and giant scorpions called 'Girtablilu'. The book says they're capable of communication, but they tend to favor just stealthily killing anyone they catch. We have enough time for you to read the info, too, if you want."
Zeraine said, "Sure, we'll look at it. From what I've heard, mummies are slow and annoying. They're persistent, but easily dealt with. As for those scorpions, I guess we should look into some kind of enchanted gear that warns us of approaching danger, right?"
The succubus hung her head. "Unfortunately, those kinds of things are stupidly expensive and very rare. We won't be able to get the money quick enough, and we probably won't find anything like that along the way, so we'll just have to stay sharp. One good thing is that it's a long trip, so we can practice a lot between now and then, which would allow us to handle it better."
They looked at the maps, and Zeraine, Amarantha, and the hero read the book on desert monsters. They then proceeded to put away the books and gather their maps. Making sure they didn't leave anything behind, they left the library. They went over their supplies, making sure they had everything they needed. After that, they went to a diner to eat. Once they had taken care of everything they could think of, the hero asked, "Are we ready?"
Everyone nodded, then they left, walking east along the main road, looking for where it branched south.
Chapter 60
Spoiler: show
So far, their trip had been fraught with boredom. They had passed the occasional merchant caravan, a couple of inns, one of them looking a bit run-down, and had encountered a band of goblins, which Amarantha scared off by transforming. The party had never even heard of goblins running so fast before. They had disappeared in the blink of an eye. Fortunately, it seemed that they'd reach their destination with time to spare. Their destination was Greenford, a city near a river, said river being a highly used trade route.
With nothing to chat about, and nothing else to do, the hero was left with his thoughts. "Okay, I'm a high-ranking knight of The Order. I'm better with a sword than most people. I've been taught the Signs. Until I master them, my future wife won't teach me anything else... At least she taught me how to levitate before anything else. Anyway, I'm basically just starting out. I don't have the experience that Zeraine has, and I definitely don't have the sheer strength and speed that Amarantha has. Of course, she's a dragon, so that's pretty much expected. It'd be stupid of me to try to compete with that. I understand that I'm the 'weakest link' in the party, but that'll change. I just need experience 'in the field'. Maybe once we get there, I can take Zeraine up on his earlier offer for a little sparring. ...Well, that or get Amarantha to teach me some hand-to-hand stuff. Heh, I guess I'll end up as the 'jack of all trades', but I will need to master a few. I wonder what that new spell was that our suspected Demon Realm nobility learned..."
The succubus was also deep in thought. "Damn it... Sometimes I hate being a succubus. Being easily aroused and this horny is hell at times. It wouldn't be so bad if we could stop so my knight and I could spend some 'quality time' together, but that'd slow us down and we wouldn't make it there on time. Had he and I been able to do it last night, I'd be okay right now, but I had to recover... Anyway, he's good at learning. I know it's a bit upsetting, but I'm still not going to teach him any other magic until he masters the Signs. It's for his own good. Once he's mastered them, he'll have the knowledge and experience with manipulating energy that he'll need in order to move on and learn and master the other stuff. He just needs to practice when he gets the opportunity."
They eventually arrived, exchanging greetings with the gate guards and heading for the town square. Once there, they saw a squad of guards standing at attention, with a captain giving them some sort of speech. As they approached, they saw lots of citizens standing around, watching, and they heard the captain mention something about ogres. The party looked at each other, then nodded, silently agreeing to see what was going on. The hero walked up to the captain. "What's going on, captain?"
The captain turned, saying, "Stand ba-" Once he saw The Order's insignia on the hero's armor, he said, "Greetings, knight. I'm about to lead my men on a raid. We're going to go get rid of some ogres that have been causing problems."
"What kind of problems?"
"Destroying docks at night, throwing boulders into the city, kidnapping travelers and citizens alike, occasionally returning them in a near-dead state with lots of bruises and broken bones. You know, the usual."
"I see. Mind if we tag along?" he asked, gesturing to the rest of the party.
The captain relaxed slightly. "Considering that they're ogres, we'll need all the help we can get. An Order knight and his friends should ensure our success. Welcome aboard."
The other guards showed a boost in morale upon acceptance of the help. The captain led his men and the party out of the city and into the woods. Fortunately for them, the ogres were so loud that they couldn't hear the guards over their own noise. Hiding in the bushes and behind the trees, the party saw the ogres laughing, dancing, wrestling, and beating up on a bound human. There were four, and one of them went into the nearby cave. The succubus said, "Damn they're ugly..." She thought, "Even the females are hideous. They're also at least eight feet tall. I'll need to fix those issues once the throne is mine..."
The hero asked, "How many are there supposed to be?"
The captain replied, "According to those who managed to live through it, eight. They couldn't tell the difference in gender, not that it matters."
Zeraine said, "Well, that one over there, the one that was hitting the guy that's tied up, I'd guess it's a female."
Amarantha asked, "What makes you say that?"
"It's wearing something to cover its top half."
The hero said, "When do we attack?"
The captain looked through his spyglass, then said, "The captive is dead. We can take our time. Damn it..."
The hero gritted his teeth, then focused. "How about this... Zeraine, you and I will charge in and get their attention. Amarantha will help keep the guards safe from any thrown rocks with her speed and strength." He turned to the succubus. "You will keep everyone healed and use a few attack spells." He pointed at the ogre that was by the campfire. "That one is mine. The one that was beating the captive human goes to the guards."
Zeraine said, "I guess the one that's pissing in the bushes is mine, then? Alright. When the other five come out of that cave, we can hit 'em hard, hopefully having disposed of our initial targets." He took his spear out of his Bag of Holding. "Whenever you're ready, kid."
The hero strapped his shield to his arm and drew his sword. He formulated the plan in his mind of how he was going to attack. He intended to try to knock down the ogre with Aard, then light it on fire with Igni, then hack, slash, and stab it to death while it tried to get up or put out the flames, if it could think to do so. Failing that, he planned to bait it into swinging its large warhammer into the ground, sidestep it, then slash its throat. If neither of those plans were doable, he decided to fall back on baiting it into an Yrden, then knock it into either a Shock Trap or an Ice Trap. After that, he'd finish it off. "Alright. Now!"
He led the charge out of the bushes, heading for his target. Zeraine ran past him, spear in hand, heading for his target. The squad of guards, about 15 in all, led by their captain, charged at the third one. Before the ogres could react, Zeraine had already impaled his target through its head, killing it. The one that had been beating the captive human picked up a large rock, about the size of an average man's torso, and hurled it at the squad of guards. Doing her designated task, Amarantha jumped in between the panicking guards and the rock, shattering it with a kick. "Get moving!" she yelled, causing them to recover their formation and resume charging.
The succubus followed behind the squad, keeping an eye on everything. She watched as the hero squared off with the ogre by the campfire. His initial plan had failed. His Aard didn't knock the ogre down and he was forced to run a few steps away to dodge the retaliatory sweep from its hammer. He feinted a swing, then tried an Igni in its projectile form, which hit, but didn't ignite the ogre. While the ogre was recovering from the fireball, the hero set an Yrden, then backed off, taunting the ogre. The ogre yelled with fury and charged right into the Yrden, setting it off and becoming immobilized. "Let's cut you down to size!" the hero shouted, dashing around behind the ogre and cutting the tendons of its legs before Yrden wore off.
The ogre fell down, unable to stand, let alone walk anymore. It tried to swing its hammer to hit the hero, but he easily dodged it. He then tried a few different times, seeing the perfect opportunity, to use Igni in its "flamethrower" form, and, after hitting the ogre with a few fire-waves, he succeeded. He burned the ogre to death with the stream of fire.
A small pebble bounced off the succubus's head, returning her attention to the third ogre, seeing that Amarantha had shattered another thrown rock. The guard captain yelled, "Hold the line! Keep a steady advance!" When they got close enough, he yelled, "Surround it!" and charged with four men, surrounding the ogre. The five of them took turns opportunistically hitting the ogre in the back while it was focused on one of the others. They suffered one loss when the ogre hit one man that backed away too slowly. His skull was shattered from the ogre's wild backhand, but he was quickly avenged. Once it lay dead, the captain asked the succubus, "You're a mage, right? Can you heal him?" pointing at the dead guard.
She shook her head. "He's dead. I can't revive him."
Everyone turned their attention to the cave when an ogre stepped out, then yelled back into the cave, "Humans! Kill!"
The other four ogres stepped out of the cave, all five of them raising hammers and axes. Zeraine rejoined the main group. He said, "There's five of them to deal with now, and we've got to protect these guys. Any ideas?"
Amarantha said, "Yeah, have these guys stay back and let us handle it."
The succubus said, "You, me, and Amarantha could focus on them one at a time with our magic, probably killing two of them before they get to us."
The hero asked, "What about me?"
The ogres charged, yelling incoherently. The succubus shouted, "Forget that, hit them now!"
Zeraine, Amarantha, and the succubus all built up energy into their hands, then yelled, "Dyo!" casting the spell, hitting one ogre with all three of their fire-beams. The ogre quickly burned to death under this assault, and the three of them then aimed their spells at the next one. It, too died, but, as expected, they had to break off their spells to deal with the three remaining ogres that were now within melee range. Zeraine smacked one in the side with the shaft of his spear, getting its attention and leading it away from the group. The guards tried to retreat, but one ogre chased them. Amarantha got its attention by throwing a boulder at it. She led it away from the group, allowing the hero and the succubus to focus on the last one.
Zeraine carefully danced circles around his ogre, poking, slashing, and thrusting at it with his spear. His spear gave him enough reach to keep the ogre back far enough so that he was out of its reach, yet able to attack it. The ogre kept trying to advance, but stopped short or backed away when the spear lashed out at it. Using this careful method of combat, Zeraine was able to give the ogre many small cuts that seemed like nothing, but the blood loss accumulated, causing it to faint. He finished it off by impaling its downed form through the back.
Amarantha's ogre swung its axe at her, but she easily dodged it, kicking the underside of the ogre's wrist, causing the axe to fly off into the woods and embed itself in a tree. Now unarmed and angry, the ogre charged her. She matched its charge, meeting it directly, ending with the two of them clasping each other's hands, trying to shove each other down. The ogre had the height advantage, but Amarantha was stronger. She started to overpower the ogre, much to the amazement of the guards, who had already been staring at her in disbelief after she had lifted and thrown the boulder earlier. She squeezed the ogre's hands, breaking the bones in them, then let go of its left hand, grabbed it right hand with both hands, spun around, and used her shoulder as a fulcrum to hyperextend the ogre's elbow, breaking it. She then pulled down on its arm, throwing it over her shoulder and into the ground at her feet. She followed up by forcibly turning the ogre face-down, planting her foot on its back, and dislocating its shoulder. Afterwards, she crushed its skull with a stomp.
The hero used his newly-learned flamethrower version of Igni to successfully light the ogre on fire. As it patted itself, trying to put out the flames, he pulled out a Scroll of Shock Trap and used it, setting the trap beneath the ogre's feet. It went off, electrocuting the ogre, causing it to shake, sputter, and gibber. The succubus then began her spell. "Sourkiss Lar Syshu Mega Megade... Sodom!"
A blade of air sliced off one of the ogre's legs, causing it to fall over and howl in pain. As it lay bleeding, the hero ran up and stabbed it through the chest, finishing it. He looked around and said, "That's the last of them."
The succubus walked up to him. "We make a good team," she said, giving him a pat on the back, "don't we?"
He said, "Yeah, we do."
Zeraine and Amarantha returned to the group. He said, "Great job, you two. And the way you handled that first ogre by yourself? Excellent work, kid."
The hero said, "Yeah, my first plan didn't work, and I decided to abandon my second, then modified my third. At least I mastered the Igni Sign, right?"
The succubus said, "Yes, you did. Be more proud of it, okay? You still have four more to go, though."
Zeraine raised an eyebrow. "You had three plans?"
Amarantha sighed. She spoke just loud enough for the party to hear her, saying, "I guess those guys are terrified of me, now?"
They all looked at the guards, who were obviously staring at Amarantha. Zeraine said, "Yeah, they're staring at you. Just so they don't get any ideas, how about you give me a good kiss?"
She grinned, nearly laughing, knowing what Zeraine meant, and gave him a deep kiss. Some of the guards looked disappointed, while others looked slightly horrified. Their thoughts were obvious on their faces. The ones that looked disappointed were definitely thinking that they now have no chance with her because she's taken. The others were obviously thinking something like, "What the hell is she!?" or "How can he be with her!?" Seeing the looks on the guards' faces, the two turned away and tried their best not to laugh.
The succubus then used a bit of water magic to clean the blood off of everyone. Noticing that the guards were now giving her a good once-over, she smiled haughtily and kissed the hero. The hero didn't say anything, but he knew what was happening. He felt a pang of jealousy, followed by a feeling of superiority over knowing that the guards were giving lewd stares to his future wife, and knowing that, due to her loyalty, he was the only man that would ever have her. He caught himself thinking this, then thought, "Should I be feeling this way? Sure, they were staring at her, but she's loyal to me, and only me. I don't have to worry about her cheating on me. And feeling like I'm better than them because I'm her man... I shouldn't be that arrogant, right?" Shaking the thoughts from his head, he approached the captain. "I'm sorry for your loss."
The captain replied, "Thanks. He was a good man. Had a bit of a drinking problem, but he was still good. We'll take him and the dead captive back to bury them later. You helped us, so we'll pay you back. We'll discuss it when we return to town."
The hero and party waited for the guards to collect the two bodies, then went back to town with them.
With nothing to chat about, and nothing else to do, the hero was left with his thoughts. "Okay, I'm a high-ranking knight of The Order. I'm better with a sword than most people. I've been taught the Signs. Until I master them, my future wife won't teach me anything else... At least she taught me how to levitate before anything else. Anyway, I'm basically just starting out. I don't have the experience that Zeraine has, and I definitely don't have the sheer strength and speed that Amarantha has. Of course, she's a dragon, so that's pretty much expected. It'd be stupid of me to try to compete with that. I understand that I'm the 'weakest link' in the party, but that'll change. I just need experience 'in the field'. Maybe once we get there, I can take Zeraine up on his earlier offer for a little sparring. ...Well, that or get Amarantha to teach me some hand-to-hand stuff. Heh, I guess I'll end up as the 'jack of all trades', but I will need to master a few. I wonder what that new spell was that our suspected Demon Realm nobility learned..."
The succubus was also deep in thought. "Damn it... Sometimes I hate being a succubus. Being easily aroused and this horny is hell at times. It wouldn't be so bad if we could stop so my knight and I could spend some 'quality time' together, but that'd slow us down and we wouldn't make it there on time. Had he and I been able to do it last night, I'd be okay right now, but I had to recover... Anyway, he's good at learning. I know it's a bit upsetting, but I'm still not going to teach him any other magic until he masters the Signs. It's for his own good. Once he's mastered them, he'll have the knowledge and experience with manipulating energy that he'll need in order to move on and learn and master the other stuff. He just needs to practice when he gets the opportunity."
They eventually arrived, exchanging greetings with the gate guards and heading for the town square. Once there, they saw a squad of guards standing at attention, with a captain giving them some sort of speech. As they approached, they saw lots of citizens standing around, watching, and they heard the captain mention something about ogres. The party looked at each other, then nodded, silently agreeing to see what was going on. The hero walked up to the captain. "What's going on, captain?"
The captain turned, saying, "Stand ba-" Once he saw The Order's insignia on the hero's armor, he said, "Greetings, knight. I'm about to lead my men on a raid. We're going to go get rid of some ogres that have been causing problems."
"What kind of problems?"
"Destroying docks at night, throwing boulders into the city, kidnapping travelers and citizens alike, occasionally returning them in a near-dead state with lots of bruises and broken bones. You know, the usual."
"I see. Mind if we tag along?" he asked, gesturing to the rest of the party.
The captain relaxed slightly. "Considering that they're ogres, we'll need all the help we can get. An Order knight and his friends should ensure our success. Welcome aboard."
The other guards showed a boost in morale upon acceptance of the help. The captain led his men and the party out of the city and into the woods. Fortunately for them, the ogres were so loud that they couldn't hear the guards over their own noise. Hiding in the bushes and behind the trees, the party saw the ogres laughing, dancing, wrestling, and beating up on a bound human. There were four, and one of them went into the nearby cave. The succubus said, "Damn they're ugly..." She thought, "Even the females are hideous. They're also at least eight feet tall. I'll need to fix those issues once the throne is mine..."
The hero asked, "How many are there supposed to be?"
The captain replied, "According to those who managed to live through it, eight. They couldn't tell the difference in gender, not that it matters."
Zeraine said, "Well, that one over there, the one that was hitting the guy that's tied up, I'd guess it's a female."
Amarantha asked, "What makes you say that?"
"It's wearing something to cover its top half."
The hero said, "When do we attack?"
The captain looked through his spyglass, then said, "The captive is dead. We can take our time. Damn it..."
The hero gritted his teeth, then focused. "How about this... Zeraine, you and I will charge in and get their attention. Amarantha will help keep the guards safe from any thrown rocks with her speed and strength." He turned to the succubus. "You will keep everyone healed and use a few attack spells." He pointed at the ogre that was by the campfire. "That one is mine. The one that was beating the captive human goes to the guards."
Zeraine said, "I guess the one that's pissing in the bushes is mine, then? Alright. When the other five come out of that cave, we can hit 'em hard, hopefully having disposed of our initial targets." He took his spear out of his Bag of Holding. "Whenever you're ready, kid."
The hero strapped his shield to his arm and drew his sword. He formulated the plan in his mind of how he was going to attack. He intended to try to knock down the ogre with Aard, then light it on fire with Igni, then hack, slash, and stab it to death while it tried to get up or put out the flames, if it could think to do so. Failing that, he planned to bait it into swinging its large warhammer into the ground, sidestep it, then slash its throat. If neither of those plans were doable, he decided to fall back on baiting it into an Yrden, then knock it into either a Shock Trap or an Ice Trap. After that, he'd finish it off. "Alright. Now!"
He led the charge out of the bushes, heading for his target. Zeraine ran past him, spear in hand, heading for his target. The squad of guards, about 15 in all, led by their captain, charged at the third one. Before the ogres could react, Zeraine had already impaled his target through its head, killing it. The one that had been beating the captive human picked up a large rock, about the size of an average man's torso, and hurled it at the squad of guards. Doing her designated task, Amarantha jumped in between the panicking guards and the rock, shattering it with a kick. "Get moving!" she yelled, causing them to recover their formation and resume charging.
The succubus followed behind the squad, keeping an eye on everything. She watched as the hero squared off with the ogre by the campfire. His initial plan had failed. His Aard didn't knock the ogre down and he was forced to run a few steps away to dodge the retaliatory sweep from its hammer. He feinted a swing, then tried an Igni in its projectile form, which hit, but didn't ignite the ogre. While the ogre was recovering from the fireball, the hero set an Yrden, then backed off, taunting the ogre. The ogre yelled with fury and charged right into the Yrden, setting it off and becoming immobilized. "Let's cut you down to size!" the hero shouted, dashing around behind the ogre and cutting the tendons of its legs before Yrden wore off.
The ogre fell down, unable to stand, let alone walk anymore. It tried to swing its hammer to hit the hero, but he easily dodged it. He then tried a few different times, seeing the perfect opportunity, to use Igni in its "flamethrower" form, and, after hitting the ogre with a few fire-waves, he succeeded. He burned the ogre to death with the stream of fire.
A small pebble bounced off the succubus's head, returning her attention to the third ogre, seeing that Amarantha had shattered another thrown rock. The guard captain yelled, "Hold the line! Keep a steady advance!" When they got close enough, he yelled, "Surround it!" and charged with four men, surrounding the ogre. The five of them took turns opportunistically hitting the ogre in the back while it was focused on one of the others. They suffered one loss when the ogre hit one man that backed away too slowly. His skull was shattered from the ogre's wild backhand, but he was quickly avenged. Once it lay dead, the captain asked the succubus, "You're a mage, right? Can you heal him?" pointing at the dead guard.
She shook her head. "He's dead. I can't revive him."
Everyone turned their attention to the cave when an ogre stepped out, then yelled back into the cave, "Humans! Kill!"
The other four ogres stepped out of the cave, all five of them raising hammers and axes. Zeraine rejoined the main group. He said, "There's five of them to deal with now, and we've got to protect these guys. Any ideas?"
Amarantha said, "Yeah, have these guys stay back and let us handle it."
The succubus said, "You, me, and Amarantha could focus on them one at a time with our magic, probably killing two of them before they get to us."
The hero asked, "What about me?"
The ogres charged, yelling incoherently. The succubus shouted, "Forget that, hit them now!"
Zeraine, Amarantha, and the succubus all built up energy into their hands, then yelled, "Dyo!" casting the spell, hitting one ogre with all three of their fire-beams. The ogre quickly burned to death under this assault, and the three of them then aimed their spells at the next one. It, too died, but, as expected, they had to break off their spells to deal with the three remaining ogres that were now within melee range. Zeraine smacked one in the side with the shaft of his spear, getting its attention and leading it away from the group. The guards tried to retreat, but one ogre chased them. Amarantha got its attention by throwing a boulder at it. She led it away from the group, allowing the hero and the succubus to focus on the last one.
Zeraine carefully danced circles around his ogre, poking, slashing, and thrusting at it with his spear. His spear gave him enough reach to keep the ogre back far enough so that he was out of its reach, yet able to attack it. The ogre kept trying to advance, but stopped short or backed away when the spear lashed out at it. Using this careful method of combat, Zeraine was able to give the ogre many small cuts that seemed like nothing, but the blood loss accumulated, causing it to faint. He finished it off by impaling its downed form through the back.
Amarantha's ogre swung its axe at her, but she easily dodged it, kicking the underside of the ogre's wrist, causing the axe to fly off into the woods and embed itself in a tree. Now unarmed and angry, the ogre charged her. She matched its charge, meeting it directly, ending with the two of them clasping each other's hands, trying to shove each other down. The ogre had the height advantage, but Amarantha was stronger. She started to overpower the ogre, much to the amazement of the guards, who had already been staring at her in disbelief after she had lifted and thrown the boulder earlier. She squeezed the ogre's hands, breaking the bones in them, then let go of its left hand, grabbed it right hand with both hands, spun around, and used her shoulder as a fulcrum to hyperextend the ogre's elbow, breaking it. She then pulled down on its arm, throwing it over her shoulder and into the ground at her feet. She followed up by forcibly turning the ogre face-down, planting her foot on its back, and dislocating its shoulder. Afterwards, she crushed its skull with a stomp.
The hero used his newly-learned flamethrower version of Igni to successfully light the ogre on fire. As it patted itself, trying to put out the flames, he pulled out a Scroll of Shock Trap and used it, setting the trap beneath the ogre's feet. It went off, electrocuting the ogre, causing it to shake, sputter, and gibber. The succubus then began her spell. "Sourkiss Lar Syshu Mega Megade... Sodom!"
A blade of air sliced off one of the ogre's legs, causing it to fall over and howl in pain. As it lay bleeding, the hero ran up and stabbed it through the chest, finishing it. He looked around and said, "That's the last of them."
The succubus walked up to him. "We make a good team," she said, giving him a pat on the back, "don't we?"
He said, "Yeah, we do."
Zeraine and Amarantha returned to the group. He said, "Great job, you two. And the way you handled that first ogre by yourself? Excellent work, kid."
The hero said, "Yeah, my first plan didn't work, and I decided to abandon my second, then modified my third. At least I mastered the Igni Sign, right?"
The succubus said, "Yes, you did. Be more proud of it, okay? You still have four more to go, though."
Zeraine raised an eyebrow. "You had three plans?"
Amarantha sighed. She spoke just loud enough for the party to hear her, saying, "I guess those guys are terrified of me, now?"
They all looked at the guards, who were obviously staring at Amarantha. Zeraine said, "Yeah, they're staring at you. Just so they don't get any ideas, how about you give me a good kiss?"
She grinned, nearly laughing, knowing what Zeraine meant, and gave him a deep kiss. Some of the guards looked disappointed, while others looked slightly horrified. Their thoughts were obvious on their faces. The ones that looked disappointed were definitely thinking that they now have no chance with her because she's taken. The others were obviously thinking something like, "What the hell is she!?" or "How can he be with her!?" Seeing the looks on the guards' faces, the two turned away and tried their best not to laugh.
The succubus then used a bit of water magic to clean the blood off of everyone. Noticing that the guards were now giving her a good once-over, she smiled haughtily and kissed the hero. The hero didn't say anything, but he knew what was happening. He felt a pang of jealousy, followed by a feeling of superiority over knowing that the guards were giving lewd stares to his future wife, and knowing that, due to her loyalty, he was the only man that would ever have her. He caught himself thinking this, then thought, "Should I be feeling this way? Sure, they were staring at her, but she's loyal to me, and only me. I don't have to worry about her cheating on me. And feeling like I'm better than them because I'm her man... I shouldn't be that arrogant, right?" Shaking the thoughts from his head, he approached the captain. "I'm sorry for your loss."
The captain replied, "Thanks. He was a good man. Had a bit of a drinking problem, but he was still good. We'll take him and the dead captive back to bury them later. You helped us, so we'll pay you back. We'll discuss it when we return to town."
The hero and party waited for the guards to collect the two bodies, then went back to town with them.
Chapter 61
Spoiler: show
Once back in town, the guards carted off the bodies of their fallen man and the victim. The captain turned to face the party. "Many thanks, friends. It was obvious that we couldn't have done it without you."
The succubus raised an eyebrow and said, "Then what made you go after them? You couldn't have known that we'd show up."
"The idea was to try to save any captives and retreat back to town, killing any ogres we could in the process. Afterward, we planned on barring the gates and killing any retaliating ogres with repeated volleys of arrows and bolts."
The hero crossed his arms and shook his head. "I don't mean to offend you, captain, but that plan sounds like it was pretty weak. Attacking during the daytime, trying to rescue hostages? I understand you wanted to save them before they died, but you guys are ordinary humans, and you were planning on going up against ogres. Your squad, without any archers or crossbowmen, was only able to handle one ogre, with one loss. Without our help, you'd have thrown away the lives of you and your men. If anything, you should have sent your best guys in stealthily at night, killed the ogres silently in their sleep, then saved any surviving captives."
The captain looked down. "I know, but we had to put on a good face for the public. We had to show that we would risk our lives to save the citizens, since that's pretty much what our job entails. They wouldn't have understood had we gone the 'safe' route."
The party all frowned. They all understood what the captain said, but none of them liked it. The succubus asked, "Is there anything else similar that you might need help with?"
The captain shrugged. "Not anything official. If you're looking to find paying work, check the notice board by the inn. There might be something for you there. Speaking of which, we should pay you for your time and effort. Come with me."
He led them to a building in about the center of town. It seemed to be used as both a courthouse and the city guard office. Once inside, the captain led them to an office where he recounted the events to the accountant. The accountant, having received justification and authorization to do so, paid the party with a small sack of gold coins. The captain then led them back out. Once outside again, the captain asked, "I'm assuming you intend to stay the night?"
The hero nodded. "If we left now, we'd end up on the road at night, and we'd have to stop to make camp. Staying here is a much better course of action."
"I see. Well, not to sound mean or harsh or anything, but I'm not particularly interested in why an Order knight and his obviously non-Order companions are out traveling around, so you need not explain yourselves. I'll get back to my post. You four can go ahead and do whatever you need to do, as long as you obey the laws just like everyone else."
He left, leaving the party to decide what to do next. Zeraine said, "Well, it's nearly evening, and we have some free time until dinner, so let's take a look around."
The succubus nodded. "Let's check the notice board. It's always good to have a little extra money, and we can get our rooms at the inn while we're there."
They went to the inn and looked at the notice board outside. There was nothing that would be worth doing. All they found were a couple of announcements that didn't interest them, and a contract to find a lost dog that offered a measly sum. Giving up on that idea, they went inside and checked in. Having no reason to do otherwise, they rented two rooms, one for the hero and the succubus, and the other for Zeraine and Amarantha, as usual. Not wanting to hang around the inn all evening, they left. The hero asked, "About your earlier offers for teaching me things..."
Zeraine and Amarantha both looked at him, simultaneously replying, "Yes?"
"Well, I was wondering if one of you would be willing to teach me some stuff until dinner time."
Amarantha said, "I'll teach you some hand-to-hand stuff. You haven't been disarmed so far, but if you were, you'd have the combat ability of a bar-room brawler, right?"
He shrugged, honestly not knowing.
"Come on, let's find a spot." Amarantha led the party outside the city to a nearby clearing. Zeraine and the succubus sat down nearby to watch. He wanted to see how well the hero would learn from her, and the succubus wanted to make sure Amarantha didn't hurt him. "Okay, first of all, draw your sword."
The hero stood there with a blank stare. "What? But I thought-"
"Do as I said."
He strapped his shield to his arm and drew his sword, just as she instructed. "Okay, now what? Why did you have me draw my sword?"
She stretched a bit, then assumed her stance. "First, I'll teach you how to respond to being disarmed, then I'll teach you how to fight afterward. Now, let's assume that you're fighting a strong opponent. You're about to attack, or you're in the middle of an attack and they counter. Regardless, they disarm you." She dashed forward, swatting the sword from his hand before he could react. "What's the first thing you do?"
The hero took a second or two to recover from her action, then saw that he was indeed missing his sword. "I-"
She quickly thrust her arm forward with a spearhand, stopping an inch short of his chest. "Taking that long to respond, you die. Depending on the situation, you might want to raise your shield and retreat until you can use a Sign or recover your sword. Later on, after she teaches you some kind of telekinesis spell, you'll be able to use that to recover your sword, or help to. If the enemy is aggressively after you, you should look at using your free hand and your shield to defend yourself until you can defeat them or get your sword back. If you find that your shield is slowing you down too much in such a situation, take it off."
The hero nodded, taking in all the information. "I guess going on the defensive, evading attacks and using my free hand and shield until I get my sword back is what I should focus on until I get better, right?"
"Yes, now pick your sword up." She walked back to her original spot, allowing him to retrieve his sword and return to his spot. "Now, again." She repeated the move, dashing up to him with lightning speed, swatting the weapon out of his hand. This time, he was already in motion, raising his shield and trying to step diagonally back and to the left, keeping his shield between them. "Good." She did a high side kick, her foot connecting with the center of his shield, knocking him down from the force of the strike. "Just remember that it won't always work. Get up and get your sword."
The hero stood up and recovered his sword, then the process repeated again and again. Amarantha slowly trained him in how to react when his weapon is knocked from his hand. She taught him a few things he could do to try to defend himself, which involved using his free hand to punch, chop, or palm-strike while using his shield to defend. Once it was time for a break, he asked, "So I'm guessing that the 'discard shield, fight hand-to-hand' stuff comes later?"
"Yes. Trying to give you a crash course in it would only fail. Your style is based on using a sword and a shield, with the recent addition of Signs. The best thing to do is start by training you to defend yourself sufficiently upon the loss of your sword, allowing you to use your empty hand, your shield, and your Signs to get your sword back. After this break, I'll teach you how to use a few different kicks and knee attacks during certain situations."
After the break, they resumed training. As promised, she taught him different kicks, different opportunities in which to use them, how and when to knee the opponent, and how to create opportunities for the kicks and knees, which would then lead to opportunities to disable or kill the enemy. After the training, the party returned to the city, ate dinner at a good restaurant, and retired to the inn. Once in their rooms, the succubus grabbed the hero by the shoulder and dropped her disguise. He turned to face her and was about to ask what she needed, but had his unasked question answered when he saw the desperate, horny look on the succubus's face. She smiled and said, "You know what happens now, right?"
He nodded, thanking his good fortune that he had his enchanted armor, which had allowed him to stay energized throughout his training session with Amarantha, for he was about to need his energy.
The succubus raised an eyebrow and said, "Then what made you go after them? You couldn't have known that we'd show up."
"The idea was to try to save any captives and retreat back to town, killing any ogres we could in the process. Afterward, we planned on barring the gates and killing any retaliating ogres with repeated volleys of arrows and bolts."
The hero crossed his arms and shook his head. "I don't mean to offend you, captain, but that plan sounds like it was pretty weak. Attacking during the daytime, trying to rescue hostages? I understand you wanted to save them before they died, but you guys are ordinary humans, and you were planning on going up against ogres. Your squad, without any archers or crossbowmen, was only able to handle one ogre, with one loss. Without our help, you'd have thrown away the lives of you and your men. If anything, you should have sent your best guys in stealthily at night, killed the ogres silently in their sleep, then saved any surviving captives."
The captain looked down. "I know, but we had to put on a good face for the public. We had to show that we would risk our lives to save the citizens, since that's pretty much what our job entails. They wouldn't have understood had we gone the 'safe' route."
The party all frowned. They all understood what the captain said, but none of them liked it. The succubus asked, "Is there anything else similar that you might need help with?"
The captain shrugged. "Not anything official. If you're looking to find paying work, check the notice board by the inn. There might be something for you there. Speaking of which, we should pay you for your time and effort. Come with me."
He led them to a building in about the center of town. It seemed to be used as both a courthouse and the city guard office. Once inside, the captain led them to an office where he recounted the events to the accountant. The accountant, having received justification and authorization to do so, paid the party with a small sack of gold coins. The captain then led them back out. Once outside again, the captain asked, "I'm assuming you intend to stay the night?"
The hero nodded. "If we left now, we'd end up on the road at night, and we'd have to stop to make camp. Staying here is a much better course of action."
"I see. Well, not to sound mean or harsh or anything, but I'm not particularly interested in why an Order knight and his obviously non-Order companions are out traveling around, so you need not explain yourselves. I'll get back to my post. You four can go ahead and do whatever you need to do, as long as you obey the laws just like everyone else."
He left, leaving the party to decide what to do next. Zeraine said, "Well, it's nearly evening, and we have some free time until dinner, so let's take a look around."
The succubus nodded. "Let's check the notice board. It's always good to have a little extra money, and we can get our rooms at the inn while we're there."
They went to the inn and looked at the notice board outside. There was nothing that would be worth doing. All they found were a couple of announcements that didn't interest them, and a contract to find a lost dog that offered a measly sum. Giving up on that idea, they went inside and checked in. Having no reason to do otherwise, they rented two rooms, one for the hero and the succubus, and the other for Zeraine and Amarantha, as usual. Not wanting to hang around the inn all evening, they left. The hero asked, "About your earlier offers for teaching me things..."
Zeraine and Amarantha both looked at him, simultaneously replying, "Yes?"
"Well, I was wondering if one of you would be willing to teach me some stuff until dinner time."
Amarantha said, "I'll teach you some hand-to-hand stuff. You haven't been disarmed so far, but if you were, you'd have the combat ability of a bar-room brawler, right?"
He shrugged, honestly not knowing.
"Come on, let's find a spot." Amarantha led the party outside the city to a nearby clearing. Zeraine and the succubus sat down nearby to watch. He wanted to see how well the hero would learn from her, and the succubus wanted to make sure Amarantha didn't hurt him. "Okay, first of all, draw your sword."
The hero stood there with a blank stare. "What? But I thought-"
"Do as I said."
He strapped his shield to his arm and drew his sword, just as she instructed. "Okay, now what? Why did you have me draw my sword?"
She stretched a bit, then assumed her stance. "First, I'll teach you how to respond to being disarmed, then I'll teach you how to fight afterward. Now, let's assume that you're fighting a strong opponent. You're about to attack, or you're in the middle of an attack and they counter. Regardless, they disarm you." She dashed forward, swatting the sword from his hand before he could react. "What's the first thing you do?"
The hero took a second or two to recover from her action, then saw that he was indeed missing his sword. "I-"
She quickly thrust her arm forward with a spearhand, stopping an inch short of his chest. "Taking that long to respond, you die. Depending on the situation, you might want to raise your shield and retreat until you can use a Sign or recover your sword. Later on, after she teaches you some kind of telekinesis spell, you'll be able to use that to recover your sword, or help to. If the enemy is aggressively after you, you should look at using your free hand and your shield to defend yourself until you can defeat them or get your sword back. If you find that your shield is slowing you down too much in such a situation, take it off."
The hero nodded, taking in all the information. "I guess going on the defensive, evading attacks and using my free hand and shield until I get my sword back is what I should focus on until I get better, right?"
"Yes, now pick your sword up." She walked back to her original spot, allowing him to retrieve his sword and return to his spot. "Now, again." She repeated the move, dashing up to him with lightning speed, swatting the weapon out of his hand. This time, he was already in motion, raising his shield and trying to step diagonally back and to the left, keeping his shield between them. "Good." She did a high side kick, her foot connecting with the center of his shield, knocking him down from the force of the strike. "Just remember that it won't always work. Get up and get your sword."
The hero stood up and recovered his sword, then the process repeated again and again. Amarantha slowly trained him in how to react when his weapon is knocked from his hand. She taught him a few things he could do to try to defend himself, which involved using his free hand to punch, chop, or palm-strike while using his shield to defend. Once it was time for a break, he asked, "So I'm guessing that the 'discard shield, fight hand-to-hand' stuff comes later?"
"Yes. Trying to give you a crash course in it would only fail. Your style is based on using a sword and a shield, with the recent addition of Signs. The best thing to do is start by training you to defend yourself sufficiently upon the loss of your sword, allowing you to use your empty hand, your shield, and your Signs to get your sword back. After this break, I'll teach you how to use a few different kicks and knee attacks during certain situations."
After the break, they resumed training. As promised, she taught him different kicks, different opportunities in which to use them, how and when to knee the opponent, and how to create opportunities for the kicks and knees, which would then lead to opportunities to disable or kill the enemy. After the training, the party returned to the city, ate dinner at a good restaurant, and retired to the inn. Once in their rooms, the succubus grabbed the hero by the shoulder and dropped her disguise. He turned to face her and was about to ask what she needed, but had his unasked question answered when he saw the desperate, horny look on the succubus's face. She smiled and said, "You know what happens now, right?"
He nodded, thanking his good fortune that he had his enchanted armor, which had allowed him to stay energized throughout his training session with Amarantha, for he was about to need his energy.
Chapter 62
Spoiler: show
Meanwhile, in Zeraine's and Amarantha's room, the two of them were getting ready for bed. After stripping down to her panties and bra, she asked, "Shouldn't we get back to trying to finish turning you into an incubus? You and the kid both need to become incubi if we're going to succeed in this quest of ours..."
Zeraine grinned and set his armor in a neatly organized pile in the corner. "True, but aren't you just asking for sex?"
She frowned and gave him a light punch to his upper arm, which still hurt because of her incredible strength. "It's both, damn it!"
He rubbed his arm, unable to stop smiling. "Sorry. I couldn't help it. Ow..."
She suddenly took on a very scary look, smiling in an evil yet horny manner. "If you want to make it up to me, get those clothes off and get on the bed. Now."
"Y-yes ma'am." He quickly did as he was told, partially because he knew of Amarantha's temper and didn't want to provoke her, but mostly because he wanted her, too. "Cowgirl position again?"
Amarantha had already taken off her panties and bra and thrown them onto Zeraine's armor in the corner. "Of course. Unless I have the lead, I won't be able to concentrate to do what I need to because of your..." She felt a little drool drip from her mouth onto her breast. Once she realized what it was, she thought, "I'm drooling at the thought of Zeraine having his way with me? Sure, I like it better than what we're about to do, but... Oh, well. At least like this, I can have a little fun by dominating him."
"What's with that smile, Ammie?"
Due to Zeraine's question, she snapped to, realizing that she had a big smile of a very perverted nature on her face. "Don't worry about it." She walked over to him slowly, making sure to walk in a sexy way that caused her breasts to bounce while she shook her hips slightly. She saw how this made him throb, and grinned. Once she had crawled onto the bed, she straddled him and stood on her knees, making sure that her vagina didn't touch his penis. Instead, she made sure that she hovered less than an inch above his rock-hard manhood, allowing him to feel the heat from her through it. Before coming down on him, she said, "All I want you to worry about is making sure that you cum when I do, okay? Are you ready?"
He looked at her, then her crotch. "Aren't you a bit dry to be doing this now?"
She giggled. "Watch this..." She spread her lower lips open, allowing her vaginal juices to drip out all over his shaft. She then started stroking him, spreading her juice all over it. Once she was satisfied with how she had lubed him up with her nectar, she lined him up with one hand, spread herself open with the other, and took him into herself, all the way to the base. "How'd you like that?"
He nodded. "Very nice, Ammie. How did you know, anyway?"
"Know what? That I had plenty of pussy juice inside to do it? I couldn't help but think about the last time we did it, and the thought of you on top, thrusting away, pounding my cervix so gently like you do, got me horny. I felt it about to seep out, so I took advantage of it and did what I did. What, were you going to offer to eat me out to get me wet otherwise?"
He ginned sheepishly. "Yeah, actually. You taste good down there, so..."
She gave him a teasing smile. "Did you want to lick me down there?"
"Uh... A little... Hey, are you going to pull that dominating stuff again?"
She giggled. "I already am, Zeraine." To emphasize this, she squeezed his manhood with her inner walls, causing him to shudder in pleasure. "I'll admit that I prefer it when you're on top and in the lead, but after trying out a little domination, I can't help it. I want to dominate you occasionally. It's fun."
He frowned. "The only reasons I don't object are because, first of all, it's you, second, you're gentle about it, and third, it feels good."
She pouted. "It's not fun for you? I'm sorry. Will you still let me do it from time to time?"
He sighed. "If you like it that much, sure. You'll still have to stay 'nice' and gentle about it, though. I don't want any pain."
She laid down on him and gave him a sweet kiss. "I'll do my best. Try to hold it, but if it starts hurting, just let go and cum, okay?"
He scoffed. "I can last. Haven't I proven that already?"
She squeezed him with her vaginal muscles again, once again causing him to shudder. "Yes you have, dear." She kissed him one more time, the raised up back into cowgirl position. She then started making a circular motion, grinding her hips as she slowly bounced in his lap. He reached up to grab her breasts, but she quickly grabbed him by the wrists and pinned his arms down. "No you don't. You have to be a good boy, Zeraine. And no thrusting from underneath, either."
He looked displeased. "So I can't do anything this time?"
She shook her head. "Not if you want me to concentrate. I guess I'd better get started on that, too, otherwise I'll end up just enjoying this and we won't get anywhere." She slowed her bouncing and closed her eyes, gathering the demonic energy from her surroundings and combining it with her own, then began infusing Zeraine with it. Once she had a good flow of demonic energy going into him, she sped back up a little. "Try to endure it. No matter how bad we want to cum, no matter how bad I want you to cum inside me, we need to keep this going as long as possible. Like I said earlier, though, if it starts hurting, let it out."
For at least an hour, she fed demonic energy into Zeraine while riding him, not allowing him to move. Finally, the urge to get relief was too much for both of them. Zeraine looked her in the eye. "Ammie?"
She nodded. "This is enough for now. Start moving! Make me cum!"
He braced himself and began thrusting from below. Soon after, he felt her spasming, squeezing, and contracting inside, knowing that she was having her orgasm. She wasn't crying out, though, and was instead gritting her teeth, trying to stay quiet. He decided to get back at her a little by thrusting harder. It worked, causing her to throw her head back and arch her back, letting out a very erotic moan as her insides squeezed him even harder, causing him to ejaculate and fill her up inside. She collapsed on top of him, panting, her eyes half-closed. She mumbled, "That wasn't fair."
He held her, rubbing the back of her head. "It felt good, though, didn't it?"
She fell asleep with her head on his shoulder, exhausted from channeling the demonic energy into him, as well as trying and failing to keep her orgasm quiet. He fell asleep shortly after, his arms around her tightly.
...
The walls in this inn were thick and well-insulated, so despite being next door to each other, neither group heard the other. While Zeraine and Amarantha were having their fun, the hero and the succubus were, too. Seeing his consent, she helped him strip out of his armor and clothes in record time, then dragged him over to the bed, forced him down on it, and hastily threw her clothes off, tossing them onto the nearby desk. She quickly mounted him, pressing her already very wet vagina against his hardening penis. Her breathing was ragged and her eyes were a little unfocused. She was so horny that her skin was somewhat hot to the touch, and she was sweating. She moved her hips, grinding in a circle in his lap, making sure to smear her juice all over his crotch.
A bit worried, he asked, "Are you really alright?"
She nodded. "As soon as I'm satisfied, I'll be fine. Until then, stay hard and hold it as good as you can." She slipped him inside her pussy, which began sucking on his dick as soon as it entered. She moaned loudly and panted, dripping drool all over the hero's chest.
He was a little unnerved by her appearance. "Are you sure? I mean, you seem a bit-"
She interrupted him by kissing him, letting her saliva seep out of her mouth and into his, as well as all over his chin, then she forcefully stuck her tongue in his mouth, hungrily licking around while sucking his tongue into her mouth, desperately entwining it with hers. Once she'd had enough of kissing him, she pulled a little bit away and sucked on his tongue directly. When she finally let go, she said, "Just focus on keeping up. Try to match my timing and thrust from underneath, okay?"
He looked at her closely while nodding. "You're suffering pretty bad..."
She started bouncing, rhythmically squeezing his dick with her pussy, crying out in pleasure as she did. "If we have sex at least once a day, it won't get this bad! Now that you've deflowered me, and now that I've recovered from it, we can do it any time!"
He tried to do as she instructed and began thrusting from below. "How do you know that?"
She grabbed him by the shoulders and kissed him as if to devour him. "I just feel that if we have sex once a day at the VERY LEAST, I'll be fine. As my future husband, you should have no objections to it, either. Now thrust harder!" She herself began bouncing harder, trying desperately to maximize the pleasure. He did as she asked and moved more forcefully, thrusting harder. After about 10 minutes of being inside her, he came. She kept going, though. "You came! You came inside!" She kept going, but laid down on top of him, clinging desperately to him. "Do it again, please!" Obviously, even though she was making sure to feed from him, it wasn't enough.
He was starting to get a bit scared from seeing her like this, but he held her and kept thrusting. He thought, "I just came once, and I'm still really sensitive, but I can't afford to stop. At least she's channeling her demonic energy into me so I can keep going... She's really hurting for it... I feel sorry for her, having to deal with this amount of lust. It must have been hell for her before she met me... Anyway, what did she teach me about last time? ...Ah, right, she said if I rub her clitoris, it'll feel really good for her."
He reached down with one hand and began rubbing her clit through its hood. This caused her to moan louder than she had so far. She was messily dripping her drool all over his face, but he didn't mind. She was obviously suffering, and relieving her was more important than anything else right now. He peeled back the hood of her clit and rubbed it directly, which made her violently shudder and her vagina wildly contract. She cried out in orgasm, then looked him in the eye. "Good job, but it's not enough. Do it again. Be a bit rougher with my clit while you thrust."
She started moving again, as did he. She repeatedly said, "I love you!" as he rubbed her clit while thrusting. Eventually she stopped, shutting herself up by kissing him passionately. She had already calmed down some from cumming earlier, but she needed more, and he was hard at work, making sure she got it. About 12 minutes after his first shot, he came again. He kept rubbing her clit even after stopping his thrusting, which allowed her to cum from the combination of his second shot filling her and his assault on her clitoris. She started to fall onto him, but he caught her and gently laid her on top of him. She panted for at least a minute before saying, "Damn it."
He looked at her questioningly. "What is it?"
"We almost came together that last time. Both partners cumming together is supposed to be the absolute best and we almost did it. Anyway, thank you. I feel a lot better now."
He smiled. "You're welcome. ...So anyway, we have to have sex once a day to keep you from falling into this condition?"
"Mhm. Is there a problem with that?"
"No. It's just that you were in pretty bad shape. I'd rather not see you suffer like that again, and it seems that frequent sex is the only solution."
"So? Having sex on a regular basis with your future wife shouldn't trouble you at all. Weren't you overcoming your prudishness?"
"Actually, it was more me slipping into apathy, but it doesn't trouble me. What does trouble me was how badly you needed it. It must be hard for succubi, huh?"
She rubbed her face against his chest and said, "At times, it is. By the way, congratulations. You managed to make me cum twice this time."
"Didn't I also do that our first and second times?"
"The first time took you three shots, and you didn't really do anything. The second time was pretty similar, but what I taught you to do made me cum quicker. This time, however, when I came, it was directly due to your actions. It's the first time you've made me cum."
"The other times were just you cumming from what you were doing?"
"Yes. Also, it looks like you proved that old saying, 'the third time's the charm', correct. Anyway, if we do it again tomorrow, maybe we can do it like we're 'supposed to' and go slow and stuff." She reluctantly let his dick out of her pussy, then shook a little as his semen poured out. "If you were an incubus, this time would have impregnated me for sure. You came a lot."
He looked away then paused. He looked back to her and asked, "Wait, 'if I were an incubus I'd have impregnated you for sure'? I thought you didn't know..."
She put her finger over his lips. "Remember back at the library? You weren't really paying attention to what I was doing, but I found a book that said that succubi can't get pregnant from sex unless it's with an incubus. Until I've transformed you, you won't knock me up no matter how much semen you fill me with. That actually disappoints me..."
"Why?"
She raised an eyebrow. "Because I want to have your kids, idiot!"
He blushed, angry at himself for not seeing the obvious. "Right... Well, don't get depressed. It'll happen eventually, right?" He smiled at her reassuringly.
She smiled back and kissed him tenderly. "Yep. And remember, one time may be all it takes, but there's no guarantee, so when the time comes, you'll have to make love to me several times a day, okay?"
He rolled his eyes. A few minutes later, they both fell asleep.
Zeraine grinned and set his armor in a neatly organized pile in the corner. "True, but aren't you just asking for sex?"
She frowned and gave him a light punch to his upper arm, which still hurt because of her incredible strength. "It's both, damn it!"
He rubbed his arm, unable to stop smiling. "Sorry. I couldn't help it. Ow..."
She suddenly took on a very scary look, smiling in an evil yet horny manner. "If you want to make it up to me, get those clothes off and get on the bed. Now."
"Y-yes ma'am." He quickly did as he was told, partially because he knew of Amarantha's temper and didn't want to provoke her, but mostly because he wanted her, too. "Cowgirl position again?"
Amarantha had already taken off her panties and bra and thrown them onto Zeraine's armor in the corner. "Of course. Unless I have the lead, I won't be able to concentrate to do what I need to because of your..." She felt a little drool drip from her mouth onto her breast. Once she realized what it was, she thought, "I'm drooling at the thought of Zeraine having his way with me? Sure, I like it better than what we're about to do, but... Oh, well. At least like this, I can have a little fun by dominating him."
"What's with that smile, Ammie?"
Due to Zeraine's question, she snapped to, realizing that she had a big smile of a very perverted nature on her face. "Don't worry about it." She walked over to him slowly, making sure to walk in a sexy way that caused her breasts to bounce while she shook her hips slightly. She saw how this made him throb, and grinned. Once she had crawled onto the bed, she straddled him and stood on her knees, making sure that her vagina didn't touch his penis. Instead, she made sure that she hovered less than an inch above his rock-hard manhood, allowing him to feel the heat from her through it. Before coming down on him, she said, "All I want you to worry about is making sure that you cum when I do, okay? Are you ready?"
He looked at her, then her crotch. "Aren't you a bit dry to be doing this now?"
She giggled. "Watch this..." She spread her lower lips open, allowing her vaginal juices to drip out all over his shaft. She then started stroking him, spreading her juice all over it. Once she was satisfied with how she had lubed him up with her nectar, she lined him up with one hand, spread herself open with the other, and took him into herself, all the way to the base. "How'd you like that?"
He nodded. "Very nice, Ammie. How did you know, anyway?"
"Know what? That I had plenty of pussy juice inside to do it? I couldn't help but think about the last time we did it, and the thought of you on top, thrusting away, pounding my cervix so gently like you do, got me horny. I felt it about to seep out, so I took advantage of it and did what I did. What, were you going to offer to eat me out to get me wet otherwise?"
He ginned sheepishly. "Yeah, actually. You taste good down there, so..."
She gave him a teasing smile. "Did you want to lick me down there?"
"Uh... A little... Hey, are you going to pull that dominating stuff again?"
She giggled. "I already am, Zeraine." To emphasize this, she squeezed his manhood with her inner walls, causing him to shudder in pleasure. "I'll admit that I prefer it when you're on top and in the lead, but after trying out a little domination, I can't help it. I want to dominate you occasionally. It's fun."
He frowned. "The only reasons I don't object are because, first of all, it's you, second, you're gentle about it, and third, it feels good."
She pouted. "It's not fun for you? I'm sorry. Will you still let me do it from time to time?"
He sighed. "If you like it that much, sure. You'll still have to stay 'nice' and gentle about it, though. I don't want any pain."
She laid down on him and gave him a sweet kiss. "I'll do my best. Try to hold it, but if it starts hurting, just let go and cum, okay?"
He scoffed. "I can last. Haven't I proven that already?"
She squeezed him with her vaginal muscles again, once again causing him to shudder. "Yes you have, dear." She kissed him one more time, the raised up back into cowgirl position. She then started making a circular motion, grinding her hips as she slowly bounced in his lap. He reached up to grab her breasts, but she quickly grabbed him by the wrists and pinned his arms down. "No you don't. You have to be a good boy, Zeraine. And no thrusting from underneath, either."
He looked displeased. "So I can't do anything this time?"
She shook her head. "Not if you want me to concentrate. I guess I'd better get started on that, too, otherwise I'll end up just enjoying this and we won't get anywhere." She slowed her bouncing and closed her eyes, gathering the demonic energy from her surroundings and combining it with her own, then began infusing Zeraine with it. Once she had a good flow of demonic energy going into him, she sped back up a little. "Try to endure it. No matter how bad we want to cum, no matter how bad I want you to cum inside me, we need to keep this going as long as possible. Like I said earlier, though, if it starts hurting, let it out."
For at least an hour, she fed demonic energy into Zeraine while riding him, not allowing him to move. Finally, the urge to get relief was too much for both of them. Zeraine looked her in the eye. "Ammie?"
She nodded. "This is enough for now. Start moving! Make me cum!"
He braced himself and began thrusting from below. Soon after, he felt her spasming, squeezing, and contracting inside, knowing that she was having her orgasm. She wasn't crying out, though, and was instead gritting her teeth, trying to stay quiet. He decided to get back at her a little by thrusting harder. It worked, causing her to throw her head back and arch her back, letting out a very erotic moan as her insides squeezed him even harder, causing him to ejaculate and fill her up inside. She collapsed on top of him, panting, her eyes half-closed. She mumbled, "That wasn't fair."
He held her, rubbing the back of her head. "It felt good, though, didn't it?"
She fell asleep with her head on his shoulder, exhausted from channeling the demonic energy into him, as well as trying and failing to keep her orgasm quiet. He fell asleep shortly after, his arms around her tightly.
...
The walls in this inn were thick and well-insulated, so despite being next door to each other, neither group heard the other. While Zeraine and Amarantha were having their fun, the hero and the succubus were, too. Seeing his consent, she helped him strip out of his armor and clothes in record time, then dragged him over to the bed, forced him down on it, and hastily threw her clothes off, tossing them onto the nearby desk. She quickly mounted him, pressing her already very wet vagina against his hardening penis. Her breathing was ragged and her eyes were a little unfocused. She was so horny that her skin was somewhat hot to the touch, and she was sweating. She moved her hips, grinding in a circle in his lap, making sure to smear her juice all over his crotch.
A bit worried, he asked, "Are you really alright?"
She nodded. "As soon as I'm satisfied, I'll be fine. Until then, stay hard and hold it as good as you can." She slipped him inside her pussy, which began sucking on his dick as soon as it entered. She moaned loudly and panted, dripping drool all over the hero's chest.
He was a little unnerved by her appearance. "Are you sure? I mean, you seem a bit-"
She interrupted him by kissing him, letting her saliva seep out of her mouth and into his, as well as all over his chin, then she forcefully stuck her tongue in his mouth, hungrily licking around while sucking his tongue into her mouth, desperately entwining it with hers. Once she'd had enough of kissing him, she pulled a little bit away and sucked on his tongue directly. When she finally let go, she said, "Just focus on keeping up. Try to match my timing and thrust from underneath, okay?"
He looked at her closely while nodding. "You're suffering pretty bad..."
She started bouncing, rhythmically squeezing his dick with her pussy, crying out in pleasure as she did. "If we have sex at least once a day, it won't get this bad! Now that you've deflowered me, and now that I've recovered from it, we can do it any time!"
He tried to do as she instructed and began thrusting from below. "How do you know that?"
She grabbed him by the shoulders and kissed him as if to devour him. "I just feel that if we have sex once a day at the VERY LEAST, I'll be fine. As my future husband, you should have no objections to it, either. Now thrust harder!" She herself began bouncing harder, trying desperately to maximize the pleasure. He did as she asked and moved more forcefully, thrusting harder. After about 10 minutes of being inside her, he came. She kept going, though. "You came! You came inside!" She kept going, but laid down on top of him, clinging desperately to him. "Do it again, please!" Obviously, even though she was making sure to feed from him, it wasn't enough.
He was starting to get a bit scared from seeing her like this, but he held her and kept thrusting. He thought, "I just came once, and I'm still really sensitive, but I can't afford to stop. At least she's channeling her demonic energy into me so I can keep going... She's really hurting for it... I feel sorry for her, having to deal with this amount of lust. It must have been hell for her before she met me... Anyway, what did she teach me about last time? ...Ah, right, she said if I rub her clitoris, it'll feel really good for her."
He reached down with one hand and began rubbing her clit through its hood. This caused her to moan louder than she had so far. She was messily dripping her drool all over his face, but he didn't mind. She was obviously suffering, and relieving her was more important than anything else right now. He peeled back the hood of her clit and rubbed it directly, which made her violently shudder and her vagina wildly contract. She cried out in orgasm, then looked him in the eye. "Good job, but it's not enough. Do it again. Be a bit rougher with my clit while you thrust."
She started moving again, as did he. She repeatedly said, "I love you!" as he rubbed her clit while thrusting. Eventually she stopped, shutting herself up by kissing him passionately. She had already calmed down some from cumming earlier, but she needed more, and he was hard at work, making sure she got it. About 12 minutes after his first shot, he came again. He kept rubbing her clit even after stopping his thrusting, which allowed her to cum from the combination of his second shot filling her and his assault on her clitoris. She started to fall onto him, but he caught her and gently laid her on top of him. She panted for at least a minute before saying, "Damn it."
He looked at her questioningly. "What is it?"
"We almost came together that last time. Both partners cumming together is supposed to be the absolute best and we almost did it. Anyway, thank you. I feel a lot better now."
He smiled. "You're welcome. ...So anyway, we have to have sex once a day to keep you from falling into this condition?"
"Mhm. Is there a problem with that?"
"No. It's just that you were in pretty bad shape. I'd rather not see you suffer like that again, and it seems that frequent sex is the only solution."
"So? Having sex on a regular basis with your future wife shouldn't trouble you at all. Weren't you overcoming your prudishness?"
"Actually, it was more me slipping into apathy, but it doesn't trouble me. What does trouble me was how badly you needed it. It must be hard for succubi, huh?"
She rubbed her face against his chest and said, "At times, it is. By the way, congratulations. You managed to make me cum twice this time."
"Didn't I also do that our first and second times?"
"The first time took you three shots, and you didn't really do anything. The second time was pretty similar, but what I taught you to do made me cum quicker. This time, however, when I came, it was directly due to your actions. It's the first time you've made me cum."
"The other times were just you cumming from what you were doing?"
"Yes. Also, it looks like you proved that old saying, 'the third time's the charm', correct. Anyway, if we do it again tomorrow, maybe we can do it like we're 'supposed to' and go slow and stuff." She reluctantly let his dick out of her pussy, then shook a little as his semen poured out. "If you were an incubus, this time would have impregnated me for sure. You came a lot."
He looked away then paused. He looked back to her and asked, "Wait, 'if I were an incubus I'd have impregnated you for sure'? I thought you didn't know..."
She put her finger over his lips. "Remember back at the library? You weren't really paying attention to what I was doing, but I found a book that said that succubi can't get pregnant from sex unless it's with an incubus. Until I've transformed you, you won't knock me up no matter how much semen you fill me with. That actually disappoints me..."
"Why?"
She raised an eyebrow. "Because I want to have your kids, idiot!"
He blushed, angry at himself for not seeing the obvious. "Right... Well, don't get depressed. It'll happen eventually, right?" He smiled at her reassuringly.
She smiled back and kissed him tenderly. "Yep. And remember, one time may be all it takes, but there's no guarantee, so when the time comes, you'll have to make love to me several times a day, okay?"
He rolled his eyes. A few minutes later, they both fell asleep.
Chapter 63
Spoiler: show
The succubus woke up and saw that the hero was still asleep. She quietly yawned and stretched a little, trying to make sure she didn't move enough to disturb him. She wanted him to get his sleep, and decided to just lay there with him, waiting for him to wake up. She couldn't help but remember last night. As she replayed the event in her mind, blushed and started salivating. She thought, "That sure was fun. I hope I didn't scare him, though. I only get like that if I go too long without masturbating and then finally get the chance. Of course, this time, it was 'going too long without sex'... Okay, it's actually more of me not getting the sexual relief I need than masturbation or sex, specifically. I wonder if he'll be up to another round when he wakes up... Anyway, he's got potential. Once I've trained him in sex, he'll easily be able to make me scream in pleasure every night. And every day. ...And maybe even every morning, too!"
She noticed that her hand was starting to get close to her crotch. She caught herself and moved her hand away, thinking, "Damn it! My man is right here! I've even got my boobs pressed against him! I shouldn't have to finger myself! I'll just wait until he wakes up, show him how horny I am, and get him to take care of it. It'll do him good." As she continued to wait for him to wake up, she began flicking her tail around in frustration, getting more and more aroused each minute. She felt her vaginal juices beginning to trickle along her thigh, running around it and onto the bed. "Fuck! He'd better wake up soon, because if he doesn't, I'll wake him up."
...
Meanwhile, Zeraine woke up before Amarantha. He saw that she was still in his arms, and she was still deep in sleep. He didn't feel like getting up, anyway, so he simply laid there with her and enjoyed watching her sleep. Her sleeping face was angelic to him. He thought she looked so cute and peaceful that she might as well have been an angel, then he retracted that mental statement, confirming to himself that he preferred that she remain a silver dragon. He wasn't bothered at all by that reminder, either. Instead, he felt very proud, knowing that he was in love with, and frequently making love to, one of the most majestic and beautiful creatures on the planet. He also thought that her peaceful, cute sleeping face was a VERY sharp contrast to her wild, almost animalistic, somewhat bloodthirsty smile that she often donned when in battle. He knew she enjoyed a good fight, and it was that much better when it was for a good cause. Still, he was reminded that she was not human. She was, without a doubt, a monster, but she was a good one. He loved her more than anyone, and the thought that anyone would want to harm her just because she wasn't human angered him. His train of thought led him to remember the incident on the ship, when they, along with the succubus and the kid, saved a bunch of mermaids from the corrupted Order people. He gritted his teeth and frowned, remembering how their leader, Gerald, insulted her. He then grinned, remembering how the kid took him out. He mumbled, "Nice one, kid."
Amarantha eventually woke up, noticing that Zeraine was frowning. "What's wrong?"
He looked at her and his expression brightened. "Nothing. Good morning, Ammie."
She put her arm and leg over him and snuggled up to him. "Good morning, Zeraine. Can I stay like this for a bit longer?"
He stifled a laugh. "Sure, as long as you don't fall back asleep." A few minutes later, he said, "Last night wore you out, huh?"
She nodded. "Yeah, channeling the energy into you while we had sex was exhausting."
"You did a good job, though. It still felt good, and it got me a little closer to my transformation." He hugged her a little tighter.
After a little while, they both got up, got cleaned up, and got dressed. They then got ready to leave, and walked out of their room, heading for the hero's room.
...
The succubus was almost out of patience. Fortunately for her, the hero started to stir. She decided it was an excellent time to help him wake up, so she began stroking his penis.
As he woke up, he felt something happening below his waist. A few moments later, once his senses had returned, he saw the succubus smiling sweetly at him. He then looked down and saw that she was stroking his dick. He looked her in the eye and frowned. "What do you think you're doing?"
She stopped, but didn't let go of his manhood. "Helping you wake up," she said innocently.
"And how is playing with my penis supposed to help me wake up?"
Ignoring his question, she said, "I need you. Right now." She finally let go and raised up, standing on her knees, showing how wet she was.
He blinked a few times. "Didn't you say that you only needed it once a day?"
She crossed her arms and poked his balls with her tail. "I said that once a day was the minimum. Naturally, I'd prefer it more often than that. To be honest, you should, too, since it'd speed up your transformation into an incubus, and you should be enjoying having sex with me, so by doing so, you'd get to have me more."
He sighed. "Won't this leave us drained at the beginning of our day?"
She said, "Once should be fine for this morning. After you get your armor back on, you should be re-energized quickly. After that, I suppose we could wait until tonight for the rest, unless we end up in a big enough fight that I have to cast a bunch of spells. In that case, rather than use a potion that we'd be better off saving for an emergency, we could do it again."
He let his body go limp. "Fine. Go ahead."
She grabbed his dick and gave it a hard squeeze, causing him to jump from the sudden pain. "Don't go slipping into apathy here, damn it. Now, enjoy the pussy of the succubus that you'll be marrying!" She let go of his dick, then wrapped her tail around it, using her tail to line him up with her vagina. Once she had him inside, she unwrapped her tail and began riding him in cowgirl position. She instructed him in how to play with her breasts from this position, which he obediently did. She moaned loudly as she rode him, happy that he agreed to sex right after waking up.
...
As Zeraine and Amarantha approached the hero's room, they heard moaning from inside. The two looked at each other. Amarantha said in an astonished tone, "They're fucking, first thing in the morning?"
Zeraine grinned. "I'm guessing they didn't have enough last night. Oh, well. We'll come back in a while, okay?"
She nodded. "Yeah, we'll leave them to their fun."
The two of them left the hero and the succubus undisturbed in their room and went into town to look around.
She noticed that her hand was starting to get close to her crotch. She caught herself and moved her hand away, thinking, "Damn it! My man is right here! I've even got my boobs pressed against him! I shouldn't have to finger myself! I'll just wait until he wakes up, show him how horny I am, and get him to take care of it. It'll do him good." As she continued to wait for him to wake up, she began flicking her tail around in frustration, getting more and more aroused each minute. She felt her vaginal juices beginning to trickle along her thigh, running around it and onto the bed. "Fuck! He'd better wake up soon, because if he doesn't, I'll wake him up."
...
Meanwhile, Zeraine woke up before Amarantha. He saw that she was still in his arms, and she was still deep in sleep. He didn't feel like getting up, anyway, so he simply laid there with her and enjoyed watching her sleep. Her sleeping face was angelic to him. He thought she looked so cute and peaceful that she might as well have been an angel, then he retracted that mental statement, confirming to himself that he preferred that she remain a silver dragon. He wasn't bothered at all by that reminder, either. Instead, he felt very proud, knowing that he was in love with, and frequently making love to, one of the most majestic and beautiful creatures on the planet. He also thought that her peaceful, cute sleeping face was a VERY sharp contrast to her wild, almost animalistic, somewhat bloodthirsty smile that she often donned when in battle. He knew she enjoyed a good fight, and it was that much better when it was for a good cause. Still, he was reminded that she was not human. She was, without a doubt, a monster, but she was a good one. He loved her more than anyone, and the thought that anyone would want to harm her just because she wasn't human angered him. His train of thought led him to remember the incident on the ship, when they, along with the succubus and the kid, saved a bunch of mermaids from the corrupted Order people. He gritted his teeth and frowned, remembering how their leader, Gerald, insulted her. He then grinned, remembering how the kid took him out. He mumbled, "Nice one, kid."
Amarantha eventually woke up, noticing that Zeraine was frowning. "What's wrong?"
He looked at her and his expression brightened. "Nothing. Good morning, Ammie."
She put her arm and leg over him and snuggled up to him. "Good morning, Zeraine. Can I stay like this for a bit longer?"
He stifled a laugh. "Sure, as long as you don't fall back asleep." A few minutes later, he said, "Last night wore you out, huh?"
She nodded. "Yeah, channeling the energy into you while we had sex was exhausting."
"You did a good job, though. It still felt good, and it got me a little closer to my transformation." He hugged her a little tighter.
After a little while, they both got up, got cleaned up, and got dressed. They then got ready to leave, and walked out of their room, heading for the hero's room.
...
The succubus was almost out of patience. Fortunately for her, the hero started to stir. She decided it was an excellent time to help him wake up, so she began stroking his penis.
As he woke up, he felt something happening below his waist. A few moments later, once his senses had returned, he saw the succubus smiling sweetly at him. He then looked down and saw that she was stroking his dick. He looked her in the eye and frowned. "What do you think you're doing?"
She stopped, but didn't let go of his manhood. "Helping you wake up," she said innocently.
"And how is playing with my penis supposed to help me wake up?"
Ignoring his question, she said, "I need you. Right now." She finally let go and raised up, standing on her knees, showing how wet she was.
He blinked a few times. "Didn't you say that you only needed it once a day?"
She crossed her arms and poked his balls with her tail. "I said that once a day was the minimum. Naturally, I'd prefer it more often than that. To be honest, you should, too, since it'd speed up your transformation into an incubus, and you should be enjoying having sex with me, so by doing so, you'd get to have me more."
He sighed. "Won't this leave us drained at the beginning of our day?"
She said, "Once should be fine for this morning. After you get your armor back on, you should be re-energized quickly. After that, I suppose we could wait until tonight for the rest, unless we end up in a big enough fight that I have to cast a bunch of spells. In that case, rather than use a potion that we'd be better off saving for an emergency, we could do it again."
He let his body go limp. "Fine. Go ahead."
She grabbed his dick and gave it a hard squeeze, causing him to jump from the sudden pain. "Don't go slipping into apathy here, damn it. Now, enjoy the pussy of the succubus that you'll be marrying!" She let go of his dick, then wrapped her tail around it, using her tail to line him up with her vagina. Once she had him inside, she unwrapped her tail and began riding him in cowgirl position. She instructed him in how to play with her breasts from this position, which he obediently did. She moaned loudly as she rode him, happy that he agreed to sex right after waking up.
...
As Zeraine and Amarantha approached the hero's room, they heard moaning from inside. The two looked at each other. Amarantha said in an astonished tone, "They're fucking, first thing in the morning?"
Zeraine grinned. "I'm guessing they didn't have enough last night. Oh, well. We'll come back in a while, okay?"
She nodded. "Yeah, we'll leave them to their fun."
The two of them left the hero and the succubus undisturbed in their room and went into town to look around.
Chapter 64
Spoiler: show
Quite some time later, the hero and the succubus were laying next to each other in bed, naked and sweaty. A torrent of his semen was still flowing out of her vagina, as it should, considering the fact that she made him cum four times, each time inside her, of course. She was hugging his arm, resting her head up against his shoulder, a contented smile on her face. The hero, however, was exhausted. He had only recovered to the point of not panting a minute or two ago. Once he had regained his ability to speak, managing to overcome his fatigue from such strenuous activities that happened right after waking up, he said, "You still awake?"
She put one hand on his chest and rubbed in a circular motion, while interlocking the fingers of her other hand with the one of his that she was hugging. "Of course. You've filled me up, in more ways than one." She giggled and continued cuddling with him.
He sighed. "You know, we should have a little talk about this..."
"About what?"
"After having your first time, you've been pretty blatant about wanting sex. You've also not really done anything to curb your perverted tendencies."
She groaned. "You know I'm a succubus. You should know that succubi are much hornier than human women. My sex drive shouldn't surprise or bother you, if you truly understand, that is. As for my perversion, what's wrong with it? I had to have some way to vent so I wouldn't go insane. Over time, I became like this. It's how I am."
"Aren't you trying to make me into as big a pervert as you?"
She paused, then said, "Well... Maybe. If you don't want to, I won't try to make you, but..."
"But what?"
"To be brutally honest, you really were a bit too much of a prude at first. Now, you're still prudish from time to time, but you seem to have accepted me, right?"
"Yeah. It's just, well, you know how it is with people from The Order, right? Wanting this much sex... It's a bit too much. Factor in my being human, thus obviously unable to keep up, assuming, of course, that I were okay with it in the first place, and you should be able to understand."
After several seconds, she said, "I get it. I guess I've been too pushy about getting you to agree to sex and stuff. I'm sorry. Let me guess, you still want sex, but in an amount that's 'reasonable' to humans, right?"
He nodded. "Yeah. Sex shouldn't be the only thing we do, nor should it be your top priority, regardless of the fact that you're a succubus."
"In other words, 'moderation', just like with alcohol and stuff."
"Exactly."
"That'll be a little difficult..."
"Why?" he asked, turning his head to look at her.
"Because I'm a succubus, I'm easily aroused. There are lots of things that you could do that are completely normal that would arouse me. For example, if you act all macho or gallant, or display that I've taught you well, I could get horny. If you let me get and stay horny for too long, you end up with what happened last night. I'll do my best to hold back on the desire for sex, but please understand that I will get horny. Also, in that battle with the ogres earlier, you mastered the Igni Sign. I'd like to reward you, but the best reward I can think of is sex, with you having the lead. As it is right now, I've worn you out. If there's another reward that you might like instead, go ahead and suggest it."
The hero thought for a few seconds. "How about teaching me a telekinesis spell?"
"Let me guess, you just remembered Amarantha's advice from when she taught you those moves, right?"
"Yeah. If you taught me a telekinesis spell, I would have that much higher a chance of retrieving my sword in the event that I am disarmed."
"Good thinking. I'll teach you later. Right now, I want to stay like this."
He couldn't help but smile. "Go right ahead. I don't mind."
She grinned. "Oh? Admit it, you like having the woman you love pressing her naked body against yours. You like feeling her still-half-erect nipples poking you, her soft hands caressing your well-toned body, her warm crotch-"
"Alright, that's enough. Fine, I'll admit that I like cuddling with you like this. I love you, so that's natural."
"I love you, too. You also like having sex with me, don't you?"
"...Yeah. That's also natural. You're the woman I love, and the one I'll marry eventually. Also, sex does feel good, so all things considered, of course I'd like doing it with you. I'm just against overdoing it, which is what you've been pretty close to trying to do, to be honest."
"I said I was sorry, damn it. I've also already promised to try to tone it down, too."
"I know. I'm not sure what to do if my actions in battle will arouse you, though. It's not like I can change my fighting style or methods or whatever just for the sake of not turning you on and still expect to succeed."
She grinned. "How about letting it happen? Let me get aroused, then when night falls, fuck me until you pass out."
He shook his head. "Now what did we just talk about?"
She huffed. "Fine, fine. Will you agree to sex once a day?"
"Sure."
"How about twice a day?"
"I'd rather not. If I can satisfy you with once a day under 'normal' circumstances, then that's what I'd prefer. Are you okay with that?"
She thought it over for a few seconds. "I guess. What about 'abnormal' circumstances? Would you agree to twice or more a day then?"
"If it were necessary, I suppose so. However, we'd definitely have to look at correcting whatever was causing those circumstances, because like I said, sex is nice, but it shouldn't be our main focus."
She shifted around, putting her arm and leg over him. "True, we have to focus on getting stronger so we can eliminate the current Demon Lord, then put me on the throne so I can enact my plan and all that..."
The hero hesitated, then asked, "You wouldn't happen to be Demon Realm nobility, would you?"
In an instant, her eyes were wide open. After she recovered from his question, she frowned. "Would it matter?"
"A little. I mean, right now, if you are, you're keeping it a secret from the rest of us. If not, then what did Priscilla mean in her letter?"
She sighed. "Okay, fine. Yes, I am. Or rather, I was. I was the princess of the succubus clan, but I was exiled by the Demon Lord, so that no longer has any meaning. What of it?"
"Why are you getting like this? I just wanted to know."
"Don't go treating me any different because of it. I hate that kind of shit."
"Don't worry. Despite you being a princess, I'm not going to kiss your ass."
She scoffed. "Maybe not figuratively, but I foresee you doing so literally once you've gotten good at foreplay. I do have a nice ass, don't I?"
"Yeah... Hey, wait!"
She giggled. "Got you."
He smirked. "Big deal. Any man would complement his beloved's looks, right?"
"Only if they looked as good as I do." She kissed him on the cheek. "When will you be ready to get up?"
"When I feel that I could walk normally. Right now, I'd probably have a bit of trouble standing up straight."
She snickered. "I drained you that much? Oh, well. Wanna play with my body until then?"
He frowned at her. "Your horniness?"
She sighed. "Alright. I guess you shouldn't play with anything anyway. You might get me horny, and then you'd complain about it."
"That tone is unnecessary, and so was that comment. I was complaining about your apparent lack of moderation earlier, not how easily you become aroused."
Not having a comeback, she simply laid there. After another hour or so, the hero was able to get up. The succubus used her magic to clean them both up, then they got dressed. As she adjusted her cloak, she said, "You know, now that I've admitted to you that I used to be a princess, it'd probably be a good idea to tell the others."
The hero finished adjusting his chainmail leggings and boots, then said, "I was about to suggest that. We shouldn't keep them in the dark, after all. One question, though... Why did you say 'used to be'? How are you not still a princess?"
She gathered her things, then said, "By being exiled, I was automatically disinherited, or so I heard. I'm pretty sure that means that my claim to the throne of the succubus clan is gone, too. It doesn't matter, though, since I'm aiming for the Demon Lord's throne."
After the hero finished getting suited up in his armor, they heard a knock at the door of their room.
She put one hand on his chest and rubbed in a circular motion, while interlocking the fingers of her other hand with the one of his that she was hugging. "Of course. You've filled me up, in more ways than one." She giggled and continued cuddling with him.
He sighed. "You know, we should have a little talk about this..."
"About what?"
"After having your first time, you've been pretty blatant about wanting sex. You've also not really done anything to curb your perverted tendencies."
She groaned. "You know I'm a succubus. You should know that succubi are much hornier than human women. My sex drive shouldn't surprise or bother you, if you truly understand, that is. As for my perversion, what's wrong with it? I had to have some way to vent so I wouldn't go insane. Over time, I became like this. It's how I am."
"Aren't you trying to make me into as big a pervert as you?"
She paused, then said, "Well... Maybe. If you don't want to, I won't try to make you, but..."
"But what?"
"To be brutally honest, you really were a bit too much of a prude at first. Now, you're still prudish from time to time, but you seem to have accepted me, right?"
"Yeah. It's just, well, you know how it is with people from The Order, right? Wanting this much sex... It's a bit too much. Factor in my being human, thus obviously unable to keep up, assuming, of course, that I were okay with it in the first place, and you should be able to understand."
After several seconds, she said, "I get it. I guess I've been too pushy about getting you to agree to sex and stuff. I'm sorry. Let me guess, you still want sex, but in an amount that's 'reasonable' to humans, right?"
He nodded. "Yeah. Sex shouldn't be the only thing we do, nor should it be your top priority, regardless of the fact that you're a succubus."
"In other words, 'moderation', just like with alcohol and stuff."
"Exactly."
"That'll be a little difficult..."
"Why?" he asked, turning his head to look at her.
"Because I'm a succubus, I'm easily aroused. There are lots of things that you could do that are completely normal that would arouse me. For example, if you act all macho or gallant, or display that I've taught you well, I could get horny. If you let me get and stay horny for too long, you end up with what happened last night. I'll do my best to hold back on the desire for sex, but please understand that I will get horny. Also, in that battle with the ogres earlier, you mastered the Igni Sign. I'd like to reward you, but the best reward I can think of is sex, with you having the lead. As it is right now, I've worn you out. If there's another reward that you might like instead, go ahead and suggest it."
The hero thought for a few seconds. "How about teaching me a telekinesis spell?"
"Let me guess, you just remembered Amarantha's advice from when she taught you those moves, right?"
"Yeah. If you taught me a telekinesis spell, I would have that much higher a chance of retrieving my sword in the event that I am disarmed."
"Good thinking. I'll teach you later. Right now, I want to stay like this."
He couldn't help but smile. "Go right ahead. I don't mind."
She grinned. "Oh? Admit it, you like having the woman you love pressing her naked body against yours. You like feeling her still-half-erect nipples poking you, her soft hands caressing your well-toned body, her warm crotch-"
"Alright, that's enough. Fine, I'll admit that I like cuddling with you like this. I love you, so that's natural."
"I love you, too. You also like having sex with me, don't you?"
"...Yeah. That's also natural. You're the woman I love, and the one I'll marry eventually. Also, sex does feel good, so all things considered, of course I'd like doing it with you. I'm just against overdoing it, which is what you've been pretty close to trying to do, to be honest."
"I said I was sorry, damn it. I've also already promised to try to tone it down, too."
"I know. I'm not sure what to do if my actions in battle will arouse you, though. It's not like I can change my fighting style or methods or whatever just for the sake of not turning you on and still expect to succeed."
She grinned. "How about letting it happen? Let me get aroused, then when night falls, fuck me until you pass out."
He shook his head. "Now what did we just talk about?"
She huffed. "Fine, fine. Will you agree to sex once a day?"
"Sure."
"How about twice a day?"
"I'd rather not. If I can satisfy you with once a day under 'normal' circumstances, then that's what I'd prefer. Are you okay with that?"
She thought it over for a few seconds. "I guess. What about 'abnormal' circumstances? Would you agree to twice or more a day then?"
"If it were necessary, I suppose so. However, we'd definitely have to look at correcting whatever was causing those circumstances, because like I said, sex is nice, but it shouldn't be our main focus."
She shifted around, putting her arm and leg over him. "True, we have to focus on getting stronger so we can eliminate the current Demon Lord, then put me on the throne so I can enact my plan and all that..."
The hero hesitated, then asked, "You wouldn't happen to be Demon Realm nobility, would you?"
In an instant, her eyes were wide open. After she recovered from his question, she frowned. "Would it matter?"
"A little. I mean, right now, if you are, you're keeping it a secret from the rest of us. If not, then what did Priscilla mean in her letter?"
She sighed. "Okay, fine. Yes, I am. Or rather, I was. I was the princess of the succubus clan, but I was exiled by the Demon Lord, so that no longer has any meaning. What of it?"
"Why are you getting like this? I just wanted to know."
"Don't go treating me any different because of it. I hate that kind of shit."
"Don't worry. Despite you being a princess, I'm not going to kiss your ass."
She scoffed. "Maybe not figuratively, but I foresee you doing so literally once you've gotten good at foreplay. I do have a nice ass, don't I?"
"Yeah... Hey, wait!"
She giggled. "Got you."
He smirked. "Big deal. Any man would complement his beloved's looks, right?"
"Only if they looked as good as I do." She kissed him on the cheek. "When will you be ready to get up?"
"When I feel that I could walk normally. Right now, I'd probably have a bit of trouble standing up straight."
She snickered. "I drained you that much? Oh, well. Wanna play with my body until then?"
He frowned at her. "Your horniness?"
She sighed. "Alright. I guess you shouldn't play with anything anyway. You might get me horny, and then you'd complain about it."
"That tone is unnecessary, and so was that comment. I was complaining about your apparent lack of moderation earlier, not how easily you become aroused."
Not having a comeback, she simply laid there. After another hour or so, the hero was able to get up. The succubus used her magic to clean them both up, then they got dressed. As she adjusted her cloak, she said, "You know, now that I've admitted to you that I used to be a princess, it'd probably be a good idea to tell the others."
The hero finished adjusting his chainmail leggings and boots, then said, "I was about to suggest that. We shouldn't keep them in the dark, after all. One question, though... Why did you say 'used to be'? How are you not still a princess?"
She gathered her things, then said, "By being exiled, I was automatically disinherited, or so I heard. I'm pretty sure that means that my claim to the throne of the succubus clan is gone, too. It doesn't matter, though, since I'm aiming for the Demon Lord's throne."
After the hero finished getting suited up in his armor, they heard a knock at the door of their room.
Chapter 65
Spoiler: show
The hero continued suiting himself up in his armor as the succubus answered the door. It was Zeraine and Amarantha. "Hey, guys."
Zeraine smirked. "You two done having fun?" he asked despite already seeing the hero suiting up and the succubus fully dressed, thus already knowing the answer.
She scoffed. "I don't know. Maybe I'll get him to go another round after he gets his armor on. Its enchantment would help him in a few ways, you know." She was obviously joking, which caused both Zeraine and Amarantha to start snickering.
Amarantha asked, "So, what's the plan for today? Zeraine and I already checked the notice board again and there was nothing worth doing. Are we going to go ahead and leave?"
Zeraine patted her on the shoulder. "Ammie, you're forgetting to mention that you beat and thoroughly embarrassed almost every guy in the local tavern at arm wrestling."
She frowned and rolled her eyes. "I don't like how they called me 'freak', so I don't want to talk about it."
"Yeah, that wasn't nice of them, but they'd probably shit themselves if you showed your true form. We don't need an angry mob coming after us over some stupid misunderstanding."
She leaned against him, allowing him to put his arm over her shoulder.
The succubus asked, "And how did you go about this little arm wrestling thing? How did it start?"
Amarantha sighed. "I guess you'll keep asking until I tell you, anyway, right?" she asked, receiving a nod from the succubus. She continued, "Fine. Apparently, rumors of my 'freakish strength' spread after we helped those guards yesterday. Some macho idiots wanted to arm wrestle me and prove that the guards were lying or hallucinating or that I was cheating by using magic or something. For whatever reason, there was a mage there that confirmed that I didn't use any magic when I beat every challenger with little effort."
The succubus asked, "And that's when they insulted you?"
Amarantha nodded. "Zeraine tried to get the asshole to apologize, but the guy wouldn't, so he knocked him out. Obviously, I'm still upset, though."
Zeraine pulled her sideways so that she was standing in front of him with her back to him, then he hugged her from behind, resting his chin on her shoulder. "It's okay, Ammie. I won't let anyone get away with insulting you."
She leaned her head against his, savoring the affection and comfort he was offering.
The hero, having finished putting on his armor and gathering his things, said, "Well, since there's no real point in staying, I guess we'll go eat, then we'll leave." He looked at the succubus. "I guess you'll teach me a telekinesis spell tonight?"
She nodded.
"Before we leave, we should tell you guys."
Zeraine asked, "Tell us what?"
The hero looked at the succubus and made a "go on" gesture.
She frowned and gritted her teeth, preferring that he had told them. "As you might have guessed from Priscilla's letter, I am Demon Realm nobility. Or was. Not sure. Anyway, specifically, I used to be the princess of the succubus clan. I'm sure I was automatically disinherited upon my exile, though, so I'm pretty sure my claim to the throne is gone, though none of that really means anything. As you know, I'm after the Demon Lord's throne, so the throne of the succubus clan means nothing to me, anyway."
Zeraine and Amarantha looked at each other and smiled, both of them thinking the same thing. He said, "Glad you decided to share that with us, princess."
The succubus narrowed her eyes. "Seriously, don't start."
Amarantha, still grinning, said, "Would you rather we call you 'girl' or 'mage'? Calling you 'succubus' might cause problems..."
The succubus sighed and hung her head. "So you're going to call me 'princess' like how you call him 'kid'?" she asked, pointing with her thumb at the hero.
Zeraine and Amarantha both nodded.
"And you won't stop, despite my objections?"
They nodded again.
She gave up on the idea of stopping them, then assumed her disguise. "Fine. If I can't stop you from doing it, I might as well just not let it bother me, right?"
They checked out of the inn, ate at the diner, and left town, heading in sort of a southeast direction along the road. A few hours later, they decided to stop for a short break. Zeraine and Amarantha sat down and played a few different card games, while the succubus taught the hero the telekinesis spell.
He said, "I thought you were going to wait until tonight to teach me, weren't you?"
She waved off his question, saying, "It'd be better if I taught you now. The sooner you know it, the sooner you'll be able to practice with it and use it."
After teaching him how to use telekinesis, she made him demonstrate by lifting and moving various small objects. At one point, she jokingly suggested that he lift her dress, which caused him to scold her. In the end, he once again proved to be a fast learner and was able to lift his shield with telekinesis. Obviously, that meant he was also able to lift his sword, too, but he couldn't yet move it fast enough to think about using this new spell to retrieve his sword in battle.
As the group put away their things and resumed their journey, she said, "Remember, as with pretty much everything else, the more you use it, the better you'll get at it. Practice whenever you can and feel like it, but don't push yourself."
Following her advice, he found a stone about the size of a grape and used telekinesis to pick it up and "carry" it for a large part of the rest of the day's journey. They stopped shortly after noon to eat lunch, then resumed, the hero still "carrying" the stone with telekinesis. Another couple of hours down the road, they heard indistinct yelling. Knowing that something was happening that they might need to help with, they ran in the direction of the noise.
Zeraine smirked. "You two done having fun?" he asked despite already seeing the hero suiting up and the succubus fully dressed, thus already knowing the answer.
She scoffed. "I don't know. Maybe I'll get him to go another round after he gets his armor on. Its enchantment would help him in a few ways, you know." She was obviously joking, which caused both Zeraine and Amarantha to start snickering.
Amarantha asked, "So, what's the plan for today? Zeraine and I already checked the notice board again and there was nothing worth doing. Are we going to go ahead and leave?"
Zeraine patted her on the shoulder. "Ammie, you're forgetting to mention that you beat and thoroughly embarrassed almost every guy in the local tavern at arm wrestling."
She frowned and rolled her eyes. "I don't like how they called me 'freak', so I don't want to talk about it."
"Yeah, that wasn't nice of them, but they'd probably shit themselves if you showed your true form. We don't need an angry mob coming after us over some stupid misunderstanding."
She leaned against him, allowing him to put his arm over her shoulder.
The succubus asked, "And how did you go about this little arm wrestling thing? How did it start?"
Amarantha sighed. "I guess you'll keep asking until I tell you, anyway, right?" she asked, receiving a nod from the succubus. She continued, "Fine. Apparently, rumors of my 'freakish strength' spread after we helped those guards yesterday. Some macho idiots wanted to arm wrestle me and prove that the guards were lying or hallucinating or that I was cheating by using magic or something. For whatever reason, there was a mage there that confirmed that I didn't use any magic when I beat every challenger with little effort."
The succubus asked, "And that's when they insulted you?"
Amarantha nodded. "Zeraine tried to get the asshole to apologize, but the guy wouldn't, so he knocked him out. Obviously, I'm still upset, though."
Zeraine pulled her sideways so that she was standing in front of him with her back to him, then he hugged her from behind, resting his chin on her shoulder. "It's okay, Ammie. I won't let anyone get away with insulting you."
She leaned her head against his, savoring the affection and comfort he was offering.
The hero, having finished putting on his armor and gathering his things, said, "Well, since there's no real point in staying, I guess we'll go eat, then we'll leave." He looked at the succubus. "I guess you'll teach me a telekinesis spell tonight?"
She nodded.
"Before we leave, we should tell you guys."
Zeraine asked, "Tell us what?"
The hero looked at the succubus and made a "go on" gesture.
She frowned and gritted her teeth, preferring that he had told them. "As you might have guessed from Priscilla's letter, I am Demon Realm nobility. Or was. Not sure. Anyway, specifically, I used to be the princess of the succubus clan. I'm sure I was automatically disinherited upon my exile, though, so I'm pretty sure my claim to the throne is gone, though none of that really means anything. As you know, I'm after the Demon Lord's throne, so the throne of the succubus clan means nothing to me, anyway."
Zeraine and Amarantha looked at each other and smiled, both of them thinking the same thing. He said, "Glad you decided to share that with us, princess."
The succubus narrowed her eyes. "Seriously, don't start."
Amarantha, still grinning, said, "Would you rather we call you 'girl' or 'mage'? Calling you 'succubus' might cause problems..."
The succubus sighed and hung her head. "So you're going to call me 'princess' like how you call him 'kid'?" she asked, pointing with her thumb at the hero.
Zeraine and Amarantha both nodded.
"And you won't stop, despite my objections?"
They nodded again.
She gave up on the idea of stopping them, then assumed her disguise. "Fine. If I can't stop you from doing it, I might as well just not let it bother me, right?"
They checked out of the inn, ate at the diner, and left town, heading in sort of a southeast direction along the road. A few hours later, they decided to stop for a short break. Zeraine and Amarantha sat down and played a few different card games, while the succubus taught the hero the telekinesis spell.
He said, "I thought you were going to wait until tonight to teach me, weren't you?"
She waved off his question, saying, "It'd be better if I taught you now. The sooner you know it, the sooner you'll be able to practice with it and use it."
After teaching him how to use telekinesis, she made him demonstrate by lifting and moving various small objects. At one point, she jokingly suggested that he lift her dress, which caused him to scold her. In the end, he once again proved to be a fast learner and was able to lift his shield with telekinesis. Obviously, that meant he was also able to lift his sword, too, but he couldn't yet move it fast enough to think about using this new spell to retrieve his sword in battle.
As the group put away their things and resumed their journey, she said, "Remember, as with pretty much everything else, the more you use it, the better you'll get at it. Practice whenever you can and feel like it, but don't push yourself."
Following her advice, he found a stone about the size of a grape and used telekinesis to pick it up and "carry" it for a large part of the rest of the day's journey. They stopped shortly after noon to eat lunch, then resumed, the hero still "carrying" the stone with telekinesis. Another couple of hours down the road, they heard indistinct yelling. Knowing that something was happening that they might need to help with, they ran in the direction of the noise.
Chapter 66
Spoiler: show
Their path took them into the forest. They continued running, following the noise. The hero was still "carrying" the stone, wanting to get in all the practice he could as soon as possible. When they reached the source of the noise, they stopped dead in their tracks and stared blankly into the clearing. The hero even dropped the stone from the "shock" of what they saw. It turned out that it was nothing more than a bunch of humans and Dwarves, lumberjacks by the looks of them, drinking and playing around, as well as singing, or trying to. Their singing was off-key and generally poor.
The party looked amongst themselves, sighed, and shook their heads. Zeraine said, "You know, I would go ask if they have any kind of jobs for us, such as monster-slaying, but I'd rather not try to do business with these guys."
The other three simultaneously said, "Agreed."
They left, never having been noticed by anyone. Each of them unsettled over it to some degree, they silently continued their journey. The hero decided not to go back to practicing with telekinesis, seeing as his current mood would hinder him in focusing.
The party passed a couple of branch-offs in the road, with said branch-offs having signs pointing the directions of different places, though not giving even an estimated distance. Evening was approaching, but the sun was still a bit high in the sky. As they continued walking, they suddenly heard the sounds of women yelling and shouting, and the occasional metal-on-metal clanging indicative of fighting. They once again ran to see what was happening, this time being very much right in doing so. When they found the source of this noise, all of them except the succubus got ready for a fight. What they saw was scantily-clad women with varying shades of tanned or dark skin and tribal tattoos, with hair colors ranging from black to light brown and different lengths and styles of hair, all of them armed with either spears or swords, accosting a group of travelers, all of them male. As they approached, upon closer inspection, they saw that there was some kind of organization to it.
The succubus waved her hand, gesturing to the party to not draw their weapons. "It's just a bunch of amazons out man-hunting. Let's keep going."
The hero said, "Now wait, I know it looks like they're actually dueling instead of trying to kill each other, but shouldn't we check it out? And what do you mean 'man-hunting'?"
Amarantha snickered. "Amazons are an all-female, tribal race. They go out 'hunting' for men, regardless of race or species, and capture them, bring them home, and have them assume what is normally thought of as the 'wife' role. I guess you could say that their culture is 'backward' compared to yours. Anyway, I don't know why they're dueling the men instead of just tying them up and dragging them home, but it's not really our concern, to be honest."
Zeraine added, "Since you're the leader of our little group, we'll go check it out if you want to. And don't worry, kid. As luck would have it, you and I have already been 'caught' by these girls, so we don't need to worry about any complications from encountering them."
The hero looked a bit puzzled, then asked, "You mean they'd leave us alone because we're already 'taken'?"
The succubus answered, "Mhm. To them, you're 'my' man, and Zeraine is 'Amarantha's' man. You guys 'belong' to us."
The hero asked, "Wait, if they're all-female, what happens to their male children?"
She said, "I don't know, actually..."
Amarantha said, "Neither do I."
Following the hero's lead, the party approached the spectacle. The amazons acknowledged their presence, but kept their attention on the duels between themselves and the men. The succubus whispered to the hero, "Since you want to butt-in so bad, we'll find out what's happening, but know this, things in this situation will go a lot easier if you let us girls do the talking, okay?" She walked up and said, "Hey, anyone wanna tell me what's goin' on here?"
One of the amazons, who seemed to be the oldest one present, said, "We're letting the men fight for their freedom. We won't take the ones that win, but we will take the ones that lose."
Zeraine, Amarantha, and the hero heard, and also stepped closer. Zeraine couldn't help but notice that, despite being the oldest-looking one there, this amazon was one hell of a looker. Her body was fantastic, her breasts still looked firm, she didn't appear to have any chub anywhere, her ass was nicely toned, and her face, though fierce, was quite beautiful. To him, she couldn't compare to Amarantha, but she was still very hot. The succubus asked, "Isn't that a little out of the ordinary for you amazons?"
The amazon frowned. "Normally, we'd have just took them, but that salamander over there challenged me. His terms were that if he won, he'd go free and the rest would get to fight for their own freedom. The losers would have to come with us. The men didn't like it, but I had already rejected his first offer."
"Which was?"
"He suggested that he fight me, one-on-one. If he won, they'd all go free, and if I won, we'd take him and the men, with him reserving the right to a rematch for his own freedom. As you can see, he won, and now these pitiful men are fighting for their own freedom from us. They're so weak that it's almost shameful, but it's to be expected, because they're men."
The succubus smirked. "I wouldn't be so sure about that. I don't know how good these men are, nor do I care, but my man is amazing 'at night'."
The amazon smiled. "Really? That's about all they're good for, anyway. I don't know why men always make such a fuss. Once they've given us their seed, they're free to leave."
The succubus sighed. "Stupid stories are probably to blame for that."
The amazon shrugged. Just then, the salamander, who was sitting on top of the carriage, grinning big and waving his flaming tail around, called out, "Come on, guys! Fight harder! If you don't want to spend your next few months tryin' to give these chicks a kid, win!" He laughed, watching the different duels, four in all.
The succubus asked, "Hey, if you had won against him," she asked, gesturing toward the salamander, "would you have done it with him?"
The amazon shook her head. "He'd be more of a slave for a short time. I don't really like the thought of mating with a lizard. That, and he's a bit too loud."
The duels ended one by one, with only one man winning his freedom. The other three lost. The man who won did so by somehow managing to disarm the amazon, throwing away his weapon, and grabbing her in a rear naked choke. He apparently choked her until she passed out, which won him his freedom. The others lost in various ways. When the one amazon that lost regained consciousness, she said to the man, "Not bad. It's such a pity, though. Our kids would have been strong."
The man grinned sheepishly and got back on the carriage. The salamander jumped down and said, "Well, sorry, guys. You lost, so they're going to take you. There's nothing I can do about that, so too bad." He looked back at the amazons' leader and said, "And fighting with you was fun! Maybe we can duel again some time?"
"No," she replied, shaking her head. "Had you not stepped up and challenged me, we'd have let you go, anyway. We're not interested in lizards."
"Heh." He shrugged, then noticed the party. "Hey, who are you guys? I'm Cedric. Nice to meet ya'." He shook their hands and they introduced themselves. Afterward, he said, "So you're Zeraine and Amarantha, huh? My little sister has told me a lot about you guys. You're buddies with her boyfriend, right?"
Zeraine said, "Yeah. You're Hilda's brother?"
He replied, "One of them. How is she?"
Amarantha rolled her eyes. "She's fine. She gets a bit aggressive with Sol, but she's having a great time. She has to share him with Victoria, but she's fine with that."
He said, "Victoria? Her Lizardman friend?"
She nodded. "Yep. They're both fine with the arrangement, so it's all good."
"I see. That's good. How's Sol doing?"
"He's got his hands full with his business. He's also pretty much constantly fawning over both of them whenever he isn't busy with something. He recently became an incubus, too, but still hasn't gone 'that far' with either of them. They're waiting for his birthday next week."
"Good for him. What brings you guys out this far?"
The succubus said, "We'll tell you later, if you have time. Right now, we need to keep moving."
The hero asked, "What about those guys?" He pointed at the men who were being led away.
She said, "Leave 'em. The deal was if they lost, they get taken. We have no right to interfere."
The amazons' leader, after making sure everyone from her band was alright, said, "Thanks for understanding. If you want, we could treat you to a celebratory feast back at our village."
The succubus shook her head. "Sorry, but we need to get going."
"Okay then." She walked away with the rest of her team, disappearing into the forest.
The one man who managed to win, despite being safe, got impatient and left, heading for Greenford. Cedric shouted, "Make sure you either keep quiet about this, or you tell the truth! I'll kick your ass if you don't, okay!?" He then shrugged. "Well, since my ride is gone, and I was really only there to escort them, which failed, which means I wouldn't get paid anyway, I guess I might as well go with you guys for a while."
The five of them resumed the journey. Along the way, the hero asked the succubus, "Are you sure it was alright to leave those guys?"
She nodded. "They'll be fine. The leader herself said that after they've served their purpose, they'd be free to go. Nothing will happen to them unless it's something 'normal' like a pack of rabid wolves or something."
The hero was still uncomfortable with it, but he managed to stop worrying over it. A deal was made, after all, and him stepping in to break it would be a bad thing. As they continued their journey, the succubus told Cedric about their plans, their intentions, and where they were going. He said, "So, after you've taken the throne, my body will be more human in appearance, but I won't lose any of my strength or skill?"
She nodded. "Correct. Also, like I said, you'll be able to breed with any female, but if everything goes right, the child will be either a human male or a 'monster girl'."
He thought for a second. "And there won't be any more male monsters after we all die off?"
She nodded again. "I'm sorry, but that's how it'll have to be."
"Well, I don't like it, but if there's really no other way... Are you sure there's no other way?"
She nodded sadly. "I wish there was."
His shoulders drooped. "That really sucks." He hung his head in sadness and his tail's flames lost a great deal of their normal intensity.
They decided to stop and make camp before it got dark. They made their camp just inside the forest, in sight of the road. After getting dinner started, they sat around the fire and chatted, with Zeraine telling Cedric about their fight with the Dullahan and their rescue of the mermaids. Cedric shared some of his stories with the party, at one point indirectly confirming to the hero that he was the one who frequently wrestled with Sol, naturally winning every time. When they were done eating, they cleaned up everything and got ready to sleep. Zeraine drew watch duty for the night, and stayed up while everyone else slept.
The party looked amongst themselves, sighed, and shook their heads. Zeraine said, "You know, I would go ask if they have any kind of jobs for us, such as monster-slaying, but I'd rather not try to do business with these guys."
The other three simultaneously said, "Agreed."
They left, never having been noticed by anyone. Each of them unsettled over it to some degree, they silently continued their journey. The hero decided not to go back to practicing with telekinesis, seeing as his current mood would hinder him in focusing.
The party passed a couple of branch-offs in the road, with said branch-offs having signs pointing the directions of different places, though not giving even an estimated distance. Evening was approaching, but the sun was still a bit high in the sky. As they continued walking, they suddenly heard the sounds of women yelling and shouting, and the occasional metal-on-metal clanging indicative of fighting. They once again ran to see what was happening, this time being very much right in doing so. When they found the source of this noise, all of them except the succubus got ready for a fight. What they saw was scantily-clad women with varying shades of tanned or dark skin and tribal tattoos, with hair colors ranging from black to light brown and different lengths and styles of hair, all of them armed with either spears or swords, accosting a group of travelers, all of them male. As they approached, upon closer inspection, they saw that there was some kind of organization to it.
The succubus waved her hand, gesturing to the party to not draw their weapons. "It's just a bunch of amazons out man-hunting. Let's keep going."
The hero said, "Now wait, I know it looks like they're actually dueling instead of trying to kill each other, but shouldn't we check it out? And what do you mean 'man-hunting'?"
Amarantha snickered. "Amazons are an all-female, tribal race. They go out 'hunting' for men, regardless of race or species, and capture them, bring them home, and have them assume what is normally thought of as the 'wife' role. I guess you could say that their culture is 'backward' compared to yours. Anyway, I don't know why they're dueling the men instead of just tying them up and dragging them home, but it's not really our concern, to be honest."
Zeraine added, "Since you're the leader of our little group, we'll go check it out if you want to. And don't worry, kid. As luck would have it, you and I have already been 'caught' by these girls, so we don't need to worry about any complications from encountering them."
The hero looked a bit puzzled, then asked, "You mean they'd leave us alone because we're already 'taken'?"
The succubus answered, "Mhm. To them, you're 'my' man, and Zeraine is 'Amarantha's' man. You guys 'belong' to us."
The hero asked, "Wait, if they're all-female, what happens to their male children?"
She said, "I don't know, actually..."
Amarantha said, "Neither do I."
Following the hero's lead, the party approached the spectacle. The amazons acknowledged their presence, but kept their attention on the duels between themselves and the men. The succubus whispered to the hero, "Since you want to butt-in so bad, we'll find out what's happening, but know this, things in this situation will go a lot easier if you let us girls do the talking, okay?" She walked up and said, "Hey, anyone wanna tell me what's goin' on here?"
One of the amazons, who seemed to be the oldest one present, said, "We're letting the men fight for their freedom. We won't take the ones that win, but we will take the ones that lose."
Zeraine, Amarantha, and the hero heard, and also stepped closer. Zeraine couldn't help but notice that, despite being the oldest-looking one there, this amazon was one hell of a looker. Her body was fantastic, her breasts still looked firm, she didn't appear to have any chub anywhere, her ass was nicely toned, and her face, though fierce, was quite beautiful. To him, she couldn't compare to Amarantha, but she was still very hot. The succubus asked, "Isn't that a little out of the ordinary for you amazons?"
The amazon frowned. "Normally, we'd have just took them, but that salamander over there challenged me. His terms were that if he won, he'd go free and the rest would get to fight for their own freedom. The losers would have to come with us. The men didn't like it, but I had already rejected his first offer."
"Which was?"
"He suggested that he fight me, one-on-one. If he won, they'd all go free, and if I won, we'd take him and the men, with him reserving the right to a rematch for his own freedom. As you can see, he won, and now these pitiful men are fighting for their own freedom from us. They're so weak that it's almost shameful, but it's to be expected, because they're men."
The succubus smirked. "I wouldn't be so sure about that. I don't know how good these men are, nor do I care, but my man is amazing 'at night'."
The amazon smiled. "Really? That's about all they're good for, anyway. I don't know why men always make such a fuss. Once they've given us their seed, they're free to leave."
The succubus sighed. "Stupid stories are probably to blame for that."
The amazon shrugged. Just then, the salamander, who was sitting on top of the carriage, grinning big and waving his flaming tail around, called out, "Come on, guys! Fight harder! If you don't want to spend your next few months tryin' to give these chicks a kid, win!" He laughed, watching the different duels, four in all.
The succubus asked, "Hey, if you had won against him," she asked, gesturing toward the salamander, "would you have done it with him?"
The amazon shook her head. "He'd be more of a slave for a short time. I don't really like the thought of mating with a lizard. That, and he's a bit too loud."
The duels ended one by one, with only one man winning his freedom. The other three lost. The man who won did so by somehow managing to disarm the amazon, throwing away his weapon, and grabbing her in a rear naked choke. He apparently choked her until she passed out, which won him his freedom. The others lost in various ways. When the one amazon that lost regained consciousness, she said to the man, "Not bad. It's such a pity, though. Our kids would have been strong."
The man grinned sheepishly and got back on the carriage. The salamander jumped down and said, "Well, sorry, guys. You lost, so they're going to take you. There's nothing I can do about that, so too bad." He looked back at the amazons' leader and said, "And fighting with you was fun! Maybe we can duel again some time?"
"No," she replied, shaking her head. "Had you not stepped up and challenged me, we'd have let you go, anyway. We're not interested in lizards."
"Heh." He shrugged, then noticed the party. "Hey, who are you guys? I'm Cedric. Nice to meet ya'." He shook their hands and they introduced themselves. Afterward, he said, "So you're Zeraine and Amarantha, huh? My little sister has told me a lot about you guys. You're buddies with her boyfriend, right?"
Zeraine said, "Yeah. You're Hilda's brother?"
He replied, "One of them. How is she?"
Amarantha rolled her eyes. "She's fine. She gets a bit aggressive with Sol, but she's having a great time. She has to share him with Victoria, but she's fine with that."
He said, "Victoria? Her Lizardman friend?"
She nodded. "Yep. They're both fine with the arrangement, so it's all good."
"I see. That's good. How's Sol doing?"
"He's got his hands full with his business. He's also pretty much constantly fawning over both of them whenever he isn't busy with something. He recently became an incubus, too, but still hasn't gone 'that far' with either of them. They're waiting for his birthday next week."
"Good for him. What brings you guys out this far?"
The succubus said, "We'll tell you later, if you have time. Right now, we need to keep moving."
The hero asked, "What about those guys?" He pointed at the men who were being led away.
She said, "Leave 'em. The deal was if they lost, they get taken. We have no right to interfere."
The amazons' leader, after making sure everyone from her band was alright, said, "Thanks for understanding. If you want, we could treat you to a celebratory feast back at our village."
The succubus shook her head. "Sorry, but we need to get going."
"Okay then." She walked away with the rest of her team, disappearing into the forest.
The one man who managed to win, despite being safe, got impatient and left, heading for Greenford. Cedric shouted, "Make sure you either keep quiet about this, or you tell the truth! I'll kick your ass if you don't, okay!?" He then shrugged. "Well, since my ride is gone, and I was really only there to escort them, which failed, which means I wouldn't get paid anyway, I guess I might as well go with you guys for a while."
The five of them resumed the journey. Along the way, the hero asked the succubus, "Are you sure it was alright to leave those guys?"
She nodded. "They'll be fine. The leader herself said that after they've served their purpose, they'd be free to go. Nothing will happen to them unless it's something 'normal' like a pack of rabid wolves or something."
The hero was still uncomfortable with it, but he managed to stop worrying over it. A deal was made, after all, and him stepping in to break it would be a bad thing. As they continued their journey, the succubus told Cedric about their plans, their intentions, and where they were going. He said, "So, after you've taken the throne, my body will be more human in appearance, but I won't lose any of my strength or skill?"
She nodded. "Correct. Also, like I said, you'll be able to breed with any female, but if everything goes right, the child will be either a human male or a 'monster girl'."
He thought for a second. "And there won't be any more male monsters after we all die off?"
She nodded again. "I'm sorry, but that's how it'll have to be."
"Well, I don't like it, but if there's really no other way... Are you sure there's no other way?"
She nodded sadly. "I wish there was."
His shoulders drooped. "That really sucks." He hung his head in sadness and his tail's flames lost a great deal of their normal intensity.
They decided to stop and make camp before it got dark. They made their camp just inside the forest, in sight of the road. After getting dinner started, they sat around the fire and chatted, with Zeraine telling Cedric about their fight with the Dullahan and their rescue of the mermaids. Cedric shared some of his stories with the party, at one point indirectly confirming to the hero that he was the one who frequently wrestled with Sol, naturally winning every time. When they were done eating, they cleaned up everything and got ready to sleep. Zeraine drew watch duty for the night, and stayed up while everyone else slept.
Chapter 67
Spoiler: show
The night was completely uneventful, and thus Zeraine was bored out of his mind the entire time. That only added to his fatigue, but he stayed up until sunrise, then woke Amarantha up. She woke everyone else, then stepped aside with Zeraine to discuss something. Nobody from the rest of the party heard their whispered conversation.
Amarantha asked, "Hey, you alright?"
Zeraine nodded. "I'll be fine if I can get some sleep now."
She hesitated, then asked, "Um, Zeraine? Do you think you could sleep on my back?"
He paused for a second, thinking about what she meant. "Do you mean something like you revert to your 'true' form, I climb up onto your back, then sleep while we keep moving?"
She nodded, her face starting to turn red.
"Why are you getting embarrassed? After what we've done, you shouldn't have anything to be embarrassed over. ...Wait, that's right, you don't let anyone ride you..."
"Under circumstances like this, I'll let you, but only you. Would it be alright?"
"Sure. I think I could easily sleep like that." He yawned, obviously tired.
Meanwhile, Cedric woke up, stretched, yawned, and said, "A new day. I wonder if anything interesting will happen... We're going to the desert where the ruins of that old kingdom is, right?" He suddenly remembered the succubus's plans, then frowned, his tail flames dying down like before. He frantically rubbed his head, messing up his already unkempt "mane", then said, "At least I get to live out my life, right? Fuck it, I'll make the best of it somehow!" he growled, his tail flaring up with very intense flames.
The succubus and the hero, who were sleeping together, also got up and began preparing to resume their journey. She quickly noticed his "morning wood" and smiled seductively, then began rubbing it through his pants. "You're up down here, dear. Want some relief? I'd be more than happy to give you some..."
The hero put his hand on her shoulder, not wanting to hurt her feelings by pushing her hand away or anything. "Didn't we just talk about this kind of thing yesterday morning?"
She sighed, then slipped her hand into his pants to rub it directly. "I want you right now."
He made a half-hearted attempt at stopping her by putting his hand on her arm. "Wait, stop! Not in front of everyone!"
She stopped stroking his dick, but didn't let go. "You remember what happened the night before last, right? Remember how I went wild after being starved of you? It was a bit embarrassing for me, losing control like that. I've agreed to your request to have sex in moderation, limiting it to once a day, but I'd like it if you also cooperated with me and didn't allow me to ever fall into such a state again. I'll admit right now that there's no way I could hold out until tonight, partially because we didn't do it last night."
He gave her a sour grin. "Yeah, it'd definitely be best if we never let you get that way again. So you need it right now, and that bad, huh?"
She nodded. "Please. Let's go somewhere out of sight and earshot so you can fuck me." She looked at him with serious, pleading eyes.
Realizing the seriousness of the situation, he agreed.
As the two of them headed deeper into the woods, she whispered into his ear, "There are so many things I want to do to you, and so many things I want you to do to me, but you're still too prudish to agree. I'm not sure if your body could handle some of them, either..."
Throbbing in his pants from her hot breath on his ear, as well as from the lingering feeling of her earlier stroking, he asked, "And what would those things be?"
She said, "I'd like to give you a blowjob. I'd like for you to lick my pussy. I'd like to do 69, which is where we both do those things at the same time. I'd like to use my breasts to give you a titfuck. I want to try anal sex. I want to stroke you off with my tail. I want you to cover my entire body with your semen, as well as fill my stomach, my ass, and my pussy. There are some other acts, but..."
He was shocked at her admission. He thought, "Wow. I had no idea she was this much of a pervert. I still love her, but damn! Filling her stomach? She means drinking it, right? ...Why is my heart racing? Why am I getting aroused from this!?"
She looked down in shame. "I'm sorry for being this dirty, but I can't help it. I'm even itching and dripping right now." She thought, "I had to tell him. I hope he's still okay with me..."
He gently grabbed her chin and raised her head, looking her in the eyes. "You don't need to apologize. You're a succubus. Those kinds of desires are to be expected, I guess. You are right that my body couldn't handle some of them, though." He chuckled, trying to cheer her up. "Let's get you taken care of, okay?"
She nodded, thinking, "Thanks."
They then proceeded to have sex, standing up, her leaning against a tree, taking him from behind. Due to her instructions on how to thrust, he managed to make her orgasm. He held her from behind, letting her lean up against him because her legs were weak after the act. She made him stay in her pussy until his erection went away and it fell out of her, allowing the two shots worth of his cum to leak out, forming a small "puddle" between her feet.
After it was over, she asked, "You're still fine with being with me?"
He nodded, "Of course. You may have some desires that I'm uncomfortable with, but I don't love you any less. I'm actually glad you were open and honest."
Feeling a lot better now, she roughly grabbed him by the sides of his head and kissed him passionately. She didn't feed from the kiss since she had already gotten her fill from the sex, but the hero still felt drained afterward because of how "hungry" the kiss seemed. She then led him back to the camp site.
As soon as they returned, Amarantha said, "We've got everything packed up and we're ready to leave. Are you two 'done'?"
They nodded, the hero feeling embarrassed from Amarantha knowing what they did. As soon as they got back to the road, Amarantha reverted to her dragon form, causing everyone to instinctively stare in awe. Zeraine was the first to recover, having seen it more than anyone else, and he climbed up on her back, laid down between her wings, and fell asleep. The group made sure to travel fairly quietly so Zeraine could sleep, but Cedric was constantly thinking about how strong Amarantha might be, and was wanting to spar with her. As the day went on, they noticed it getting hotter. According to the map, they were nearing the border, and they had noticed the trees becoming fewer in number as they continued.
By noon, the ground had become very dry with many cracks and little vegetation. They had left the forest hours ago. They saw sand dunes in the distance, as well as partially-destroyed stone structures. They were now in the Pharaoh's country, what many called the "Old Kingdom".
Amarantha asked, "Hey, you alright?"
Zeraine nodded. "I'll be fine if I can get some sleep now."
She hesitated, then asked, "Um, Zeraine? Do you think you could sleep on my back?"
He paused for a second, thinking about what she meant. "Do you mean something like you revert to your 'true' form, I climb up onto your back, then sleep while we keep moving?"
She nodded, her face starting to turn red.
"Why are you getting embarrassed? After what we've done, you shouldn't have anything to be embarrassed over. ...Wait, that's right, you don't let anyone ride you..."
"Under circumstances like this, I'll let you, but only you. Would it be alright?"
"Sure. I think I could easily sleep like that." He yawned, obviously tired.
Meanwhile, Cedric woke up, stretched, yawned, and said, "A new day. I wonder if anything interesting will happen... We're going to the desert where the ruins of that old kingdom is, right?" He suddenly remembered the succubus's plans, then frowned, his tail flames dying down like before. He frantically rubbed his head, messing up his already unkempt "mane", then said, "At least I get to live out my life, right? Fuck it, I'll make the best of it somehow!" he growled, his tail flaring up with very intense flames.
The succubus and the hero, who were sleeping together, also got up and began preparing to resume their journey. She quickly noticed his "morning wood" and smiled seductively, then began rubbing it through his pants. "You're up down here, dear. Want some relief? I'd be more than happy to give you some..."
The hero put his hand on her shoulder, not wanting to hurt her feelings by pushing her hand away or anything. "Didn't we just talk about this kind of thing yesterday morning?"
She sighed, then slipped her hand into his pants to rub it directly. "I want you right now."
He made a half-hearted attempt at stopping her by putting his hand on her arm. "Wait, stop! Not in front of everyone!"
She stopped stroking his dick, but didn't let go. "You remember what happened the night before last, right? Remember how I went wild after being starved of you? It was a bit embarrassing for me, losing control like that. I've agreed to your request to have sex in moderation, limiting it to once a day, but I'd like it if you also cooperated with me and didn't allow me to ever fall into such a state again. I'll admit right now that there's no way I could hold out until tonight, partially because we didn't do it last night."
He gave her a sour grin. "Yeah, it'd definitely be best if we never let you get that way again. So you need it right now, and that bad, huh?"
She nodded. "Please. Let's go somewhere out of sight and earshot so you can fuck me." She looked at him with serious, pleading eyes.
Realizing the seriousness of the situation, he agreed.
As the two of them headed deeper into the woods, she whispered into his ear, "There are so many things I want to do to you, and so many things I want you to do to me, but you're still too prudish to agree. I'm not sure if your body could handle some of them, either..."
Throbbing in his pants from her hot breath on his ear, as well as from the lingering feeling of her earlier stroking, he asked, "And what would those things be?"
She said, "I'd like to give you a blowjob. I'd like for you to lick my pussy. I'd like to do 69, which is where we both do those things at the same time. I'd like to use my breasts to give you a titfuck. I want to try anal sex. I want to stroke you off with my tail. I want you to cover my entire body with your semen, as well as fill my stomach, my ass, and my pussy. There are some other acts, but..."
He was shocked at her admission. He thought, "Wow. I had no idea she was this much of a pervert. I still love her, but damn! Filling her stomach? She means drinking it, right? ...Why is my heart racing? Why am I getting aroused from this!?"
She looked down in shame. "I'm sorry for being this dirty, but I can't help it. I'm even itching and dripping right now." She thought, "I had to tell him. I hope he's still okay with me..."
He gently grabbed her chin and raised her head, looking her in the eyes. "You don't need to apologize. You're a succubus. Those kinds of desires are to be expected, I guess. You are right that my body couldn't handle some of them, though." He chuckled, trying to cheer her up. "Let's get you taken care of, okay?"
She nodded, thinking, "Thanks."
They then proceeded to have sex, standing up, her leaning against a tree, taking him from behind. Due to her instructions on how to thrust, he managed to make her orgasm. He held her from behind, letting her lean up against him because her legs were weak after the act. She made him stay in her pussy until his erection went away and it fell out of her, allowing the two shots worth of his cum to leak out, forming a small "puddle" between her feet.
After it was over, she asked, "You're still fine with being with me?"
He nodded, "Of course. You may have some desires that I'm uncomfortable with, but I don't love you any less. I'm actually glad you were open and honest."
Feeling a lot better now, she roughly grabbed him by the sides of his head and kissed him passionately. She didn't feed from the kiss since she had already gotten her fill from the sex, but the hero still felt drained afterward because of how "hungry" the kiss seemed. She then led him back to the camp site.
As soon as they returned, Amarantha said, "We've got everything packed up and we're ready to leave. Are you two 'done'?"
They nodded, the hero feeling embarrassed from Amarantha knowing what they did. As soon as they got back to the road, Amarantha reverted to her dragon form, causing everyone to instinctively stare in awe. Zeraine was the first to recover, having seen it more than anyone else, and he climbed up on her back, laid down between her wings, and fell asleep. The group made sure to travel fairly quietly so Zeraine could sleep, but Cedric was constantly thinking about how strong Amarantha might be, and was wanting to spar with her. As the day went on, they noticed it getting hotter. According to the map, they were nearing the border, and they had noticed the trees becoming fewer in number as they continued.
By noon, the ground had become very dry with many cracks and little vegetation. They had left the forest hours ago. They saw sand dunes in the distance, as well as partially-destroyed stone structures. They were now in the Pharaoh's country, what many called the "Old Kingdom".
Chapter 68
Spoiler: show
Zeraine woke up and slid off Amarantha's back. "Thanks, Ammie. I slept pretty good. I might have even slept better had it not been for this damn heat."
She returned to her human form. "Yeah, this heat's a bitch. Anyway, you slept good?"
"I just said I did. The way you were walking, it was almost like you were gently rocking me."
She blushed. "Well, as you know, I don't let anyone on my back except you, and only under special circumstances. Unless you play night guard again, don't expect for it to happen again," she said, her tone somewhat pleading as well as embarrassed.
Zeraine thought, "She's cute when she's embarrassed, that's for sure. Anyway, I know she won't let anyone but me ride her because of her pride as a dragon, but she needs to get over that stuff of being embarrassed over it despite it being me."
The hero, noticing that Zeraine was awake now, said, "You know, it was kind of funny. All of us were walking along completely normal-like, despite one of us being in the form of a dragon, and another being a salamander."
The succubus dropped her disguise and asked, "Would it have been any stranger had I been in my true form as well?"
The hero paused for a second, then shrugged.
She continued, "Whatever. Anyway, we're here, so we need to make sure we're going in the right direction. We should also consider changing our sleeping schedules so that we travel at night and sleep in a cave or some ruins or something during the day. Otherwise, this heat will get to us. Considering how dangerous this area is, I'd rather not spend all my mana keeping a frost cloud around us. I'd prefer instead to have a Fireball, Lightning Bolt, or Ice Missile ready in case we run into an enemy. Remember, girtablilu venom is deadly."
The hero pulled out his map of the Old Kingdom and made sure they were all headed in the right direction. There were supposedly pyramids to the south-southeast, and it looked like it'd take a few days of travel to get there. The ground got more and more sandy as they continued. The temperature also rose even more as the day continued. By the time they found a cave, except for Cedric, they were all dripping with sweat and panting hard. They decided that now would be a good time to stop, rest, eat, and kill time until nightfall.
The succubus was the one responsible for cleaning their clothes and washing the sweat from everyone's bodies with her water magic. After doing so, they all napped until sunset, then resumed their journey. As they continued, the hero thought, "She sure dropped one hell of a bombshell on me this morning... I knew she was a succubus, but I guess I didn't know how 'dirty' succubi really were. Had I known, I'd have probably been more mentally prepared for such an admission. Still, she's definitely a pervert. ...Why the hell am I getting excited from that!?" He noticed that he was starting to get hard from remembering her admission from this morning, then decided to try to take his mind off it by asking, "Hey, Cedric? The heat didn't bother you?"
He scoffed. "Buddy, I'm a salamander. We tend to live in volcanic areas, so this heat isn't much to fret over. Still, after having traveled around so much, I guess I've lost a little of my heat resistance. I was starting to get a bit uncomfortable, too. And in case you're wondering, I wasn't sweating because we lizard-people can't."
Before the hero could ask why, the succubus told him, "It's because they don't have sweat glands. They will after my spell, but they don't right now. Also, I don't know if you noticed, but Amarantha wasn't sweating in her dragon form. In her human form, however, after a few minutes in the earlier heat, she was soaked with it."
The hero shrugged it off, not really caring to her any explanations as to why dragons can sweat in human form, but can't in their true forms.
A few minutes later, she said, "You know, it's kind of nice having something as convenient as a salamander to use his tail to light the way."
Cedric replied, "Heh, first, don't think of me as some object, okay? I hate when anyone, human or monster, does that. Second, it also makes us stick out. We're basically sitting ducks to anyone who might be lurking in the shadows, waiting to ambush us."
As if on cue, Zeraine suddenly held his hand up. "Quiet! Anyone hear that?"
The hero nodded. "A scraping sound, right? I hear it, too."
Suddenly, the sand to their left exploded, revealing a giant scorpion. It snapped it claws shut a few times, then skittered toward the party, kicking up sand as it stepped down with its eight pointed "feet".
The hero yelled, "A girtablilu! Scatter!"
The party scattered, running in different directions, ending up with them surrounding the girtablilu. It turned repeatedly, looking at each party member, apparently trying to decide which one to attack first. It lunged at Cedric, but he dodged by jumping backward, cleanly escaping its claws. It then quickly turned and lashed out with its stinger at the hero, but he blocked it with his shield, stumbling backward from the force of the hit.
In an amazing display of quick reflexes and teamwork, the party killed the girtablilu. First, the succubus launched a Fireball, hitting the scorpion in the side. This caused it to face her, angry over the sudden burning pain. Cedric saw the opening and quickly charged in, using his kilij to chop off its tail. Zeraine and Amarantha followed up, her rushing in and grabbing one of its pincers while Zeraine cut the other off with his great sword. The succubus then cast Sodom, cutting off a few of its legs with the blades of air. The hero then finished it off by using a levitation-assisted jump to get on its back, then planting his sword through its median eyes, once through each. He then pulled his sword out, jumped off, and used the flamethrower version of Igni for good measure.
Everyone sighed with relief, then the succubus said, "Remember, this isn't the only one we'll face. We also probably won't be lucky enough to just find them one at a time. And this method of dealing with them probably won't work every time, either. Whatever you do, do NOT get stung. I can cure the poison, but stopping in the middle of a fight to do so puts us all at risk. Also, as you can see, the stinger is huge. The poison would only be an issue if you survived the sting. Now, let's keep going."
Cedric cringed at the girtablilu's carcass. "Man, the sooner we finish here, the better. I hate bugs, especially big ones."
She returned to her human form. "Yeah, this heat's a bitch. Anyway, you slept good?"
"I just said I did. The way you were walking, it was almost like you were gently rocking me."
She blushed. "Well, as you know, I don't let anyone on my back except you, and only under special circumstances. Unless you play night guard again, don't expect for it to happen again," she said, her tone somewhat pleading as well as embarrassed.
Zeraine thought, "She's cute when she's embarrassed, that's for sure. Anyway, I know she won't let anyone but me ride her because of her pride as a dragon, but she needs to get over that stuff of being embarrassed over it despite it being me."
The hero, noticing that Zeraine was awake now, said, "You know, it was kind of funny. All of us were walking along completely normal-like, despite one of us being in the form of a dragon, and another being a salamander."
The succubus dropped her disguise and asked, "Would it have been any stranger had I been in my true form as well?"
The hero paused for a second, then shrugged.
She continued, "Whatever. Anyway, we're here, so we need to make sure we're going in the right direction. We should also consider changing our sleeping schedules so that we travel at night and sleep in a cave or some ruins or something during the day. Otherwise, this heat will get to us. Considering how dangerous this area is, I'd rather not spend all my mana keeping a frost cloud around us. I'd prefer instead to have a Fireball, Lightning Bolt, or Ice Missile ready in case we run into an enemy. Remember, girtablilu venom is deadly."
The hero pulled out his map of the Old Kingdom and made sure they were all headed in the right direction. There were supposedly pyramids to the south-southeast, and it looked like it'd take a few days of travel to get there. The ground got more and more sandy as they continued. The temperature also rose even more as the day continued. By the time they found a cave, except for Cedric, they were all dripping with sweat and panting hard. They decided that now would be a good time to stop, rest, eat, and kill time until nightfall.
The succubus was the one responsible for cleaning their clothes and washing the sweat from everyone's bodies with her water magic. After doing so, they all napped until sunset, then resumed their journey. As they continued, the hero thought, "She sure dropped one hell of a bombshell on me this morning... I knew she was a succubus, but I guess I didn't know how 'dirty' succubi really were. Had I known, I'd have probably been more mentally prepared for such an admission. Still, she's definitely a pervert. ...Why the hell am I getting excited from that!?" He noticed that he was starting to get hard from remembering her admission from this morning, then decided to try to take his mind off it by asking, "Hey, Cedric? The heat didn't bother you?"
He scoffed. "Buddy, I'm a salamander. We tend to live in volcanic areas, so this heat isn't much to fret over. Still, after having traveled around so much, I guess I've lost a little of my heat resistance. I was starting to get a bit uncomfortable, too. And in case you're wondering, I wasn't sweating because we lizard-people can't."
Before the hero could ask why, the succubus told him, "It's because they don't have sweat glands. They will after my spell, but they don't right now. Also, I don't know if you noticed, but Amarantha wasn't sweating in her dragon form. In her human form, however, after a few minutes in the earlier heat, she was soaked with it."
The hero shrugged it off, not really caring to her any explanations as to why dragons can sweat in human form, but can't in their true forms.
A few minutes later, she said, "You know, it's kind of nice having something as convenient as a salamander to use his tail to light the way."
Cedric replied, "Heh, first, don't think of me as some object, okay? I hate when anyone, human or monster, does that. Second, it also makes us stick out. We're basically sitting ducks to anyone who might be lurking in the shadows, waiting to ambush us."
As if on cue, Zeraine suddenly held his hand up. "Quiet! Anyone hear that?"
The hero nodded. "A scraping sound, right? I hear it, too."
Suddenly, the sand to their left exploded, revealing a giant scorpion. It snapped it claws shut a few times, then skittered toward the party, kicking up sand as it stepped down with its eight pointed "feet".
The hero yelled, "A girtablilu! Scatter!"
The party scattered, running in different directions, ending up with them surrounding the girtablilu. It turned repeatedly, looking at each party member, apparently trying to decide which one to attack first. It lunged at Cedric, but he dodged by jumping backward, cleanly escaping its claws. It then quickly turned and lashed out with its stinger at the hero, but he blocked it with his shield, stumbling backward from the force of the hit.
In an amazing display of quick reflexes and teamwork, the party killed the girtablilu. First, the succubus launched a Fireball, hitting the scorpion in the side. This caused it to face her, angry over the sudden burning pain. Cedric saw the opening and quickly charged in, using his kilij to chop off its tail. Zeraine and Amarantha followed up, her rushing in and grabbing one of its pincers while Zeraine cut the other off with his great sword. The succubus then cast Sodom, cutting off a few of its legs with the blades of air. The hero then finished it off by using a levitation-assisted jump to get on its back, then planting his sword through its median eyes, once through each. He then pulled his sword out, jumped off, and used the flamethrower version of Igni for good measure.
Everyone sighed with relief, then the succubus said, "Remember, this isn't the only one we'll face. We also probably won't be lucky enough to just find them one at a time. And this method of dealing with them probably won't work every time, either. Whatever you do, do NOT get stung. I can cure the poison, but stopping in the middle of a fight to do so puts us all at risk. Also, as you can see, the stinger is huge. The poison would only be an issue if you survived the sting. Now, let's keep going."
Cedric cringed at the girtablilu's carcass. "Man, the sooner we finish here, the better. I hate bugs, especially big ones."
Chapter 69
Spoiler: show
As they continued traveling, they happened upon some ruins. The group suspected something was wrong and the hero brought out the map.
The succubus looked at the pieces of what apparently used to be some sort of temple and compared it with the outdated map. "It looks like we went off-course after that fight."
The hero said, "Yeah, it looks like we are a bit too far east. Maybe instead of trying to travel in a straight line to get there, we should go from landmark to landmark. In this case, from one ruin site to another."
She huffed. "That would make this little escapade take at least four more days! There's no place around here to stop to restock on our food as far as I know, nor is ruin site-hopping the best method, either!"
"That may be true, but it'd help us to not get lost or turned around. Maybe every few hours Amarantha could use her dragon form to fly up into the air and make sure we're headed in the right direction."
Amarantha sighed. "There's one problem with that. Regardless of what you might have heard or read, dragons don't have natural Far-Sight abilities. We use magic for that, and I never learned how."
The succubus facepalmed. "I guess it's up to me, then? Unless Amarantha is comfortable with flying in a given direction for however long is needed until she spots some place, then flying back to tell us, I'll have to levitate and use a Far-Sight spell. Doing that would, of course, drain me of my magic energy, and I'd need to recharge somehow, and rather than use up our 9 remaining Mana Potions, I'd prefer to do something else."
The hero, understanding what she meant, blushed a little and said, "You're right. They should be saved for emergencies and mid-battle. How much energy does it take to do that, anyway?"
"As you might realize, I'd have to levitate pretty high into the air, then use Far-Sight to look around carefully, then descend. If I had to do that every few hours, you'd have to 'feed' me about three or four times a day."
"But what about before? Didn't you easily levitate in that echidna's dungeon? We all did, actually... But it wasn't draining."
"We only maintained it for a few seconds and didn't do much else. I'd take me minutes to use my most energy-efficient levitation spell to do what we're talking about, and after a few times, it'd wear me out. That'd be where you ignore your wish for moderation in favor of our group's success and 'come' in." She giggled seductively, wondering if he'd notice her play on words.
He did notice, sighing heavily. "My penis is that important to our success?"
She gave him a bewitching look from her beautiful red eyes and grinned. "Your semen, too," she said, licking her lips.
With a sour look on his face, he asked, "Speaking of which, when do you need to be 'fed' again?"
Dropping all attempts at seduction, she said, "I needed it when we woke up earlier, but I suppose I could wait for a bit longer, assuming you really don't want to do it right now."
He hung his head in thought. "Keeping her fed is definitely necessary, but where would we do it? No matter what, even though they're our friends, I am NOT having sex with her in front of the others."
The next thing he knew, she had her arms around him from behind and was blowing lightly on his ear while seductively whispering, "We could take advantage of those ruins over there. I'm sure it'd be safe to just step inside and go for a round. What do you say?"
He didn't resist her advance, afraid that he might hurt her feelings again. He found himself getting hard, and her seductive voice sent a shiver up his spine. "Alright. Let's go."
The succubus smiled and clapped her hands victoriously. "Zeraine, Amarantha, Cedric, keep an eye out for a while."
Amarantha nodded, saying, "It's fine. Go bang your hubby." She snickered afterward.
As the succubus lead the hero inside, he asked, "We're just doing it normally, right?"
She replied, "Nope. This time, we're going to experiment a bit."
"What do you mean?"
She took off her panties and set them aside, smiling lustfully. "Lay down and I'll show you."
Not wanting to waste time, the hero did as she told him to. Once he was on his back on the stone floor, she mounted him. Her dress was pulled up to above her waist, but she wasn't facing him. "What are you doing?"
She undid his pants and gently brought out his quickly-hardening penis. She then stroked it slowly as she turned around and said, "We're going to try 69 position. In this position, you lick my pussy while I suck your dick."
He instinctively put his hands on her ass and said, "Didn't I tell you before how I was uncomfortable with this?"
"I'm not going to bite it. I promise you it'll feel good. Just lay back, lick me, and enjoy my mouth." Before he could say anything else, she was erotically licking his penis from the base to the tip, prodding his urethra with her tongue.
He decided to just give in, since it'd be pointless to object any further, and partially also because it already felt good. Another thought was that he needed to start trusting her a bit more, even though he was uncomfortable with these sexual acts. Reluctantly, he stuck his tongue out and gave her increasingly wet vagina a tentative lick. Finding that it didn't taste bad, he licked her again. After a few more licks, he decided that since she actually tasted kind of good down here, he was okay with it to an extent. He continued licking, attempting various things such as changing speed, licking angles, sticking his tongue inside, and licking her clit. She moaned loudly from his actions, thoroughly enjoying everything he did to her as she took the head of his dick into her mouth and licked around it in circles, then took about half of his length into her mouth and sucked. She started moving a little faster, making sure to press her tongue against his penis as she came nearly all the way off, leaving only the tip of it in her mouth, followed by taking him about halfway into her mouth again. She tried to get more of his length into her mouth, but her gag reflex stopped her from deepthroating him. She then decided to make do with simply sucking and licking the approximate two-thirds of his manhood that she was capable of handling.
After minutes of using their mouths on each other, he came. As soon as she felt his warm semen filling her mouth, she closed her lips around his shaft as tightly as she could without touching him with her teeth. She collected every drop he squirted in her mouth before swallowing it, never taking her mouth off of him. After making sure that she had sucked out and drank every last drop of his load, she finally took her mouth off only to say, "Keep licking. It feels good and I'm close to cumming. Now, to suck you off again..."
He was unable to reply, for she was pressing her vagina against his face quite firmly. As he continued licking her honeypot, lapping up her love juice, he thought, "Seriously, this is nowhere near as bad as I thought it would be. I'm actually enjoying this. It helps that everything of hers down here tastes kind of good, too..."
He eventually made her cum from his oral assault on her pussy. When she did, a spray of something that clearly wasn't urine shot out of her, but because he was being sprayed in the face with it, he couldn't tell exactly where it came from. She didn't stop sucking his cock until he came a second time, though. When he did, she sucked incredibly hard while he ejaculated, which served both purposes of increasing his pleasure and more quickly filling her mouth with his cum. She happily and hungrily gulped down his second load, then turned around and laid down on top of him. "How was it, dear?"
He hesitantly admitted, "It felt good. It wasn't that bad licking you down there, either, actually."
She giggled happily and said, "Well, your cum is delicious. If we weren't on this journey, and were in some safe place where we had sufficient supplies of food and stuff, and if you were willing, I'd suck you off again right now. Unfortunately, we're in a dangerous place, and I don't want you collapsing in the middle of a fight just because I made you cum too many times."
He sighed, "You really are a pervert, aren't you?"
"And what's wrong with that?" she asked, slightly offended.
Not wanting to delve any further into that subject, he asked, "So are you good to go?"
She nodded. "I'm plenty well fed now, so it'd be fine for us to continue. One of the many good things to come from this session, aside from you steadily getting better at sex, is that you are now fine with me getting a 'quick feeding' from you by giving you a blowjob. It's a little bit faster and more convenient than having sex, though I'd still prefer your dick in my pussy. Anyway, I guess we should get going now. Will you give me a kiss?"
He cringed. "But you-"
"I drank every drop, and there's no taste of it left now. So how about it?"
He looked around uncomfortably. "Well, uh..."
She sighed and got up, then retrieved her panties. "It's okay. If you're that uncomfortable with kissing me after I drank your semen, you don't have to," she said as she put said panties back on.
He got up and put his penis away, then readjusted his pants and armor. "I'm sorry..."
"Don't be. I think I understand your reluctance, so don't worry about it. I'll get my kiss later. ...Which brings up another depressing thought."
"What is it?"
She looked at him sadly. "After I've taken the throne, we won't be able to be as openly intimate and affectionate."
Obviously upset over this, he asked, "And why is that?"
She sighed. "Well, for starters, I'll be pretty busy. You probably will be, too, since we'll have to take care of a lot of things during the transition to my leadership. After that, I'll have to show the appearance of a ruler, which means I won't be able to fawn over you all the time. The only intimacy we'd get would be during our private time that we'd have in our room. Because I'm a succubus, frequent sex with you would be considered par for the course, especially since you'd be an incubus. Anyway, enough of this. Let's get back."
He nodded in agreement and led her back to the others. Meanwhile, from behind a partially destroyed wall, a pair of seemingly glowing eyes watched them.
The succubus looked at the pieces of what apparently used to be some sort of temple and compared it with the outdated map. "It looks like we went off-course after that fight."
The hero said, "Yeah, it looks like we are a bit too far east. Maybe instead of trying to travel in a straight line to get there, we should go from landmark to landmark. In this case, from one ruin site to another."
She huffed. "That would make this little escapade take at least four more days! There's no place around here to stop to restock on our food as far as I know, nor is ruin site-hopping the best method, either!"
"That may be true, but it'd help us to not get lost or turned around. Maybe every few hours Amarantha could use her dragon form to fly up into the air and make sure we're headed in the right direction."
Amarantha sighed. "There's one problem with that. Regardless of what you might have heard or read, dragons don't have natural Far-Sight abilities. We use magic for that, and I never learned how."
The succubus facepalmed. "I guess it's up to me, then? Unless Amarantha is comfortable with flying in a given direction for however long is needed until she spots some place, then flying back to tell us, I'll have to levitate and use a Far-Sight spell. Doing that would, of course, drain me of my magic energy, and I'd need to recharge somehow, and rather than use up our 9 remaining Mana Potions, I'd prefer to do something else."
The hero, understanding what she meant, blushed a little and said, "You're right. They should be saved for emergencies and mid-battle. How much energy does it take to do that, anyway?"
"As you might realize, I'd have to levitate pretty high into the air, then use Far-Sight to look around carefully, then descend. If I had to do that every few hours, you'd have to 'feed' me about three or four times a day."
"But what about before? Didn't you easily levitate in that echidna's dungeon? We all did, actually... But it wasn't draining."
"We only maintained it for a few seconds and didn't do much else. I'd take me minutes to use my most energy-efficient levitation spell to do what we're talking about, and after a few times, it'd wear me out. That'd be where you ignore your wish for moderation in favor of our group's success and 'come' in." She giggled seductively, wondering if he'd notice her play on words.
He did notice, sighing heavily. "My penis is that important to our success?"
She gave him a bewitching look from her beautiful red eyes and grinned. "Your semen, too," she said, licking her lips.
With a sour look on his face, he asked, "Speaking of which, when do you need to be 'fed' again?"
Dropping all attempts at seduction, she said, "I needed it when we woke up earlier, but I suppose I could wait for a bit longer, assuming you really don't want to do it right now."
He hung his head in thought. "Keeping her fed is definitely necessary, but where would we do it? No matter what, even though they're our friends, I am NOT having sex with her in front of the others."
The next thing he knew, she had her arms around him from behind and was blowing lightly on his ear while seductively whispering, "We could take advantage of those ruins over there. I'm sure it'd be safe to just step inside and go for a round. What do you say?"
He didn't resist her advance, afraid that he might hurt her feelings again. He found himself getting hard, and her seductive voice sent a shiver up his spine. "Alright. Let's go."
The succubus smiled and clapped her hands victoriously. "Zeraine, Amarantha, Cedric, keep an eye out for a while."
Amarantha nodded, saying, "It's fine. Go bang your hubby." She snickered afterward.
As the succubus lead the hero inside, he asked, "We're just doing it normally, right?"
She replied, "Nope. This time, we're going to experiment a bit."
"What do you mean?"
She took off her panties and set them aside, smiling lustfully. "Lay down and I'll show you."
Not wanting to waste time, the hero did as she told him to. Once he was on his back on the stone floor, she mounted him. Her dress was pulled up to above her waist, but she wasn't facing him. "What are you doing?"
She undid his pants and gently brought out his quickly-hardening penis. She then stroked it slowly as she turned around and said, "We're going to try 69 position. In this position, you lick my pussy while I suck your dick."
He instinctively put his hands on her ass and said, "Didn't I tell you before how I was uncomfortable with this?"
"I'm not going to bite it. I promise you it'll feel good. Just lay back, lick me, and enjoy my mouth." Before he could say anything else, she was erotically licking his penis from the base to the tip, prodding his urethra with her tongue.
He decided to just give in, since it'd be pointless to object any further, and partially also because it already felt good. Another thought was that he needed to start trusting her a bit more, even though he was uncomfortable with these sexual acts. Reluctantly, he stuck his tongue out and gave her increasingly wet vagina a tentative lick. Finding that it didn't taste bad, he licked her again. After a few more licks, he decided that since she actually tasted kind of good down here, he was okay with it to an extent. He continued licking, attempting various things such as changing speed, licking angles, sticking his tongue inside, and licking her clit. She moaned loudly from his actions, thoroughly enjoying everything he did to her as she took the head of his dick into her mouth and licked around it in circles, then took about half of his length into her mouth and sucked. She started moving a little faster, making sure to press her tongue against his penis as she came nearly all the way off, leaving only the tip of it in her mouth, followed by taking him about halfway into her mouth again. She tried to get more of his length into her mouth, but her gag reflex stopped her from deepthroating him. She then decided to make do with simply sucking and licking the approximate two-thirds of his manhood that she was capable of handling.
After minutes of using their mouths on each other, he came. As soon as she felt his warm semen filling her mouth, she closed her lips around his shaft as tightly as she could without touching him with her teeth. She collected every drop he squirted in her mouth before swallowing it, never taking her mouth off of him. After making sure that she had sucked out and drank every last drop of his load, she finally took her mouth off only to say, "Keep licking. It feels good and I'm close to cumming. Now, to suck you off again..."
He was unable to reply, for she was pressing her vagina against his face quite firmly. As he continued licking her honeypot, lapping up her love juice, he thought, "Seriously, this is nowhere near as bad as I thought it would be. I'm actually enjoying this. It helps that everything of hers down here tastes kind of good, too..."
He eventually made her cum from his oral assault on her pussy. When she did, a spray of something that clearly wasn't urine shot out of her, but because he was being sprayed in the face with it, he couldn't tell exactly where it came from. She didn't stop sucking his cock until he came a second time, though. When he did, she sucked incredibly hard while he ejaculated, which served both purposes of increasing his pleasure and more quickly filling her mouth with his cum. She happily and hungrily gulped down his second load, then turned around and laid down on top of him. "How was it, dear?"
He hesitantly admitted, "It felt good. It wasn't that bad licking you down there, either, actually."
She giggled happily and said, "Well, your cum is delicious. If we weren't on this journey, and were in some safe place where we had sufficient supplies of food and stuff, and if you were willing, I'd suck you off again right now. Unfortunately, we're in a dangerous place, and I don't want you collapsing in the middle of a fight just because I made you cum too many times."
He sighed, "You really are a pervert, aren't you?"
"And what's wrong with that?" she asked, slightly offended.
Not wanting to delve any further into that subject, he asked, "So are you good to go?"
She nodded. "I'm plenty well fed now, so it'd be fine for us to continue. One of the many good things to come from this session, aside from you steadily getting better at sex, is that you are now fine with me getting a 'quick feeding' from you by giving you a blowjob. It's a little bit faster and more convenient than having sex, though I'd still prefer your dick in my pussy. Anyway, I guess we should get going now. Will you give me a kiss?"
He cringed. "But you-"
"I drank every drop, and there's no taste of it left now. So how about it?"
He looked around uncomfortably. "Well, uh..."
She sighed and got up, then retrieved her panties. "It's okay. If you're that uncomfortable with kissing me after I drank your semen, you don't have to," she said as she put said panties back on.
He got up and put his penis away, then readjusted his pants and armor. "I'm sorry..."
"Don't be. I think I understand your reluctance, so don't worry about it. I'll get my kiss later. ...Which brings up another depressing thought."
"What is it?"
She looked at him sadly. "After I've taken the throne, we won't be able to be as openly intimate and affectionate."
Obviously upset over this, he asked, "And why is that?"
She sighed. "Well, for starters, I'll be pretty busy. You probably will be, too, since we'll have to take care of a lot of things during the transition to my leadership. After that, I'll have to show the appearance of a ruler, which means I won't be able to fawn over you all the time. The only intimacy we'd get would be during our private time that we'd have in our room. Because I'm a succubus, frequent sex with you would be considered par for the course, especially since you'd be an incubus. Anyway, enough of this. Let's get back."
He nodded in agreement and led her back to the others. Meanwhile, from behind a partially destroyed wall, a pair of seemingly glowing eyes watched them.
Chapter 70
Spoiler: show
The hero, mulling over many various thought, including what he just did with the succubus, how it wasn't as bad as he thought it would be, and what she said, returned to the rest of the group, the succubus following closely behind him. "Well, we're back."
Zeraine said, "Hey, you have fun? Anyway, I guess we're still going to be trying for the 'straight line' method?"
The hero and the succubus looked at each other, remembering the earlier conversation, and simultaneously said, "Yeah."
The group resumed their trek across the desert, traveling until the sun started to peek over the horizon. At that point, they began looking for a cave to spend the day in. They eventually found one and went in. For some reason, it felt strange that it was empty. Setting their discomfort over that aside, they settled in for the day. They ate, played various games, and rested until evening. Once the sun had gone down, they got ready to resume their journey, only to get a very strange feeling. The feeling of great danger.
They looked to the cave entrance and saw the source of the bad feeling. There was a girtablilu blocking the entrance, its tail raised menacingly. Behind it, there were at least four more. One of them must have been a female, as it had its young riding on its back. The party looked amongst each other with repulsion. Cedric said what they were all thinking, "Just fucking great. More of them."
Zeraine brought out his great sword, Amarantha activated Mana Burst, causing her body to glow faintly, Cedric assumed a ready stance with his kilij, the hero drew his sword and raised his shield, and the succubus began focusing to cast a spell.
The hero said, "Attack."
The girtablilu charged into the cave, snapping its claws at Zeraine and Cedric, trying to grab them. They dodged, however, with Zeraine hitting the base of the scorpion's tail with a Lightning Bolt. Cedric, not knowing any magic, considered trying to hit one of the legs joints to cut the leg off, but he decided not to because the stinger was too much of a threat. The succubus cast Fireball, stunning the enemy for a brief moment, just long enough for the hero to lay down an Yrden and back off. Once the giant scorpion recovered, it attempted to pursue the succubus with great fury, only to halt in its tracks as the Yrden paralyzed it. Seeing the opportunity, Cedric and Amarantha rushed in, Cedric cutting off it tail as Amarantha jumped onto its back and slammed her fist down on its hard carapace repeatedly, shattering it and liquefying its innards from the sheer force.
With one girtablilu dead, they turned their attention to the others that were still outside. The group charged, hoping to get outside so they wouldn't have to fight in the cave, which had quickly become cramped with the addition of the corpse of the first girtablilu. They dodged stingers, claws, and pointed feet as they ran out and scattered. Realizing that this was a bad idea, they attempted to regroup. Fortunately, Zeraine managed to pair up with the succubus, and the hero joined with Cedric. Amarantha was by herself, but since she was now outside, she could transform, so she did. Recognizing the danger of a silver dragon, two of the scorpions followed her, while one went for the hero and Cedric, leaving the one with its young to attack Zeraine and the succubus.
The hero started with Igni in its fireball form, successfully igniting the enemy. As it thrashed around in panic from being set ablaze, Cedric dashed in and dove under it, stabbing at its underside with his kilij. To keep it from moving and possibly crushing Cedric, the hero repeatedly hit it with Aard in its projectile form, aiming for the legs. He felt himself getting tired despite his armor's enchantment, but he kept at it, seeing the legs cracking after about four hits from Aard. He finally shattered a few of its legs, effectively immobilizing it. Cedric quickly crawled out from under it, having left several holes in its underside from stabbing it between the joints in its body. The hero was out of breath from repeatedly using the Signs so rapidly, but the scorpion was dead. He and Cedric ran over to assist Zeraine and the succubus.
While the hero and Cedric were fighting their scorpion, Zeraine and the succubus were trying to contend with their target and its young. The broodlings had crawled off their mother's back and were skittering around, trying to surround the two of them. They stood back to back, her channeling her magic energy into a spell and him standing ready with his great sword. He glanced over his shoulder and said, "You ready for this, princess?"
She scoffed. "Of course. Now shut up and let me cast this." She built up the magic energy for the spell, then spoke the incantation. "Go Sai Cross, explosions, become tempests... Van War!"
A fast-moving barrage of fireballs shot forth, killing several baby scorpions, wounding a few, and missing many more. Afterward, Zeraine said, "Not bad, princess. Now, levitate up into the air and cover me from above. I'll handle the stuff on the ground."
After frowning at him, she did as instructed and levitated up out of reach. She then used the occasional Ice Spike or Lightning Bolt to hit the broodlings that tried to hinder Zeraine as he went after the mother girtablilu. By that time, the hero and Cedric were done, and were thus able to join in. The hero got to work on exterminating the baby scorpions, blocking their small stingers easily with his shield and cutting off their tails in counterattacks with his sword. Cedric ran to help Zeraine, attempting to flank the mother scorpion.
In the meantime, Amarantha, in her dragon form, was trying to be careful about fighting the two scorpions that had came after her. She played keep-away, occasionally tail-whipping their claws as they attempted to grab her. At one point, she managed to bait one into attempting to sting her, only for her to use her tail to break its, rendering it harmless. She then made some space between her and them, inhaled deeply, and let out her ice-breath, freezing them both. She used her tail and claws to shatter them into dozens of pieces, ridding the group of them. She then took flight to close the distance between her and the last girtablilu.
At one point in the battle, the succubus had to get the hero to toss her a Mana Potion so she could continue her support tactics. Many baby scorpions lay dead, either in pieces, burning, or both. The stench of burnt scorpion was strangling, but the group valued their survival over their immediate comfort.
Cedric had taken advantage of various openings to hit the girtablilu in its leg joints. Due to this, it was now moving with great difficulty, and it was much slower, though its tail and pincers were still very much a threat. He and Zeraine both were panting, having had to quickly dodge the scorpion's charges and attacks up to now. They stayed back, looking for the right opportunity. It came in the form of Amarantha, who flew in and used her front "feet" to grab the scorpion's tail and tear it off. She then got on top of the girtablilu and used her weight to hold it down so Zeraine and Cedric could cut off its pincers. After they did, she used her claws to tear it to pieces, scattering chunks of it all over the area.
By the time she finished, the rest of the party had taken care of the rest of the brood. After the battle, the succubus drank another Mana Potion so she could clean everyone off with her magic. Once Amarantha was clean, she transformed back to her human form. The party then made sure of their heading and resumed walking, using the nearly-gone sun as an indicator of which way they were going.
After the spectacle, the same pair of eyes from before watched them, just as the owner of said eyes had watched the battle just now and the sex last night. It mumbled to itself, "They're good fighters. What are they here for, though?"
Zeraine said, "Hey, you have fun? Anyway, I guess we're still going to be trying for the 'straight line' method?"
The hero and the succubus looked at each other, remembering the earlier conversation, and simultaneously said, "Yeah."
The group resumed their trek across the desert, traveling until the sun started to peek over the horizon. At that point, they began looking for a cave to spend the day in. They eventually found one and went in. For some reason, it felt strange that it was empty. Setting their discomfort over that aside, they settled in for the day. They ate, played various games, and rested until evening. Once the sun had gone down, they got ready to resume their journey, only to get a very strange feeling. The feeling of great danger.
They looked to the cave entrance and saw the source of the bad feeling. There was a girtablilu blocking the entrance, its tail raised menacingly. Behind it, there were at least four more. One of them must have been a female, as it had its young riding on its back. The party looked amongst each other with repulsion. Cedric said what they were all thinking, "Just fucking great. More of them."
Zeraine brought out his great sword, Amarantha activated Mana Burst, causing her body to glow faintly, Cedric assumed a ready stance with his kilij, the hero drew his sword and raised his shield, and the succubus began focusing to cast a spell.
The hero said, "Attack."
The girtablilu charged into the cave, snapping its claws at Zeraine and Cedric, trying to grab them. They dodged, however, with Zeraine hitting the base of the scorpion's tail with a Lightning Bolt. Cedric, not knowing any magic, considered trying to hit one of the legs joints to cut the leg off, but he decided not to because the stinger was too much of a threat. The succubus cast Fireball, stunning the enemy for a brief moment, just long enough for the hero to lay down an Yrden and back off. Once the giant scorpion recovered, it attempted to pursue the succubus with great fury, only to halt in its tracks as the Yrden paralyzed it. Seeing the opportunity, Cedric and Amarantha rushed in, Cedric cutting off it tail as Amarantha jumped onto its back and slammed her fist down on its hard carapace repeatedly, shattering it and liquefying its innards from the sheer force.
With one girtablilu dead, they turned their attention to the others that were still outside. The group charged, hoping to get outside so they wouldn't have to fight in the cave, which had quickly become cramped with the addition of the corpse of the first girtablilu. They dodged stingers, claws, and pointed feet as they ran out and scattered. Realizing that this was a bad idea, they attempted to regroup. Fortunately, Zeraine managed to pair up with the succubus, and the hero joined with Cedric. Amarantha was by herself, but since she was now outside, she could transform, so she did. Recognizing the danger of a silver dragon, two of the scorpions followed her, while one went for the hero and Cedric, leaving the one with its young to attack Zeraine and the succubus.
The hero started with Igni in its fireball form, successfully igniting the enemy. As it thrashed around in panic from being set ablaze, Cedric dashed in and dove under it, stabbing at its underside with his kilij. To keep it from moving and possibly crushing Cedric, the hero repeatedly hit it with Aard in its projectile form, aiming for the legs. He felt himself getting tired despite his armor's enchantment, but he kept at it, seeing the legs cracking after about four hits from Aard. He finally shattered a few of its legs, effectively immobilizing it. Cedric quickly crawled out from under it, having left several holes in its underside from stabbing it between the joints in its body. The hero was out of breath from repeatedly using the Signs so rapidly, but the scorpion was dead. He and Cedric ran over to assist Zeraine and the succubus.
While the hero and Cedric were fighting their scorpion, Zeraine and the succubus were trying to contend with their target and its young. The broodlings had crawled off their mother's back and were skittering around, trying to surround the two of them. They stood back to back, her channeling her magic energy into a spell and him standing ready with his great sword. He glanced over his shoulder and said, "You ready for this, princess?"
She scoffed. "Of course. Now shut up and let me cast this." She built up the magic energy for the spell, then spoke the incantation. "Go Sai Cross, explosions, become tempests... Van War!"
A fast-moving barrage of fireballs shot forth, killing several baby scorpions, wounding a few, and missing many more. Afterward, Zeraine said, "Not bad, princess. Now, levitate up into the air and cover me from above. I'll handle the stuff on the ground."
After frowning at him, she did as instructed and levitated up out of reach. She then used the occasional Ice Spike or Lightning Bolt to hit the broodlings that tried to hinder Zeraine as he went after the mother girtablilu. By that time, the hero and Cedric were done, and were thus able to join in. The hero got to work on exterminating the baby scorpions, blocking their small stingers easily with his shield and cutting off their tails in counterattacks with his sword. Cedric ran to help Zeraine, attempting to flank the mother scorpion.
In the meantime, Amarantha, in her dragon form, was trying to be careful about fighting the two scorpions that had came after her. She played keep-away, occasionally tail-whipping their claws as they attempted to grab her. At one point, she managed to bait one into attempting to sting her, only for her to use her tail to break its, rendering it harmless. She then made some space between her and them, inhaled deeply, and let out her ice-breath, freezing them both. She used her tail and claws to shatter them into dozens of pieces, ridding the group of them. She then took flight to close the distance between her and the last girtablilu.
At one point in the battle, the succubus had to get the hero to toss her a Mana Potion so she could continue her support tactics. Many baby scorpions lay dead, either in pieces, burning, or both. The stench of burnt scorpion was strangling, but the group valued their survival over their immediate comfort.
Cedric had taken advantage of various openings to hit the girtablilu in its leg joints. Due to this, it was now moving with great difficulty, and it was much slower, though its tail and pincers were still very much a threat. He and Zeraine both were panting, having had to quickly dodge the scorpion's charges and attacks up to now. They stayed back, looking for the right opportunity. It came in the form of Amarantha, who flew in and used her front "feet" to grab the scorpion's tail and tear it off. She then got on top of the girtablilu and used her weight to hold it down so Zeraine and Cedric could cut off its pincers. After they did, she used her claws to tear it to pieces, scattering chunks of it all over the area.
By the time she finished, the rest of the party had taken care of the rest of the brood. After the battle, the succubus drank another Mana Potion so she could clean everyone off with her magic. Once Amarantha was clean, she transformed back to her human form. The party then made sure of their heading and resumed walking, using the nearly-gone sun as an indicator of which way they were going.
After the spectacle, the same pair of eyes from before watched them, just as the owner of said eyes had watched the battle just now and the sex last night. It mumbled to itself, "They're good fighters. What are they here for, though?"
Chapter 71
Spoiler: show
The group traveled through the night, making a note of where the moon rose from and using it to further guide them. Eventually, they saw an oasis. The group decided to stop long enough to catch their breath and bathe. Before stripping, however, they refilled their supply of water, which Zeraine had been carrying around in his Bag of Holding in the form of several large jugs. The succubus helped the hero strip, then she undressed. As Zeraine arranged the piles of his and Amarantha's armor, she entered. The water came up to her waist, and when Zeraine turned around, he saw her now-wet skin glistening in the moonlight. As she turned around, whipping her wet hair around so that it hung forward over her shoulder, he found himself staring. To him, she looked like a goddess.
"Aren't you going to join me?" she asked, beckoning him.
He snapped out of it and entered the water with her. On the opposite side of the oasis, the hero and the succubus entered the water. The hero and the succubus had both gone to the opposite side of the approximately 20-foot diameter oasis pool, both of them wanting to not get too close to the others. The hero did so because despite being their friend, he was uncomfortable with being naked around Zeraine and Amarantha. He was getting used to being naked around the succubus, though, since he'd had sex with her so many times. The succubus agreed to it because she wanted him to focus on her, and she wanted him all to herself.
The four of them relaxed, feeling like they earned a nice dip in a cool body of water after having been in the desert this long, and especially after killing all those scorpions, five adults and about 17 babies in all. The lingering heat from the sun, having bore down on the sand all day long, had also served to make them sweaty, and this bath was very relaxing.
On Zeraine and Amarantha's side, the two were sitting next to each other, his arm over her shoulder, her body up against his. "Why did you just stand there and stare?" she asked. "You've seen me naked before plenty of times, and we've had quite a bit of sex since meeting our 'matchmakers'."
He chuckled. "Well, I guess with the combination of you being naked and wet, plus the moonlight and the angle that I saw you from, your beauty hit me like one of your palm-strikes to some fool's head. Honestly, I would have mistaken you for a goddess or something, had I not known it was you."
"You'd mistake me for someone else after all the time we've spent together?"
"N-no, it's- That came out wrong. What I meant was-"
She started giggling. "I know what you meant. I was just teasing you." She snaked her arm up over his and grabbed the back of his head, then pulled him into a kiss.
After her lips left his, he asked, "Hey, Ammie? You wanna do it?"
She frowned. "I do, but I'd rather wait until we're back at an inn or something. Can you hold it until we've finish our business in the Old Kingdom and left?"
Though he was a little disappointed, he agreed. "Sure thing."
The two of them continued cuddling, enjoying just being together.
On the other side, the succubus watched, then scooted over next to the hero and leaned against him. Knowing what she was up to, he rolled his eyes, smirked, and put his arm around her, which caused her to look into his eyes with pure happiness and love. She quickly jumped up onto her knees and grabbed both sides of his head, pulling him into a passionate kiss. After the kiss, she quickly pulled his head toward her, forcing his face into her cleavage. This drew snickers and stifled laughter from Zeraine and Amarantha, who had turned their attention to the couple as soon as they heard the splash from when she moved.
The hero managed to pull his face from between her breasts and asked, "What's with this sudden excitement?"
She hugged him, still smiling. "You accepted my affection so easily. How can I not be happy? By the way, that battle drained me. I need to feed again."
"...And you want sex again?"
She shrugged. "Sucking you off would be good enough. Sure, I'd like to do it with you and stuff, but I don't think we really have time for that. If you'll sit on the bank, I can do it right now."
He frowned. "They're watching and I'm not an exhibitionist."
She sighed. "Okay, fine."
She got up, not even trying to cover her breasts, and started to walk to Zeraine and Amarantha's side when the hero stopped her. "What are you doing?"
She waved her hand at him as if to wave him off, then got over to the other "half" of the oasis.
"Hey, can you two turn your heads or something for a few minutes? I need to feed from him and he won't let me if you're watching."
Zeraine and Amarantha looked at each other, then back to the succubus. Zeraine said, "Sure, princess."
Amarantha added, "We'll let you have fun with your prince."
The two of them got out and left to dry off and patrol the area. After getting dressed, they found Cedric wandering around out of view from the pool. Zeraine asked, "Yo, why didn't you get in?"
He replied, "Well, it seemed to be 'couples only' and I'm single, plus I'm a salamander. Getting my tail flames extinguished is uncomfortable."
...
The enigmatic figure that had been following the group since their stop at the ruined temple continued watching them from atop a dune. It saw how the man who wore The Order's symbol was still in the oasis with what was obviously a succubus. An odd pair, indeed. The other man and the woman who was really a silver dragon were talking with the male salamander.
It mumbled to itself in an androgynous voice, "A knight from The Order in a romantic relationship with a succubus, both of them traveling with a salamander, another man who is strongly tainted with demonic energy, and a silver dragon disguising herself as a human... Personally, I'd have expected the knight and the succubus to have had more sex by now. Regardless, they're headed for the Pharaoh's pyramid. I'd still like to know why they're here before allowing them to get near the- what!?" It saw how the succubus now had her head in the knight's lap as he sat on the bank. "Can't they do it normally?"
...
Cedric continued, "Also, have you guys noticed?"
Amarantha asked, "Noticed what? That someone's been following us for the last day or so?"
He nodded. "I'm sure you can also feel them watching us right now, too, can't you?"
Zeraine nodded. "I can feel it, too, now. Is that part of the reason why you refused, Ammie?"
She nodded. "Yes. I guess I'm okay with our close friends seeing me naked, but anyone, no matter who, watching us have sex is out of the question. If we did it in a room at an inn, we could close the curtains and lock the door, but here? Anyone could be sneaking around, trying to peek on us."
Zeraine looked around casually, not making it obvious that he was looking for the person. Cedric said, "You're not going to see them at night."
"I guess you're right. So what should we do? Should we try to find them and make them tell us why they've been following us?"
Amarantha shook her head. "I think that, as soon as the princess is done with the kid, we should get moving. When we get to the pyramid, we might be able to set up a trap of some sort to increase our chances of catching and interrogating them. For now, we'll play like we don't know they're there."
The three of them nodded, then started back to the pool. They returned just in time to hear the succubus say, "Your cum tastes so good! I could probably drink a whole gallon of it in one sitting... Can I suck another load out?"
Zeraine cleared his throat and clapped his hands loudly. "Alright, guys, you've done your thing, so let's go."
The succubus pouted as she and the hero got out of the water. As they went to get dressed again, she pressed her breasts against his back and whispered in his ear, "Guess what? I've noticed lately that every time we have sex, I get a little bit more powerful. Isn't that great? That means that if we have enough sex, I'll eventually get powerful enough to pull off my plan! Are you also getting more powerful from fucking me?"
The hero gently broke away, then turned around. He hesitated for a second, then grabbed her and kissed her.
She looked stunned for a second. "I just sucked your dick, you know. You came in my mouth and I drank every last delicious drop. Last time, you couldn't kiss me afterward. Why the sudden switch?"
He looked around uncomfortably. "Well... You see, at first I thought that it'd be hell for me to do what we did back at that ruined temple, but it wasn't. It was actually kind of good. I thought that maybe kissing you after our earlier, uh, 'act' wouldn't be as bad as I thought, either. I was right. It's fine."
She smiled. "See? You couldn't taste anything because I made sure to drink it all."
He began getting dressed. "As for your question, I don't know. I can't tell if I'm getting stronger or more powerful from our love-making or not."
When the two of them were done getting dressed, the five of them resumed their journey. Zeraine, Amarantha, and Cedric were wary about the person following them, but were discreet about it. As they continued heading south, they saw in the distance what looked like the pyramid.
"Aren't you going to join me?" she asked, beckoning him.
He snapped out of it and entered the water with her. On the opposite side of the oasis, the hero and the succubus entered the water. The hero and the succubus had both gone to the opposite side of the approximately 20-foot diameter oasis pool, both of them wanting to not get too close to the others. The hero did so because despite being their friend, he was uncomfortable with being naked around Zeraine and Amarantha. He was getting used to being naked around the succubus, though, since he'd had sex with her so many times. The succubus agreed to it because she wanted him to focus on her, and she wanted him all to herself.
The four of them relaxed, feeling like they earned a nice dip in a cool body of water after having been in the desert this long, and especially after killing all those scorpions, five adults and about 17 babies in all. The lingering heat from the sun, having bore down on the sand all day long, had also served to make them sweaty, and this bath was very relaxing.
On Zeraine and Amarantha's side, the two were sitting next to each other, his arm over her shoulder, her body up against his. "Why did you just stand there and stare?" she asked. "You've seen me naked before plenty of times, and we've had quite a bit of sex since meeting our 'matchmakers'."
He chuckled. "Well, I guess with the combination of you being naked and wet, plus the moonlight and the angle that I saw you from, your beauty hit me like one of your palm-strikes to some fool's head. Honestly, I would have mistaken you for a goddess or something, had I not known it was you."
"You'd mistake me for someone else after all the time we've spent together?"
"N-no, it's- That came out wrong. What I meant was-"
She started giggling. "I know what you meant. I was just teasing you." She snaked her arm up over his and grabbed the back of his head, then pulled him into a kiss.
After her lips left his, he asked, "Hey, Ammie? You wanna do it?"
She frowned. "I do, but I'd rather wait until we're back at an inn or something. Can you hold it until we've finish our business in the Old Kingdom and left?"
Though he was a little disappointed, he agreed. "Sure thing."
The two of them continued cuddling, enjoying just being together.
On the other side, the succubus watched, then scooted over next to the hero and leaned against him. Knowing what she was up to, he rolled his eyes, smirked, and put his arm around her, which caused her to look into his eyes with pure happiness and love. She quickly jumped up onto her knees and grabbed both sides of his head, pulling him into a passionate kiss. After the kiss, she quickly pulled his head toward her, forcing his face into her cleavage. This drew snickers and stifled laughter from Zeraine and Amarantha, who had turned their attention to the couple as soon as they heard the splash from when she moved.
The hero managed to pull his face from between her breasts and asked, "What's with this sudden excitement?"
She hugged him, still smiling. "You accepted my affection so easily. How can I not be happy? By the way, that battle drained me. I need to feed again."
"...And you want sex again?"
She shrugged. "Sucking you off would be good enough. Sure, I'd like to do it with you and stuff, but I don't think we really have time for that. If you'll sit on the bank, I can do it right now."
He frowned. "They're watching and I'm not an exhibitionist."
She sighed. "Okay, fine."
She got up, not even trying to cover her breasts, and started to walk to Zeraine and Amarantha's side when the hero stopped her. "What are you doing?"
She waved her hand at him as if to wave him off, then got over to the other "half" of the oasis.
"Hey, can you two turn your heads or something for a few minutes? I need to feed from him and he won't let me if you're watching."
Zeraine and Amarantha looked at each other, then back to the succubus. Zeraine said, "Sure, princess."
Amarantha added, "We'll let you have fun with your prince."
The two of them got out and left to dry off and patrol the area. After getting dressed, they found Cedric wandering around out of view from the pool. Zeraine asked, "Yo, why didn't you get in?"
He replied, "Well, it seemed to be 'couples only' and I'm single, plus I'm a salamander. Getting my tail flames extinguished is uncomfortable."
...
The enigmatic figure that had been following the group since their stop at the ruined temple continued watching them from atop a dune. It saw how the man who wore The Order's symbol was still in the oasis with what was obviously a succubus. An odd pair, indeed. The other man and the woman who was really a silver dragon were talking with the male salamander.
It mumbled to itself in an androgynous voice, "A knight from The Order in a romantic relationship with a succubus, both of them traveling with a salamander, another man who is strongly tainted with demonic energy, and a silver dragon disguising herself as a human... Personally, I'd have expected the knight and the succubus to have had more sex by now. Regardless, they're headed for the Pharaoh's pyramid. I'd still like to know why they're here before allowing them to get near the- what!?" It saw how the succubus now had her head in the knight's lap as he sat on the bank. "Can't they do it normally?"
...
Cedric continued, "Also, have you guys noticed?"
Amarantha asked, "Noticed what? That someone's been following us for the last day or so?"
He nodded. "I'm sure you can also feel them watching us right now, too, can't you?"
Zeraine nodded. "I can feel it, too, now. Is that part of the reason why you refused, Ammie?"
She nodded. "Yes. I guess I'm okay with our close friends seeing me naked, but anyone, no matter who, watching us have sex is out of the question. If we did it in a room at an inn, we could close the curtains and lock the door, but here? Anyone could be sneaking around, trying to peek on us."
Zeraine looked around casually, not making it obvious that he was looking for the person. Cedric said, "You're not going to see them at night."
"I guess you're right. So what should we do? Should we try to find them and make them tell us why they've been following us?"
Amarantha shook her head. "I think that, as soon as the princess is done with the kid, we should get moving. When we get to the pyramid, we might be able to set up a trap of some sort to increase our chances of catching and interrogating them. For now, we'll play like we don't know they're there."
The three of them nodded, then started back to the pool. They returned just in time to hear the succubus say, "Your cum tastes so good! I could probably drink a whole gallon of it in one sitting... Can I suck another load out?"
Zeraine cleared his throat and clapped his hands loudly. "Alright, guys, you've done your thing, so let's go."
The succubus pouted as she and the hero got out of the water. As they went to get dressed again, she pressed her breasts against his back and whispered in his ear, "Guess what? I've noticed lately that every time we have sex, I get a little bit more powerful. Isn't that great? That means that if we have enough sex, I'll eventually get powerful enough to pull off my plan! Are you also getting more powerful from fucking me?"
The hero gently broke away, then turned around. He hesitated for a second, then grabbed her and kissed her.
She looked stunned for a second. "I just sucked your dick, you know. You came in my mouth and I drank every last delicious drop. Last time, you couldn't kiss me afterward. Why the sudden switch?"
He looked around uncomfortably. "Well... You see, at first I thought that it'd be hell for me to do what we did back at that ruined temple, but it wasn't. It was actually kind of good. I thought that maybe kissing you after our earlier, uh, 'act' wouldn't be as bad as I thought, either. I was right. It's fine."
She smiled. "See? You couldn't taste anything because I made sure to drink it all."
He began getting dressed. "As for your question, I don't know. I can't tell if I'm getting stronger or more powerful from our love-making or not."
When the two of them were done getting dressed, the five of them resumed their journey. Zeraine, Amarantha, and Cedric were wary about the person following them, but were discreet about it. As they continued heading south, they saw in the distance what looked like the pyramid.
Chapter 72
Spoiler: show
The person that had been following the group continued to stay back, believing that it was still unnoticed. It thought, "They're almost at the pyramid now. I need to sneak in before them and get to my post. I guess mummies would serve as a good distraction..."
...
As the party continued toward the pyramid, Amarantha whispered to Zeraine and Cedric, "Whatever or whoever it is, it's still following us."
Zeraine whispered back, "Yeah, but we're almost there. Once we're in, we can try your plan."
The hero asked, "Something you guys want to share?"
Cedric got next to the hero and put his arm over his shoulder, then ruffled his hair, making it look like two friends roughhousing. He said in a low tone, "There's been someone following us since the stop at the ruined temple. We're planning on getting into the pyramid and laying a trap."
"I see," the hero said, fixing his crew cut. "Well, the sun's almost up, so let's hurry."
Just as the group was about to pick up the pace, mummies began rising out of the sand. Soon, they were surrounded by dozens of mummies. Zeraine took out his claymore, Amarantha activated Mana Burst, the hero got his sword and shield ready, the succubus gathered power for a spell, and Cedric assumed a ready stance with his kilij.
The succubus, while gathering energy, said, "Keep them away from me so I can cast this spell, okay?"
The others said in unison, "Got it!"
Zeraine and Amarantha broke away from the group and began attacking the mummies, sending them, or pieces of them, flying in all directions. Cedric and the hero, seeing this, decided to protect the succubus as she cast her spell. They stayed near her, fending off the mummies that got close.
The group found that mummies weren't slow, they just rarely ran. As the hero used Aard, Yrden, and Igni to stop their advances, Cedric used his kilij, his claws, his feet, and his tail to drive them back.
Zeraine was doing quite well with his claymore and the occasional Fireball. Amarantha was tearing some apart, crushing others, and occasionally palm-striking one into a few others.
...
As the battle went on, with the mummies piling up, having returned from being undead to being dead, the person stopped long enough to marvel at their coordination. It then looked up and saw that storm clouds were gathering overhead. It was suddenly obvious that the succubus was responsible for it. It then took advantage of the confusion and the sand dunes to sneak into the pyramid ahead of the party.
...
For quite a while, it seemed as though two mummies rose up to take the place of each one dispatched. At one point, Amarantha even reverted to her dragon form to use her tail and claws to crush, smash, rip, tear, and shred the mummies, as well as knock them down with the mighty gusts wrought from flapping her wings. After at least 3 minutes of fending them off, the succubus yelled, "Everyone, get close!"
They did so, and she cast her spell. "Van Dera!"
The storm clouds that had gathered by her command unleashed a literal rain of lightning bolts upon the group's undead enemies. She had called them close so that they could stay in the "eye" in the clouds above her, preventing them from getting struck, too. Despite the simple incantation, she had to form the spell so that it covered the area all around them while leaving the opening for them to huddle in, and the area she had to cover was great. This is what caused the spell to take this long when normally, it would have only taken several seconds.
Moving away from the new stench of fried mummies, the group entered the pyramid after realizing that there were no more coming after them. As they ventured into the depths of the structure, they passed rooms with many paintings on the walls, hallways wide enough for them to easily walk in a two-by-two column formation, and rooms used for rituals. Upon reaching the antechamber, they met with a very effeminate looking person. The person had shoulder-length brown hair, tanned skin, and dark yet radiant blue eyes. In an androgynous voice, the person said, "Beyond here, the Pharaoh sleeps. Master is not to be disturbed unless you have business of the utmost importance, and even if you do, you must solve my riddle first."
The succubus said, "You must be a sphinx, guarding the Pharaoh's tomb. Am I right?"
The person smirked and nodded. "Very good. Yes, I am a sphinx." The person transformed into a creature with the body of a lion and the same human head it had in its human form. "Now, let's get this over with-"
Cedric interrupted, asking, "Uh, what gender are you, anyway? I can't tell."
The sphinx glared at him and said, "My gender does not matter. What matters is that you answer my riddle. If you don't or can't, I will kill you. Since I'd rather not tell five different riddles for each of you, I'll be generous this time and let all of you pass if you can answer this one. 'Which creature in the morning goes on four legs, at mid-day on two, and in the evening upon three, and the more legs it has, the weaker it be?'"
Amarantha scoffed. "Oh, please. Any adventurer or mercenary worth their weight in manure knows the answer to that one."
The succubus nodded, saying, "As well as anyone who's read stories about adventures in the Old Kingdom."
Zeraine asked, "Should we all answer at the same time?"
The sphinx roared in anger. "Do not test my patience! If you know the answer, then speak it!"
The succubus said, "I'll answer. It's 'man'. If you want me to explain to two different interpretations of why, I can do so."
The sphinx huffed. "You answered correctly. Congratulations. Now, go ahead and tell me those two interpretations. I know only one."
She cleared her throat. "First is the interpretation that you are most likely using. 'As a baby, in the morning of life, man crawls around on his hands and knees, thus four legs. As an adult, in the mid-day of life, he walks on two feet, thus two legs. As an old man, in the evening of life, he walks on his two feet and also uses a cane, thus three legs. As an adult, walking on two legs, he is strong. As an old man, walking on three legs, he gets weaker. As a baby, walking on four legs, he was at his weakest.'"
The sphinx nodded approvingly. "Very good, young succubus. And the other?"
She looked around a little, then said, "Well, this one is more a joke answer, but the man in question is an adult, and the 'time of day' is literal. In the morning, he crawls on his hands and knees, thus four legs, because he is not fully awake or ready yet. During the day, he walks on his two feet, thus two legs. At night, he gets together with a woman and has sex with her. The position is apparently assumed to be doggy-style. He then stands on his knees and thrusts into the woman from behind, thus jokingly suggesting that his penis is the 'third leg'. Either that, or he supports himself with only one of his hands." She shrugged.
The sphinx sighed. "As I'd expect from a succubus. You may pass, but I will be watching you. Should you try to attack the Pharaoh, the Anubis guards and I will descend upon you and tear you to pieces."
The hero said, "That's not what we're here for, anyway. We're here to discuss the current situation of the world and ask the Pharaoh for help in ridding the world of the current Demon Lord."
The sphinx, suddenly intrigued by this, followed the group into the Pharaoh's resting place. The Anubis guards performed a short ritual and slightly opened the sarcophagus at the top of the stairs. The Pharaoh called out in an androgynous voice, "What is it you wish to speak about?"
The succubus and the hero took turns telling about the current state of the world, their mission, their intentions, and why they wanted the Pharaoh's help. When all was said, the Pharaoh said, "So you're going after the Demon Lord, looking to replace him? And you intend to kill him? Good. You were correct in your guess that I'd like revenge. I will help you. However, this spell you intend to cast, have you completely thought it through?"
The succubus said, "As much as I currently can, yes."
"I don't know if you knew or not, but to change the 'divine mandate', you must summon it into physical form, then use extremely powerful magic to make any changes. After which, you'll have to use your power to maintain it, since it sounds like the Chief God won't like those changes."
The succubus smiled happily. "Excellent. Thank you for promising to help us."
The Pharaoh replied, "Just remember one thing. I'm in this for revenge against the current Demon Lord. He destroyed my kingdom, my entire country! You saw the ruins! That's all that's left of what I had. I want him dead. Once he's gone, I won't care what you do anymore, nor will I support you in anything else." The anger and hatred was clear in its voice.
She nodded, fully understanding the Pharaoh's feelings. "I understand. Still, thank you."
"Good. Now, go. This desert is not fit to live in anymore. You shouldn't stay here any longer than you need to."
The Anubis guards closed the sarcophagus and reassumed their posts. The party followed the sphinx back out of the tomb and all the way to the pyramid's entrance. The sphinx said, "Rest here until nightfall. You five have proven that you're capable of handling the girtablilu. Traveling at night and dealing with them is a much better idea than attempting to brave the heat of the day. Good luck to you."
Amarantha stopped it. "Wait. You were the one following us, weren't you? Was it you who sent the mummies after us?"
The sphinx answered, "Yes to both questions. I had to delay you so I could return to my post."
The hero asked, "About you and those Anubis guards... Do you guys ever eat?"
The sphinx said, "No. Our master's magic power sustains us. We do not need to eat. ...By the way, do not have sex in the pyramid. It is disrespectful to the Pharaoh."
The sphinx then left quickly, wanting to avoid further questions. As it left, the succubus thought, "I guess I'll change the sphinx to look like that... and the Anubis to look like that... and the mummies... And they'll probably feel better after I've taken the throne, which might lead them to rebuild parts of this country. If that happens, I'll change them so that, after they've rebuilt some places, they'll need to eat normal food, which should be in decent supply by then. If I can, I'd also like to use my power, if the Pharaoh doesn't, to make more oases in the desert."
The group then set up their bedding inside the second room from the pyramid's entrance and slept for the day.
...
As the party continued toward the pyramid, Amarantha whispered to Zeraine and Cedric, "Whatever or whoever it is, it's still following us."
Zeraine whispered back, "Yeah, but we're almost there. Once we're in, we can try your plan."
The hero asked, "Something you guys want to share?"
Cedric got next to the hero and put his arm over his shoulder, then ruffled his hair, making it look like two friends roughhousing. He said in a low tone, "There's been someone following us since the stop at the ruined temple. We're planning on getting into the pyramid and laying a trap."
"I see," the hero said, fixing his crew cut. "Well, the sun's almost up, so let's hurry."
Just as the group was about to pick up the pace, mummies began rising out of the sand. Soon, they were surrounded by dozens of mummies. Zeraine took out his claymore, Amarantha activated Mana Burst, the hero got his sword and shield ready, the succubus gathered power for a spell, and Cedric assumed a ready stance with his kilij.
The succubus, while gathering energy, said, "Keep them away from me so I can cast this spell, okay?"
The others said in unison, "Got it!"
Zeraine and Amarantha broke away from the group and began attacking the mummies, sending them, or pieces of them, flying in all directions. Cedric and the hero, seeing this, decided to protect the succubus as she cast her spell. They stayed near her, fending off the mummies that got close.
The group found that mummies weren't slow, they just rarely ran. As the hero used Aard, Yrden, and Igni to stop their advances, Cedric used his kilij, his claws, his feet, and his tail to drive them back.
Zeraine was doing quite well with his claymore and the occasional Fireball. Amarantha was tearing some apart, crushing others, and occasionally palm-striking one into a few others.
...
As the battle went on, with the mummies piling up, having returned from being undead to being dead, the person stopped long enough to marvel at their coordination. It then looked up and saw that storm clouds were gathering overhead. It was suddenly obvious that the succubus was responsible for it. It then took advantage of the confusion and the sand dunes to sneak into the pyramid ahead of the party.
...
For quite a while, it seemed as though two mummies rose up to take the place of each one dispatched. At one point, Amarantha even reverted to her dragon form to use her tail and claws to crush, smash, rip, tear, and shred the mummies, as well as knock them down with the mighty gusts wrought from flapping her wings. After at least 3 minutes of fending them off, the succubus yelled, "Everyone, get close!"
They did so, and she cast her spell. "Van Dera!"
The storm clouds that had gathered by her command unleashed a literal rain of lightning bolts upon the group's undead enemies. She had called them close so that they could stay in the "eye" in the clouds above her, preventing them from getting struck, too. Despite the simple incantation, she had to form the spell so that it covered the area all around them while leaving the opening for them to huddle in, and the area she had to cover was great. This is what caused the spell to take this long when normally, it would have only taken several seconds.
Moving away from the new stench of fried mummies, the group entered the pyramid after realizing that there were no more coming after them. As they ventured into the depths of the structure, they passed rooms with many paintings on the walls, hallways wide enough for them to easily walk in a two-by-two column formation, and rooms used for rituals. Upon reaching the antechamber, they met with a very effeminate looking person. The person had shoulder-length brown hair, tanned skin, and dark yet radiant blue eyes. In an androgynous voice, the person said, "Beyond here, the Pharaoh sleeps. Master is not to be disturbed unless you have business of the utmost importance, and even if you do, you must solve my riddle first."
The succubus said, "You must be a sphinx, guarding the Pharaoh's tomb. Am I right?"
The person smirked and nodded. "Very good. Yes, I am a sphinx." The person transformed into a creature with the body of a lion and the same human head it had in its human form. "Now, let's get this over with-"
Cedric interrupted, asking, "Uh, what gender are you, anyway? I can't tell."
The sphinx glared at him and said, "My gender does not matter. What matters is that you answer my riddle. If you don't or can't, I will kill you. Since I'd rather not tell five different riddles for each of you, I'll be generous this time and let all of you pass if you can answer this one. 'Which creature in the morning goes on four legs, at mid-day on two, and in the evening upon three, and the more legs it has, the weaker it be?'"
Amarantha scoffed. "Oh, please. Any adventurer or mercenary worth their weight in manure knows the answer to that one."
The succubus nodded, saying, "As well as anyone who's read stories about adventures in the Old Kingdom."
Zeraine asked, "Should we all answer at the same time?"
The sphinx roared in anger. "Do not test my patience! If you know the answer, then speak it!"
The succubus said, "I'll answer. It's 'man'. If you want me to explain to two different interpretations of why, I can do so."
The sphinx huffed. "You answered correctly. Congratulations. Now, go ahead and tell me those two interpretations. I know only one."
She cleared her throat. "First is the interpretation that you are most likely using. 'As a baby, in the morning of life, man crawls around on his hands and knees, thus four legs. As an adult, in the mid-day of life, he walks on two feet, thus two legs. As an old man, in the evening of life, he walks on his two feet and also uses a cane, thus three legs. As an adult, walking on two legs, he is strong. As an old man, walking on three legs, he gets weaker. As a baby, walking on four legs, he was at his weakest.'"
The sphinx nodded approvingly. "Very good, young succubus. And the other?"
She looked around a little, then said, "Well, this one is more a joke answer, but the man in question is an adult, and the 'time of day' is literal. In the morning, he crawls on his hands and knees, thus four legs, because he is not fully awake or ready yet. During the day, he walks on his two feet, thus two legs. At night, he gets together with a woman and has sex with her. The position is apparently assumed to be doggy-style. He then stands on his knees and thrusts into the woman from behind, thus jokingly suggesting that his penis is the 'third leg'. Either that, or he supports himself with only one of his hands." She shrugged.
The sphinx sighed. "As I'd expect from a succubus. You may pass, but I will be watching you. Should you try to attack the Pharaoh, the Anubis guards and I will descend upon you and tear you to pieces."
The hero said, "That's not what we're here for, anyway. We're here to discuss the current situation of the world and ask the Pharaoh for help in ridding the world of the current Demon Lord."
The sphinx, suddenly intrigued by this, followed the group into the Pharaoh's resting place. The Anubis guards performed a short ritual and slightly opened the sarcophagus at the top of the stairs. The Pharaoh called out in an androgynous voice, "What is it you wish to speak about?"
The succubus and the hero took turns telling about the current state of the world, their mission, their intentions, and why they wanted the Pharaoh's help. When all was said, the Pharaoh said, "So you're going after the Demon Lord, looking to replace him? And you intend to kill him? Good. You were correct in your guess that I'd like revenge. I will help you. However, this spell you intend to cast, have you completely thought it through?"
The succubus said, "As much as I currently can, yes."
"I don't know if you knew or not, but to change the 'divine mandate', you must summon it into physical form, then use extremely powerful magic to make any changes. After which, you'll have to use your power to maintain it, since it sounds like the Chief God won't like those changes."
The succubus smiled happily. "Excellent. Thank you for promising to help us."
The Pharaoh replied, "Just remember one thing. I'm in this for revenge against the current Demon Lord. He destroyed my kingdom, my entire country! You saw the ruins! That's all that's left of what I had. I want him dead. Once he's gone, I won't care what you do anymore, nor will I support you in anything else." The anger and hatred was clear in its voice.
She nodded, fully understanding the Pharaoh's feelings. "I understand. Still, thank you."
"Good. Now, go. This desert is not fit to live in anymore. You shouldn't stay here any longer than you need to."
The Anubis guards closed the sarcophagus and reassumed their posts. The party followed the sphinx back out of the tomb and all the way to the pyramid's entrance. The sphinx said, "Rest here until nightfall. You five have proven that you're capable of handling the girtablilu. Traveling at night and dealing with them is a much better idea than attempting to brave the heat of the day. Good luck to you."
Amarantha stopped it. "Wait. You were the one following us, weren't you? Was it you who sent the mummies after us?"
The sphinx answered, "Yes to both questions. I had to delay you so I could return to my post."
The hero asked, "About you and those Anubis guards... Do you guys ever eat?"
The sphinx said, "No. Our master's magic power sustains us. We do not need to eat. ...By the way, do not have sex in the pyramid. It is disrespectful to the Pharaoh."
The sphinx then left quickly, wanting to avoid further questions. As it left, the succubus thought, "I guess I'll change the sphinx to look like that... and the Anubis to look like that... and the mummies... And they'll probably feel better after I've taken the throne, which might lead them to rebuild parts of this country. If that happens, I'll change them so that, after they've rebuilt some places, they'll need to eat normal food, which should be in decent supply by then. If I can, I'd also like to use my power, if the Pharaoh doesn't, to make more oases in the desert."
The group then set up their bedding inside the second room from the pyramid's entrance and slept for the day.
Chapter 73
Spoiler: show
As soon as the sun set, the five of them put away their things and left the pyramid. As they walked in a general north-northwest direction, they heard the voice of the sphinx in their minds. "To make sure you don't get lost, I'll guide you back to where you entered this country. Afterward, I suggest you do not return until it is time for us to join the battle."
Sure enough, a couple of seconds later, there was a small glowing orb of light floating in the air. The group followed it, passing the piles of dead girtablilu from when they fought the five adults and 17 babies. The stench of burnt bug still filled the air around the carcasses, but the group didn't have to fight them this time, which meant that they could quickly leave.
They kept going, traveling at a faster pace than when they were heading to the pyramid. This proved to be a bad idea, as the succubus was almost bitten by some sort of venomous snake that had blended in with the sand. Before she could fry it with Lightning Bolt, the hero nailed it squarely with fireball-form Igni.
"You should have let me kill it! It almost bit me!" she complained.
The hero sighed. "Well, excuse me, princess. I was only protecting you."
She huffed. "And I thank you for it, but seriously, it almost biting me pissed me off."
"Calm down. We need to get out of this desert," he said, resuming the walk.
She huffed again. "Well, you'll have to calm me down. Obviously, we won't make it out of this desert for another couple of days, so when we stop this next time, don't give me any problems when I try to undress you."
The hero, knowing that she was referring to sex again, said, "Don't worry, I won't. I understand how bad you need it."
Before the conversation could carry on any further, Cedric said, "Guys? Keep that stuff to yourselves, okay? And stay on the lookout for more-"
Before he could finish his sentence, he saw something. The whole group stopped and stared. What they saw looked like a giant snake, but there was the body of a woman, from the hips up, on it. The snake-woman also stopped and stared at the group. The mutual staring between the party and the snake-woman continued for a full five seconds, until she said, "What?"
The group recovered and the succubus said, "A lamia... Uh, we're just on our way back out of the country. We didn't expect to meet anyone out here." She thought to herself, "Appearance-wise, the lamia is fine. As for the personality and tendencies..."
The lamia shrugged. "I'm just on my way out to do some hunting. Don't follow me. I don't want you ruining my chances. My village is that way," she said, pointing in nearly the same direction as the ball of light that was guiding them. "Should you decide to do away with that light-ball-thing, and if you decide to stop there, do be careful and courteous."
Cedric asked, "What are you hunting?"
"Girtablilu. Why?"
He frowned. "Yeah, I think we'd have to just move on. We'd probably refuse even if you asked us to come along, right guys?"
The rest of the party wore expressions that pretty much said, "Yeah, I guess."
The lamia scoffed. "What, you afraid of giant bugs?"
Amarantha gritted her teeth, then replied with a scowl, "Actually, it's because we've fought and killed a bunch of them since we got here. Also, just how far in that direction is your village? This desert seems impossible to live in. Also, why are you hunting girtablilu in the first place?"
The lamia rearranged her body so that her human-like part could rest on her snake-body. She stuck her halberd in the sand, letting it lean against another area of her snake-body. "Well, I guess I'll answer your questions first. This desert is hard to live in, sure, but if you have help from outside, it can be almost comfortable. My village is pretty far, almost at the border. I'm out here hunting girtablilu to get their venom. It fetches a high price with traveling merchants, which allows us to trade for food and clothing, or whatever else we need, assuming the merchant has it, of course. Anyway, how about you tell me where all these scorpions you've killed are? If you have no need of the venom, how about letting me have it?"
The hero said, "Sure." He then went on to tell of the locations where he and his friends fought the scorpions, which made the lamia's eyes wide with glee.
Before anyone could react, she had wrapped around him, squeezing him firmly in her coils as she hugged him. "Thanks a bunch! You don't know how easy you've made it for me and my village!"
The succubus, her tone full of venom, said, "That's fine, now let go of him."
The lamia let go of the hero, allowing him to breathe normally again. She looked quizzically at the succubus. "Is he yours?"
The succubus nodded. "As a lamia, you should understand better than most why I'd prefer that you didn't do that again."
"Oh. Okay. Well, I've got to go, okay? Thanks again, you guys." With that, she slithered off in the direction of the pyramid, obviously going for the biggest score first.
As the group continued walking, Cedric said, "Good thing it wasn't another girtablilu. I hate those things."
Amarantha said, "I guess living as close to the border as she implied is plausible. After all, if you have enough money coming in from selling something, you can use that money to trade with the traveling merchants to get everything you need."
The succubus thought, "Hmm... I'll leave pretty much everything about them alone, but I'll make them prefer human men."
Zeraine sidled up to the hero as they continued. "Hey, kid. Should we really have just done it like that?"
"What do you mean?" he asked. "Are you talking about telling her about it for free?"
"Yeah. I guess it'd be a bit of a bad thing to do, but..."
"We have no use for the venom. I don't know about you, but I'd rather not mess around with trying to collect it, either. Fighting them was bad enough. I'd rather not dissect them on top of that."
"...Y-yeah, I guess you've got a point."
Since their path was slightly different this time, they managed to find a cave shortly before sunrise. As they approached, they heard inhuman screeching coming from inside.
Sure enough, a couple of seconds later, there was a small glowing orb of light floating in the air. The group followed it, passing the piles of dead girtablilu from when they fought the five adults and 17 babies. The stench of burnt bug still filled the air around the carcasses, but the group didn't have to fight them this time, which meant that they could quickly leave.
They kept going, traveling at a faster pace than when they were heading to the pyramid. This proved to be a bad idea, as the succubus was almost bitten by some sort of venomous snake that had blended in with the sand. Before she could fry it with Lightning Bolt, the hero nailed it squarely with fireball-form Igni.
"You should have let me kill it! It almost bit me!" she complained.
The hero sighed. "Well, excuse me, princess. I was only protecting you."
She huffed. "And I thank you for it, but seriously, it almost biting me pissed me off."
"Calm down. We need to get out of this desert," he said, resuming the walk.
She huffed again. "Well, you'll have to calm me down. Obviously, we won't make it out of this desert for another couple of days, so when we stop this next time, don't give me any problems when I try to undress you."
The hero, knowing that she was referring to sex again, said, "Don't worry, I won't. I understand how bad you need it."
Before the conversation could carry on any further, Cedric said, "Guys? Keep that stuff to yourselves, okay? And stay on the lookout for more-"
Before he could finish his sentence, he saw something. The whole group stopped and stared. What they saw looked like a giant snake, but there was the body of a woman, from the hips up, on it. The snake-woman also stopped and stared at the group. The mutual staring between the party and the snake-woman continued for a full five seconds, until she said, "What?"
The group recovered and the succubus said, "A lamia... Uh, we're just on our way back out of the country. We didn't expect to meet anyone out here." She thought to herself, "Appearance-wise, the lamia is fine. As for the personality and tendencies..."
The lamia shrugged. "I'm just on my way out to do some hunting. Don't follow me. I don't want you ruining my chances. My village is that way," she said, pointing in nearly the same direction as the ball of light that was guiding them. "Should you decide to do away with that light-ball-thing, and if you decide to stop there, do be careful and courteous."
Cedric asked, "What are you hunting?"
"Girtablilu. Why?"
He frowned. "Yeah, I think we'd have to just move on. We'd probably refuse even if you asked us to come along, right guys?"
The rest of the party wore expressions that pretty much said, "Yeah, I guess."
The lamia scoffed. "What, you afraid of giant bugs?"
Amarantha gritted her teeth, then replied with a scowl, "Actually, it's because we've fought and killed a bunch of them since we got here. Also, just how far in that direction is your village? This desert seems impossible to live in. Also, why are you hunting girtablilu in the first place?"
The lamia rearranged her body so that her human-like part could rest on her snake-body. She stuck her halberd in the sand, letting it lean against another area of her snake-body. "Well, I guess I'll answer your questions first. This desert is hard to live in, sure, but if you have help from outside, it can be almost comfortable. My village is pretty far, almost at the border. I'm out here hunting girtablilu to get their venom. It fetches a high price with traveling merchants, which allows us to trade for food and clothing, or whatever else we need, assuming the merchant has it, of course. Anyway, how about you tell me where all these scorpions you've killed are? If you have no need of the venom, how about letting me have it?"
The hero said, "Sure." He then went on to tell of the locations where he and his friends fought the scorpions, which made the lamia's eyes wide with glee.
Before anyone could react, she had wrapped around him, squeezing him firmly in her coils as she hugged him. "Thanks a bunch! You don't know how easy you've made it for me and my village!"
The succubus, her tone full of venom, said, "That's fine, now let go of him."
The lamia let go of the hero, allowing him to breathe normally again. She looked quizzically at the succubus. "Is he yours?"
The succubus nodded. "As a lamia, you should understand better than most why I'd prefer that you didn't do that again."
"Oh. Okay. Well, I've got to go, okay? Thanks again, you guys." With that, she slithered off in the direction of the pyramid, obviously going for the biggest score first.
As the group continued walking, Cedric said, "Good thing it wasn't another girtablilu. I hate those things."
Amarantha said, "I guess living as close to the border as she implied is plausible. After all, if you have enough money coming in from selling something, you can use that money to trade with the traveling merchants to get everything you need."
The succubus thought, "Hmm... I'll leave pretty much everything about them alone, but I'll make them prefer human men."
Zeraine sidled up to the hero as they continued. "Hey, kid. Should we really have just done it like that?"
"What do you mean?" he asked. "Are you talking about telling her about it for free?"
"Yeah. I guess it'd be a bit of a bad thing to do, but..."
"We have no use for the venom. I don't know about you, but I'd rather not mess around with trying to collect it, either. Fighting them was bad enough. I'd rather not dissect them on top of that."
"...Y-yeah, I guess you've got a point."
Since their path was slightly different this time, they managed to find a cave shortly before sunrise. As they approached, they heard inhuman screeching coming from inside.
Chapter 74
Spoiler: show
The party slowly snuck up to the cave and peeked in. Inside, they saw what looked like giant roaches. Cedric complained, "Not more giant bugs! Come on!"
The succubus bopped him on the head with her staff and said, "Shut up. They're just devil bugs. Compared to our earlier encounters with the girtablilu, this'll be like a fairly easy game. Sure, these things can still kill you by swarming you, but you're not dumb enough to let that happen, are you?"
The hero looked at the succubus. "Maybe you, as our mage, should handle this by yourself. You've got some sort of spell to wipe them all out, don't you?"
She frowned. "I do, but I don't have enough energy to cast it right now. I'd have to drink another Mana Potion, of which we currently have 7, or I'd have to suck you off again."
Knowing that he had already agreed to have sex with her again as soon as they stopped, which meant that they'd do it as soon as the devil bugs were disposed of, he started thinking of other methods, for he didn't want to blow one load now, then another two or three afterward. "How about my Signs? Which ones would be best?"
She said, "Well, unless you want to stink the place up with burnt bug, I'd advise against using Igni. Aard might be useful. Since they don't really have minds to tamper with, Axii would be useless. Quen might help if you intend to charge in, sword swinging everywhere. And Yrden? Immobilizing one would help a little, but there's still at least a couple dozen more from what I can see. We should probably lead them out here, then kill them with non-fire spells and attacks."
Amarantha sighed and shook her head. "Zeraine, lend me your spear. I'll draw them out here, then you guys can cut them up or whatever. Maybe the princess and I can use some ice magic to help."
The hero thought for a moment as Zeraine took out his spear and handed it to Amarantha. "Hey, how about this? You go ahead and draw them out, then we group them up, and our princess can use Damned to blast most of them to pieces. Would that work?"
The succubus nodded. "If you could get them grouped up tightly enough, yes. I only have enough energy for one Damned. After that, it's a Mana Potion or your cum, and I'd prefer your cum. It tastes MUCH better."
"...Right. Now, didn't we plan to have normal sex?"
"Yes, but I've found that I like giving you blowjobs. Is there something wrong with that?"
The hero paused for a second, catching himself before he let his Order upbringing cause him to say something he might regret. "Not really, I guess... Well, how about after we get them out here, we thin them out a bit with some Fire Traps? They'd work, right?"
She raised an eyebrow, noticing his hesitation, then said, "It would, I guess. Fire Trap causes an explosion, but it also sets things on fire. We want to be careful so we don't have to deal with the smell."
The hero suddenly had another idea. "How about Ice Trap? What does it do?"
The succubus smiled, acknowledging the hero's good idea. "It makes an explosion of ice. If you were to lure some of the devil bugs into small groups, you could blast them apart with the ice-shrapnel from the traps, and there'd be no burnt bug stench like there would be if we used fire or lightning. Good call, knight. For that, you get a choice: Either have me teach you another spell, or you get to choose the act and position of our first round of sex."
The hero pulled out a few scrolls of Ice Trap, then said, "Uh... I'll go with the spell."
The succubus, her disappointment clear on her face, said, "You pick learning a new spell over choosing how I service you? I understand your reasoning, but damn it, I want you to desire me for a change!"
He grinned sheepishly. "Sorry, but the more stuff you teach me, the better off we all are."
She frowned at him. "I just told you I understand your reasoning. Now, I guess I'll teach you Explosion, but that'll be after your balls are empty. For now, impress me with those Ice Traps."
He sighed and stepped up next to Amarantha, both of whom were still not in front of the entrance to the cave yet. He mumbled to himself, "I know she's a succubus, but damn! Can't she talk about anything other than my penis, testicles, or semen?"
Amarantha stood there, holding Zeraine's spear. "Are you ready yet, kid?"
He set aside his thoughts and nodded. "Let's do it."
Both of them jumped out in front of the cave, then shouted while using Aard, knocking a few devil bugs around while very successfully getting their attention. The hero decided to try an experiment, but it failed because he couldn't lift his target devil bug with telekinesis. He quickly returned to the main plan and set 4 Ice Traps. Small groups of three to four devil bugs set off the traps and were all torn apart by the explosions of ice. Despite the glaring success of the plan so far, there were still plenty of them left, so they ran around, trying to gather the devil bugs into a big enough group. They only succeeded in gathering about two-thirds of all of them, but it was enough.
"Damned!"
The explosion from Damned blew the devil bugs into unrecognizable pieces, leaving a small number of stragglers that just now noticed the succubus, Zeraine, and Cedric. Being the unintelligent creatures they were, they attempted to go after everyone, but quickly met their ends as Cedric with his kilij, Zeraine with his claymore, the hero with his bastard sword, and Amarantha with Zeraine's spear finished them off with little effort. Once all the devil bugs were dead, Amarantha handed the spear back to Zeraine, and the group set up in the cave for the day.
Shortly after getting their things set up, Zeraine, Amarantha, and Cedric started to walk out of the cave. On their way out, Zeraine said, "We'll step out for a bit so you two can do what you need to. Don't take too long, though, okay?"
The hero and the succubus nodded. After the others left the cave, she turned to the hero and smiled, then shoved him down, undid his pants, exposed his penis, and mounted him. After realizing that she had already exposed herself, too, he said, "Can't you slow down a bit?"
She cutely shook her head. "No. I like drinking your cum, but I prefer it inside. Now, you're going to shoot at least three times inside before we finish, okay?"
He obediently nodded. "That's still a bit much, though."
"Shut up. And in case you're wondering, no, I can't wait long enough for us to completely undress, so we're doing it with our clothes on. Look at how wet my pussy is just from thinking about riding you. See?" She leaned back to give him a better view of her vagina, which was already dripping wet. "The thought of you cumming inside me makes me even wetter."
"What about the thought of us having kids?" he asked, genuinely curious.
"..." He body shuddered and her inner walls twitched, squeezed, and convulsed.
Feeling this, and nearly cumming from it, he asked, "Are you okay?"
Her eyes were watery. She looked into his eyes and nodded, then gave him a passionate kiss while grinding her hips. After she broke the kiss off, she said, "I came a little from you mentioning that... I love you!" Not letting him say anything in response, she sealed his lips with hers again, desperately kissing him as if it were the last time she'd be able to. Her grinding and bouncing increased in intensity, too, and soon, they came together. After the biggest part of their simultaneous orgasm was over, she broke the kiss and said, "We finally came together. Finally! Did it feel good for you, too?"
He nodded, panting. "I love you, too, honey."
She nearly squealed in delight as she heard him call her "honey". She resumed kissing him with great passion. Noticing that he was still hard, partly from their mutual feelings and partly from the demonic energy she had been pouring into him since the start of the session, she resumed bouncing in his lap and grinding her hips, flexing her vaginal muscles rhythmically to give him as much pleasure as she possibly could.
About 45 minutes and two more loads later, with her having one more orgasm from his third shot, they laid next to each other, tired but satisfied. As his erection faded, it fell out of her. She quickly sat up and cupped her hands underneath her crotch, then allowed his semen to flow freely out of her. She even pushed and squeezed to help it pour out into her hands. She showed him the massive amount of his semen that he had let out inside her, then said, "It'd be kind of nice if I could keep all of this in me, wouldn't it? Oh, well." She then drank it all, making sure to lick any remaining cum off of her hands, ensuring that every last drop ended up in her stomach. She then used her mouth to lick his dick clean, which surprised him, but he was too tired to protest, and it felt kind of good, so he didn't complain. After the act, she cleaned them both off with a little water magic, fixed his pants, then walked on her now-tired legs out of the cave to notify the others that they were done now. She then went back inside, laid down next to the hero, and went to sleep.
After Zeraine and Amarantha stripped out of their armor, she looked at the hero and the succubus and smiled. "They look so cute together, don't they?"
Zeraine smirked. "Yeah. The succubus princess and the knight from The Order..."
She gave Zeraine a loving look that had lustful undertones. "When we get back to town, I want to do it. Okay?"
He nodded. "I'll never refuse you, Ammie."
Cedric scoffed and laid down. "I would say 'get a room', but there aren't any inns out here, so..."
Zeraine grinned. "What, you jealous?"
"...Maybe a little," he admitted before dozing off.
Zeraine and Amarantha shook their heads, then laid down together in each other's embrace. They slept in the clothing they wore under their armor, Cedric slept in his scale-mail armor, and the hero slept in his chainmail armor. The succubus slept next to him in her dress, having not bothered to try to undress.
The succubus bopped him on the head with her staff and said, "Shut up. They're just devil bugs. Compared to our earlier encounters with the girtablilu, this'll be like a fairly easy game. Sure, these things can still kill you by swarming you, but you're not dumb enough to let that happen, are you?"
The hero looked at the succubus. "Maybe you, as our mage, should handle this by yourself. You've got some sort of spell to wipe them all out, don't you?"
She frowned. "I do, but I don't have enough energy to cast it right now. I'd have to drink another Mana Potion, of which we currently have 7, or I'd have to suck you off again."
Knowing that he had already agreed to have sex with her again as soon as they stopped, which meant that they'd do it as soon as the devil bugs were disposed of, he started thinking of other methods, for he didn't want to blow one load now, then another two or three afterward. "How about my Signs? Which ones would be best?"
She said, "Well, unless you want to stink the place up with burnt bug, I'd advise against using Igni. Aard might be useful. Since they don't really have minds to tamper with, Axii would be useless. Quen might help if you intend to charge in, sword swinging everywhere. And Yrden? Immobilizing one would help a little, but there's still at least a couple dozen more from what I can see. We should probably lead them out here, then kill them with non-fire spells and attacks."
Amarantha sighed and shook her head. "Zeraine, lend me your spear. I'll draw them out here, then you guys can cut them up or whatever. Maybe the princess and I can use some ice magic to help."
The hero thought for a moment as Zeraine took out his spear and handed it to Amarantha. "Hey, how about this? You go ahead and draw them out, then we group them up, and our princess can use Damned to blast most of them to pieces. Would that work?"
The succubus nodded. "If you could get them grouped up tightly enough, yes. I only have enough energy for one Damned. After that, it's a Mana Potion or your cum, and I'd prefer your cum. It tastes MUCH better."
"...Right. Now, didn't we plan to have normal sex?"
"Yes, but I've found that I like giving you blowjobs. Is there something wrong with that?"
The hero paused for a second, catching himself before he let his Order upbringing cause him to say something he might regret. "Not really, I guess... Well, how about after we get them out here, we thin them out a bit with some Fire Traps? They'd work, right?"
She raised an eyebrow, noticing his hesitation, then said, "It would, I guess. Fire Trap causes an explosion, but it also sets things on fire. We want to be careful so we don't have to deal with the smell."
The hero suddenly had another idea. "How about Ice Trap? What does it do?"
The succubus smiled, acknowledging the hero's good idea. "It makes an explosion of ice. If you were to lure some of the devil bugs into small groups, you could blast them apart with the ice-shrapnel from the traps, and there'd be no burnt bug stench like there would be if we used fire or lightning. Good call, knight. For that, you get a choice: Either have me teach you another spell, or you get to choose the act and position of our first round of sex."
The hero pulled out a few scrolls of Ice Trap, then said, "Uh... I'll go with the spell."
The succubus, her disappointment clear on her face, said, "You pick learning a new spell over choosing how I service you? I understand your reasoning, but damn it, I want you to desire me for a change!"
He grinned sheepishly. "Sorry, but the more stuff you teach me, the better off we all are."
She frowned at him. "I just told you I understand your reasoning. Now, I guess I'll teach you Explosion, but that'll be after your balls are empty. For now, impress me with those Ice Traps."
He sighed and stepped up next to Amarantha, both of whom were still not in front of the entrance to the cave yet. He mumbled to himself, "I know she's a succubus, but damn! Can't she talk about anything other than my penis, testicles, or semen?"
Amarantha stood there, holding Zeraine's spear. "Are you ready yet, kid?"
He set aside his thoughts and nodded. "Let's do it."
Both of them jumped out in front of the cave, then shouted while using Aard, knocking a few devil bugs around while very successfully getting their attention. The hero decided to try an experiment, but it failed because he couldn't lift his target devil bug with telekinesis. He quickly returned to the main plan and set 4 Ice Traps. Small groups of three to four devil bugs set off the traps and were all torn apart by the explosions of ice. Despite the glaring success of the plan so far, there were still plenty of them left, so they ran around, trying to gather the devil bugs into a big enough group. They only succeeded in gathering about two-thirds of all of them, but it was enough.
"Damned!"
The explosion from Damned blew the devil bugs into unrecognizable pieces, leaving a small number of stragglers that just now noticed the succubus, Zeraine, and Cedric. Being the unintelligent creatures they were, they attempted to go after everyone, but quickly met their ends as Cedric with his kilij, Zeraine with his claymore, the hero with his bastard sword, and Amarantha with Zeraine's spear finished them off with little effort. Once all the devil bugs were dead, Amarantha handed the spear back to Zeraine, and the group set up in the cave for the day.
Shortly after getting their things set up, Zeraine, Amarantha, and Cedric started to walk out of the cave. On their way out, Zeraine said, "We'll step out for a bit so you two can do what you need to. Don't take too long, though, okay?"
The hero and the succubus nodded. After the others left the cave, she turned to the hero and smiled, then shoved him down, undid his pants, exposed his penis, and mounted him. After realizing that she had already exposed herself, too, he said, "Can't you slow down a bit?"
She cutely shook her head. "No. I like drinking your cum, but I prefer it inside. Now, you're going to shoot at least three times inside before we finish, okay?"
He obediently nodded. "That's still a bit much, though."
"Shut up. And in case you're wondering, no, I can't wait long enough for us to completely undress, so we're doing it with our clothes on. Look at how wet my pussy is just from thinking about riding you. See?" She leaned back to give him a better view of her vagina, which was already dripping wet. "The thought of you cumming inside me makes me even wetter."
"What about the thought of us having kids?" he asked, genuinely curious.
"..." He body shuddered and her inner walls twitched, squeezed, and convulsed.
Feeling this, and nearly cumming from it, he asked, "Are you okay?"
Her eyes were watery. She looked into his eyes and nodded, then gave him a passionate kiss while grinding her hips. After she broke the kiss off, she said, "I came a little from you mentioning that... I love you!" Not letting him say anything in response, she sealed his lips with hers again, desperately kissing him as if it were the last time she'd be able to. Her grinding and bouncing increased in intensity, too, and soon, they came together. After the biggest part of their simultaneous orgasm was over, she broke the kiss and said, "We finally came together. Finally! Did it feel good for you, too?"
He nodded, panting. "I love you, too, honey."
She nearly squealed in delight as she heard him call her "honey". She resumed kissing him with great passion. Noticing that he was still hard, partly from their mutual feelings and partly from the demonic energy she had been pouring into him since the start of the session, she resumed bouncing in his lap and grinding her hips, flexing her vaginal muscles rhythmically to give him as much pleasure as she possibly could.
About 45 minutes and two more loads later, with her having one more orgasm from his third shot, they laid next to each other, tired but satisfied. As his erection faded, it fell out of her. She quickly sat up and cupped her hands underneath her crotch, then allowed his semen to flow freely out of her. She even pushed and squeezed to help it pour out into her hands. She showed him the massive amount of his semen that he had let out inside her, then said, "It'd be kind of nice if I could keep all of this in me, wouldn't it? Oh, well." She then drank it all, making sure to lick any remaining cum off of her hands, ensuring that every last drop ended up in her stomach. She then used her mouth to lick his dick clean, which surprised him, but he was too tired to protest, and it felt kind of good, so he didn't complain. After the act, she cleaned them both off with a little water magic, fixed his pants, then walked on her now-tired legs out of the cave to notify the others that they were done now. She then went back inside, laid down next to the hero, and went to sleep.
After Zeraine and Amarantha stripped out of their armor, she looked at the hero and the succubus and smiled. "They look so cute together, don't they?"
Zeraine smirked. "Yeah. The succubus princess and the knight from The Order..."
She gave Zeraine a loving look that had lustful undertones. "When we get back to town, I want to do it. Okay?"
He nodded. "I'll never refuse you, Ammie."
Cedric scoffed and laid down. "I would say 'get a room', but there aren't any inns out here, so..."
Zeraine grinned. "What, you jealous?"
"...Maybe a little," he admitted before dozing off.
Zeraine and Amarantha shook their heads, then laid down together in each other's embrace. They slept in the clothing they wore under their armor, Cedric slept in his scale-mail armor, and the hero slept in his chainmail armor. The succubus slept next to him in her dress, having not bothered to try to undress.
Chapter 75
Spoiler: show
That evening, the party woke up, packed up, and headed out. They followed the glowing orb of light, which had been "waiting" right outside the cave. It seemed that they were either fortunate enough to not encounter any more enemies, or the orb was somehow driving them away before they got close. Regardless, the party had an uneventful trip back to the border.
Once they arrived at the border, the orb disappeared, having served its purpose. Zeraine asked, "Hey, you guys think we should try to find that lamia's village?"
Amarantha thought for a second, then answered, "Well, I'd like to get out of this desert as soon as possible and back to somewhat cooler climates, but there might be something there that's worth checking out."
The succubus said, "Agreed. If we go there, they might reward us for helping them with their gathering of girtablilu venom."
Cedric said, "Heh, I'd kind of like to see what that lamia we ran into earlier can do with that halberd of hers. Also, I think I might need my sword sharpened. I guess I could wait until we get to Greenford, but..."
The hero shrugged. "Let's check it out. If it's as close to the border as she said, then we should have no trouble finding it, and afterwards, if we need them to, I'm sure the villagers would point us in the right direction."
They began walking to the east, wondering just how far off from their previous "path" the village was. Very soon, they saw the lights of torches and heard the sounds of activity. As they approached, they saw snake-women and snake-men doing various things such as patrolling the village or chatting with each other. One of the guards, armed with a halberd, greeted them. "Good evening, travelers. What brings you here?"
The hero replied, "As we were on our way out of this country, we ran into a female from this village. She said she was out hunting for girtablilu, and we told her about the ones we had killed since coming here. Before she slithered off to collect the venom from their corpses, she invited us to visit this place."
The guard said, "Ah, so you five are the ones Mary spoke of. We're glad you helped us like that."
The succubus asked, "She's already returned to this village?"
The guard nodded. "She returned shortly after noon, incredibly happy, dragging with her the largest collection of girtablilu venom we've ever seen. She told us all what happened and said to be on the lookout for the five of you. Come on in. We'll celebrate."
The hero asked, "You sure?"
He nodded again. "You must be hungry after all your traveling and battling, so we'll prepare a feast. Once your bellies are full, we can see about rewarding you."
He led the group into the village and shouted out, calling for everyone's attention. He announced that the group had done them a great favor and that a celebratory feast was to be held. As all the snake-people slithered off to finish what they were doing and prepare, the guard led the party to a large spot that was obviously used for bonfires. He lit it with his torch, then faced the party. "Sit and wait here. We should have to food ready soon."
After he left to go help, Cedric asked, "Aren't they overreacting a bit? ...Wait, they're not trying to fatten us up to eat us, are they-"
The succubus smacked him on the head with her staff.
"Ow!"
"Don't be stupid. Sure, they might be overdoing it with the whole celebration thing and the feast, but it's actually a pretty good thing for us. We get a 'free' meal and we might get something useful as a reward, so it's great. Plus, we can save what we have left for food until we're out of this country, then restock at Greenford, then continue."
Cedric rubbed his head where she hit him. "So where are you guys planning to go after stopping back in Greenford? If you're headed to Westcreek, I'll stay with you until we get there, but otherwise, that's where we go our separate ways."
Amarantha asked, "You're going to visit Hilda?"
He nodded. "I've got to check up on my little sister from time to time, and putting Sol in a headlock is usually fun." He grinned.
Minutes later, different lamiae with different things began setting up the feast. Naturally, they brought the table in first, followed by several plates of various foods, all of which smelled delicious.
After the feast and all its pleasant chaos, Mary, who had "sat" with the party and chatted while dining with them, asked, "So, what can we do to reward you?"
The hero shrugged. "I'm fine."
Zeraine nodded. "Same here."
Amarantha shrugged. "I don't need anything."
Cedric said, "I just need my sword sharpened."
The succubus shrugged while shaking her head. "Unless you've got a staff better than the one I have, I'm good."
Mary looked at them quizzically. "That's it?"
The hero said, "Well, this feast was quite the reward itself, and topping it off by repairing Cedric's sword and selling us a better staff for her," he said, gesturing toward the succubus, "would make it that much better."
Mary raised up and uncoiled her snake body, "standing" at a height at least twice that of any of the other party members. "Okay then. You bring his sword and come with me," she said, looking at the succubus while gesturing toward Cedric.
Cedric handed his kilij to the succubus and she followed Mary, who was undoubtedly leading her to the blacksmith.
After she was gone, Cedric asked, "So where are you going after Greenford?"
They all shook their heads. The hero said, "We don't know yet. We'll think about it when we get there."
While the succubus was gone, the lamiae of the village put away everything they had brought out, then retired to their homes. The guard from before approached and said, "Do you have a place to stay for the night?"
The hero said, "Actually, we got up at sunset. We had to travel at night because it's too hot during the day. Anyway, I guess as soon as my fiancee returns, we'll be going."
The guard smirked. "Fiancee, you say? So you've found a succubus that's loyal and monogamous? From what I've heard, those kind are rare. Congratulations."
The guard left them and returned to his post. Not long after, the succubus returned, handing Cedric his sword. "Well, what do you think?" she asked, holding up her new staff. The old one was completely wooden, basically the kind you'd find almost every mage carrying. This one, however, was wood with metal braces and endcaps. The braces and endcaps were also inscribed with runes.
The rest of the party nodded with approval. The hero asked, "So what's with the new staff?"
The succubus smiled. "It's more durable by a long shot, which means I can smack someone if I need to without worrying about it breaking, and the runes inscribed on the metal parts are supposed to enhance my magic power a bit."
The hero nodded, liking what he heard.
She continued, saying, "And it was free. The blacksmith told me that because of what we did with the girtablilu venom, he'd offer it to me for a discount, but then make it an even trade if I agreed to give him my old staff. Basically, I exchanged my old one for it."
The party then left the lamia village, returning to the road that they had taken to get into the country, and headed back to Greenford.
Once they arrived at the border, the orb disappeared, having served its purpose. Zeraine asked, "Hey, you guys think we should try to find that lamia's village?"
Amarantha thought for a second, then answered, "Well, I'd like to get out of this desert as soon as possible and back to somewhat cooler climates, but there might be something there that's worth checking out."
The succubus said, "Agreed. If we go there, they might reward us for helping them with their gathering of girtablilu venom."
Cedric said, "Heh, I'd kind of like to see what that lamia we ran into earlier can do with that halberd of hers. Also, I think I might need my sword sharpened. I guess I could wait until we get to Greenford, but..."
The hero shrugged. "Let's check it out. If it's as close to the border as she said, then we should have no trouble finding it, and afterwards, if we need them to, I'm sure the villagers would point us in the right direction."
They began walking to the east, wondering just how far off from their previous "path" the village was. Very soon, they saw the lights of torches and heard the sounds of activity. As they approached, they saw snake-women and snake-men doing various things such as patrolling the village or chatting with each other. One of the guards, armed with a halberd, greeted them. "Good evening, travelers. What brings you here?"
The hero replied, "As we were on our way out of this country, we ran into a female from this village. She said she was out hunting for girtablilu, and we told her about the ones we had killed since coming here. Before she slithered off to collect the venom from their corpses, she invited us to visit this place."
The guard said, "Ah, so you five are the ones Mary spoke of. We're glad you helped us like that."
The succubus asked, "She's already returned to this village?"
The guard nodded. "She returned shortly after noon, incredibly happy, dragging with her the largest collection of girtablilu venom we've ever seen. She told us all what happened and said to be on the lookout for the five of you. Come on in. We'll celebrate."
The hero asked, "You sure?"
He nodded again. "You must be hungry after all your traveling and battling, so we'll prepare a feast. Once your bellies are full, we can see about rewarding you."
He led the group into the village and shouted out, calling for everyone's attention. He announced that the group had done them a great favor and that a celebratory feast was to be held. As all the snake-people slithered off to finish what they were doing and prepare, the guard led the party to a large spot that was obviously used for bonfires. He lit it with his torch, then faced the party. "Sit and wait here. We should have to food ready soon."
After he left to go help, Cedric asked, "Aren't they overreacting a bit? ...Wait, they're not trying to fatten us up to eat us, are they-"
The succubus smacked him on the head with her staff.
"Ow!"
"Don't be stupid. Sure, they might be overdoing it with the whole celebration thing and the feast, but it's actually a pretty good thing for us. We get a 'free' meal and we might get something useful as a reward, so it's great. Plus, we can save what we have left for food until we're out of this country, then restock at Greenford, then continue."
Cedric rubbed his head where she hit him. "So where are you guys planning to go after stopping back in Greenford? If you're headed to Westcreek, I'll stay with you until we get there, but otherwise, that's where we go our separate ways."
Amarantha asked, "You're going to visit Hilda?"
He nodded. "I've got to check up on my little sister from time to time, and putting Sol in a headlock is usually fun." He grinned.
Minutes later, different lamiae with different things began setting up the feast. Naturally, they brought the table in first, followed by several plates of various foods, all of which smelled delicious.
After the feast and all its pleasant chaos, Mary, who had "sat" with the party and chatted while dining with them, asked, "So, what can we do to reward you?"
The hero shrugged. "I'm fine."
Zeraine nodded. "Same here."
Amarantha shrugged. "I don't need anything."
Cedric said, "I just need my sword sharpened."
The succubus shrugged while shaking her head. "Unless you've got a staff better than the one I have, I'm good."
Mary looked at them quizzically. "That's it?"
The hero said, "Well, this feast was quite the reward itself, and topping it off by repairing Cedric's sword and selling us a better staff for her," he said, gesturing toward the succubus, "would make it that much better."
Mary raised up and uncoiled her snake body, "standing" at a height at least twice that of any of the other party members. "Okay then. You bring his sword and come with me," she said, looking at the succubus while gesturing toward Cedric.
Cedric handed his kilij to the succubus and she followed Mary, who was undoubtedly leading her to the blacksmith.
After she was gone, Cedric asked, "So where are you going after Greenford?"
They all shook their heads. The hero said, "We don't know yet. We'll think about it when we get there."
While the succubus was gone, the lamiae of the village put away everything they had brought out, then retired to their homes. The guard from before approached and said, "Do you have a place to stay for the night?"
The hero said, "Actually, we got up at sunset. We had to travel at night because it's too hot during the day. Anyway, I guess as soon as my fiancee returns, we'll be going."
The guard smirked. "Fiancee, you say? So you've found a succubus that's loyal and monogamous? From what I've heard, those kind are rare. Congratulations."
The guard left them and returned to his post. Not long after, the succubus returned, handing Cedric his sword. "Well, what do you think?" she asked, holding up her new staff. The old one was completely wooden, basically the kind you'd find almost every mage carrying. This one, however, was wood with metal braces and endcaps. The braces and endcaps were also inscribed with runes.
The rest of the party nodded with approval. The hero asked, "So what's with the new staff?"
The succubus smiled. "It's more durable by a long shot, which means I can smack someone if I need to without worrying about it breaking, and the runes inscribed on the metal parts are supposed to enhance my magic power a bit."
The hero nodded, liking what he heard.
She continued, saying, "And it was free. The blacksmith told me that because of what we did with the girtablilu venom, he'd offer it to me for a discount, but then make it an even trade if I agreed to give him my old staff. Basically, I exchanged my old one for it."
The party then left the lamia village, returning to the road that they had taken to get into the country, and headed back to Greenford.
Chapter 76
Spoiler: show
Their trip back was fairly uneventful. They stayed up, pushing themselves as long as they could so they could keep walking, and ended up traveling all night and most of the next day. That afternoon, they stopped, made camp, and rested. The succubus was too tired after all that, so she didn't have sex with the hero. When they awoke, it was still dark, but it was definitely not far from sunrise. They decided to go ahead and move out, right after the succubus got her "morning feeding" from the hero.
It was after noon before they made it back to Greenford. Upon arriving, they saw a group of people over by the bar. It seemed one was the butt of some joke, as all of the others were laughing at him. Curious as to what was happening, the party approached. The hero said, "Hey, guys, isn't that...?"
Cedric nodded. "He's one of the guys I was hired to protect. Looks like he got away from those amazons somehow. I would say 'not bad', but I don't know yet how he did it."
The hero approached the large group of people and asked, "What's going on here?"
One guy, a middle-aged fat guy, said, "Oh, nothin'. This boy 'ere says he done escaped from them amazons. 's funny, though. He says they just let 'im go. Know why? 'cause he couldn't get it up! Hahaha! Can you believe it? They kicked 'im out 'cause he couldn't do it!" He laughed loudly along with the rest of the crowd.
The party tried not to laugh, but there was some snickering from Amarantha, Zeraine, and the succubus, and Cedric simply guffawed. The hero, in a successful attempt at not laughing, cleared his throat and elbowed Cedric, stopping him. He then asked the victim, "Is it true? Did they really let you go because you couldn't, uh... you know?"
The man nodded. "She tried lots of things but nothing worked. I was too scared. Those women are terrifying!"
Cedric asked, "And how are the others?"
"They're fine. We were treated pretty good, but when I couldn't do anything with the one that caught me, she threw a fit, calling me worthless! And then she kicked me out of her hut and told me to get out of her village or she'd kill me!"
Amarantha said, "She probably didn't mean that part. I think I understand, though. She went through an abnormal way of getting a man, and the man she fought to get couldn't do what she caught him for. If I were in her position, I'd be pissed off, too. All that work for nothing? How could she not be? Still, you escaped and you're back home, and you're fine except for your dignity, so suck it up."
The guy nodded. "I'll try, though I think I'll never live it down from these guys..." he said, gesturing at the crowd, which was now not laughing as much.
Zeraine looked at the middle-aged fat guy and said, "Give the poor guy a break, would you? He's been through a bit of trauma. Imagine yourselves in his shoes. ...Not so funny now, is it?"
The fat guy frowned. "Ah, fine. We'll leave him alone. Damn tourists, ruinin' our fun... Come on, let's get a drink."
He went into the bar grumbling, with most of the crowd following him. After things had settled down, the hero asked the man, "So you're from here?"
He nodded. "I was traveling with those other guys. They were passing through when I joined them on their little trip. When we were heading back, with me intending to stop here at home, we were attacked by those amazons. If it weren't for Cedric having hitched a ride with us on the way back, they'd have took us all. I don't know if they'd have still kicked me out... Anyway, I should be getting home now. Bye."
He jogged off, leaving the party to their own concerns.
They went to the inn and rented three rooms. Afterward, they sat down and discussed their current situation. They decided they needed to restock their food supply as soon as possible. They also tried to plan what to do and where to go. Amarantha suggested they head northeast, to the mountains. There was reputed to be a clan of dragons living there, though as far as she knew it was only a rumor. Zeraine agreed on the grounds that, despite the possibility of it being nothing more than a rumor, there should be one or two villages of lamiae or Lizardmen that they might be able to "recruit". The hero agreed, as did the succubus.
After the main party had decided on their next destination, Cedric shrugged. "Well, as you guys know, this is where we part ways. I'm heading to Westcreek to visit my little sister and her friends, then I'll head somewhere else."
The hero nodded. "It was good to have you with us, Cedric. You were a great help in the desert."
Cedric cringed. "Man, did you have to remind me about those damn bugs? Ugh."
The party then restocked on their supplies and enjoyed having their free time for the rest of the day. There was no new work on the notice board, and there wasn't anything to do for the guards, so the party did their best to relax until nightfall. After retiring to their rooms for the night, Cedric went to bed, while the two couples got ready for some "quality time". Upon entering their respective rooms with their respective partners, the succubus and Amarantha both, coincidentally enough, said, "You know what happens next," as they smiled at their partners.
It was after noon before they made it back to Greenford. Upon arriving, they saw a group of people over by the bar. It seemed one was the butt of some joke, as all of the others were laughing at him. Curious as to what was happening, the party approached. The hero said, "Hey, guys, isn't that...?"
Cedric nodded. "He's one of the guys I was hired to protect. Looks like he got away from those amazons somehow. I would say 'not bad', but I don't know yet how he did it."
The hero approached the large group of people and asked, "What's going on here?"
One guy, a middle-aged fat guy, said, "Oh, nothin'. This boy 'ere says he done escaped from them amazons. 's funny, though. He says they just let 'im go. Know why? 'cause he couldn't get it up! Hahaha! Can you believe it? They kicked 'im out 'cause he couldn't do it!" He laughed loudly along with the rest of the crowd.
The party tried not to laugh, but there was some snickering from Amarantha, Zeraine, and the succubus, and Cedric simply guffawed. The hero, in a successful attempt at not laughing, cleared his throat and elbowed Cedric, stopping him. He then asked the victim, "Is it true? Did they really let you go because you couldn't, uh... you know?"
The man nodded. "She tried lots of things but nothing worked. I was too scared. Those women are terrifying!"
Cedric asked, "And how are the others?"
"They're fine. We were treated pretty good, but when I couldn't do anything with the one that caught me, she threw a fit, calling me worthless! And then she kicked me out of her hut and told me to get out of her village or she'd kill me!"
Amarantha said, "She probably didn't mean that part. I think I understand, though. She went through an abnormal way of getting a man, and the man she fought to get couldn't do what she caught him for. If I were in her position, I'd be pissed off, too. All that work for nothing? How could she not be? Still, you escaped and you're back home, and you're fine except for your dignity, so suck it up."
The guy nodded. "I'll try, though I think I'll never live it down from these guys..." he said, gesturing at the crowd, which was now not laughing as much.
Zeraine looked at the middle-aged fat guy and said, "Give the poor guy a break, would you? He's been through a bit of trauma. Imagine yourselves in his shoes. ...Not so funny now, is it?"
The fat guy frowned. "Ah, fine. We'll leave him alone. Damn tourists, ruinin' our fun... Come on, let's get a drink."
He went into the bar grumbling, with most of the crowd following him. After things had settled down, the hero asked the man, "So you're from here?"
He nodded. "I was traveling with those other guys. They were passing through when I joined them on their little trip. When we were heading back, with me intending to stop here at home, we were attacked by those amazons. If it weren't for Cedric having hitched a ride with us on the way back, they'd have took us all. I don't know if they'd have still kicked me out... Anyway, I should be getting home now. Bye."
He jogged off, leaving the party to their own concerns.
They went to the inn and rented three rooms. Afterward, they sat down and discussed their current situation. They decided they needed to restock their food supply as soon as possible. They also tried to plan what to do and where to go. Amarantha suggested they head northeast, to the mountains. There was reputed to be a clan of dragons living there, though as far as she knew it was only a rumor. Zeraine agreed on the grounds that, despite the possibility of it being nothing more than a rumor, there should be one or two villages of lamiae or Lizardmen that they might be able to "recruit". The hero agreed, as did the succubus.
After the main party had decided on their next destination, Cedric shrugged. "Well, as you guys know, this is where we part ways. I'm heading to Westcreek to visit my little sister and her friends, then I'll head somewhere else."
The hero nodded. "It was good to have you with us, Cedric. You were a great help in the desert."
Cedric cringed. "Man, did you have to remind me about those damn bugs? Ugh."
The party then restocked on their supplies and enjoyed having their free time for the rest of the day. There was no new work on the notice board, and there wasn't anything to do for the guards, so the party did their best to relax until nightfall. After retiring to their rooms for the night, Cedric went to bed, while the two couples got ready for some "quality time". Upon entering their respective rooms with their respective partners, the succubus and Amarantha both, coincidentally enough, said, "You know what happens next," as they smiled at their partners.
Chapter 77
Spoiler: show
In Zeraine and Amarantha's room, things progressed quickly. They were naked and in bed in what was probably record time. Just as Zeraine was about to plunge into her warm, already-moist depths, she stopped him. "Wait! As much as I'd like to let you have the lead, we can't."
"Let me guess..."
She nodded. "We've got to turn you into an incubus. As you know, I won't allow you to enter anyone but me, so I have to fill you with demonic energy, using myself as a sort of filter, just like before." They changed position to cowgirl. As she straddled him, she reached down to grab his dick to line it up with her pussy. She paused before grabbing him. "Damn it..."
Zeraine heard the disappointment in her voice. He asked, "What is it, Ammie?"
She gave him a sad look and replied, "I really want you to be on top. I want you to have your way with me, but if we do that, I won't be able to do this right."
He grinned. "You like submitting to me that much?"
Her face turned red in an instant. "Y-you... Shut up! So what if I like letting my mate do as he pleases with my body? Do you have something against it?" Her sudden embarrassment caused Zeraine to start laughing. "What's so funny? Stop laughing! We're about to fuck, so stop!"
He pulled her down into a hug. "I'm sorry, but embarrassing you is just too much fun. You look so damn cute with your face red like this. Come on, gimme a kiss..."
She happily kissed him. "How many days has it been since we did it?"
Zeraine thought for a moment. "It's been a whole week, I think. At least six days, I'm sure."
She sat back up, sitting on his belly. She shrugged and said, "Oh well. I finally get to have you again, so let's get to it!" With that, she stood up on her knees, backed up, grabbed his hard shaft, and guided him into her vagina. As soon as he bottomed out against her cervix, she said, "It sucks that I can't enjoy you being on top..."
"You're not getting lazy on me, are you?" he prodded jokingly.
"Zeraine!" She frowned, which caused him to laugh a little. She then considered hitting him, but thought that something else might be better. She started slowly grinding her hips in as wide a circular motion as she could while keeping him inside as deeply as she could manage. She looked at his face and saw that he was clearly enjoying it. "Well? Should I go faster? Slower? Change to bouncing? Or should I stop?"
Zeraine locked eyes with her, a shocked look on his face. "You're joking, I hope."
She giggled, then brought herself down on him a bit roughly, causing him to hit her cervix quite hard. Due to this, her giggling was interrupted by a very erotic moan, one which made Zeraine throb inside her. "After this long without you, there's no way I could stop, and I don't want to, either."
She gave him a passionate kiss, entwining their tongues lovingly, then reluctantly broke it off. She then closed her eyes, trying to focus on channeling demonic energy into him, rather than focusing on his hard, throbbing manhood. After clearing her mind of her desire for her mate, or at least most of her desire for him, she began the process of channeling demonic energy into him. She rode him for at least an hour and a half, channeling as much demonic energy into him as she possibly could. Finally, neither of them could stand it anymore. They desperately needed to cum, so she stopped the energy transfer and sped up. Several seconds later, his warm semen was flooding her womb.
As he laid there with her straddling him, Zeraine looked at Amarantha and saw that she was having trouble staying upright. "Are you okay, Ammie?"
She looked at him with sleepy eyes and nodded. "I... I'm jus a bit tired. Thas all..."
Hearing her slurred speech, he knew that she was more than tired. "Ammie, you're exhausted. Here..." He grabbed her and did his best to change position without moving too much inside her. He laid her down on her back on the bed, then started to pull out. She weakly wrapped her legs around him.
"Don't! Don't pull out yet."
He saw that, despite her being on the verge of falling asleep, she didn't want him to be anywhere but inside her. He looked down and saw that his penis was still hard. He thought, "Damn... I guess I'm a little backed up after six or seven days of no sex. Still, Ammie's so tired she's about to pass out on me. I shouldn't try to go again."
She fought to stay awake, saying, "You're still hard, Zeraine. Go ahead, do me again. We haven't had sex in so long, and I know you're backed up. Empty yourself inside me. Please."
Zeraine shook his head. "Ammie, you're about to pass out. We can do it again tomorrow night, assuming we end up at an inn again. I'll be fine. Let's go to sleep."
Making sure he stayed in her, he laid down on her and rolled both himself and her over onto their sides. She responded by sluggishly putting her leg over his waist and her arm over his chest, under his arm. He hugged her close, kissed her on the forehead, and said, "Good night, Ammie."
Before she fell asleep, she managed to say, "G'nigh..."
Shortly afterward, his erection finally went down, allowing it to fall out of her, letting his cum seep out and dribble down her thigh. After that, he managed to relax and fall asleep.
...
In the room of the hero and the succubus, things didn't go quite as quickly. She was naked and back to her true form in a flash, eager to have fun with him, but he stayed in his armor at first. She looked at him impatiently. "What are you doing? Come on! It's time to make love."
He held up his hands, trying to calm her or slow her down. "One question. When are you going to teach me Explosion?"
She completely froze. Not even her tail moved. She then hung her head. "Damn, I forgot. I was supposed to teach you earlier, wasn't I? Okay, um... Tomorrow morning. I'll teach you tomorrow morning. Right now, you're going to practice your 'bedroom thrusting'. Now come on, get naked. Show me that great cock of yours!"
He facepalmed, then sighed. "Before we get into it..." he started as he undid his armor, "tell me a bit more about that spell. From what I saw, that spell, 'Damned' also makes an explosion. How is 'Explosion' different?"
She frowned, unhappy with his apparent disinterest in her birthday suit. "Damned's power is variable. You can hold back come for a less powerful blast, of you can let loose with enough force to start a record-size avalanche, possibly bringing a large chunk of the mountaintop down with everything else. Explosion's power is fixed. It's a better spell for a beginner like you."
By this time, the hero had taken off his chainmail cuirass and was sliding out of his leggings. "I see. I guess I've got something to look forward to, right?"
She raised an eyebrow. "Two somethings. First, you get to fuck me again, and this time you will have the lead. Second, you'll learn a fun spell tomorrow morning. Now, focus. My naked body is right here in front of you, and my love-juice is already running down my legs. You're about to be balls-deep in my cunt for a while, so pay attention. You know why I'm doing this, despite having your cock this morning, right?"
He finished stripping and said, "Yes. Now that we're out of the desert and back on our normal sleeping schedule, you're wanting to readjust our love-making schedule so we do it at night right before bed, possibly because you know it'll be easier on me that way, and the expenditure of energy involved can help us tire out even more, thus enabling us to fall asleep sooner and possibly sleep better."
She clapped her hands. "How did you know I was thinking about you with my reasoning?"
After arranging his clothes and armor in a neat, organized pile, he said, "From what I can tell, you're always thinking about me. It's usually something sexual, or it's something that can be tied to sex somehow, but I'm always on your mind, right?"
She smiled. "Once again, I'm a succubus. Succubi are almost always thinking of sex or things related to sex. I was like that before I met you, but I obviously didn't have you on my mind all the time because that would be impossible. Instead, I was always fantasizing about meeting my ideal man, giving him my first time, and having sex with him multiple times a day, every day. So far, I've only achieved the 'find my ideal man' part, although said man still needs some work, as well as the 'giving him my first time' and 'have sex with him every day' parts. I realize that, even after turning you into an incubus, we won't be able to fuck all day, even though I'd really love to try it. We'll still have our journey to make, our mission to carry out, the Demon Lord to kill, and the throne and title to take. Then there's going to be the hell of changing the administration, followed by testing my spell to turn monsters into 'monster girls'... Speaking of which, we should contact Sol tomorrow and ask if he'd allow his beloved lizards to volunteer to be my test subjects. I think I should test it on a few individuals before trying a world-wide version, just to make sure it works right. ...I think I'll have to change the divine mandate before I do that, though..."
The hero politely listened to every word of her think-out-loud session. "Princess, I think you've become the one who isn't focusing."
"Huh?" She looked back at him, seeing that he was naked, erect, and ready. "Ah, right. Well, anyway, sex now, plan later." She laid down on the bed and spread her legs. "Impale me, big boy."
He smirked, walked over to the bed, and got into position. She said, "By the way, I'd prefer that instead of 'princess' you call me 'honey', or 'dear', or 'darling', or possibly 'baby'. Anyway, you know which hole it goes in, right?" she asked, grinning.
He rolled his eyes and said, "Of course I do. It's this one..." he said, pressing his penis against the lips of her vagina.
She grinned. "Good. I'd like to try anal sometime soon, but for now, my pussy is just fine. Put it in, dear."
He did so, sinking his rock-hard shaft all the way into her dripping wet honeypot. The end of his penis met her cervix, causing her to quiver with pleasure. He began slowly moving, pulling out until only the head of his dick was in her, then sliding it all the way back in until he gently pressed against her cervix again. "Am I doing good?"
She nodded. "You're off to a good start. Now, speed up a little."
He did as she instructed, speeding up a little bit, so that her breasts bounced slightly with each thrust. "Better?"
She nodded, letting out a quiet moan as she enjoyed his thrusting. "Play with my tits. Rub them like I told you, and gently pinch my nipples. Also flick them, and pull on them, and twist them just a tiny bit."
"Won't it hurt if I twist them?"
"Not if you just do it a little bit, and if it does, it won't be much."
"Okay, then..." He began massaging her breasts, kneading them with his hands as he moved his hips. He also played with her nipples as she instructed, rubbing and flicking them, which caused her to moan erotically. When he pinched, pulled, or twisted them, she shuddered, trying not to cry out.
"Suck them."
He complied, taking one nipple into his mouth and sucking on it, which caused her great pleasure. After a while, he switched to sucking on the other one. Despite his slow hip movements, she was feeling and enjoying everything.
After several minutes, she felt him throbbing inside her. "About to cum? Go ahead." As soon as she finished speaking, she began flexing her vaginal muscles, causing her pussy to suck on his dick as he moved in and out of her. The suction caused him to blow his load. He knew that she'd prefer he shot it as deep inside as possible, so right before letting go, he shoved himself all the way in. She arched her back in pleasure, though she didn't orgasm. "I love this. I love feeling you press your dick against my cervix as you squirt your cum so forcefully! Feeling you spray my cervix with your cum turns me on so much!"
As she sighed, wallowing in the pleasure, the hero asked, "You want me to go again, right?"
She scoffed. "Of course! I know you have more cum in those testicles of yours and I want it all. On top of that, I didn't cum. Keep fucking me."
Because of the demonic energy she had been pumping him full of from the moment he stuck it in, he was still hard and ready to go. He took advantage of this and resumed thrusting. She urged him to go a little faster. He did so. She urged him a few more times, him complying each time. After her last request for him to speed up, he was thrusting fast and hard, causing her boobs to bounce around wildly.
After about another half hour of humping, she finally came. As she orgasmed, she managed to say, "Don't stop! Keep fucking me while I'm cumming!"
Fortunately for her, he couldn't have stopped anyway, because he was close to shooting again. As she wallowed in the ecstasy of him pounding her pussy as she came, he inched closer and closer to cumming, finally firing his second shot, filling her hot depths again. This made her cum again, apparently while still already cumming, though he couldn't be sure. Regardless, she fell back, exhausted. "Great job, dear."
He pulled out and laid down in bed next to her as she moved up to reposition herself for sleeping. The two of them wrapped their arms around each other, said their "Good nights", kissed one last time, and fell asleep in each other's arms.
"Let me guess..."
She nodded. "We've got to turn you into an incubus. As you know, I won't allow you to enter anyone but me, so I have to fill you with demonic energy, using myself as a sort of filter, just like before." They changed position to cowgirl. As she straddled him, she reached down to grab his dick to line it up with her pussy. She paused before grabbing him. "Damn it..."
Zeraine heard the disappointment in her voice. He asked, "What is it, Ammie?"
She gave him a sad look and replied, "I really want you to be on top. I want you to have your way with me, but if we do that, I won't be able to do this right."
He grinned. "You like submitting to me that much?"
Her face turned red in an instant. "Y-you... Shut up! So what if I like letting my mate do as he pleases with my body? Do you have something against it?" Her sudden embarrassment caused Zeraine to start laughing. "What's so funny? Stop laughing! We're about to fuck, so stop!"
He pulled her down into a hug. "I'm sorry, but embarrassing you is just too much fun. You look so damn cute with your face red like this. Come on, gimme a kiss..."
She happily kissed him. "How many days has it been since we did it?"
Zeraine thought for a moment. "It's been a whole week, I think. At least six days, I'm sure."
She sat back up, sitting on his belly. She shrugged and said, "Oh well. I finally get to have you again, so let's get to it!" With that, she stood up on her knees, backed up, grabbed his hard shaft, and guided him into her vagina. As soon as he bottomed out against her cervix, she said, "It sucks that I can't enjoy you being on top..."
"You're not getting lazy on me, are you?" he prodded jokingly.
"Zeraine!" She frowned, which caused him to laugh a little. She then considered hitting him, but thought that something else might be better. She started slowly grinding her hips in as wide a circular motion as she could while keeping him inside as deeply as she could manage. She looked at his face and saw that he was clearly enjoying it. "Well? Should I go faster? Slower? Change to bouncing? Or should I stop?"
Zeraine locked eyes with her, a shocked look on his face. "You're joking, I hope."
She giggled, then brought herself down on him a bit roughly, causing him to hit her cervix quite hard. Due to this, her giggling was interrupted by a very erotic moan, one which made Zeraine throb inside her. "After this long without you, there's no way I could stop, and I don't want to, either."
She gave him a passionate kiss, entwining their tongues lovingly, then reluctantly broke it off. She then closed her eyes, trying to focus on channeling demonic energy into him, rather than focusing on his hard, throbbing manhood. After clearing her mind of her desire for her mate, or at least most of her desire for him, she began the process of channeling demonic energy into him. She rode him for at least an hour and a half, channeling as much demonic energy into him as she possibly could. Finally, neither of them could stand it anymore. They desperately needed to cum, so she stopped the energy transfer and sped up. Several seconds later, his warm semen was flooding her womb.
As he laid there with her straddling him, Zeraine looked at Amarantha and saw that she was having trouble staying upright. "Are you okay, Ammie?"
She looked at him with sleepy eyes and nodded. "I... I'm jus a bit tired. Thas all..."
Hearing her slurred speech, he knew that she was more than tired. "Ammie, you're exhausted. Here..." He grabbed her and did his best to change position without moving too much inside her. He laid her down on her back on the bed, then started to pull out. She weakly wrapped her legs around him.
"Don't! Don't pull out yet."
He saw that, despite her being on the verge of falling asleep, she didn't want him to be anywhere but inside her. He looked down and saw that his penis was still hard. He thought, "Damn... I guess I'm a little backed up after six or seven days of no sex. Still, Ammie's so tired she's about to pass out on me. I shouldn't try to go again."
She fought to stay awake, saying, "You're still hard, Zeraine. Go ahead, do me again. We haven't had sex in so long, and I know you're backed up. Empty yourself inside me. Please."
Zeraine shook his head. "Ammie, you're about to pass out. We can do it again tomorrow night, assuming we end up at an inn again. I'll be fine. Let's go to sleep."
Making sure he stayed in her, he laid down on her and rolled both himself and her over onto their sides. She responded by sluggishly putting her leg over his waist and her arm over his chest, under his arm. He hugged her close, kissed her on the forehead, and said, "Good night, Ammie."
Before she fell asleep, she managed to say, "G'nigh..."
Shortly afterward, his erection finally went down, allowing it to fall out of her, letting his cum seep out and dribble down her thigh. After that, he managed to relax and fall asleep.
...
In the room of the hero and the succubus, things didn't go quite as quickly. She was naked and back to her true form in a flash, eager to have fun with him, but he stayed in his armor at first. She looked at him impatiently. "What are you doing? Come on! It's time to make love."
He held up his hands, trying to calm her or slow her down. "One question. When are you going to teach me Explosion?"
She completely froze. Not even her tail moved. She then hung her head. "Damn, I forgot. I was supposed to teach you earlier, wasn't I? Okay, um... Tomorrow morning. I'll teach you tomorrow morning. Right now, you're going to practice your 'bedroom thrusting'. Now come on, get naked. Show me that great cock of yours!"
He facepalmed, then sighed. "Before we get into it..." he started as he undid his armor, "tell me a bit more about that spell. From what I saw, that spell, 'Damned' also makes an explosion. How is 'Explosion' different?"
She frowned, unhappy with his apparent disinterest in her birthday suit. "Damned's power is variable. You can hold back come for a less powerful blast, of you can let loose with enough force to start a record-size avalanche, possibly bringing a large chunk of the mountaintop down with everything else. Explosion's power is fixed. It's a better spell for a beginner like you."
By this time, the hero had taken off his chainmail cuirass and was sliding out of his leggings. "I see. I guess I've got something to look forward to, right?"
She raised an eyebrow. "Two somethings. First, you get to fuck me again, and this time you will have the lead. Second, you'll learn a fun spell tomorrow morning. Now, focus. My naked body is right here in front of you, and my love-juice is already running down my legs. You're about to be balls-deep in my cunt for a while, so pay attention. You know why I'm doing this, despite having your cock this morning, right?"
He finished stripping and said, "Yes. Now that we're out of the desert and back on our normal sleeping schedule, you're wanting to readjust our love-making schedule so we do it at night right before bed, possibly because you know it'll be easier on me that way, and the expenditure of energy involved can help us tire out even more, thus enabling us to fall asleep sooner and possibly sleep better."
She clapped her hands. "How did you know I was thinking about you with my reasoning?"
After arranging his clothes and armor in a neat, organized pile, he said, "From what I can tell, you're always thinking about me. It's usually something sexual, or it's something that can be tied to sex somehow, but I'm always on your mind, right?"
She smiled. "Once again, I'm a succubus. Succubi are almost always thinking of sex or things related to sex. I was like that before I met you, but I obviously didn't have you on my mind all the time because that would be impossible. Instead, I was always fantasizing about meeting my ideal man, giving him my first time, and having sex with him multiple times a day, every day. So far, I've only achieved the 'find my ideal man' part, although said man still needs some work, as well as the 'giving him my first time' and 'have sex with him every day' parts. I realize that, even after turning you into an incubus, we won't be able to fuck all day, even though I'd really love to try it. We'll still have our journey to make, our mission to carry out, the Demon Lord to kill, and the throne and title to take. Then there's going to be the hell of changing the administration, followed by testing my spell to turn monsters into 'monster girls'... Speaking of which, we should contact Sol tomorrow and ask if he'd allow his beloved lizards to volunteer to be my test subjects. I think I should test it on a few individuals before trying a world-wide version, just to make sure it works right. ...I think I'll have to change the divine mandate before I do that, though..."
The hero politely listened to every word of her think-out-loud session. "Princess, I think you've become the one who isn't focusing."
"Huh?" She looked back at him, seeing that he was naked, erect, and ready. "Ah, right. Well, anyway, sex now, plan later." She laid down on the bed and spread her legs. "Impale me, big boy."
He smirked, walked over to the bed, and got into position. She said, "By the way, I'd prefer that instead of 'princess' you call me 'honey', or 'dear', or 'darling', or possibly 'baby'. Anyway, you know which hole it goes in, right?" she asked, grinning.
He rolled his eyes and said, "Of course I do. It's this one..." he said, pressing his penis against the lips of her vagina.
She grinned. "Good. I'd like to try anal sometime soon, but for now, my pussy is just fine. Put it in, dear."
He did so, sinking his rock-hard shaft all the way into her dripping wet honeypot. The end of his penis met her cervix, causing her to quiver with pleasure. He began slowly moving, pulling out until only the head of his dick was in her, then sliding it all the way back in until he gently pressed against her cervix again. "Am I doing good?"
She nodded. "You're off to a good start. Now, speed up a little."
He did as she instructed, speeding up a little bit, so that her breasts bounced slightly with each thrust. "Better?"
She nodded, letting out a quiet moan as she enjoyed his thrusting. "Play with my tits. Rub them like I told you, and gently pinch my nipples. Also flick them, and pull on them, and twist them just a tiny bit."
"Won't it hurt if I twist them?"
"Not if you just do it a little bit, and if it does, it won't be much."
"Okay, then..." He began massaging her breasts, kneading them with his hands as he moved his hips. He also played with her nipples as she instructed, rubbing and flicking them, which caused her to moan erotically. When he pinched, pulled, or twisted them, she shuddered, trying not to cry out.
"Suck them."
He complied, taking one nipple into his mouth and sucking on it, which caused her great pleasure. After a while, he switched to sucking on the other one. Despite his slow hip movements, she was feeling and enjoying everything.
After several minutes, she felt him throbbing inside her. "About to cum? Go ahead." As soon as she finished speaking, she began flexing her vaginal muscles, causing her pussy to suck on his dick as he moved in and out of her. The suction caused him to blow his load. He knew that she'd prefer he shot it as deep inside as possible, so right before letting go, he shoved himself all the way in. She arched her back in pleasure, though she didn't orgasm. "I love this. I love feeling you press your dick against my cervix as you squirt your cum so forcefully! Feeling you spray my cervix with your cum turns me on so much!"
As she sighed, wallowing in the pleasure, the hero asked, "You want me to go again, right?"
She scoffed. "Of course! I know you have more cum in those testicles of yours and I want it all. On top of that, I didn't cum. Keep fucking me."
Because of the demonic energy she had been pumping him full of from the moment he stuck it in, he was still hard and ready to go. He took advantage of this and resumed thrusting. She urged him to go a little faster. He did so. She urged him a few more times, him complying each time. After her last request for him to speed up, he was thrusting fast and hard, causing her boobs to bounce around wildly.
After about another half hour of humping, she finally came. As she orgasmed, she managed to say, "Don't stop! Keep fucking me while I'm cumming!"
Fortunately for her, he couldn't have stopped anyway, because he was close to shooting again. As she wallowed in the ecstasy of him pounding her pussy as she came, he inched closer and closer to cumming, finally firing his second shot, filling her hot depths again. This made her cum again, apparently while still already cumming, though he couldn't be sure. Regardless, she fell back, exhausted. "Great job, dear."
He pulled out and laid down in bed next to her as she moved up to reposition herself for sleeping. The two of them wrapped their arms around each other, said their "Good nights", kissed one last time, and fell asleep in each other's arms.
Chapter 78
Spoiler: show
Morning came and the sun rose. Not long after, Zeraine and Amarantha woke up. Rather than say "good morning", they kissed. Zeraine asked, "Did you sleep well, Ammie?"
She stretched, yawned, then sat up. "Yeah. Channeling that demonic energy into you wore me out, so I slept really good. ...Of course, being in your arms all night played a large part in it, too." She smiled, then continued, "How about you? After about a week with no sex, you only came once. I know you need more."
He shook his head, rolled over, and got up. "I'm not an incubus yet, so I think I can manage until next time. Let's get dressed. We've gotta regroup with the kid and the princess, then we have to see Cedric off, then we have to head out, too. Where were we headed again?"
She shrugged off his turning her down for sex, then got up and used a little magic to clean herself. "It was the Blackrock Mountains, right?"
He cleaned himself with similar magic, both of them having used water magic for the task. "Weren't you from around there?"
She casually yet quickly put on her underwear and said, "Yeah. My clan should still be living around there, near Icewind Peak."
Zeraine was already tightening the straps on his plate mail. "You think they'd help us?"
As she finished adjusting her studded leather jacket, she said, "They're silver dragons like me, and I'll be among us. Since we're 'traveling heroes' and we'll be asking for their help to bring down the hammer of justice on the Demon Lord, plus I, another silver dragon, will be among those asking for help, and when you consider that it's my own clan, too, you can be certain that they'll help." She then put on her leather gauntlets, which completed her task of getting dressed. After doing so, she helped Zeraine with the rest of his armor.
"So what was that about that clan of dragons that might be a rumor? You weren't referring to your clan and hiding it from the others out of distrust, were you?"
"No. There are rumors of a clan of gold dragons not too far from there. Since gold dragons tend to be 'paladin heroes of justice', if the rumor is true, they should help, too."
Zeraine grinned. "If there are that many dragons willing to help us, kicking the Demon Lord's ass, or at least that of his army, should be a cinch!"
Amarantha shook her head. "The Demon Lord will probably have a number of reds and blacks on his side. He might even have some whites, too. It's not going to be easy."
He hung his head. "Nothing that important ever is."
...
Shortly after Zeraine and Amarantha woke up, so too did the hero and the succubus. She woke up a few minutes before he did, but patiently laid there with him and waited. After he woke up, before his vision even cleared, he felt her lips on his. As his eyes focused, he saw her smiling at him, still in her true form. He slowly sat up, allowing her to sit on her knees on the bed. She stopped him as he tried to stand up. "What is it?"
She gave him a perverted grin. "As you might be able to gather, I woke up a little bit before you. I really wanted to wake you up by sucking on your morning wood, but I know that would have made you mad, so I didn't."
He shook his head. "Perversion as soon as I wake up? Didn't you get enough last night? Also, didn't we have a talk about this not too long ago?"
She crossed her arms and pouted. "Need I remind you yet again that I am a succubus?"
"You just did."
"Whatever. Anyway, yes I got enough last night, but sex is fun and it feels great."
"That's enough of that. Now, you promised to teach me Explosion. When?"
She thought for a second. "Right now."
"Alright, just let me get dressed..." He started to get up but she stopped him again.
"No way. We're staying naked through this lesson. I'll let you get dressed after you learn it," she said, grinning with a mixture of perversion and mischievousness.
He rolled his eyes. "Just teach me."
She let out an exaggerated sigh and said, "If only you were this eager when it came to putting your dick where it belongs."
She proceeded to teach him the spell. After he learned the necessary things, she allowed him to get up and get dressed. She did the same. Soon, the two of them were heading out the door in the hopes of finding a good spot to let the hero demonstrate it. On the way out the door, she said, "Remember, Explosion is a spell, not a Sign. Signs use your physical energy, were spells use your spirit energy, also called magic energy. Also, Explosion has some good force to it, so you can expect to knock your enemy back or knock them down, almost as if you hit them with Aard, but with this spell, you'll be dealing some major damage, too. In other words, for hurting your enemies while blasting them away, it works better than Aard or Igni."
They headed to Cedric's room, passing Zeraine and Amarantha's room just as they opened the door. The two of them stepped out and Zeraine said, "Hey, good morning, guys. I guess Cedric's still asleep?"
The hero shrugged. The four of them went to his room and knocked on the door, but were met with no response. The hero tried the doorknob, but fortunately for him and unfortunately for them, Cedric was of the smart kind of people that lock their doors. The succubus cast the same spell she did back when she listened in on Amarantha's conversation with the female guard captain on the way to the gold dragon's mansion, and stuck her ear up to the door. After a few seconds, she dispelled it and said, "I can hear him snoring." She then stood up, put her hand on the door, closed her eyes, focused, and said, "Blown dove session."
The door unlocked from her spell, and they entered. Cedric was sprawled out on the bed in a comical position with the covers kicked off the bed. It seemed strange that he could lay there with his flaming tail without the room burning down around him, but they didn't have time to ponder that. Zeraine shook him, but he didn't wake up. Not wanting to drag it out, he looked at the succubus and said, "If you would..."
She nodded, then conjured up a ball of water, about the same amount as the capacity of a glass, and dropped it on Cedric's face. He jumped awake spitting and sputtering, frantically wiping the water off his face. "What gives, guys!?"
The succubus, the proud perpetrator, donned her disguise form and said, "It's time to go. I know we're splitting up, but if you want to get there, you should leave this morning. In case it concerns you, the four of us will be talking to Sol in a little bit. Do you want us to tell him you're coming?"
After wiping his face with the sheet to get the rest of the water off, he said, "No. I wanna surprise them."
The five of them checked out of the inn, and Cedric left town. Zeraine said, "Okay, guys, we need to gear up. Since we're heading into the mountains, we'll need to dress appropriately. Ammie and I have our heavy hooded cloaks which, when combined with our outfits, provide us with plenty of warmth. ...There's also the fact that she's a silver dragon and she's right at home in frigid and arctic climates. Anyway, you two need to get yourselves similar cloaks, and she should probably get some footwear that's better insulated."
Upon finishing the discussion, the four of them went around town looking for the necessary items, but didn't find anything. It seemed they'd have to look in one of the next towns or cities along the way. If they didn't find anything then, they'd have to try at Stormforge, the rather large Dwarven town at the base of the mountain nearest the road. Making a note of the need for such clothing, they gave up the search for now and got ready to call Sol.
She stretched, yawned, then sat up. "Yeah. Channeling that demonic energy into you wore me out, so I slept really good. ...Of course, being in your arms all night played a large part in it, too." She smiled, then continued, "How about you? After about a week with no sex, you only came once. I know you need more."
He shook his head, rolled over, and got up. "I'm not an incubus yet, so I think I can manage until next time. Let's get dressed. We've gotta regroup with the kid and the princess, then we have to see Cedric off, then we have to head out, too. Where were we headed again?"
She shrugged off his turning her down for sex, then got up and used a little magic to clean herself. "It was the Blackrock Mountains, right?"
He cleaned himself with similar magic, both of them having used water magic for the task. "Weren't you from around there?"
She casually yet quickly put on her underwear and said, "Yeah. My clan should still be living around there, near Icewind Peak."
Zeraine was already tightening the straps on his plate mail. "You think they'd help us?"
As she finished adjusting her studded leather jacket, she said, "They're silver dragons like me, and I'll be among us. Since we're 'traveling heroes' and we'll be asking for their help to bring down the hammer of justice on the Demon Lord, plus I, another silver dragon, will be among those asking for help, and when you consider that it's my own clan, too, you can be certain that they'll help." She then put on her leather gauntlets, which completed her task of getting dressed. After doing so, she helped Zeraine with the rest of his armor.
"So what was that about that clan of dragons that might be a rumor? You weren't referring to your clan and hiding it from the others out of distrust, were you?"
"No. There are rumors of a clan of gold dragons not too far from there. Since gold dragons tend to be 'paladin heroes of justice', if the rumor is true, they should help, too."
Zeraine grinned. "If there are that many dragons willing to help us, kicking the Demon Lord's ass, or at least that of his army, should be a cinch!"
Amarantha shook her head. "The Demon Lord will probably have a number of reds and blacks on his side. He might even have some whites, too. It's not going to be easy."
He hung his head. "Nothing that important ever is."
...
Shortly after Zeraine and Amarantha woke up, so too did the hero and the succubus. She woke up a few minutes before he did, but patiently laid there with him and waited. After he woke up, before his vision even cleared, he felt her lips on his. As his eyes focused, he saw her smiling at him, still in her true form. He slowly sat up, allowing her to sit on her knees on the bed. She stopped him as he tried to stand up. "What is it?"
She gave him a perverted grin. "As you might be able to gather, I woke up a little bit before you. I really wanted to wake you up by sucking on your morning wood, but I know that would have made you mad, so I didn't."
He shook his head. "Perversion as soon as I wake up? Didn't you get enough last night? Also, didn't we have a talk about this not too long ago?"
She crossed her arms and pouted. "Need I remind you yet again that I am a succubus?"
"You just did."
"Whatever. Anyway, yes I got enough last night, but sex is fun and it feels great."
"That's enough of that. Now, you promised to teach me Explosion. When?"
She thought for a second. "Right now."
"Alright, just let me get dressed..." He started to get up but she stopped him again.
"No way. We're staying naked through this lesson. I'll let you get dressed after you learn it," she said, grinning with a mixture of perversion and mischievousness.
He rolled his eyes. "Just teach me."
She let out an exaggerated sigh and said, "If only you were this eager when it came to putting your dick where it belongs."
She proceeded to teach him the spell. After he learned the necessary things, she allowed him to get up and get dressed. She did the same. Soon, the two of them were heading out the door in the hopes of finding a good spot to let the hero demonstrate it. On the way out the door, she said, "Remember, Explosion is a spell, not a Sign. Signs use your physical energy, were spells use your spirit energy, also called magic energy. Also, Explosion has some good force to it, so you can expect to knock your enemy back or knock them down, almost as if you hit them with Aard, but with this spell, you'll be dealing some major damage, too. In other words, for hurting your enemies while blasting them away, it works better than Aard or Igni."
They headed to Cedric's room, passing Zeraine and Amarantha's room just as they opened the door. The two of them stepped out and Zeraine said, "Hey, good morning, guys. I guess Cedric's still asleep?"
The hero shrugged. The four of them went to his room and knocked on the door, but were met with no response. The hero tried the doorknob, but fortunately for him and unfortunately for them, Cedric was of the smart kind of people that lock their doors. The succubus cast the same spell she did back when she listened in on Amarantha's conversation with the female guard captain on the way to the gold dragon's mansion, and stuck her ear up to the door. After a few seconds, she dispelled it and said, "I can hear him snoring." She then stood up, put her hand on the door, closed her eyes, focused, and said, "Blown dove session."
The door unlocked from her spell, and they entered. Cedric was sprawled out on the bed in a comical position with the covers kicked off the bed. It seemed strange that he could lay there with his flaming tail without the room burning down around him, but they didn't have time to ponder that. Zeraine shook him, but he didn't wake up. Not wanting to drag it out, he looked at the succubus and said, "If you would..."
She nodded, then conjured up a ball of water, about the same amount as the capacity of a glass, and dropped it on Cedric's face. He jumped awake spitting and sputtering, frantically wiping the water off his face. "What gives, guys!?"
The succubus, the proud perpetrator, donned her disguise form and said, "It's time to go. I know we're splitting up, but if you want to get there, you should leave this morning. In case it concerns you, the four of us will be talking to Sol in a little bit. Do you want us to tell him you're coming?"
After wiping his face with the sheet to get the rest of the water off, he said, "No. I wanna surprise them."
The five of them checked out of the inn, and Cedric left town. Zeraine said, "Okay, guys, we need to gear up. Since we're heading into the mountains, we'll need to dress appropriately. Ammie and I have our heavy hooded cloaks which, when combined with our outfits, provide us with plenty of warmth. ...There's also the fact that she's a silver dragon and she's right at home in frigid and arctic climates. Anyway, you two need to get yourselves similar cloaks, and she should probably get some footwear that's better insulated."
Upon finishing the discussion, the four of them went around town looking for the necessary items, but didn't find anything. It seemed they'd have to look in one of the next towns or cities along the way. If they didn't find anything then, they'd have to try at Stormforge, the rather large Dwarven town at the base of the mountain nearest the road. Making a note of the need for such clothing, they gave up the search for now and got ready to call Sol.
Chapter 79
Spoiler: show
The succubus took her crystal out of her satchel and paused. "Hmm... As much as I'd like to tell him anyway, I guess I should respect Cedric's wishes, right?"
The hero smiled and nodded.
She used the crystal to connect with Sol. He greeted the party, saying, "Hey, guys! How's it been going?" It sounded as if he were breathing heavily.
The succubus thought it could be that he just finished moving boxes and crates, or that he was unable to keep holding back and was "busy" with "something". She said, "We've been doing pretty well, all things considered. We just spent the last week getting into and out of the Old Kingdom. The Pharaoh is on our side, now, so that's good. How have you been holding up? You do anything else with your beloved employees?" Her tone was a bit suggestive.
Sol started to laugh, then exhaled sharply. "Yeah, actually. My birthday came and went, so now I'm 98 years old, and I finally lost my virginity! On that great day, I left the shop closed, woke up bright and early, had a hearty breakfast with Vicky and Hilda, then had fun in the bedroom until they both passed out. When they woke up again later, we resumed. Naturally, we stopped to eat and stuff, but we did it all morning, day, evening, and night. I made sure that they both got an equal number of times, too. It was great."
The succubus grinned, her perverted mind imagining the all-day-long threesome. "Well, good. It'll be even better after I've completed the goals I told you about."
"I can't- mmph... I can't wait."
Amarantha asked, "What's going on, Sol? Why do you sound like you're out of breath or something? And what was that grunt or moan or whatever it was?"
Instead of Sol, Hilda answered, cheerfully saying, "It's because Vicky and I are sucking him off."
After that, there was a bit of a slurping sound, followed by Victoria saying, "Hilda!" in a scolding tone.
Amarantha shrugged with a half-happy half-forced grin on her face, Zeraine shared the grin, and the hero rolled his eyes and shook his head. The succubus smiled in a very perverted manner, then suddenly donned a confused frown. "Why aren't you balls-deep in lizard pussy? Are their mouths that much better?"
Sol, his voice now getting a little shaky due to his impending ejaculation, said, "Even though it was two days ago and I did it slow enough on the 'deflowering insertion', the three of us kind of overdid it. They're too sore to do it again right now, so I've got to settle for their incredibly pleasurable and satisfying oral skills."
The succubus said, "There's anal, too, you know."
Sol grunted with effort, then said, "We did that, too. Like I said, we overdid it. Because of my pent-up lust for them, their vaginas and anuses are too sore to have any fun with right now, so I'm left with their mouths and hands. Because you haven't cast your spell yet, they don't have tits to use for a tit-fuck, but I expect that their soft, scaly bodies will be plenty good until then, though that requires they take turns... Guh!"
The succubus listened intently, as if she were trying to hear the semen splattering on the bodies of his partners, or the gulping sounds of them swallowing it, or anything else pertaining to that act. After she began hearing his panting, she knew that he came. She heard Hilda mumble, "Delicious..." and Victoria agree, "Mhmm."
She then said, "Well, congrats on finally having your lizards."
"Thanks," Sol said, sounding exhausted. "By the way, I still haven't managed to find another Bag of Holding yet, though for the first couple of days since the vacation at the beach, I had to work in a panic to catch up. ...And then after that I had to get things back on schedule, then once that was done, my birthday came and I spent all day with these two..."
Zeraine cut in, saying, "You mean you haven't really had a chance to get back to searching for one, right?"
"Yeah. Sorry."
Amarantha said, "We understand. I don't think any of us here would deprive you of your special day with Vicky and Hilda, so don't worry about it."
The succubus said, "You know, you could always try intercrural."
Sol responded, "Huh? Oh, you mean rubbing myself between their thighs. That'd be good, maybe, but their crotches are sore to the touch, so I'd have to go too slow, and it wouldn't be any fun for any of us. ...Anyway, what's up? Need potions? Scrolls? Enchanted stuff?"
The hero, now done facepalming from the sex-talk, said, "We're heading into the mountains to the northeast. You wouldn't happen to have any cloaks, insulated boots, or anything like that, would you?"
"Let's see..." Sol said, probably tracking them down via his scrying orb. "Ah, you're in Greenford. So that means you'll be heading to the Blackrock mountain range... Do you plan to stop at Icewind Peak?"
Amarantha said, "Probably."
Sol scoffed. "Have you told them?" He paused long enough to let her shake her head, which he could see through his scrying orb, then said, "Tell 'em, sis."
Amarantha cleared her throat and said, "Well, there's the rumor of a clan of gold dragons in the Blackrock Mountains, and if it's just a rumor, we can fall back on visiting Icewind Peak."
The hero asked, "Why? Is something there?"
She nodded. "My clan should still live around there. It might be good to drop in and visit, and I'm sure they'd agree to help us."
The hero crossed his arms and asked, "Were you planning on telling us before we got there?"
"Of course I was! It just hadn't really come up yet, so..."
Zeraine patted her on the shoulder. "Calm down, both of you. Yes, kid, she was planning on telling you. She was going to after this talk with Sol, but he pushed it up."
"So what if I did?" Sol asked. "It's best to get it out now, right? Anyway, to answer your question, no, I don't have any arctic or mountain climbing gear. Of course, I don't think you'll really need to use mountain climbing stuff. Regardless, you'll have to get your cold-weather stuff at Stormforge. I'm sure the Dwarves can make you what you need for a reasonable price. ...So, Order knight?"
The hero replied, "What?"
"Have you had to use the Sanctuary scroll or the special regeneration potion?"
"No. I've had it pretty easy, to be honest."
"Good. You might need them, depending on the path you guys take. If you look at your map, you'll see what I mean. The road you'll have to take to get there goes backwards for a short stretch, then it takes a winding route through the forest. You can either follow the path, or go through the forest. I don't know anything about the forest in that area, so I don't know what you'll encounter."
The succubus huffed. "Don't you have any general advice?"
"Well, if you smell something sweet, cover your mouths and noses. It'll most likely be from an alraune that's looking for lunch. Since it's a forest, you might run into Elves or Dark Elves. If it's Elves, take care. As you probably already know, they're proud, arrogant, and short-tempered. Dark Elves, however, are just flat-out evil. Avoid them if you can, kill them if you can't. Be fast, brutal, and efficient. Show no mercy, because they won't. Anyway, other monsters you might run into could include goblins, orcs, ogres, and centaurs. Centaurs are sapient beings, so try to be nice. If you're polite and respectful, they'll treat you well. If not, you'll have to dodge arrows as you haul ass."
The succubus frowned. "That's it?"
"As far as I know. I'm not an expert, you know. I'm a mage and an alchemist."
The succubus paused a moment and said, "Oh, one thing I wanted to ask; would you and your girls be willing to volunteer to be my first test subjects?"
"For your spell?"
She nodded. "Yeah. I want to try it a few times on individual monsters before I cast the world-wide version. How about it?"
Sol was silent for a few seconds. "...This will happen after you take the throne, right?"
She nodded again. "Yes."
"Hmm... Well, I'm not exactly comfortable with letting anyone experiment on them. It's up to them, though."
The succubus thought for a second, then said, "How about the next time we meet, I'll use a temporary polymorph spell to turn them into the 'final versions' for a day. You go ahead and 'try them out' so you have an idea of how it'll be later, then tell me how it went, okay?"
"No. I'm not divulging the details of my fun with these two to anyone. As for the temporary polymorph spell, that sounds like it might be fun."
Victoria said, "I guess I'll agree to both the polymorph spell and the 'test subject' thing, but only if there's no chance of getting hurt."
The succubus said, "There isn't. I've been researching it for a long time, so it's sure to work."
"Then I agree," Victoria said before letting out a moan. "Sol, stop that."
Hilda said, "Well, count me in, too, then."
The succubus clapped her hands happily. "Great! How about you, Amarantha? You want to volunteer, too?"
She cringed and backed up a little, looking to Zeraine for support. "Well, I'd rather not... But that polymorph spell; it'd be fine, right?"
The succubus smiled suggestively. "You want to try it out with your mate?"
She blushed a little. "So what if I do? There's nothing wrong with it, is there?"
The succubus started giggling. "Not at all. Still, you want to see what it'd be like to have wings and a tail during your 'quality time' with Zeraine, right?"
Zeraine held up his hand. "Alright princess, stop teasing her." He put his arm around Amarantha and asked, "You want to try it? I'm fine with it if you are."
She nodded. "I'd like to try out that 'new form' I'll have after she's become the Demon Lord. You know, get some experience with moving around in it and stuff. As you've seen, my body will be very different. My 'true form' will be the 'humanoid with draconic features' and my 'alternate form' will be my current 'true form'. I don't know how quickly I'll adjust to the new form, with the horns, wings, claws, the tail... I'm worried I might have to learn how to walk again."
The succubus frowned. "Hmm... That complicates things. Maybe I can figure something out to include knowledge of basic mobility? Damn it..."
Zeraine rubbed Amarantha's shoulders. "Don't worry, Ammie. I'll be there, so if you need to lean on me..."
She patted his right hand. "Thanks."
Sol said, "Not to interrupt your beautiful little intimate moment or anything, but is there anything else you need?"
The hero said, "Not as far as I know. I guess we'll be taking the 'short' way, through the forest. We want to get there quickly, and a little possible danger should be something we can easily handle, right guys?"
The other three nodded in agreement. Sol said, "Alright, then. I guess I'll talk to you later. Bye."
The crystal's glow faded and the succubus put it back in her satchel. The hero said, "Let's get moving. If we go through the forest, we should reach Sturdumph by tomorrow afternoon."
The succubus pulled him in close and whispered, "After hearing the blowjob, I'm horny. Can we stop so I can suck you off real quick?"
He whispered back, "Can it wait until tonight?"
She shrugged, then whispered, "Maybe, but if I do, I'll have to put up with my pussy juice running down my legs the whole time, and come tonight, I'll ride you until you pass out. You okay with that?"
After a several seconds-long pause, he said, "Alright, we'll take care of that as soon as possible. I can't leave you to suffer."
She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, then followed him and the others as they left the town.
The hero smiled and nodded.
She used the crystal to connect with Sol. He greeted the party, saying, "Hey, guys! How's it been going?" It sounded as if he were breathing heavily.
The succubus thought it could be that he just finished moving boxes and crates, or that he was unable to keep holding back and was "busy" with "something". She said, "We've been doing pretty well, all things considered. We just spent the last week getting into and out of the Old Kingdom. The Pharaoh is on our side, now, so that's good. How have you been holding up? You do anything else with your beloved employees?" Her tone was a bit suggestive.
Sol started to laugh, then exhaled sharply. "Yeah, actually. My birthday came and went, so now I'm 98 years old, and I finally lost my virginity! On that great day, I left the shop closed, woke up bright and early, had a hearty breakfast with Vicky and Hilda, then had fun in the bedroom until they both passed out. When they woke up again later, we resumed. Naturally, we stopped to eat and stuff, but we did it all morning, day, evening, and night. I made sure that they both got an equal number of times, too. It was great."
The succubus grinned, her perverted mind imagining the all-day-long threesome. "Well, good. It'll be even better after I've completed the goals I told you about."
"I can't- mmph... I can't wait."
Amarantha asked, "What's going on, Sol? Why do you sound like you're out of breath or something? And what was that grunt or moan or whatever it was?"
Instead of Sol, Hilda answered, cheerfully saying, "It's because Vicky and I are sucking him off."
After that, there was a bit of a slurping sound, followed by Victoria saying, "Hilda!" in a scolding tone.
Amarantha shrugged with a half-happy half-forced grin on her face, Zeraine shared the grin, and the hero rolled his eyes and shook his head. The succubus smiled in a very perverted manner, then suddenly donned a confused frown. "Why aren't you balls-deep in lizard pussy? Are their mouths that much better?"
Sol, his voice now getting a little shaky due to his impending ejaculation, said, "Even though it was two days ago and I did it slow enough on the 'deflowering insertion', the three of us kind of overdid it. They're too sore to do it again right now, so I've got to settle for their incredibly pleasurable and satisfying oral skills."
The succubus said, "There's anal, too, you know."
Sol grunted with effort, then said, "We did that, too. Like I said, we overdid it. Because of my pent-up lust for them, their vaginas and anuses are too sore to have any fun with right now, so I'm left with their mouths and hands. Because you haven't cast your spell yet, they don't have tits to use for a tit-fuck, but I expect that their soft, scaly bodies will be plenty good until then, though that requires they take turns... Guh!"
The succubus listened intently, as if she were trying to hear the semen splattering on the bodies of his partners, or the gulping sounds of them swallowing it, or anything else pertaining to that act. After she began hearing his panting, she knew that he came. She heard Hilda mumble, "Delicious..." and Victoria agree, "Mhmm."
She then said, "Well, congrats on finally having your lizards."
"Thanks," Sol said, sounding exhausted. "By the way, I still haven't managed to find another Bag of Holding yet, though for the first couple of days since the vacation at the beach, I had to work in a panic to catch up. ...And then after that I had to get things back on schedule, then once that was done, my birthday came and I spent all day with these two..."
Zeraine cut in, saying, "You mean you haven't really had a chance to get back to searching for one, right?"
"Yeah. Sorry."
Amarantha said, "We understand. I don't think any of us here would deprive you of your special day with Vicky and Hilda, so don't worry about it."
The succubus said, "You know, you could always try intercrural."
Sol responded, "Huh? Oh, you mean rubbing myself between their thighs. That'd be good, maybe, but their crotches are sore to the touch, so I'd have to go too slow, and it wouldn't be any fun for any of us. ...Anyway, what's up? Need potions? Scrolls? Enchanted stuff?"
The hero, now done facepalming from the sex-talk, said, "We're heading into the mountains to the northeast. You wouldn't happen to have any cloaks, insulated boots, or anything like that, would you?"
"Let's see..." Sol said, probably tracking them down via his scrying orb. "Ah, you're in Greenford. So that means you'll be heading to the Blackrock mountain range... Do you plan to stop at Icewind Peak?"
Amarantha said, "Probably."
Sol scoffed. "Have you told them?" He paused long enough to let her shake her head, which he could see through his scrying orb, then said, "Tell 'em, sis."
Amarantha cleared her throat and said, "Well, there's the rumor of a clan of gold dragons in the Blackrock Mountains, and if it's just a rumor, we can fall back on visiting Icewind Peak."
The hero asked, "Why? Is something there?"
She nodded. "My clan should still live around there. It might be good to drop in and visit, and I'm sure they'd agree to help us."
The hero crossed his arms and asked, "Were you planning on telling us before we got there?"
"Of course I was! It just hadn't really come up yet, so..."
Zeraine patted her on the shoulder. "Calm down, both of you. Yes, kid, she was planning on telling you. She was going to after this talk with Sol, but he pushed it up."
"So what if I did?" Sol asked. "It's best to get it out now, right? Anyway, to answer your question, no, I don't have any arctic or mountain climbing gear. Of course, I don't think you'll really need to use mountain climbing stuff. Regardless, you'll have to get your cold-weather stuff at Stormforge. I'm sure the Dwarves can make you what you need for a reasonable price. ...So, Order knight?"
The hero replied, "What?"
"Have you had to use the Sanctuary scroll or the special regeneration potion?"
"No. I've had it pretty easy, to be honest."
"Good. You might need them, depending on the path you guys take. If you look at your map, you'll see what I mean. The road you'll have to take to get there goes backwards for a short stretch, then it takes a winding route through the forest. You can either follow the path, or go through the forest. I don't know anything about the forest in that area, so I don't know what you'll encounter."
The succubus huffed. "Don't you have any general advice?"
"Well, if you smell something sweet, cover your mouths and noses. It'll most likely be from an alraune that's looking for lunch. Since it's a forest, you might run into Elves or Dark Elves. If it's Elves, take care. As you probably already know, they're proud, arrogant, and short-tempered. Dark Elves, however, are just flat-out evil. Avoid them if you can, kill them if you can't. Be fast, brutal, and efficient. Show no mercy, because they won't. Anyway, other monsters you might run into could include goblins, orcs, ogres, and centaurs. Centaurs are sapient beings, so try to be nice. If you're polite and respectful, they'll treat you well. If not, you'll have to dodge arrows as you haul ass."
The succubus frowned. "That's it?"
"As far as I know. I'm not an expert, you know. I'm a mage and an alchemist."
The succubus paused a moment and said, "Oh, one thing I wanted to ask; would you and your girls be willing to volunteer to be my first test subjects?"
"For your spell?"
She nodded. "Yeah. I want to try it a few times on individual monsters before I cast the world-wide version. How about it?"
Sol was silent for a few seconds. "...This will happen after you take the throne, right?"
She nodded again. "Yes."
"Hmm... Well, I'm not exactly comfortable with letting anyone experiment on them. It's up to them, though."
The succubus thought for a second, then said, "How about the next time we meet, I'll use a temporary polymorph spell to turn them into the 'final versions' for a day. You go ahead and 'try them out' so you have an idea of how it'll be later, then tell me how it went, okay?"
"No. I'm not divulging the details of my fun with these two to anyone. As for the temporary polymorph spell, that sounds like it might be fun."
Victoria said, "I guess I'll agree to both the polymorph spell and the 'test subject' thing, but only if there's no chance of getting hurt."
The succubus said, "There isn't. I've been researching it for a long time, so it's sure to work."
"Then I agree," Victoria said before letting out a moan. "Sol, stop that."
Hilda said, "Well, count me in, too, then."
The succubus clapped her hands happily. "Great! How about you, Amarantha? You want to volunteer, too?"
She cringed and backed up a little, looking to Zeraine for support. "Well, I'd rather not... But that polymorph spell; it'd be fine, right?"
The succubus smiled suggestively. "You want to try it out with your mate?"
She blushed a little. "So what if I do? There's nothing wrong with it, is there?"
The succubus started giggling. "Not at all. Still, you want to see what it'd be like to have wings and a tail during your 'quality time' with Zeraine, right?"
Zeraine held up his hand. "Alright princess, stop teasing her." He put his arm around Amarantha and asked, "You want to try it? I'm fine with it if you are."
She nodded. "I'd like to try out that 'new form' I'll have after she's become the Demon Lord. You know, get some experience with moving around in it and stuff. As you've seen, my body will be very different. My 'true form' will be the 'humanoid with draconic features' and my 'alternate form' will be my current 'true form'. I don't know how quickly I'll adjust to the new form, with the horns, wings, claws, the tail... I'm worried I might have to learn how to walk again."
The succubus frowned. "Hmm... That complicates things. Maybe I can figure something out to include knowledge of basic mobility? Damn it..."
Zeraine rubbed Amarantha's shoulders. "Don't worry, Ammie. I'll be there, so if you need to lean on me..."
She patted his right hand. "Thanks."
Sol said, "Not to interrupt your beautiful little intimate moment or anything, but is there anything else you need?"
The hero said, "Not as far as I know. I guess we'll be taking the 'short' way, through the forest. We want to get there quickly, and a little possible danger should be something we can easily handle, right guys?"
The other three nodded in agreement. Sol said, "Alright, then. I guess I'll talk to you later. Bye."
The crystal's glow faded and the succubus put it back in her satchel. The hero said, "Let's get moving. If we go through the forest, we should reach Sturdumph by tomorrow afternoon."
The succubus pulled him in close and whispered, "After hearing the blowjob, I'm horny. Can we stop so I can suck you off real quick?"
He whispered back, "Can it wait until tonight?"
She shrugged, then whispered, "Maybe, but if I do, I'll have to put up with my pussy juice running down my legs the whole time, and come tonight, I'll ride you until you pass out. You okay with that?"
After a several seconds-long pause, he said, "Alright, we'll take care of that as soon as possible. I can't leave you to suffer."
She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, then followed him and the others as they left the town.
Chapter 80
Spoiler: show
As they walked toward the trees off the side of the path, the hero said, "By the way, princess, do you see why I advised against using Sol and his relationship with his employees as a 'template' for your plan's part about the eventual relationships between humans and monster?"
She scoffed. "I see what you're getting at, but remember, he had a lot of 'abnormal' things, too. First of all, he was already a horny pervert before becoming an incubus, and on top of that, he had been lusting after those two for a very long time. Add in the fact that he recently became an incubus, plus the fact that he didn't get adequate relief until two days ago, and you'll probably understand that he's most likely going through a 'lust spike', much like how most women do when they become succubi. After a while, and after enough sex, he should return to a fairly normal level of lust and arousal toward his lizards. Still, I guess I agree that he's not the best template, since it'll probably still linger on borderline obsession..."
The party entered the forest, making their way through the trees and undergrowth. After a few seconds of walking, the succubus held up her hand and said, "Okay, uh, Zeraine and Amarantha? Can you two go on ahead and secure the area ahead of us?"
Zeraine scoffed. "You mean give you and the kid some privacy so you two can have a little 'fun'. Yeah, I guess we could. Don't take too long, though."
He and Amarantha continued ahead, leaving the succubus and the hero alone. Seconds later, she had his dick in her mouth, her panties around one ankle, and her fingers in her pussy. She fingered herself with one hand and rubbed his balls with the other as she happily serviced him with her mouth. She gave him what demonic energy she could through the blowjob, but it wasn't much. She was torn between taking her time to enjoy his dick or making it quick so she could drink his cum and continue the journey. She decided that the forest was too dangerous to dawdle in, so she put all her effort into making him cum as quickly as possible, slowing down when she felt him starting to throb. She didn't want to go without orgasming herself, so she began vigorously rubbing her clit as she continued working him with her mouth. Eventually, she felt she was about to cum, so she sped back up, quickly causing him to fill her mouth with semen. As always, she drank every drop and made sure there was nothing left in his dick after his ejaculation. At some point either during him squirting his cum out in her mouth or her drinking it, she came, her juice making a small puddle under her crotch.
After she let go of his dick, he put it away. No sooner than he got everything readjusted, she stood up and smiled at him, then opened her mouth to show that there was no semen in it, then she jerked him into a passionate kiss. He didn't resist because he didn't need to, plus the kiss was nice, and with no taste of his own cum, he had no reason to complain or object. It was then that he noticed she forewent pulling her panties back up for the sake of kissing him. He smirked and rolled his eyes as the succubus put said panties back on, then shook his head and led her on ahead to rejoin the others.
Zeraine decided to tease the hero a little, asking, "How'd it go? Was she good?"
The hero gave him an unamused frown and replied, "She's a succubus. Of course she was!"
The succubus smiled proudly. "You finally compliment my technique. For that, I'll have to give you extra 'service' tonight."
He asked, "How about another spell instead?"
She sighed. "Fine. First, show me Explosion."
The hero looked around and found a small sapling that'd serve as a perfect target. He focused for a few seconds, then spoke the incantation. "Explosion."
With that, the sapling blew apart, sending pieces and splinters in all directions.
The succubus gave him a thumbs-up and said, "Excellent. While we continue along, I'll teach you Drash Gan. As I headed from my shack on the edge of the Demon Realm toward Westcreek, I nearly took an arrow from some Dark Elves that actually had the nerve to shoot at me. I killed the last one with it. You'll find that it's a very useful spell, even when you don't use it for a direct attack."
The party continued through the forest, stopping at noon for lunch. Up to that point, the succubus had taught the hero how to cast Drash Gan, and had suggested many examples of situations in which it'd be invaluable. Before sitting down to eat, she made him demonstrate his grasp of her lesson by casting the spell. As with Explosion, the incantation was nothing more than the name of the spell. He easily made a sharp stone pillar jut from the ground, then retract. She told him to do it again, and make as many pillars as he could. He did so, causing three of them to shoot from the ground, then retract.
She looked at him as if she were struggling to keep from hugging and kissing him. "I'm so proud of you. You can make three of them at once already! You learn these spells so fast, you learn quickly at sex... I so badly want to reward you by riding you until you pass out, but I'm sure you wouldn't let me."
He nodded. "Not while we're out traveling around."
She perked up. "You mean you'd agree to it!?"
"...Maybe once in a great while. I still would prefer no more than once a day." he said, an apologetic look creeping onto his face.
"Damn." she said, hanging her head and pouting.
During their lunch break, the two women looked at each other for a second and silently communicated an idea that simultaneously hit them both. They both grinned at each other mischievously, then turned to their respective men. They asked cutely, "Want me to feed you?"
Zeraine scoffed at Amarantha's query. "Not really, but I wouldn't mind feeding you, Ammie." he said, grinning.
She glanced over at the hero and the succubus, then asked, "Rain check until we're alone together?" as she resumed eating.
"Sure thing." he said, grinning.
At that same time, the hero gave the succubus a confused look. "I can eat on my own."
She tried tempting him with her cutest attempt at pouting and said, "Wouldn't it feel good to have my breasts pressed against you as I lovingly feed you each little bite?"
"That'd only make it more difficult to eat." he replied, shooting down her offer instantly.
Disappointed, she resumed eating.
When everyone was finished, they packed up their things and continued. Another couple of hours later, they heard someone occasionally speaking in a raised voice, usually followed by the sounds of many bows loosing their arrows at once. They decided to investigate.
She scoffed. "I see what you're getting at, but remember, he had a lot of 'abnormal' things, too. First of all, he was already a horny pervert before becoming an incubus, and on top of that, he had been lusting after those two for a very long time. Add in the fact that he recently became an incubus, plus the fact that he didn't get adequate relief until two days ago, and you'll probably understand that he's most likely going through a 'lust spike', much like how most women do when they become succubi. After a while, and after enough sex, he should return to a fairly normal level of lust and arousal toward his lizards. Still, I guess I agree that he's not the best template, since it'll probably still linger on borderline obsession..."
The party entered the forest, making their way through the trees and undergrowth. After a few seconds of walking, the succubus held up her hand and said, "Okay, uh, Zeraine and Amarantha? Can you two go on ahead and secure the area ahead of us?"
Zeraine scoffed. "You mean give you and the kid some privacy so you two can have a little 'fun'. Yeah, I guess we could. Don't take too long, though."
He and Amarantha continued ahead, leaving the succubus and the hero alone. Seconds later, she had his dick in her mouth, her panties around one ankle, and her fingers in her pussy. She fingered herself with one hand and rubbed his balls with the other as she happily serviced him with her mouth. She gave him what demonic energy she could through the blowjob, but it wasn't much. She was torn between taking her time to enjoy his dick or making it quick so she could drink his cum and continue the journey. She decided that the forest was too dangerous to dawdle in, so she put all her effort into making him cum as quickly as possible, slowing down when she felt him starting to throb. She didn't want to go without orgasming herself, so she began vigorously rubbing her clit as she continued working him with her mouth. Eventually, she felt she was about to cum, so she sped back up, quickly causing him to fill her mouth with semen. As always, she drank every drop and made sure there was nothing left in his dick after his ejaculation. At some point either during him squirting his cum out in her mouth or her drinking it, she came, her juice making a small puddle under her crotch.
After she let go of his dick, he put it away. No sooner than he got everything readjusted, she stood up and smiled at him, then opened her mouth to show that there was no semen in it, then she jerked him into a passionate kiss. He didn't resist because he didn't need to, plus the kiss was nice, and with no taste of his own cum, he had no reason to complain or object. It was then that he noticed she forewent pulling her panties back up for the sake of kissing him. He smirked and rolled his eyes as the succubus put said panties back on, then shook his head and led her on ahead to rejoin the others.
Zeraine decided to tease the hero a little, asking, "How'd it go? Was she good?"
The hero gave him an unamused frown and replied, "She's a succubus. Of course she was!"
The succubus smiled proudly. "You finally compliment my technique. For that, I'll have to give you extra 'service' tonight."
He asked, "How about another spell instead?"
She sighed. "Fine. First, show me Explosion."
The hero looked around and found a small sapling that'd serve as a perfect target. He focused for a few seconds, then spoke the incantation. "Explosion."
With that, the sapling blew apart, sending pieces and splinters in all directions.
The succubus gave him a thumbs-up and said, "Excellent. While we continue along, I'll teach you Drash Gan. As I headed from my shack on the edge of the Demon Realm toward Westcreek, I nearly took an arrow from some Dark Elves that actually had the nerve to shoot at me. I killed the last one with it. You'll find that it's a very useful spell, even when you don't use it for a direct attack."
The party continued through the forest, stopping at noon for lunch. Up to that point, the succubus had taught the hero how to cast Drash Gan, and had suggested many examples of situations in which it'd be invaluable. Before sitting down to eat, she made him demonstrate his grasp of her lesson by casting the spell. As with Explosion, the incantation was nothing more than the name of the spell. He easily made a sharp stone pillar jut from the ground, then retract. She told him to do it again, and make as many pillars as he could. He did so, causing three of them to shoot from the ground, then retract.
She looked at him as if she were struggling to keep from hugging and kissing him. "I'm so proud of you. You can make three of them at once already! You learn these spells so fast, you learn quickly at sex... I so badly want to reward you by riding you until you pass out, but I'm sure you wouldn't let me."
He nodded. "Not while we're out traveling around."
She perked up. "You mean you'd agree to it!?"
"...Maybe once in a great while. I still would prefer no more than once a day." he said, an apologetic look creeping onto his face.
"Damn." she said, hanging her head and pouting.
During their lunch break, the two women looked at each other for a second and silently communicated an idea that simultaneously hit them both. They both grinned at each other mischievously, then turned to their respective men. They asked cutely, "Want me to feed you?"
Zeraine scoffed at Amarantha's query. "Not really, but I wouldn't mind feeding you, Ammie." he said, grinning.
She glanced over at the hero and the succubus, then asked, "Rain check until we're alone together?" as she resumed eating.
"Sure thing." he said, grinning.
At that same time, the hero gave the succubus a confused look. "I can eat on my own."
She tried tempting him with her cutest attempt at pouting and said, "Wouldn't it feel good to have my breasts pressed against you as I lovingly feed you each little bite?"
"That'd only make it more difficult to eat." he replied, shooting down her offer instantly.
Disappointed, she resumed eating.
When everyone was finished, they packed up their things and continued. Another couple of hours later, they heard someone occasionally speaking in a raised voice, usually followed by the sounds of many bows loosing their arrows at once. They decided to investigate.
Chapter 81
Spoiler: show
The party reached a clearing and discovered the source of the sounds. One centaur was giving archery lessons to about 8 younger ones. The teacher looked to be a little scarred from past fights. There was one scar in particular that stood out, showing where an arrow must have sliced open his jaw at one point. The young centaurs were doing quite well with their practice. Each of them had most of their arrows clustered around the bull's-eye. The teacher noticed the party and shouted, "Stop firing! Stand by!"
The young centaurs obeyed, lowering their bows. The teacher approached the party and introduced himself as "Phillip." The group introduced themselves, as well, but the succubus still hid what she was, as did Amarantha.
Once introductions were done, the hero said, "We're headed for Sturdumph and rather than take the long way around, we decided to take a shortcut by going through this forest. Are we still heading in the right direction?"
Phillip nodded. "If you keep going that way," he said, pointing in about the same direction the party had been walking, "you'll arrive there easily. If you leave now, you should get there some time tomorrow, though that assumes you don't run into any Dark Elves or other problems."
"What other problems?" the succubus asked, visibly angry at the mention of Dark Elves.
Phillip shrugged. "There are a few alraune in the forest, there's the Dark Elves that wander around looking for trouble, there are wild animals such as wild boar... Plenty of dangers for traveling heroes to either get rid of or fall victim to."
Zeraine asked, "Is there any reward for doing so?"
"Not from us." Phillip looked each member of the party over again. Curiosity in his voice, he asked, "How are you four with archery?"
They all shook their heads and shrugged, none of them knowing.
"Well, then, let's get you guys some bows and see."
Not wanting to take a chance at offending the centaur, and also curious as to their potential skill with a bow, they let Phillip trot off and get four bows, one for each of them. They were also each given 5 arrows.
Phillip led them to the archery range, then announced to the young centaurs, "As you know, we have guests. I want to see how well they perform with a bow, and they've agreed, so let's find out."
With that, Phillip instructed the party on how to hold, draw, aim, and release. After he was sure they had it right, he ordered them to shoot at the targets, which were about 75 feet away. They each launched one arrow at their respective targets. Zeraine and the succubus missed, the hero hit the target at its outer edge at about the 5 o'clock position, and Amarantha hit the target at the 8 o'clock position, a little closer to the bull's-eye than the hero. The party tried again. After they had each shot all 5 of their arrows, they looked to see the results.
In the end, the succubus missed every time, Zeraine hit the target twice around the outer edge at the 12 and 3 o'clock positions, the hero hit all five times, each time getting a little closer, but still not hitting the bull's-eye, and Amarantha missed once, hitting 4 out of 5 times. The hero had done the best out of the four of them.
Phillip shrugged, not really knowing what to think. He asked, "And what were your professions?"
The succubus said, "I'm a mage. When it comes to ranged attacks, personally, I prefer fireballs and lightning bolts over arrows."
Zeraine said, "I'm a spellsword. I use my magic to get the enemy's attention, to soften up or weaken tougher enemies, outright kill weaker enemies, or enhance myself."
The hero said, "I'm a knight from The Order. I've had a little archery training before, but I was always better with a sword-and-shield setup."
Amarantha said, "I guess I'd be a fighter or something. I use my martial arts, occasionally borrowing Zeraine's spear. I also use a little magic, too."
Phillip nodded. "So your Order knight is the only one with any prior experience with archery? That makes sense, I guess. Your martial artist seems to have some talent for it, too."
The party handed the bows back to him. The hero said, "Thanks for the lesson. We must be on our way now, though, so farewell."
As they left, they heard Phillip shout to the young centaurs, "Alright, break time's over! Take your positions! ...Arrows ready! Draw! Aim! Release!" as he resumed teaching them.
His voice faded as they continued on their way. Eventually, they found the road that wound through the forest, but didn't take it, as that would slow them down. They instead continued in a straight line, heading for their destination, until they heard screaming. Knowing they were probably needed, they rushed to the aid of whoever it was. Upon finding the source of the screaming, they saw a man being dragged via vines into a large flower with what appeared to be a green-skinned woman in it. She grinned devilishly, licking her lips as she pulled the struggling man closer.
The hero rushed in first, shouting to the others, "Let's go!"
The succubus was the only one that followed him, though. She said, "Kill it, knight!"
He cast Drash Gan, causing two stone pillars to come up out of the ground, one on each side of the clump of vines that were dragging the man. The pillars "closed", cutting the vines like a giant pair of scissors would cut a bunch of strings. This attracted the alraune's attention, causing her to yell in anger as she lashed out with the remaining vines that weren't severed. The succubus cut them off with Sodom. Before the last of the vines hit the ground, the hero had closed the distance and had gotten in range to use Igni. He did so, setting the plant on fire. She screamed as she burned to death, aided by the succubus using a couple of fireballs to speed things up.
Keeping an eye on the flaming flower to make sure the fire didn't spread, the hero approached the man. "Everything's fine now. Are you alright?"
The man looked at the burnt alraune and sighed with relief. "I was almost a snack for a flower! If you guys hadn't come along when you did, who knows what might have happened!"
The succubus said, "The alraune would have pulled you into her flower, bound you, and drained you of your blood and spirit energy until you died. After that, she'd bury you under her flower as your body decomposed and use you as fertilizer."
The hero gave her a scolding look as the man froze with horror. He then said to the man, "You're safe now. Get a move on, okay?"
The man nodded and ran off back toward the road.
The hero walked over to Zeraine and Amarantha with a disgruntled look on his face and asked, "Why didn't you two assist?"
Zeraine grinned. "Because we knew you and your woman could handle it by yourselves."
The hero facepalmed and sighed. He shook his head, then turned to the succubus. "Princess, since we have nobody to tell us if we got turned around with that just then, I need you to levitate up above the trees and see, okay?"
She nodded and did so, spotting the town in the distance. She floated back down, canceling the spell as her feet touched the ground. "It's this way."
She led them as they resumed their trek through the forest.
The young centaurs obeyed, lowering their bows. The teacher approached the party and introduced himself as "Phillip." The group introduced themselves, as well, but the succubus still hid what she was, as did Amarantha.
Once introductions were done, the hero said, "We're headed for Sturdumph and rather than take the long way around, we decided to take a shortcut by going through this forest. Are we still heading in the right direction?"
Phillip nodded. "If you keep going that way," he said, pointing in about the same direction the party had been walking, "you'll arrive there easily. If you leave now, you should get there some time tomorrow, though that assumes you don't run into any Dark Elves or other problems."
"What other problems?" the succubus asked, visibly angry at the mention of Dark Elves.
Phillip shrugged. "There are a few alraune in the forest, there's the Dark Elves that wander around looking for trouble, there are wild animals such as wild boar... Plenty of dangers for traveling heroes to either get rid of or fall victim to."
Zeraine asked, "Is there any reward for doing so?"
"Not from us." Phillip looked each member of the party over again. Curiosity in his voice, he asked, "How are you four with archery?"
They all shook their heads and shrugged, none of them knowing.
"Well, then, let's get you guys some bows and see."
Not wanting to take a chance at offending the centaur, and also curious as to their potential skill with a bow, they let Phillip trot off and get four bows, one for each of them. They were also each given 5 arrows.
Phillip led them to the archery range, then announced to the young centaurs, "As you know, we have guests. I want to see how well they perform with a bow, and they've agreed, so let's find out."
With that, Phillip instructed the party on how to hold, draw, aim, and release. After he was sure they had it right, he ordered them to shoot at the targets, which were about 75 feet away. They each launched one arrow at their respective targets. Zeraine and the succubus missed, the hero hit the target at its outer edge at about the 5 o'clock position, and Amarantha hit the target at the 8 o'clock position, a little closer to the bull's-eye than the hero. The party tried again. After they had each shot all 5 of their arrows, they looked to see the results.
In the end, the succubus missed every time, Zeraine hit the target twice around the outer edge at the 12 and 3 o'clock positions, the hero hit all five times, each time getting a little closer, but still not hitting the bull's-eye, and Amarantha missed once, hitting 4 out of 5 times. The hero had done the best out of the four of them.
Phillip shrugged, not really knowing what to think. He asked, "And what were your professions?"
The succubus said, "I'm a mage. When it comes to ranged attacks, personally, I prefer fireballs and lightning bolts over arrows."
Zeraine said, "I'm a spellsword. I use my magic to get the enemy's attention, to soften up or weaken tougher enemies, outright kill weaker enemies, or enhance myself."
The hero said, "I'm a knight from The Order. I've had a little archery training before, but I was always better with a sword-and-shield setup."
Amarantha said, "I guess I'd be a fighter or something. I use my martial arts, occasionally borrowing Zeraine's spear. I also use a little magic, too."
Phillip nodded. "So your Order knight is the only one with any prior experience with archery? That makes sense, I guess. Your martial artist seems to have some talent for it, too."
The party handed the bows back to him. The hero said, "Thanks for the lesson. We must be on our way now, though, so farewell."
As they left, they heard Phillip shout to the young centaurs, "Alright, break time's over! Take your positions! ...Arrows ready! Draw! Aim! Release!" as he resumed teaching them.
His voice faded as they continued on their way. Eventually, they found the road that wound through the forest, but didn't take it, as that would slow them down. They instead continued in a straight line, heading for their destination, until they heard screaming. Knowing they were probably needed, they rushed to the aid of whoever it was. Upon finding the source of the screaming, they saw a man being dragged via vines into a large flower with what appeared to be a green-skinned woman in it. She grinned devilishly, licking her lips as she pulled the struggling man closer.
The hero rushed in first, shouting to the others, "Let's go!"
The succubus was the only one that followed him, though. She said, "Kill it, knight!"
He cast Drash Gan, causing two stone pillars to come up out of the ground, one on each side of the clump of vines that were dragging the man. The pillars "closed", cutting the vines like a giant pair of scissors would cut a bunch of strings. This attracted the alraune's attention, causing her to yell in anger as she lashed out with the remaining vines that weren't severed. The succubus cut them off with Sodom. Before the last of the vines hit the ground, the hero had closed the distance and had gotten in range to use Igni. He did so, setting the plant on fire. She screamed as she burned to death, aided by the succubus using a couple of fireballs to speed things up.
Keeping an eye on the flaming flower to make sure the fire didn't spread, the hero approached the man. "Everything's fine now. Are you alright?"
The man looked at the burnt alraune and sighed with relief. "I was almost a snack for a flower! If you guys hadn't come along when you did, who knows what might have happened!"
The succubus said, "The alraune would have pulled you into her flower, bound you, and drained you of your blood and spirit energy until you died. After that, she'd bury you under her flower as your body decomposed and use you as fertilizer."
The hero gave her a scolding look as the man froze with horror. He then said to the man, "You're safe now. Get a move on, okay?"
The man nodded and ran off back toward the road.
The hero walked over to Zeraine and Amarantha with a disgruntled look on his face and asked, "Why didn't you two assist?"
Zeraine grinned. "Because we knew you and your woman could handle it by yourselves."
The hero facepalmed and sighed. He shook his head, then turned to the succubus. "Princess, since we have nobody to tell us if we got turned around with that just then, I need you to levitate up above the trees and see, okay?"
She nodded and did so, spotting the town in the distance. She floated back down, canceling the spell as her feet touched the ground. "It's this way."
She led them as they resumed their trek through the forest.
Chapter 82
Spoiler: show
The party got through the rest of this part of the forest with no further trouble. They crossed the next section of the road, then kept going into the next part of the forest. They happened upon a small camp of Dark Elves outside some very old Elven-style ruins. They party hid, having not been noticed. They listened closely and heard that the Dark Elves were planning on raiding the ruins. Something about there being lots of treasure inside.
The succubus opened a mini telepathic network between the party and asked, "Want to check it out?"
The hero said, "We'd have to get rid of the Dark Elves first, and there are about 8 of them, from what I can see."
Zeraine said, "Hey, it might be worth it to check it out, and 8 Dark Elves would be a cinch for us."
Amarantha said, "I say we check it out. Sure, we'll be losing time and delaying getting to Sturdumph, but we might come out richer or something. I think it'd be worth it. We could always camp inside or somewhere in the forest if we had to."
The hero sighed, then said, "Alright, we'll-"
Just then, 7 more Dark Elves showed up, bringing the total to 15. Judging by their outfits, 10 of them were female and the other 5 were male. Out of those, two males and three females wore robes typical of magic-users.
"15 Dark Elves total, with five of them probably being mages," the hero said. "You guys still want to do it?"
Everyone said, "Yes."
He shrugged, strapped on his shield, and said, "Okay, we'll do it, but let's try to thin them out before we rush in, okay? I'll use a few of these Trap scrolls to kill or weaken a few groups of them, and we'll try to get rid of the mages first. After that, go for anyone with a bow."
The succubus closed the telepathy network in preparation for supporting the hero with her magic. He reached into his Bag of Holding and pulled out a few scrolls. He thought, "Let's see what Holy Trap does. I'll just use one, though, since Fire Trap and Shock Trap will probably be better." He did his best to set the Holy Trap from the distance he was at, aiming for the two robed male Dark Elves. His aim was a little off, though, and the Holy Trap ended up being set a few feet away from them. Ignoring the "miss", he took two Shock Trap and two Fire Trap scrolls, and set them. One of each ended up right where he wanted them. The Fire Trap that went off upon being set killed two Dark Elf archers, one male and one female, as well as one of the robed females. The Shock Trap scroll thoroughly zapped three female Dark Elves, leaving them alive, but gibbering and twitching on the ground. This signaled the start of the battle.
As one of the remaining robed female Dark Elves, who seemed to be the leader of the band, yelled, "Who goes there!?" the party charged out from their hiding spots, rushing for the mages, hoping to nail a few archers along the way. This did not include the succubus, though. She stayed back to support the party at a distance. The first thing she did, however, was finish off the three stunned Dark Elf females that were hit by the hero's Shock Trap by casting Fire Storm.
Zeraine ran in with his claymore at the ready, using an Aard of his own to knock one female Dark Elf into the hero's other Shock Trap. He then stabbed her through the chest, killing her. He kicked her corpse off his blade and ran for one of the male Dark Elves.
The hero rushed in with Quen active and shoulder-rammed one of the remaining male non-mage Dark Elves, sending him into his other Fire Trap, which killed him and wounded the other female Dark Elf mage, setting her on fire. He quickly beheaded her and ran for the male mages.
During that, Amarantha ran as fast as she could, and with a mighty shout of effort, she jumped, launching herself the rest of the way to where the two male Dark Elf mages were. She thrust-punched one into the hero's Holy Trap, which didn't do much damage if any, but it blinded the Elf.
The only remaining female Dark Elf mage, which seemed to be the leader, finally recovered from the shock of the party's surprise attack and yelled, "Defend yourselves, fools! Kill these humans!"
Before any of the other Dark Elves could react, Zeraine cleaved open the other male non-mage Dark Elf, which left only the two mages.
The hero watched as the male Dark Elf mage that wasn't blinded launched a Fireball at Amarantha, which she dodged by jumping to the side. The Dark Elf mage threw another Fireball, this time at the hero. It knocked out his Quen in one shot, but by that time, the hero had reached him and was already mid-thrust. Before the Dark Elf could move or cast another spell, the hero ran him through, then kicked him off his sword and onto the ground.
While the hero was busy with that, Amarantha ran over to the blinded Dark Elf mage and crushed his head with a powerful stomp, leaving only the females.
The hero looked around to see how everyone else was doing only to see one of the female Dark Elves launch an arrow at him. He blocked it with his shield, then watched as she was blown to pieces by at least 10 small but powerful explosive fireballs. He looked around and saw the succubus standing near where she was hiding earlier, smiling at him after having punished his attacker with Intelipeli. He smiled back and nodded in thanks, then instinctively dove to the side, barely dodging a hail of Ice Bolts from the band's leader.
Zeraine was about to engage the other remaining Dark Elf, but he, too, had to dive away to dodge another hail of Ice Bolts from the leader of this group.
Seeing what was going on, the succubus cast Haste and ran with magically enhanced speed to try to engage the Dark Elf mage. As she got closer, she yelled, "Zeraine! Amarantha! Get over here!"
They quickly ran to her side, dodging Fireballs, Firebolts, and Ice Bolts all the way. As they approached, the succubus made a couple of hand signs, then spoke an incantation. "Ere Ere Nammailin. Sacred Spirits, grant me a shield. Stry Bar!"
A semitransparent dome formed around the three of them, protecting them from the female Dark Elf mage's spells. Zeraine asked, "Sacred magic? How?"
The succubus, keeping Stry Bar up, said, "Just because I'm a succubus doesn't mean I can't use holy or sacred magic. Amarantha can use fire magic despite silver dragons having a weakness to it, can't she?"
Amarantha nodded. "Yeah. Wait, so succubi have a weakness to holy and sacred magic?"
"I didn't say that. We may have some weakness to it, I don't know, but what I meant to convey was the fact that we of the demon-types are not limited to any specific elements, nor are we barred from using certain types of magic."
While that took place, the remaining Dark Elf drew her twin short swords and rushed the hero. Her flurry of fast attacks put him on the defensive. Because he had a shield, he was able to defend against her attacks much more easily than he would have had he only been armed with a sword or two, but he still had to stay on his toes.
When the Dark Elf band's leader saw this, she decided to turn her attention to the hero, the only one not inside Stry Bar's protective dome. She rained Firebolts and Ice Bolts at him, laughing psychotically the whole time.
The hero threw out a kick to the twin sword Dark Elf's thigh and ran, managing to cast Quen while dodging the storm of magic missiles. Some of them hit, quickly chipping away at Quen, despite him blocking them with his shield. He dodged what he could, blocked what he couldn't, and ran as fast as he could to stay away from the melee girl.
Seeing the hero's predicament, the succubus shouted in frustration, then said, "Okay, as you might know, I can't cast any spells right now because Stry Bar is active. I don't think you could cast any spells sufficient to crack her barrier, so we've got one option left. Amarantha, you'll have to throw Zeraine, blade-first, at her as hard as you can."
The two of them nodded. Amarantha picked Zeraine up and held him up, ready to throw him. He was basically standing on her right hand while she supported him by putting her left hand on his chest. Zeraine said, "Wait for the end of her volley."
As soon as the magic projectiles left the side of the Dark Elf, Amarantha threw Zeraine at her. The speed at which he flew caught her off guard, causing him to successfully impale her on his claymore, ending her bombardment.
The hero, after dodging and blocking everything he could, yelled, "Thanks, guys!" He then focused on the last Dark Elf, who had resumed her attack now that magic projectiles were no longer raining down on the hero. No longer having to worry about dodging projectiles, the hero stood his ground and blocked her speedy attacks, looking for a pattern or an opening that he could exploit.
The succubus dismissed Stry Bar, and she, Zeraine, and Amarantha rushed in to help.
Before the others could get there, the hero decided to cast Drash Gan, lashing out at the Dark Elf with a single stone spike, which she quickly dodged. This caused her to stop her attack, though, and the hero took advantage of that. He cast Aard to knock her a few feet away, then followed it up with Explosion. The blast killed her, but it was close enough to also knock the hero down and hurt him.
When the others saw it happen, Zeraine, with a worried tone, asked, "Kid?"
The succubus yelled, "Honey!?" and ran as fast she could to his side.
He groaned and sat up, dazed. "I'm okay. Mostly. We get them all?"
The succubus had her arms around him as soon as he finished his sentence. "You sure you're okay? I see a few burns and cuts..."
He took out a Healing Potion, held it up for her to see, then drank it. In seconds, he was fine. "They're gone now, see?"
She scoffed and hugged him. "Do that again and I won't teach you any new spells until I'm sure I can trust you to not blow yourself up with them, and until then, the only reward you get for anything is more pussy from me."
He rolled his eyes. "That's not just an excuse for more sex, is it?" he asked teasingly.
She hit him on the shoulder with her staff.
Zeraine said, "That was a great display, kid. Like she said, though, don't do it again. Don't use Explosion unless you're far enough away, okay? Anyway, yeah, we got them all. Let's go into those ruins now." He reached out, offering his hand to help the hero up.
The succubus let go, allowing the hero to take Zeraine's hand and stand up. As he did, he said, "Well, we had to change our plan before we even got started on the first one."
She stood up, too, then the four of them walked up to the entrance of the ruins. As they did, Zeraine said, "Yeah, but we still won. Sometimes, your first plan won't work at all. Sometimes you have to change your plan mid-battle. Don't worry about it."
The hero took a deep breath, put his hand on the door, and said, "Here we go..."
He opened the door and they went in.
The succubus opened a mini telepathic network between the party and asked, "Want to check it out?"
The hero said, "We'd have to get rid of the Dark Elves first, and there are about 8 of them, from what I can see."
Zeraine said, "Hey, it might be worth it to check it out, and 8 Dark Elves would be a cinch for us."
Amarantha said, "I say we check it out. Sure, we'll be losing time and delaying getting to Sturdumph, but we might come out richer or something. I think it'd be worth it. We could always camp inside or somewhere in the forest if we had to."
The hero sighed, then said, "Alright, we'll-"
Just then, 7 more Dark Elves showed up, bringing the total to 15. Judging by their outfits, 10 of them were female and the other 5 were male. Out of those, two males and three females wore robes typical of magic-users.
"15 Dark Elves total, with five of them probably being mages," the hero said. "You guys still want to do it?"
Everyone said, "Yes."
He shrugged, strapped on his shield, and said, "Okay, we'll do it, but let's try to thin them out before we rush in, okay? I'll use a few of these Trap scrolls to kill or weaken a few groups of them, and we'll try to get rid of the mages first. After that, go for anyone with a bow."
The succubus closed the telepathy network in preparation for supporting the hero with her magic. He reached into his Bag of Holding and pulled out a few scrolls. He thought, "Let's see what Holy Trap does. I'll just use one, though, since Fire Trap and Shock Trap will probably be better." He did his best to set the Holy Trap from the distance he was at, aiming for the two robed male Dark Elves. His aim was a little off, though, and the Holy Trap ended up being set a few feet away from them. Ignoring the "miss", he took two Shock Trap and two Fire Trap scrolls, and set them. One of each ended up right where he wanted them. The Fire Trap that went off upon being set killed two Dark Elf archers, one male and one female, as well as one of the robed females. The Shock Trap scroll thoroughly zapped three female Dark Elves, leaving them alive, but gibbering and twitching on the ground. This signaled the start of the battle.
As one of the remaining robed female Dark Elves, who seemed to be the leader of the band, yelled, "Who goes there!?" the party charged out from their hiding spots, rushing for the mages, hoping to nail a few archers along the way. This did not include the succubus, though. She stayed back to support the party at a distance. The first thing she did, however, was finish off the three stunned Dark Elf females that were hit by the hero's Shock Trap by casting Fire Storm.
Zeraine ran in with his claymore at the ready, using an Aard of his own to knock one female Dark Elf into the hero's other Shock Trap. He then stabbed her through the chest, killing her. He kicked her corpse off his blade and ran for one of the male Dark Elves.
The hero rushed in with Quen active and shoulder-rammed one of the remaining male non-mage Dark Elves, sending him into his other Fire Trap, which killed him and wounded the other female Dark Elf mage, setting her on fire. He quickly beheaded her and ran for the male mages.
During that, Amarantha ran as fast as she could, and with a mighty shout of effort, she jumped, launching herself the rest of the way to where the two male Dark Elf mages were. She thrust-punched one into the hero's Holy Trap, which didn't do much damage if any, but it blinded the Elf.
The only remaining female Dark Elf mage, which seemed to be the leader, finally recovered from the shock of the party's surprise attack and yelled, "Defend yourselves, fools! Kill these humans!"
Before any of the other Dark Elves could react, Zeraine cleaved open the other male non-mage Dark Elf, which left only the two mages.
The hero watched as the male Dark Elf mage that wasn't blinded launched a Fireball at Amarantha, which she dodged by jumping to the side. The Dark Elf mage threw another Fireball, this time at the hero. It knocked out his Quen in one shot, but by that time, the hero had reached him and was already mid-thrust. Before the Dark Elf could move or cast another spell, the hero ran him through, then kicked him off his sword and onto the ground.
While the hero was busy with that, Amarantha ran over to the blinded Dark Elf mage and crushed his head with a powerful stomp, leaving only the females.
The hero looked around to see how everyone else was doing only to see one of the female Dark Elves launch an arrow at him. He blocked it with his shield, then watched as she was blown to pieces by at least 10 small but powerful explosive fireballs. He looked around and saw the succubus standing near where she was hiding earlier, smiling at him after having punished his attacker with Intelipeli. He smiled back and nodded in thanks, then instinctively dove to the side, barely dodging a hail of Ice Bolts from the band's leader.
Zeraine was about to engage the other remaining Dark Elf, but he, too, had to dive away to dodge another hail of Ice Bolts from the leader of this group.
Seeing what was going on, the succubus cast Haste and ran with magically enhanced speed to try to engage the Dark Elf mage. As she got closer, she yelled, "Zeraine! Amarantha! Get over here!"
They quickly ran to her side, dodging Fireballs, Firebolts, and Ice Bolts all the way. As they approached, the succubus made a couple of hand signs, then spoke an incantation. "Ere Ere Nammailin. Sacred Spirits, grant me a shield. Stry Bar!"
A semitransparent dome formed around the three of them, protecting them from the female Dark Elf mage's spells. Zeraine asked, "Sacred magic? How?"
The succubus, keeping Stry Bar up, said, "Just because I'm a succubus doesn't mean I can't use holy or sacred magic. Amarantha can use fire magic despite silver dragons having a weakness to it, can't she?"
Amarantha nodded. "Yeah. Wait, so succubi have a weakness to holy and sacred magic?"
"I didn't say that. We may have some weakness to it, I don't know, but what I meant to convey was the fact that we of the demon-types are not limited to any specific elements, nor are we barred from using certain types of magic."
While that took place, the remaining Dark Elf drew her twin short swords and rushed the hero. Her flurry of fast attacks put him on the defensive. Because he had a shield, he was able to defend against her attacks much more easily than he would have had he only been armed with a sword or two, but he still had to stay on his toes.
When the Dark Elf band's leader saw this, she decided to turn her attention to the hero, the only one not inside Stry Bar's protective dome. She rained Firebolts and Ice Bolts at him, laughing psychotically the whole time.
The hero threw out a kick to the twin sword Dark Elf's thigh and ran, managing to cast Quen while dodging the storm of magic missiles. Some of them hit, quickly chipping away at Quen, despite him blocking them with his shield. He dodged what he could, blocked what he couldn't, and ran as fast as he could to stay away from the melee girl.
Seeing the hero's predicament, the succubus shouted in frustration, then said, "Okay, as you might know, I can't cast any spells right now because Stry Bar is active. I don't think you could cast any spells sufficient to crack her barrier, so we've got one option left. Amarantha, you'll have to throw Zeraine, blade-first, at her as hard as you can."
The two of them nodded. Amarantha picked Zeraine up and held him up, ready to throw him. He was basically standing on her right hand while she supported him by putting her left hand on his chest. Zeraine said, "Wait for the end of her volley."
As soon as the magic projectiles left the side of the Dark Elf, Amarantha threw Zeraine at her. The speed at which he flew caught her off guard, causing him to successfully impale her on his claymore, ending her bombardment.
The hero, after dodging and blocking everything he could, yelled, "Thanks, guys!" He then focused on the last Dark Elf, who had resumed her attack now that magic projectiles were no longer raining down on the hero. No longer having to worry about dodging projectiles, the hero stood his ground and blocked her speedy attacks, looking for a pattern or an opening that he could exploit.
The succubus dismissed Stry Bar, and she, Zeraine, and Amarantha rushed in to help.
Before the others could get there, the hero decided to cast Drash Gan, lashing out at the Dark Elf with a single stone spike, which she quickly dodged. This caused her to stop her attack, though, and the hero took advantage of that. He cast Aard to knock her a few feet away, then followed it up with Explosion. The blast killed her, but it was close enough to also knock the hero down and hurt him.
When the others saw it happen, Zeraine, with a worried tone, asked, "Kid?"
The succubus yelled, "Honey!?" and ran as fast she could to his side.
He groaned and sat up, dazed. "I'm okay. Mostly. We get them all?"
The succubus had her arms around him as soon as he finished his sentence. "You sure you're okay? I see a few burns and cuts..."
He took out a Healing Potion, held it up for her to see, then drank it. In seconds, he was fine. "They're gone now, see?"
She scoffed and hugged him. "Do that again and I won't teach you any new spells until I'm sure I can trust you to not blow yourself up with them, and until then, the only reward you get for anything is more pussy from me."
He rolled his eyes. "That's not just an excuse for more sex, is it?" he asked teasingly.
She hit him on the shoulder with her staff.
Zeraine said, "That was a great display, kid. Like she said, though, don't do it again. Don't use Explosion unless you're far enough away, okay? Anyway, yeah, we got them all. Let's go into those ruins now." He reached out, offering his hand to help the hero up.
The succubus let go, allowing the hero to take Zeraine's hand and stand up. As he did, he said, "Well, we had to change our plan before we even got started on the first one."
She stood up, too, then the four of them walked up to the entrance of the ruins. As they did, Zeraine said, "Yeah, but we still won. Sometimes, your first plan won't work at all. Sometimes you have to change your plan mid-battle. Don't worry about it."
The hero took a deep breath, put his hand on the door, and said, "Here we go..."
He opened the door and they went in.
Chapter 83
Spoiler: show
The four of them stepped inside, letting the light from outside show them the area ahead. There were stone walls, partially smooth, but mostly rough cracked, and degraded areas, with the occasional chunk of stone missing, hinting at just how old this place was. There were stairs in front of them leading down to a flat, rectangular-ish platform, which had stairs leading down from it on the side opposite the aforementioned stairs. Beyond that was a narrow path that curved to their right. The curve was quite sharp, and they couldn't see where it went because they were still in the narrow enclosure of a passageway that was the entrance and first set of stairs. Since it was so narrow, they could only go down in a single-file column. The hero said in a hushed voice, "I already don't like this. The column formation is pitifully weak, there are four of us, and should we have to retreat, we could only exit one at a time."
Amarantha said, "Yeah, I'm not liking this, either. It brings back memories of that echidna. That bastard was more perverted than our succubus princess. Can you understand what I'm getting at? More perverted than a succubus, for fuck's sake! How is that even possible?"
The succubus said, "Oh, it's easily possible. Look at Sol. Most men wouldn't dream of having sex with a female Lizardman or a female salamander, but he wanted it so bad he could hardly control himself. Of course, now he can get his relief... Also, look at you and Zeraine. Sure, you have a human form, but you're still a dragon. A full dragon, not part-anything else made via magic or whatever, but entirely dragon. Zeraine is still entirely human, despite being close to transforming into an incubus. The two of you have had quite a bit of sex since we formed this group. I don't expect you two to try it when you're in your dragon form, as that would just be ridiculous, but still, you are a dragon and a human, in love, and having sex. Personally, I never could imagine myself fucking anything that wasn't human or incubus, and any time I tried to fantasize otherwise, I couldn't do it. Now, after meeting my beloved knight, I'm not even going to try to fantasize about any penis but his, and that's only if he fails to satisfy me."
The hero, knowing he might regret asking, decided to satisfy his curiosity and ask, "And all you did was fantasize? How often?"
The succubus looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "If you're asking what I think you're asking, yes. Surely you felt it as you broke my hymen, right? I know you saw the blood. And I'm certain you remember the pain I went through afterward, right? As for your other question, since you want to know so badly, whenever I had any free time, I spent it fantasizing about meeting someone like you and having sex like we have, except it was a bit more intense and passionate in those fantasies. Still, I had such thoughts almost all the time, and whenever I could, I masturbated to them."
The hero cleared his throat. "That's a bit more information that I asked for, and excuse me for not measuring up to your perverted dreams, princess."
She started down the stairs. "Enough of that, let's go."
The others followed her down the first set of stairs. As soon as she reached the stone platform, the door closed behind them. Zeraine turned around and tried to open the door. "It won't open. Why?"
The succubus sighed. "Damn it." With the door now closed, it was very dark. Their eyes were beginning to adjust, but it'd take minutes of standing around for that to happen, and not only were they currently packed into the narrow space, they were apparently locked in. She cast a light spell, giving the party plenty of light to see by. She then walked down the second set of stairs, looking around cautiously. There was nothing there. She saw that the curved path did a U-turn around some sort of partially destroyed pillar or something. There was also some sort of opening to another small area, but she didn't bother with it. "It looks safe so far. Still, let me through..." She squeezed past everyone and examined the door. "There's some sort of powerful magic keeping it shut. So, yeah, we're locked in for now."
The hero shrugged. "Well, there's obviously someone or something behind said magic, so I guess we'll have to explore and find whatever's powering the magic and deal with it."
He and the others walked down the stairs to the platform. The succubus squeezed back by Zeraine and Amarantha, getting right behind the hero. "Maybe I should be up front?" she said, making it clear that she was currently the party's light source.
The hero grabbed her shoulder. "No way. You're staying right behind me. Zeraine will be behind you, and Amarantha will bring up the rear."
She smirked. "Don't want to expose me to any danger, do you?"
He gave her a serious look. "Of course not. Also, you're our mage. You're only wearing that dress with the hooded cape-cloak-thing. I have chainmail. You can heal me if need be, therefore it's better that I take the hit instead of you, should such a situation arise."
She snickered, then quickly kissed him on the cheek. "I'm counting on you, then, my dear knight of The Order."
He rolled his eyes and ignored her bit of teasing. The four of them then walked down the second set of stairs and onto the narrow curved path. As the succubus's light spell lit up the area, they saw that there were two places in which the stone blocks that made the walkway were either gone or destroyed. They decided to enter the nearby opening, which formed a slightly wider walkway around the outside of the curve, with three openings total that allowed one to walk onto the narrow path. Going from the first opening, which was obviously nearest the door, they walked past the second opening, which led to the middle of the narrow path, right in between the sections with missing blocks, and exited the third one. Because the hero wasn't watching his footing, he nearly met with a painful surprise, but the succubus saw the metal pressure plate and stopped him.
As she threw her arms around him and pulled him backward, stopping him in his tracks, she said, "Stop!"
He looked back at her over his shoulder. "What is it?"
She pointed at the pressure plate. "That is a pressure plate. If you step on it, some kind of trap is bound to be sprung."
Zeraine looked around the room, then up. He pointed and said, "You mean like that spiked thing on the chain up there?"
Everyone looked and saw that there was indeed a spiked object on a chain. The chain was attached to the ceiling, and the object, which looked like a 3 foot long log and was attached to the heavy chain by its end, was held up by something they couldn't see. The succubus nodded. "Exactly like that. I'm just about willing to bet my anal virginity that if you step on the plate, the thing will swing down and nail you."
The hero said, "Then I guess we'll just step over it. And did you have to say that?"
The succubus let go and said, "What, the thing about my anal virginity?" He nodded. She continued, whispering in his ear, "Okay then, when we get to Sturdumph, we're doing anal. You don't get to refuse." She patted him on the back of his head as if she were petting him, then followed him as he carefully stepped over the pressure plate and went down another short set of stairs.
Once they were past the first trap and at the bottom of the stairs that followed it, which placed them on the lowest part of the room, where the broken pillar connected to the floor, Zeraine said, "You know what I think? I think that trap just then wasn't part of this place, originally. It kind of looked like it was sort of new."
The succubus said, "It has to be new. Considering the surroundings, it was too out-of-place. I wonder if the current occupant put it there..."
The hero said, "We can ask him or her when we get there. For now, we have another set of stairs to go down."
He led the party down the stairs, which were closed in by the walls just like the entrance stairs, and were the longest set yet, being about as long as the first and second put together, to the gate at the bottom. The gate and frame were metal, and had a very intricate design, with lots of gaps that allowed one to see through it. They opened it and went through, finding a small room that was somewhat square in shape and yet another set of stairs that led down. They went down said stairs and into another room, this one being fairly rectangular. Some glowing crystals in a metal cage-like object that hung from the ceiling by a chain provided extra light, making the rope at the top of the next down-leading set of stairs all the more visible.
Amarantha said, "That's obviously a tripwire. What does it go to?"
The hero spotted the twin chains near the top of the "doorway" that opened to the aforementioned stairs. "I'd guess it leads to those chains, and those chains have something on them that'll drop and swing at us again, right?"
One by one, they carefully stepped over the rope and onto the stairs, going down far enough to make room for the next person. When the succubus got to where the light she was emitting could show it, the party saw that on the end of each chain was a round metal ball with spikes on it. Resisting the urge to make some testicle-related comment, the succubus said, "Let's keep going."
They went down the stairs and came to a T in the path at the bottom. The hero and the succubus went left while Zeraine and Amarantha went right. After going through metal frames with no gates that were otherwise exactly the same as the earlier gate, the two groups quickly re-met in a very large, open room with a very high ceiling and more glowing crystals in metal cage-like objects hanging from chains to provide light. The party looked around and saw a couple of tables, a few chairs, and a few bed rolls, as well as what looked like a pile of wood and kindling where one might have a campfire. It seemed someone had stayed here before.
Amarantha saw a set of stairs that led up through another set of gate-less frames to their right. "Let's go this way."
All four of them went through the left gate, noticing that the right gate also led here, and ascended the stairs. They came upon an empty room with a broken pillar in the center. After exploring a little more, they found the skeleton of a long-dead person. Anything the person might have had was long gone. The backtracked to the very large room, then looked some more. They walked over to the edge of the floor and looked down into a lower area. There was nothing there and it was fairly dark despite one of the crystal-lights hanging above it, but they managed to make out a doorway on their right in said lower area. The succubus found a narrow stairway that led down to a curved hallway, which led to the lower area. They followed it and went through the doorway they saw from above, ending up on a balcony-like area with a dead end to their left, another narrow enclosed stairway leading down to their right, and a large, open, dark room in front of them. Rather than jump over the waist-high guardrail-like part, they followed the path to their right, following the stairs down into a narrow hallway that made a U-turn into the room. They looked around and saw nothing other than the fully-intact pillar in the far half of the room, and a door to their right.
As they approached the door, the succubus said, "So far, this place has been completely empty. It's making me feel uneasy."
The hero said, "Yeah, the lack of opposition has been unnerving, as has the easily-avoided traps. That skeleton looked like it was several decades old, so I doubt the person who set those traps did anything with him. ...Anyway, let's keep going. We're stuck in here until we find another way out, or find some way to 'unlock' the door."
A quick inspection of the door showed that it was stone, with a very nicely-done pattern of blue that resembled a tree centered on it. Setting that aside, they went through.
Amarantha said, "Yeah, I'm not liking this, either. It brings back memories of that echidna. That bastard was more perverted than our succubus princess. Can you understand what I'm getting at? More perverted than a succubus, for fuck's sake! How is that even possible?"
The succubus said, "Oh, it's easily possible. Look at Sol. Most men wouldn't dream of having sex with a female Lizardman or a female salamander, but he wanted it so bad he could hardly control himself. Of course, now he can get his relief... Also, look at you and Zeraine. Sure, you have a human form, but you're still a dragon. A full dragon, not part-anything else made via magic or whatever, but entirely dragon. Zeraine is still entirely human, despite being close to transforming into an incubus. The two of you have had quite a bit of sex since we formed this group. I don't expect you two to try it when you're in your dragon form, as that would just be ridiculous, but still, you are a dragon and a human, in love, and having sex. Personally, I never could imagine myself fucking anything that wasn't human or incubus, and any time I tried to fantasize otherwise, I couldn't do it. Now, after meeting my beloved knight, I'm not even going to try to fantasize about any penis but his, and that's only if he fails to satisfy me."
The hero, knowing he might regret asking, decided to satisfy his curiosity and ask, "And all you did was fantasize? How often?"
The succubus looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "If you're asking what I think you're asking, yes. Surely you felt it as you broke my hymen, right? I know you saw the blood. And I'm certain you remember the pain I went through afterward, right? As for your other question, since you want to know so badly, whenever I had any free time, I spent it fantasizing about meeting someone like you and having sex like we have, except it was a bit more intense and passionate in those fantasies. Still, I had such thoughts almost all the time, and whenever I could, I masturbated to them."
The hero cleared his throat. "That's a bit more information that I asked for, and excuse me for not measuring up to your perverted dreams, princess."
She started down the stairs. "Enough of that, let's go."
The others followed her down the first set of stairs. As soon as she reached the stone platform, the door closed behind them. Zeraine turned around and tried to open the door. "It won't open. Why?"
The succubus sighed. "Damn it." With the door now closed, it was very dark. Their eyes were beginning to adjust, but it'd take minutes of standing around for that to happen, and not only were they currently packed into the narrow space, they were apparently locked in. She cast a light spell, giving the party plenty of light to see by. She then walked down the second set of stairs, looking around cautiously. There was nothing there. She saw that the curved path did a U-turn around some sort of partially destroyed pillar or something. There was also some sort of opening to another small area, but she didn't bother with it. "It looks safe so far. Still, let me through..." She squeezed past everyone and examined the door. "There's some sort of powerful magic keeping it shut. So, yeah, we're locked in for now."
The hero shrugged. "Well, there's obviously someone or something behind said magic, so I guess we'll have to explore and find whatever's powering the magic and deal with it."
He and the others walked down the stairs to the platform. The succubus squeezed back by Zeraine and Amarantha, getting right behind the hero. "Maybe I should be up front?" she said, making it clear that she was currently the party's light source.
The hero grabbed her shoulder. "No way. You're staying right behind me. Zeraine will be behind you, and Amarantha will bring up the rear."
She smirked. "Don't want to expose me to any danger, do you?"
He gave her a serious look. "Of course not. Also, you're our mage. You're only wearing that dress with the hooded cape-cloak-thing. I have chainmail. You can heal me if need be, therefore it's better that I take the hit instead of you, should such a situation arise."
She snickered, then quickly kissed him on the cheek. "I'm counting on you, then, my dear knight of The Order."
He rolled his eyes and ignored her bit of teasing. The four of them then walked down the second set of stairs and onto the narrow curved path. As the succubus's light spell lit up the area, they saw that there were two places in which the stone blocks that made the walkway were either gone or destroyed. They decided to enter the nearby opening, which formed a slightly wider walkway around the outside of the curve, with three openings total that allowed one to walk onto the narrow path. Going from the first opening, which was obviously nearest the door, they walked past the second opening, which led to the middle of the narrow path, right in between the sections with missing blocks, and exited the third one. Because the hero wasn't watching his footing, he nearly met with a painful surprise, but the succubus saw the metal pressure plate and stopped him.
As she threw her arms around him and pulled him backward, stopping him in his tracks, she said, "Stop!"
He looked back at her over his shoulder. "What is it?"
She pointed at the pressure plate. "That is a pressure plate. If you step on it, some kind of trap is bound to be sprung."
Zeraine looked around the room, then up. He pointed and said, "You mean like that spiked thing on the chain up there?"
Everyone looked and saw that there was indeed a spiked object on a chain. The chain was attached to the ceiling, and the object, which looked like a 3 foot long log and was attached to the heavy chain by its end, was held up by something they couldn't see. The succubus nodded. "Exactly like that. I'm just about willing to bet my anal virginity that if you step on the plate, the thing will swing down and nail you."
The hero said, "Then I guess we'll just step over it. And did you have to say that?"
The succubus let go and said, "What, the thing about my anal virginity?" He nodded. She continued, whispering in his ear, "Okay then, when we get to Sturdumph, we're doing anal. You don't get to refuse." She patted him on the back of his head as if she were petting him, then followed him as he carefully stepped over the pressure plate and went down another short set of stairs.
Once they were past the first trap and at the bottom of the stairs that followed it, which placed them on the lowest part of the room, where the broken pillar connected to the floor, Zeraine said, "You know what I think? I think that trap just then wasn't part of this place, originally. It kind of looked like it was sort of new."
The succubus said, "It has to be new. Considering the surroundings, it was too out-of-place. I wonder if the current occupant put it there..."
The hero said, "We can ask him or her when we get there. For now, we have another set of stairs to go down."
He led the party down the stairs, which were closed in by the walls just like the entrance stairs, and were the longest set yet, being about as long as the first and second put together, to the gate at the bottom. The gate and frame were metal, and had a very intricate design, with lots of gaps that allowed one to see through it. They opened it and went through, finding a small room that was somewhat square in shape and yet another set of stairs that led down. They went down said stairs and into another room, this one being fairly rectangular. Some glowing crystals in a metal cage-like object that hung from the ceiling by a chain provided extra light, making the rope at the top of the next down-leading set of stairs all the more visible.
Amarantha said, "That's obviously a tripwire. What does it go to?"
The hero spotted the twin chains near the top of the "doorway" that opened to the aforementioned stairs. "I'd guess it leads to those chains, and those chains have something on them that'll drop and swing at us again, right?"
One by one, they carefully stepped over the rope and onto the stairs, going down far enough to make room for the next person. When the succubus got to where the light she was emitting could show it, the party saw that on the end of each chain was a round metal ball with spikes on it. Resisting the urge to make some testicle-related comment, the succubus said, "Let's keep going."
They went down the stairs and came to a T in the path at the bottom. The hero and the succubus went left while Zeraine and Amarantha went right. After going through metal frames with no gates that were otherwise exactly the same as the earlier gate, the two groups quickly re-met in a very large, open room with a very high ceiling and more glowing crystals in metal cage-like objects hanging from chains to provide light. The party looked around and saw a couple of tables, a few chairs, and a few bed rolls, as well as what looked like a pile of wood and kindling where one might have a campfire. It seemed someone had stayed here before.
Amarantha saw a set of stairs that led up through another set of gate-less frames to their right. "Let's go this way."
All four of them went through the left gate, noticing that the right gate also led here, and ascended the stairs. They came upon an empty room with a broken pillar in the center. After exploring a little more, they found the skeleton of a long-dead person. Anything the person might have had was long gone. The backtracked to the very large room, then looked some more. They walked over to the edge of the floor and looked down into a lower area. There was nothing there and it was fairly dark despite one of the crystal-lights hanging above it, but they managed to make out a doorway on their right in said lower area. The succubus found a narrow stairway that led down to a curved hallway, which led to the lower area. They followed it and went through the doorway they saw from above, ending up on a balcony-like area with a dead end to their left, another narrow enclosed stairway leading down to their right, and a large, open, dark room in front of them. Rather than jump over the waist-high guardrail-like part, they followed the path to their right, following the stairs down into a narrow hallway that made a U-turn into the room. They looked around and saw nothing other than the fully-intact pillar in the far half of the room, and a door to their right.
As they approached the door, the succubus said, "So far, this place has been completely empty. It's making me feel uneasy."
The hero said, "Yeah, the lack of opposition has been unnerving, as has the easily-avoided traps. That skeleton looked like it was several decades old, so I doubt the person who set those traps did anything with him. ...Anyway, let's keep going. We're stuck in here until we find another way out, or find some way to 'unlock' the door."
A quick inspection of the door showed that it was stone, with a very nicely-done pattern of blue that resembled a tree centered on it. Setting that aside, they went through.
Chapter 84
Spoiler: show
On the other side was another narrow passageway that was somewhat short, ending in a 90 degree turn to the left. The room after that was square in shape, with four large support pillar-like structures in the middle of each quadrant. There was a pedestal-like thing in the center of the room, but there was nothing on it. The group gathered around it and looked in each direction, noting that there were four exits, one on each side of the square room. There was the one they came in from, which led back to the curved passage and the door, and the three others led to small rooms. When standing in the doorway of the passage they entered from, facing the pedestal in the center of the room, the small rooms were to the front, the right, and the left. The party inspected the ones on the right and the front. At one point, Zeraine pulled out his compass to help them keep track of what they could. They only found dust and cobwebs in the small rooms, which had large rectangular slabs of stone in the middle of each. Zeraine shrugged. "Well, we came from the south path, and there was nothing in the east or north rooms, so let's check the west one."
They did so, finding nothing other than a stone pressure plate on the floor on the opposite side of the stone slab from the entrance. The succubus carefully looked around the room. Seeing no traps, she said, "Well, we don't know what it'll do, but it's all we've got right now, so..."
The hero stepped on it before she could. The plate sunk into the floor slightly, then came back out. They heard a sliding sound in the room and looked around to see the north wall separate into small square-shaped pillars and sink into the floor, opening the way to a passage wider than the hallways they had been in so far, with a big square-shaped room beyond it. One thing they noticed, however, was the large pool of blood right on the other side of where the small stone pillars had blocked the way. The hero squatted down and looked closely at it. "It's at least a few days old, but no older than a week. What happened here?"
Amarantha nodded in agreement, saying, "Yeah, it's strange. With this much blood, you know the person's dead, but where's the body?"
The four of them stepped through the passage and into the room, entering through the southeast corner on the south wall. Once inside, they saw four support pillars standing around a circular area that had some sort of pedestal in the center. There were four stone benches around the area, each of them situated between the support pillars. Upon closer inspection, the pillars were square in shape, very wide and thick at the bottom, sharply tapering to less than half that from about head-level on up. The north two had stone walls connecting them to the north wall from their north sides. The party also saw that the pillars were actually octagons, because despite being square in shape, they were flat where the corners would be, thus giving them eight sides. Above the pedestal in the center of the room hung another metal cage with glowing crystals in it. On the pedestal lay the answer to Amarantha's question. There was a dead Dark Elf. It was impossible to tell if this one was from the same tribe as the ones they killed outside, but this one, a male, was obviously dead. He was also partially eaten.
Zeraine said, "Well, you know he's dead, and that must have been his blood earlier. If I had to guess, I'd say zombies or ghouls are responsible for the guy being partially eaten. He doesn't seem to have anything on him, either, so what now?"
The party looked around, seeing another metal gate exactly like those others earlier in the center of the north wall, with some stairs leading down on the other side. The succubus examined the gate. "Well, we can't go this way. Even if I did unlock it, there's still magic holding it shut. It's the same kind of magic that was holding the entrance to these ruins shut."
Everyone grumbled or growled in complaint, then looked around the room again. They saw another small room with a stone slab to the west, so they checked it out. The hero and the succubus went around the left side of the stone slab, and Zeraine and Amarantha went around the right side. In what was basically a small alcove at the end of the room, they saw another stone pressure plate on the floor. The hero said, "Well, the only way forward is this."
As he approached the stone pressure plate, the succubus stopped him and looked around worriedly. "Someone just cast a powerful spell..." She quickly turned and pointed, shouting, "There!"
The party watched as the Dark Elf's corpse got up and drew its twin curved short swords. He ran at them, hopping over the west stone bench. He jumped up, kicked off the stone slab's top, and came down, swinging both of his swords downwards. Zeraine caught the blades with his claymore, stopping the Dark Elf zombie's attack, which allowed the hero, the succubus, and Amarantha to run out of the cramped space and back into the open room. Zeraine used an Aard to blast the Dark Elf zombie away, allowing him to rejoin the others. The party assumed their ready stances as the enemy got back up. When he did, the hero rushed in and blocked his twin swords with his shield, delivering a swift kick to the Dark Elf zombie's hip, which had part of the pelvis exposed. The kick only staggered him a bit, then he kicked back, nailing the hero in his upper thigh, causing him to lose his footing and drop to one knee.
The succubus threw a Firebolt, hitting the enemy in his upper right arm, which barely fazed him. It distracted him long enough, however, for Zeraine to attack with his claymore. Unfortunately, the Dark Elf zombie parried it and started to counterattack, but the hero saw an opportunity to stab him in the knee. The enemy nearly fell from the sudden force to its leg joint, but it wasn't until Amarantha came in with a flying kick that the enemy was knocked down. As it slowly stood back up, the succubus said, "It's much stronger than a Dark Elf or normal zombie. This guy was raised through powerful necromancy, so be careful."
Everyone acknowledged her advice, then got ready for the fight to resume. The enemy was no longer as fast or agile, due to the damage to its knee, but since it was undead, it felt no pain or fear. It moved as quickly as it could, limping over to the hero. The party scattered, leaving the hero to lead the Dark Elf zombie around the western stone bench. When he got it in position, he rushed it, slamming his shield hard enough against the enemy's swords to knock one out of his hands. With a strong shove, he positioned himself so that the Dark Elf zombie was between him and the bench. He then used Aard to knock it backward into the bench. Exactly as planned, it tripped and fell over backwards. Zeraine rushed in and tried to impale it, but he had to jump away due to it swinging its other sword at him.
As it stood up, the hero lit it aflame with Igni. The fire didn't seem to bother it, though, as despite burning away bit by bit, it still persistently chased the closest person, this time it being Zeraine. The succubus threw an Ice Bolt, which stuck into the walking corpse's chest between its ribs, then fell apart, then said, "Try a Holy Trap. It's undead, so it might have a good effect." The Ice Bolt seemed to have at least partially worked to douse the flames, as the fire went out shortly after the attack.
The hero did so, using a scroll to set a Holy Trap on the floor near his feet. He then tried to get the enemy's attention, but it was focused on Zeraine. Zeraine, having seen what the hero did, tried to lure it over to the trap. He managed to drive it back with repeated attacks that it only managed to block rather than parry with its remaining sword, then, seeing the oncoming quick attack, Zeraine ducked under the swing that was aimed at his head, allowing Amarantha to rush in from behind him and kick the Dark Elf zombie right into the Holy Trap. There was a bright flash, then the party looked and saw that the enemy was still active, but it had nothing left from the hips down. It crawled toward them on its hands.
Seeing this, the hero said, "He's a persistent bastard, isn't he?"
The succubus hit it with another Firebolt, burning away part of the remaining flesh on its back. "He's much stronger than what an ordinary person could pull off. Of course he'll be this resilient. I suspect we're up against either a powerful necromancer of the human variety, or some sort of magic-using monster. Finish it off."
The hero took out another Holy Trap scroll and set it on the floor in front of the Dark Elf zombie. It crawled right into it, setting off the trap. After the flash, the only thing left was part of its hand and the sword in it.
The hero asked, "Is it finally back to being just dead?"
The succubus said, "Yes, finally. Now, since we can't afford to just sit around here, let's go." She looked at the gate again, seeing that it was still held shut by the aforementioned magic forces, and the party went back to the west room. The hero stepped on the pressure plate, which made the south wall of this small room open up, much like the earlier situation with the other stone pressure plate. The stench of rotting flesh increased in intensity as the square segments sunk into the floor one by one. The party prepared themselves for another fight and stepped around to look into the new passageway.
They did so, finding nothing other than a stone pressure plate on the floor on the opposite side of the stone slab from the entrance. The succubus carefully looked around the room. Seeing no traps, she said, "Well, we don't know what it'll do, but it's all we've got right now, so..."
The hero stepped on it before she could. The plate sunk into the floor slightly, then came back out. They heard a sliding sound in the room and looked around to see the north wall separate into small square-shaped pillars and sink into the floor, opening the way to a passage wider than the hallways they had been in so far, with a big square-shaped room beyond it. One thing they noticed, however, was the large pool of blood right on the other side of where the small stone pillars had blocked the way. The hero squatted down and looked closely at it. "It's at least a few days old, but no older than a week. What happened here?"
Amarantha nodded in agreement, saying, "Yeah, it's strange. With this much blood, you know the person's dead, but where's the body?"
The four of them stepped through the passage and into the room, entering through the southeast corner on the south wall. Once inside, they saw four support pillars standing around a circular area that had some sort of pedestal in the center. There were four stone benches around the area, each of them situated between the support pillars. Upon closer inspection, the pillars were square in shape, very wide and thick at the bottom, sharply tapering to less than half that from about head-level on up. The north two had stone walls connecting them to the north wall from their north sides. The party also saw that the pillars were actually octagons, because despite being square in shape, they were flat where the corners would be, thus giving them eight sides. Above the pedestal in the center of the room hung another metal cage with glowing crystals in it. On the pedestal lay the answer to Amarantha's question. There was a dead Dark Elf. It was impossible to tell if this one was from the same tribe as the ones they killed outside, but this one, a male, was obviously dead. He was also partially eaten.
Zeraine said, "Well, you know he's dead, and that must have been his blood earlier. If I had to guess, I'd say zombies or ghouls are responsible for the guy being partially eaten. He doesn't seem to have anything on him, either, so what now?"
The party looked around, seeing another metal gate exactly like those others earlier in the center of the north wall, with some stairs leading down on the other side. The succubus examined the gate. "Well, we can't go this way. Even if I did unlock it, there's still magic holding it shut. It's the same kind of magic that was holding the entrance to these ruins shut."
Everyone grumbled or growled in complaint, then looked around the room again. They saw another small room with a stone slab to the west, so they checked it out. The hero and the succubus went around the left side of the stone slab, and Zeraine and Amarantha went around the right side. In what was basically a small alcove at the end of the room, they saw another stone pressure plate on the floor. The hero said, "Well, the only way forward is this."
As he approached the stone pressure plate, the succubus stopped him and looked around worriedly. "Someone just cast a powerful spell..." She quickly turned and pointed, shouting, "There!"
The party watched as the Dark Elf's corpse got up and drew its twin curved short swords. He ran at them, hopping over the west stone bench. He jumped up, kicked off the stone slab's top, and came down, swinging both of his swords downwards. Zeraine caught the blades with his claymore, stopping the Dark Elf zombie's attack, which allowed the hero, the succubus, and Amarantha to run out of the cramped space and back into the open room. Zeraine used an Aard to blast the Dark Elf zombie away, allowing him to rejoin the others. The party assumed their ready stances as the enemy got back up. When he did, the hero rushed in and blocked his twin swords with his shield, delivering a swift kick to the Dark Elf zombie's hip, which had part of the pelvis exposed. The kick only staggered him a bit, then he kicked back, nailing the hero in his upper thigh, causing him to lose his footing and drop to one knee.
The succubus threw a Firebolt, hitting the enemy in his upper right arm, which barely fazed him. It distracted him long enough, however, for Zeraine to attack with his claymore. Unfortunately, the Dark Elf zombie parried it and started to counterattack, but the hero saw an opportunity to stab him in the knee. The enemy nearly fell from the sudden force to its leg joint, but it wasn't until Amarantha came in with a flying kick that the enemy was knocked down. As it slowly stood back up, the succubus said, "It's much stronger than a Dark Elf or normal zombie. This guy was raised through powerful necromancy, so be careful."
Everyone acknowledged her advice, then got ready for the fight to resume. The enemy was no longer as fast or agile, due to the damage to its knee, but since it was undead, it felt no pain or fear. It moved as quickly as it could, limping over to the hero. The party scattered, leaving the hero to lead the Dark Elf zombie around the western stone bench. When he got it in position, he rushed it, slamming his shield hard enough against the enemy's swords to knock one out of his hands. With a strong shove, he positioned himself so that the Dark Elf zombie was between him and the bench. He then used Aard to knock it backward into the bench. Exactly as planned, it tripped and fell over backwards. Zeraine rushed in and tried to impale it, but he had to jump away due to it swinging its other sword at him.
As it stood up, the hero lit it aflame with Igni. The fire didn't seem to bother it, though, as despite burning away bit by bit, it still persistently chased the closest person, this time it being Zeraine. The succubus threw an Ice Bolt, which stuck into the walking corpse's chest between its ribs, then fell apart, then said, "Try a Holy Trap. It's undead, so it might have a good effect." The Ice Bolt seemed to have at least partially worked to douse the flames, as the fire went out shortly after the attack.
The hero did so, using a scroll to set a Holy Trap on the floor near his feet. He then tried to get the enemy's attention, but it was focused on Zeraine. Zeraine, having seen what the hero did, tried to lure it over to the trap. He managed to drive it back with repeated attacks that it only managed to block rather than parry with its remaining sword, then, seeing the oncoming quick attack, Zeraine ducked under the swing that was aimed at his head, allowing Amarantha to rush in from behind him and kick the Dark Elf zombie right into the Holy Trap. There was a bright flash, then the party looked and saw that the enemy was still active, but it had nothing left from the hips down. It crawled toward them on its hands.
Seeing this, the hero said, "He's a persistent bastard, isn't he?"
The succubus hit it with another Firebolt, burning away part of the remaining flesh on its back. "He's much stronger than what an ordinary person could pull off. Of course he'll be this resilient. I suspect we're up against either a powerful necromancer of the human variety, or some sort of magic-using monster. Finish it off."
The hero took out another Holy Trap scroll and set it on the floor in front of the Dark Elf zombie. It crawled right into it, setting off the trap. After the flash, the only thing left was part of its hand and the sword in it.
The hero asked, "Is it finally back to being just dead?"
The succubus said, "Yes, finally. Now, since we can't afford to just sit around here, let's go." She looked at the gate again, seeing that it was still held shut by the aforementioned magic forces, and the party went back to the west room. The hero stepped on the pressure plate, which made the south wall of this small room open up, much like the earlier situation with the other stone pressure plate. The stench of rotting flesh increased in intensity as the square segments sunk into the floor one by one. The party prepared themselves for another fight and stepped around to look into the new passageway.
Chapter 85
Spoiler: show
As they peeked into the passageway, they saw two zombies. It was impossible to tell what they used to be, due to them having so much rotten flesh and exposed innards, and one of them was headless. As the four of them stepped out to take care of the zombies, two more came out of a sort of rift or portal, having been either conjured or summoned. The hero used the flamethrower version of Igni to light them up and get their attention, then he and the others ran back into the more open room.
The flaming zombies followed them, moving surprisingly quickly, but much slower than the Dark Elf zombie they had just disposed of. The succubus warned, "Be careful. They can probably hit hard despite being animated rotting corpses, and they don't feel pain. Just so you know, my dear knight, Axii won't work, so don't waste your energy."
The hero nodded in acknowledgement, then used Aard in its projectile version to knock one zombie into another, knocking them both down. Zeraine and Amarantha rushed in, knocking away the other two, separating them with the intention of going one-on-one with them. Once he was sure nobody but the zombies were in the blast radius, the hero cast Explosion, blasting one apart, leaving only its torso and one leg intact, thus leaving it active but basically neutralized, and blowing the left arm off the other. He circled around to the side to flank the still-mostly-intact zombie while the succubus used Fire Spray on it. Each small fireball from Fire Spray did little damage, but she could fire them off at a rate of about two per second. The repeated shots agitated the zombie, allowing the hero to hit it from the side, cutting off its other arm. With no arms to use, it tried to headbutt the hero, but had said head caved in by the hero's shield bash. The zombie's head started falling apart from the damage, but it kept trying to attack the hero however it could, now trying to swing its torso into him.
The hero easily dodged it and took a strong low horizontal swing, slicing off both of its legs. He turned around and asked, "What now, use more Holy Traps? We've got 12 left."
The succubus shrugged. "We don't have any other methods available to us, so yes, use them."
The hero got an idea and decided to wait for Zeraine and Amarantha to finish off their targets before using another Holy Trap scroll. To maximize his own safety, and that of the succubus, he cut the other leg off of the second zombie, leaving both of them as wriggling, writhing, headless torsos.
Meanwhile, Zeraine was busy kicking his zombie repeatedly, knocking it into the southwest corner. Ignoring the loud blast behind him, he used his claymore to hack and slash the zombie to pieces, leaving little other than its severed limbs and dozens of pieces of its body scattered around. After dealing this much damage to it, and cutting it into so many pieces, it was useless, therefore, it was totally no longer a threat. He sensed the magic leave the pieces, indicating that the person controlling it had abandoned it.
At that same time, Amarantha had thrown her target, the headless zombie, into the northwest corner, which was easily accomplished through her great strength. She then ran in and began pummeling the zombie with her fists, feeling the soft, rotten flesh give way and tear under her might, and the weakened bones snap like twigs from her punches. She kept hitting it, feeling its body turn to mush from the abuse. Eventually, the flesh of its chest tore open, spilling what was left of its lungs and heart on the stone floor and releasing an intense stink that hit Amarantha like a ton of bricks. She saw that the zombie's body was too broken and battered for it to move, so she quickly moved away and rejoined the group.
Once they had regrouped, the hero turned to the succubus and asked, "Is it just me or is your magic getting weaker?"
"Huh?" she asked, slightly confused. Then she realized what he was referring to and said, "I'm trying to conserve my energy while still supporting us. That's why I dropped down to using Fire Spray rather than continue to use Firebolt. Sure, it's really weak and is mostly only good for lighting fires, killing small bugs, and driving away wild animals, but it still does some damage. And if you're wondering why I'm conserving my energy, consider this; we're trapped in these ruins, we only have 7 Mana Potions left, we're apparently surrounded by the undead minions of a necromancer, and whoever the 'boss' is, they must be watching us. I say that because how else could they have known when to cast the spell to raise that Dark Elf's corpse? How else would they have known when and where to conjure, summon, or teleport those other two zombies? I know you'd rather not have sex while we're being watched, and it'd be pretty stupid to do it when we could be attacked by an enemy at any time. Also, with this smell, there's no way in hell I could possibly get aroused. I'm sure it's the same for you, too."
Zeraine said, "So at any time, the 'boss' of this place could teleport a zombie to our location or raise a nearby corpse? Shit..."
The succubus looked at Amarantha with concern. "Are you okay?"
Amarantha's face looked to be a little off in color. She seemed to be breathing shallowly through her mouth and overall didn't look well. She nodded. "It's just this smell. Even in my human form, my nose is very sensitive. The smell from the zombie I dealt with hit me hard, but I think I'll be able to get over it in a few minutes."
The succubus skeptically raised an eyebrow, then faced Zeraine. "Actually, it isn't limited to just zombies. The person could teleport in a skeleton or a ghoul, too. Or a whole group of them."
The hero said, "Well, since we've beaten them, I'll get rid of them now." He dragged the two flopping torsos to where Zeraine's target's pieces lay, then went back and grabbed the one Amarantha pulverized, and dragged it to the pile as well. He then took out a Holy Trap scroll and used it, setting it under the pile of not-quite-dead-yet zombies. It went off with a bright flash, and where it had been set, there was nothing left but the severed feet of Amarantha's target zombie. He grinned at the rest of the party and said, "It worked."
The succubus gave him a thumbs-up, knowing that his plan was to destroy all of the zombies with one scroll.
Zeraine walked over to Amarantha and asked, "Are you really okay, Ammie?" He began rubbing her back.
She nodded, still breathing irregularly through her mouth.
The hero asked the succubus, "Well, if we had the Mana Potions, would we have other ways of ensuring that they can't get back up again?"
She nodded. "I could cremate the bodies with one of my spells, dissolve it into liquid with a different spell, or I could use Venom to disintegrate them."
"You don't know the Holy Trap spell?"
She shook her head. "I do, however, know the Fire Trap, Ice Trap, and Shock Trap spells. I guess those are next on the list of things to teach you, right? I'd recommend sticking with the scrolls for now, though. The Traps are a tad expensive to cast."
Amarantha stood up straight after her back rub and said, "Okay, let's keep going." Her face's color was still a bit off, but she seemed to be feeling a bit better, so they continued.
They went back to the small room and south through the passageway. On the other side was another small room, identical to the one they were just in, but it was basically mirrored. At the west end of it was a stairway leading down to another small room with a stone slab, but said stone slab was pulling up the small alcove at the end. To their right, the north, was another stairway going down. They followed it and came to what looked like a dead end. Once they reached the north end of the passage, they turned to the west and saw a flat-topped obelisk-like stone pillar with a stone pressure plate on the floor in front of it. The hero stepped on it and the north end of the corridor sunk into the floor, one square-shaped segment at a time. They went through, entering a large room with a somewhat high ceiling.
To their right, there was another hanging cage with glowing crystals. It hung above the middle of a set of stairs that went down into what was probably an area that had been flooded. There were several support pillars around the room, only one of them being broken. In the northeast area of the room, there was another hanging cage with glowing crystals, making a total of two. High on the east wall, the party could see metal gates that seemed unopenable, and what had to be the other side of the locked gate from before. To their left was another door with a blue tree-like design. They walked farther into the room and saw what looked like a doorway underwater. They couldn't sit and stare for too long, however, for a skeleton, armed with a sword and shield, charged them. A second later, an arrow flew past Zeraine's shoulder, coming from another skeleton that held a bow, already drawing it back again with another arrow nocked.
The hero quickly set up Quen and charged at the sword-and-shield skeleton, ramming it with his shield. Zeraine charged after the skeleton archer, watching to see what he'd have to do to dodge it. He saw where it was aiming and dove to the side, letting the arrow fly right past him, bouncing off the broken support pillar and into the water. Before it could draw another arrow, he hit it with his claymore, knocking it into several pieces. He took the bow and arrows and tossed them aside, wanting to make sure that, if it somehow pulled itself back together and got back up, that it couldn't grab its weapon and attack again. He thought for a second more, then picked the bow and arrows back up and threw them into the water. He then went to see if the hero needed help.
The hero, having slammed into the skeleton warrior with enough force to shove it off balance, swung his sword only to have the skeleton block it with its shield. Thinking quickly, he hopped backwards and set an Yrden, then used an Aard to knock it backwards, into the wall. As if it were angry, the skeleton charged at him, only to run into his Yrden and get paralyzed, allowing the hero to cut the bones of its right forearm in half, effectively disarming it. For good measure, he also cut the skeleton's left arm off at the middle of its humerus. He then hit it repeatedly until it fell apart and stopped moving. He brought the heel of his boot down on its skull, crushing it, whatever good that might have done.
Once they regrouped, the hero looked around. "Okay guys, we've got two choices. Either we see if that underwater doorway leads to that area up there," he said, pointing at the east wall, "or we go through that door and see if we can continue through these ruins," he said, pointing at the door in the passageway on the left side of the room.
The succubus said, "Let's explore this entire area. We might find something useful. If not, we'll at least get rid of any other enemies."
Zeraine said, "Speaking of which, what about these skeletons? Are they going to get back up?"
She shook her head. "They've been 'discarded'. We don't have to worry."
The hero said, "Well, to explore up there, it looks like we'll have to swim a little. Let's go."
He led the way, walking around the pool to the north side, right above the doorway. Then, he turned around and jumped backwards, into the water. His equipment made him sink like a stone, but he was able to walk along the floor and into the very short and narrow hallway that curved to the right, leading to stairs that went up and out of the water. Zeraine followed him, sinking even faster due to his plate mail armor, which was obviously much heavier than the hero's chainmail. Following them was the succubus, who swam down in, only burdened by her dress and cloak. Finally, Amarantha joined them, her leather armor not hindering her swimming ability in the least. They went up the stairs and around the curve into the north-to-south hallway on the other side of the metal gate-like things. Fortunately, the hero was up front and was able to block the arrow from the skeleton archer that emerged from a side passage. Before it could fire again, he rammed it into the wall and broke several of its bones with the pommel of his sword.
Once the threat was done away with, the party went to the south end on the hallway and up the stairs, confirming that this was the other side of the sealed gate. The gate was still sealed by magic, so they didn't bother with it any further. They went back and into the side passage to the east that the skeleton archer had emerged from. As they got closer to the stairs, they noticed a sharp increase in the intensity of the smell of rotting flesh. Amarantha cringed, but she stayed with them as they went down the stairs. At the bottom, they found four small rooms with locked gates, two on the left and two on the right. Each room had a zombie in it. When the zombies noticed the group, they started making noises and pounding on the gates.
Zeraine said, "We should dispose of these guys, just so they can't be teleported to right behind us at the worst possible moment."
The hero nodded. "Agreed. And shutting them up would be nice, too. Princess, can you unlock the gates?"
She nodded. "One at a time, I hope?"
"Of course! We're not stupid enough to fight them all at once."
She walked over to the first gate, the northwest one, and reached out for it, then paused. "You realize that I'm kind of low on energy and, after unlocking these doors, I won't be able to cast any spells for a while, right?"
The hero replied, "Noted. We'll just have to take a break or something. Now, let's get rid of these zombies."
She shrugged, then put her hand on the gate. "Blown Dove Session." The gate unlocked, but the zombie kept pounding on it.
Zeraine kicked the gate open and slashed at the zombie, cutting its head off. The hero followed him in and cut off the zombie's arms and legs. He said, "Cut off their limbs! Afterward, we can gather them up and get rid of them with a Holy Trap!"
While the two of them were busy "preparing" the first zombie, they heard Amarantha yell, "Son of a bitch!"
After they turned around, they saw the succubus running toward the end of the room, Amarantha backing up in that direction, followed by three zombies. Zeraine started to dash out of the small room, but one of the three zombies ran into the room with him and the hero, forcing them to deal with it before doing anything else. He brought his claymore down on the zombie's head, lodging the sword in the upper part of its chest, right below the collarbone. He shouted, "Fuck! Ammie, try to dismember them!"
He managed to dislodge his sword, sending the zombie toward the hero, who then "punched" it with his shield, then did a backhand sweep, cutting its legs off. Before it could grab the hero, Zeraine cut off both of its arms. It was "ready" like the first one.
Amarantha charged forward and kneed one zombie hard enough to send it flying into the stairs. Before the second could try to grab her, she elbowed it into one of the gate frames. She then grabbed it and slammed it down onto the stone floor and crushed its head with a stomp. Following that, she tore its arms off one at a time, then did the same with the legs. By that time, the first zombie had managed to get up and shuffle back toward her. She gave it an uppercut to the jaw with such force that its head separated from its body. She then countered its clumsy swing of it arm, grabbed the arm, then put her foot against its body and pulled, tearing it off. She hit the zombie with its own severed arm, then tossed the arm aside and tore off the other arm. By then, Zeraine and the hero had finished with their zombie and came to help. Amarantha hopped back as Zeraine cut off the zombie's legs with his claymore.
With all four zombies reduced to squirming torsos, the fight was over. Unfortunately, Amarantha hadn't completely gotten over the smell of the pulverized zombie from earlier, and this new wave of rancid stink was more than she could handle right now. She dashed past the succubus and into the alcove at the end of the room, leaned on what probably used to be a light source, and vomited on the floor.
Zeraine rushed over to her, worriedly asking, "Ammie!? Are you okay!?"
She groaned and retched again. "The smell..." she complained weakly.
The hero quickly gathered the four zombies into a pile and used a Holy Trap scroll to dispose of them. The succubus looked around in each of the small rooms, seeing that there was nothing in them worth unlocking the gates for. She said, "Whoever is behind all this teleported the zombies out of their 'cages' and into the room over there, by the stairs. I guess they wanted to try to pen us in or something. Anyway, there's nothing here, so let's go. ...Something just happened!" She ran out of the room and up the stairs.
The hero started to follow her but stopped and looked back at Zeraine and Amarantha. Zeraine waved him on. "Go on, kid. We'll catch up." After the hero left the room, Zeraine asked, "Are you really okay, Ammie?"
She weakly groaned and said, "Get me out of this smell."
He put his arm around her waist and gently helped her along, helping her get out of the room and up the stairs. As they got away from the horrible lingering smell of the zombies, she quickly recovered enough to walk on her own. When they rejoined with the hero and the succubus, they found her standing at the gate at the top of the stairs at the south end of the hallway. She said, "This is what I sensed. The gate is unsealed now. We don't have to swim to get back to the room with the door to the next area." She unlocked the door with Open Up, just as she did with the locked gate in the zombie room, and opened it, then led everyone back through the small west room with the stone slab, through the passageway into the mirrored room to the south, then west, down the stairs, then north, down the other set of stairs, then through the opening to the room with the flooded lower level. They stopped long enough for Zeraine to use a bit of water magic to clean the vomit off of Amarantha's boots, and allow her to wash her face off and wash her mouth out, then they went to the west passage and through the door with the blue tree-like design.
The flaming zombies followed them, moving surprisingly quickly, but much slower than the Dark Elf zombie they had just disposed of. The succubus warned, "Be careful. They can probably hit hard despite being animated rotting corpses, and they don't feel pain. Just so you know, my dear knight, Axii won't work, so don't waste your energy."
The hero nodded in acknowledgement, then used Aard in its projectile version to knock one zombie into another, knocking them both down. Zeraine and Amarantha rushed in, knocking away the other two, separating them with the intention of going one-on-one with them. Once he was sure nobody but the zombies were in the blast radius, the hero cast Explosion, blasting one apart, leaving only its torso and one leg intact, thus leaving it active but basically neutralized, and blowing the left arm off the other. He circled around to the side to flank the still-mostly-intact zombie while the succubus used Fire Spray on it. Each small fireball from Fire Spray did little damage, but she could fire them off at a rate of about two per second. The repeated shots agitated the zombie, allowing the hero to hit it from the side, cutting off its other arm. With no arms to use, it tried to headbutt the hero, but had said head caved in by the hero's shield bash. The zombie's head started falling apart from the damage, but it kept trying to attack the hero however it could, now trying to swing its torso into him.
The hero easily dodged it and took a strong low horizontal swing, slicing off both of its legs. He turned around and asked, "What now, use more Holy Traps? We've got 12 left."
The succubus shrugged. "We don't have any other methods available to us, so yes, use them."
The hero got an idea and decided to wait for Zeraine and Amarantha to finish off their targets before using another Holy Trap scroll. To maximize his own safety, and that of the succubus, he cut the other leg off of the second zombie, leaving both of them as wriggling, writhing, headless torsos.
Meanwhile, Zeraine was busy kicking his zombie repeatedly, knocking it into the southwest corner. Ignoring the loud blast behind him, he used his claymore to hack and slash the zombie to pieces, leaving little other than its severed limbs and dozens of pieces of its body scattered around. After dealing this much damage to it, and cutting it into so many pieces, it was useless, therefore, it was totally no longer a threat. He sensed the magic leave the pieces, indicating that the person controlling it had abandoned it.
At that same time, Amarantha had thrown her target, the headless zombie, into the northwest corner, which was easily accomplished through her great strength. She then ran in and began pummeling the zombie with her fists, feeling the soft, rotten flesh give way and tear under her might, and the weakened bones snap like twigs from her punches. She kept hitting it, feeling its body turn to mush from the abuse. Eventually, the flesh of its chest tore open, spilling what was left of its lungs and heart on the stone floor and releasing an intense stink that hit Amarantha like a ton of bricks. She saw that the zombie's body was too broken and battered for it to move, so she quickly moved away and rejoined the group.
Once they had regrouped, the hero turned to the succubus and asked, "Is it just me or is your magic getting weaker?"
"Huh?" she asked, slightly confused. Then she realized what he was referring to and said, "I'm trying to conserve my energy while still supporting us. That's why I dropped down to using Fire Spray rather than continue to use Firebolt. Sure, it's really weak and is mostly only good for lighting fires, killing small bugs, and driving away wild animals, but it still does some damage. And if you're wondering why I'm conserving my energy, consider this; we're trapped in these ruins, we only have 7 Mana Potions left, we're apparently surrounded by the undead minions of a necromancer, and whoever the 'boss' is, they must be watching us. I say that because how else could they have known when to cast the spell to raise that Dark Elf's corpse? How else would they have known when and where to conjure, summon, or teleport those other two zombies? I know you'd rather not have sex while we're being watched, and it'd be pretty stupid to do it when we could be attacked by an enemy at any time. Also, with this smell, there's no way in hell I could possibly get aroused. I'm sure it's the same for you, too."
Zeraine said, "So at any time, the 'boss' of this place could teleport a zombie to our location or raise a nearby corpse? Shit..."
The succubus looked at Amarantha with concern. "Are you okay?"
Amarantha's face looked to be a little off in color. She seemed to be breathing shallowly through her mouth and overall didn't look well. She nodded. "It's just this smell. Even in my human form, my nose is very sensitive. The smell from the zombie I dealt with hit me hard, but I think I'll be able to get over it in a few minutes."
The succubus skeptically raised an eyebrow, then faced Zeraine. "Actually, it isn't limited to just zombies. The person could teleport in a skeleton or a ghoul, too. Or a whole group of them."
The hero said, "Well, since we've beaten them, I'll get rid of them now." He dragged the two flopping torsos to where Zeraine's target's pieces lay, then went back and grabbed the one Amarantha pulverized, and dragged it to the pile as well. He then took out a Holy Trap scroll and used it, setting it under the pile of not-quite-dead-yet zombies. It went off with a bright flash, and where it had been set, there was nothing left but the severed feet of Amarantha's target zombie. He grinned at the rest of the party and said, "It worked."
The succubus gave him a thumbs-up, knowing that his plan was to destroy all of the zombies with one scroll.
Zeraine walked over to Amarantha and asked, "Are you really okay, Ammie?" He began rubbing her back.
She nodded, still breathing irregularly through her mouth.
The hero asked the succubus, "Well, if we had the Mana Potions, would we have other ways of ensuring that they can't get back up again?"
She nodded. "I could cremate the bodies with one of my spells, dissolve it into liquid with a different spell, or I could use Venom to disintegrate them."
"You don't know the Holy Trap spell?"
She shook her head. "I do, however, know the Fire Trap, Ice Trap, and Shock Trap spells. I guess those are next on the list of things to teach you, right? I'd recommend sticking with the scrolls for now, though. The Traps are a tad expensive to cast."
Amarantha stood up straight after her back rub and said, "Okay, let's keep going." Her face's color was still a bit off, but she seemed to be feeling a bit better, so they continued.
They went back to the small room and south through the passageway. On the other side was another small room, identical to the one they were just in, but it was basically mirrored. At the west end of it was a stairway leading down to another small room with a stone slab, but said stone slab was pulling up the small alcove at the end. To their right, the north, was another stairway going down. They followed it and came to what looked like a dead end. Once they reached the north end of the passage, they turned to the west and saw a flat-topped obelisk-like stone pillar with a stone pressure plate on the floor in front of it. The hero stepped on it and the north end of the corridor sunk into the floor, one square-shaped segment at a time. They went through, entering a large room with a somewhat high ceiling.
To their right, there was another hanging cage with glowing crystals. It hung above the middle of a set of stairs that went down into what was probably an area that had been flooded. There were several support pillars around the room, only one of them being broken. In the northeast area of the room, there was another hanging cage with glowing crystals, making a total of two. High on the east wall, the party could see metal gates that seemed unopenable, and what had to be the other side of the locked gate from before. To their left was another door with a blue tree-like design. They walked farther into the room and saw what looked like a doorway underwater. They couldn't sit and stare for too long, however, for a skeleton, armed with a sword and shield, charged them. A second later, an arrow flew past Zeraine's shoulder, coming from another skeleton that held a bow, already drawing it back again with another arrow nocked.
The hero quickly set up Quen and charged at the sword-and-shield skeleton, ramming it with his shield. Zeraine charged after the skeleton archer, watching to see what he'd have to do to dodge it. He saw where it was aiming and dove to the side, letting the arrow fly right past him, bouncing off the broken support pillar and into the water. Before it could draw another arrow, he hit it with his claymore, knocking it into several pieces. He took the bow and arrows and tossed them aside, wanting to make sure that, if it somehow pulled itself back together and got back up, that it couldn't grab its weapon and attack again. He thought for a second more, then picked the bow and arrows back up and threw them into the water. He then went to see if the hero needed help.
The hero, having slammed into the skeleton warrior with enough force to shove it off balance, swung his sword only to have the skeleton block it with its shield. Thinking quickly, he hopped backwards and set an Yrden, then used an Aard to knock it backwards, into the wall. As if it were angry, the skeleton charged at him, only to run into his Yrden and get paralyzed, allowing the hero to cut the bones of its right forearm in half, effectively disarming it. For good measure, he also cut the skeleton's left arm off at the middle of its humerus. He then hit it repeatedly until it fell apart and stopped moving. He brought the heel of his boot down on its skull, crushing it, whatever good that might have done.
Once they regrouped, the hero looked around. "Okay guys, we've got two choices. Either we see if that underwater doorway leads to that area up there," he said, pointing at the east wall, "or we go through that door and see if we can continue through these ruins," he said, pointing at the door in the passageway on the left side of the room.
The succubus said, "Let's explore this entire area. We might find something useful. If not, we'll at least get rid of any other enemies."
Zeraine said, "Speaking of which, what about these skeletons? Are they going to get back up?"
She shook her head. "They've been 'discarded'. We don't have to worry."
The hero said, "Well, to explore up there, it looks like we'll have to swim a little. Let's go."
He led the way, walking around the pool to the north side, right above the doorway. Then, he turned around and jumped backwards, into the water. His equipment made him sink like a stone, but he was able to walk along the floor and into the very short and narrow hallway that curved to the right, leading to stairs that went up and out of the water. Zeraine followed him, sinking even faster due to his plate mail armor, which was obviously much heavier than the hero's chainmail. Following them was the succubus, who swam down in, only burdened by her dress and cloak. Finally, Amarantha joined them, her leather armor not hindering her swimming ability in the least. They went up the stairs and around the curve into the north-to-south hallway on the other side of the metal gate-like things. Fortunately, the hero was up front and was able to block the arrow from the skeleton archer that emerged from a side passage. Before it could fire again, he rammed it into the wall and broke several of its bones with the pommel of his sword.
Once the threat was done away with, the party went to the south end on the hallway and up the stairs, confirming that this was the other side of the sealed gate. The gate was still sealed by magic, so they didn't bother with it any further. They went back and into the side passage to the east that the skeleton archer had emerged from. As they got closer to the stairs, they noticed a sharp increase in the intensity of the smell of rotting flesh. Amarantha cringed, but she stayed with them as they went down the stairs. At the bottom, they found four small rooms with locked gates, two on the left and two on the right. Each room had a zombie in it. When the zombies noticed the group, they started making noises and pounding on the gates.
Zeraine said, "We should dispose of these guys, just so they can't be teleported to right behind us at the worst possible moment."
The hero nodded. "Agreed. And shutting them up would be nice, too. Princess, can you unlock the gates?"
She nodded. "One at a time, I hope?"
"Of course! We're not stupid enough to fight them all at once."
She walked over to the first gate, the northwest one, and reached out for it, then paused. "You realize that I'm kind of low on energy and, after unlocking these doors, I won't be able to cast any spells for a while, right?"
The hero replied, "Noted. We'll just have to take a break or something. Now, let's get rid of these zombies."
She shrugged, then put her hand on the gate. "Blown Dove Session." The gate unlocked, but the zombie kept pounding on it.
Zeraine kicked the gate open and slashed at the zombie, cutting its head off. The hero followed him in and cut off the zombie's arms and legs. He said, "Cut off their limbs! Afterward, we can gather them up and get rid of them with a Holy Trap!"
While the two of them were busy "preparing" the first zombie, they heard Amarantha yell, "Son of a bitch!"
After they turned around, they saw the succubus running toward the end of the room, Amarantha backing up in that direction, followed by three zombies. Zeraine started to dash out of the small room, but one of the three zombies ran into the room with him and the hero, forcing them to deal with it before doing anything else. He brought his claymore down on the zombie's head, lodging the sword in the upper part of its chest, right below the collarbone. He shouted, "Fuck! Ammie, try to dismember them!"
He managed to dislodge his sword, sending the zombie toward the hero, who then "punched" it with his shield, then did a backhand sweep, cutting its legs off. Before it could grab the hero, Zeraine cut off both of its arms. It was "ready" like the first one.
Amarantha charged forward and kneed one zombie hard enough to send it flying into the stairs. Before the second could try to grab her, she elbowed it into one of the gate frames. She then grabbed it and slammed it down onto the stone floor and crushed its head with a stomp. Following that, she tore its arms off one at a time, then did the same with the legs. By that time, the first zombie had managed to get up and shuffle back toward her. She gave it an uppercut to the jaw with such force that its head separated from its body. She then countered its clumsy swing of it arm, grabbed the arm, then put her foot against its body and pulled, tearing it off. She hit the zombie with its own severed arm, then tossed the arm aside and tore off the other arm. By then, Zeraine and the hero had finished with their zombie and came to help. Amarantha hopped back as Zeraine cut off the zombie's legs with his claymore.
With all four zombies reduced to squirming torsos, the fight was over. Unfortunately, Amarantha hadn't completely gotten over the smell of the pulverized zombie from earlier, and this new wave of rancid stink was more than she could handle right now. She dashed past the succubus and into the alcove at the end of the room, leaned on what probably used to be a light source, and vomited on the floor.
Zeraine rushed over to her, worriedly asking, "Ammie!? Are you okay!?"
She groaned and retched again. "The smell..." she complained weakly.
The hero quickly gathered the four zombies into a pile and used a Holy Trap scroll to dispose of them. The succubus looked around in each of the small rooms, seeing that there was nothing in them worth unlocking the gates for. She said, "Whoever is behind all this teleported the zombies out of their 'cages' and into the room over there, by the stairs. I guess they wanted to try to pen us in or something. Anyway, there's nothing here, so let's go. ...Something just happened!" She ran out of the room and up the stairs.
The hero started to follow her but stopped and looked back at Zeraine and Amarantha. Zeraine waved him on. "Go on, kid. We'll catch up." After the hero left the room, Zeraine asked, "Are you really okay, Ammie?"
She weakly groaned and said, "Get me out of this smell."
He put his arm around her waist and gently helped her along, helping her get out of the room and up the stairs. As they got away from the horrible lingering smell of the zombies, she quickly recovered enough to walk on her own. When they rejoined with the hero and the succubus, they found her standing at the gate at the top of the stairs at the south end of the hallway. She said, "This is what I sensed. The gate is unsealed now. We don't have to swim to get back to the room with the door to the next area." She unlocked the door with Open Up, just as she did with the locked gate in the zombie room, and opened it, then led everyone back through the small west room with the stone slab, through the passageway into the mirrored room to the south, then west, down the stairs, then north, down the other set of stairs, then through the opening to the room with the flooded lower level. They stopped long enough for Zeraine to use a bit of water magic to clean the vomit off of Amarantha's boots, and allow her to wash her face off and wash her mouth out, then they went to the west passage and through the door with the blue tree-like design.
Chapter 86
Spoiler: show
Once on the other side, in the narrow hallway that led to a slightly more open room, then a set of stairs that went down, the hero stopped and turned around. "Okay, let's go over what we've encountered so far. Amarantha's nose is sensitive enough that the smell of the zombies can make her puke. I think that, due to this, we should adjust our strategy."
Amarantha said, "Well, you see, dragons have a stronger sense of smell than humans. Usually, we keep most if not all of that in our human forms. As far as strength and stamina go, I can handle zombies easily, all day long. Smell-wise, especially in a closed-in place like these ruins, if there are any more than three at once, I can't handle it."
The succubus asked, "So if we were above ground, where there's plenty of ventilation, you could handle it better?"
She nodded.
The succubus continued, "The sense of smell in humans and succubi are similar in strength, so while we still suffer from the awful stench, we're not quite as bad off as you. It'd take more than four zombies at once to hinder the three of us, smell wise."
The hero said, "Okay, then. Since we're not exactly in great shape right now, we'll need to act accordingly. With her being low on energy," he said, gesturing at the succubus, "and her being unable to handle the concentrated smell of the zombies," he continued, gesturing toward Amarantha, "I say we have both of them stay back, Amarantha basically acting as a bodyguard for our princess. Zeraine, you and I will do most of the attacking. We'll have to rely on our weapons, skills, Signs, and spells. We have to keep the enemies from getting to the girls as best we can. Failing that, Amarantha should be able to handle what wounded few slip through, right?"
Everyone agreed. Zeraine asked, "Was it really a good idea to talk about this right now? What if the person behind all this heard?"
The hero said, "It doesn't matter. When we get there, we'll either capture or kill the bastard, whichever ends up being the best option. Let's go."
The party went down the stairs. At the bottom was a long room with another cage of glowing crystals hanging in about the center. The succubus pointed and said, "This is obviously a trap."
The rest of the party saw that she was pointing at the suspicious-looking holes in one large square section of the floor, lit up by the glowing crystals. The hero looked around, looking for anything else that might be dangerous, and saw a glint in the darkness from the other end of the room. He said, "There's an enemy at the other end, but they're not attacking. I think they're waiting for us to either fall for this trap or get past it somehow."
The succubus started walking toward the wall. "We can walk past it like this-"
The hero quickly stepped in front of her, stopping her. "You're in the back now, remember?"
She gritted her teeth. "Fine. Just don't step too far onto the area with the holes."
They walked past the trap, pressed up against the north wall. As soon as they got to the other side, two skeletons, one with a sword and a shield, and the other with a bow, attacked. The hero blocked the arrow with his shield, brought up Quen, and charged at the skeleton archer, shield raised. The skeleton warrior managed to hit him with a glancing blow, which slightly weakened his Quen, but didn't break it. Zeraine was fast enough to engage the skeleton warrior before it could follow the hero. He tried ignoring using skill in favor of vicious power. He swung his claymore down onto the skeleton warrior's shield repeatedly, slowly driving it back with the force of his strikes. At one point, he broke its arm, causing its hand and its shield to fall to the floor. In the moment it took for him to kick the shield out of his way, the skeleton thrust its sword at him. Unfortunately for the skeleton, Zeraine was a veteran spellsword with a lot of experience. He redirected the skeleton's thrust and struck with his claymore, cutting off the other arm of the skeleton. He then grabbed it by the ribs and shouted, "Ammie!" Then, he threw it to her.
Amarantha, more than capable of dealing with a skeleton despite losing her lunch earlier, grabbed it and threw it onto the trap area of the floor. To her surprise, spikes didn't shoot out of the floor. Instead, the entire section of the floor sunk down deep at a fairly high speed, "revealing" the spikes as the skeleton's bones broke from falling on them. She had disposed of it just in time, too, for another skeleton materialized in the room, this one wielding a claymore.
The hero chased the skeleton archer, blocking its second shot with his shield, then running after it as it tried to flee. At the other end of the long room was a set of stairs leading up. As the skeleton archer tried to ascend, the hero hit it with an Aard, knocking it down. He quickly cut and crushed the bones of its arms, legs, and chest. Unfortunately, it had somehow accomplished what it had apparently set out to do. The hero heard bone-on-stone footsteps, then looked up to see two more skeleton warriors, both of them armed with swords and shields, coming from the right of the T-junction at the top of the stairs. He shook his head and complained, "How many more of these guys are there!?" He ran down to the bottom of the stairs, set an Yrden, and noticed the new skeleton in the room.
Zeraine attacked the newcomer with the same viciousness that he showed to the sword-and-shield skeleton, but quickly switched back to using skill. The skeleton used its claymore to parry his expertly, but it didn't try to riposte. Either it had a mind of its own, or the "boss" of the ruins was controlling it like a puppet. Either way, he wasn't going to be careless after its display. He made quick attacks to check its defense, keeping his guard up. He decided to switch to a defensive style, waiting for the skeleton to attack.
One of the skeleton warriors was ensnared by the hero's Yrden, which allowed him to focus on the other one for a short time. He hit it with projectile form Igni, then hopped backward a few times. He aimed and cast Drash Gan, knocking away the skeleton's shield with a single stone pillar by snapping its arm off. With no shield, it was at his mercy. He skillfully disarmed it, leaving it without its sword. Completely unarmed, it was helpless, and he would have finished it off had the other one not recovered from his Yrden. He thrust his foot forward with a kick, then cast Explosion on the other skeleton warrior. It was blown to pieces, sending shards of bone flying everywhere. He turned his attention back to the unarmed skeleton and proceeded to shatter its skull with a hilt strike.
At that time, Zeraine continued to wait for the skeleton to attack. He made several taunts, none of which seemed to have any effect. He then sneakily created an opening and made it look like he wasn't aware of it. The skeleton attacked, just as he had expected. He countered its attack, attempting to follow up with a strike of his own, but it recovered quickly enough to parry him. His rising anger and frustration gave him the strength to recover just as quickly, and he continued trading counters and parries with the skeleton for another 30 seconds straight. Eventually, once the hero was done with his two enemies, he provided assistance in the form of a well-placed Aard that knocked the skeleton down. Zeraine finished it off before it could recover, shattering its arms and ribs and knocking off its head. With all the enemies now done away with, the two men needed to catch their breath.
Amarantha said, "Well, you see, dragons have a stronger sense of smell than humans. Usually, we keep most if not all of that in our human forms. As far as strength and stamina go, I can handle zombies easily, all day long. Smell-wise, especially in a closed-in place like these ruins, if there are any more than three at once, I can't handle it."
The succubus asked, "So if we were above ground, where there's plenty of ventilation, you could handle it better?"
She nodded.
The succubus continued, "The sense of smell in humans and succubi are similar in strength, so while we still suffer from the awful stench, we're not quite as bad off as you. It'd take more than four zombies at once to hinder the three of us, smell wise."
The hero said, "Okay, then. Since we're not exactly in great shape right now, we'll need to act accordingly. With her being low on energy," he said, gesturing at the succubus, "and her being unable to handle the concentrated smell of the zombies," he continued, gesturing toward Amarantha, "I say we have both of them stay back, Amarantha basically acting as a bodyguard for our princess. Zeraine, you and I will do most of the attacking. We'll have to rely on our weapons, skills, Signs, and spells. We have to keep the enemies from getting to the girls as best we can. Failing that, Amarantha should be able to handle what wounded few slip through, right?"
Everyone agreed. Zeraine asked, "Was it really a good idea to talk about this right now? What if the person behind all this heard?"
The hero said, "It doesn't matter. When we get there, we'll either capture or kill the bastard, whichever ends up being the best option. Let's go."
The party went down the stairs. At the bottom was a long room with another cage of glowing crystals hanging in about the center. The succubus pointed and said, "This is obviously a trap."
The rest of the party saw that she was pointing at the suspicious-looking holes in one large square section of the floor, lit up by the glowing crystals. The hero looked around, looking for anything else that might be dangerous, and saw a glint in the darkness from the other end of the room. He said, "There's an enemy at the other end, but they're not attacking. I think they're waiting for us to either fall for this trap or get past it somehow."
The succubus started walking toward the wall. "We can walk past it like this-"
The hero quickly stepped in front of her, stopping her. "You're in the back now, remember?"
She gritted her teeth. "Fine. Just don't step too far onto the area with the holes."
They walked past the trap, pressed up against the north wall. As soon as they got to the other side, two skeletons, one with a sword and a shield, and the other with a bow, attacked. The hero blocked the arrow with his shield, brought up Quen, and charged at the skeleton archer, shield raised. The skeleton warrior managed to hit him with a glancing blow, which slightly weakened his Quen, but didn't break it. Zeraine was fast enough to engage the skeleton warrior before it could follow the hero. He tried ignoring using skill in favor of vicious power. He swung his claymore down onto the skeleton warrior's shield repeatedly, slowly driving it back with the force of his strikes. At one point, he broke its arm, causing its hand and its shield to fall to the floor. In the moment it took for him to kick the shield out of his way, the skeleton thrust its sword at him. Unfortunately for the skeleton, Zeraine was a veteran spellsword with a lot of experience. He redirected the skeleton's thrust and struck with his claymore, cutting off the other arm of the skeleton. He then grabbed it by the ribs and shouted, "Ammie!" Then, he threw it to her.
Amarantha, more than capable of dealing with a skeleton despite losing her lunch earlier, grabbed it and threw it onto the trap area of the floor. To her surprise, spikes didn't shoot out of the floor. Instead, the entire section of the floor sunk down deep at a fairly high speed, "revealing" the spikes as the skeleton's bones broke from falling on them. She had disposed of it just in time, too, for another skeleton materialized in the room, this one wielding a claymore.
The hero chased the skeleton archer, blocking its second shot with his shield, then running after it as it tried to flee. At the other end of the long room was a set of stairs leading up. As the skeleton archer tried to ascend, the hero hit it with an Aard, knocking it down. He quickly cut and crushed the bones of its arms, legs, and chest. Unfortunately, it had somehow accomplished what it had apparently set out to do. The hero heard bone-on-stone footsteps, then looked up to see two more skeleton warriors, both of them armed with swords and shields, coming from the right of the T-junction at the top of the stairs. He shook his head and complained, "How many more of these guys are there!?" He ran down to the bottom of the stairs, set an Yrden, and noticed the new skeleton in the room.
Zeraine attacked the newcomer with the same viciousness that he showed to the sword-and-shield skeleton, but quickly switched back to using skill. The skeleton used its claymore to parry his expertly, but it didn't try to riposte. Either it had a mind of its own, or the "boss" of the ruins was controlling it like a puppet. Either way, he wasn't going to be careless after its display. He made quick attacks to check its defense, keeping his guard up. He decided to switch to a defensive style, waiting for the skeleton to attack.
One of the skeleton warriors was ensnared by the hero's Yrden, which allowed him to focus on the other one for a short time. He hit it with projectile form Igni, then hopped backward a few times. He aimed and cast Drash Gan, knocking away the skeleton's shield with a single stone pillar by snapping its arm off. With no shield, it was at his mercy. He skillfully disarmed it, leaving it without its sword. Completely unarmed, it was helpless, and he would have finished it off had the other one not recovered from his Yrden. He thrust his foot forward with a kick, then cast Explosion on the other skeleton warrior. It was blown to pieces, sending shards of bone flying everywhere. He turned his attention back to the unarmed skeleton and proceeded to shatter its skull with a hilt strike.
At that time, Zeraine continued to wait for the skeleton to attack. He made several taunts, none of which seemed to have any effect. He then sneakily created an opening and made it look like he wasn't aware of it. The skeleton attacked, just as he had expected. He countered its attack, attempting to follow up with a strike of his own, but it recovered quickly enough to parry him. His rising anger and frustration gave him the strength to recover just as quickly, and he continued trading counters and parries with the skeleton for another 30 seconds straight. Eventually, once the hero was done with his two enemies, he provided assistance in the form of a well-placed Aard that knocked the skeleton down. Zeraine finished it off before it could recover, shattering its arms and ribs and knocking off its head. With all the enemies now done away with, the two men needed to catch their breath.
Chapter 87
Spoiler: show
Zeraine and the hero sat down to rest for a bit, but their rest was short-lived. No more than two minutes later, another pair of skeletons with claymores appeared via summoning. The men looked at each other, sharing looks of anger, frustration, and fatigue. They quickly got back up and charged at the new enemies. Zeraine met his enemy with a mighty slash, locking blades with it and trying to force it back. While growling in anger at the skeleton as he pushed, he got an idea. "Hey, kid?"
The hero, having baited his enemy into striking via a feint, used his shield to slap the enemy's sword aside, but he was unsuccessful at disarming it. "Yeah?"
"Let's push these guys into the corner, then you can blow them apart with Explosion!" he shouted, suddenly pushing as hard as he could, driving the skeleton into the corner.
The hero couldn't nod in agreement because he was busy focusing on the enemy in front of him. He liked the idea, though, so he slammed into the skeleton shield-first and shoved it toward the same corner Zeraine was headed for. Once the men got their targets lined up, they both used Aard to finish knocking them into the corner. The hero followed up by casting Explosion, blowing the skeletons to bits.
Both of them tired and panting, they walked back over to the women. The hero said, "Well, it looks like we don't get to stop and rest. We have to keep going."
He pulled out two Stamina Potions and handed one to Zeraine. After they downed the potions, they led the way up the stairs and into the room to the right. They saw what looked like some sort of altar, but they didn't really care what was what in the room. There was nothing of interest to them, so they walked right back out. They went the opposite way, south, into a large room. As they crossed a certain point, a heavy metal gate fell closed behind them, sealing them in. They could smell zombie in the air. Amarantha stayed back, not far from the gate. The succubus stayed with her. Zeraine and the hero went further into the room, seeing a metal cage with glowing crystals hanging over two side-by-side square stone pillars. They were about as tall as an average human, and each had three large blocks on their east sides, arranged in a vertical line. Aside from that, there were support columns along both sides of the path to the gate at the far end of the room. The hero said, "Well, I guess when we press in these blocks, the enemies will show up, and there will be zombies among them."
Zeraine nodded. "That's how it tends to go in fantasy stories, and this Elven ruins site seems to work under the same principal, so yeah. I don't know about you, kid, but when we find the necromancer or whatever the person is that's behind all this shit, if it's a guy, I'm going to castrate him and make him eat his own balls before I disembowel him."
Amarantha, who, along with the succubus, could easily hear what they were saying, added, "And then I'll hang the bastard by his own intestines from one of these light-crystal cage things."
The hero said, "Normally I'd object to such an extreme punishment, but all things considered, I think I'd have to join in on that."
Amarantha then said, "And if it's a woman, I'll skin the bitch alive!"
The succubus said, "I'll paralyze her for you."
Zeraine said, "Well, anyway, earlier when we tried the 'open the gates one at a time' thing, the other zombies were teleported out of their cages to fight us, so I'm betting that if we try that here, the same thing will happen again. Let's hit them all."
The hero said, "Six blocks, which means that there could be at least six enemies from at least six locations... Fuck it, let's do it."
They quickly pressed all six blocks and, sure enough, the enemies came. Similar to the stone pressure plates from before, sections of the wall sunk into the floor, revealing very small rooms, six in all, though they could only see four at the time. Out of those six rooms, one zombie emerged from each of the first five rooms, and three skeleton warriors armed with swords and shields came out of the sixth. Thinking quickly, knowing that Explosion has proven very effective against skeletons, the hero cast it shortly after seeing them. Two of them were blown apart and the third lost its right arm. Zeraine rushed in, swinging his claymore with surprising speed, using his fury as fuel. Zombie body parts flew everywhere and their stink got worse. Zeraine kept at it, lopping off their arms and legs as quickly as he could. Eventually, he reduced them to nothing more than five torsos that flopped around helplessly on the floor.
While Zeraine was busy with the zombies, the hero engaged the last skeleton. It had tossed aside its shield and grabbed a sword with its remaining arm. The hero set an Yrden and led the skeleton right into it. While it was immobilized, he circled around behind it and used both hands on his sword, swinging as hard as he could, cutting through the skeleton's chest diagonally from its right shoulder to its left hip, effectively disposing of it.
Panting and dripping with sweat, having overtaken what stamina the earlier potions restored, they piled up the zombies' remains and the hero disposed of them with a Holy Trap. The stench was nearly unbearable for them, but they managed. Amarantha could smell it from where she stood, but she was far enough away to not suffer from it like before. The two men rejoined the women, badly needing to rest.
Zeraine said, "Well, we got them. We can't stop here, though. We should use the scrolls for now because of the smell. Hold your breath as you head for the gate, okay?"
They all held their breath and walked through the area with the strongest concentration of the smell. Once they got close to the gate, the four of them breathed normally again as the succubus examined the gate. "It's not locked, strangely enough. It is, however, sealed by magic. We're stuck in- something big is being teleported in!" she exclaimed, interrupting herself as she sensed a spell being cast. "Both of you, get ready! Quickly!"
The hero and Zeraine quickly used one scroll of Rest on each other, then raised their weapons. The new enemy teleported in via the master's spell. It was at least 12 feet tall, with very thick stone limbs, a stone head... It was made entirely of stone.
The succubus grumbled, "Now a fucking golem, too?"
The hero quickly hit it with projectile-form Igni, which had no effect.
The succubus yelled, "What are you doing!? Fire won't work worth a damn on a golem unless it's made of wood or something else that's flammable!"
The hero dove and rolled to the side, dodging the golem's sweeping punch. "I can see that! We still have to destroy it, so think of something!"
Amarantha shouted, "Zeraine, you got any magic energy left?"
Zeraine continued carefully staying away from the golem and replied, "Yeah. You got an idea?"
She smirked. "Use a water spell to soak it and I'll freeze it."
Zeraine started laughing. "Of course! I guess we were too tired to think of that..."
The hero, while keeping some distance between himself and the golem, asked, "What do you mean?"
Zeraine said, "Watch and learn, kid." He rested his claymore on his shoulder and spoke the incantation. "Barnard Voltard Da Warnard Richter. Water, hear my voice. Let my enemies become yours. Access!"
Suddenly, a mass of water in the shape of a serpentine dragon formed and snaked its way around the golem, then wrapped it up and coated it. After soaking in enough, it fell apart, allowing Amarantha to use her ice breath on the now soaking wet golem with the desired effect. What was the desired effect? Despite her ice breath being weaker in her human form, it was still more than enough to freeze the water that seeped into the tiny cracks in the stones that made up the golem's various body parts. As the water froze, it expanded, widening the cracks until it separated the stone, causing the golem to crumble.
After the golem fell to pieces, the succubus looked at the gate. "It's unsealed now. We can go through."
The hero asked, "Have you two done this before?"
Zeraine answered, "Yeah, actually. Ammie and I beat a golem before using this very same method. As you might have noticed, the spell I used was Access. Ammie and I use pitifully weak versions of the spell to clean ourselves off, and I'd assume that the princess does the same with the two of you. As you saw, it makes a serpentine dragon-shaped mass of water. You can either soak a bunch of enemies to prep them for an ice spell or a lightning spell, or you can use it to directly pulverize an enemy. You can make more than one, too, if you're good enough. Unfortunately, I can only make two when I'm in top condition."
The succubus said, "Your assumption is correct, and I can make up to eight at once. Now, let's continue before the 'boss' of this place decides to send any more enemies after us."
The party went through the unsealed gate, turned south, and went through the narrow hallway.
The hero, having baited his enemy into striking via a feint, used his shield to slap the enemy's sword aside, but he was unsuccessful at disarming it. "Yeah?"
"Let's push these guys into the corner, then you can blow them apart with Explosion!" he shouted, suddenly pushing as hard as he could, driving the skeleton into the corner.
The hero couldn't nod in agreement because he was busy focusing on the enemy in front of him. He liked the idea, though, so he slammed into the skeleton shield-first and shoved it toward the same corner Zeraine was headed for. Once the men got their targets lined up, they both used Aard to finish knocking them into the corner. The hero followed up by casting Explosion, blowing the skeletons to bits.
Both of them tired and panting, they walked back over to the women. The hero said, "Well, it looks like we don't get to stop and rest. We have to keep going."
He pulled out two Stamina Potions and handed one to Zeraine. After they downed the potions, they led the way up the stairs and into the room to the right. They saw what looked like some sort of altar, but they didn't really care what was what in the room. There was nothing of interest to them, so they walked right back out. They went the opposite way, south, into a large room. As they crossed a certain point, a heavy metal gate fell closed behind them, sealing them in. They could smell zombie in the air. Amarantha stayed back, not far from the gate. The succubus stayed with her. Zeraine and the hero went further into the room, seeing a metal cage with glowing crystals hanging over two side-by-side square stone pillars. They were about as tall as an average human, and each had three large blocks on their east sides, arranged in a vertical line. Aside from that, there were support columns along both sides of the path to the gate at the far end of the room. The hero said, "Well, I guess when we press in these blocks, the enemies will show up, and there will be zombies among them."
Zeraine nodded. "That's how it tends to go in fantasy stories, and this Elven ruins site seems to work under the same principal, so yeah. I don't know about you, kid, but when we find the necromancer or whatever the person is that's behind all this shit, if it's a guy, I'm going to castrate him and make him eat his own balls before I disembowel him."
Amarantha, who, along with the succubus, could easily hear what they were saying, added, "And then I'll hang the bastard by his own intestines from one of these light-crystal cage things."
The hero said, "Normally I'd object to such an extreme punishment, but all things considered, I think I'd have to join in on that."
Amarantha then said, "And if it's a woman, I'll skin the bitch alive!"
The succubus said, "I'll paralyze her for you."
Zeraine said, "Well, anyway, earlier when we tried the 'open the gates one at a time' thing, the other zombies were teleported out of their cages to fight us, so I'm betting that if we try that here, the same thing will happen again. Let's hit them all."
The hero said, "Six blocks, which means that there could be at least six enemies from at least six locations... Fuck it, let's do it."
They quickly pressed all six blocks and, sure enough, the enemies came. Similar to the stone pressure plates from before, sections of the wall sunk into the floor, revealing very small rooms, six in all, though they could only see four at the time. Out of those six rooms, one zombie emerged from each of the first five rooms, and three skeleton warriors armed with swords and shields came out of the sixth. Thinking quickly, knowing that Explosion has proven very effective against skeletons, the hero cast it shortly after seeing them. Two of them were blown apart and the third lost its right arm. Zeraine rushed in, swinging his claymore with surprising speed, using his fury as fuel. Zombie body parts flew everywhere and their stink got worse. Zeraine kept at it, lopping off their arms and legs as quickly as he could. Eventually, he reduced them to nothing more than five torsos that flopped around helplessly on the floor.
While Zeraine was busy with the zombies, the hero engaged the last skeleton. It had tossed aside its shield and grabbed a sword with its remaining arm. The hero set an Yrden and led the skeleton right into it. While it was immobilized, he circled around behind it and used both hands on his sword, swinging as hard as he could, cutting through the skeleton's chest diagonally from its right shoulder to its left hip, effectively disposing of it.
Panting and dripping with sweat, having overtaken what stamina the earlier potions restored, they piled up the zombies' remains and the hero disposed of them with a Holy Trap. The stench was nearly unbearable for them, but they managed. Amarantha could smell it from where she stood, but she was far enough away to not suffer from it like before. The two men rejoined the women, badly needing to rest.
Zeraine said, "Well, we got them. We can't stop here, though. We should use the scrolls for now because of the smell. Hold your breath as you head for the gate, okay?"
They all held their breath and walked through the area with the strongest concentration of the smell. Once they got close to the gate, the four of them breathed normally again as the succubus examined the gate. "It's not locked, strangely enough. It is, however, sealed by magic. We're stuck in- something big is being teleported in!" she exclaimed, interrupting herself as she sensed a spell being cast. "Both of you, get ready! Quickly!"
The hero and Zeraine quickly used one scroll of Rest on each other, then raised their weapons. The new enemy teleported in via the master's spell. It was at least 12 feet tall, with very thick stone limbs, a stone head... It was made entirely of stone.
The succubus grumbled, "Now a fucking golem, too?"
The hero quickly hit it with projectile-form Igni, which had no effect.
The succubus yelled, "What are you doing!? Fire won't work worth a damn on a golem unless it's made of wood or something else that's flammable!"
The hero dove and rolled to the side, dodging the golem's sweeping punch. "I can see that! We still have to destroy it, so think of something!"
Amarantha shouted, "Zeraine, you got any magic energy left?"
Zeraine continued carefully staying away from the golem and replied, "Yeah. You got an idea?"
She smirked. "Use a water spell to soak it and I'll freeze it."
Zeraine started laughing. "Of course! I guess we were too tired to think of that..."
The hero, while keeping some distance between himself and the golem, asked, "What do you mean?"
Zeraine said, "Watch and learn, kid." He rested his claymore on his shoulder and spoke the incantation. "Barnard Voltard Da Warnard Richter. Water, hear my voice. Let my enemies become yours. Access!"
Suddenly, a mass of water in the shape of a serpentine dragon formed and snaked its way around the golem, then wrapped it up and coated it. After soaking in enough, it fell apart, allowing Amarantha to use her ice breath on the now soaking wet golem with the desired effect. What was the desired effect? Despite her ice breath being weaker in her human form, it was still more than enough to freeze the water that seeped into the tiny cracks in the stones that made up the golem's various body parts. As the water froze, it expanded, widening the cracks until it separated the stone, causing the golem to crumble.
After the golem fell to pieces, the succubus looked at the gate. "It's unsealed now. We can go through."
The hero asked, "Have you two done this before?"
Zeraine answered, "Yeah, actually. Ammie and I beat a golem before using this very same method. As you might have noticed, the spell I used was Access. Ammie and I use pitifully weak versions of the spell to clean ourselves off, and I'd assume that the princess does the same with the two of you. As you saw, it makes a serpentine dragon-shaped mass of water. You can either soak a bunch of enemies to prep them for an ice spell or a lightning spell, or you can use it to directly pulverize an enemy. You can make more than one, too, if you're good enough. Unfortunately, I can only make two when I'm in top condition."
The succubus said, "Your assumption is correct, and I can make up to eight at once. Now, let's continue before the 'boss' of this place decides to send any more enemies after us."
The party went through the unsealed gate, turned south, and went through the narrow hallway.
Chapter 88
Spoiler: show
In the next room, they saw two support columns, one of them broken and laying on its side near its base. The most important things they noticed were the two skeleton warriors with swords and shields that saw and began running at them. It would have been fairly simple to dispatch them, even as tired as they were, had it not been for the skeleton archer on the raised walkway at the south side of the room who quickly and repeatedly launched arrows at them. Amarantha dragged the succubus back into the hallway, out of sight from the archer, and waited, just as she was supposed to.
Zeraine dove and rolled to the side to dodge an arrow, then said, "Kid, hand me a Fire Trap scroll and go take care of that arrow-launching bastard up there! I'll handle things down here."
The hero, knowing that he didn't have the luxury of trying to think of an alternate plan as he blocked an arrow with his shield, then blocked the sword of one of the skeleton warriors, nodded in acknowledgment, used an Aard to blast away the skeleton that attacked him, pulled out a Fire Trap scroll, tossed it to Zeraine, then ran for the east wall. He successfully dodged a couple of arrows as he ran into the small curved passage that turned south, up the stairs, around another curve, then at the archer. The archer's last arrow bounced off the hero's shield right before he smashed its skull and shattered its ribs.
Meanwhile, Zeraine watched the archer and dodged a total of three arrows while evading the enemies' strikes. Once he saw that the archer had been taken care of, he set the Fire Trap, used a well-placed kick to knock one skeleton into the trap, which blew it to pieces, then brought his claymore down with a mighty cleave on the other one.
Once both skeleton warriors had been taken care of, the hero called out, "Let's keep going. We can't afford to stop."
Zeraine nodded and went to the girls. "Come on, ladies, let's go."
The three of them followed him as they rejoined the hero, then went through the south passage, around the corner, up the stairs, and through another door with a blue tree-like design. They followed a short hallway that did a U-turn, then came out another door with a blue tree-like design, ending up facing west in a small room with a set of stairs that went up in front of them. They went up the stairs and saw a partially transparent person in front of them. Upon taking a second look, the person looked to be elfish in appearance, and they had no legs. The person noticed them and started to float toward them slowly. The succubus shouted, "A ghost! Kill it before it can curse you!"
The hero ran forward and slashed the ghost with a very quick series of four strokes followed by a thrust. The ghost lost its ability to stay in the world, fading away as it thrashed helplessly.
The succubus said, "Good. Had it cursed you, I'd have had to use a Mana Potion in order to have the energy to remove it, then we might have had to stop, which would allow the 'boss' of these ruins to send more undead after us."
Zeraine said, "It's also good your sword is enchanted, kid. I'd have had to use Enchant Weapon, because I'm too tired to use Light Weapon, on my claymore, or I'd have had to use a spell. Of course, Ammie could have used a spell or Mana Burst, or our princess could have used some magic, which would have required the aforementioned potion... Uh, anyway, let's kick this bastard's ass."
They proceeded west, then the succubus stopped them as she spotted the vertical holes in the walls. "Wait." As if on cue, blades swung from the holes on one side and into the holes on the other side. There were three blades total, and the middle one swung in the opposite direction to the first and third ones. After watching the blades swing back and forth a few times, she saw that there was no pattern of different speeds, nor were there any other surprises. She said, "Okay, if you start walking when they get halfway through the swing, then run as soon as they're out of your way, you'll easily make it. I'll demonstrate-"
The hero, having put his sword in his left hand to free up his right, grabbed her shoulder and pulled her back. "No you won't. I'll go first, then you guys will follow me." Before she could say anything, he was already running through the hallway. He got to the other side easily, followed by Zeraine, then the succubus, then Amarantha. Once everyone was at the cylindrical pedestal in the center, the hero pointed around and said, "As you can see, there are four passages, and all of them are the same length, and they all have these swinging blades. Which way do we go?"
Amarantha sniffed the air, then covered her nose. "I smell a zombie. This way." She pointed to the south passage.
Zeraine said, "Then that's where we'll go. We should get rid of all the enemies, right?"
The hero said, "Girls, wait here. If it's just one zombie, we can handle it, and it'd be much faster for two people to run through these swinging blades than four."
Amarantha and the succubus reluctantly agreed and waited by the pedestal as Zeraine and the hero ran through the south hallway and around the curve to the west. Inside this small room, they saw two ruined coffins and a lone zombie. Though tired, the men made short work of the poor thing and, one Holy Trap later, were permanently rid of this zombie. They quickly returned to the women, then looked at the remaining passages. The hero said, "Okay, we came from the east passage, and we just checked out the south one. Let's try the north one next. I'll go first and see if you guys need to follow."
After dashing past the swinging blades, he went around the corner and came to a locked gate. Inside the room was a single skeleton with a claymore. Since the hero couldn't open the gate, he shrugged and turned around. Just as he expected, the skeleton had been teleported out of the room, ending up right in front of him, already swinging its weapon. Not about to let himself get cornered like this, sandwiched between the skeleton and the locked gate, he blocked its swing with his shield, then used an Aard to knock it into the swinging blades area. It regained its footing too late and got caught on one blade, then smashed against the wall as the blade cut through it, "killing" it.
He returned to the others and got a hug from the succubus and a pat on the shoulder from Zeraine. Zeraine said, "Let me guess, you saw the skeleton, but it was behind a locked gate or something, then turned back, fully expecting it to teleport in front of you, right?"
The hero nodded. "Past experience in this place led me to expect that to happen, so yes. All that's left now is the west passage, so it must lead to the boss's chambers, then probably the exit."
The party got past the swinging blades in the west passage, then went around the curve to the north and up another set of stairs. At the top, they surveyed the new room, seeing that there were two support pillars, square in shape, on the western half of the room, as well as high-quality furniture, a very fancy bed, and a very feminine-looking snake-person "standing" there, looking into a scrying orb. As soon as the party stepped into the room a bit more, the snake-person turned around to face them. It was blatantly obvious that this snake-person was an echidna, and the approximately D-cup breasts, narrow shoulders, and wide hips made it quite obvious that it was a she. She looked at them with a half amused, smug grin. "You finally made it. Not bad."
Amarantha's temper flared up. She yelled, "An echidna! Kill it!"
Zeraine stopped her via holding his arm up in front of her. The echidna took on a confused expression, then said, "To have that reaction to seeing an echidna, you either have an extremely racist perspective and are biased against snake-people, or you've met my son."
The hero stepped forward, him wearing a confused expression this time. "Your son? You mean the male echidna we ran into near Windgate?"
She asked, "Was he blatantly a bisexual pervert?" The hero nodded. "Yep, that was most likely him," she continued. "I don't understand where I went wrong in raising him..."
The succubus stepped forward. "Well, regardless of your thoughts over your son, you've got some explaining to do. First of all, what the fuck? Why did you seal us in? Why did you send your legion of undead after us? Why try to kill us?"
The echidna held up her hands. "Slow down, little succubus. It's all a safety precaution. Despite living in some Elven ruins out in the forest, I still keep track of what goes on in the world. I know about The Order having begun to fall to corruption. I know that over half of it is a bunch of evil racist zealot bastards, slaughtering anything that isn't human at the behest of the Chief God, so upon seeing that someone entered my home, I had to see who it was. When I saw his Order insignia, I decided I couldn't let him leave. I thought I'd kill him or have my minions do it, but then he got within range of some of my other spells, and I found that, despite your disguises, you are a succubus and she is a dragon. Since I knew that someone from the corrupted parts of The Order wouldn't get within a few hundred feet of such beings without trying to kill them, I thought at first you two could be deceiving him, but then she mentioned being a dragon. After that, I wasn't quite sure what I was going to do, so I decided to send my undead army after you, bit by bit, to see if you could make it here. You have to admit, I was fair about it, not sending them ALL after you at once. Anyway, now that you're here, and I see that you're not going to attack me right away, I must ask, what are your intentions? Do you intend to try to kill me, or will you leave?"
The party looked to each other, then the hero said, "If you're not going to kill us, then we'd like to rest a bit, then leave. Your pawns wore us out, you know."
She thought for a second, then shrugged. "Fine. While you rest, however, I want you to tell me about how you met the other echidna. I am Matilda, and I suspect that you met my son, Reynard." She slithered over to a large rug with several cushions on it. "Please, have a seat."
Everyone sat down, then the hero told her about the incident near Windgate.
After hearing everything about it, Matilda facepalmed and said, "That's my son, alright. Had those damned Dark Elves not killed my mate, maybe I could have raised him better..."
The succubus said, "Dark Elves? We killed a band of about 15 of them right before we entered these ruins. They were apparently planning on raiding this place."
Matilda put her hands on her shapely hips, thought for a second, then said, "Well, that saves me the trouble of dealing with them. Thanks. So, you're not too upset over what I put you through, are you?"
Amarantha glared at her. "I threw up from two groups of four zombies each, back to back, thanks to the smell. Because of that, I had to sit everything out up until the end here. Upon arriving, I find that, not only are you the mother of the echidna that was such a pain in the ass for us, but you also watched us this entire time, just like he did. You listened in on our conversations, threw waves of enemies at us, tried to kill us the entire time we were in here until now, and wore us out, leaving us more tired than we've been in a long time. OF COURSE WE'RE GOING TO BE PISSED AT YOU!"
Matilda reeled back defensively. "Sorry, but like I said, I couldn't trust you at the time, and I'm still not sure if I can."
The succubus asked, "What do you mean?"
Matilda said, "Well, if you swear an oath to never reveal what you saw here, I'll let you go."
The hero said, "We'd rather not send get-rich-quick young people, idiots, or fame-seekers to their deaths, so you don't have to worry. We won't tell."
Matilda started laughing. "I suppose you're right about the 'send them to their deaths' part. You wouldn't believe how many fools died from that spiked log trap in the first room of these ruins! And of course, the ones that show enough competence or luck to get past it and the spiked balls trap end up being killed by my undead minions or they fall into some other trap and become another soldier in my personal army. ...A personal army that you just basically destroyed, by the way. Well, if you're all rested up, you should leave. I'll need to continue luring Dark Elves into my home so I can kill them and use their reanimated corpses as puppets." She pointed at the middle of the north wall. "That passageway leads to a gate, and through there is that walkway up there," she said, pointing at the west side of the room, "which leads to a door. Through that door is a very short path and a dead end, with a drop-off to your right. It'll deposit you right outside the room with the spiked log. You won't have far to walk to get back out."
The party got up, thanked Matilda for her sudden hospitality, then left, not showing that they were in a hurry to get away from her and these ruins. They went through the passageway, around the curve to the west, up the stairs, around another curve to the south, through the gate, along the walkway, up another set of stairs, through another door with a blue tree-like design, through another U-turn hallway, and out yet another door with a blue tree-like design. As Matilda said, there was a short path, a dead end, and a drop-off to the right. One by one, they dropped down, recognizing the small room they ended up in. They went west, up both sets of stairs, around the metal pressure plate that released the spiked log, through the side passage, up the other two sets of stairs, and out the door.
They were finally out of the lair of the crazy echidna necromancer and back in the forest. Sure, they had a few questions that they considered asking her, but they wanted out, so they didn't ask. Regardless, the sun had set. The moon was high in the sky already, and so they decided to make camp where the Dark Elves had earlier. They gathered and cremated the bodies of the Dark Elves, then got out their equipment, had a meal, then went to bed. The succubus managed to talk the hero into letting her suck him off before they went to sleep, seeing as both of them were too tired to have regular sex and she needed his spirit energy. After giving him a quick blowjob, the four of them went to sleep, hoping the campfire would keep away any animals or anything else that might bother them.
Zeraine dove and rolled to the side to dodge an arrow, then said, "Kid, hand me a Fire Trap scroll and go take care of that arrow-launching bastard up there! I'll handle things down here."
The hero, knowing that he didn't have the luxury of trying to think of an alternate plan as he blocked an arrow with his shield, then blocked the sword of one of the skeleton warriors, nodded in acknowledgment, used an Aard to blast away the skeleton that attacked him, pulled out a Fire Trap scroll, tossed it to Zeraine, then ran for the east wall. He successfully dodged a couple of arrows as he ran into the small curved passage that turned south, up the stairs, around another curve, then at the archer. The archer's last arrow bounced off the hero's shield right before he smashed its skull and shattered its ribs.
Meanwhile, Zeraine watched the archer and dodged a total of three arrows while evading the enemies' strikes. Once he saw that the archer had been taken care of, he set the Fire Trap, used a well-placed kick to knock one skeleton into the trap, which blew it to pieces, then brought his claymore down with a mighty cleave on the other one.
Once both skeleton warriors had been taken care of, the hero called out, "Let's keep going. We can't afford to stop."
Zeraine nodded and went to the girls. "Come on, ladies, let's go."
The three of them followed him as they rejoined the hero, then went through the south passage, around the corner, up the stairs, and through another door with a blue tree-like design. They followed a short hallway that did a U-turn, then came out another door with a blue tree-like design, ending up facing west in a small room with a set of stairs that went up in front of them. They went up the stairs and saw a partially transparent person in front of them. Upon taking a second look, the person looked to be elfish in appearance, and they had no legs. The person noticed them and started to float toward them slowly. The succubus shouted, "A ghost! Kill it before it can curse you!"
The hero ran forward and slashed the ghost with a very quick series of four strokes followed by a thrust. The ghost lost its ability to stay in the world, fading away as it thrashed helplessly.
The succubus said, "Good. Had it cursed you, I'd have had to use a Mana Potion in order to have the energy to remove it, then we might have had to stop, which would allow the 'boss' of these ruins to send more undead after us."
Zeraine said, "It's also good your sword is enchanted, kid. I'd have had to use Enchant Weapon, because I'm too tired to use Light Weapon, on my claymore, or I'd have had to use a spell. Of course, Ammie could have used a spell or Mana Burst, or our princess could have used some magic, which would have required the aforementioned potion... Uh, anyway, let's kick this bastard's ass."
They proceeded west, then the succubus stopped them as she spotted the vertical holes in the walls. "Wait." As if on cue, blades swung from the holes on one side and into the holes on the other side. There were three blades total, and the middle one swung in the opposite direction to the first and third ones. After watching the blades swing back and forth a few times, she saw that there was no pattern of different speeds, nor were there any other surprises. She said, "Okay, if you start walking when they get halfway through the swing, then run as soon as they're out of your way, you'll easily make it. I'll demonstrate-"
The hero, having put his sword in his left hand to free up his right, grabbed her shoulder and pulled her back. "No you won't. I'll go first, then you guys will follow me." Before she could say anything, he was already running through the hallway. He got to the other side easily, followed by Zeraine, then the succubus, then Amarantha. Once everyone was at the cylindrical pedestal in the center, the hero pointed around and said, "As you can see, there are four passages, and all of them are the same length, and they all have these swinging blades. Which way do we go?"
Amarantha sniffed the air, then covered her nose. "I smell a zombie. This way." She pointed to the south passage.
Zeraine said, "Then that's where we'll go. We should get rid of all the enemies, right?"
The hero said, "Girls, wait here. If it's just one zombie, we can handle it, and it'd be much faster for two people to run through these swinging blades than four."
Amarantha and the succubus reluctantly agreed and waited by the pedestal as Zeraine and the hero ran through the south hallway and around the curve to the west. Inside this small room, they saw two ruined coffins and a lone zombie. Though tired, the men made short work of the poor thing and, one Holy Trap later, were permanently rid of this zombie. They quickly returned to the women, then looked at the remaining passages. The hero said, "Okay, we came from the east passage, and we just checked out the south one. Let's try the north one next. I'll go first and see if you guys need to follow."
After dashing past the swinging blades, he went around the corner and came to a locked gate. Inside the room was a single skeleton with a claymore. Since the hero couldn't open the gate, he shrugged and turned around. Just as he expected, the skeleton had been teleported out of the room, ending up right in front of him, already swinging its weapon. Not about to let himself get cornered like this, sandwiched between the skeleton and the locked gate, he blocked its swing with his shield, then used an Aard to knock it into the swinging blades area. It regained its footing too late and got caught on one blade, then smashed against the wall as the blade cut through it, "killing" it.
He returned to the others and got a hug from the succubus and a pat on the shoulder from Zeraine. Zeraine said, "Let me guess, you saw the skeleton, but it was behind a locked gate or something, then turned back, fully expecting it to teleport in front of you, right?"
The hero nodded. "Past experience in this place led me to expect that to happen, so yes. All that's left now is the west passage, so it must lead to the boss's chambers, then probably the exit."
The party got past the swinging blades in the west passage, then went around the curve to the north and up another set of stairs. At the top, they surveyed the new room, seeing that there were two support pillars, square in shape, on the western half of the room, as well as high-quality furniture, a very fancy bed, and a very feminine-looking snake-person "standing" there, looking into a scrying orb. As soon as the party stepped into the room a bit more, the snake-person turned around to face them. It was blatantly obvious that this snake-person was an echidna, and the approximately D-cup breasts, narrow shoulders, and wide hips made it quite obvious that it was a she. She looked at them with a half amused, smug grin. "You finally made it. Not bad."
Amarantha's temper flared up. She yelled, "An echidna! Kill it!"
Zeraine stopped her via holding his arm up in front of her. The echidna took on a confused expression, then said, "To have that reaction to seeing an echidna, you either have an extremely racist perspective and are biased against snake-people, or you've met my son."
The hero stepped forward, him wearing a confused expression this time. "Your son? You mean the male echidna we ran into near Windgate?"
She asked, "Was he blatantly a bisexual pervert?" The hero nodded. "Yep, that was most likely him," she continued. "I don't understand where I went wrong in raising him..."
The succubus stepped forward. "Well, regardless of your thoughts over your son, you've got some explaining to do. First of all, what the fuck? Why did you seal us in? Why did you send your legion of undead after us? Why try to kill us?"
The echidna held up her hands. "Slow down, little succubus. It's all a safety precaution. Despite living in some Elven ruins out in the forest, I still keep track of what goes on in the world. I know about The Order having begun to fall to corruption. I know that over half of it is a bunch of evil racist zealot bastards, slaughtering anything that isn't human at the behest of the Chief God, so upon seeing that someone entered my home, I had to see who it was. When I saw his Order insignia, I decided I couldn't let him leave. I thought I'd kill him or have my minions do it, but then he got within range of some of my other spells, and I found that, despite your disguises, you are a succubus and she is a dragon. Since I knew that someone from the corrupted parts of The Order wouldn't get within a few hundred feet of such beings without trying to kill them, I thought at first you two could be deceiving him, but then she mentioned being a dragon. After that, I wasn't quite sure what I was going to do, so I decided to send my undead army after you, bit by bit, to see if you could make it here. You have to admit, I was fair about it, not sending them ALL after you at once. Anyway, now that you're here, and I see that you're not going to attack me right away, I must ask, what are your intentions? Do you intend to try to kill me, or will you leave?"
The party looked to each other, then the hero said, "If you're not going to kill us, then we'd like to rest a bit, then leave. Your pawns wore us out, you know."
She thought for a second, then shrugged. "Fine. While you rest, however, I want you to tell me about how you met the other echidna. I am Matilda, and I suspect that you met my son, Reynard." She slithered over to a large rug with several cushions on it. "Please, have a seat."
Everyone sat down, then the hero told her about the incident near Windgate.
After hearing everything about it, Matilda facepalmed and said, "That's my son, alright. Had those damned Dark Elves not killed my mate, maybe I could have raised him better..."
The succubus said, "Dark Elves? We killed a band of about 15 of them right before we entered these ruins. They were apparently planning on raiding this place."
Matilda put her hands on her shapely hips, thought for a second, then said, "Well, that saves me the trouble of dealing with them. Thanks. So, you're not too upset over what I put you through, are you?"
Amarantha glared at her. "I threw up from two groups of four zombies each, back to back, thanks to the smell. Because of that, I had to sit everything out up until the end here. Upon arriving, I find that, not only are you the mother of the echidna that was such a pain in the ass for us, but you also watched us this entire time, just like he did. You listened in on our conversations, threw waves of enemies at us, tried to kill us the entire time we were in here until now, and wore us out, leaving us more tired than we've been in a long time. OF COURSE WE'RE GOING TO BE PISSED AT YOU!"
Matilda reeled back defensively. "Sorry, but like I said, I couldn't trust you at the time, and I'm still not sure if I can."
The succubus asked, "What do you mean?"
Matilda said, "Well, if you swear an oath to never reveal what you saw here, I'll let you go."
The hero said, "We'd rather not send get-rich-quick young people, idiots, or fame-seekers to their deaths, so you don't have to worry. We won't tell."
Matilda started laughing. "I suppose you're right about the 'send them to their deaths' part. You wouldn't believe how many fools died from that spiked log trap in the first room of these ruins! And of course, the ones that show enough competence or luck to get past it and the spiked balls trap end up being killed by my undead minions or they fall into some other trap and become another soldier in my personal army. ...A personal army that you just basically destroyed, by the way. Well, if you're all rested up, you should leave. I'll need to continue luring Dark Elves into my home so I can kill them and use their reanimated corpses as puppets." She pointed at the middle of the north wall. "That passageway leads to a gate, and through there is that walkway up there," she said, pointing at the west side of the room, "which leads to a door. Through that door is a very short path and a dead end, with a drop-off to your right. It'll deposit you right outside the room with the spiked log. You won't have far to walk to get back out."
The party got up, thanked Matilda for her sudden hospitality, then left, not showing that they were in a hurry to get away from her and these ruins. They went through the passageway, around the curve to the west, up the stairs, around another curve to the south, through the gate, along the walkway, up another set of stairs, through another door with a blue tree-like design, through another U-turn hallway, and out yet another door with a blue tree-like design. As Matilda said, there was a short path, a dead end, and a drop-off to the right. One by one, they dropped down, recognizing the small room they ended up in. They went west, up both sets of stairs, around the metal pressure plate that released the spiked log, through the side passage, up the other two sets of stairs, and out the door.
They were finally out of the lair of the crazy echidna necromancer and back in the forest. Sure, they had a few questions that they considered asking her, but they wanted out, so they didn't ask. Regardless, the sun had set. The moon was high in the sky already, and so they decided to make camp where the Dark Elves had earlier. They gathered and cremated the bodies of the Dark Elves, then got out their equipment, had a meal, then went to bed. The succubus managed to talk the hero into letting her suck him off before they went to sleep, seeing as both of them were too tired to have regular sex and she needed his spirit energy. After giving him a quick blowjob, the four of them went to sleep, hoping the campfire would keep away any animals or anything else that might bother them.
Chapter 89
Spoiler: show
After the party woke up and put away their things in preparation to resume heading for Sturdumph, they heard a twig snap. Looking around, they found the source of the noise. It was a Dark Elf, standing there with an arrogant smirk, holding his twin sabers nonchalantly. "It seems you four killed some of our people," he said, pointing at the pile of gibs that used to be the Dark Elf archer that shot at the hero earlier, only to be blown to bits by the succubus's magic. "Come quietly and we might let you live as our eternal slaves. Resist and we'll kill you before you can blink."
The hero reached for his sword. "A bold claim, Elf."
With a wave of his hand, the Dark Elf called out dozens of archers, all of them with their arrows trained on the party. There were at least 40. The Dark Elf raised an eyebrow smugly as his smirk got bigger. "Well? Will you come with us and live as our slaves or will you make another comment and have us turn you into pincushions?"
The party surrendered and they were stripped of their weapons. Their hands were bound and they were led to the Dark Elf village to the northwest. Upon arrival, they were taken before the village elder, a mature-looking Dark Elf woman who, despite her age, was quite a looker. Inside the Dark Elf's hut, they saw what looked like the skin of a large snake hanging on the wall. A quick glance among each other allowed them to agree to assume that it belonged to Matilda's mate.
The Dark Elf elder looked them over, then said, "You've killed the band of 15 that we sent to those ruins. Not bad for the four of you, but now you must answer for it. Normally, we'd kill people such as you, but you might make good servants."
The hero looked her in the eye and, while using the Axii Sign, said, "Surely a wise and beautiful Dark Elven elder like yourself would much rather show mercy and allow us to leave?"
She scoffed. "Attempting to persuade me with your little Sign won't work, Order knight. Because it amused me, I'll forgive it. Next time, I'll kill you myself."
The succubus decided to risk asking a question. "How do you feel about the current Demon Lord?"
The Dark Elf looked a little confused for a second. "What do you mean?"
The succubus, relieved to get that response, said, "Well, as you know, the current Demon Lord is rotten to the core, completely evil, a total bastard, and he makes you guys look like saints. How would you feel about someone getting rid of him?"
The Dark Elf leaned back in her fancy chair and said, "I don't really care. As long as he leaves us alone, I don't give a damn what he does. Why do you ask?"
The succubus dropped her disguise. "Because we intend to kill him. I plan to take the throne and become the next Demon Lord. If you let us go, I'm sure that, as the Demon Lord, I'll be able to give you something nice. I'll probably be able to get whatever you want. How about it?"
The initial shock over the succubus's revealing her true form quickly subsided, replaced by a look of extreme greed in the elder's eyes. "Hmm... And how long would it take for you to do all that?" she asked, licking her lips.
The succubus confidently said, "Probably a couple of months. We'll need a bit more support than what we have now, and we'll have to send an army against his, with the four of us slipping in undetected and assassinating him. ...Well? Does the idea of living in the Demon Realm, in a large mansion with lots of servants, appeal to you?"
The Dark Elf woman nodded slightly, then caught herself and straightened up. Reassuming her air of superiority, she said, "Take those three to the center of the village and tie them to the stake. I must discuss this proposal with this succubus further..."
Zeraine, Amarantha, and the hero were led out of the elder's hut and to the center of the village. There, they were tied to a large stake and left under guard by five archers. Fortunately enough, the archers were far enough away to not hear them as they whispered amongst themselves.
Amarantha was first, complaining, "I hate to admit it, but maybe we should have stayed inside those ruins for the night. If we went outside and saw these Dark Elves, we could have killed a couple of them and ran back inside, then used the ruins and its traps to our advantage. Matilda might have even helped us by raising the ones we kill. And I can't use my strength to break out because you guys would get killed... Damn!"
Zeraine said, "Yeah, that would have been better. Probably. So, do we patiently wait and see what the princess can pull off, or do we screw up whatever she's trying for by trying to break out?"
The hero said, "Think about it for a second, Zeraine. If we try to escape, we'll be without our weapons and we'll have lots of Dark Elves after us. They're probably good shots with their bows, and they probably have a few mages here. There's only the four of us, and she's in the village elder's hut. If we started anything, they'd probably take her hostage or kill her and everything up to now would have been for nothing. Also, you saw the giant snakeskin on the wall. I'd venture to say that it belonged to Matilda's mate. Even if we can't recover it or convince them to give it to us, we should tell her about it."
Amarantha said, "I'd rather not see her again, but these Dark Elves have pissed me off. I'd love to wipe them out, but the four of us by ourselves can't do it."
The hero said, "How about this, then? If they let us go, we go back to the ruins, tell Matilda about it, and come back at night, then kill all these Dark Elves? She might even help us."
Zeraine said, "I'm going to have to agree. You can't take any chances with Dark Elves. We can't afford to not kill them."
The three of them patiently waited, enduring the discomfort of being tied up.
Meanwhile, the succubus talked with the Dark Elf elder. She explained her plans, as well as what she and the others had been through so far. Their exploits impressed the Dark Elf, but what really intrigued her was the promise of living in luxury, being rich, and having lots of servants. Seeing that her greed was easily used, the succubus continued capitalizing on it. Eventually, she talked her way out of her bindings. The Dark Elf said, "Well, I must say I love the offers you've made. I think I'll let you go for now, but if it looks like you won't uphold your end of the bargain, we'll kill you and your friends. Until then, good luck."
The succubus started to walk out but the Dark Elf stopped her. "What?"
With a lustful, depraved grin on her face, the Dark Elf said, "Before I let you go, I'd like to have a 'taste' of you. Strip naked and get in my bed."
The succubus was stunned. She said, "Huh? Can't I-"
The Dark Elf interrupted her, saying, "Do it or I won't let you four go."
The succubus thought, "Damn it! She's a lesbian!? She wants me... I only want my knight! What do I do? ...She's a woman, so it's better than if she were a man. I guess by doing her I won't exactly be cheating on him, right? Also, I'm being forced to do this, so he'll understand, won't he?"
The Dark Elf said, "What are you waiting for? Strip!"
"Y-yes, just hold on!" she said, flustered. "I've never done it with another woman before, so..."
This statement caused a surge of lust in the Dark Elf's eyes. "Don't worry, little succubus. If you cooperate, I'll be gentle."
The succubus faced away and grimaced. She only wanted her man's dick. She wasn't into lesbian sex, though she sometimes got off on such stories. She sighed and got naked, knowing that, aside from very loud use of magic that would endanger her friends, this was the only way out. Her body exposed to the horny Dark Elf, she laid down on the bed and waited. The Dark Elf took off her robe, revealing that she was wearing leather bondage gear underneath. She smiled and straddled the succubus, running her fingers along her body. At one point, the Dark Elf licked the succubus's neck and squeezed her breasts, then pinched her nipples. When the Dark Elf slid her hand down the succubus's belly, reaching for her flower, she tightly closed her legs. The Dark Elf said, "Remember what I said about cooperating? Open your legs."
She gritted her teeth and obeyed, reluctantly spreading her legs, allowing the Dark Elf to rub her lower lips. Thinking hard, trying desperately to come up with a way out of this, she decided to ask, "May I rub you, too?"
The Dark Elf showed the horniest grin yet and said, "Yes, my dear, you may." She adjusted herself to allow the succubus to reach her honeypot, without once letting up on her rubbing.
The succubus thought, "Considering how old she is, she's probably fucked several dozen people. She might have even had a few guys just to change things up a bit, but whatever. She's unworthy of my body! Let's see... When I'm going for a quick orgasm rather than prolonged pleasure, I can make myself cum pretty quickly. Since she's a Dark Elf, I highly doubt she's as good at masturbating as I am, so I'll use my techniques on her." She said, "You know, I'm pretty good with my fingers. How about I show you how I masturbate?"
The Dark Elf giggled. "As much as I'd love to finger myself while I watch you do the same, I'd much rather have us finger each other. Now, are you going to play with my pussy, or do I need to encourage you a little?"
The succubus began slowly teasing the Dark Elf's vagina, rubbing just close enough to her clitoris to excite her, but far enough away for it to count as teasing. She said, "What I meant was I'd finger you like how I finger myself when I masturbate. Don't you want me to share with you my self-pleasure techniques?"
The Dark Elf licked a few circles around the succubus's right nipple, then inserted one finger into her vagina. She said, "Yes, I do. If your techniques feel better than mine, then teach me them." She began sucking the succubus's right nipple, occasionally biting it and pulling on it with her teeth. She also rubbed the succubus's clit through its hood, causing her to twitch in pleasure, despite her not wanting to undergo this act.
In her mind, the succubus complained, "Her finger's in my pussy! What she's doing feels kind of good, but still, I'd rather have only my future husband do this!" She began rubbing the Dark Elf's pussy a bit more vigorously, searching for weak spots. Upon finding enough of them, she smiled and peeled back the hood of the Dark Elf's clit. She said, "If you want an orgasm that really feels good, try this..." She began a fast, unrelenting assault on the Dark Elf's clit, rubbing, pinching, pulling, and twisting it, causing her to moan loud enough for the guards outside to hear. The Dark Elf's vagina got very wet very quick, and she thoroughly enjoyed the succubus's fingers as she indulged in her breasts and cunt. She tried mimicking the succubus's finger movements, but failed miserably. The pleasure the succubus gave her was too much for her. She couldn't concentrate on fingering the succubus in the same way she was fingering her, so she simply returned to her own methods. At one point, she rubbed the succubus's ass, massaging the cheeks as she inched toward her anus.
The succubus, immediately realizing that something other than her man's dick was about to be the first thing to penetrate her ass, quickly rolled over and got on top of the Dark Elf. "You want anal masturbation? Here you go..." She licked her way up the Dark Elf's abdomen to her breasts and began roughly sucking on her nipples. At the same time, she increased the intensity of her attack on the Dark Elf's pussy. After that, she stuck the fingers of her other hand into the Dark Elf's anus and began fingering that hole, too. As soon as her fingers went into the Dark Elf's ass, she came, squirting all over both of them. The succubus gave her a cruel smile and got even rougher with her fingering and nipple biting. Locking the Dark Elf in an unending series of nonstop orgasms, the succubus enjoyed watching the arrogant bitch squirm while her cunt gushed its fluids out, soaking them both. For the moment, she had power over the Dark Elf, and she enjoyed it all she could. After a few minutes, the Dark Elf passed out but continued cumming. The succubus thought that this was enough, so she took her fingers out of the Dark Elf's holes and washed them off via magic.
She sighed with relief, still a bit aroused from the stimulation she received, but not about to get herself off. She got dressed and walked out of the hut. Seeing the guards looking at her with part-suspicion, part-lust, she said, "The elder will be asleep for a while. It was her first time experiencing what a succubus can do, after all." With a proud grin, she walked away.
Back at the center of town, the three other party members were still waiting, tied to the stake, bored as hell. They noticed the succubus approaching and were relieved upon seeing her safe. As she got closer, one of the archers stopped her and said, "I can't let you untie them until the elder allows it."
She shot him a dirty look, then shrugged. "I guess I'd better go ask for her permission, then find our gear. Be right back." She gave the hero a quick kiss before she left, returning to the elder's hut.
One of the guards outside gave her a lustful stare. "Back already? We know she's good, but to get a succubus hooked?"
She frowned at him. "I need to get her permission to untie my friends, it seems. If I have to do her again, then I will, but I prefer cocks to cunts."
He grinned. "Mine's available."
She said, "And it's probably tiny. My man's dick is the only one I'll ever accept, so piss off, Elf."
He glared at her, but she ignored it and went back in. She found the Dark Elf elder still laying on the bed, still passed out. The succubus shook her and woke her up. She asked, "What is it, dear? I'm a little too tired to do it again right now..."
The succubus said, "I need your official permission to release my friends, and we need our stuff back."
The Dark Elf said, "Very well. Your weapons are in the armory. I'll get dressed and order your friends to be released, but after that, I want you again."
The succubus's jaw dropped. "Wait, you just said you were too tired to do it again!"
She grinned and said, "I'll be ready for your fingers again after giving these orders, dear."
The Dark Elf got up and put her robe back on, then announced that the succubus and her friends were free to go. She made especially sure to mention that it was due to her techniques in bed, which made her the envy and target of the rest of the village. The women wanted to learn how to pleasure the elder like she did, and the men wanted to fuck her. She and the elder went back to her hut and started again, this time with the succubus taking the lead from the start, fingering the Dark Elf into unconsciousness once again, even causing her to piss herself from the intensity of the orgasms.
After taking care of the Dark Elf elder for the second time, the succubus went back to her friends, untied them, went with them to recover their gear, and left. As they went back to the Elven ruins, the succubus told the others how she had won their freedom. Zeraine grinned, unable to stop himself from imagining her and the Dark Elf elder going at it. Amarantha quickly interrupted his fantasy by squeezing his hand almost hard enough to crack the bones. She was unfazed by the succubus's admission, and grateful that she succeeded. The hero was completely red in the face, embarrassed from hearing the details.
The succubus asked, "You're not mad, are you?"
The hero shook his head. "No. You did what you had to do, and you got us out. Had it been another man, I'd be upset, but since it was a woman, and it only got that far, I'm okay."
She let her shoulders drop as she sighed with relief. "Good. Doing that old hag made me feel really uneasy." She suddenly looked him in the eye. "Despite hating it, the physical stimulation turned me on. You'll have to fuck me tonight, honey."
He nodded. "That's okay. Now, we need to see if Matilda will help us wipe out those Dark Elves. If she will, we'll wait until nightfall and sneak in, then kill them all."
The succubus nodded, quite happy with the plan. "The sooner we get it done, the better."
The hero reached for his sword. "A bold claim, Elf."
With a wave of his hand, the Dark Elf called out dozens of archers, all of them with their arrows trained on the party. There were at least 40. The Dark Elf raised an eyebrow smugly as his smirk got bigger. "Well? Will you come with us and live as our slaves or will you make another comment and have us turn you into pincushions?"
The party surrendered and they were stripped of their weapons. Their hands were bound and they were led to the Dark Elf village to the northwest. Upon arrival, they were taken before the village elder, a mature-looking Dark Elf woman who, despite her age, was quite a looker. Inside the Dark Elf's hut, they saw what looked like the skin of a large snake hanging on the wall. A quick glance among each other allowed them to agree to assume that it belonged to Matilda's mate.
The Dark Elf elder looked them over, then said, "You've killed the band of 15 that we sent to those ruins. Not bad for the four of you, but now you must answer for it. Normally, we'd kill people such as you, but you might make good servants."
The hero looked her in the eye and, while using the Axii Sign, said, "Surely a wise and beautiful Dark Elven elder like yourself would much rather show mercy and allow us to leave?"
She scoffed. "Attempting to persuade me with your little Sign won't work, Order knight. Because it amused me, I'll forgive it. Next time, I'll kill you myself."
The succubus decided to risk asking a question. "How do you feel about the current Demon Lord?"
The Dark Elf looked a little confused for a second. "What do you mean?"
The succubus, relieved to get that response, said, "Well, as you know, the current Demon Lord is rotten to the core, completely evil, a total bastard, and he makes you guys look like saints. How would you feel about someone getting rid of him?"
The Dark Elf leaned back in her fancy chair and said, "I don't really care. As long as he leaves us alone, I don't give a damn what he does. Why do you ask?"
The succubus dropped her disguise. "Because we intend to kill him. I plan to take the throne and become the next Demon Lord. If you let us go, I'm sure that, as the Demon Lord, I'll be able to give you something nice. I'll probably be able to get whatever you want. How about it?"
The initial shock over the succubus's revealing her true form quickly subsided, replaced by a look of extreme greed in the elder's eyes. "Hmm... And how long would it take for you to do all that?" she asked, licking her lips.
The succubus confidently said, "Probably a couple of months. We'll need a bit more support than what we have now, and we'll have to send an army against his, with the four of us slipping in undetected and assassinating him. ...Well? Does the idea of living in the Demon Realm, in a large mansion with lots of servants, appeal to you?"
The Dark Elf woman nodded slightly, then caught herself and straightened up. Reassuming her air of superiority, she said, "Take those three to the center of the village and tie them to the stake. I must discuss this proposal with this succubus further..."
Zeraine, Amarantha, and the hero were led out of the elder's hut and to the center of the village. There, they were tied to a large stake and left under guard by five archers. Fortunately enough, the archers were far enough away to not hear them as they whispered amongst themselves.
Amarantha was first, complaining, "I hate to admit it, but maybe we should have stayed inside those ruins for the night. If we went outside and saw these Dark Elves, we could have killed a couple of them and ran back inside, then used the ruins and its traps to our advantage. Matilda might have even helped us by raising the ones we kill. And I can't use my strength to break out because you guys would get killed... Damn!"
Zeraine said, "Yeah, that would have been better. Probably. So, do we patiently wait and see what the princess can pull off, or do we screw up whatever she's trying for by trying to break out?"
The hero said, "Think about it for a second, Zeraine. If we try to escape, we'll be without our weapons and we'll have lots of Dark Elves after us. They're probably good shots with their bows, and they probably have a few mages here. There's only the four of us, and she's in the village elder's hut. If we started anything, they'd probably take her hostage or kill her and everything up to now would have been for nothing. Also, you saw the giant snakeskin on the wall. I'd venture to say that it belonged to Matilda's mate. Even if we can't recover it or convince them to give it to us, we should tell her about it."
Amarantha said, "I'd rather not see her again, but these Dark Elves have pissed me off. I'd love to wipe them out, but the four of us by ourselves can't do it."
The hero said, "How about this, then? If they let us go, we go back to the ruins, tell Matilda about it, and come back at night, then kill all these Dark Elves? She might even help us."
Zeraine said, "I'm going to have to agree. You can't take any chances with Dark Elves. We can't afford to not kill them."
The three of them patiently waited, enduring the discomfort of being tied up.
Meanwhile, the succubus talked with the Dark Elf elder. She explained her plans, as well as what she and the others had been through so far. Their exploits impressed the Dark Elf, but what really intrigued her was the promise of living in luxury, being rich, and having lots of servants. Seeing that her greed was easily used, the succubus continued capitalizing on it. Eventually, she talked her way out of her bindings. The Dark Elf said, "Well, I must say I love the offers you've made. I think I'll let you go for now, but if it looks like you won't uphold your end of the bargain, we'll kill you and your friends. Until then, good luck."
The succubus started to walk out but the Dark Elf stopped her. "What?"
With a lustful, depraved grin on her face, the Dark Elf said, "Before I let you go, I'd like to have a 'taste' of you. Strip naked and get in my bed."
The succubus was stunned. She said, "Huh? Can't I-"
The Dark Elf interrupted her, saying, "Do it or I won't let you four go."
The succubus thought, "Damn it! She's a lesbian!? She wants me... I only want my knight! What do I do? ...She's a woman, so it's better than if she were a man. I guess by doing her I won't exactly be cheating on him, right? Also, I'm being forced to do this, so he'll understand, won't he?"
The Dark Elf said, "What are you waiting for? Strip!"
"Y-yes, just hold on!" she said, flustered. "I've never done it with another woman before, so..."
This statement caused a surge of lust in the Dark Elf's eyes. "Don't worry, little succubus. If you cooperate, I'll be gentle."
The succubus faced away and grimaced. She only wanted her man's dick. She wasn't into lesbian sex, though she sometimes got off on such stories. She sighed and got naked, knowing that, aside from very loud use of magic that would endanger her friends, this was the only way out. Her body exposed to the horny Dark Elf, she laid down on the bed and waited. The Dark Elf took off her robe, revealing that she was wearing leather bondage gear underneath. She smiled and straddled the succubus, running her fingers along her body. At one point, the Dark Elf licked the succubus's neck and squeezed her breasts, then pinched her nipples. When the Dark Elf slid her hand down the succubus's belly, reaching for her flower, she tightly closed her legs. The Dark Elf said, "Remember what I said about cooperating? Open your legs."
She gritted her teeth and obeyed, reluctantly spreading her legs, allowing the Dark Elf to rub her lower lips. Thinking hard, trying desperately to come up with a way out of this, she decided to ask, "May I rub you, too?"
The Dark Elf showed the horniest grin yet and said, "Yes, my dear, you may." She adjusted herself to allow the succubus to reach her honeypot, without once letting up on her rubbing.
The succubus thought, "Considering how old she is, she's probably fucked several dozen people. She might have even had a few guys just to change things up a bit, but whatever. She's unworthy of my body! Let's see... When I'm going for a quick orgasm rather than prolonged pleasure, I can make myself cum pretty quickly. Since she's a Dark Elf, I highly doubt she's as good at masturbating as I am, so I'll use my techniques on her." She said, "You know, I'm pretty good with my fingers. How about I show you how I masturbate?"
The Dark Elf giggled. "As much as I'd love to finger myself while I watch you do the same, I'd much rather have us finger each other. Now, are you going to play with my pussy, or do I need to encourage you a little?"
The succubus began slowly teasing the Dark Elf's vagina, rubbing just close enough to her clitoris to excite her, but far enough away for it to count as teasing. She said, "What I meant was I'd finger you like how I finger myself when I masturbate. Don't you want me to share with you my self-pleasure techniques?"
The Dark Elf licked a few circles around the succubus's right nipple, then inserted one finger into her vagina. She said, "Yes, I do. If your techniques feel better than mine, then teach me them." She began sucking the succubus's right nipple, occasionally biting it and pulling on it with her teeth. She also rubbed the succubus's clit through its hood, causing her to twitch in pleasure, despite her not wanting to undergo this act.
In her mind, the succubus complained, "Her finger's in my pussy! What she's doing feels kind of good, but still, I'd rather have only my future husband do this!" She began rubbing the Dark Elf's pussy a bit more vigorously, searching for weak spots. Upon finding enough of them, she smiled and peeled back the hood of the Dark Elf's clit. She said, "If you want an orgasm that really feels good, try this..." She began a fast, unrelenting assault on the Dark Elf's clit, rubbing, pinching, pulling, and twisting it, causing her to moan loud enough for the guards outside to hear. The Dark Elf's vagina got very wet very quick, and she thoroughly enjoyed the succubus's fingers as she indulged in her breasts and cunt. She tried mimicking the succubus's finger movements, but failed miserably. The pleasure the succubus gave her was too much for her. She couldn't concentrate on fingering the succubus in the same way she was fingering her, so she simply returned to her own methods. At one point, she rubbed the succubus's ass, massaging the cheeks as she inched toward her anus.
The succubus, immediately realizing that something other than her man's dick was about to be the first thing to penetrate her ass, quickly rolled over and got on top of the Dark Elf. "You want anal masturbation? Here you go..." She licked her way up the Dark Elf's abdomen to her breasts and began roughly sucking on her nipples. At the same time, she increased the intensity of her attack on the Dark Elf's pussy. After that, she stuck the fingers of her other hand into the Dark Elf's anus and began fingering that hole, too. As soon as her fingers went into the Dark Elf's ass, she came, squirting all over both of them. The succubus gave her a cruel smile and got even rougher with her fingering and nipple biting. Locking the Dark Elf in an unending series of nonstop orgasms, the succubus enjoyed watching the arrogant bitch squirm while her cunt gushed its fluids out, soaking them both. For the moment, she had power over the Dark Elf, and she enjoyed it all she could. After a few minutes, the Dark Elf passed out but continued cumming. The succubus thought that this was enough, so she took her fingers out of the Dark Elf's holes and washed them off via magic.
She sighed with relief, still a bit aroused from the stimulation she received, but not about to get herself off. She got dressed and walked out of the hut. Seeing the guards looking at her with part-suspicion, part-lust, she said, "The elder will be asleep for a while. It was her first time experiencing what a succubus can do, after all." With a proud grin, she walked away.
Back at the center of town, the three other party members were still waiting, tied to the stake, bored as hell. They noticed the succubus approaching and were relieved upon seeing her safe. As she got closer, one of the archers stopped her and said, "I can't let you untie them until the elder allows it."
She shot him a dirty look, then shrugged. "I guess I'd better go ask for her permission, then find our gear. Be right back." She gave the hero a quick kiss before she left, returning to the elder's hut.
One of the guards outside gave her a lustful stare. "Back already? We know she's good, but to get a succubus hooked?"
She frowned at him. "I need to get her permission to untie my friends, it seems. If I have to do her again, then I will, but I prefer cocks to cunts."
He grinned. "Mine's available."
She said, "And it's probably tiny. My man's dick is the only one I'll ever accept, so piss off, Elf."
He glared at her, but she ignored it and went back in. She found the Dark Elf elder still laying on the bed, still passed out. The succubus shook her and woke her up. She asked, "What is it, dear? I'm a little too tired to do it again right now..."
The succubus said, "I need your official permission to release my friends, and we need our stuff back."
The Dark Elf said, "Very well. Your weapons are in the armory. I'll get dressed and order your friends to be released, but after that, I want you again."
The succubus's jaw dropped. "Wait, you just said you were too tired to do it again!"
She grinned and said, "I'll be ready for your fingers again after giving these orders, dear."
The Dark Elf got up and put her robe back on, then announced that the succubus and her friends were free to go. She made especially sure to mention that it was due to her techniques in bed, which made her the envy and target of the rest of the village. The women wanted to learn how to pleasure the elder like she did, and the men wanted to fuck her. She and the elder went back to her hut and started again, this time with the succubus taking the lead from the start, fingering the Dark Elf into unconsciousness once again, even causing her to piss herself from the intensity of the orgasms.
After taking care of the Dark Elf elder for the second time, the succubus went back to her friends, untied them, went with them to recover their gear, and left. As they went back to the Elven ruins, the succubus told the others how she had won their freedom. Zeraine grinned, unable to stop himself from imagining her and the Dark Elf elder going at it. Amarantha quickly interrupted his fantasy by squeezing his hand almost hard enough to crack the bones. She was unfazed by the succubus's admission, and grateful that she succeeded. The hero was completely red in the face, embarrassed from hearing the details.
The succubus asked, "You're not mad, are you?"
The hero shook his head. "No. You did what you had to do, and you got us out. Had it been another man, I'd be upset, but since it was a woman, and it only got that far, I'm okay."
She let her shoulders drop as she sighed with relief. "Good. Doing that old hag made me feel really uneasy." She suddenly looked him in the eye. "Despite hating it, the physical stimulation turned me on. You'll have to fuck me tonight, honey."
He nodded. "That's okay. Now, we need to see if Matilda will help us wipe out those Dark Elves. If she will, we'll wait until nightfall and sneak in, then kill them all."
The succubus nodded, quite happy with the plan. "The sooner we get it done, the better."
Chapter 90
Spoiler: show
Not long after leaving the Dark Elf village, they arrived at the ruins. They went back inside, went back down the four sets of stairs, making sure not to set off the spiked log trap in the process, then levitated up to the hidden walkway, went through the doors and returned to Matilda's living area. She looked up from a skeleton and said, "You've returned. What would bring you four back?"
The succubus said, "We found what looked like a giant snakeskin hanging on the wall in the hut of the elder of a Dark Elf village near here. We think it might be what's left of your mate. If it is, we suspect that these Dark Elves had something to do with it." She proceeded to tell the details of what happened after they left, including the time she had with the elder.
Matilda shrugged. "I'm not really into girl-on-girl erotica. I'm straight, and I prefer males of my own kind, though I am willing to do a little inter-species with a suitable male from a suitable species... Anyway, I guess you want me to go with you, right?"
The succubus nodded.
"Well, I'd go anyway, because they are most likely the ones who killed him. By the way, I would have been fine with you spending the night in my home. I wouldn't have done anything to you and all you had to do was ask. ...Although, that might have led to you not finding those who are likely my mate's murderers, so..." Matilda shrugged again and shook her head.
The hero said, "Our plan is to wait until tonight, then sneak in and kill as many of them in their sleep as we can, for safety's sake. If we're discovered, it'll be an all-out assault with magic and Signs first, using our weapons for whoever's left."
She nodded. "Good plan, knight. Stay here until nightfall. Tend to your succubus if you need to. Don't worry, I won't watch if you don't want me to. Regardless, I guess I can help hold down the elder so you can kill her. You want revenge for what she made you do, right?"
The succubus nodded. "I tried to make sure my tone implied it. It's good you won't watch us, too. My future husband isn't one for having an audience."
Matilda smiled. "I wasn't either, to be honest. Anyway, be ready, for tonight, we'll have our revenge."
Zeraine glanced at the skeleton that Matilda was working on before they arrived. "What's this all about?" he asked, pointing at how parts of it seemed to not quite match.
Matilda said, "Oh, I'm using what's left of my skeletons to make new ones. I'm taking the parts that are still in decent shape and piecing them together into 'complete' skeletons. Now that you've invited me on your little raid tonight, I plan to collect those bodies and use them as replacement soldiers, replacing the ones you guys destroyed. You said there were about 40?"
Amarantha asked, "How can you stand the smell? Zombies stink, bad."
Matilda smirked. "When you've worked with enough undead, like I have, you get used to it."
The party rested for a few hours, waiting for nightfall. Once midnight came around, the five of them left and snuck into the Dark Elf village. Fortunately for them, the village was poorly guarded at night. There were only two men with spears posted at the "entrance" they were closest to. Amarantha easily darted around, sneaking behind huts, occasionally jumping over them, and stealthily landed behind them. She then wrapped one arm around each of their necks and squeezed. After silently strangling the guards, she went back to the group. "Everyone, I think the men should stay here and wait to help in case we're discovered. Their armor is a bit loud, especially Zeraine's plate mail."
They all agreed. Zeraine and the hero waited, hiding in what was basically an alley, behind a hut while the succubus led Amarantha and Matilda to the Dark Elf elder's hut.
Once inside, they found her sleeping naked, fresh sexual fluids on her vagina and the sheet. Matilda wrapped her up in her coils, squeezing tightly, covering the Dark Elf's mouth. She asked, "Where is this snakeskin?"
The succubus pointed it out, which caused Matilda to reflexively squeeze tighter. "That's my mate's hide, alright. Time for this bitch to die. Kill her with my ritual dagger so I can make her into my eternal slave." She handed a fancy, beautiful-looking dagger to the succubus.
The succubus grinned. "Gladly." She stabbed the Dark Elf elder through the heart, killing her. She then handed the ritual dagger back to Matilda and picked up a regular Elven dagger from the nightstand. They snuck around into other huts, silently killing the residents. Unfortunately, upon slitting the throat of their 10th victim, some blood spattered onto the face of the Dark Elf's partner, waking her up. She shouted as loud as she could, "Intruders!"
Amarantha snapped the Dark Elf's neck, then said, "You know one of the guards heard that. What now?"
The succubus scoffed. "We stick to the plan. Now that we've been discovered, we abuse our magic to slaughter as many as we can, then finish off the rest with our weapons."
They stepped out of the hut and saw several guards running at them. Amarantha was first in responding. "Tankad!"
The succubus followed up. "Damned!"
Matilda one-upped them. "Napalm Death!"
The guards were decimated, either torn apart by ice-projectiles or blown to pieces from Damned or the powerful fireballs from Napalm Death.
The noise alerted the hero and Zeraine, acting as their cue to join the impending fray. The hero used Quen and Zeraine cast Shield. With their heightened defenses in place, they got to the girls just in time to block a few arrows. A few Dark Elves had grabbed their bows and fired arrows at them, but to no avail. They were quickly blown to bits by a barrage of fireballs from the succubus, who cast Intelipeli, and Matilda, who cast Napalm Death.
The hero used his shield, as well as his Quen-protected body, to shield the women from the rain of arrows while Zeraine did the same, using his Shield spell and his thick armor to protect the women. Fire, explosions, and the screams of burning Dark Elves echoed through the night as the succubus and Matilda launched volley after volley of fireballs at everything in the village, except the elder's hut. They didn't want to destroy the remains of Matilda's mate.
When almost all the huts were either in pieces or burning, the only Dark Elves left stepped out of hiding. By their attire, the party guessed they were mages. That was irrelevant, though, as there were only three of them, and they didn't look very confident. The hero risked using Axii and was rewarded with a successful hex. The one Dark Elf mage he hexed helped them as they disposed of the other two. The hero had his "puppet" blow their legs off with one Fireball on each enemy. Matilda slithered in with surprising speed and used her snake body to squeeze one to death as Zeraine killed the other with his claymore. Finally, the hero finished off the hexed Dark Elf by impaling him through the gut.
Once all was said and done, Matilda began looking around. The look in her eye was akin to that of a kid in a candy store. She had plenty of material to work with now, and that made her very happy. She looked at the succubus. "Thanks. With your help, I was able to avenge my mate and do the world a little bit of good. I'd like to reward you. Do you know the spell, 'Megadeath'?"
The succubus shook her head. "You'll teach me? What does the spell do?"
Matilda gave an incredibly creepy smile and said, "It's a grand-scale spell. Simply put, it causes an intense pressure that can destroy entire fortresses. It also creates a thunderstorm and an earthquake when you cast it. I could have wiped out the whole village with it."
The succubus asked, "Then why didn't you? We could have snuck in, gotten my revenge on the elder, recovered your mate's remains, then killed them all with one cast."
Matilda cleared her throat. "I didn't have enough energy. Teleporting my minions to you tired me out a bit, though I still could have probably killed you with what I had left. Regardless, I didn't quite have enough energy to cast it."
The hero looked around. "Well, we got them all. I guess the smartest thing to do would be to stay with Matilda in her home for tonight, then resume our travels tomorrow morning."
Matilda said, "Go on back and wait for me. I'll be a little while. I have to raise all these corpses and bring them with me. I'll be along soon." She giggled, further disturbing the party. They went on back to the ruins, back to Matilda's living area. There, they waited for her to return. They wanted to stay in the first large room of the first area, and they decided that notifying her of that before settling in for the night would be best.
The succubus said, "We found what looked like a giant snakeskin hanging on the wall in the hut of the elder of a Dark Elf village near here. We think it might be what's left of your mate. If it is, we suspect that these Dark Elves had something to do with it." She proceeded to tell the details of what happened after they left, including the time she had with the elder.
Matilda shrugged. "I'm not really into girl-on-girl erotica. I'm straight, and I prefer males of my own kind, though I am willing to do a little inter-species with a suitable male from a suitable species... Anyway, I guess you want me to go with you, right?"
The succubus nodded.
"Well, I'd go anyway, because they are most likely the ones who killed him. By the way, I would have been fine with you spending the night in my home. I wouldn't have done anything to you and all you had to do was ask. ...Although, that might have led to you not finding those who are likely my mate's murderers, so..." Matilda shrugged again and shook her head.
The hero said, "Our plan is to wait until tonight, then sneak in and kill as many of them in their sleep as we can, for safety's sake. If we're discovered, it'll be an all-out assault with magic and Signs first, using our weapons for whoever's left."
She nodded. "Good plan, knight. Stay here until nightfall. Tend to your succubus if you need to. Don't worry, I won't watch if you don't want me to. Regardless, I guess I can help hold down the elder so you can kill her. You want revenge for what she made you do, right?"
The succubus nodded. "I tried to make sure my tone implied it. It's good you won't watch us, too. My future husband isn't one for having an audience."
Matilda smiled. "I wasn't either, to be honest. Anyway, be ready, for tonight, we'll have our revenge."
Zeraine glanced at the skeleton that Matilda was working on before they arrived. "What's this all about?" he asked, pointing at how parts of it seemed to not quite match.
Matilda said, "Oh, I'm using what's left of my skeletons to make new ones. I'm taking the parts that are still in decent shape and piecing them together into 'complete' skeletons. Now that you've invited me on your little raid tonight, I plan to collect those bodies and use them as replacement soldiers, replacing the ones you guys destroyed. You said there were about 40?"
Amarantha asked, "How can you stand the smell? Zombies stink, bad."
Matilda smirked. "When you've worked with enough undead, like I have, you get used to it."
The party rested for a few hours, waiting for nightfall. Once midnight came around, the five of them left and snuck into the Dark Elf village. Fortunately for them, the village was poorly guarded at night. There were only two men with spears posted at the "entrance" they were closest to. Amarantha easily darted around, sneaking behind huts, occasionally jumping over them, and stealthily landed behind them. She then wrapped one arm around each of their necks and squeezed. After silently strangling the guards, she went back to the group. "Everyone, I think the men should stay here and wait to help in case we're discovered. Their armor is a bit loud, especially Zeraine's plate mail."
They all agreed. Zeraine and the hero waited, hiding in what was basically an alley, behind a hut while the succubus led Amarantha and Matilda to the Dark Elf elder's hut.
Once inside, they found her sleeping naked, fresh sexual fluids on her vagina and the sheet. Matilda wrapped her up in her coils, squeezing tightly, covering the Dark Elf's mouth. She asked, "Where is this snakeskin?"
The succubus pointed it out, which caused Matilda to reflexively squeeze tighter. "That's my mate's hide, alright. Time for this bitch to die. Kill her with my ritual dagger so I can make her into my eternal slave." She handed a fancy, beautiful-looking dagger to the succubus.
The succubus grinned. "Gladly." She stabbed the Dark Elf elder through the heart, killing her. She then handed the ritual dagger back to Matilda and picked up a regular Elven dagger from the nightstand. They snuck around into other huts, silently killing the residents. Unfortunately, upon slitting the throat of their 10th victim, some blood spattered onto the face of the Dark Elf's partner, waking her up. She shouted as loud as she could, "Intruders!"
Amarantha snapped the Dark Elf's neck, then said, "You know one of the guards heard that. What now?"
The succubus scoffed. "We stick to the plan. Now that we've been discovered, we abuse our magic to slaughter as many as we can, then finish off the rest with our weapons."
They stepped out of the hut and saw several guards running at them. Amarantha was first in responding. "Tankad!"
The succubus followed up. "Damned!"
Matilda one-upped them. "Napalm Death!"
The guards were decimated, either torn apart by ice-projectiles or blown to pieces from Damned or the powerful fireballs from Napalm Death.
The noise alerted the hero and Zeraine, acting as their cue to join the impending fray. The hero used Quen and Zeraine cast Shield. With their heightened defenses in place, they got to the girls just in time to block a few arrows. A few Dark Elves had grabbed their bows and fired arrows at them, but to no avail. They were quickly blown to bits by a barrage of fireballs from the succubus, who cast Intelipeli, and Matilda, who cast Napalm Death.
The hero used his shield, as well as his Quen-protected body, to shield the women from the rain of arrows while Zeraine did the same, using his Shield spell and his thick armor to protect the women. Fire, explosions, and the screams of burning Dark Elves echoed through the night as the succubus and Matilda launched volley after volley of fireballs at everything in the village, except the elder's hut. They didn't want to destroy the remains of Matilda's mate.
When almost all the huts were either in pieces or burning, the only Dark Elves left stepped out of hiding. By their attire, the party guessed they were mages. That was irrelevant, though, as there were only three of them, and they didn't look very confident. The hero risked using Axii and was rewarded with a successful hex. The one Dark Elf mage he hexed helped them as they disposed of the other two. The hero had his "puppet" blow their legs off with one Fireball on each enemy. Matilda slithered in with surprising speed and used her snake body to squeeze one to death as Zeraine killed the other with his claymore. Finally, the hero finished off the hexed Dark Elf by impaling him through the gut.
Once all was said and done, Matilda began looking around. The look in her eye was akin to that of a kid in a candy store. She had plenty of material to work with now, and that made her very happy. She looked at the succubus. "Thanks. With your help, I was able to avenge my mate and do the world a little bit of good. I'd like to reward you. Do you know the spell, 'Megadeath'?"
The succubus shook her head. "You'll teach me? What does the spell do?"
Matilda gave an incredibly creepy smile and said, "It's a grand-scale spell. Simply put, it causes an intense pressure that can destroy entire fortresses. It also creates a thunderstorm and an earthquake when you cast it. I could have wiped out the whole village with it."
The succubus asked, "Then why didn't you? We could have snuck in, gotten my revenge on the elder, recovered your mate's remains, then killed them all with one cast."
Matilda cleared her throat. "I didn't have enough energy. Teleporting my minions to you tired me out a bit, though I still could have probably killed you with what I had left. Regardless, I didn't quite have enough energy to cast it."
The hero looked around. "Well, we got them all. I guess the smartest thing to do would be to stay with Matilda in her home for tonight, then resume our travels tomorrow morning."
Matilda said, "Go on back and wait for me. I'll be a little while. I have to raise all these corpses and bring them with me. I'll be along soon." She giggled, further disturbing the party. They went on back to the ruins, back to Matilda's living area. There, they waited for her to return. They wanted to stay in the first large room of the first area, and they decided that notifying her of that before settling in for the night would be best.
Chapter 91
Spoiler: show
After about an hour, Matilda returned. Once she set aside the giant snakeskin that used to be her mate, the succubus approached her. "You're a powerful necromancer, right?"
Matilda paused for a moment and said, "Actually, I'm more like a powerful mage who's good with necromancy. Why?"
"Well," the succubus started, pondering something, "the four of us are out to kill the current Demon Lord. We also plan to have me take the throne. We'll have to wage a large-scale battle against him in the not too distant future, and I was wondering if you'd be willing to help. You might be able to raise the bodies of the dead from both sides to help us, and afterward, you could take them home with you, unless the families object, of course. How about it?"
Matilda thought for several seconds. "I guess I will. More soldiers in my undead army to protect my home is good, and getting rid of the current Demon Lord would be good. If you can fix things so that the corrupted parts of The Order no longer have a leg to stand on, possibly by making it known world-wide that I, an echidna, helped... Will there be other monsters on our side?"
The succubus nodded. "We plan to get several dragons, as well as some more lizard-people, and we've already got the support of Poseidon and the Pharaoh. Our army will be a mix of humans and monsters with a common goal; that of getting rid of the current Demon Lord. I assure you that I'll be much better."
Matilda smiled. "Good. If all humans learn that monsters helped get rid of the Demon Lord, as well as put someone much less despicable on the throne, maybe we can live in peace. Maybe humans won't fear me just because I have a snake-body from the waist down."
The hero said, "Uh, I think they'd be a bit more afraid of your necromancy than your appearance."
Matilda shook her head. "One time a few months ago, I was shopping in Sturdumph. There was some kind of squabble between a couple of mages. They were trying to outdo each other with transformation magic while Dispelling each other's transformations. I still don't know what purpose their little spat served, but I got hit with a stray Dispel, which made me change back to this form. The woman standing next to me saw it and was actually too scared to scream. Instead, she shit herself and stood there, trembling. I quickly transformed back and erased her memory, then came home, but still, it happened."
The succubus said, "We've got a long way to go before humans completely accept monsters as neighbors. After claiming the throne, my plan will probably cause a bit of a setback, since I plan to take the current 'non-sapient, dangerous' monsters and 'humanize' them. It would give them at least a basic level of intelligence, and give them the ability to breed with humans. ...Anyway, I guess we should get to sleep now, since we have to leave in the morning. We wanted to use the large, open room in the first area, if you don't mind."
Matilda nodded. "That's fine. Just don't forget about where the traps are. And, as I promised, I won't watch you, so you can do your thing as much as you need to."
The hero asked, "And all of the Dark Elves? What about them?"
Matilda said, "Already posted around these ruins. None of them are in the first area, so your silver dragon doesn't have to worry about the smell."
The party thanked her and left, making their way to the large room in the first area that showed signs of others living or staying there before. Once they had settled in for the night, the succubus led the hero off to the small room to the south, where the old, cobweb-covered skeleton was.
Amarantha and Zeraine stripped down to their underwear and got into their sleeping bag. She cuddled with him a little, putting her arm and leg over him, holding him tightly with them, and laid her head on his shoulder. Not long after, she pressed her crotch against his thigh and squirmed a little. She did that for about two seconds before catching herself in the act and stopping, having looked down at herself. "Damn it..."
Zeraine asked, "What's wrong, Ammie?"
She frowned at him. "You can't tell?"
He grinned. "I think I know already, but I want you to say it."
She lightly hit him and said, "I want to make love, but I don't trust Matilda."
Zeraine sighed. "Even though she promised not to watch, you still don't want to do it here because of the possibility of her breaking that promise. I'd love to do it again, too, but I guess we'll have to wait until we get to an inn after we arrive at Sturdumph."
Amarantha kissed Zeraine on the cheek. "When we get there, we'll still have to do what we've done for the past few sessions. I really wish we could afford for me to let you have the lead..."
Zeraine gave her a deep kiss. After breaking it off, he said, "Once we've turned me, we won't have to worry about it anymore. I'll be able to take the lead any time you want." He kissed her again while rubbing her ass.
After the kiss, she forced her desire for him out of her mind for now and fell asleep, the two of them in each other's arms.
...
In the small room to the south, the succubus smiled lustfully. The air of arousal she emitted was enough to give the hero an erection. She quickly got naked and started stripping him out of his armor. Once they were both in their birthday suits, she looked at his penis, grabbed it, and started stoking. "Hard already? You're finally starting to warm up to me?"
He said, "Don't start. You know how I am. I'll admit that I do, in fact, like having sex with you, okay? I just don't want that to be our only focus. I know you're a succubus, and I understand that sex is high on your priority list, but we've got to enact your plan, right?"
She laid down on her back, pulling him down on top of her. She then wrapped her legs around his waist and pulled him close, pressing his balls against her labia. She looked him in the eye sternly and said, "Now is the time for love, intimacy, sex, and the ejaculating of your semen into my hungry pussy. It is not the time to talk about work. Now, put it in and show me what you can do without me instructing you. Oh, and when you cum, do it inside."
He started by kissing her, sticking his tongue in her mouth and licking around inside. She quickly stuck her tongue in his mouth as well, entwining the two in a passionate kiss that made their nether regions throb. Unable to hold back anymore, he inserted himself, bottoming out in a single thrust, causing her to moan in shock and pleasure. While kissing her, he rubbed her nipples, causing them to quickly harden. He also started moving his hips slowly, gently thrusting into her. When he broke the kiss off to allow them to breathe, she smiled lovingly at him and said, "You're doing great so far. I won't tell you what to do, so have fun. Just be sure to make me cum, okay?"
He nodded. "Satisfying you is my top priority right now. Blowing my load in you comes second."
She started laughing. "If you try too hard to hold back, you could hurt yourself. If you have to cum, do so. I'm a dirty enough girl to enjoy multiple loads of my husband's semen sloshing around inside me as he tries to make me cum, with him squirting more and more as the session goes on."
Her comment made his dick throb hard. He was surprised at how much he got turned on by hearing her talk like this. He sped up, causing her laughter to change to moans. He gently pinched and tugged on her nipples as he pounded away at her, occasionally sucking one of them. He knew she was enjoying it, but he also knew she wasn't close to orgasm at all. He, on the other hand, was about to cum. He tried to hold it, but she grabbed his cheek and pulled. "Ow!"
She scoldingly said, "I told you to cum if you had to. I can tell you're trying to hold back. Stop it. Cum inside me right now and give yourself a little relief. The demonic energy I'm pumping into you will ensure that you can keep going."
He nodded and she let go, allowing his face to return to normal. He resumed thrusting, speeding up until he was bouncing off her cervix several times a second. With one last thrust, he shoved it in all the way, nearly pressing hard enough to open her cervix, and blew his load. She moaned happily as she felt his semen spill out inside her. She flexed her vaginal muscles to make a sucking motion, helping him let out every last drop. She pulled him down into a quick mouth-to-mouth kiss and said, "That's the biggest load of cum you've ever shot into me. It seems the demonic energy is doing its job quite nicely, don't you think?"
He looked down and saw that he was still hard. Despite cumming, he was ready to go again. "Yeah, I guess. What will the demonic energy do, aside from increasing my semen production and output?"
She smiled and squeezed his dick very hard with her pussy, making him shudder. "We'll talk about it later. Right now, you have more semen to shoot into me."
He sighed frustratedly. He wanted to know, but as she said before, right now was the time for sex. He began thrusting again, which she enjoyed. The fact that he had resumed without pulling out, thus leaving his semen inside as he started again, definitely excited her. He latched on to one nipple with his mouth, rubbed the other with his hand, and reached lower with his other hand. With said other hand, he began rubbing her clit while humping her, sucking one nipple, and pinching the other. When she felt his fingers on her clit, she cried out in pleasure while complaining, "That's cheating!"
He took his mouth off her nipple and said, "I came, but you didn't. It's not fair to you. I'll do this so we can try to cum together on my next shot, okay honey?"
She nodded. "I pretty much told you to do as you pleased, so if that's what you want to do, do it."
He resumed his assault on her pleasure spots, making her moan loudly. Upon glancing at the floor under her, he saw a large puddle of her vaginal juices that only got larger. He grinned and kept going, pleasuring her to the best of his ability, until they both came. The contractions in her cunt served to squeeze and milk his cock of all the cum he could shoot. The second load wasn't as big as the first was, but it was still large. The succubus laid back in the large puddle of her juices and savored the feeling of his semen splashing against her cervix over and over.
Once he was done cumming, he slowly pulled out. Before he could do anything else, she said, "Come over here. I'll clean you off."
He did so, walking around to her upper body. She sat up and took his dick into her mouth, sucking it clean.
He asked, "Why not use you magic?"
She said, "It's your cum. I'm not about to wash it away. If you dick is coated in it, I will lick it off. If my pussy can't hold it in, I'll squeeze it out into my hands and drink it. I refuse to waste a single drop if I can help it."
His dick throbbed again at her perverse comments. She noticed easily, since it was right in her face. He looked away with a mix of shame and embarrassment. She said, "Don't worry, darling. If you want to cum again, I'd be more than happy to help you. Do you want me to suck you off, or do you want to fuck my pussy again?"
He looked around uncomfortably, not answering.
She stood on her knees and slapped him on the leg. "Watch."
He looked down at her as she cupped her hands under her vagina. She looked him in the eye and said, "Watch as I drink the cum you filled me with."
Unable to turn away, he watched as she squeezed his semen out, catching it in her hands. When she was sure she got it all out, she showed the large amount of cum to him, then took it into her mouth. After getting every last drop into her mouth and licking what was left off her hands, she showed him that her mouth was full of his semen. She then swallowed it and opened her mouth again, making it painfully obvious that she drank it. She smiled and said, "Your cum is as good as ever. I saw your dick twitching and throbbing while I did that, too. I know you want it again, and I'm not about to let you walk off without cumming again. So, since we're not doing anything with my ass until Sturdumph, do you want my pussy or my mouth?"
He gritted his teeth and said, "Pussy."
She grinned and stood up, then forcefully yet gently laid him down. "This time, we're doing cowgirl. I'll make you finish in my mouth, since creampie-ing me is too messy. ...And stop being ashamed of yourself! There's nothing wrong with wanting to fuck me again!" She kissed his balls then mounted him, impaling herself on his dick. "Indulge in my body all you want. Cum until you're satisfied. My legs are always spread for you, and they're only spread for you."
Her attempts at encouraging him didn't do much, for he was still ashamed of himself for desiring more sex after what they had just done, despite his earlier statements of wanting to do it in moderation.
She forced him to look her in the eyes as she sat with his rock hard shaft in her honeypot. "Hey, I said stop that. What, is it that shit about moderation? This is still within the realm of moderation. If we tried to do it ten times in one night, especially if you were the one wanting it after your previous stance on sex, that would be something to be ashamed of. Now, stop worrying and enjoy my cunt." She kissed him, then began bouncing in his lap while rubbing her clit. She knew he wasn't going to accept any more rounds just to make her cum again, so she had to bring herself to that point while milking him. After several minutes of riding him, she felt him getting close. She quickly jumped off and kept fingering herself as she sucked him. He came in her mouth, with her cumming at the same time, squirting her juices on the floor between her legs. She gulped down his cum as if it were the most delicious thing in the world. Considering that she was a succubus, combined with the fact that it was his semen, that of her beloved, it probably was. Regardless, after he finished letting out his third shot, and after she drank every last drop, she used magic to clean them off, then they put their underwear back on.
They gathered their clothes and his armor, then went to their sleeping bag, making sure to be quiet because they noticed that Zeraine and Amarantha were already asleep. They slipped into the sleeping bag and she cuddled up to him, kissing him on the cheek. "You were great this time."
He was happy he could do well enough for that compliment, but he was still upset over desiring a second round of sex and third release. He shook his head, trying to push those thoughts out of his mind. He and the succubus fell asleep, her arms around him tightly.
...
Meanwhile, Matilda was busy building skeletons from the remains of those the party destroyed earlier. She had kept her promise to not watch and had instead put together pieces of several skeletons to form a few functioning ones. Pleased with her work, she used her necromancy to raise them and sent them to different spots in the ruins. She then curled up on her bed and went to sleep.
Matilda paused for a moment and said, "Actually, I'm more like a powerful mage who's good with necromancy. Why?"
"Well," the succubus started, pondering something, "the four of us are out to kill the current Demon Lord. We also plan to have me take the throne. We'll have to wage a large-scale battle against him in the not too distant future, and I was wondering if you'd be willing to help. You might be able to raise the bodies of the dead from both sides to help us, and afterward, you could take them home with you, unless the families object, of course. How about it?"
Matilda thought for several seconds. "I guess I will. More soldiers in my undead army to protect my home is good, and getting rid of the current Demon Lord would be good. If you can fix things so that the corrupted parts of The Order no longer have a leg to stand on, possibly by making it known world-wide that I, an echidna, helped... Will there be other monsters on our side?"
The succubus nodded. "We plan to get several dragons, as well as some more lizard-people, and we've already got the support of Poseidon and the Pharaoh. Our army will be a mix of humans and monsters with a common goal; that of getting rid of the current Demon Lord. I assure you that I'll be much better."
Matilda smiled. "Good. If all humans learn that monsters helped get rid of the Demon Lord, as well as put someone much less despicable on the throne, maybe we can live in peace. Maybe humans won't fear me just because I have a snake-body from the waist down."
The hero said, "Uh, I think they'd be a bit more afraid of your necromancy than your appearance."
Matilda shook her head. "One time a few months ago, I was shopping in Sturdumph. There was some kind of squabble between a couple of mages. They were trying to outdo each other with transformation magic while Dispelling each other's transformations. I still don't know what purpose their little spat served, but I got hit with a stray Dispel, which made me change back to this form. The woman standing next to me saw it and was actually too scared to scream. Instead, she shit herself and stood there, trembling. I quickly transformed back and erased her memory, then came home, but still, it happened."
The succubus said, "We've got a long way to go before humans completely accept monsters as neighbors. After claiming the throne, my plan will probably cause a bit of a setback, since I plan to take the current 'non-sapient, dangerous' monsters and 'humanize' them. It would give them at least a basic level of intelligence, and give them the ability to breed with humans. ...Anyway, I guess we should get to sleep now, since we have to leave in the morning. We wanted to use the large, open room in the first area, if you don't mind."
Matilda nodded. "That's fine. Just don't forget about where the traps are. And, as I promised, I won't watch you, so you can do your thing as much as you need to."
The hero asked, "And all of the Dark Elves? What about them?"
Matilda said, "Already posted around these ruins. None of them are in the first area, so your silver dragon doesn't have to worry about the smell."
The party thanked her and left, making their way to the large room in the first area that showed signs of others living or staying there before. Once they had settled in for the night, the succubus led the hero off to the small room to the south, where the old, cobweb-covered skeleton was.
Amarantha and Zeraine stripped down to their underwear and got into their sleeping bag. She cuddled with him a little, putting her arm and leg over him, holding him tightly with them, and laid her head on his shoulder. Not long after, she pressed her crotch against his thigh and squirmed a little. She did that for about two seconds before catching herself in the act and stopping, having looked down at herself. "Damn it..."
Zeraine asked, "What's wrong, Ammie?"
She frowned at him. "You can't tell?"
He grinned. "I think I know already, but I want you to say it."
She lightly hit him and said, "I want to make love, but I don't trust Matilda."
Zeraine sighed. "Even though she promised not to watch, you still don't want to do it here because of the possibility of her breaking that promise. I'd love to do it again, too, but I guess we'll have to wait until we get to an inn after we arrive at Sturdumph."
Amarantha kissed Zeraine on the cheek. "When we get there, we'll still have to do what we've done for the past few sessions. I really wish we could afford for me to let you have the lead..."
Zeraine gave her a deep kiss. After breaking it off, he said, "Once we've turned me, we won't have to worry about it anymore. I'll be able to take the lead any time you want." He kissed her again while rubbing her ass.
After the kiss, she forced her desire for him out of her mind for now and fell asleep, the two of them in each other's arms.
...
In the small room to the south, the succubus smiled lustfully. The air of arousal she emitted was enough to give the hero an erection. She quickly got naked and started stripping him out of his armor. Once they were both in their birthday suits, she looked at his penis, grabbed it, and started stoking. "Hard already? You're finally starting to warm up to me?"
He said, "Don't start. You know how I am. I'll admit that I do, in fact, like having sex with you, okay? I just don't want that to be our only focus. I know you're a succubus, and I understand that sex is high on your priority list, but we've got to enact your plan, right?"
She laid down on her back, pulling him down on top of her. She then wrapped her legs around his waist and pulled him close, pressing his balls against her labia. She looked him in the eye sternly and said, "Now is the time for love, intimacy, sex, and the ejaculating of your semen into my hungry pussy. It is not the time to talk about work. Now, put it in and show me what you can do without me instructing you. Oh, and when you cum, do it inside."
He started by kissing her, sticking his tongue in her mouth and licking around inside. She quickly stuck her tongue in his mouth as well, entwining the two in a passionate kiss that made their nether regions throb. Unable to hold back anymore, he inserted himself, bottoming out in a single thrust, causing her to moan in shock and pleasure. While kissing her, he rubbed her nipples, causing them to quickly harden. He also started moving his hips slowly, gently thrusting into her. When he broke the kiss off to allow them to breathe, she smiled lovingly at him and said, "You're doing great so far. I won't tell you what to do, so have fun. Just be sure to make me cum, okay?"
He nodded. "Satisfying you is my top priority right now. Blowing my load in you comes second."
She started laughing. "If you try too hard to hold back, you could hurt yourself. If you have to cum, do so. I'm a dirty enough girl to enjoy multiple loads of my husband's semen sloshing around inside me as he tries to make me cum, with him squirting more and more as the session goes on."
Her comment made his dick throb hard. He was surprised at how much he got turned on by hearing her talk like this. He sped up, causing her laughter to change to moans. He gently pinched and tugged on her nipples as he pounded away at her, occasionally sucking one of them. He knew she was enjoying it, but he also knew she wasn't close to orgasm at all. He, on the other hand, was about to cum. He tried to hold it, but she grabbed his cheek and pulled. "Ow!"
She scoldingly said, "I told you to cum if you had to. I can tell you're trying to hold back. Stop it. Cum inside me right now and give yourself a little relief. The demonic energy I'm pumping into you will ensure that you can keep going."
He nodded and she let go, allowing his face to return to normal. He resumed thrusting, speeding up until he was bouncing off her cervix several times a second. With one last thrust, he shoved it in all the way, nearly pressing hard enough to open her cervix, and blew his load. She moaned happily as she felt his semen spill out inside her. She flexed her vaginal muscles to make a sucking motion, helping him let out every last drop. She pulled him down into a quick mouth-to-mouth kiss and said, "That's the biggest load of cum you've ever shot into me. It seems the demonic energy is doing its job quite nicely, don't you think?"
He looked down and saw that he was still hard. Despite cumming, he was ready to go again. "Yeah, I guess. What will the demonic energy do, aside from increasing my semen production and output?"
She smiled and squeezed his dick very hard with her pussy, making him shudder. "We'll talk about it later. Right now, you have more semen to shoot into me."
He sighed frustratedly. He wanted to know, but as she said before, right now was the time for sex. He began thrusting again, which she enjoyed. The fact that he had resumed without pulling out, thus leaving his semen inside as he started again, definitely excited her. He latched on to one nipple with his mouth, rubbed the other with his hand, and reached lower with his other hand. With said other hand, he began rubbing her clit while humping her, sucking one nipple, and pinching the other. When she felt his fingers on her clit, she cried out in pleasure while complaining, "That's cheating!"
He took his mouth off her nipple and said, "I came, but you didn't. It's not fair to you. I'll do this so we can try to cum together on my next shot, okay honey?"
She nodded. "I pretty much told you to do as you pleased, so if that's what you want to do, do it."
He resumed his assault on her pleasure spots, making her moan loudly. Upon glancing at the floor under her, he saw a large puddle of her vaginal juices that only got larger. He grinned and kept going, pleasuring her to the best of his ability, until they both came. The contractions in her cunt served to squeeze and milk his cock of all the cum he could shoot. The second load wasn't as big as the first was, but it was still large. The succubus laid back in the large puddle of her juices and savored the feeling of his semen splashing against her cervix over and over.
Once he was done cumming, he slowly pulled out. Before he could do anything else, she said, "Come over here. I'll clean you off."
He did so, walking around to her upper body. She sat up and took his dick into her mouth, sucking it clean.
He asked, "Why not use you magic?"
She said, "It's your cum. I'm not about to wash it away. If you dick is coated in it, I will lick it off. If my pussy can't hold it in, I'll squeeze it out into my hands and drink it. I refuse to waste a single drop if I can help it."
His dick throbbed again at her perverse comments. She noticed easily, since it was right in her face. He looked away with a mix of shame and embarrassment. She said, "Don't worry, darling. If you want to cum again, I'd be more than happy to help you. Do you want me to suck you off, or do you want to fuck my pussy again?"
He looked around uncomfortably, not answering.
She stood on her knees and slapped him on the leg. "Watch."
He looked down at her as she cupped her hands under her vagina. She looked him in the eye and said, "Watch as I drink the cum you filled me with."
Unable to turn away, he watched as she squeezed his semen out, catching it in her hands. When she was sure she got it all out, she showed the large amount of cum to him, then took it into her mouth. After getting every last drop into her mouth and licking what was left off her hands, she showed him that her mouth was full of his semen. She then swallowed it and opened her mouth again, making it painfully obvious that she drank it. She smiled and said, "Your cum is as good as ever. I saw your dick twitching and throbbing while I did that, too. I know you want it again, and I'm not about to let you walk off without cumming again. So, since we're not doing anything with my ass until Sturdumph, do you want my pussy or my mouth?"
He gritted his teeth and said, "Pussy."
She grinned and stood up, then forcefully yet gently laid him down. "This time, we're doing cowgirl. I'll make you finish in my mouth, since creampie-ing me is too messy. ...And stop being ashamed of yourself! There's nothing wrong with wanting to fuck me again!" She kissed his balls then mounted him, impaling herself on his dick. "Indulge in my body all you want. Cum until you're satisfied. My legs are always spread for you, and they're only spread for you."
Her attempts at encouraging him didn't do much, for he was still ashamed of himself for desiring more sex after what they had just done, despite his earlier statements of wanting to do it in moderation.
She forced him to look her in the eyes as she sat with his rock hard shaft in her honeypot. "Hey, I said stop that. What, is it that shit about moderation? This is still within the realm of moderation. If we tried to do it ten times in one night, especially if you were the one wanting it after your previous stance on sex, that would be something to be ashamed of. Now, stop worrying and enjoy my cunt." She kissed him, then began bouncing in his lap while rubbing her clit. She knew he wasn't going to accept any more rounds just to make her cum again, so she had to bring herself to that point while milking him. After several minutes of riding him, she felt him getting close. She quickly jumped off and kept fingering herself as she sucked him. He came in her mouth, with her cumming at the same time, squirting her juices on the floor between her legs. She gulped down his cum as if it were the most delicious thing in the world. Considering that she was a succubus, combined with the fact that it was his semen, that of her beloved, it probably was. Regardless, after he finished letting out his third shot, and after she drank every last drop, she used magic to clean them off, then they put their underwear back on.
They gathered their clothes and his armor, then went to their sleeping bag, making sure to be quiet because they noticed that Zeraine and Amarantha were already asleep. They slipped into the sleeping bag and she cuddled up to him, kissing him on the cheek. "You were great this time."
He was happy he could do well enough for that compliment, but he was still upset over desiring a second round of sex and third release. He shook his head, trying to push those thoughts out of his mind. He and the succubus fell asleep, her arms around him tightly.
...
Meanwhile, Matilda was busy building skeletons from the remains of those the party destroyed earlier. She had kept her promise to not watch and had instead put together pieces of several skeletons to form a few functioning ones. Pleased with her work, she used her necromancy to raise them and sent them to different spots in the ruins. She then curled up on her bed and went to sleep.
Chapter 92
Spoiler: show
After sleeping in, Matilda woke up, yawned, and stretched, uncoiling her snake body, which stretched almost two-thirds of the way across the room. She slithered over to her "operating table" to confirm that she did, in fact, use all available bones for rebuilding her skeletons. She then looked over at the pieces of her golem. "I guess I'll get that done first... Have they woken up yet?"
She teleported into the room in which the party slept and saw that they were still asleep. She cleared her throat, then cast a strong light spell and clapped her hands. "Alright, guys, wake up!"
The party stirred around in their sleeping bags, then got up one by one. The succubus asked, "It's morning already?"
Matilda said, "Actually, it's getting close to noon. I slept in a bit after piecing together a few skeletons last night. You guys want to get going, right? You had best get up and go, then. I still have to rebuild the golem you broke, too..."
The succubus rubbed her eyes and yawned, then looked over at the hero, who had sat up, stretched, and stood up, and smiled. She said, "Nothing beats waking up next to the man you love after sleeping next to him all night, except maybe the good fucking we did before that. ...Or possibly fucking again after waking up."
The hero scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Don't start."
She got up and got dressed. "You know, signs of your eventual transformation are already showing."
"How so?" he asked, his tone showing he was not pleased to hear this.
She patted him on the back and proceeded to help him put his armor on. "Well, I doubt you'd have said the 'pleasing you comes first, blowing my load comes second' bit before all the demonic energy I've poured into you." She watched his face redden, then continued, "Also, I've been paying close attention since our first time. The amount of semen you put out has increased, as well as the spirit energy in it. You've gotten better at sex pretty quickly, too. At this rate, it won't be long before you're making me cum until I pass out before you even fire your first shot. ...Of course, I won't let you get away with just cumming once, and you'll definitely want to do more than that, too... Uh, anyway, you're starting to actually desire sex with your beloved wife, too. That's nothing to be ashamed of, and if you feel that way, then stop. If you don't, I'll kick your ass."
He said, "How much will this corruption do to me?"
She replied, "The more you fight it, the worse it'll be. With your willpower, I'm sure you'll just become a very horny version of yourself. You'll actually ask me for sex, rather than waiting for our 'scheduled time' that you made me agree to. I think I've said it before, but your maximum spirit energy will greatly increase, which will make your magic-related abilities stronger. Among mages, that's actually a well-known thing. Mages of both genders, if they're power-hungry enough, will actively try to become succubi or incubi. Most of them go insane and become no better than savage beasts, hell-bent on killing everything they see, but some actually come out with little difference. For some, there is a drastic change, but it still varies depending on the individual. Regardless, it seems that mostly the ones who are already 'abnormal' are the most likely to succeed. Look at Sol. From what Zeraine and Amarantha tell us, he was... well, he was fucked up before becoming an incubus. I guess he was too twisted for the demonic energy to do anything to him aside from make him want to fuck his lizards even more, but still, it seems he didn't really change. He grew horns, got more powerful, lusted after his lizards even more, but that was it."
"I don't think he's the best example to use... Anyway, you're telling me to not fight it? Just give in?"
"Like I said, the more you fight it, the worse it'll be."
"..." Wanting to change the subject, he asked, "Are you sure you're alright after the incident in the village?"
She paused for a second, then said, "Yeah, I guess. I killed the bitch, so I suppose it's fine. Why?"
"Well, you seemed pretty worried, and from what I saw, you were a little traumatized. If not that, then at the very least, you hated it."
She exhaled sharply. "I did. To be honest, I hate Dark Elves. Once the throne is mine, I'll be sure to corrupt their entire race into horny human-lovers as soon as I possibly can! Anyway, yeah, I didn't like that one bit. Some succubi are bisexual, but I'm not."
Once his armor was on and their things were packed up, they proceeded to leave.
While the hero and the succubus were having their little exchange, Matilda slithered over to Zeraine and Amarantha. She looked at Amarantha and said, "Um... I'm sorry about the, uh, you know. I didn't mean to make you..."
Amarantha paused for a second, then realized what she was referring to. "It's okay. We got back at you by wiping out your undead army and completely destroying your golem." She grinned.
Matilda smirked back, then nodded and left via teleportation. Amarantha then gave Zeraine a quick kiss before getting dressed. Because she wore leather armor, she was able to get dressed very quickly. "Sleeping underground like this kind of throws you off, doesn't it?" she asked, helping Zeraine with his plate mail.
He looked around while putting on his armor. "Yeah, it does. We also stayed up late and exerted ourselves quite a bit, too, though."
She whispered in his ear, "I'm really looking forward to our next stay at an inn."
He looked at her and saw her grinning and blushing. He smiled and said, "Me, too." He paused for a second, then said, "Hey, Ammie? When we get to Icewind Peak, do you think we'll meet your parents?"
She looked confused for a second, then said, "Well, if my clan is still staying there, then yeah, probably. Why?"
He hesitated for a second, then said, "Well, how would they feel about us? You know, you and me together?"
She smiled. "I'm sure they'd approve. It's not the first time a dragon has had a romantic relationship with a human, and with the princess's plan eventually giving us the ability to have kids, they won't have anything to object to."
The two of them gathered everything up, packed it up, and left with the others. They carefully navigated past the two traps on their way to the exit and left the ruins. Once outside, the succubus donned her disguise form, then levitated up above the trees to see which way to go. Once back on the ground, she said, "This way. I'd guess we have about half a day's walk."
They walked in the direction the succubus indicated, a somewhat northeastern direction, for a couple of hours, then stopped and had lunch. After eating, they resumed their walk, emerging from the forest and walking along the road for the last stretch of the journey. As the sun started getting low in the western sky, they saw Sturdumph in the distance.
She teleported into the room in which the party slept and saw that they were still asleep. She cleared her throat, then cast a strong light spell and clapped her hands. "Alright, guys, wake up!"
The party stirred around in their sleeping bags, then got up one by one. The succubus asked, "It's morning already?"
Matilda said, "Actually, it's getting close to noon. I slept in a bit after piecing together a few skeletons last night. You guys want to get going, right? You had best get up and go, then. I still have to rebuild the golem you broke, too..."
The succubus rubbed her eyes and yawned, then looked over at the hero, who had sat up, stretched, and stood up, and smiled. She said, "Nothing beats waking up next to the man you love after sleeping next to him all night, except maybe the good fucking we did before that. ...Or possibly fucking again after waking up."
The hero scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Don't start."
She got up and got dressed. "You know, signs of your eventual transformation are already showing."
"How so?" he asked, his tone showing he was not pleased to hear this.
She patted him on the back and proceeded to help him put his armor on. "Well, I doubt you'd have said the 'pleasing you comes first, blowing my load comes second' bit before all the demonic energy I've poured into you." She watched his face redden, then continued, "Also, I've been paying close attention since our first time. The amount of semen you put out has increased, as well as the spirit energy in it. You've gotten better at sex pretty quickly, too. At this rate, it won't be long before you're making me cum until I pass out before you even fire your first shot. ...Of course, I won't let you get away with just cumming once, and you'll definitely want to do more than that, too... Uh, anyway, you're starting to actually desire sex with your beloved wife, too. That's nothing to be ashamed of, and if you feel that way, then stop. If you don't, I'll kick your ass."
He said, "How much will this corruption do to me?"
She replied, "The more you fight it, the worse it'll be. With your willpower, I'm sure you'll just become a very horny version of yourself. You'll actually ask me for sex, rather than waiting for our 'scheduled time' that you made me agree to. I think I've said it before, but your maximum spirit energy will greatly increase, which will make your magic-related abilities stronger. Among mages, that's actually a well-known thing. Mages of both genders, if they're power-hungry enough, will actively try to become succubi or incubi. Most of them go insane and become no better than savage beasts, hell-bent on killing everything they see, but some actually come out with little difference. For some, there is a drastic change, but it still varies depending on the individual. Regardless, it seems that mostly the ones who are already 'abnormal' are the most likely to succeed. Look at Sol. From what Zeraine and Amarantha tell us, he was... well, he was fucked up before becoming an incubus. I guess he was too twisted for the demonic energy to do anything to him aside from make him want to fuck his lizards even more, but still, it seems he didn't really change. He grew horns, got more powerful, lusted after his lizards even more, but that was it."
"I don't think he's the best example to use... Anyway, you're telling me to not fight it? Just give in?"
"Like I said, the more you fight it, the worse it'll be."
"..." Wanting to change the subject, he asked, "Are you sure you're alright after the incident in the village?"
She paused for a second, then said, "Yeah, I guess. I killed the bitch, so I suppose it's fine. Why?"
"Well, you seemed pretty worried, and from what I saw, you were a little traumatized. If not that, then at the very least, you hated it."
She exhaled sharply. "I did. To be honest, I hate Dark Elves. Once the throne is mine, I'll be sure to corrupt their entire race into horny human-lovers as soon as I possibly can! Anyway, yeah, I didn't like that one bit. Some succubi are bisexual, but I'm not."
Once his armor was on and their things were packed up, they proceeded to leave.
While the hero and the succubus were having their little exchange, Matilda slithered over to Zeraine and Amarantha. She looked at Amarantha and said, "Um... I'm sorry about the, uh, you know. I didn't mean to make you..."
Amarantha paused for a second, then realized what she was referring to. "It's okay. We got back at you by wiping out your undead army and completely destroying your golem." She grinned.
Matilda smirked back, then nodded and left via teleportation. Amarantha then gave Zeraine a quick kiss before getting dressed. Because she wore leather armor, she was able to get dressed very quickly. "Sleeping underground like this kind of throws you off, doesn't it?" she asked, helping Zeraine with his plate mail.
He looked around while putting on his armor. "Yeah, it does. We also stayed up late and exerted ourselves quite a bit, too, though."
She whispered in his ear, "I'm really looking forward to our next stay at an inn."
He looked at her and saw her grinning and blushing. He smiled and said, "Me, too." He paused for a second, then said, "Hey, Ammie? When we get to Icewind Peak, do you think we'll meet your parents?"
She looked confused for a second, then said, "Well, if my clan is still staying there, then yeah, probably. Why?"
He hesitated for a second, then said, "Well, how would they feel about us? You know, you and me together?"
She smiled. "I'm sure they'd approve. It's not the first time a dragon has had a romantic relationship with a human, and with the princess's plan eventually giving us the ability to have kids, they won't have anything to object to."
The two of them gathered everything up, packed it up, and left with the others. They carefully navigated past the two traps on their way to the exit and left the ruins. Once outside, the succubus donned her disguise form, then levitated up above the trees to see which way to go. Once back on the ground, she said, "This way. I'd guess we have about half a day's walk."
They walked in the direction the succubus indicated, a somewhat northeastern direction, for a couple of hours, then stopped and had lunch. After eating, they resumed their walk, emerging from the forest and walking along the road for the last stretch of the journey. As the sun started getting low in the western sky, they saw Sturdumph in the distance.
Chapter 93
Spoiler: show
Arriving in town, renting rooms at the inn... Things were going pretty good. They still had a couple of hours of daylight in which to do things, so they decided to look around town. Unfortunately, the shops were closed, so they couldn't browse the inventories. They ate at a diner, then returned to the inn. They decided not to bother with checking the notice board until morning, so they retired to their rooms.
Just like they did last time, Zeraine and Amarantha focused on the channeling of demonic energy during sex rather than enjoying their lovemaking. After an hour or so, Amarantha and Zeraine came together and she passed out with him still inside her. He held her in his arms and fell asleep, too.
Meanwhile, in the other room, the succubus happily and eagerly stripped naked, then dropped her disguise. She posed a few times, making sure the hero got a good view of her naughty bits. She smiled devilishly and seductively asked, "Well? You wanna jump my bones yet, or do I have to get things started?"
He got out of his armor and clothing, embarrassed that he had such a hard boner so soon, and said, "Before we begin, what about the thing earlier?"
She stopped trying to tempt him with erotic poses and asked, "What thing?"
"The thing about you teaching me those Fire, Ice, and Shock Trap spells. They're really handy, and I'd like to learn them. If I do, we won't need the scrolls anymore."
She thought for a second, then said, "Okay, you agreed to my request to try anal sex tonight, so after your first shot, which will hopefully be quickly followed by my first orgasm in this session, I'll teach you Fire Trap. I'm not sure if I can even cum from anal sex, so that's if I do. Otherwise, you'll have to make me cum with your fingers, tongue, cock, or some combination of the three. If, somehow, you make us cum together, I'll teach you both Fire Trap and Ice Trap. Of course, after that, we'll probably have to continue, so if you make me cum a second time, I'll teach you Ice Trap if you failed to make us cum together, or Shock Trap if you succeeded. If you make us cum together again on that round, then I'll teach you Holy Trap as soon as I learn it myself. Okay?"
He raised an eyebrow. "I have to 'pay' for these lessons with sex?"
She frowned, walked over to him, grabbed his wrist, dragged him to the bed, then threw him onto it. "I'd prefer you think of it as a reward for successfully pleasing your wife. Now, I'm not really sure what I should do to start this... I've already cleaned it, so there's no worries there, but thinking back about our first time..."
The hero remembered the pain she went through and cringed. "You don't trust yourself to do it, so you want me to, because you believe I'll be gentle enough for it to not hurt, right?"
She nodded. "If we go cowgirl, I might insert it too fast or something. ...I've got it! We'll do doggy style. ...One more thing; before you try to insert it, make sure to stick your fingers in and rub around."
He sat up and said, "What? You mean-"
She got on her hands and knees and said, "I mean, stick your fingers in my ass. If you finger my ass a bit, it should make it easier to put your dick in. Since you'd be doing something sexual to me, I'm sure my pussy will get wet, too, so after getting me wet and 'ready' by fingering my ass, be sure to rub your dick on my cunt lips so you can lubricate it with my love juice, okay?"
He nodded, then stood on his knees and hesitantly reached for her ass. He started by rubbing her nicely-shaped ass cheeks, kneading and squeezing them. He then took a deep breath and moved his hands, holding her cheeks apart with one while rubbing her anus with two fingers. "How is it so far?"
She said, "It feels a little strange, but it's good, too. You're doing a good job."
He thought, "I'm not sure I like this, but she really wants it... Doing such a thing; this is definitely abnormal. She's a pervert, that's for sure, but it seems I'm becoming one, too. Should I have refused?" He then sighed and slowly stuck one finger into her anus, making sure to go slow and be gentle. After sticking his finger all the way in, he felt her insides make a sucking motion. "It's sucking my finger. Are you doing that?"
She shook her head. "No. I'm not trying to do anything. My body's doing that on its own."
He began rubbing around inside her ass with his finger, causing her to twitch and moan a little. He scoffed and said, "You're enjoying this?"
She said, "So far, yes. It actually feels good. I think I'm ready for a second finger."
He nodded and stuck a second finger in, then started rubbing with both. "How's this?"
She moaned and shuddered. "It's weird, but I think I like it."
He looked at her vagina and saw that it was dripping. "You're dripping down here, so I guess I'm doing good, huh?"
She nodded. "Smear my juice all over your dick and get ready to stick it in."
He did so, making sure to flick her clit with the head of his dick as he rubbed against her lips. He then brought his penis up to her butt hole and pulled his fingers out, then spread both cheeks and started pushing. Due to fingering her ass for a while, he was able to slowly and carefully slide it in, which caused her to straighten her back, then arch it, then shudder uncontrollably. Upon seeing this, he worriedly asked, "Are you okay?"
She slowly nodded. "I've never felt anything like this before. It's really weird."
"Does it hurt? We can stop if it does..."
"No! It hurt a little bit, but don't you dare stop! I want this, and I'm not going to let you stop halfway. You will fuck my ass until you cum in it. I absolutely will not accept anything less! Now, start humping."
He did as she asked, listening to her grunts of pain and watching her shake and twitch. He started off slow and gradually sped up, never pushing it all the way in. As he slid in and out of her tight ass, he thought, "How often is this going to happen? Her tightness feels good, but she looks like she's in pain. Will there be other times that she'll want to experiment with something that could hurt?"
She winced, then meekly said, "Honey, please... Play with my tits. Do something to make this feel good."
He reached around her and grabbed her breasts, pulling her up so that she was standing on her knees as well. She leaned back against him, letting his penis slip farther into her ass. He said, "Damn it, if you knew it'd hurt this bad, why the hell did you suggest it!?"
She looked at him apologetically over her shoulder. "It doesn't hurt as bad as you're implying, but it does hurt. I guess we should have loosened my ass up more through repeated fingering sessions before trying this..."
"Then why?" he asked, glancing down at his dick, seeing a little blood. "You're bleeding! We should stop!"
She shook her head. "If you stop now, I'll kill you! We're going to see this through to the end, damn it! Rub my tits to give me some pleasure to counter the pain, but whatever you do, do NOT take your dick out of my ass until after you cum! I'll try to heal myself afterward, then we'll let it recover while I teach you Fire Trap. Then, you can bone the hell out of my pussy until I cum."
"Then what should I do?"
"Speed up. Hump harder. Don't worry, I can take it if you hurry."
He held her from behind tightly and sped up, causing her ass cheeks to jiggle with every thrust until her finally came. "There, I came in your ass. Can I take it out now?"
She reached behind her and put her hands on his hips. "Wait. Let it all squirt out."
He did as she asked, letting his orgasm run its course, letting his semen from this shot all come out. After he was sure that most of it was in her rectum, he pulled out and moved around in front of her. He saw that her eyes were a little watery, but he couldn't tell if it was from the pain or the sex. He said, "Look. My dick has your blood on it. Will you be okay?"
She threw her arms around his neck and hugged him. "I'll be fine. I just need to heal myself. Thanks for not stopping on me."
"What the hell are you thanking me for, idiot!?" he growled. "It hurt you and your butt is bleeding! I should have stopped. You should have told me it hurt so I could stop then! You damn fool, what were you thinking? That because you're a succubus you can do any sex act at any time? Your body may be more suited for sex, but you still have limits! Jumping into this like you did... You moron!"
She punched him in the gut. "Don't call me that! I told you before that I wanted to try every kind of sex there is with you, so wanting to do this should be no surprise! Sure, I may have gotten ahead of myself and did it too soon, but that's no reason to insult me like you just did! Take it back!"
He wrapped his arms around her, over hers, restraining her. "No, I won't. I'm genuinely concerned about your well-being, and here I follow you in this attempt to try something new, only to see your anus bleeding during the act, all the while hearing your pained grunts and groans. I don't want to hurt you, and the fact that I apparently just did upsets me, as you can plainly see. I will not recant my insults, period."
She glared at him, making a half-hearted effort to get out of his grip. "Fine. I won't be as nice with the upcoming sex, then."
"What?"
She jerked around, throwing herself down onto the bed, pulling him with her. He quickly rolled them over and mounted her, but she used Access to knock him off of both her and the bed. He stood up, obviously pissed off, and started to walk over to her. She grinned arrogantly and said, "Heretic."
Before he could figure out what she meant, tentacles came out of the floor and wrapped around his arms and legs, immobilizing him. He said, "That was the name of the spell, right? You weren't suggesting that I had betrayed my faith, were you?"
"Of course it's the name of the spell, stupid. Now, since you won't take back what you said, I'm going to have fun with you all I want. If you object too much, I'll gag you."
He pulled against the tentacles to no avail. "This isn't what a good wife would do to her husband!"
She smirked, "I'm punishing you."
"For what!?"
"For insulting me! You could have expressed your concern without calling me names, but no, you threw in the insults! Be a man and accept your punishment!"
He struggled some more, trying to see if there was some way to get out. "What about teaching me the trap spells?"
She paused, then got on her knees and began stroking his dick. "If you're obedient, I'll teach you one of them."
He hesitantly followed up, saying, "What if... What if I sincerely apologized?"
She looked up into his eyes. "Well, if you meant it, I'd probably release you and do it normally, with me in the lead of course. If after that you performed well enough, I might teach you two of them. I guess it'd be 'make me cum; one orgasm for each spell'."
He didn't swallow his pride, but he did start to regret using the words he did. "I'm sorry I called you those names, but please understand that I was and am still worried about you. I love you, and I don't like to see you hurt. When I saw the blood, I panicked. I-"
She interrupted him with a passionate kiss while she caressed his balls. Once she broke the kiss off, she pulled away and said, "I love you, too. I forgive you for saying that stuff, so..." She Dispelled the tentacles, releasing him, and cast a healing spell on herself. "Let's have our make-up sex now, okay?"
He nodded and they got back in bed. She used her magic to make sure his dick was clean, then they got into cowgirl position and she rode him for at least 30 minutes before he started trying to hold back. While rubbing and kneading her breasts, he said, "I'm close..."
She nodded. "Don't hold back. Cum inside me."
Another minute or two later and her creampied her, much to her delight. She kept bouncing on his dick while his semen shot out inside her, which made her orgasm, too. She kissed him while flexing her vaginal muscles, trying to make her pussy suck on his dick to keep it hard. It was successful, and she started moving her hips again. He joined in, as well, thrusting from below. He stopped playing with her breasts so he could grab her hips, but she quickly made him let go in favor of holding hands with their fingers interlocked. After another 45 minutes or so of riding him, they managed to cum together. With both of them satisfied, they laid down and cuddled.
The hero said, "That spell you used, 'Heretic', was it?"
Before he could say anything further, she interrupted, saying, "I'm a succubus, a race of 'non-human' or 'monster' known for their lasciviousness, perversion, and depravity. Of course I'm going to know a spell that makes tentacles wrap up the target. I don't use it very often because people usually get the wrong idea."
"...That's not what I was going to ask, but what do you mean?"
"Hmm? Well, I guess you wouldn't know, but in the Demon Realm, there's a forest of tentacles. Originally, they were supposed to capture and molest or rape females... I think they might have done that with males, too, but... Anyway, they were supposed to rape people. The current Demon Lord changed them to bind, squeeze, and crush people, if not tear them limb from limb. One thing on my to-do list is to change them back. Being violated by tentacles is, in my opinion, much better than being killed by them. To get to my point, there's some porn floating around in the world involving women being raped by those tentacles, and occasionally, women willingly giving themselves to the tentacles to be fucked by them. Whenever someone uses Heretic, most people usually get the wrong idea from the start, assuming the caster to be a pervert with sexual intentions. They are somewhat justified, too, because sometimes, succubi use it to violate each other during a fight, or the more dominant ones use it to make their men submit, and I've seen others use the spell for masturbation."
He shook his head. "So pretty much all other succubi are total perverts?"
She nodded. "I am, too, but I'm not as indiscriminate as to what goes in my pussy. As I've tried to make clear, I'm loyal to you and only you. If I can avoid it in the least, I won't even do it with another woman."
He hugged her. "I know. I greatly value your loyalty. If you weren't loyal, I probably wouldn't have fallen for you."
She patted his chest, then drew shapes with her fingers, feeling his muscles. "Thanks, dear."
They kissed one more time, then went to sleep.
Just like they did last time, Zeraine and Amarantha focused on the channeling of demonic energy during sex rather than enjoying their lovemaking. After an hour or so, Amarantha and Zeraine came together and she passed out with him still inside her. He held her in his arms and fell asleep, too.
Meanwhile, in the other room, the succubus happily and eagerly stripped naked, then dropped her disguise. She posed a few times, making sure the hero got a good view of her naughty bits. She smiled devilishly and seductively asked, "Well? You wanna jump my bones yet, or do I have to get things started?"
He got out of his armor and clothing, embarrassed that he had such a hard boner so soon, and said, "Before we begin, what about the thing earlier?"
She stopped trying to tempt him with erotic poses and asked, "What thing?"
"The thing about you teaching me those Fire, Ice, and Shock Trap spells. They're really handy, and I'd like to learn them. If I do, we won't need the scrolls anymore."
She thought for a second, then said, "Okay, you agreed to my request to try anal sex tonight, so after your first shot, which will hopefully be quickly followed by my first orgasm in this session, I'll teach you Fire Trap. I'm not sure if I can even cum from anal sex, so that's if I do. Otherwise, you'll have to make me cum with your fingers, tongue, cock, or some combination of the three. If, somehow, you make us cum together, I'll teach you both Fire Trap and Ice Trap. Of course, after that, we'll probably have to continue, so if you make me cum a second time, I'll teach you Ice Trap if you failed to make us cum together, or Shock Trap if you succeeded. If you make us cum together again on that round, then I'll teach you Holy Trap as soon as I learn it myself. Okay?"
He raised an eyebrow. "I have to 'pay' for these lessons with sex?"
She frowned, walked over to him, grabbed his wrist, dragged him to the bed, then threw him onto it. "I'd prefer you think of it as a reward for successfully pleasing your wife. Now, I'm not really sure what I should do to start this... I've already cleaned it, so there's no worries there, but thinking back about our first time..."
The hero remembered the pain she went through and cringed. "You don't trust yourself to do it, so you want me to, because you believe I'll be gentle enough for it to not hurt, right?"
She nodded. "If we go cowgirl, I might insert it too fast or something. ...I've got it! We'll do doggy style. ...One more thing; before you try to insert it, make sure to stick your fingers in and rub around."
He sat up and said, "What? You mean-"
She got on her hands and knees and said, "I mean, stick your fingers in my ass. If you finger my ass a bit, it should make it easier to put your dick in. Since you'd be doing something sexual to me, I'm sure my pussy will get wet, too, so after getting me wet and 'ready' by fingering my ass, be sure to rub your dick on my cunt lips so you can lubricate it with my love juice, okay?"
He nodded, then stood on his knees and hesitantly reached for her ass. He started by rubbing her nicely-shaped ass cheeks, kneading and squeezing them. He then took a deep breath and moved his hands, holding her cheeks apart with one while rubbing her anus with two fingers. "How is it so far?"
She said, "It feels a little strange, but it's good, too. You're doing a good job."
He thought, "I'm not sure I like this, but she really wants it... Doing such a thing; this is definitely abnormal. She's a pervert, that's for sure, but it seems I'm becoming one, too. Should I have refused?" He then sighed and slowly stuck one finger into her anus, making sure to go slow and be gentle. After sticking his finger all the way in, he felt her insides make a sucking motion. "It's sucking my finger. Are you doing that?"
She shook her head. "No. I'm not trying to do anything. My body's doing that on its own."
He began rubbing around inside her ass with his finger, causing her to twitch and moan a little. He scoffed and said, "You're enjoying this?"
She said, "So far, yes. It actually feels good. I think I'm ready for a second finger."
He nodded and stuck a second finger in, then started rubbing with both. "How's this?"
She moaned and shuddered. "It's weird, but I think I like it."
He looked at her vagina and saw that it was dripping. "You're dripping down here, so I guess I'm doing good, huh?"
She nodded. "Smear my juice all over your dick and get ready to stick it in."
He did so, making sure to flick her clit with the head of his dick as he rubbed against her lips. He then brought his penis up to her butt hole and pulled his fingers out, then spread both cheeks and started pushing. Due to fingering her ass for a while, he was able to slowly and carefully slide it in, which caused her to straighten her back, then arch it, then shudder uncontrollably. Upon seeing this, he worriedly asked, "Are you okay?"
She slowly nodded. "I've never felt anything like this before. It's really weird."
"Does it hurt? We can stop if it does..."
"No! It hurt a little bit, but don't you dare stop! I want this, and I'm not going to let you stop halfway. You will fuck my ass until you cum in it. I absolutely will not accept anything less! Now, start humping."
He did as she asked, listening to her grunts of pain and watching her shake and twitch. He started off slow and gradually sped up, never pushing it all the way in. As he slid in and out of her tight ass, he thought, "How often is this going to happen? Her tightness feels good, but she looks like she's in pain. Will there be other times that she'll want to experiment with something that could hurt?"
She winced, then meekly said, "Honey, please... Play with my tits. Do something to make this feel good."
He reached around her and grabbed her breasts, pulling her up so that she was standing on her knees as well. She leaned back against him, letting his penis slip farther into her ass. He said, "Damn it, if you knew it'd hurt this bad, why the hell did you suggest it!?"
She looked at him apologetically over her shoulder. "It doesn't hurt as bad as you're implying, but it does hurt. I guess we should have loosened my ass up more through repeated fingering sessions before trying this..."
"Then why?" he asked, glancing down at his dick, seeing a little blood. "You're bleeding! We should stop!"
She shook her head. "If you stop now, I'll kill you! We're going to see this through to the end, damn it! Rub my tits to give me some pleasure to counter the pain, but whatever you do, do NOT take your dick out of my ass until after you cum! I'll try to heal myself afterward, then we'll let it recover while I teach you Fire Trap. Then, you can bone the hell out of my pussy until I cum."
"Then what should I do?"
"Speed up. Hump harder. Don't worry, I can take it if you hurry."
He held her from behind tightly and sped up, causing her ass cheeks to jiggle with every thrust until her finally came. "There, I came in your ass. Can I take it out now?"
She reached behind her and put her hands on his hips. "Wait. Let it all squirt out."
He did as she asked, letting his orgasm run its course, letting his semen from this shot all come out. After he was sure that most of it was in her rectum, he pulled out and moved around in front of her. He saw that her eyes were a little watery, but he couldn't tell if it was from the pain or the sex. He said, "Look. My dick has your blood on it. Will you be okay?"
She threw her arms around his neck and hugged him. "I'll be fine. I just need to heal myself. Thanks for not stopping on me."
"What the hell are you thanking me for, idiot!?" he growled. "It hurt you and your butt is bleeding! I should have stopped. You should have told me it hurt so I could stop then! You damn fool, what were you thinking? That because you're a succubus you can do any sex act at any time? Your body may be more suited for sex, but you still have limits! Jumping into this like you did... You moron!"
She punched him in the gut. "Don't call me that! I told you before that I wanted to try every kind of sex there is with you, so wanting to do this should be no surprise! Sure, I may have gotten ahead of myself and did it too soon, but that's no reason to insult me like you just did! Take it back!"
He wrapped his arms around her, over hers, restraining her. "No, I won't. I'm genuinely concerned about your well-being, and here I follow you in this attempt to try something new, only to see your anus bleeding during the act, all the while hearing your pained grunts and groans. I don't want to hurt you, and the fact that I apparently just did upsets me, as you can plainly see. I will not recant my insults, period."
She glared at him, making a half-hearted effort to get out of his grip. "Fine. I won't be as nice with the upcoming sex, then."
"What?"
She jerked around, throwing herself down onto the bed, pulling him with her. He quickly rolled them over and mounted her, but she used Access to knock him off of both her and the bed. He stood up, obviously pissed off, and started to walk over to her. She grinned arrogantly and said, "Heretic."
Before he could figure out what she meant, tentacles came out of the floor and wrapped around his arms and legs, immobilizing him. He said, "That was the name of the spell, right? You weren't suggesting that I had betrayed my faith, were you?"
"Of course it's the name of the spell, stupid. Now, since you won't take back what you said, I'm going to have fun with you all I want. If you object too much, I'll gag you."
He pulled against the tentacles to no avail. "This isn't what a good wife would do to her husband!"
She smirked, "I'm punishing you."
"For what!?"
"For insulting me! You could have expressed your concern without calling me names, but no, you threw in the insults! Be a man and accept your punishment!"
He struggled some more, trying to see if there was some way to get out. "What about teaching me the trap spells?"
She paused, then got on her knees and began stroking his dick. "If you're obedient, I'll teach you one of them."
He hesitantly followed up, saying, "What if... What if I sincerely apologized?"
She looked up into his eyes. "Well, if you meant it, I'd probably release you and do it normally, with me in the lead of course. If after that you performed well enough, I might teach you two of them. I guess it'd be 'make me cum; one orgasm for each spell'."
He didn't swallow his pride, but he did start to regret using the words he did. "I'm sorry I called you those names, but please understand that I was and am still worried about you. I love you, and I don't like to see you hurt. When I saw the blood, I panicked. I-"
She interrupted him with a passionate kiss while she caressed his balls. Once she broke the kiss off, she pulled away and said, "I love you, too. I forgive you for saying that stuff, so..." She Dispelled the tentacles, releasing him, and cast a healing spell on herself. "Let's have our make-up sex now, okay?"
He nodded and they got back in bed. She used her magic to make sure his dick was clean, then they got into cowgirl position and she rode him for at least 30 minutes before he started trying to hold back. While rubbing and kneading her breasts, he said, "I'm close..."
She nodded. "Don't hold back. Cum inside me."
Another minute or two later and her creampied her, much to her delight. She kept bouncing on his dick while his semen shot out inside her, which made her orgasm, too. She kissed him while flexing her vaginal muscles, trying to make her pussy suck on his dick to keep it hard. It was successful, and she started moving her hips again. He joined in, as well, thrusting from below. He stopped playing with her breasts so he could grab her hips, but she quickly made him let go in favor of holding hands with their fingers interlocked. After another 45 minutes or so of riding him, they managed to cum together. With both of them satisfied, they laid down and cuddled.
The hero said, "That spell you used, 'Heretic', was it?"
Before he could say anything further, she interrupted, saying, "I'm a succubus, a race of 'non-human' or 'monster' known for their lasciviousness, perversion, and depravity. Of course I'm going to know a spell that makes tentacles wrap up the target. I don't use it very often because people usually get the wrong idea."
"...That's not what I was going to ask, but what do you mean?"
"Hmm? Well, I guess you wouldn't know, but in the Demon Realm, there's a forest of tentacles. Originally, they were supposed to capture and molest or rape females... I think they might have done that with males, too, but... Anyway, they were supposed to rape people. The current Demon Lord changed them to bind, squeeze, and crush people, if not tear them limb from limb. One thing on my to-do list is to change them back. Being violated by tentacles is, in my opinion, much better than being killed by them. To get to my point, there's some porn floating around in the world involving women being raped by those tentacles, and occasionally, women willingly giving themselves to the tentacles to be fucked by them. Whenever someone uses Heretic, most people usually get the wrong idea from the start, assuming the caster to be a pervert with sexual intentions. They are somewhat justified, too, because sometimes, succubi use it to violate each other during a fight, or the more dominant ones use it to make their men submit, and I've seen others use the spell for masturbation."
He shook his head. "So pretty much all other succubi are total perverts?"
She nodded. "I am, too, but I'm not as indiscriminate as to what goes in my pussy. As I've tried to make clear, I'm loyal to you and only you. If I can avoid it in the least, I won't even do it with another woman."
He hugged her. "I know. I greatly value your loyalty. If you weren't loyal, I probably wouldn't have fallen for you."
She patted his chest, then drew shapes with her fingers, feeling his muscles. "Thanks, dear."
They kissed one more time, then went to sleep.
Chapter 94
Spoiler: show
The next morning, Zeraine woke up and found that Amarantha was still laying on top of him, sleeping. He could hear her snoring faintly. He thought, "Man, trying to turn me into an incubus is tiring her out... She's cute when she's sleeping, though."
He didn't feel like getting up right away, let alone trying to slip out from underneath her to do so, so he just laid there with her for a while, enjoying the feel of her breasts squashed against his body.
...
The hero woke up and looked at the succubus, who appeared to still be sleeping. He hesitated for a second, then reached for her wing. His face reddened slightly as he felt of her wing and its leathery texture.
"Curious about my non-human parts? Why not my nether-regions?"
His face went completely red. "You were pretending to be asleep!"
She exploded into motion, mounting him before he could blink. "That's right."
She leaned down a little and smiled, trying to look him in the eye. He turned his head in embarrassment and asked, "Will you let me up?"
She grinned mischievously. "No. Not yet, anyway. After all, I caught you red-handed, and red-faced, touching me while you thought I was asleep. I'm not letting you get away just yet." She sat up, still sitting on his belly, then crossed her arms, making sure that her breasts were erotically emphasized by the pose, and said, "Let's see... So far, you've fiddled with my horns and my wings... I demand that you 'complete' it by playing with my tail."
"..."
She turned around, changing to a sort of reverse cowgirl position, without her actually being impaled on him, and shook her butt and tail. "Come on, feel it."
He grabbed her tail, which caused her to let out a small gasp. He raised his eyebrow and rubbed her tail a little, getting closer to the base with each stroke. He noticed that she was moaning in pleasure as he did so, her moans getting louder as he approached the base of her tail. He suddenly stopped and let go.
She quickly looked over his shoulder and pleadingly said, "Why'd you stop? Do it more!"
He shook his head and put his arms around her, then pulled her down on top of him and rolled onto his side, laying her down next to him. Her tail tried to wrap around his thigh in anticipation, but he got up, leaving her disappointed. "We have to get dressed and get moving. We need stuff to wear to keep us warm in the mountains, plus we need to make sure our weapons and armor are in good shape after that bit in the ruins. We also need to restock on our food, and probably a few other things."
She sat up, obviously a little peeved. "I know, but you finally made a move."
His face red, he said, "I was curious, okay?"
She got up and spread her wings, stretching. "Would you have fondled my tail like that before all of this?"
"All of wha- oh..." he said, realizing she was talking about the demonic energy and his transformation into an incubus. "Had you asked, maybe..."
She leaned in with her hand up to her ear, cupped behind it. "What?"
He turned away. "Never mind! Get dressed."
The two of them got dressed. She made sure that, after she got dressed, she sensually pressed her body against his while helping him put his armor on. He noticed what she was up to and said, "Stop it, okay? We don't have time for more sex. Besides, isn't it a bit strange?"
"What is?"
"This. Last night, we had that little fight, then we made up, and now, this morning, you're back to your sex-themed stuff, trying to tease me, seduce me, or both."
She patted him on the back. "Couples have fights and make up. That's not strange at all. And me trying to playfully tempt you this morning? Don't I usually do that? What's so wrong about it?"
He shook his head. "I guess I'm worried about the transformation now, after seeing how I've changed so far, and I'm..."
She hugged him. "Don't worry about it. You'll be fine, I know it."
He suddenly got serious and asked, "When were you going to teach me the Trap spells?"
She paused for a moment with a blank look on her face, then facepalmed. "Damn it! I missed out on a perfectly good opportunity for another 'naked magic lesson'!"
In a deadpan tone, he said, "We don't have to be naked when you teach me."
She said, "I know, but I liked it. Anyway, I guess I'll teach you all three, since you're such a good man."
"Huh?"
She went ahead and taught him Fire Trap, Ice Trap, and Shock Trap. After the lessons, she said, "As always, I'd like for you to show me you can do it, but we should wait until we're outside, obviously. ...Oh, by the way, guess what?"
"What?"
She grinned pervertedly. "You know that spell, Megadeath, that Matilda taught me? I can't use it yet, but I'm sure that after you fuck me another dozen or so times, I'll be able to. If you want me to be able to use such a powerful spell, you have better start using your dick on me more." She giggled.
He sighed and hung his head. "Must I abandon my decency to save the world?"
She said, "Well, the more we fuck, the more powerful I get, and I'm sure you're getting so too, so, yeah. If you want it to be as easy as possible, we need to have lots of sex. Otherwise, we can try to do it the hard and stupid way."
Without another word, she assumed her disguise and they left the room.
...
Amarantha eventually woke up, finding Zeraine under her, holding her lovingly. She groggily stirred, got him to let go, and rolled off of him. She sat up and yawned. "Mmm... I'm still tired."
He asked, "Are you alright, Ammie? Whenever we do it, it wears you out. Should we take a break from it for a while?"
She shook her head. "With enough food and sleep, I'm sure I can handle it." She got up, cleaned them both off, and got dressed, helping him with his armor. Once they were ready, they left the room.
...
Out in the hallway, the two couples met. Amarantha yawned and said, "Good morning, guys."
The hero saw how tired she looked and asked, "You okay?"
She nodded, then the succubus took a close look at her. She said, "You tried to give Zeraine too much of your energy last night. Take it easy today and you should be fine."
Amarantha nodded again and the group left the inn. They looked in the various shops for things they needed, successfully finding cold weather clothing and insulated boots for the hero and the succubus. After that, they visited the blacksmith and made sure their weapons were in top condition. Once that was done, the four of them decided to look for work. Extra money was always good to have, after all. They returned to the inn and looked on the notice board, finding flyers about various shops and upcoming events. They also found one that said,
The man nodded. "Yes, I am. Are you here about the notice?"
The succubus said, "Yeah. Tell us, why do you need help gathering honey?"
Mark replied, "Because it's from hornets. The giant kind."
The succubus nodded in understanding. "Giant hornet honey is good. I've had it before. You're hiring us to help you deal with the hornets so you can collect the honey, right?"
Mark nodded. "Those bugs are dangerous. Last time I tried, I nearly got run through by one's stinger. If you four can distract them, I can get enough honey to last me a while, and I'll definitely make it worth your while. Deal?"
The hero shrugged and looked at the others. "Sure, why not?"
The five of them went out of the town and into the forest, following Mark. The succubus said, "Mark, we'll distract the hornets, trying not to kill too many of them, though if we have to kill them all, we will. Make sure to wait until we draw them away from their nest. Zeraine, be sure to use Shield. Amarantha, do you know Shield, too?"
She nodded. "Of course I do. Any traveling adventurer worth his or her weight in pyrite does. Why?"
The succubus said, "Then make sure you use it. I will, too." She turned to the hero and said, "Honey, be sure to use Quen."
The hero nodded. "Can't take any chances."
She continued, "And forget about trying to try out the Trap spells. Unless you knock a hornet out of the air and onto one, it won't go off."
"The enemy has to step on it?"
"Yes."
After about 10 minutes of walking, they heard the buzzing of the hornets' wings.
He didn't feel like getting up right away, let alone trying to slip out from underneath her to do so, so he just laid there with her for a while, enjoying the feel of her breasts squashed against his body.
...
The hero woke up and looked at the succubus, who appeared to still be sleeping. He hesitated for a second, then reached for her wing. His face reddened slightly as he felt of her wing and its leathery texture.
"Curious about my non-human parts? Why not my nether-regions?"
His face went completely red. "You were pretending to be asleep!"
She exploded into motion, mounting him before he could blink. "That's right."
She leaned down a little and smiled, trying to look him in the eye. He turned his head in embarrassment and asked, "Will you let me up?"
She grinned mischievously. "No. Not yet, anyway. After all, I caught you red-handed, and red-faced, touching me while you thought I was asleep. I'm not letting you get away just yet." She sat up, still sitting on his belly, then crossed her arms, making sure that her breasts were erotically emphasized by the pose, and said, "Let's see... So far, you've fiddled with my horns and my wings... I demand that you 'complete' it by playing with my tail."
"..."
She turned around, changing to a sort of reverse cowgirl position, without her actually being impaled on him, and shook her butt and tail. "Come on, feel it."
He grabbed her tail, which caused her to let out a small gasp. He raised his eyebrow and rubbed her tail a little, getting closer to the base with each stroke. He noticed that she was moaning in pleasure as he did so, her moans getting louder as he approached the base of her tail. He suddenly stopped and let go.
She quickly looked over his shoulder and pleadingly said, "Why'd you stop? Do it more!"
He shook his head and put his arms around her, then pulled her down on top of him and rolled onto his side, laying her down next to him. Her tail tried to wrap around his thigh in anticipation, but he got up, leaving her disappointed. "We have to get dressed and get moving. We need stuff to wear to keep us warm in the mountains, plus we need to make sure our weapons and armor are in good shape after that bit in the ruins. We also need to restock on our food, and probably a few other things."
She sat up, obviously a little peeved. "I know, but you finally made a move."
His face red, he said, "I was curious, okay?"
She got up and spread her wings, stretching. "Would you have fondled my tail like that before all of this?"
"All of wha- oh..." he said, realizing she was talking about the demonic energy and his transformation into an incubus. "Had you asked, maybe..."
She leaned in with her hand up to her ear, cupped behind it. "What?"
He turned away. "Never mind! Get dressed."
The two of them got dressed. She made sure that, after she got dressed, she sensually pressed her body against his while helping him put his armor on. He noticed what she was up to and said, "Stop it, okay? We don't have time for more sex. Besides, isn't it a bit strange?"
"What is?"
"This. Last night, we had that little fight, then we made up, and now, this morning, you're back to your sex-themed stuff, trying to tease me, seduce me, or both."
She patted him on the back. "Couples have fights and make up. That's not strange at all. And me trying to playfully tempt you this morning? Don't I usually do that? What's so wrong about it?"
He shook his head. "I guess I'm worried about the transformation now, after seeing how I've changed so far, and I'm..."
She hugged him. "Don't worry about it. You'll be fine, I know it."
He suddenly got serious and asked, "When were you going to teach me the Trap spells?"
She paused for a moment with a blank look on her face, then facepalmed. "Damn it! I missed out on a perfectly good opportunity for another 'naked magic lesson'!"
In a deadpan tone, he said, "We don't have to be naked when you teach me."
She said, "I know, but I liked it. Anyway, I guess I'll teach you all three, since you're such a good man."
"Huh?"
She went ahead and taught him Fire Trap, Ice Trap, and Shock Trap. After the lessons, she said, "As always, I'd like for you to show me you can do it, but we should wait until we're outside, obviously. ...Oh, by the way, guess what?"
"What?"
She grinned pervertedly. "You know that spell, Megadeath, that Matilda taught me? I can't use it yet, but I'm sure that after you fuck me another dozen or so times, I'll be able to. If you want me to be able to use such a powerful spell, you have better start using your dick on me more." She giggled.
He sighed and hung his head. "Must I abandon my decency to save the world?"
She said, "Well, the more we fuck, the more powerful I get, and I'm sure you're getting so too, so, yeah. If you want it to be as easy as possible, we need to have lots of sex. Otherwise, we can try to do it the hard and stupid way."
Without another word, she assumed her disguise and they left the room.
...
Amarantha eventually woke up, finding Zeraine under her, holding her lovingly. She groggily stirred, got him to let go, and rolled off of him. She sat up and yawned. "Mmm... I'm still tired."
He asked, "Are you alright, Ammie? Whenever we do it, it wears you out. Should we take a break from it for a while?"
She shook her head. "With enough food and sleep, I'm sure I can handle it." She got up, cleaned them both off, and got dressed, helping him with his armor. Once they were ready, they left the room.
...
Out in the hallway, the two couples met. Amarantha yawned and said, "Good morning, guys."
The hero saw how tired she looked and asked, "You okay?"
She nodded, then the succubus took a close look at her. She said, "You tried to give Zeraine too much of your energy last night. Take it easy today and you should be fine."
Amarantha nodded again and the group left the inn. They looked in the various shops for things they needed, successfully finding cold weather clothing and insulated boots for the hero and the succubus. After that, they visited the blacksmith and made sure their weapons were in top condition. Once that was done, the four of them decided to look for work. Extra money was always good to have, after all. They returned to the inn and looked on the notice board, finding flyers about various shops and upcoming events. They also found one that said,
- URGENT!
Help needed for gathering honey
Speak to Mark
The man nodded. "Yes, I am. Are you here about the notice?"
The succubus said, "Yeah. Tell us, why do you need help gathering honey?"
Mark replied, "Because it's from hornets. The giant kind."
The succubus nodded in understanding. "Giant hornet honey is good. I've had it before. You're hiring us to help you deal with the hornets so you can collect the honey, right?"
Mark nodded. "Those bugs are dangerous. Last time I tried, I nearly got run through by one's stinger. If you four can distract them, I can get enough honey to last me a while, and I'll definitely make it worth your while. Deal?"
The hero shrugged and looked at the others. "Sure, why not?"
The five of them went out of the town and into the forest, following Mark. The succubus said, "Mark, we'll distract the hornets, trying not to kill too many of them, though if we have to kill them all, we will. Make sure to wait until we draw them away from their nest. Zeraine, be sure to use Shield. Amarantha, do you know Shield, too?"
She nodded. "Of course I do. Any traveling adventurer worth his or her weight in pyrite does. Why?"
The succubus said, "Then make sure you use it. I will, too." She turned to the hero and said, "Honey, be sure to use Quen."
The hero nodded. "Can't take any chances."
She continued, "And forget about trying to try out the Trap spells. Unless you knock a hornet out of the air and onto one, it won't go off."
"The enemy has to step on it?"
"Yes."
After about 10 minutes of walking, they heard the buzzing of the hornets' wings.
Chapter 95
Spoiler: show
Before they went a step farther, they got their weapons ready. The hero looked at Mark, who had no weapons or armor, then at Amarantha, who by the succubus's order was to take it easy for today. "Amarantha, stay here and guard Mark. If we can't draw them all away, or if they somehow find and come after him, you'll need to defend him. Otherwise, you'll be staying out of the action."
Amarantha looked surprised. "What? Why?"
Zeraine said, "Ammie, our mage said for you to take it easy. I agree with the kid; stay here and protect our client. Since you're supposed to be resting, you should take the role that will see the least amount of fighting."
She frowned. "Fine. Zeraine, give me your great sword."
"Not my spear this time?" he asked, a little surprised.
"You were planning on using your spear for this, right? Lend me your great sword. It'll help me avoid the stingers while fighting back, should it come to that."
He reached into his Bag of Holding and took out both his great sword and his spear, then handed the great sword to her. "Don't break it," he said, grinning.
Amarantha put one hand on her hip and cocked her head to the side, frowning at him. "Oh, please..."
Mark had a look on his face that told what was on his mind. He was obviously thinking, "A girl like her using such a large weapon? Preposterous! I bet she can barely-" His expression changed to one of part-amazement, part-terror when he saw her swing it a couple of times with one hand, seemingly effortlessly. He stood there with his jaw wide open, it having bounced off his chest. He was also wide-eyed and pointing, making unintelligible sounds.
Zeraine saw this and smirked. "My woman is strong. Stronger than me, to be honest."
Mark managed to regain enough of his wits to ask, "How can you be with a woman that's that strong!? Speaking of which, how is she that strong? She should have muscles like an ogre to justify what she just did!"
Quickly stepping in to help, the succubus said, "You don't have to have ridiculously huge muscles to have strength like she does. Sure, her strength is monstrous, but it's actually not as weird as you make it out to be."
Amarantha forced a smile. "Gee, everyone always seems to think I'm a freak for being so strong with this body. How nice to have your support, princess." She was obviously angry, and part of it was the succubus's use of the word "monstrous", which had a small but existent possibility of giving her away.
Zeraine hugged her while patting her on the back. "I don't think she meant to insult you."
As he pointed at the succubus, Mark asked, "'Princess'?"
The hero quickly replied, "She acts like one a lot. It's her nickname."
The succubus took a deep breath. "Okay, are we ready? The three of us will run in and get their attention, then try to draw them off, away from the nest. During that time, Amarantha will protect Mark as he gets the honey. Then, he'll yell as loud as he can that he has it, which will hopefully reach our ears over the buzzing of the hornets' wings. After that, he'll run out of the forest, with Amarantha guarding him the whole way. We'll follow shortly, after getting the bugs off our backs. Sound good?"
Everyone nodded. She added, "I guess I'll use Fire Spray to get their attention. While they're around and close to the nest, do NOT use Igni, Explosion, or anything else with any sort of force to it, okay? We don't want to damage the nest."
The hero asked, "And Fire Spray is alright because it's so weak?"
She nodded.
The hero, the succubus, and Zeraine all put on the final touches of preparation. The hero cast Quen, and the others cast Shield. Amarantha didn't bother, since she figured she was unlikely to be attacked, but she could cast it if she needed to. She waited with Mark as the others ran in.
Once they were close enough, the succubus threw a single shot of Fire Spray, which immediately got the attention of the one it hit, which then alerted the others. Gradually, the whole swarm gathered and focused their attention on the three. Because they were too close, they couldn't effectively fight the hornets, so they turned and ran, leading them away from the nest. The trees forced the swarm to separate a bit, with groups of them following each person. Once he found an opportunity, the hero cast Explosion, wiping out a large group of hornets. The succubus attacked with Intelipeli, killing several hornets with the barrage of fireballs. Zeraine killed a few with a well-placed Fireball of his own.
...
Meanwhile, back at the nest, now that the hornets were gone, Amarantha managed to take a good look at the nest. The entire thing was at least twice as big as she was when in her dragon form. She rested Zeraine's great sword on her shoulder while waiting for Mark to gather the honey. As he did, he commented, "You know, giant hornets are said to make honey that's better than that of regular honeybees. I finally get to see if it's true!" He scooped it out of the various cells and into jars he had brought in his pack. After a few minutes, he had filled them all. He got ready to leave, then cupped his hands over his mouth and yelled, "I'm done, let's go!"
...
Unfortunately, the very loud buzzing of the hornets' wings drowned out all other sounds. None of them heard Mark's announcement. They couldn't have broken off, anyway, for they were busy trying to not get surrounded. They quickly burned through as much of their magic energy as they could without passing out. The hero kept using Explosion, the succubus alternated between Damned and Intelipeli as the situation warranted, and Zeraine repeatedly used Tankad, shooting down the hornets with the ice projectiles.
In between castings, the succubus shouted, "You think they're done yet?"
Zeraine answered, "I don't know. Should we try to get away?"
The hero yelled, "I don't think they'll let us! Let's thin the swarm some more before we think about trying to leave!" He then proceeded to use projectile version Igni to set several ablaze, blocked a stinger thrust with his shield, and countered with a slash that split that particular hornet's head in half, as well as most of its body.
Zeraine used his spear to thrust into the heads of several hornets while dodging their stings. He also tried to jump around and away from them to keep from being surrounded. His efforts met with marginal success and he managed to avoid direct hits. The Shield spell he cast earlier took much of the force out of the stings, and since they were glancing blows, they were harmlessly deflected by his plate mail.
The succubus quickly took a Mana Potion out of her satchel and chugged it, tossing the empty vial aside and resuming her spell-slinging. Due to her nearly unrelenting barrage of fireballs from Intelipeli, none of the hornets managed to get close to her.
The hero timed his use of Igni and Aard so that he wouldn't tire himself from casting too many Signs in a row. Aard succeeded on every hit at knocking the hornets out of the air, and Igni burned them to death quite nicely. The hero's Quen ran out, its duration having run out. He quickly cast it again, and it was up just in time to stop a stinger from stabbing through him. Quen absorbed the hit and he came out fine, but he had to behead the hornet before it could try again.
As the swarm slowly dwindled, the succubus started flinging some of her Intelipeli's fireballs at the hornets that were still chasing the hero and Zeraine, sending support in that order.
...
Mark and Amarantha had already run out of the forest and were waiting for the others. When they hadn't shown up after several more minutes, Amarantha frowned with a worried expression. She looked around uncomfortably, then said, "Mark, go home. I'm going back into the forest to find out why they're not back yet. When I return with them, we'll go to your house to get our payment, okay?"
He nodded. "I'll have it ready."
The two went in opposite directions, Mark walking to his house, and Amarantha running at inhumanly high speed back to the nest. Once there, she rushed off in the direction the others had went earlier. On the way, she encountered a few hornets, which she easily dispatched with Zeraine's great sword. As she killed the hornets and ran in the direction she thought the others went, she mumbled, "I can handle this much, you know..."
She arrived to see the others running away from a much smaller swarm of hornets, the dead ones littering the ground. She shouted, "Hey! He's been done for a while! Let's go!"
Zeraine dodged yet another stinger, retaliating by swinging his spear, cracking the hornet's head open. He looked over and said, "Ammie?"
The succubus saw her, too, and shouted, "We're done here, let's go!"
Zeraine and the hero repeatedly used Aard to knock the remaining hornets out of the air and keep them on the ground. The party quickly left, running out of the forest as fast as their legs would carry them. The battered hornets managed to get back up, but the party was long gone by that time. The hornets returned to their nest and went back to their mindless routine.
...
Once out of the forest, the party stopped to catch their breath. Amarantha handed the great sword back to Zeraine, who put it and his spear back in his Bag of Holding. The hero and the succubus leaned against a signpost, and Zeraine nearly fell over, but Amarantha caught him. He asked, "Everything went fine?"
She nodded. "We waited for several minutes, but you guys didn't show up. You didn't hear him, did you?"
He shook his head. "With that many giant hornets, the only thing we could hear was buzzing. More importantly, you were told to take it easy. Was it a good idea to run around like you did?"
She scoffed. "That much was fine. Stop worrying."
The succubus stopped panting long enough to say, "When I'm Demon Lord, one of the things I'll do is make giant honeybees. They'll be much less aggressive than giant hornets by a long shot, and their honey will be better."
The hero said, "Good idea. If it makes it any easier for people like us who have to protect the people who try to gather it, then I'm all for it. Why would he want giant hornet honey, anyway?"
The succubus said, "Because it's better than honey from regular bees."
"It is?"
"Yes. I've had it before."
Once they had rested, they went to Mark's house and received their payment. After they pocketed the gold, Mark presented a plate with four slices of bread, a thick coating of what was obviously giant hornet honey on each. "Taste the fruits of your labor, brave mercenaries."
They each ate one piece of the bread. The hero said, "This is pretty good."
Zeraine glanced at the succubus and commented, "Damn, you were right. This is better than regular honey."
Amarantha said, "Tasty. Definitely worth it."
The succubus smiled. "As good as I remember..."
Once they were done eating, they left. Once back near the center of town, the hero said, "Well, I don't know about you guys, but after that little job, I don't exactly feel like trying to leave and continue our journey today. How about you guys?"
Amarantha said, "Well, it's 'doctor's orders' that I rest today, so continuing would amount to taking unnecessary risk due to not resting before leaving."
Zeraine said, "Man, I'm beat after that."
The succubus said, "I'm not in any shape to be traveling right now."
The hero smirked. "Then we'll rest for the rest of today. Everyone has free time until tomorrow morning. Take it easy, have fun, get a good night's sleep, and we'll leave tomorrow morning."
Zeraine and Amarantha went off to the local tavern together, leaving the hero and the succubus alone together. The hero asked, "Well, uh, now that we're alone, are you okay?"
The succubus said, "I'm fine. None of the hornets even got close."
He shook his head. "I mean is your butt okay?"
She smiled, trying not to laugh. "Oh. Yeah. The healing spell and the sleep last night was all I needed for that."
He sighed with relief. "Good. Still, I think we shouldn't do it again."
She looked a bit offended. "Why not? Didn't it feel good?"
He looked around uncomfortably and said, "Well, yeah, it did, but... You bled. You said it hurt."
She scoffed. "That's just because it was my first time there. ...Tell you what, I'll refrain from trying it again until I'm sure I can take you, okay?"
He shrugged. "After that, I'd rather not do it at all."
She said, "Well, too bad. We'll eventually do it again, and next time, it'll definitely feel good for both of us."
He shook his head. "Whatever. What do you plan to do?"
She said, "I'm thinking about seeing if they have books on magic here. If they do, I'll try to learn Holy Trap, if such a book exists here. You're welcome to join me, unless there's something else you'd rather do."
He said, "Well, I don't think there'd be anything of interest to me, so I guess I'll go rent our rooms for tonight and find a place to eat at for lunch and dinner."
She saw him off, then went to see if there was a library in town. Unfortunately, there wasn't, so she looked in the various shops for books on magic, but found nothing she didn't already know. She shrugged it off, then went to the park. Once there, she took out her crystal and connected with Sol. He answered, "Hey, guys! What have you been up to?"
The succubus said, "Actually, it's just me right now. Everyone else is taking some R&R around town."
"Oh. So then, what brings you to talk to me by yourself?"
She said, "I wanted to talk to Victoria and Hilda. Privately, if possible."
"Sure, I guess. Hang on..."
Several seconds later, Victoria asked, "What do you need?"
She asked, "Is Hilda there, too?"
Hilda answered, "Yep."
The succubus cleared her throat and said, "I've got a question for you two. Sol told us last time or whenever that on his birthday, he boned both of you all day and all night. He said he did both of you so much that your vaginas and anuses were too sore to continue or do it again or whatever. Did the anal sex feel good for you two?"
Victoria was too embarrassed to answer, so Hilda did it for her, saying, "Yeah, it did. Almost as good as it did when he did us in our pussies. Why?"
The succubus said, "Well, I tried anal sex last night with my man, and not only did it hurt a fair amount, but I also bled a bit. He doesn't want to do it again after that, but once I've found out how to make it feel good for both of us without any bleeding on my part, I'd like to try it again. Do you two have any advice?"
Hilda said, "Whoa, hold on, it hurt and you were bleeding? What, did you just have him stick it in right away or something?"
"No. I had him finger me in the ass, then coat his dick with my vaginal juices."
"I'm guessing it was your first time taking something of that size in there, wasn't it?"
"It was my first time having anything put in there. The first thing to ever penetrate my ass was his right index finger, then after some moving, he added his middle finger. After that, he took them out and replaced them with his dick."
Hilda sighed. "Well, that would be where your problem is. You see, even though you're a succubus, I highly doubt you can a man's dick up your ass without any prior 'experience'."
"Then how did you two manage?"
"Heh, simple! On the day Sol received that special privilege thing from the count, Vicky and I began practicing anal masturbation. By the time Sol's birthday rolled around, the two of us were totally ready to take him in our pussies and up our asses."
The succubus grumbled, mildly angry. She realized that because she hadn't done anything to her own ass, and the only time anything had ever been inserted was when the hero put his fingers in right before inserting his penis, it was quite obvious that it wouldn't work out. "Damn..."
"What?"
"It's obvious why it didn't go as well as I had hoped. My husband's fingers were the first things to ever enter my ass. Shortly after that was his cock. My hole wasn't ready. I guess it's obvious what I have to do, now."
"Start fingering yourself in the ass, anally masturbating whenever you can?"
"No. I'll get him to finger me in the ass when we fuck at night. If he won't, I'll do it myself."
"That'd work, too, I guess."
The succubus was grinning happily, confident that she'd be able to get the hero to agree to try again, and that it'd feel good for both of them when they did.
Victoria cleared her throat. "Do you need anything else, or was this very absurd counseling session it?"
The succubus asked, "What do you mean? How is it absurd?"
Victoria huffed. "Well, you're older than us, for one thing. For another, you're a succubus. I am a Lizardman, and Hilda is a salamander. You are supposed to be the expert on masturbation, sex, and all related things, not us. You seeking sexual advice from us is weird. We apparently were able to help, so I'm glad about that, but it doesn't change the strangeness of the concept of a succubus asking for sex-related advice from non-succubi that are younger than her."
"I see. Well, thanks, I guess. I think that's everything."
Victoria asked, "How are you for potions and scrolls?"
"We're good on scrolls, I think. We still have all 15 Cure Disease and Healing, and my husband still has the Sanctuary scroll. We're down to 13 Rest, 11 Fire Trap, 11 Ice Trap, 12 Shock Trap, and 8 Holy Trap. As for potions, he still has that special Regeneration one, and we have 8 Rest, all 10 Cure Disease, 9 Healing, and 6 Mana."
"Personally, I'd suggest buying a few more Mana Potions, if you have the money."
"We might do that once we arrive at Stormforge. For now, I think we can handle things with what we have. I guess we'll talk to you again then."
Victoria said, "Alright then. Goodbye."
Hilda said, "Bye!"
The succubus said, "Goodbye." She then broke off the connection, put away the crystal, and went to find the hero.
Amarantha looked surprised. "What? Why?"
Zeraine said, "Ammie, our mage said for you to take it easy. I agree with the kid; stay here and protect our client. Since you're supposed to be resting, you should take the role that will see the least amount of fighting."
She frowned. "Fine. Zeraine, give me your great sword."
"Not my spear this time?" he asked, a little surprised.
"You were planning on using your spear for this, right? Lend me your great sword. It'll help me avoid the stingers while fighting back, should it come to that."
He reached into his Bag of Holding and took out both his great sword and his spear, then handed the great sword to her. "Don't break it," he said, grinning.
Amarantha put one hand on her hip and cocked her head to the side, frowning at him. "Oh, please..."
Mark had a look on his face that told what was on his mind. He was obviously thinking, "A girl like her using such a large weapon? Preposterous! I bet she can barely-" His expression changed to one of part-amazement, part-terror when he saw her swing it a couple of times with one hand, seemingly effortlessly. He stood there with his jaw wide open, it having bounced off his chest. He was also wide-eyed and pointing, making unintelligible sounds.
Zeraine saw this and smirked. "My woman is strong. Stronger than me, to be honest."
Mark managed to regain enough of his wits to ask, "How can you be with a woman that's that strong!? Speaking of which, how is she that strong? She should have muscles like an ogre to justify what she just did!"
Quickly stepping in to help, the succubus said, "You don't have to have ridiculously huge muscles to have strength like she does. Sure, her strength is monstrous, but it's actually not as weird as you make it out to be."
Amarantha forced a smile. "Gee, everyone always seems to think I'm a freak for being so strong with this body. How nice to have your support, princess." She was obviously angry, and part of it was the succubus's use of the word "monstrous", which had a small but existent possibility of giving her away.
Zeraine hugged her while patting her on the back. "I don't think she meant to insult you."
As he pointed at the succubus, Mark asked, "'Princess'?"
The hero quickly replied, "She acts like one a lot. It's her nickname."
The succubus took a deep breath. "Okay, are we ready? The three of us will run in and get their attention, then try to draw them off, away from the nest. During that time, Amarantha will protect Mark as he gets the honey. Then, he'll yell as loud as he can that he has it, which will hopefully reach our ears over the buzzing of the hornets' wings. After that, he'll run out of the forest, with Amarantha guarding him the whole way. We'll follow shortly, after getting the bugs off our backs. Sound good?"
Everyone nodded. She added, "I guess I'll use Fire Spray to get their attention. While they're around and close to the nest, do NOT use Igni, Explosion, or anything else with any sort of force to it, okay? We don't want to damage the nest."
The hero asked, "And Fire Spray is alright because it's so weak?"
She nodded.
The hero, the succubus, and Zeraine all put on the final touches of preparation. The hero cast Quen, and the others cast Shield. Amarantha didn't bother, since she figured she was unlikely to be attacked, but she could cast it if she needed to. She waited with Mark as the others ran in.
Once they were close enough, the succubus threw a single shot of Fire Spray, which immediately got the attention of the one it hit, which then alerted the others. Gradually, the whole swarm gathered and focused their attention on the three. Because they were too close, they couldn't effectively fight the hornets, so they turned and ran, leading them away from the nest. The trees forced the swarm to separate a bit, with groups of them following each person. Once he found an opportunity, the hero cast Explosion, wiping out a large group of hornets. The succubus attacked with Intelipeli, killing several hornets with the barrage of fireballs. Zeraine killed a few with a well-placed Fireball of his own.
...
Meanwhile, back at the nest, now that the hornets were gone, Amarantha managed to take a good look at the nest. The entire thing was at least twice as big as she was when in her dragon form. She rested Zeraine's great sword on her shoulder while waiting for Mark to gather the honey. As he did, he commented, "You know, giant hornets are said to make honey that's better than that of regular honeybees. I finally get to see if it's true!" He scooped it out of the various cells and into jars he had brought in his pack. After a few minutes, he had filled them all. He got ready to leave, then cupped his hands over his mouth and yelled, "I'm done, let's go!"
...
Unfortunately, the very loud buzzing of the hornets' wings drowned out all other sounds. None of them heard Mark's announcement. They couldn't have broken off, anyway, for they were busy trying to not get surrounded. They quickly burned through as much of their magic energy as they could without passing out. The hero kept using Explosion, the succubus alternated between Damned and Intelipeli as the situation warranted, and Zeraine repeatedly used Tankad, shooting down the hornets with the ice projectiles.
In between castings, the succubus shouted, "You think they're done yet?"
Zeraine answered, "I don't know. Should we try to get away?"
The hero yelled, "I don't think they'll let us! Let's thin the swarm some more before we think about trying to leave!" He then proceeded to use projectile version Igni to set several ablaze, blocked a stinger thrust with his shield, and countered with a slash that split that particular hornet's head in half, as well as most of its body.
Zeraine used his spear to thrust into the heads of several hornets while dodging their stings. He also tried to jump around and away from them to keep from being surrounded. His efforts met with marginal success and he managed to avoid direct hits. The Shield spell he cast earlier took much of the force out of the stings, and since they were glancing blows, they were harmlessly deflected by his plate mail.
The succubus quickly took a Mana Potion out of her satchel and chugged it, tossing the empty vial aside and resuming her spell-slinging. Due to her nearly unrelenting barrage of fireballs from Intelipeli, none of the hornets managed to get close to her.
The hero timed his use of Igni and Aard so that he wouldn't tire himself from casting too many Signs in a row. Aard succeeded on every hit at knocking the hornets out of the air, and Igni burned them to death quite nicely. The hero's Quen ran out, its duration having run out. He quickly cast it again, and it was up just in time to stop a stinger from stabbing through him. Quen absorbed the hit and he came out fine, but he had to behead the hornet before it could try again.
As the swarm slowly dwindled, the succubus started flinging some of her Intelipeli's fireballs at the hornets that were still chasing the hero and Zeraine, sending support in that order.
...
Mark and Amarantha had already run out of the forest and were waiting for the others. When they hadn't shown up after several more minutes, Amarantha frowned with a worried expression. She looked around uncomfortably, then said, "Mark, go home. I'm going back into the forest to find out why they're not back yet. When I return with them, we'll go to your house to get our payment, okay?"
He nodded. "I'll have it ready."
The two went in opposite directions, Mark walking to his house, and Amarantha running at inhumanly high speed back to the nest. Once there, she rushed off in the direction the others had went earlier. On the way, she encountered a few hornets, which she easily dispatched with Zeraine's great sword. As she killed the hornets and ran in the direction she thought the others went, she mumbled, "I can handle this much, you know..."
She arrived to see the others running away from a much smaller swarm of hornets, the dead ones littering the ground. She shouted, "Hey! He's been done for a while! Let's go!"
Zeraine dodged yet another stinger, retaliating by swinging his spear, cracking the hornet's head open. He looked over and said, "Ammie?"
The succubus saw her, too, and shouted, "We're done here, let's go!"
Zeraine and the hero repeatedly used Aard to knock the remaining hornets out of the air and keep them on the ground. The party quickly left, running out of the forest as fast as their legs would carry them. The battered hornets managed to get back up, but the party was long gone by that time. The hornets returned to their nest and went back to their mindless routine.
...
Once out of the forest, the party stopped to catch their breath. Amarantha handed the great sword back to Zeraine, who put it and his spear back in his Bag of Holding. The hero and the succubus leaned against a signpost, and Zeraine nearly fell over, but Amarantha caught him. He asked, "Everything went fine?"
She nodded. "We waited for several minutes, but you guys didn't show up. You didn't hear him, did you?"
He shook his head. "With that many giant hornets, the only thing we could hear was buzzing. More importantly, you were told to take it easy. Was it a good idea to run around like you did?"
She scoffed. "That much was fine. Stop worrying."
The succubus stopped panting long enough to say, "When I'm Demon Lord, one of the things I'll do is make giant honeybees. They'll be much less aggressive than giant hornets by a long shot, and their honey will be better."
The hero said, "Good idea. If it makes it any easier for people like us who have to protect the people who try to gather it, then I'm all for it. Why would he want giant hornet honey, anyway?"
The succubus said, "Because it's better than honey from regular bees."
"It is?"
"Yes. I've had it before."
Once they had rested, they went to Mark's house and received their payment. After they pocketed the gold, Mark presented a plate with four slices of bread, a thick coating of what was obviously giant hornet honey on each. "Taste the fruits of your labor, brave mercenaries."
They each ate one piece of the bread. The hero said, "This is pretty good."
Zeraine glanced at the succubus and commented, "Damn, you were right. This is better than regular honey."
Amarantha said, "Tasty. Definitely worth it."
The succubus smiled. "As good as I remember..."
Once they were done eating, they left. Once back near the center of town, the hero said, "Well, I don't know about you guys, but after that little job, I don't exactly feel like trying to leave and continue our journey today. How about you guys?"
Amarantha said, "Well, it's 'doctor's orders' that I rest today, so continuing would amount to taking unnecessary risk due to not resting before leaving."
Zeraine said, "Man, I'm beat after that."
The succubus said, "I'm not in any shape to be traveling right now."
The hero smirked. "Then we'll rest for the rest of today. Everyone has free time until tomorrow morning. Take it easy, have fun, get a good night's sleep, and we'll leave tomorrow morning."
Zeraine and Amarantha went off to the local tavern together, leaving the hero and the succubus alone together. The hero asked, "Well, uh, now that we're alone, are you okay?"
The succubus said, "I'm fine. None of the hornets even got close."
He shook his head. "I mean is your butt okay?"
She smiled, trying not to laugh. "Oh. Yeah. The healing spell and the sleep last night was all I needed for that."
He sighed with relief. "Good. Still, I think we shouldn't do it again."
She looked a bit offended. "Why not? Didn't it feel good?"
He looked around uncomfortably and said, "Well, yeah, it did, but... You bled. You said it hurt."
She scoffed. "That's just because it was my first time there. ...Tell you what, I'll refrain from trying it again until I'm sure I can take you, okay?"
He shrugged. "After that, I'd rather not do it at all."
She said, "Well, too bad. We'll eventually do it again, and next time, it'll definitely feel good for both of us."
He shook his head. "Whatever. What do you plan to do?"
She said, "I'm thinking about seeing if they have books on magic here. If they do, I'll try to learn Holy Trap, if such a book exists here. You're welcome to join me, unless there's something else you'd rather do."
He said, "Well, I don't think there'd be anything of interest to me, so I guess I'll go rent our rooms for tonight and find a place to eat at for lunch and dinner."
She saw him off, then went to see if there was a library in town. Unfortunately, there wasn't, so she looked in the various shops for books on magic, but found nothing she didn't already know. She shrugged it off, then went to the park. Once there, she took out her crystal and connected with Sol. He answered, "Hey, guys! What have you been up to?"
The succubus said, "Actually, it's just me right now. Everyone else is taking some R&R around town."
"Oh. So then, what brings you to talk to me by yourself?"
She said, "I wanted to talk to Victoria and Hilda. Privately, if possible."
"Sure, I guess. Hang on..."
Several seconds later, Victoria asked, "What do you need?"
She asked, "Is Hilda there, too?"
Hilda answered, "Yep."
The succubus cleared her throat and said, "I've got a question for you two. Sol told us last time or whenever that on his birthday, he boned both of you all day and all night. He said he did both of you so much that your vaginas and anuses were too sore to continue or do it again or whatever. Did the anal sex feel good for you two?"
Victoria was too embarrassed to answer, so Hilda did it for her, saying, "Yeah, it did. Almost as good as it did when he did us in our pussies. Why?"
The succubus said, "Well, I tried anal sex last night with my man, and not only did it hurt a fair amount, but I also bled a bit. He doesn't want to do it again after that, but once I've found out how to make it feel good for both of us without any bleeding on my part, I'd like to try it again. Do you two have any advice?"
Hilda said, "Whoa, hold on, it hurt and you were bleeding? What, did you just have him stick it in right away or something?"
"No. I had him finger me in the ass, then coat his dick with my vaginal juices."
"I'm guessing it was your first time taking something of that size in there, wasn't it?"
"It was my first time having anything put in there. The first thing to ever penetrate my ass was his right index finger, then after some moving, he added his middle finger. After that, he took them out and replaced them with his dick."
Hilda sighed. "Well, that would be where your problem is. You see, even though you're a succubus, I highly doubt you can a man's dick up your ass without any prior 'experience'."
"Then how did you two manage?"
"Heh, simple! On the day Sol received that special privilege thing from the count, Vicky and I began practicing anal masturbation. By the time Sol's birthday rolled around, the two of us were totally ready to take him in our pussies and up our asses."
The succubus grumbled, mildly angry. She realized that because she hadn't done anything to her own ass, and the only time anything had ever been inserted was when the hero put his fingers in right before inserting his penis, it was quite obvious that it wouldn't work out. "Damn..."
"What?"
"It's obvious why it didn't go as well as I had hoped. My husband's fingers were the first things to ever enter my ass. Shortly after that was his cock. My hole wasn't ready. I guess it's obvious what I have to do, now."
"Start fingering yourself in the ass, anally masturbating whenever you can?"
"No. I'll get him to finger me in the ass when we fuck at night. If he won't, I'll do it myself."
"That'd work, too, I guess."
The succubus was grinning happily, confident that she'd be able to get the hero to agree to try again, and that it'd feel good for both of them when they did.
Victoria cleared her throat. "Do you need anything else, or was this very absurd counseling session it?"
The succubus asked, "What do you mean? How is it absurd?"
Victoria huffed. "Well, you're older than us, for one thing. For another, you're a succubus. I am a Lizardman, and Hilda is a salamander. You are supposed to be the expert on masturbation, sex, and all related things, not us. You seeking sexual advice from us is weird. We apparently were able to help, so I'm glad about that, but it doesn't change the strangeness of the concept of a succubus asking for sex-related advice from non-succubi that are younger than her."
"I see. Well, thanks, I guess. I think that's everything."
Victoria asked, "How are you for potions and scrolls?"
"We're good on scrolls, I think. We still have all 15 Cure Disease and Healing, and my husband still has the Sanctuary scroll. We're down to 13 Rest, 11 Fire Trap, 11 Ice Trap, 12 Shock Trap, and 8 Holy Trap. As for potions, he still has that special Regeneration one, and we have 8 Rest, all 10 Cure Disease, 9 Healing, and 6 Mana."
"Personally, I'd suggest buying a few more Mana Potions, if you have the money."
"We might do that once we arrive at Stormforge. For now, I think we can handle things with what we have. I guess we'll talk to you again then."
Victoria said, "Alright then. Goodbye."
Hilda said, "Bye!"
The succubus said, "Goodbye." She then broke off the connection, put away the crystal, and went to find the hero.
Chapter 96
Spoiler: show
The hero had done everything needed for the day. Namely, renting rooms at the inn for tonight and finding a good place to eat. He wandered around town aimlessly, looking for nothing in particular, yet keeping his eyes open for anything interesting. As proof that things can happen at any time and in any place, he saw a human man running from a group of three Dwarves, clutching an axe. The Dwarves' short legs put them at a disadvantage when chasing this man, whoever he was. One of the Dwarves shouted, "He's a thief! Stop him!"
The hero sighed, not wanting to do much more physical activity for today, but apparently having no choice, for if the man was a thief, he must be caught and punished. He waited for the right moment, then cast Drash Gan, making a fan-shaped wall of stone rise out of the ground. The supposed thief reacted too late and ran into it head-first. This caused him to fall back on his ass and drop the axe. While the man was dazed, the hero attempted to set an Yrden on each end of the wall, in case he recovered enough to run. The hero, to his pleasant surprise, succeeded in setting two Yrdens at once. He couldn't make them connect like the succubus said he'd eventually be able to, but he figured he wasn't far from that, and thus didn't let it bother him. He "dismissed" the stone wall that he made with Drash Gan, then watched as the Dwarves surrounded the supposed thief. Before they could do anything, he stepped in.
The first Dwarf, obviously very old, judging by his ankle-length gray beard and wrinkled face, said, "Thanks, lad. If it hadn't been for you, this piece of shite would've made off with me finest axe. Now, step aside and let us give 'im some Dwarven justice."
The hero shook his head. "I need to hear the whole story. And since I don't know what 'Dwarven justice' is, I'm going to have to detain him until the city guards can arrest him."
One of the other two Dwarves looked offended. "Are ye daft? This fool tried to steal his axe, and yer defending him?"
Before the hero could try to answer, the suspect got up and tried to run. The third Dwarf yelled, "He's getting- huh?" as the thief ran right into one of the Yrdens the hero set a few moments ago.
"Now, you," the hero said, pointing at the second Dwarf, who had a mohawk, "go get the guards. I'll hold this guy here."
The Dwarf grumbled and did so. The third one, who had a chest-length braided beard, said, "What good will the guards do?"
The hero said, "If this man is a thief, then he'll be arrested and properly punished."
The old Dwarf raised an eyebrow. "'If'? Whaddya mean, 'if'? That's my bloody axe he dropped!"
The hero, not wanting to deal with the Dwarf's complaints, managed to hide his hand and make the Axii hand sign. While influencing the Dwarf with Axii, he said, "Calm down."
It worked, and the Dwarf calmed down just as the guards arrived, the second Dwarf right behind them. The guards arrested the man and took him away. One of them told the Dwarves to follow them, and they did. With the situation defused and the criminal in custody, he sighed, suddenly more fatigued. He decided that sitting down to rest would be a good idea. Just as he was about to try to find a place to sit, the succubus said, "Great job, honey."
He turned around, startled, and saw her standing there, smiling at him. She said, "I saw everything. Just a bit more practice, or another 'session', and you should be able to link them to make a 'tripwire' of sorts. Also, great timing on using Axii. Had you waited much longer, the Dwarf probably would have gotten too angry for it to work. The fan-shaped wall with Drash Gan before all that was good thinking, too. I'm proud of you."
He smiled back at her, feeling a bit better from her compliments. "Thanks. I'm still a bit tired, though, despite this armor's enchantment."
"You look it, too. Come on, let's go to our room at the inn. You did rent them, didn't you?"
He nodded. "Yeah, I already did that, plus I found a good place to eat. Come lunch time, we'll have to find Zeraine and Amarantha and go eat."
The two of them went back to the inn and upstairs to their room. She shut the door behind them and locked it. "Take off your armor."
The hero paused for a second. "Do what, now? It's still before noon. We shouldn't be having sex this early in the day."
She rolled her eyes. "First of all, there isn't any specific, universal 'limit' to when people are supposed to have sex, which means that, if you were less of a prude, we could do it at any time of day, as long as we had the time, energy, and opportunity, of course. Second, I actually don't intend to have you fuck me once you've taken your armor off. I already know that, after the incident with the giant hornets, if we had sex now, you'd be too tired tonight and you'd end up leaving me wet and aching. Now, do as I said and strip. You can leave your pants on if you're so against me seeing your dick, despite the fact that we've already fucked a lot, and I've already seen it very closely, especially when I sucked it." She grinned like a pervert and licked her lips.
He took off his gauntlets and chest-piece, then laid them down on the dresser. "So what now?"
She walked over to him, grabbed his arm, and pulled him over to the bed, then shoved him down on it, ending in him sitting on the bed in front of her. "Now, we get you taken care of..." She took off her dress, leaving herself clothed in just her bra and panties, dropped her disguise, then got on the bed and got behind him.
He looked over his shoulder and said, "You just said-"
She covered his mouth with her hand, then kissed him on the neck. "I know what I said, dear. I said we wouldn't fuck, so we won't. Not until tonight, anyway. Right now, I'm going to get rid of your tension." She moved her hand to his cheek and gently pushed, turning his head so she could lock her lips with his.
After she broke away, he asked, "And how are you going to get rid of my tension?"
She giggled, then began massaging his shoulders. "Like this. Does it feel good?"
After a few seconds, he started feeling his muscles loosen up and his stress fade. He relaxed and let her continue. "Yeah, it does."
She kissed him on the back of the neck as she continued the massage and said, "A succubus's touch is good for more than just stroking cum out of your dick. ...How's this?" She moved her hands to his neck and began rhythmically rubbing and squeezing, coaxing a groan of part-relief, part-pleasure out of him.
"It's great. Where did you learn this?"
She smiled, even though he couldn't see her, and said, "It comes naturally to succubi. I don't know of a succubus that can't give a good massage."
Her touch relaxed and energized him a little. He felt better and better the longer she kept at it. Suddenly, she stopped, prompting him to ask, "What is it?"
She asked, "What do you mean?"
"Why'd you stop?"
"I was just about to tell you to lay on your stomach. I need to massage your back next."
"Oh. Okay." He got onto the bed and laid down, face-down.
She straddled him and began rubbing his back, kneading certain spots. "I'd prefer that you had gotten naked, but..."
"Why? So you could tease my body during this?"
She flicked him on the back of the head and said, "Your chainmail leggings aren't exactly comfortable on the skin of my legs, and I can't wrap my tail around your thighs, either."
"Why would you wrap your tail around my thigh?"
"So I could squeeze and massage it while I use my hands on your back. I'd be taking care of your legs and back at the same time."
"Oh. Also, I'm sorry about the discomfort. Next time, I'll strip completely."
She smirked. "What makes you think there'll be a next time?" she teased.
He scoffed. "Because I can tell you're enjoying this."
"You are, too."
"I'm on the receiving end of a good massage. Of course I'm going to enjoy it. You, on the other hand, are the one giving it. Unless I misunderstand, usually the person giving the massage doesn't enjoy it."
She giggled and said, "You got me. Yes, I'm enjoying this. Why? Because we're alone together and, even though we're not having sex, we're still spending some quality time together, being intimate to some degree."
He cleared his throat and said, "Well, I can't complain. You're good at this, it feels good, and I like it."
She snickered. "I like your honesty and openness. Why don't you be that way when enjoying my pussy, too?"
He let out a frustrated groan. "Don't start. Please."
She petted his head. "Okay, I won't tease you anymore. ...For the rest of this massage, that is."
"You..." he started, trying to roll over, but she wouldn't let him.
Laughing, she said, "Come on, lighten up! Couples play like this all the time!"
She continued massaging his back and shoulders until noon, then they got dressed, she disguised herself, and they went to find Zeraine and Amarantha.
The hero sighed, not wanting to do much more physical activity for today, but apparently having no choice, for if the man was a thief, he must be caught and punished. He waited for the right moment, then cast Drash Gan, making a fan-shaped wall of stone rise out of the ground. The supposed thief reacted too late and ran into it head-first. This caused him to fall back on his ass and drop the axe. While the man was dazed, the hero attempted to set an Yrden on each end of the wall, in case he recovered enough to run. The hero, to his pleasant surprise, succeeded in setting two Yrdens at once. He couldn't make them connect like the succubus said he'd eventually be able to, but he figured he wasn't far from that, and thus didn't let it bother him. He "dismissed" the stone wall that he made with Drash Gan, then watched as the Dwarves surrounded the supposed thief. Before they could do anything, he stepped in.
The first Dwarf, obviously very old, judging by his ankle-length gray beard and wrinkled face, said, "Thanks, lad. If it hadn't been for you, this piece of shite would've made off with me finest axe. Now, step aside and let us give 'im some Dwarven justice."
The hero shook his head. "I need to hear the whole story. And since I don't know what 'Dwarven justice' is, I'm going to have to detain him until the city guards can arrest him."
One of the other two Dwarves looked offended. "Are ye daft? This fool tried to steal his axe, and yer defending him?"
Before the hero could try to answer, the suspect got up and tried to run. The third Dwarf yelled, "He's getting- huh?" as the thief ran right into one of the Yrdens the hero set a few moments ago.
"Now, you," the hero said, pointing at the second Dwarf, who had a mohawk, "go get the guards. I'll hold this guy here."
The Dwarf grumbled and did so. The third one, who had a chest-length braided beard, said, "What good will the guards do?"
The hero said, "If this man is a thief, then he'll be arrested and properly punished."
The old Dwarf raised an eyebrow. "'If'? Whaddya mean, 'if'? That's my bloody axe he dropped!"
The hero, not wanting to deal with the Dwarf's complaints, managed to hide his hand and make the Axii hand sign. While influencing the Dwarf with Axii, he said, "Calm down."
It worked, and the Dwarf calmed down just as the guards arrived, the second Dwarf right behind them. The guards arrested the man and took him away. One of them told the Dwarves to follow them, and they did. With the situation defused and the criminal in custody, he sighed, suddenly more fatigued. He decided that sitting down to rest would be a good idea. Just as he was about to try to find a place to sit, the succubus said, "Great job, honey."
He turned around, startled, and saw her standing there, smiling at him. She said, "I saw everything. Just a bit more practice, or another 'session', and you should be able to link them to make a 'tripwire' of sorts. Also, great timing on using Axii. Had you waited much longer, the Dwarf probably would have gotten too angry for it to work. The fan-shaped wall with Drash Gan before all that was good thinking, too. I'm proud of you."
He smiled back at her, feeling a bit better from her compliments. "Thanks. I'm still a bit tired, though, despite this armor's enchantment."
"You look it, too. Come on, let's go to our room at the inn. You did rent them, didn't you?"
He nodded. "Yeah, I already did that, plus I found a good place to eat. Come lunch time, we'll have to find Zeraine and Amarantha and go eat."
The two of them went back to the inn and upstairs to their room. She shut the door behind them and locked it. "Take off your armor."
The hero paused for a second. "Do what, now? It's still before noon. We shouldn't be having sex this early in the day."
She rolled her eyes. "First of all, there isn't any specific, universal 'limit' to when people are supposed to have sex, which means that, if you were less of a prude, we could do it at any time of day, as long as we had the time, energy, and opportunity, of course. Second, I actually don't intend to have you fuck me once you've taken your armor off. I already know that, after the incident with the giant hornets, if we had sex now, you'd be too tired tonight and you'd end up leaving me wet and aching. Now, do as I said and strip. You can leave your pants on if you're so against me seeing your dick, despite the fact that we've already fucked a lot, and I've already seen it very closely, especially when I sucked it." She grinned like a pervert and licked her lips.
He took off his gauntlets and chest-piece, then laid them down on the dresser. "So what now?"
She walked over to him, grabbed his arm, and pulled him over to the bed, then shoved him down on it, ending in him sitting on the bed in front of her. "Now, we get you taken care of..." She took off her dress, leaving herself clothed in just her bra and panties, dropped her disguise, then got on the bed and got behind him.
He looked over his shoulder and said, "You just said-"
She covered his mouth with her hand, then kissed him on the neck. "I know what I said, dear. I said we wouldn't fuck, so we won't. Not until tonight, anyway. Right now, I'm going to get rid of your tension." She moved her hand to his cheek and gently pushed, turning his head so she could lock her lips with his.
After she broke away, he asked, "And how are you going to get rid of my tension?"
She giggled, then began massaging his shoulders. "Like this. Does it feel good?"
After a few seconds, he started feeling his muscles loosen up and his stress fade. He relaxed and let her continue. "Yeah, it does."
She kissed him on the back of the neck as she continued the massage and said, "A succubus's touch is good for more than just stroking cum out of your dick. ...How's this?" She moved her hands to his neck and began rhythmically rubbing and squeezing, coaxing a groan of part-relief, part-pleasure out of him.
"It's great. Where did you learn this?"
She smiled, even though he couldn't see her, and said, "It comes naturally to succubi. I don't know of a succubus that can't give a good massage."
Her touch relaxed and energized him a little. He felt better and better the longer she kept at it. Suddenly, she stopped, prompting him to ask, "What is it?"
She asked, "What do you mean?"
"Why'd you stop?"
"I was just about to tell you to lay on your stomach. I need to massage your back next."
"Oh. Okay." He got onto the bed and laid down, face-down.
She straddled him and began rubbing his back, kneading certain spots. "I'd prefer that you had gotten naked, but..."
"Why? So you could tease my body during this?"
She flicked him on the back of the head and said, "Your chainmail leggings aren't exactly comfortable on the skin of my legs, and I can't wrap my tail around your thighs, either."
"Why would you wrap your tail around my thigh?"
"So I could squeeze and massage it while I use my hands on your back. I'd be taking care of your legs and back at the same time."
"Oh. Also, I'm sorry about the discomfort. Next time, I'll strip completely."
She smirked. "What makes you think there'll be a next time?" she teased.
He scoffed. "Because I can tell you're enjoying this."
"You are, too."
"I'm on the receiving end of a good massage. Of course I'm going to enjoy it. You, on the other hand, are the one giving it. Unless I misunderstand, usually the person giving the massage doesn't enjoy it."
She giggled and said, "You got me. Yes, I'm enjoying this. Why? Because we're alone together and, even though we're not having sex, we're still spending some quality time together, being intimate to some degree."
He cleared his throat and said, "Well, I can't complain. You're good at this, it feels good, and I like it."
She snickered. "I like your honesty and openness. Why don't you be that way when enjoying my pussy, too?"
He let out a frustrated groan. "Don't start. Please."
She petted his head. "Okay, I won't tease you anymore. ...For the rest of this massage, that is."
"You..." he started, trying to roll over, but she wouldn't let him.
Laughing, she said, "Come on, lighten up! Couples play like this all the time!"
She continued massaging his back and shoulders until noon, then they got dressed, she disguised herself, and they went to find Zeraine and Amarantha.
Chapter 97
Spoiler: show
The two of them remembered that Zeraine and Amarantha had left for the tavern, and so they decided to check there first. Upon entering the tavern, they noticed a few minstrels playing a fast-paced tune, one fit for something exciting. They looked around and saw a large crowd of people around a table, yelling, cheering, and placing bets. One of the people around the table announced, "Alright, all bets are in. Contestants ready? Begin!"
Hoping to find the others among the crowd, the hero and the succubus approached. Before they got close enough to see past the outermost ring of people, they heard Amarantha yell, "Come on, Zeraine, you can do it!"
Next was Zeraine's response, in which he grunted out, "I'm trying! This guy's strong!"
The pair got closer and managed to squeeze through, past a few of the people, and saw Zeraine sitting at the table, arm wrestling a man with a shaved head and medium build with fairly toned muscles. The two were grunting and snarling at each other, trying with all their might to slam the other's fist onto the table. Amarantha was standing next to the table, watching anxiously. As the man started to push Zeraine's hand over, Amarantha yelled, "Come on, honey, beat him!"
With a roar of effort, Zeraine overcame the man's strength, bringing their fists back up over the top, and slamming the man's hand down on the table loudly. The man who was apparently the announcer said, "The stranger wins again! Is there no one left to challenge his might?"
Amarantha threw her arms around Zeraine as soon as he and the other man let go, then showered him with kisses. "You did it!" she squealed, pressing her head against his firmly.
The announcer looked around. "Anyone? How about you, young man? You seem to be a knight of The Order. How about testing your arm against this man's?" he asked, looking at and gesturing to the hero.
Zeraine looked up and waved. "Hey, kid. I didn't think I'd see an Order knight in a tavern," he said, grinning, obviously teasing the hero.
The hero scoffed. "I thought you said you were tired. What's all this?"
"You said to have fun, right? Well, after Ammie and I had a couple of drinks, we heard about this arm wrestling tournament and I decided to enter. The last two guys were tough, but I beat them."
"How do you have the energy for this?"
"I told you, didn't I? Ammie and I had a couple of drinks. After that, I recovered a bit and decided to have some fun."
The announcer asked, "Young knight? About the event?"
The hero shook his head. "No, I'm not entering. Did my friend win?"
The announcer glanced around and said, "Since there is no one else to challenge this man, he has officially won the tournament! Everyone, give him your applause and congratulate him on his accomplishment!"
A rather weighty pouch of gold coins went from the announcer's hand to Zeraine's, signifying his victory. Amarantha let go of him, allowing him to get up. The four of them then left the tavern, leaving behind the sounds of people clapping and whistling in cheer. Once outside, Zeraine asked, "So, what's up?"
The hero said, "It's noon. I've found a good place for us to eat at. Let's go."
They arrived at the diner, waited to be seated, and quickly got a table. The waitress handed them each a menu, and they quickly placed their orders. Once she left, taking the menus with her, the hero asked, "So how much did you win?"
Zeraine gave a proud smirk and said, "300 coins."
The succubus let out an impressed whistle. "Not bad for a bit of 'playing'. How much do we have now?"
The hero replied, "831. Plenty to last us through our trip to the mountains, though if Stormforge has any decent paying work, I wouldn't be against earning a little extra gold before we take the hike up to Icewind Peak."
Zeraine said, "Sounds good to me. So, any ideas for killing time for the rest of the day?"
The hero said, "Well, I kind of figured that maybe we could do a little more hand-to-hand practice to teach me stuff to use in the event that I'm disarmed, or possibly do a little sparring with our swords, assuming either of you feel up to it."
Amarantha and Zeraine looked at each other, then he said, "Well, I still want Ammie to take it easy for today, so no hand-to-hand. I think I can handle a little swordplay, though."
Several minutes later, the waitress came with their orders. As soon as she left, they started eating. They downed their food quickly and chugged their drinks. Once they were done eating, they paid, left, and checked the notice board before exiting town, finding nothing of interest.
Once outside of town, Zeraine took out his claymore while the hero took up his sword and shield. Zeraine said, "Okay, obviously since this is practice, no magic, no Signs. Also because it's practice, we'll go at half-speed. Now, are you ready, kid?"
The hero nodded, assuming his stance.
Zeraine said, "Okay, then. First of all, with your style, what's the first thing you try to do against a claymore?" He held up his claymore to emphasize the weapon.
The hero said, "Try to parry it or redirect it, or maybe dodge it. Trying to flat-out block it is a bad idea because it hits hard, and blocking such hits is very tiring."
"That's right. Now then, let's assume you're fighting a skeleton with a claymore, like earlier, and you have plenty of room to move. Said skeleton attacks like this..." he said, then began a slow charge, accurately imitating the movements of the skeletons they fought earlier in Matilda's dungeon. He came in with a vertical swing.
The hero hopped to his right, keeping his shield in place in case of a last-second change of angle on the swing, and ended up dodging the sword. "...And I dodge like that," he said, answering Zeraine's partial sentence.
"Good. Now, what if you're unable to dodge to your right?"
The hero said, "I'd hop to the left, covering myself with my shield. I'd probably land with my left side toward the enemy, my shield raised."
"Yes, good. Let's do a little freestyle, okay? I'll attack and you'll defend."
"Okay."
The two of them began a somewhat slow, compared to normal, that is, series of strikes and counterattacks. Zeraine would attack and the hero would block or parry, then make an attack of his own. Zeraine would parry his attack and counter, then the hero would return the favor. The two of them did this for about an hour before the succubus stopped them. "Alright, boys, take a break."
They sat down and rested for about half an hour before attempting to get back to practicing. Before they could resume, a guard approached.
Hoping to find the others among the crowd, the hero and the succubus approached. Before they got close enough to see past the outermost ring of people, they heard Amarantha yell, "Come on, Zeraine, you can do it!"
Next was Zeraine's response, in which he grunted out, "I'm trying! This guy's strong!"
The pair got closer and managed to squeeze through, past a few of the people, and saw Zeraine sitting at the table, arm wrestling a man with a shaved head and medium build with fairly toned muscles. The two were grunting and snarling at each other, trying with all their might to slam the other's fist onto the table. Amarantha was standing next to the table, watching anxiously. As the man started to push Zeraine's hand over, Amarantha yelled, "Come on, honey, beat him!"
With a roar of effort, Zeraine overcame the man's strength, bringing their fists back up over the top, and slamming the man's hand down on the table loudly. The man who was apparently the announcer said, "The stranger wins again! Is there no one left to challenge his might?"
Amarantha threw her arms around Zeraine as soon as he and the other man let go, then showered him with kisses. "You did it!" she squealed, pressing her head against his firmly.
The announcer looked around. "Anyone? How about you, young man? You seem to be a knight of The Order. How about testing your arm against this man's?" he asked, looking at and gesturing to the hero.
Zeraine looked up and waved. "Hey, kid. I didn't think I'd see an Order knight in a tavern," he said, grinning, obviously teasing the hero.
The hero scoffed. "I thought you said you were tired. What's all this?"
"You said to have fun, right? Well, after Ammie and I had a couple of drinks, we heard about this arm wrestling tournament and I decided to enter. The last two guys were tough, but I beat them."
"How do you have the energy for this?"
"I told you, didn't I? Ammie and I had a couple of drinks. After that, I recovered a bit and decided to have some fun."
The announcer asked, "Young knight? About the event?"
The hero shook his head. "No, I'm not entering. Did my friend win?"
The announcer glanced around and said, "Since there is no one else to challenge this man, he has officially won the tournament! Everyone, give him your applause and congratulate him on his accomplishment!"
A rather weighty pouch of gold coins went from the announcer's hand to Zeraine's, signifying his victory. Amarantha let go of him, allowing him to get up. The four of them then left the tavern, leaving behind the sounds of people clapping and whistling in cheer. Once outside, Zeraine asked, "So, what's up?"
The hero said, "It's noon. I've found a good place for us to eat at. Let's go."
They arrived at the diner, waited to be seated, and quickly got a table. The waitress handed them each a menu, and they quickly placed their orders. Once she left, taking the menus with her, the hero asked, "So how much did you win?"
Zeraine gave a proud smirk and said, "300 coins."
The succubus let out an impressed whistle. "Not bad for a bit of 'playing'. How much do we have now?"
The hero replied, "831. Plenty to last us through our trip to the mountains, though if Stormforge has any decent paying work, I wouldn't be against earning a little extra gold before we take the hike up to Icewind Peak."
Zeraine said, "Sounds good to me. So, any ideas for killing time for the rest of the day?"
The hero said, "Well, I kind of figured that maybe we could do a little more hand-to-hand practice to teach me stuff to use in the event that I'm disarmed, or possibly do a little sparring with our swords, assuming either of you feel up to it."
Amarantha and Zeraine looked at each other, then he said, "Well, I still want Ammie to take it easy for today, so no hand-to-hand. I think I can handle a little swordplay, though."
Several minutes later, the waitress came with their orders. As soon as she left, they started eating. They downed their food quickly and chugged their drinks. Once they were done eating, they paid, left, and checked the notice board before exiting town, finding nothing of interest.
Once outside of town, Zeraine took out his claymore while the hero took up his sword and shield. Zeraine said, "Okay, obviously since this is practice, no magic, no Signs. Also because it's practice, we'll go at half-speed. Now, are you ready, kid?"
The hero nodded, assuming his stance.
Zeraine said, "Okay, then. First of all, with your style, what's the first thing you try to do against a claymore?" He held up his claymore to emphasize the weapon.
The hero said, "Try to parry it or redirect it, or maybe dodge it. Trying to flat-out block it is a bad idea because it hits hard, and blocking such hits is very tiring."
"That's right. Now then, let's assume you're fighting a skeleton with a claymore, like earlier, and you have plenty of room to move. Said skeleton attacks like this..." he said, then began a slow charge, accurately imitating the movements of the skeletons they fought earlier in Matilda's dungeon. He came in with a vertical swing.
The hero hopped to his right, keeping his shield in place in case of a last-second change of angle on the swing, and ended up dodging the sword. "...And I dodge like that," he said, answering Zeraine's partial sentence.
"Good. Now, what if you're unable to dodge to your right?"
The hero said, "I'd hop to the left, covering myself with my shield. I'd probably land with my left side toward the enemy, my shield raised."
"Yes, good. Let's do a little freestyle, okay? I'll attack and you'll defend."
"Okay."
The two of them began a somewhat slow, compared to normal, that is, series of strikes and counterattacks. Zeraine would attack and the hero would block or parry, then make an attack of his own. Zeraine would parry his attack and counter, then the hero would return the favor. The two of them did this for about an hour before the succubus stopped them. "Alright, boys, take a break."
They sat down and rested for about half an hour before attempting to get back to practicing. Before they could resume, a guard approached.
Chapter 98
Spoiler: show
Zeraine and the hero looked over at the guard, who asked, "Are you the one that helped capture that thief?" pointing at the hero.
The hero said, "The guy who stole that axe from that Dwarf? Yeah. Why?"
The guard said, "Please come with me. You'll need to testify against him. He may be a known criminal in these parts, and he may have finally been caught thanks to you, but some of us guards would like to have as much evidence and as many testimonies as possible to make sure we can put him away for as long as we can."
The hero smirked. "Sure. If the guy has the record you imply, I'll definitely testify. I, too, would like to put him behind bars for as long as possible."
The succubus stood up and stepped forward. "I saw the whole thing, too. Should I come along?"
The guard gave her a look that was a mix of apology and nervousness. "I'm sorry, miss, but the word of a man carries more weight than that of a woman. If you were a man, yes, I'd like for you to come along, but since you're a woman, your testimony wouldn't make much of a difference, if any."
She glared at him and asked, "Is this town really that misogynistic?"
He held up his hands as if to defend himself. "Don't be mad. That's how the law works in this town. I'm not to blame for it, so no fireballs, please!"
The hero walked over to the guard. "Don't worry. She's not that short-tempered." He looked back at the party and said, "Well, duty calls, I guess. I'll be back soon."
Zeraine said, "If we're not here when you get back, we'll probably be at the inn."
The succubus was frowning, obviously angry. She shrugged it off and turned to face Zeraine and Amarantha. "There's something we could try while he's busy, if you want."
After the hero disappeared from view, Amarantha answered, "If it involves anything sexual, forget it. Zeraine is the only man for me, as well as the only person. I'm not doing anything of that nature with anyone but him."
The succubus sighed. "This would only involve sex if you wanted to do him during it. Otherwise, it won't. And why would you insinuate from the start that it'd have anything sexual involving you being with someone other than your mate? If you were implying lesbian sex between you and me, then that means I actually wasn't the pervert this time."
Zeraine grinned, imagining in his mind Amarantha getting naughty with another woman, but then he dropped the grin, thinking that he didn't want anyone but him to have her. He facepalmed at himself for thinking such a thing.
Amarantha's face went a bit red. "I just thought that you might have enjoyed that time with the Dark Elf, despite what you said... That, or you might have wanted to try it with me or something."
The succubus shook her head. "Whatever. Now, listen, you remember when I asked you about that polymorph spell? The one that'd let you 'try out' your new form before I take the throne?"
Amarantha nodded. "Yeah. Why, are you offering to try it on me?"
"If you're up for it, yes, I'd like to cast it on you. It'd be good for you, too, because you'd get to see what it'll be like and try to get used to it, though you obviously won't be able to get used to it in one day."
Amarantha thought for several seconds, then said, "Sure, I guess. It won't hurt, right? And it'll work, too, right?"
The succubus nodded. "To make sure nothing goes wrong, though, I'll need you to revert to your true form, then I'll cast it. After that, I'll have to use some sort of illusion-type of spell in order to hide your appearance for the rest of the day once we get back to town."
Zeraine nodded in understanding, saying, "Yeah, because we'll still need to eat dinner, as well as get back to the inn. After that, you should be able to cancel the illusion spell while leaving the polymorph spell active, which would allow us to 'better experience it' tonight. I guess after that..."
The succubus nodded and said, "After that, I'll have to go to your room in the morning, cast the illusion spell again, lead her out of town and out of sight, then cancel both the illusion spell and the polymorph spell, then allow her to transform back, then we can all leave."
Amarantha got more nervous the more she thought about it. She worried whether it would go right, how Zeraine would feel about it, and how her new body would feel to her. She looked at the succubus and asked, "Am I going to be able to move and stuff?"
The succubus said, "I'm only going to cast the basic polymorph spell. I'll need you to pay close attention to everything about your 'new' body, then tell me what needs work and what I have to do for a 'knowledge of movement' add-on effect. I'm sure you'll be fine, and if you have too much trouble trying to walk, Zeraine can carry you."
Amarantha looked slightly offended and said, "You're using me as the first test subject? And Zeraine is tired!"
Zeraine put his hand on her shoulder and said, "Ammie, when it comes to me carrying you, I always have the energy."
The succubus said, "Good, now, stop screwing around and let's do this." She then led them into the forest far enough to make sure nobody could see.
...
On the way to the courthouse, the hero asked the guard, "Why did you seem so afraid of making my wife mad?"
The guard gave him a confused look, then said, "Oh, the mage. She's your wife? Well, as a general rule, people who piss magic users off don't get to live to regret it. I didn't want to die in a hail of fireballs just for telling her how the law is in this town."
The hero rolled his eyes. After a couple of minutes, they arrived and went inside. Once they got to the courtroom in which the thief was being tried, the guard opened the door and led the hero in. The count, who was sitting at the bench, acting as judge, asked, "And who is this man? Is he another witness?"
The guard who led the hero in said, "Yes, he is. This man is a knight from The Order, and he stopped the thief and detained him until we arrived to arrest him."
The count said, "Very well, then. Take the stand, young knight."
The hero stepped up to the podium and asked, "Should I tell everything that happened from my point of view, or should I just give the 'short version', which involves me saying that, yes, I stopped his attempted robbery?"
The count said, "I'd prefer to hear the event as you perceived it."
"Okay, then," he began. "Well, I had just finished completing my tasks and was about to find my companions when I heard someone shout something about stopping a thief. I looked for the source of the commotion and saw a man, holding an axe, running at me. Behind him was a group of three Dwarves and they were chasing him."
The count interrupted and asked, "These people you refer to; are they in the courtroom now?"
The hero looked around. "Yes, the man who was running from the Dwarves is sitting right there," he said, pointing at the thief. "The Dwarves I mentioned are over there," he continued, pointing at the three Dwarves, who were sitting at the front row of the pew-style benches behind the "bar".
The count said, "Let the record show that yet another witness has identified the thief."
The hero continued, asking, "Should I explain how I apprehended him?"
The count said, "I'd like to hear it, yes, but you don't have to. Your testimony so far is plenty."
The hero said, "Well, in that case, I'll take my leave."
The count looked a little disappointed, but let him go, saying, "Thank you, young man. Any other witnesses?"
The hero left the courthouse without getting involved in anything further. He then decided to go back out of town to see if everyone was still there.
...
Once somewhat deep into the forest, and after making sure the area was safe, Amarantha reverted to her dragon form, braced herself, and let the succubus proceed. The succubus took out a small book from her satchel and opened it, turning the pages until she found the right one. "Here we go..." she said, making various arcane motions with her free hand.
Amarantha was enveloped in a ball of light. The light was so bright that Zeraine had to both close his eyes and turn away. Once the light faded, he managed to open his eyes, blinking away the effects from the brightness a moment ago. He slowly turned around to see the effect.
...
Outside the forest, the hero arrived back at the spot where everyone was before he left. Upon seeing that they weren't there, he shrugged and, thinking out loud, said, "I guess they're at the inn." As he started to turn around to leave, he noticed a strange light from within the forest. Worried that they might be under attack, he rushed off to find the source of the light.
After running for a few dozen seconds, he noticed that there were no sounds. He finally spotted the succubus, who was standing proudly. As he got closer, he saw through a gap between the trees as Zeraine turned around to face something. He slowed down, certain that they were fine, and said, "Hey, everyone. You had me a bit worried. I thought-" As he stepped around the last tree that was in his way, he froze, stunned and speechless.
The hero said, "The guy who stole that axe from that Dwarf? Yeah. Why?"
The guard said, "Please come with me. You'll need to testify against him. He may be a known criminal in these parts, and he may have finally been caught thanks to you, but some of us guards would like to have as much evidence and as many testimonies as possible to make sure we can put him away for as long as we can."
The hero smirked. "Sure. If the guy has the record you imply, I'll definitely testify. I, too, would like to put him behind bars for as long as possible."
The succubus stood up and stepped forward. "I saw the whole thing, too. Should I come along?"
The guard gave her a look that was a mix of apology and nervousness. "I'm sorry, miss, but the word of a man carries more weight than that of a woman. If you were a man, yes, I'd like for you to come along, but since you're a woman, your testimony wouldn't make much of a difference, if any."
She glared at him and asked, "Is this town really that misogynistic?"
He held up his hands as if to defend himself. "Don't be mad. That's how the law works in this town. I'm not to blame for it, so no fireballs, please!"
The hero walked over to the guard. "Don't worry. She's not that short-tempered." He looked back at the party and said, "Well, duty calls, I guess. I'll be back soon."
Zeraine said, "If we're not here when you get back, we'll probably be at the inn."
The succubus was frowning, obviously angry. She shrugged it off and turned to face Zeraine and Amarantha. "There's something we could try while he's busy, if you want."
After the hero disappeared from view, Amarantha answered, "If it involves anything sexual, forget it. Zeraine is the only man for me, as well as the only person. I'm not doing anything of that nature with anyone but him."
The succubus sighed. "This would only involve sex if you wanted to do him during it. Otherwise, it won't. And why would you insinuate from the start that it'd have anything sexual involving you being with someone other than your mate? If you were implying lesbian sex between you and me, then that means I actually wasn't the pervert this time."
Zeraine grinned, imagining in his mind Amarantha getting naughty with another woman, but then he dropped the grin, thinking that he didn't want anyone but him to have her. He facepalmed at himself for thinking such a thing.
Amarantha's face went a bit red. "I just thought that you might have enjoyed that time with the Dark Elf, despite what you said... That, or you might have wanted to try it with me or something."
The succubus shook her head. "Whatever. Now, listen, you remember when I asked you about that polymorph spell? The one that'd let you 'try out' your new form before I take the throne?"
Amarantha nodded. "Yeah. Why, are you offering to try it on me?"
"If you're up for it, yes, I'd like to cast it on you. It'd be good for you, too, because you'd get to see what it'll be like and try to get used to it, though you obviously won't be able to get used to it in one day."
Amarantha thought for several seconds, then said, "Sure, I guess. It won't hurt, right? And it'll work, too, right?"
The succubus nodded. "To make sure nothing goes wrong, though, I'll need you to revert to your true form, then I'll cast it. After that, I'll have to use some sort of illusion-type of spell in order to hide your appearance for the rest of the day once we get back to town."
Zeraine nodded in understanding, saying, "Yeah, because we'll still need to eat dinner, as well as get back to the inn. After that, you should be able to cancel the illusion spell while leaving the polymorph spell active, which would allow us to 'better experience it' tonight. I guess after that..."
The succubus nodded and said, "After that, I'll have to go to your room in the morning, cast the illusion spell again, lead her out of town and out of sight, then cancel both the illusion spell and the polymorph spell, then allow her to transform back, then we can all leave."
Amarantha got more nervous the more she thought about it. She worried whether it would go right, how Zeraine would feel about it, and how her new body would feel to her. She looked at the succubus and asked, "Am I going to be able to move and stuff?"
The succubus said, "I'm only going to cast the basic polymorph spell. I'll need you to pay close attention to everything about your 'new' body, then tell me what needs work and what I have to do for a 'knowledge of movement' add-on effect. I'm sure you'll be fine, and if you have too much trouble trying to walk, Zeraine can carry you."
Amarantha looked slightly offended and said, "You're using me as the first test subject? And Zeraine is tired!"
Zeraine put his hand on her shoulder and said, "Ammie, when it comes to me carrying you, I always have the energy."
The succubus said, "Good, now, stop screwing around and let's do this." She then led them into the forest far enough to make sure nobody could see.
...
On the way to the courthouse, the hero asked the guard, "Why did you seem so afraid of making my wife mad?"
The guard gave him a confused look, then said, "Oh, the mage. She's your wife? Well, as a general rule, people who piss magic users off don't get to live to regret it. I didn't want to die in a hail of fireballs just for telling her how the law is in this town."
The hero rolled his eyes. After a couple of minutes, they arrived and went inside. Once they got to the courtroom in which the thief was being tried, the guard opened the door and led the hero in. The count, who was sitting at the bench, acting as judge, asked, "And who is this man? Is he another witness?"
The guard who led the hero in said, "Yes, he is. This man is a knight from The Order, and he stopped the thief and detained him until we arrived to arrest him."
The count said, "Very well, then. Take the stand, young knight."
The hero stepped up to the podium and asked, "Should I tell everything that happened from my point of view, or should I just give the 'short version', which involves me saying that, yes, I stopped his attempted robbery?"
The count said, "I'd prefer to hear the event as you perceived it."
"Okay, then," he began. "Well, I had just finished completing my tasks and was about to find my companions when I heard someone shout something about stopping a thief. I looked for the source of the commotion and saw a man, holding an axe, running at me. Behind him was a group of three Dwarves and they were chasing him."
The count interrupted and asked, "These people you refer to; are they in the courtroom now?"
The hero looked around. "Yes, the man who was running from the Dwarves is sitting right there," he said, pointing at the thief. "The Dwarves I mentioned are over there," he continued, pointing at the three Dwarves, who were sitting at the front row of the pew-style benches behind the "bar".
The count said, "Let the record show that yet another witness has identified the thief."
The hero continued, asking, "Should I explain how I apprehended him?"
The count said, "I'd like to hear it, yes, but you don't have to. Your testimony so far is plenty."
The hero said, "Well, in that case, I'll take my leave."
The count looked a little disappointed, but let him go, saying, "Thank you, young man. Any other witnesses?"
The hero left the courthouse without getting involved in anything further. He then decided to go back out of town to see if everyone was still there.
...
Once somewhat deep into the forest, and after making sure the area was safe, Amarantha reverted to her dragon form, braced herself, and let the succubus proceed. The succubus took out a small book from her satchel and opened it, turning the pages until she found the right one. "Here we go..." she said, making various arcane motions with her free hand.
Amarantha was enveloped in a ball of light. The light was so bright that Zeraine had to both close his eyes and turn away. Once the light faded, he managed to open his eyes, blinking away the effects from the brightness a moment ago. He slowly turned around to see the effect.
...
Outside the forest, the hero arrived back at the spot where everyone was before he left. Upon seeing that they weren't there, he shrugged and, thinking out loud, said, "I guess they're at the inn." As he started to turn around to leave, he noticed a strange light from within the forest. Worried that they might be under attack, he rushed off to find the source of the light.
After running for a few dozen seconds, he noticed that there were no sounds. He finally spotted the succubus, who was standing proudly. As he got closer, he saw through a gap between the trees as Zeraine turned around to face something. He slowed down, certain that they were fine, and said, "Hey, everyone. You had me a bit worried. I thought-" As he stepped around the last tree that was in his way, he froze, stunned and speechless.
Chapter 99
Spoiler: show
The succubus was beaming. She jumped up and down in place, clapping her hands happily. She then threw her arms up victoriously and cheerfully shouted, "It worked! Yes! A complete success!"
Zeraine and the hero both were completely speechless, unable to move after laying eyes on Amarantha's "new" form. She looked a lot like she did in her human form, but her hair was silver in color instead of black, and her leather outfit was nowhere to be seen. In its place, there was a fairly revealing outfit that was quite draconic-themed. It showed off her now-scaly-from-the-elbows-down arms, ending in her elegant-looking hands, her fingers tipped with claws that looked both sharp and delicate. Upon closer inspection, they could see patches of scales going up her outer arms from the elbows to her shoulders. Her legs were scaly from the knees down, the toes of her elegant feet tipped with claws that, like those at the ends of her fingers, looked sharp and delicate. On closer inspection, they saw that she had scales running in patches up the outer sides of her legs, all the way up to her hips. Through the gaps in her outfit, they could see that those patches of scales ran past her hips, apparently ending just below breast-level. A pair of long, backswept horns protruded from her temples, making her look all the more beautiful and deadly.
Once they had taken in the inhuman features, they noticed her remaining humanlike ones, namely that her skin was very pale, her eyes were still an inhumanly beautiful light-blue, and her body was still tall, slender, and very toned.
She looked down at herself, saw her outfit, as well as the amazed stared from the men, and covered herself as best she could with her hands. "What? I'm still me, you know. And you, princess, why the hell did you change my outfit!? What was wrong with my suit of leather armor!? Why am I in this!?"
The succubus grinned. "I had to see if everything was successful, and I couldn't do that with your leather outfit. Don't worry, once the spell wears off, it'll come back along with your normal human form, once you transform into it, that is. Of course, once I've taken the throne, this will be your normal form. And be grateful that I put you in that outfit. If I wanted to, I could have made you naked instead, but since I know you don't want anyone but Zeraine to see your nude body, and because I respect that, I gave you something that could cover your privates while allowing me to see everything I need to."
Amarantha turned to face the succubus while glaring at her, an angry snarl on her face. This allowed both men to see the scales on her cheeks, as well as get a good view of her wings and long, whip-like tail, which was waving about quickly, further emphasizing her anger.
Zeraine stepped forward cautiously. "Ammie?"
She spun around to face him, her face quickly turning red. "Well? H-how do I look?" she asked shyly, now quite embarrassed.
He took several seconds to form the words, but he finally said, "Wow. You look great, Ammie. Why is your hair silver, though?"
Amarantha's expression changed to one of great worry. "You liked it better when it was black?"
The succubus interrupted, saying, "A silver dragon with black hair in her true form would seem strange, so I made it silver."
Zeraine shrugged and said, "She's got a point. Besides, your hair changing color isn't going to change my feelings for you, Ammie."
Amarantha started to walk over to him to hug him, but she lost her balance and nearly fell. Zeraine ran over to catch her, then gave her a concerned look. Before he could ask his question, she answered it, saying, "Not only am I barefoot, but I now have to deal with my sense of balance being thrown off due to these new appendages... These wings and this tail make my bodily balance too different. These horns feel strange, too."
She tried consciously moving her wings and tail with limited success. Zeraine took off his gauntlets and felt of her exposed parts and the scales covering them, as well as her wings and tail. She couldn't help but let out a small moan when he felt the underside of the base of her tail. He also examined her hands, and the claws on her fingers, feeling of them and testing their sharpness. He quickly found out that they were very sharp, as evidenced by his now-bleeding fingertip. When she saw his blood, she almost panicked, taking his finger into her mouth and sucking on it. He looked a bit embarrassed, knowing that the others were watching as Amarantha sucked on his finger.
The succubus cleared her throat and said, "Don't get too intimate just yet. We've still got a few hours until evening, and you should get used to that form as much as you can until then. After dinner and sundown, if you two have the energy, you can get as intimate as you want for as long as you want in your room, but until then, let's stick to the 'practical' tests. Zeraine, stay with her. Amarantha, try to walk."
Amarantha stopped sucking on Zeraine's finger and took it out of her mouth, but saw that it was still bleeding. She looked at him worriedly, but he simply cast a weak healing spell to heal it. She obviously felt guilty because it was her claw that drew his blood, but seeing him play it off like this made her feel a little better. He put his arms around her and gave her a kiss, then said, "It's fine, Ammie. Now, let's do as the princess asked and try to get you used to this form."
She nodded and took a few breaths, then tried to walk. She lost her balance again, but Zeraine was there to catch her. She kept trying, slowly but surely making progress.
While Zeraine and Amarantha worked together on that, the hero walked over to the succubus and said, "This is incredible. Seeing your 'concept sketch' in that ball of light is one thing, but seeing the real thing is something else."
The succubus smiled. "Thanks, dear. As you might have guessed, all monsters will have the forms of beautiful women with features reminiscent of their original forms. Human men won't be able to resist looks like that. Also, since I'll be transforming the male monsters, I'll be nice and give them the forms of very handsome men. They'll probably be irresistible to human women. If things go as planned, they will be."
The hero glanced at Amarantha, then said, "You know, I bet Sol would want to see this. She is sort of like his sister, after all. Also, do you think you have the energy to cast the proper polymorph spells on his employees?"
The succubus thought for a second, then answered, "Well, it'll leave me a bit tired for a while, at least until dinner, but I think I can manage it, if they agree. More tests would be a good thing, after all. By the way, honey, I want to celebrate this success tonight."
The hero, despite already knowing what she meant, decided to play dumb and ask, "By teaching me Holy Trap?"
She sighed and hung her head. "Nobody had anything that taught the spell, so I couldn't learn it. Sorry. ...That aside, I can tell by the look in your eye that you know what I mean."
He chuckled and said, "Sorry. So, how much are you expecting me to bend in order to have the celebration you want?"
She said, "Try to give me four shots. If you can give more, do so. I want to do it as much as you can handle tonight."
He closed his eyes and sighed. "Well, since we're celebrating your major success, I guess I'll have to do everything I can. I agree."
She smiled big, then asked, "Should we go ahead and tell Sol about this?"
After a few seconds of thought, the hero nodded. "Let's do. I'm curious as to what his reaction will be."
She got out her crystal and contacted Sol, who answered, "Changed your mind?"
With a confused look on her face, she said, "Huh?"
"Vicky told me about your supplies. Have you changed your mind? Do you want to buy more Mana Potions right now?"
The hero looked at the succubus somewhat suspiciously. "What does he mean?"
Before the succubus could say anything, Sol said, "She contacted me earlier, wanting to talk to my girls. I don't know what they talked about, and since she wanted it to be just between them, I won't pry. Still, at one point, Vicky got your wife to tell me what you had left, and both of us advise that you restock on Mana Potions."
The succubus nodded, then quickly asked, "Sol, how's the flow of customers today?"
He sighed, obviously bored. "Slow. I had two people visit this morning, one of them being Zoey. You know, Cartridge's wife? She had to fetch a Scroll of Healing for one guy that got injured during training or something. Whatever."
She said, "Then you should be able to close for the day, right?"
"Yeah, I guess. Why?"
She smiled and said, "Good. Go ahead and do so, then grab your girls and teleport out here. We've got a surprise for you, and I don't want you to spoil it by scrying, so don't, okay?"
He scoffed. "I was just about to do that to see where you were. I guess I could track just the crystal, as long as you made sure there were no obstructions within six feet of it. I don't want to end up inside a wall, you know."
"I wouldn't do that. Now, hurry up so you can see."
Without another word, he closed off the connection himself, then, a couple of minutes later, he teleported in, with Victoria and Hilda in tow. The three of them arrived in such a way that their backs were to Zeraine and Amarantha. Sol asked, "So then, what's this surprise?"
The succubus smirked proudly and said, "Turn around."
The three of them did so. Upon seeing Amarantha, all three of them gasped in amazement. Sol ran over to Amarantha and said, "Hey, sis! You look great. Our future Demon Lord's test spell worked?"
Amarantha blushed and said, "She cast a polymorph spell on me. I think it's supposed to last 24 hours, so... Anyway, this form is hard to move in right now. My balance is off and I can barely walk because of it."
Sol said, "Well, you obviously can't go waltzing into town looking like that, so what's the deal?"
The succubus, followed by Victoria, Hilda, and the hero, walked up and said, "We know that. The plan is to give her some time to get used to this new form, then cast an illusion spell to hide her 'extra parts', similar to the spell I use to hide my wings, horns, and tail. After that we'll go into town, eat dinner when it comes time, and then I'll dispel the illusion-disguise, leave the polymorph spell in effect, and let those two 'have fun' with her new form."
Sol nodded. "Ah, I see. Good. Let me guess, you want to try out the 'new forms' on my Vicky and Hilda, right?"
The succubus nodded, saying, "Yes. I'd like to see if I have their future forms down good. If not, I'll have to rework them."
Sol remembered what the new forms were supposed to look like, then grinned. "Sure, we'll help. You know I'm aching to see it."
Hilda grinned, too, and added, "And I can't wait to see what it's like to have boobs."
The succubus clapped her hands together happily. "Splendid. And Sol? Don't worry about your girls. Because they-"
Sol interrupted and said, "I know. Because they have had tails all their lives, their sense of balance shouldn't be thrown off much, if at all. Ammie's having trouble because her human form didn't include horns, wings, or a tail."
The succubus nodded. "Very perceptive. Now, who wants to go first?"
Sol said, "First of all, it's plain as day. You'd have to be blind to not see the problem and its cause. Second, Ammie told me. Third, since Hilda's the most excited about it, I guess we should let her go first."
Hilda glomped Sol, kissing him repeatedly. "Yay! Transform me!"
Victoria scolded her, saying, "Calm down."
The succubus grinned, then said, "Okay, then. Hilda, stand over there." She pointed at a wide open area. "Everyone, close your eyes or look away. The light is part of the spell, and it's very bright."
Everyone turned away, except Sol, who used the sleeve of his robe to block his view of her. Victoria took the opportunity to bury her face in his chest. Several seconds later, after the bright light faded, Hilda looked down at herself and her now-tight shirt. She saw her body, which had tanned humanlike skin instead of scales over the biggest part of her body. She still had her flaming tail, as well as her scaly hands and feet. Her hands were no different than before, nor were her feet, nor the claws on each. Her face was now humanlike, but the fins she had where a human's ears would be were still there. Her hair was unchanged, as well. As for the scaly hands and feet, the scales came up from her hands to just before her elbows, and from her feet up to just below her knees.
She felt of her face, then she reached into her shirt and felt of her soft, non-scaly body, making sure to feel her new breasts. She then jumped for joy, laughing happily. "Look, Sol! I have boobs now! Come feel them! They're soft and bouncy!"
Everyone had turned back to see the spectacle, and Sol was grinning. He gazed at her lustfully, making no attempt whatsoever to hide his perverted lust for her. "Oh, I'll feel them. I'll also feel your ass, I'll see if you still like having your tail licked, and I'll see how different it feels when you clamp your thighs on my head as I lick you between your legs."
She blushed, now obviously able to, and said, "You'll also see how it feels to get a tit-fuck from these boobs, as well as how different it'll feel when you hotdog me, right?"
He nodded. "I'll try everything out as I can to see how different it'll be with that body. That means there's a lot of sex for us to have. Can your body handle it, Hilda?"
She scoffed. "As long as you're not doing me non-stop all day long, I should be able to handle it."
The succubus had been imagining Sol getting it on with his girls, and was visibly drooling and turned on. She shook her head and ignored her very moist panties, saying, "Okay, good. Now it's Vicky's turn. Go on, girl."
Victoria kissed Sol once before walking over to where Hilda was standing. Hilda went to Sol's side, then began pressing her body against his. "This is much better when I have boobs, isn't it? Also, I'm not wearing a bra because normally, my chest is as flat as a man's, so there's nothing except my shirt stopping you from feeling the flesh."
Sol gave Hilda a quick kiss, then, while squeezing her ass with one hand, said, "That brings to mind a good question..." He looked over at the succubus and asked, "What about their breasts? Will I need to buy bras for them?"
The succubus shrugged and said, "Well, once I'm done with this part of my plan, their breasts will never sag, even if you pierce their nipples and hang weights from them, so they won't need to wear a bra for that."
Hilda said, "Well, I can't tell yet, but these tits of mine might get in the way if I try to fight. I'll have to wear a bra, or some sort of armor that holds them still, if I want to fight."
Sol grinned and grabbed her left breast with his right hand and squeezed it, still squeezing her ass with his left hand. "We don't have much to worry about as far as fighting goes, so I doubt you'll need to do such things. If you don't want them bouncing around all the time, we'll buy you some bras. Otherwise, you can wear them if you want, or go without them."
Victoria said, "Well, we should transform me, too, so..."
The succubus nodded. "Right. Everyone, you know the drill."
Everyone turned away again, except Sol, who once again used his robe's sleeve to block his vision of the source of the impending light. Hilda pressed her body up against him, rubbing her new breasts against his chest in an up and down motion, thoroughly enjoying having them.
Once the light faded, everyone turned around to see Victoria's new form.
Victoria looked down at herself, seeing that she looked quite similar to Hilda now. Her feet and hands were the same, as was her tail, ear-fins, and hair. Her shirt was now tight, too, now that she had breasts, which seemed like they were equal in size to Hilda's, possibly a little bigger. Her skin was about as white as Sol's. She looked closer at her own body and saw that her scales on her legs came up to just below her knees, just like with Hilda. The scales on her arms, however, came all the way up to her mid-upper arms, somewhat resembling elbow gloves. She felt of her body, feeling the softness and smoothness of her own face and belly. She took a few steps to make sure she didn't face the problems Amarantha was having, then ran over to Sol and threw her arms around him.
Hilda, who had let go and stepped aside to make room for her, put her arms around both her and Sol, then asked, "It's nice, isn't it?"
Victoria looked up at Sol and asked, "We know you have a scale fetish, Sol. Are Hilda and I still scaly enough like this?"
Sol kissed her on the lips and said, "Of course you are! Besides, even if the spell got rid of all your scales, it's still you, so I'd still be rock hard for you."
Hilda grinned and said, "Just like he is right now," then grabbed Victoria's arm by the wrist and moved her hand to Sol's crotch.
Sol used his left hand to squeeze Hilda's ass, as she was on his left side, while squeezing Victoria's ass with his right hand, as she was on his right side. While doing that, he looked over at the succubus and said, "Okay, I really want you to teach me the spells so we can enjoy this later, too."
The succubus nodded. "Sure. What do you intend to do, after seeing the results of my 'test spells'?"
Sol smiled. "Well, after you teach me the spells, I'm going to take these two and go home, then spend the rest of the day enjoying their new bodies. Tomorrow evening, I'll pick up where I left off. I don't know if I'll be able to try everything out in just a few nights, though, but since I'll know the spells, that won't matter."
The hero cleared his throat. "Uh, not to kill the mood or anything, but must you be this lewd?"
Sol looked up, acting like he was thinking it over, while saying, "Let me thin-YES," as he quickly looked back down to the hero.
The hero shrugged. "Well, since I'd rather not keep you for too long, because you obviously want to spend some quality time with them, let's talk about those Mana Potions. How about we buy ten of them?"
Sol nodded. "That's fine. They're still 15 a piece, so that'll be 150 gold."
The hero counted out the money, then handed it to Sol. Sol left Victoria and Hilda standing there as he quickly opened a portal to his shop, went in, and returned seconds later with a small box containing ten Mana Potions. The hero took them and put them in his Bag of Holding, then let Sol speak with the succubus, who taught him the spells. As he left, he said, "By the way, I still haven't found another Bag of Holding yet, but when I do, you guys'll get a discount thanks to this. Until next time!" He waved, leading Victoria and Hilda through the portal, which closed behind them.
Zeraine and the hero both were completely speechless, unable to move after laying eyes on Amarantha's "new" form. She looked a lot like she did in her human form, but her hair was silver in color instead of black, and her leather outfit was nowhere to be seen. In its place, there was a fairly revealing outfit that was quite draconic-themed. It showed off her now-scaly-from-the-elbows-down arms, ending in her elegant-looking hands, her fingers tipped with claws that looked both sharp and delicate. Upon closer inspection, they could see patches of scales going up her outer arms from the elbows to her shoulders. Her legs were scaly from the knees down, the toes of her elegant feet tipped with claws that, like those at the ends of her fingers, looked sharp and delicate. On closer inspection, they saw that she had scales running in patches up the outer sides of her legs, all the way up to her hips. Through the gaps in her outfit, they could see that those patches of scales ran past her hips, apparently ending just below breast-level. A pair of long, backswept horns protruded from her temples, making her look all the more beautiful and deadly.
Once they had taken in the inhuman features, they noticed her remaining humanlike ones, namely that her skin was very pale, her eyes were still an inhumanly beautiful light-blue, and her body was still tall, slender, and very toned.
She looked down at herself, saw her outfit, as well as the amazed stared from the men, and covered herself as best she could with her hands. "What? I'm still me, you know. And you, princess, why the hell did you change my outfit!? What was wrong with my suit of leather armor!? Why am I in this!?"
The succubus grinned. "I had to see if everything was successful, and I couldn't do that with your leather outfit. Don't worry, once the spell wears off, it'll come back along with your normal human form, once you transform into it, that is. Of course, once I've taken the throne, this will be your normal form. And be grateful that I put you in that outfit. If I wanted to, I could have made you naked instead, but since I know you don't want anyone but Zeraine to see your nude body, and because I respect that, I gave you something that could cover your privates while allowing me to see everything I need to."
Amarantha turned to face the succubus while glaring at her, an angry snarl on her face. This allowed both men to see the scales on her cheeks, as well as get a good view of her wings and long, whip-like tail, which was waving about quickly, further emphasizing her anger.
Zeraine stepped forward cautiously. "Ammie?"
She spun around to face him, her face quickly turning red. "Well? H-how do I look?" she asked shyly, now quite embarrassed.
He took several seconds to form the words, but he finally said, "Wow. You look great, Ammie. Why is your hair silver, though?"
Amarantha's expression changed to one of great worry. "You liked it better when it was black?"
The succubus interrupted, saying, "A silver dragon with black hair in her true form would seem strange, so I made it silver."
Zeraine shrugged and said, "She's got a point. Besides, your hair changing color isn't going to change my feelings for you, Ammie."
Amarantha started to walk over to him to hug him, but she lost her balance and nearly fell. Zeraine ran over to catch her, then gave her a concerned look. Before he could ask his question, she answered it, saying, "Not only am I barefoot, but I now have to deal with my sense of balance being thrown off due to these new appendages... These wings and this tail make my bodily balance too different. These horns feel strange, too."
She tried consciously moving her wings and tail with limited success. Zeraine took off his gauntlets and felt of her exposed parts and the scales covering them, as well as her wings and tail. She couldn't help but let out a small moan when he felt the underside of the base of her tail. He also examined her hands, and the claws on her fingers, feeling of them and testing their sharpness. He quickly found out that they were very sharp, as evidenced by his now-bleeding fingertip. When she saw his blood, she almost panicked, taking his finger into her mouth and sucking on it. He looked a bit embarrassed, knowing that the others were watching as Amarantha sucked on his finger.
The succubus cleared her throat and said, "Don't get too intimate just yet. We've still got a few hours until evening, and you should get used to that form as much as you can until then. After dinner and sundown, if you two have the energy, you can get as intimate as you want for as long as you want in your room, but until then, let's stick to the 'practical' tests. Zeraine, stay with her. Amarantha, try to walk."
Amarantha stopped sucking on Zeraine's finger and took it out of her mouth, but saw that it was still bleeding. She looked at him worriedly, but he simply cast a weak healing spell to heal it. She obviously felt guilty because it was her claw that drew his blood, but seeing him play it off like this made her feel a little better. He put his arms around her and gave her a kiss, then said, "It's fine, Ammie. Now, let's do as the princess asked and try to get you used to this form."
She nodded and took a few breaths, then tried to walk. She lost her balance again, but Zeraine was there to catch her. She kept trying, slowly but surely making progress.
While Zeraine and Amarantha worked together on that, the hero walked over to the succubus and said, "This is incredible. Seeing your 'concept sketch' in that ball of light is one thing, but seeing the real thing is something else."
The succubus smiled. "Thanks, dear. As you might have guessed, all monsters will have the forms of beautiful women with features reminiscent of their original forms. Human men won't be able to resist looks like that. Also, since I'll be transforming the male monsters, I'll be nice and give them the forms of very handsome men. They'll probably be irresistible to human women. If things go as planned, they will be."
The hero glanced at Amarantha, then said, "You know, I bet Sol would want to see this. She is sort of like his sister, after all. Also, do you think you have the energy to cast the proper polymorph spells on his employees?"
The succubus thought for a second, then answered, "Well, it'll leave me a bit tired for a while, at least until dinner, but I think I can manage it, if they agree. More tests would be a good thing, after all. By the way, honey, I want to celebrate this success tonight."
The hero, despite already knowing what she meant, decided to play dumb and ask, "By teaching me Holy Trap?"
She sighed and hung her head. "Nobody had anything that taught the spell, so I couldn't learn it. Sorry. ...That aside, I can tell by the look in your eye that you know what I mean."
He chuckled and said, "Sorry. So, how much are you expecting me to bend in order to have the celebration you want?"
She said, "Try to give me four shots. If you can give more, do so. I want to do it as much as you can handle tonight."
He closed his eyes and sighed. "Well, since we're celebrating your major success, I guess I'll have to do everything I can. I agree."
She smiled big, then asked, "Should we go ahead and tell Sol about this?"
After a few seconds of thought, the hero nodded. "Let's do. I'm curious as to what his reaction will be."
She got out her crystal and contacted Sol, who answered, "Changed your mind?"
With a confused look on her face, she said, "Huh?"
"Vicky told me about your supplies. Have you changed your mind? Do you want to buy more Mana Potions right now?"
The hero looked at the succubus somewhat suspiciously. "What does he mean?"
Before the succubus could say anything, Sol said, "She contacted me earlier, wanting to talk to my girls. I don't know what they talked about, and since she wanted it to be just between them, I won't pry. Still, at one point, Vicky got your wife to tell me what you had left, and both of us advise that you restock on Mana Potions."
The succubus nodded, then quickly asked, "Sol, how's the flow of customers today?"
He sighed, obviously bored. "Slow. I had two people visit this morning, one of them being Zoey. You know, Cartridge's wife? She had to fetch a Scroll of Healing for one guy that got injured during training or something. Whatever."
She said, "Then you should be able to close for the day, right?"
"Yeah, I guess. Why?"
She smiled and said, "Good. Go ahead and do so, then grab your girls and teleport out here. We've got a surprise for you, and I don't want you to spoil it by scrying, so don't, okay?"
He scoffed. "I was just about to do that to see where you were. I guess I could track just the crystal, as long as you made sure there were no obstructions within six feet of it. I don't want to end up inside a wall, you know."
"I wouldn't do that. Now, hurry up so you can see."
Without another word, he closed off the connection himself, then, a couple of minutes later, he teleported in, with Victoria and Hilda in tow. The three of them arrived in such a way that their backs were to Zeraine and Amarantha. Sol asked, "So then, what's this surprise?"
The succubus smirked proudly and said, "Turn around."
The three of them did so. Upon seeing Amarantha, all three of them gasped in amazement. Sol ran over to Amarantha and said, "Hey, sis! You look great. Our future Demon Lord's test spell worked?"
Amarantha blushed and said, "She cast a polymorph spell on me. I think it's supposed to last 24 hours, so... Anyway, this form is hard to move in right now. My balance is off and I can barely walk because of it."
Sol said, "Well, you obviously can't go waltzing into town looking like that, so what's the deal?"
The succubus, followed by Victoria, Hilda, and the hero, walked up and said, "We know that. The plan is to give her some time to get used to this new form, then cast an illusion spell to hide her 'extra parts', similar to the spell I use to hide my wings, horns, and tail. After that we'll go into town, eat dinner when it comes time, and then I'll dispel the illusion-disguise, leave the polymorph spell in effect, and let those two 'have fun' with her new form."
Sol nodded. "Ah, I see. Good. Let me guess, you want to try out the 'new forms' on my Vicky and Hilda, right?"
The succubus nodded, saying, "Yes. I'd like to see if I have their future forms down good. If not, I'll have to rework them."
Sol remembered what the new forms were supposed to look like, then grinned. "Sure, we'll help. You know I'm aching to see it."
Hilda grinned, too, and added, "And I can't wait to see what it's like to have boobs."
The succubus clapped her hands together happily. "Splendid. And Sol? Don't worry about your girls. Because they-"
Sol interrupted and said, "I know. Because they have had tails all their lives, their sense of balance shouldn't be thrown off much, if at all. Ammie's having trouble because her human form didn't include horns, wings, or a tail."
The succubus nodded. "Very perceptive. Now, who wants to go first?"
Sol said, "First of all, it's plain as day. You'd have to be blind to not see the problem and its cause. Second, Ammie told me. Third, since Hilda's the most excited about it, I guess we should let her go first."
Hilda glomped Sol, kissing him repeatedly. "Yay! Transform me!"
Victoria scolded her, saying, "Calm down."
The succubus grinned, then said, "Okay, then. Hilda, stand over there." She pointed at a wide open area. "Everyone, close your eyes or look away. The light is part of the spell, and it's very bright."
Everyone turned away, except Sol, who used the sleeve of his robe to block his view of her. Victoria took the opportunity to bury her face in his chest. Several seconds later, after the bright light faded, Hilda looked down at herself and her now-tight shirt. She saw her body, which had tanned humanlike skin instead of scales over the biggest part of her body. She still had her flaming tail, as well as her scaly hands and feet. Her hands were no different than before, nor were her feet, nor the claws on each. Her face was now humanlike, but the fins she had where a human's ears would be were still there. Her hair was unchanged, as well. As for the scaly hands and feet, the scales came up from her hands to just before her elbows, and from her feet up to just below her knees.
She felt of her face, then she reached into her shirt and felt of her soft, non-scaly body, making sure to feel her new breasts. She then jumped for joy, laughing happily. "Look, Sol! I have boobs now! Come feel them! They're soft and bouncy!"
Everyone had turned back to see the spectacle, and Sol was grinning. He gazed at her lustfully, making no attempt whatsoever to hide his perverted lust for her. "Oh, I'll feel them. I'll also feel your ass, I'll see if you still like having your tail licked, and I'll see how different it feels when you clamp your thighs on my head as I lick you between your legs."
She blushed, now obviously able to, and said, "You'll also see how it feels to get a tit-fuck from these boobs, as well as how different it'll feel when you hotdog me, right?"
He nodded. "I'll try everything out as I can to see how different it'll be with that body. That means there's a lot of sex for us to have. Can your body handle it, Hilda?"
She scoffed. "As long as you're not doing me non-stop all day long, I should be able to handle it."
The succubus had been imagining Sol getting it on with his girls, and was visibly drooling and turned on. She shook her head and ignored her very moist panties, saying, "Okay, good. Now it's Vicky's turn. Go on, girl."
Victoria kissed Sol once before walking over to where Hilda was standing. Hilda went to Sol's side, then began pressing her body against his. "This is much better when I have boobs, isn't it? Also, I'm not wearing a bra because normally, my chest is as flat as a man's, so there's nothing except my shirt stopping you from feeling the flesh."
Sol gave Hilda a quick kiss, then, while squeezing her ass with one hand, said, "That brings to mind a good question..." He looked over at the succubus and asked, "What about their breasts? Will I need to buy bras for them?"
The succubus shrugged and said, "Well, once I'm done with this part of my plan, their breasts will never sag, even if you pierce their nipples and hang weights from them, so they won't need to wear a bra for that."
Hilda said, "Well, I can't tell yet, but these tits of mine might get in the way if I try to fight. I'll have to wear a bra, or some sort of armor that holds them still, if I want to fight."
Sol grinned and grabbed her left breast with his right hand and squeezed it, still squeezing her ass with his left hand. "We don't have much to worry about as far as fighting goes, so I doubt you'll need to do such things. If you don't want them bouncing around all the time, we'll buy you some bras. Otherwise, you can wear them if you want, or go without them."
Victoria said, "Well, we should transform me, too, so..."
The succubus nodded. "Right. Everyone, you know the drill."
Everyone turned away again, except Sol, who once again used his robe's sleeve to block his vision of the source of the impending light. Hilda pressed her body up against him, rubbing her new breasts against his chest in an up and down motion, thoroughly enjoying having them.
Once the light faded, everyone turned around to see Victoria's new form.
Victoria looked down at herself, seeing that she looked quite similar to Hilda now. Her feet and hands were the same, as was her tail, ear-fins, and hair. Her shirt was now tight, too, now that she had breasts, which seemed like they were equal in size to Hilda's, possibly a little bigger. Her skin was about as white as Sol's. She looked closer at her own body and saw that her scales on her legs came up to just below her knees, just like with Hilda. The scales on her arms, however, came all the way up to her mid-upper arms, somewhat resembling elbow gloves. She felt of her body, feeling the softness and smoothness of her own face and belly. She took a few steps to make sure she didn't face the problems Amarantha was having, then ran over to Sol and threw her arms around him.
Hilda, who had let go and stepped aside to make room for her, put her arms around both her and Sol, then asked, "It's nice, isn't it?"
Victoria looked up at Sol and asked, "We know you have a scale fetish, Sol. Are Hilda and I still scaly enough like this?"
Sol kissed her on the lips and said, "Of course you are! Besides, even if the spell got rid of all your scales, it's still you, so I'd still be rock hard for you."
Hilda grinned and said, "Just like he is right now," then grabbed Victoria's arm by the wrist and moved her hand to Sol's crotch.
Sol used his left hand to squeeze Hilda's ass, as she was on his left side, while squeezing Victoria's ass with his right hand, as she was on his right side. While doing that, he looked over at the succubus and said, "Okay, I really want you to teach me the spells so we can enjoy this later, too."
The succubus nodded. "Sure. What do you intend to do, after seeing the results of my 'test spells'?"
Sol smiled. "Well, after you teach me the spells, I'm going to take these two and go home, then spend the rest of the day enjoying their new bodies. Tomorrow evening, I'll pick up where I left off. I don't know if I'll be able to try everything out in just a few nights, though, but since I'll know the spells, that won't matter."
The hero cleared his throat. "Uh, not to kill the mood or anything, but must you be this lewd?"
Sol looked up, acting like he was thinking it over, while saying, "Let me thin-YES," as he quickly looked back down to the hero.
The hero shrugged. "Well, since I'd rather not keep you for too long, because you obviously want to spend some quality time with them, let's talk about those Mana Potions. How about we buy ten of them?"
Sol nodded. "That's fine. They're still 15 a piece, so that'll be 150 gold."
The hero counted out the money, then handed it to Sol. Sol left Victoria and Hilda standing there as he quickly opened a portal to his shop, went in, and returned seconds later with a small box containing ten Mana Potions. The hero took them and put them in his Bag of Holding, then let Sol speak with the succubus, who taught him the spells. As he left, he said, "By the way, I still haven't found another Bag of Holding yet, but when I do, you guys'll get a discount thanks to this. Until next time!" He waved, leading Victoria and Hilda through the portal, which closed behind them.
Chapter 100
Spoiler: show
Amarantha, having seen the whole spectacle while leaning on Zeraine's shoulder, said, "Something tells me he's not going to sleep tonight, and they probably won't either."
Zeraine glanced at her and asked, "Who, Sol, the kid and the princess, or both groups?"
Amarantha paused for a moment, considering what Zeraine said. "Hmm... Now that you mention it, probably both. I was referring to Sol and his girls at first, because you know he's going to go all-out on them tonight. He's always lusting after them normally, but now that he knows the polymorph spells to turn them into slightly more human, voluptuous versions of themselves... I doubt he'll let his dick stay outside of their holes for more than a second, maybe two, if it takes him that long to change positions."
Zeraine snickered. "Yeah, you're probably right. All normal men love boobs, after all, and now that they can have them, if only for a short while, I'm sure he'll indulge, possibly overindulge."
Amarantha nodded. "Yep, and since you mentioned it, I guess the kid and the princess are going to be up for a while, too. I think I heard her say something about celebrating this, and something about four shots."
Zeraine smirked. "Well, you know we'll have to try this out tonight, right?"
She smiled and kissed him, then said, "I'm looking forward to it."
Amarantha continued trying to get used to the new form, and when dinnertime came, she had managed to learn to walk, though slowly and clumsily, without needing Zeraine's help. When it was time to return to town, the succubus walked over to Amarantha and said, "Alright, it's dinnertime now, so let's get going. To be honest, I don't know if this illusion spell will affect your sense of balance in another way or not, but you'll look like your 'original' human form again."
She cast the spell, causing Amarantha's body to fade and waver as if she were a mirage, then once she "came back into focus", she looked "normal" again, with her knee-length black hair, her leather outfit, and lack of scales. She tried walking and was still a bit clumsy. "My sense of balance is back to normal now, somehow, but after trying to compensate for the wings and tail, I'm still a bit wobbly," she complained.
Zeraine patted her on the shoulder and said, "If walking is too hard after that, I could always carry you."
She scoffed as her face turned slightly red. "Oh, please, I'm not that bad off."
They went to the diner and ate a hearty meal, each of them drinking a glass of wine afterwards to celebrate. Obviously, because it was only one glass, none of them got drunk. After downing the wine, Zeraine looked at the hero and said, "I thought you Order guys didn't drink."
The hero said, "Some of us do, some of us don't. I only do so on special occasions, such as this. There are others who drink every evening and stuff, but basically, it's not forbidden as long as we do so responsibly. If someone drinks irresponsibly or becomes an alcoholic, they are forbidden from further drinking and are put into rehabilitation. Once they've overcome the drinking problem, they get to drink again as long as they're responsible about it."
Zeraine leaned back in his chair. "Hmm. That's not so bad."
The succubus looked around and said, "Well, we had best retire to our rooms. You two have some 'experiments' to conduct, and my husband and I must celebrate further." She gave the hero a lustful smile and put her hand on his thigh, inching it closer to his groin.
He closed his eyes in frustration, then put his hand on hers to stop her. "Not here."
They left, the meal having set them back by 40 gold, and returned to the inn. Once there, they all went to Zeraine and Amarantha's room, where the succubus undid the illusion spell, leaving the polymorph spell in effect, just as she had promised. She smiled and winked at the two of them, then said, "Have fun, you two! Oh, and make sure to tell me all about it tomorrow, okay?"
As the succubus left the room, Amarantha said, "No way! What Zeraine and I do is none of your business!"
The succubus grabbed the hero on her way out and quickly dragged him away, closing the door on her way out. She then led the hero to their room and brought him inside, then closed and locked the door. She then dropped her disguise form and smiled enchantingly at the hero, saying, "You promised me four shots, remember?"
He cleared his throat and corrected her, "I said I'd try. I don't know if I can handle it, but I'll do my best."
She walked over to him and gave him a slow, passionate kiss, then, with her arms still around his neck, she said, "I think you can do it, dear. Let's get naked!"
Before he could say anything else, her dress was off and she was standing there in her underwear, quickly working to strip him. Soon after, his armor was off and his pants were around his ankles. As he felt her skilled hands caressing his balls, he said, "Neither of us are naked yet and you're already doing that? Aren't you a bit too impatient?"
She stood up and hugged him, then began stroking his penis. "Shut up. You're finally willing to do it this much n one night, so I want at least four loads out of you, if you can manage it. Otherwise, I want every last drop of cum you can squirt before you pass out. Also, if you can, I'd like you to make me cum twice."
He nodded and said, "I'll do what I can."
She reluctantly took her hand off his dick, then finished stripping herself, then him. Once they were both naked, she quickly dropped to her knees and began licking his penis from base to tip while rubbing his balls with one hand, using the other to hold his shaft still. She kissed, licked, and sucked on his balls, then licked from them, all the way up the shaft to the tip, then around the head in circles. After licking several complete circles around the head of his dick, she pressed the tip of her tongue against the hole as if to stick her tongue inside, then she inhaled his rod, taking him half way in on the first motion, then pulling back until just the head was in her mouth before slamming her mouth against his crotch, taking him into her mouth all the way to the base. She sucked forcefully for a few minutes, mostly sucking about half of his length, occasionally deepthroating him, then took her mouth off his dick, returning to licking the shaft, stroking it, and fondling his balls.
Only now was the hero able to process what she was doing, for the sudden stimulation of the blowjob threw his mind into chaos. He asked, "You sure you want the first shot to be from a blowjob?"
She finished bouncing his balls off her tongue and said, "Yes, I'm sure. Tell me when you're going to cum, okay?"
"Sure, but you're not getting anything out of this, right? You wanted to cum twice, and right now, I'm the only one getting anything."
She looked up at him and smiled. "Should we switch to 69 position? You're okay with eating me out, right?"
Shyly, hesitantly, he nodded.
"Well, then we'll have to do that for your second shot!" she said, quickly taking him back into her mouth and sucking hard.
His knees almost gave out from the sudden spike of pleasure, but he stayed standing. A couple of minutes later, he said, "I'm about to cum..."
Hearing this, she took her mouth off his dick and began stroking him at high speed, making sure his dick was pointed at her face.
"What are you doing? I-"
She stroked a little harder, then opened her mouth and stuck her tongue out as he came all over her face. The thick cum ran down her face and dripped all over her breasts and thighs, and she smeared what stayed on her face with her hands, rubbing it in and tasting it, licking it off her fingers after swallowing what she caught in her mouth. She reveled in the facial she made him give her, showing him without words that she was thoroughly enjoying it. She sighed with content and said, "Excellent. The amount, the thickness, the taste, the way it feels on my skin... all of it. It's incredible."
He looked at her and swallowed nervously. Seeing his semen all over her beautiful face and perky breasts prevented his dick from going soft, or rather, it would have had she not been channeling her demonic energy into him from the moment her lips touched his rod. He stayed rock-hard, ready for more, and wanting it. He started breathing a little harder, which she noticed. He tried to control himself, asking, "Are you going to clean off before we continue?"
She grinned, her face still glazed with his cum, and shook her head. "No. This load of your cum stays on my face until we're done tonight." She stood up and looked into his eyes, still grinning. "Now we can go to the bed, and you can lick my pussy until you're satisfied. Before that, though, do I get a kiss, or are you unwilling? I'd understand, but-"
He saw that she had licked all the cum off her lips, and he knew that if any of his cum entered her mouth, she'd swallow it immediately, so he interrupted her by wrapping his arms around her waist, pulling her into a mouth-to-mouth kiss. He broke it off a few seconds later, stepping back with a confident smile on his face, and asked, "That answer your question?"
She was bewildered for a moment, but she quickly recovered and smiled teasingly. "My, my, how bold of you."
The two of them went over to the bed, then got on it in 69 position, him on the bottom. She grabbed his still-hard dick and began sucking it again while he wrapped his arms around her waist and licked her delicious nectar up off her beautiful flower, lapping it up as it seeped out and sticking his tongue in to lick inside once he had licked up all the juice outside her honeypot. She stopped sucking long enough to say, "Oh, while you're down there, do me a favor, okay? Stick your finger in my ass."
He stopped licking and said, "What?"
She kept stroking his dick as she turned her head to look at him. "Stick your finger in my ass. I want you to finger my ass with one finger, okay?"
"Uh, okay, I guess..." Doing as she asked, he rubbed her vagina with his right index finger, coating it in her juices, then he slowly inserted it into her anus. He began rubbing her clit with his left thumb while he continued to eat her out, all while gently thrusting his finger into her ass. This quickly brought her to orgasm, causing her to squirt all over his face.
He pulled his finger out of her ass and stopped playing with her pussy, which made her look back at him and say, "What are you doing? Keep going!"
He was slightly confused, but he did as she wanted and resumed licking her pussy while rubbing her clit. Rather than stick his finger back in her ass, he began stroking her tail with his right hand. All of this stimulation, given to her while she was still cumming, made her body twitch and spasm as the intensity of her orgasm increased. She also gushed fluid from her vagina as she moaned loudly, unable to continue sucking his dick.
She took her mouth off his dick and laid down on top of him, which he took as a signal to stop. She laid there for a few minutes, panting hard. The sight of her wet pussy and the feeling of her breath on his dick kept him hard, as did the demonic energy she had poured into him. As soon as she recovered enough to move, she grabbed his throbbing dick and said, "You did great, darling. Now, let me suck you off so you can fuck my pussy and make me cum again!" then inhaled his dick, desperately sucking it as if she'd never get to taste his semen again. Some of the cum he had shot onto her face and breasts was transferred to his abdomen when she was laying on him, but he didn't care. Right now, her mouth felt too good to focus on anything else. He was barely able to think enough to finger her pussy due to the intensity of this blowjob. He soon came, this time with her clamping her lips down over the head of his dick, hungrily gulping down his cum as he let it out.
As soon as he finished ejaculating, she resumed sucking, making sure there wasn't a single drop left in his manhood. She came off his dick with a popping sound, then said, "Delicious again, and still a good amount, too! This demonic energy is doing wonders for you, isn't it?"
He instinctively nodded, then realized what he had just admitted to. He blushed and looked away. "So it makes me better at sex. Big deal."
She poked him on the forehead with the tip of her tail a few times in quick succession and said, "It's making you stronger, idiot! Your magic and Signs should be at least a little more powerful, and your body should be getting tougher and physically stronger, too. Your sexual stamina and technique aren't the only things being upgraded, so don't complain. Now, that was two shots, and you made me cum once. You know what to do." She then got off him, laid down next to him, and spread her legs, showing her very wet vagina as fluids seeped out of it, ran down her ass, and formed a stain on the sheet.
His dick, which was just barely starting to soften, returned to full hardness and he stuck it in, then began slowly thrusting, their sexes making wet sounds as he moved. Feeling bold again, he decided to kiss her despite her having sucked him off twice in a row, taking his first load on her face and drinking the second. As usual, he didn't taste anything but her saliva, and was thus spurred on to put more passion into it. As he kissed her, he groped her semen-covered tits, pinching her nipples and rubbing his own cum into her soft flesh. When he finally broke the kiss off, she said, "You're doing so much better than before... I love it! Watch this..."
He kept thrusting and watched as she moved his hands off her breasts, then grabbed them and began licking them and sucking her own nipples, making sure to lap up his cum. This made him throb inside her, provoking a smile. She laughed and said, "Did that turn you on? Well how about this; when you cum this time, take it out and cum on my face again, okay? I'm sure you'll enjoy covering your wife's face with cum for the second time tonight, won't you, dear?"
He couldn't help but imagine doing just that, and the mental image of giving her another facial proved too much. He grunted, then pulled his dick out and glazed her face again. She wiped away the cum that tried to cover her eyes, then licked it off her fingers, collecting it all in her mouth before swallowing this time. He calmed down a little, then asked, "Are you alright? Did any get in your eyes?"
She giggled and said, "I'm fine. You still shot a good amount despite it being your third. I still haven't had my second orgasm, so you aren't done yet." She looked at his dick, which was starting to soften. "You had better hurry and put it back in before you go limp. And finger my ass while you fuck me, okay?"
He nodded, then slid his manhood back into her and began thrusting again. Looking at her, her face covered in his semen, aroused him enough to harden again and keep going. He stuck his finger in her ass and teased it while he kissed her cervix with the tip of his dick. After minutes of thrusting, they came together, her wrapping her arms around him and digging her fingernails into his back as she came. His fourth load was significantly smaller than the third, but it was still enough to satisfy her. She lovingly stroked his cheek as they laid together, still joined, and said, "I love you. ...Do you think you can go again?"
"I love you, too," he said before slowly shaking his head. "This was all I could manage. I'm sorry."
She flicked him on the forehead and said, "Don't be. I asked for four shots and you delivered. I wanted you to make me cum twice and you did. That's good enough for now. I'll clean us up so we can sleep, okay?"
He nodded, raised up, and pulled out of her, then let her clean the both of them off before falling onto the bed, falling asleep before his head even hit the pillow. She kissed him on the cheek, then got comfortable next to him and fell asleep.
...
After the succubus left the room and shut the door, Amarantha, stepping carefully, walked over to it and locked it, then made her way over to the bed and tried to sit down, but nearly bent her tail too far, which made her quickly stand back up and rub her tail. Zeraine, upon seeing this, asked, "You okay?"
She grabbed her tail and held it aside, then sat down without further problems. "Yeah, it's just that this form will take a lot of getting used to. These horns make my head feel weird, this tail is something I'll need to pay attention to, these wings are big, and these claws are ridiculously sharp. It all feels so strange, so ...different. I'm afraid now that I might hurt you by accident."
He sighed. "Well, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. For now, let's just enjoy each other's company, okay?"
She nodded and watched him strip. As he did, she looked down at herself and saw that she was still wearing the revealing outfit the succubus had conjured with her new form. She looked it over, trying to see how to take it off, but didn't find anything. She began worrying whether or not they'd be able to have sex, and if so, whether or not it'd be too much trouble to enjoy. Just as she finished pondering this, she looked up at Zeraine to see that he was just finishing taking off his underwear. She thought, "Well, I guess I can always give him a blowjob, then let him find some opening or something so he can rub me... I'd prefer that we do it normally, though."
He stepped over to her and asked, "Can you even take that off?"
She shrugged. "I looked at what I could, but there doesn't seem to be a way. Maybe you can find something?"
He looked over her body from her head to her toes, finding nothing. "She was so intent on us fucking with you in this form... It seems strange that she'd prevent it. Could she have overlooked something?"
Amarantha sighed with depression. "She might have. Sit here on the bed and I'll suck you off."
He sat down on the bed and she got off it, sitting on her knees on the floor in front of him. She started to reach for his penis, but reconsidered after remembering him pricking his finger on her claw earlier. She leaned in and began licking his dick, quickly getting it to maximum hardness. She then took it into her mouth and began sucking it. After about a minute, she quickly let go and looked down at herself, seeing her outfit fading away. The piece that hung from her waist up front disappeared, as well as the halter top part that covered her breasts and the "scaly claws" style piece that resembled a low-cut bra that held her breasts in place over said halter top. She was left naked, her body fully exposed. She looked up at Zeraine happily.
He nodded. "It took long enough, but it looks like it'll disappear when it comes time for sex. Shall we?"
She nodded and got up, then laid down on the bed on her side. Zeraine laid down next to her and began rubbing her breasts and kissing her. While still kissing her, after he was satisfied with massaging her breasts, he began running his hands over her naked body, feeling the contrast between the smooth skin and the scales. He gave her ass a squeeze, then began rubbing her tail. He felt of her wings with his other hand, then caressed her hip before moving to attack her crotch with his fingers.
She carefully put her arms around him and held him as they kissed, making sure not to let her claws touch his skin. At one point, they broke the kiss off to catch their breath, during which she said, "You know, I'm finding it kind of hard to enjoy this foreplay. I can't touch you with my claws, because if I do, I'll cut you, which means I can't play with you 'down there' for fear of cutting it."
Zeraine patted her on the ass with the hand he was using to rub her tail and said, "Don't worry. Few things ever go right the first time, and we're testing this new form of yours for the princess. We'll just have to tell her what we don't like about it tomorrow. For now, let's try to enjoy what we can, okay?" He then applied a little pressure to her clit, which caused her to moan.
She asked, "Who should take the lead?"
Zeraine thought for a second, then said, "I guess I will. Once we've done that for a while, if you want to take over, you can, okay?"
She nodded, then let go, allowing him to get up, pick her upper body up, and lay her on her back. Naturally, she worked with him by moving her wing so that it wouldn't be in the way. Once she was on her back, she spread her legs, inviting him in. He took the opportunity to bury his face in her crotch and lick her all over her mound, as well as inside her delicate-looking flower, occasionally flicking her clit with his tongue. She very much enjoyed it, as evidenced by her increasingly loud moans. She felt the approach of an orgasm and warned Zeraine, but he only licked more vigorously in response. Her body shook as she came, gushing her fluids out faster than Zeraine could lick them up. He left some wetness there to keep her lubricated for what came next, though.
As she lay there panting, her once again felt of her body, feeling the difference between the skin and scales. He chuckled and said, "You know, I think I understand Sol's scale fetish. Your scales feel nice."
She rolled her eyes and asked, "Are you still hard?"
He nodded. "Are you ready?"
She nodded, which he took as his cue to insert his penis into her vagina. He slowly slid it into her wet, warm hole until he bottomed out against her cervix, which caused her to twitch a little. She wrapped her arms around him and pulled him into a loving kiss as he began thrusting. After a short while, she wrapped her legs around his waist and started moving her own hips to match him, increasing the pleasure they both felt. Not long after that, they both came.
He collapsed on top of her, resting his head next to hers. She carefully petted the back of his head, making sure not to touch him with her claws. After they caught their breath, she asked, "Wanna go again?"
He grinned and replied, "I was about to ask you that. How do you want it?"
She thought for a second and answered, "Cowgirl."
He nodded in affirmation and pulled out, got up, and laid down next to her. She sat up, got on her knees, then mounted him, dripping his semen from her pussy everywhere as she did. She reached down with her hands and carefully used her palms and fingers to line him up, still being careful to keep her claws away from him. She impaled herself on his manhood and began riding and grinding, gradually speeding up. He quickly caught on to her rhythm and began thrusting from below, matching her movements. They held hands, interlocking their fingers together as she rode him to another mutual, simultaneous orgasm.
She got off him once she was sure he was through cumming, then laid down next to him, gave him a kiss, then went to sleep. He returned the affection, wrapped his arms around her, and fell asleep as well.
Zeraine glanced at her and asked, "Who, Sol, the kid and the princess, or both groups?"
Amarantha paused for a moment, considering what Zeraine said. "Hmm... Now that you mention it, probably both. I was referring to Sol and his girls at first, because you know he's going to go all-out on them tonight. He's always lusting after them normally, but now that he knows the polymorph spells to turn them into slightly more human, voluptuous versions of themselves... I doubt he'll let his dick stay outside of their holes for more than a second, maybe two, if it takes him that long to change positions."
Zeraine snickered. "Yeah, you're probably right. All normal men love boobs, after all, and now that they can have them, if only for a short while, I'm sure he'll indulge, possibly overindulge."
Amarantha nodded. "Yep, and since you mentioned it, I guess the kid and the princess are going to be up for a while, too. I think I heard her say something about celebrating this, and something about four shots."
Zeraine smirked. "Well, you know we'll have to try this out tonight, right?"
She smiled and kissed him, then said, "I'm looking forward to it."
Amarantha continued trying to get used to the new form, and when dinnertime came, she had managed to learn to walk, though slowly and clumsily, without needing Zeraine's help. When it was time to return to town, the succubus walked over to Amarantha and said, "Alright, it's dinnertime now, so let's get going. To be honest, I don't know if this illusion spell will affect your sense of balance in another way or not, but you'll look like your 'original' human form again."
She cast the spell, causing Amarantha's body to fade and waver as if she were a mirage, then once she "came back into focus", she looked "normal" again, with her knee-length black hair, her leather outfit, and lack of scales. She tried walking and was still a bit clumsy. "My sense of balance is back to normal now, somehow, but after trying to compensate for the wings and tail, I'm still a bit wobbly," she complained.
Zeraine patted her on the shoulder and said, "If walking is too hard after that, I could always carry you."
She scoffed as her face turned slightly red. "Oh, please, I'm not that bad off."
They went to the diner and ate a hearty meal, each of them drinking a glass of wine afterwards to celebrate. Obviously, because it was only one glass, none of them got drunk. After downing the wine, Zeraine looked at the hero and said, "I thought you Order guys didn't drink."
The hero said, "Some of us do, some of us don't. I only do so on special occasions, such as this. There are others who drink every evening and stuff, but basically, it's not forbidden as long as we do so responsibly. If someone drinks irresponsibly or becomes an alcoholic, they are forbidden from further drinking and are put into rehabilitation. Once they've overcome the drinking problem, they get to drink again as long as they're responsible about it."
Zeraine leaned back in his chair. "Hmm. That's not so bad."
The succubus looked around and said, "Well, we had best retire to our rooms. You two have some 'experiments' to conduct, and my husband and I must celebrate further." She gave the hero a lustful smile and put her hand on his thigh, inching it closer to his groin.
He closed his eyes in frustration, then put his hand on hers to stop her. "Not here."
They left, the meal having set them back by 40 gold, and returned to the inn. Once there, they all went to Zeraine and Amarantha's room, where the succubus undid the illusion spell, leaving the polymorph spell in effect, just as she had promised. She smiled and winked at the two of them, then said, "Have fun, you two! Oh, and make sure to tell me all about it tomorrow, okay?"
As the succubus left the room, Amarantha said, "No way! What Zeraine and I do is none of your business!"
The succubus grabbed the hero on her way out and quickly dragged him away, closing the door on her way out. She then led the hero to their room and brought him inside, then closed and locked the door. She then dropped her disguise form and smiled enchantingly at the hero, saying, "You promised me four shots, remember?"
He cleared his throat and corrected her, "I said I'd try. I don't know if I can handle it, but I'll do my best."
She walked over to him and gave him a slow, passionate kiss, then, with her arms still around his neck, she said, "I think you can do it, dear. Let's get naked!"
Before he could say anything else, her dress was off and she was standing there in her underwear, quickly working to strip him. Soon after, his armor was off and his pants were around his ankles. As he felt her skilled hands caressing his balls, he said, "Neither of us are naked yet and you're already doing that? Aren't you a bit too impatient?"
She stood up and hugged him, then began stroking his penis. "Shut up. You're finally willing to do it this much n one night, so I want at least four loads out of you, if you can manage it. Otherwise, I want every last drop of cum you can squirt before you pass out. Also, if you can, I'd like you to make me cum twice."
He nodded and said, "I'll do what I can."
She reluctantly took her hand off his dick, then finished stripping herself, then him. Once they were both naked, she quickly dropped to her knees and began licking his penis from base to tip while rubbing his balls with one hand, using the other to hold his shaft still. She kissed, licked, and sucked on his balls, then licked from them, all the way up the shaft to the tip, then around the head in circles. After licking several complete circles around the head of his dick, she pressed the tip of her tongue against the hole as if to stick her tongue inside, then she inhaled his rod, taking him half way in on the first motion, then pulling back until just the head was in her mouth before slamming her mouth against his crotch, taking him into her mouth all the way to the base. She sucked forcefully for a few minutes, mostly sucking about half of his length, occasionally deepthroating him, then took her mouth off his dick, returning to licking the shaft, stroking it, and fondling his balls.
Only now was the hero able to process what she was doing, for the sudden stimulation of the blowjob threw his mind into chaos. He asked, "You sure you want the first shot to be from a blowjob?"
She finished bouncing his balls off her tongue and said, "Yes, I'm sure. Tell me when you're going to cum, okay?"
"Sure, but you're not getting anything out of this, right? You wanted to cum twice, and right now, I'm the only one getting anything."
She looked up at him and smiled. "Should we switch to 69 position? You're okay with eating me out, right?"
Shyly, hesitantly, he nodded.
"Well, then we'll have to do that for your second shot!" she said, quickly taking him back into her mouth and sucking hard.
His knees almost gave out from the sudden spike of pleasure, but he stayed standing. A couple of minutes later, he said, "I'm about to cum..."
Hearing this, she took her mouth off his dick and began stroking him at high speed, making sure his dick was pointed at her face.
"What are you doing? I-"
She stroked a little harder, then opened her mouth and stuck her tongue out as he came all over her face. The thick cum ran down her face and dripped all over her breasts and thighs, and she smeared what stayed on her face with her hands, rubbing it in and tasting it, licking it off her fingers after swallowing what she caught in her mouth. She reveled in the facial she made him give her, showing him without words that she was thoroughly enjoying it. She sighed with content and said, "Excellent. The amount, the thickness, the taste, the way it feels on my skin... all of it. It's incredible."
He looked at her and swallowed nervously. Seeing his semen all over her beautiful face and perky breasts prevented his dick from going soft, or rather, it would have had she not been channeling her demonic energy into him from the moment her lips touched his rod. He stayed rock-hard, ready for more, and wanting it. He started breathing a little harder, which she noticed. He tried to control himself, asking, "Are you going to clean off before we continue?"
She grinned, her face still glazed with his cum, and shook her head. "No. This load of your cum stays on my face until we're done tonight." She stood up and looked into his eyes, still grinning. "Now we can go to the bed, and you can lick my pussy until you're satisfied. Before that, though, do I get a kiss, or are you unwilling? I'd understand, but-"
He saw that she had licked all the cum off her lips, and he knew that if any of his cum entered her mouth, she'd swallow it immediately, so he interrupted her by wrapping his arms around her waist, pulling her into a mouth-to-mouth kiss. He broke it off a few seconds later, stepping back with a confident smile on his face, and asked, "That answer your question?"
She was bewildered for a moment, but she quickly recovered and smiled teasingly. "My, my, how bold of you."
The two of them went over to the bed, then got on it in 69 position, him on the bottom. She grabbed his still-hard dick and began sucking it again while he wrapped his arms around her waist and licked her delicious nectar up off her beautiful flower, lapping it up as it seeped out and sticking his tongue in to lick inside once he had licked up all the juice outside her honeypot. She stopped sucking long enough to say, "Oh, while you're down there, do me a favor, okay? Stick your finger in my ass."
He stopped licking and said, "What?"
She kept stroking his dick as she turned her head to look at him. "Stick your finger in my ass. I want you to finger my ass with one finger, okay?"
"Uh, okay, I guess..." Doing as she asked, he rubbed her vagina with his right index finger, coating it in her juices, then he slowly inserted it into her anus. He began rubbing her clit with his left thumb while he continued to eat her out, all while gently thrusting his finger into her ass. This quickly brought her to orgasm, causing her to squirt all over his face.
He pulled his finger out of her ass and stopped playing with her pussy, which made her look back at him and say, "What are you doing? Keep going!"
He was slightly confused, but he did as she wanted and resumed licking her pussy while rubbing her clit. Rather than stick his finger back in her ass, he began stroking her tail with his right hand. All of this stimulation, given to her while she was still cumming, made her body twitch and spasm as the intensity of her orgasm increased. She also gushed fluid from her vagina as she moaned loudly, unable to continue sucking his dick.
She took her mouth off his dick and laid down on top of him, which he took as a signal to stop. She laid there for a few minutes, panting hard. The sight of her wet pussy and the feeling of her breath on his dick kept him hard, as did the demonic energy she had poured into him. As soon as she recovered enough to move, she grabbed his throbbing dick and said, "You did great, darling. Now, let me suck you off so you can fuck my pussy and make me cum again!" then inhaled his dick, desperately sucking it as if she'd never get to taste his semen again. Some of the cum he had shot onto her face and breasts was transferred to his abdomen when she was laying on him, but he didn't care. Right now, her mouth felt too good to focus on anything else. He was barely able to think enough to finger her pussy due to the intensity of this blowjob. He soon came, this time with her clamping her lips down over the head of his dick, hungrily gulping down his cum as he let it out.
As soon as he finished ejaculating, she resumed sucking, making sure there wasn't a single drop left in his manhood. She came off his dick with a popping sound, then said, "Delicious again, and still a good amount, too! This demonic energy is doing wonders for you, isn't it?"
He instinctively nodded, then realized what he had just admitted to. He blushed and looked away. "So it makes me better at sex. Big deal."
She poked him on the forehead with the tip of her tail a few times in quick succession and said, "It's making you stronger, idiot! Your magic and Signs should be at least a little more powerful, and your body should be getting tougher and physically stronger, too. Your sexual stamina and technique aren't the only things being upgraded, so don't complain. Now, that was two shots, and you made me cum once. You know what to do." She then got off him, laid down next to him, and spread her legs, showing her very wet vagina as fluids seeped out of it, ran down her ass, and formed a stain on the sheet.
His dick, which was just barely starting to soften, returned to full hardness and he stuck it in, then began slowly thrusting, their sexes making wet sounds as he moved. Feeling bold again, he decided to kiss her despite her having sucked him off twice in a row, taking his first load on her face and drinking the second. As usual, he didn't taste anything but her saliva, and was thus spurred on to put more passion into it. As he kissed her, he groped her semen-covered tits, pinching her nipples and rubbing his own cum into her soft flesh. When he finally broke the kiss off, she said, "You're doing so much better than before... I love it! Watch this..."
He kept thrusting and watched as she moved his hands off her breasts, then grabbed them and began licking them and sucking her own nipples, making sure to lap up his cum. This made him throb inside her, provoking a smile. She laughed and said, "Did that turn you on? Well how about this; when you cum this time, take it out and cum on my face again, okay? I'm sure you'll enjoy covering your wife's face with cum for the second time tonight, won't you, dear?"
He couldn't help but imagine doing just that, and the mental image of giving her another facial proved too much. He grunted, then pulled his dick out and glazed her face again. She wiped away the cum that tried to cover her eyes, then licked it off her fingers, collecting it all in her mouth before swallowing this time. He calmed down a little, then asked, "Are you alright? Did any get in your eyes?"
She giggled and said, "I'm fine. You still shot a good amount despite it being your third. I still haven't had my second orgasm, so you aren't done yet." She looked at his dick, which was starting to soften. "You had better hurry and put it back in before you go limp. And finger my ass while you fuck me, okay?"
He nodded, then slid his manhood back into her and began thrusting again. Looking at her, her face covered in his semen, aroused him enough to harden again and keep going. He stuck his finger in her ass and teased it while he kissed her cervix with the tip of his dick. After minutes of thrusting, they came together, her wrapping her arms around him and digging her fingernails into his back as she came. His fourth load was significantly smaller than the third, but it was still enough to satisfy her. She lovingly stroked his cheek as they laid together, still joined, and said, "I love you. ...Do you think you can go again?"
"I love you, too," he said before slowly shaking his head. "This was all I could manage. I'm sorry."
She flicked him on the forehead and said, "Don't be. I asked for four shots and you delivered. I wanted you to make me cum twice and you did. That's good enough for now. I'll clean us up so we can sleep, okay?"
He nodded, raised up, and pulled out of her, then let her clean the both of them off before falling onto the bed, falling asleep before his head even hit the pillow. She kissed him on the cheek, then got comfortable next to him and fell asleep.
...
After the succubus left the room and shut the door, Amarantha, stepping carefully, walked over to it and locked it, then made her way over to the bed and tried to sit down, but nearly bent her tail too far, which made her quickly stand back up and rub her tail. Zeraine, upon seeing this, asked, "You okay?"
She grabbed her tail and held it aside, then sat down without further problems. "Yeah, it's just that this form will take a lot of getting used to. These horns make my head feel weird, this tail is something I'll need to pay attention to, these wings are big, and these claws are ridiculously sharp. It all feels so strange, so ...different. I'm afraid now that I might hurt you by accident."
He sighed. "Well, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. For now, let's just enjoy each other's company, okay?"
She nodded and watched him strip. As he did, she looked down at herself and saw that she was still wearing the revealing outfit the succubus had conjured with her new form. She looked it over, trying to see how to take it off, but didn't find anything. She began worrying whether or not they'd be able to have sex, and if so, whether or not it'd be too much trouble to enjoy. Just as she finished pondering this, she looked up at Zeraine to see that he was just finishing taking off his underwear. She thought, "Well, I guess I can always give him a blowjob, then let him find some opening or something so he can rub me... I'd prefer that we do it normally, though."
He stepped over to her and asked, "Can you even take that off?"
She shrugged. "I looked at what I could, but there doesn't seem to be a way. Maybe you can find something?"
He looked over her body from her head to her toes, finding nothing. "She was so intent on us fucking with you in this form... It seems strange that she'd prevent it. Could she have overlooked something?"
Amarantha sighed with depression. "She might have. Sit here on the bed and I'll suck you off."
He sat down on the bed and she got off it, sitting on her knees on the floor in front of him. She started to reach for his penis, but reconsidered after remembering him pricking his finger on her claw earlier. She leaned in and began licking his dick, quickly getting it to maximum hardness. She then took it into her mouth and began sucking it. After about a minute, she quickly let go and looked down at herself, seeing her outfit fading away. The piece that hung from her waist up front disappeared, as well as the halter top part that covered her breasts and the "scaly claws" style piece that resembled a low-cut bra that held her breasts in place over said halter top. She was left naked, her body fully exposed. She looked up at Zeraine happily.
He nodded. "It took long enough, but it looks like it'll disappear when it comes time for sex. Shall we?"
She nodded and got up, then laid down on the bed on her side. Zeraine laid down next to her and began rubbing her breasts and kissing her. While still kissing her, after he was satisfied with massaging her breasts, he began running his hands over her naked body, feeling the contrast between the smooth skin and the scales. He gave her ass a squeeze, then began rubbing her tail. He felt of her wings with his other hand, then caressed her hip before moving to attack her crotch with his fingers.
She carefully put her arms around him and held him as they kissed, making sure not to let her claws touch his skin. At one point, they broke the kiss off to catch their breath, during which she said, "You know, I'm finding it kind of hard to enjoy this foreplay. I can't touch you with my claws, because if I do, I'll cut you, which means I can't play with you 'down there' for fear of cutting it."
Zeraine patted her on the ass with the hand he was using to rub her tail and said, "Don't worry. Few things ever go right the first time, and we're testing this new form of yours for the princess. We'll just have to tell her what we don't like about it tomorrow. For now, let's try to enjoy what we can, okay?" He then applied a little pressure to her clit, which caused her to moan.
She asked, "Who should take the lead?"
Zeraine thought for a second, then said, "I guess I will. Once we've done that for a while, if you want to take over, you can, okay?"
She nodded, then let go, allowing him to get up, pick her upper body up, and lay her on her back. Naturally, she worked with him by moving her wing so that it wouldn't be in the way. Once she was on her back, she spread her legs, inviting him in. He took the opportunity to bury his face in her crotch and lick her all over her mound, as well as inside her delicate-looking flower, occasionally flicking her clit with his tongue. She very much enjoyed it, as evidenced by her increasingly loud moans. She felt the approach of an orgasm and warned Zeraine, but he only licked more vigorously in response. Her body shook as she came, gushing her fluids out faster than Zeraine could lick them up. He left some wetness there to keep her lubricated for what came next, though.
As she lay there panting, her once again felt of her body, feeling the difference between the skin and scales. He chuckled and said, "You know, I think I understand Sol's scale fetish. Your scales feel nice."
She rolled her eyes and asked, "Are you still hard?"
He nodded. "Are you ready?"
She nodded, which he took as his cue to insert his penis into her vagina. He slowly slid it into her wet, warm hole until he bottomed out against her cervix, which caused her to twitch a little. She wrapped her arms around him and pulled him into a loving kiss as he began thrusting. After a short while, she wrapped her legs around his waist and started moving her own hips to match him, increasing the pleasure they both felt. Not long after that, they both came.
He collapsed on top of her, resting his head next to hers. She carefully petted the back of his head, making sure not to touch him with her claws. After they caught their breath, she asked, "Wanna go again?"
He grinned and replied, "I was about to ask you that. How do you want it?"
She thought for a second and answered, "Cowgirl."
He nodded in affirmation and pulled out, got up, and laid down next to her. She sat up, got on her knees, then mounted him, dripping his semen from her pussy everywhere as she did. She reached down with her hands and carefully used her palms and fingers to line him up, still being careful to keep her claws away from him. She impaled herself on his manhood and began riding and grinding, gradually speeding up. He quickly caught on to her rhythm and began thrusting from below, matching her movements. They held hands, interlocking their fingers together as she rode him to another mutual, simultaneous orgasm.
She got off him once she was sure he was through cumming, then laid down next to him, gave him a kiss, then went to sleep. He returned the affection, wrapped his arms around her, and fell asleep as well.
Chapter 101
Spoiler: show
The next morning, the succubus woke up feeling very good. She thought back to the previous night and grinned, remembering the hero's performance. She looked over at him and saw that he was still sleeping. She slowly and carefully got up and peeked around the curtains, seeing that the sun was up. She went back over to the bed and shook the hero, but he didn't wake up. She smiled mischievously and mumbled, "This'll wake you up..."
She grabbed his penis and took it into her mouth, then began sucking it. It responded to the stimulation and got hard quickly. She began rubbing his balls as well, seeing that this was causing him to stir. After about a minute, he woke up and looked down to see what the unexpected feeling at his crotch was. As his mind came together, allowing him to start processing the situation, he realized that she was giving him a blowjob. He shook off the sleepiness and asked, "What are you doing?"
She came off his dick with a slurping sound and said, "I tried shaking you and nothing happened, so sucking your dick was the next best thing."
"You just saw an opportunity to try for more sex and took it."
She smiled. "That was part of it. Still, you shouldn't complain about waking up to find me sucking you."
"Didn't we speak about moderation, as well as agree to only do it at night before bed? I know we were celebrating the success of your proposed 'new forms' for silver dragons, Lizardmen, and salamanders, but that was last night."
She sighed. "Yeah, we did. I'd like to change that so we do it in the morning right after waking up, as well as at night before bed. Can we?"
He shook his head. "No. Not yet, anyway. If Sol was any indication, I'll probably need the extra sex in the mornings, but not right now."
Her eyes lit up. "You mean after you become an incubus you'll agree to do it in the mornings, too!?"
He nodded. "Like I said, I'll probably need it, and it... It's not like I don't want it..." he said, his face reddening.
She let go of his dick and tackled him, planting several kisses all over his lips and cheeks, then firmly pressed her cheek against his.
He patted her on the back. "That was an enthusiastic reaction," he said, dryly.
She laughed a little and said, "It makes me happy to hear that you want me. Any time you want to do me, I'll accept, you know."
He wrapped his arms around her and said, "Well, I guess we should get dressed, right, my horny princess?"
She pulled back and looked at him, slightly upset. "I'm a succubus. Of course I'm horny!" she said, prodding him in the balls with her tail.
He endured it, then let her get up. He got up after that and they both got dressed. Upon collecting their things, she reassumed her disguise, then they left the room and went to Zeraine and Amarantha's room and knocked on the door.
...
Zeraine was the first of the two to wake up. He looked at the sleeping Amarantha, still in her 'new form', and saw that she was still naked. He kissed her on her cheek and gently shook her, causing her to slowly wake up. She yawned, stretched, and looked at Zeraine. "Do we have to tell her the details of last night?"
He nodded. "Yeah, I think we do. Your fear of hurting me with your claws, the 'clothing' not 'coming off' when you want it to, and your complaints about your balance; all of that should give her enough to think about when she 'tweaks' it to change it for the better."
She looked very reluctant, but she knew that the problems might persist if she didn't bring them to light. She got up and cleaned herself off. "...Is that 'outfit' going to come back, or do I have to stand here naked in front of them?"
Zeraine got up and cleaned himself off, then shrugged. "That might be another thing to tell her about. We'll just have to wait and see."
He got dressed and gathered their things. After a while, the "clothing" that Amarantha had in this form finally rematerialized. "Finally! This part definitely needs some changes."
Just as she finished saying that, they heard a knock at the door. Zeraine went to answer it and saw that it was the hero and the succubus. "Hey, good morning, guys."
The succubus grinned. "Did you two enjoy last night?"
Amarantha said, "Without telling you too much, here's what I don't like about it. First of all, these claws are extremely sharp. I know that my claws in my dragon form are, too, but that is only good for combat-related things. I couldn't use my hands for fear of hurting him. You saw how much he bled yesterday after feeling my claws with his fingers, right? I don't want that to happen again, especially during 'nighttime activities'. The tail, the wings, and the horns throw off my sense of balance. I know that if I had enough time to truly get used to it, it might not be so bad, but for now? It's possibly dangerous. I might get hung up on trying to compensate for the different balance even after returning to my normal form, and that could hinder my combat abilities and thus my ability to protect Zeraine. That said, when trying to sleep in a bed, the horns could get caught on things, like a pillow or the sheet or the blanket or whatever, and that could make it awkward. The wings make it hard to roll over from my side to my back and vice versa. The tail, when laying on my back, prevents my ass from making contact with the bed, which causes my legs to have to bend backward a bit when I relax. Lastly, this outfit with its ability to appear and disappear is flawed. When I wanted to take it off, I wasn't able to. After a while, it disappeared, but it took too damn long to get to that point. It should follow my will as to when I want it to be there and when I don't. Similarly, after I woke up, it took too damn long to come back. I was afraid of having to talk to you while naked."
The succubus nodded, taking in all the info. "I'll make some changes and see what I can do, okay?"
She nodded. Zeraine decided to add, "Her extra parts sort of got in the way a bit when we tried missionary, but there was no problem with cowgirl. I'd imagine that doggy style wouldn't give us any trouble aside from her tail maybe getting in the way a little, or her wings getting in the way if I go to hug her from behind."
Amarantha blushed and pleadingly complained, "Zeraine!"
The succubus shrugged. "Well, the horns, wings, tail, claws, and scales are pretty much necessary to show that she's a dragon while giving her a form that's human enough for you two to 'have fun' with. I'll see what I can do about the balance and the flexibility, and since the claws are supposed to be that sharp, I'll simply do something else to see about fixing that. For that, I think I'll change how demonic energy works so that when you do it with a monster, her demonic energy will automatically flow into you and protect you from horns, claws, spines and whatnot. I'll also see about changing the 'disappearing outfit' thing. I thought it would work well enough when triggered by a certain amount of arousal, but it seems I was wrong. I'll try to bring it more under your control."
Amarantha was obviously not pleased, but she set that aside. "Can we change me back to my real forms?"
The succubus nodded and cast the illusion spell to disguise Amarantha as herself in her human form, then led everyone out of town. They checked out of the inn on the way and returned to the spot where the succubus had conducted her test. She dispelled the polymorph spell on Amarantha, allowing her to return to her dragon form, then transform back to her human form. She was more steady on her feet, but still a bit clumsy from the episode with her future new form.
The party checked their supplies, making sure they had everything they needed, then returned to town and went to the diner. After eating breakfast, they started to leave town when they were approached by a guard.
"Good morning to you," he said.
The hero returned the greeting. "Good morning. Do you need something?"
The guard held out a small pouch. "You helped us bring in that thief, but you left the courtroom before everything was done. It's a bit embarrassing to admit it, but it took us until late yesterday evening to find out that you were staying at the inn, and by the time we found out, it was too late in the evening to visit you. This pouch of 50 gold is our way of thanking you for your help. That prick was rather 'active' from what we've found."
The hero pocketed the money and said, "You're welcome. As a knight of The Order, I am expected to help local law enforcement in such situations. I'm glad we could bring him to justice. Now, my companions and I must be leaving. Good day."
The guard gave a slight bow and walked away, after which the party left town and began heading for Stormforge.
She grabbed his penis and took it into her mouth, then began sucking it. It responded to the stimulation and got hard quickly. She began rubbing his balls as well, seeing that this was causing him to stir. After about a minute, he woke up and looked down to see what the unexpected feeling at his crotch was. As his mind came together, allowing him to start processing the situation, he realized that she was giving him a blowjob. He shook off the sleepiness and asked, "What are you doing?"
She came off his dick with a slurping sound and said, "I tried shaking you and nothing happened, so sucking your dick was the next best thing."
"You just saw an opportunity to try for more sex and took it."
She smiled. "That was part of it. Still, you shouldn't complain about waking up to find me sucking you."
"Didn't we speak about moderation, as well as agree to only do it at night before bed? I know we were celebrating the success of your proposed 'new forms' for silver dragons, Lizardmen, and salamanders, but that was last night."
She sighed. "Yeah, we did. I'd like to change that so we do it in the morning right after waking up, as well as at night before bed. Can we?"
He shook his head. "No. Not yet, anyway. If Sol was any indication, I'll probably need the extra sex in the mornings, but not right now."
Her eyes lit up. "You mean after you become an incubus you'll agree to do it in the mornings, too!?"
He nodded. "Like I said, I'll probably need it, and it... It's not like I don't want it..." he said, his face reddening.
She let go of his dick and tackled him, planting several kisses all over his lips and cheeks, then firmly pressed her cheek against his.
He patted her on the back. "That was an enthusiastic reaction," he said, dryly.
She laughed a little and said, "It makes me happy to hear that you want me. Any time you want to do me, I'll accept, you know."
He wrapped his arms around her and said, "Well, I guess we should get dressed, right, my horny princess?"
She pulled back and looked at him, slightly upset. "I'm a succubus. Of course I'm horny!" she said, prodding him in the balls with her tail.
He endured it, then let her get up. He got up after that and they both got dressed. Upon collecting their things, she reassumed her disguise, then they left the room and went to Zeraine and Amarantha's room and knocked on the door.
...
Zeraine was the first of the two to wake up. He looked at the sleeping Amarantha, still in her 'new form', and saw that she was still naked. He kissed her on her cheek and gently shook her, causing her to slowly wake up. She yawned, stretched, and looked at Zeraine. "Do we have to tell her the details of last night?"
He nodded. "Yeah, I think we do. Your fear of hurting me with your claws, the 'clothing' not 'coming off' when you want it to, and your complaints about your balance; all of that should give her enough to think about when she 'tweaks' it to change it for the better."
She looked very reluctant, but she knew that the problems might persist if she didn't bring them to light. She got up and cleaned herself off. "...Is that 'outfit' going to come back, or do I have to stand here naked in front of them?"
Zeraine got up and cleaned himself off, then shrugged. "That might be another thing to tell her about. We'll just have to wait and see."
He got dressed and gathered their things. After a while, the "clothing" that Amarantha had in this form finally rematerialized. "Finally! This part definitely needs some changes."
Just as she finished saying that, they heard a knock at the door. Zeraine went to answer it and saw that it was the hero and the succubus. "Hey, good morning, guys."
The succubus grinned. "Did you two enjoy last night?"
Amarantha said, "Without telling you too much, here's what I don't like about it. First of all, these claws are extremely sharp. I know that my claws in my dragon form are, too, but that is only good for combat-related things. I couldn't use my hands for fear of hurting him. You saw how much he bled yesterday after feeling my claws with his fingers, right? I don't want that to happen again, especially during 'nighttime activities'. The tail, the wings, and the horns throw off my sense of balance. I know that if I had enough time to truly get used to it, it might not be so bad, but for now? It's possibly dangerous. I might get hung up on trying to compensate for the different balance even after returning to my normal form, and that could hinder my combat abilities and thus my ability to protect Zeraine. That said, when trying to sleep in a bed, the horns could get caught on things, like a pillow or the sheet or the blanket or whatever, and that could make it awkward. The wings make it hard to roll over from my side to my back and vice versa. The tail, when laying on my back, prevents my ass from making contact with the bed, which causes my legs to have to bend backward a bit when I relax. Lastly, this outfit with its ability to appear and disappear is flawed. When I wanted to take it off, I wasn't able to. After a while, it disappeared, but it took too damn long to get to that point. It should follow my will as to when I want it to be there and when I don't. Similarly, after I woke up, it took too damn long to come back. I was afraid of having to talk to you while naked."
The succubus nodded, taking in all the info. "I'll make some changes and see what I can do, okay?"
She nodded. Zeraine decided to add, "Her extra parts sort of got in the way a bit when we tried missionary, but there was no problem with cowgirl. I'd imagine that doggy style wouldn't give us any trouble aside from her tail maybe getting in the way a little, or her wings getting in the way if I go to hug her from behind."
Amarantha blushed and pleadingly complained, "Zeraine!"
The succubus shrugged. "Well, the horns, wings, tail, claws, and scales are pretty much necessary to show that she's a dragon while giving her a form that's human enough for you two to 'have fun' with. I'll see what I can do about the balance and the flexibility, and since the claws are supposed to be that sharp, I'll simply do something else to see about fixing that. For that, I think I'll change how demonic energy works so that when you do it with a monster, her demonic energy will automatically flow into you and protect you from horns, claws, spines and whatnot. I'll also see about changing the 'disappearing outfit' thing. I thought it would work well enough when triggered by a certain amount of arousal, but it seems I was wrong. I'll try to bring it more under your control."
Amarantha was obviously not pleased, but she set that aside. "Can we change me back to my real forms?"
The succubus nodded and cast the illusion spell to disguise Amarantha as herself in her human form, then led everyone out of town. They checked out of the inn on the way and returned to the spot where the succubus had conducted her test. She dispelled the polymorph spell on Amarantha, allowing her to return to her dragon form, then transform back to her human form. She was more steady on her feet, but still a bit clumsy from the episode with her future new form.
The party checked their supplies, making sure they had everything they needed, then returned to town and went to the diner. After eating breakfast, they started to leave town when they were approached by a guard.
"Good morning to you," he said.
The hero returned the greeting. "Good morning. Do you need something?"
The guard held out a small pouch. "You helped us bring in that thief, but you left the courtroom before everything was done. It's a bit embarrassing to admit it, but it took us until late yesterday evening to find out that you were staying at the inn, and by the time we found out, it was too late in the evening to visit you. This pouch of 50 gold is our way of thanking you for your help. That prick was rather 'active' from what we've found."
The hero pocketed the money and said, "You're welcome. As a knight of The Order, I am expected to help local law enforcement in such situations. I'm glad we could bring him to justice. Now, my companions and I must be leaving. Good day."
The guard gave a slight bow and walked away, after which the party left town and began heading for Stormforge.
Chapter 102
Spoiler: show
A couple of uneventful days of traveling later, the party reached Stormforge. The first things they did were check into the inn and find a place to eat lunch. Afterwards, they checked around in the various shops for useful equipment such as better armor or weapons, as well as spell tomes and other magic books.
As fortune would have it, the succubus found a book in the city library that taught how to cast Holy Trap. She also found a book from which she learned the spell Anselm. She smiled happily upon finishing learning them, eager to teach the hero, but also considering making him "work" for them. She left the decision unmade for now and went to find him.
...
Zeraine and Amarantha wandered around town aimlessly, conversing. At one point, their conversation came to her inevitable new form. Zeraine said, "I wonder, just how is she going to fix those problems?"
Amarantha said, "The balance and outfit stuff? If she's successful at making those changes to the properties of demonic energy, we won't have to worry about the claws hurting you, even if I really dig my fingers in, you know?"
He looked at her, his eyebrow raised. "You not going to squeeze it that hard, are you? That would hurt like hell."
She shook her head. "I mean when you're on top and doing your thing. If I get the urge to dig my fingers into your back, I won't have to worry about hurting you."
He scoffed. "Am I that good?"
She smiled coyly. "Sometimes. I have to keep myself from doing that, though, because even with how things are right now, if I did that, we could have an unfortunate accident."
He snickered proudly. "Well, if she makes it so that the outfit comes off when you tell it to, that might work. I don't know how she could make your wings more flexible or how she'd try to solve the balance issue, though."
Amarantha quietly and shyly asked, "Um, Zeraine? When she decides to test it again, are we going to try doggy style position?"
"We can if you want. Why?"
"Uh, well, it's just... I'd rather we do it facing each other. I mean, if you really want to do it, I'd go along with it, but..."
He put one arm around her shoulder and rubbed her upper arm, leaning his head against hers. "I'd like to try it some time, both with you in this form, and in your new one, but if you're uncomfortable with it, we won't do it. Don't worry, Ammie."
After enjoying the moment, Amarantha said, "Let's find the kid. He might have found some decent work for us."
He patted her on the shoulder and they left to find the hero.
...
The hero had been tasked with checking the notice boards around the city. So far, he had found a couple of promising flyers. One was a job involving guarding a storeroom for a day. The other involved helping haul ore from the Dwarven mines to town. As he looked over the last board he could find, a fancily dressed man who must have been in his 40s approached him. "You're an Order knight, correct?"
The hero nodded. "That I am. You need something?"
The man hesitantly nodded. "This may sound outlandish, but we need a problem solved."
"What kind of problem?"
"There's this dragon that threatens to destroy our city. We've been keeping him at bay by agreeing to feed him, but it's costing us greatly. Another week or so and we'll be unable to keep the city going. If a knight of The Order can handle slaying the beast, then I'd like to hire you."
The hero gave the man a strange look. "A dragon? What kind?"
"I don't know. I just know it's light in color."
The hero pondered this for a while, wondering if Amarantha's clan might have anything to do with it or if they'd know anything. "Let me discuss it with my companions and we'll decide. Dragons aren't exactly easy to handle, you know. Still, from the sound of things, this one needs to be slain, so we'll see what we can do, but I won't make any guarantees."
The man looked hopeful, but he kept his wits about him. "Please hurry back and let me know, okay?"
The hero nodded and left to look for everyone else. He eventually ran into Zeraine and Amarantha. "Hey, guys. Where's the princess?" he asked.
Zeraine grinned. "Don't worry, kid. She seems loyal, so I doubt you'll have to worry."
The hero glared at him and said, "I trust her. Don't even joke like that. Now, we need to find her. I have two notices that sound good, and a city official approached me with an important request."
Zeraine apologized and Amarantha asked, "What's the request?"
The hero looked around. "I'll tell you when we're all together. It won't be a cakewalk, I can tell you that."
A few seconds later, the succubus ran up and hugged the hero. "Guess what? I learned Holy Trap from a book at the library! Also, I found another good spell that'll come in handy, too. I'll teach you one of them tonight, okay?"
The hero hugged her back. "That's great! I can't wait to learn them. Anyway, now that we're all here... I found a notice for guarding a storeroom for a day and another for hauling ore from the mines to the city. They seem like they'd be easy enough and the pay is somewhat decent, so we might want to look into them. Aside from that, a city official approached me with the request to slay a dragon."
Amarantha immediately looked both offended and concerned. "What the hell?"
The hero said, "It sounds strange, yes, but the man said the city badly needs someone to kill it. He told me the dragon has threatened to destroy the city, but they've held him off by feeding him. The problem is that they're running out of money for it, and in another week, the city will apparently go bankrupt. They need someone to slay the dragon and save the city. Amarantha, do you have any insight or advice? Could your clan know anything or maybe help?"
Amarantha said, "I haven't been in this area in decades, so no, I don't have any insight or advice other than the obvious, which is 'dragons are very strong, so don't fight one if you can avoid it'. My clan would never do something like that, so it must be a rogue dragon. I don't know if they could help or not because I don't know if they're still up there. After hearing this, I'm worried. I doubt they'd let something like this happen if they knew about it, which means that the dragon in question must be being pretty stealthy about this, and I guess the city officials are, too. If it's just one dragon by itself, I might be able to handle it. Depending on what kind it is, I might need help from you guys, or I might not be able to do it. Did the man describe it at all?"
The hero shrugged. "He didn't know what kind it was. He only knew that it was light in color."
Amarantha crossed her arms. "Still, I'm confident that my clan wouldn't do such a thing. Silver dragons are almost always good and righteous, and everyone from my clan definitely was, so... Anyway, a light colored dragon? There are quite a few that could fit into that description. I can assure you, though, that my clan isn't responsible."
The hero held up his hands and made a "pushing down" motion in an attempt to calm her, then asked, "So what do you guys think we should do? Should we accept it? Or should we try to see if Amarantha's clan is still around and if they can help?"
The succubus said, "Well, obviously a dragon, no matter what kind, is no joke. We may have our own, but as she admitted, even with our help she might not be enough, depending on what kind of dragon we're up against. Personally, I'd like to seek assistance from Amarantha's clan. It would be the safest way to do things."
Zeraine nodded. "I agree. We should play it safe and get Ammie's clan to help, if they're still around."
Amarantha said, "I'm worried about my clan, so I think we should go check on them first."
The hero said, "Alright, then. I'll go back to that guy and tell him that we'll accept the request, but we'll have to take care of something else first."
The succubus said, "We're coming with you."
Following the hero, they all went to the man, who was still waiting by the notice board. He saw them and, seeing that they were following the hero, he said, "You're back! What did you decide?"
The hero said, "We'll accept, but we need to take care of something first."
The man looked horrified for a second, then started getting angry. "What do you mean? The dragon must die as soon as possible!"
The hero said, "The four of us have to go into the mountains for something, but if things go well, we might get even more help. The more people we have helping us, the better our chances of success will be against the dragon. Does that make sense to you?"
The man thought about it for a second, then calmed down. "Yes... Yes, you're right. I'm sorry. We're on our last leg here, you know? If this will help to ensure that you get rid of it, then please, by all means do it. Try not to take too long, though. We need you."
The hero nodded. "Tell me your name so I can find you afterward."
The man nodded. "Oh, yes. Please, excuse me. I was so desperate for help with this issue that I forgot to introduce myself. I am Gaston." He bowed politely.
Everyone introduced themselves, but the succubus and Amarantha kept their true natures to themselves. The hero said, "It shouldn't take too long to get it done. We'll be leaving to head into the mountains tomorrow morning. If all goes well, we should be done in a day or two, and if things go really well, we should be coming back with some help."
Gaston bowed again. "Thank you. You'll be saving this entire city."
The succubus asked, "Who knows about this problem? Do the citizens know?"
Gaston shook his head and said, "No. We're trying to keep it quiet to avoid riots or mass panicking."
She nodded. "I see. Keep it that way if you can."
"Will do."
The party returned to the inn, went to the room shared by the hero and the succubus, and began brainstorming over how to fight the dragon.
As fortune would have it, the succubus found a book in the city library that taught how to cast Holy Trap. She also found a book from which she learned the spell Anselm. She smiled happily upon finishing learning them, eager to teach the hero, but also considering making him "work" for them. She left the decision unmade for now and went to find him.
...
Zeraine and Amarantha wandered around town aimlessly, conversing. At one point, their conversation came to her inevitable new form. Zeraine said, "I wonder, just how is she going to fix those problems?"
Amarantha said, "The balance and outfit stuff? If she's successful at making those changes to the properties of demonic energy, we won't have to worry about the claws hurting you, even if I really dig my fingers in, you know?"
He looked at her, his eyebrow raised. "You not going to squeeze it that hard, are you? That would hurt like hell."
She shook her head. "I mean when you're on top and doing your thing. If I get the urge to dig my fingers into your back, I won't have to worry about hurting you."
He scoffed. "Am I that good?"
She smiled coyly. "Sometimes. I have to keep myself from doing that, though, because even with how things are right now, if I did that, we could have an unfortunate accident."
He snickered proudly. "Well, if she makes it so that the outfit comes off when you tell it to, that might work. I don't know how she could make your wings more flexible or how she'd try to solve the balance issue, though."
Amarantha quietly and shyly asked, "Um, Zeraine? When she decides to test it again, are we going to try doggy style position?"
"We can if you want. Why?"
"Uh, well, it's just... I'd rather we do it facing each other. I mean, if you really want to do it, I'd go along with it, but..."
He put one arm around her shoulder and rubbed her upper arm, leaning his head against hers. "I'd like to try it some time, both with you in this form, and in your new one, but if you're uncomfortable with it, we won't do it. Don't worry, Ammie."
After enjoying the moment, Amarantha said, "Let's find the kid. He might have found some decent work for us."
He patted her on the shoulder and they left to find the hero.
...
The hero had been tasked with checking the notice boards around the city. So far, he had found a couple of promising flyers. One was a job involving guarding a storeroom for a day. The other involved helping haul ore from the Dwarven mines to town. As he looked over the last board he could find, a fancily dressed man who must have been in his 40s approached him. "You're an Order knight, correct?"
The hero nodded. "That I am. You need something?"
The man hesitantly nodded. "This may sound outlandish, but we need a problem solved."
"What kind of problem?"
"There's this dragon that threatens to destroy our city. We've been keeping him at bay by agreeing to feed him, but it's costing us greatly. Another week or so and we'll be unable to keep the city going. If a knight of The Order can handle slaying the beast, then I'd like to hire you."
The hero gave the man a strange look. "A dragon? What kind?"
"I don't know. I just know it's light in color."
The hero pondered this for a while, wondering if Amarantha's clan might have anything to do with it or if they'd know anything. "Let me discuss it with my companions and we'll decide. Dragons aren't exactly easy to handle, you know. Still, from the sound of things, this one needs to be slain, so we'll see what we can do, but I won't make any guarantees."
The man looked hopeful, but he kept his wits about him. "Please hurry back and let me know, okay?"
The hero nodded and left to look for everyone else. He eventually ran into Zeraine and Amarantha. "Hey, guys. Where's the princess?" he asked.
Zeraine grinned. "Don't worry, kid. She seems loyal, so I doubt you'll have to worry."
The hero glared at him and said, "I trust her. Don't even joke like that. Now, we need to find her. I have two notices that sound good, and a city official approached me with an important request."
Zeraine apologized and Amarantha asked, "What's the request?"
The hero looked around. "I'll tell you when we're all together. It won't be a cakewalk, I can tell you that."
A few seconds later, the succubus ran up and hugged the hero. "Guess what? I learned Holy Trap from a book at the library! Also, I found another good spell that'll come in handy, too. I'll teach you one of them tonight, okay?"
The hero hugged her back. "That's great! I can't wait to learn them. Anyway, now that we're all here... I found a notice for guarding a storeroom for a day and another for hauling ore from the mines to the city. They seem like they'd be easy enough and the pay is somewhat decent, so we might want to look into them. Aside from that, a city official approached me with the request to slay a dragon."
Amarantha immediately looked both offended and concerned. "What the hell?"
The hero said, "It sounds strange, yes, but the man said the city badly needs someone to kill it. He told me the dragon has threatened to destroy the city, but they've held him off by feeding him. The problem is that they're running out of money for it, and in another week, the city will apparently go bankrupt. They need someone to slay the dragon and save the city. Amarantha, do you have any insight or advice? Could your clan know anything or maybe help?"
Amarantha said, "I haven't been in this area in decades, so no, I don't have any insight or advice other than the obvious, which is 'dragons are very strong, so don't fight one if you can avoid it'. My clan would never do something like that, so it must be a rogue dragon. I don't know if they could help or not because I don't know if they're still up there. After hearing this, I'm worried. I doubt they'd let something like this happen if they knew about it, which means that the dragon in question must be being pretty stealthy about this, and I guess the city officials are, too. If it's just one dragon by itself, I might be able to handle it. Depending on what kind it is, I might need help from you guys, or I might not be able to do it. Did the man describe it at all?"
The hero shrugged. "He didn't know what kind it was. He only knew that it was light in color."
Amarantha crossed her arms. "Still, I'm confident that my clan wouldn't do such a thing. Silver dragons are almost always good and righteous, and everyone from my clan definitely was, so... Anyway, a light colored dragon? There are quite a few that could fit into that description. I can assure you, though, that my clan isn't responsible."
The hero held up his hands and made a "pushing down" motion in an attempt to calm her, then asked, "So what do you guys think we should do? Should we accept it? Or should we try to see if Amarantha's clan is still around and if they can help?"
The succubus said, "Well, obviously a dragon, no matter what kind, is no joke. We may have our own, but as she admitted, even with our help she might not be enough, depending on what kind of dragon we're up against. Personally, I'd like to seek assistance from Amarantha's clan. It would be the safest way to do things."
Zeraine nodded. "I agree. We should play it safe and get Ammie's clan to help, if they're still around."
Amarantha said, "I'm worried about my clan, so I think we should go check on them first."
The hero said, "Alright, then. I'll go back to that guy and tell him that we'll accept the request, but we'll have to take care of something else first."
The succubus said, "We're coming with you."
Following the hero, they all went to the man, who was still waiting by the notice board. He saw them and, seeing that they were following the hero, he said, "You're back! What did you decide?"
The hero said, "We'll accept, but we need to take care of something first."
The man looked horrified for a second, then started getting angry. "What do you mean? The dragon must die as soon as possible!"
The hero said, "The four of us have to go into the mountains for something, but if things go well, we might get even more help. The more people we have helping us, the better our chances of success will be against the dragon. Does that make sense to you?"
The man thought about it for a second, then calmed down. "Yes... Yes, you're right. I'm sorry. We're on our last leg here, you know? If this will help to ensure that you get rid of it, then please, by all means do it. Try not to take too long, though. We need you."
The hero nodded. "Tell me your name so I can find you afterward."
The man nodded. "Oh, yes. Please, excuse me. I was so desperate for help with this issue that I forgot to introduce myself. I am Gaston." He bowed politely.
Everyone introduced themselves, but the succubus and Amarantha kept their true natures to themselves. The hero said, "It shouldn't take too long to get it done. We'll be leaving to head into the mountains tomorrow morning. If all goes well, we should be done in a day or two, and if things go really well, we should be coming back with some help."
Gaston bowed again. "Thank you. You'll be saving this entire city."
The succubus asked, "Who knows about this problem? Do the citizens know?"
Gaston shook his head and said, "No. We're trying to keep it quiet to avoid riots or mass panicking."
She nodded. "I see. Keep it that way if you can."
"Will do."
The party returned to the inn, went to the room shared by the hero and the succubus, and began brainstorming over how to fight the dragon.
Chapter 103
Spoiler: show
After a few minutes of silence and hard thinking, the hero sighed and said, "If we knew more about it, we could better formulate a plan. 'Light in color' doesn't tell us much. I'm not exactly an expert on the different types of dragons in the world, but I do know that 'light in color' could mean silver, white, brass, bronze, gold, yellow, and a few others. Depending on what it is, we might have to deal with ice, fire... anything, actually. We're screwed if we can't form a decent plan, but to do that, we need to know what type it is."
Amarantha frowned at him and said, "I can assure you that it's not a silver or gold dragon. Brass and bronze dragons don't tend to live around these types of areas, and neither do yellows. 'Light in color' rules out reds, unless there's a red out there with pale enough scales to be called that, and blacks are definitely out. Sure, there's the possibility of a necromancer commanding an undead dragon, or a dragon of one of the aforementioned types living out here for some weird reason, so that doesn't really mean much. Under normal circumstances, it'd pretty much have to be one of the types that dwell in the mountains or one of the types that wander around. There's no way to tell unless we see it for ourselves."
Zeraine scoffed. "Well, I know you're really strong, Ammie, but do you think you could handle fighting another dragon on your own?"
She shrugged. "If it's younger than me, probably. If it's older than me, I might need everybody's help. If it's a really old dragon, we'll probably need more than what we have here, like my clan, if they're still around, or a little help from some mages, Sol included. ...If you can get his mind off of having sex with Vicky and Hilda, that is. All I can say is, 'we'll see'."
The succubus said, "Alright, everyone calm down. We will find a way to get through this when we get more info. The only way you can justify saying that we're screwed is if it's one of those old, powerful dragons, or if we've recently had sex. I guess we'll talk with Amarantha's clan if they're up there, and if they're not, we'll think of something else. Until then, we need to find some way to kill time until tomorrow morning. Personally, as you can probably guess, I'd prefer to spend that time teaching my husband these new spells, followed by nonstop sex until tonight, but I doubt he'll agree, right honey?"
The hero cleared his throat. "Can't you teach me the spells and let me practice them and the Signs until tonight? We don't need to spend all that time doing nothing but fucking."
Zeraine said, "Guys, keep the personal stuff private between you, okay? Now, what is there to do?"
The hero showed them the flyers. Zeraine looked at them closely and frowned. "Guarding a storeroom and hauling ore? That's all they had?"
The hero nodded.
Amarantha said, "Okay, how about this; I'll take the ore-hauling job, if they're still hiring at this time of day, and Zeraine will take the guard job. You two will practice magic and stuff, then tonight we'll all get some sleep and head out in the morning. Sound good?"
Everyone nodded. Zeraine took the flyer for the guard job and stood up. "I'll go see about this job right now. See you guys later, okay?"
Amarantha grabbed the flyer for the ore-hauling job. "And I'll go see about this one."
After they left, the hero and the succubus looked at each other. She smiled at him and asked, "How about loosening up before the lessons?"
He shook his head. "Teach me the spells and we'll find a way to let me try them out. After that, we'll both practice for a while. We can have sex tonight like usual."
She nodded, satisfied with his answer. "Okay. One thing though... You know, after I turn you into an incubus, you'll get more out of having sex with me than you will out of practicing the spells."
He paused in thought for a moment and said, "Maybe, but I have to know how to cast them. If I practice them and familiarize myself with casting them, I'll be able to use them more effectively than I would if I only spent my time in bed with you. Also, even though magic is very powerful, I still need my physical capabilities. I need to practice with my sword and shield to stay good with them, and I don't think that having sex instead will keep my skills sharp."
She shrugged. "True. You will get stronger, though, and your magic will get more powerful. Anyway, let's get to it. As I promised, since I've learned Holy Trap, I'll teach it to you. After that, I'll teach you the other spell, Anselm. I think it'd be great for you, what with your 'Order Paladin'-like stuff."
The hero raised an eyebrow. "What is Anselm and what does it do?"
"It's a light-element spell, and it shoots out arrows of light that have a homing effect. The incantation is short, and unless the enemy is using enchanted armor, or spells to protect themselves, they might as well be naked, because if the enemy's means of protection aren't magic, they're useless against this spell."
The hero nodded, very interested. "Sounds good to me. I know I won't end up limited to only one element, right?"
She scoffed. "Of course. I'm not about to let you be a one-trick pony. Still, this might become your main method of attack when it comes to magic."
She proceeded to teach him both spells, then they went outside of town to let him test them. The hero remembered that he hadn't tested the other elemental Trap spells yet and told the succubus. She realized it, too, and accommodated him by summoning animated scarecrows for him to use as targets. He cast one Fire Trap and one Ice Trap, then had to wait for his enchanted amulet to restore his spirit energy. While he waited, she had her scarecrows step on the traps, setting them off. The Fire Trap spell worked exactly like the scroll version, causing a fiery explosion, blowing the scarecrow to pieces and lighting what was left on fire. The next one stepped on the Ice Trap and got hit with the explosion of ice shards, leaving it in pieces. Once he had recovered enough, he set a Shock Trap and tried to set a Holy Trap, but failed.
When he looked over at her, she said, "Holy Trap costs more energy to cast than the other elemental Trap spells. You'll have to wait a while before you can cast it."
He nodded, then watched as she made the third scarecrow set off the Shock Trap. It smoked and burned as the lightning zapped it and eventually caught fire. He nodded in satisfaction upon seeing that, then said, "So I have to wait before I can cast Holy Trap?"
She shrugged. "Try it again. If you succeed, good. If not, I want to make out until you can."
He took a breath and tried again, this time succeeding because, unlike the previous attempt, he had regenerated enough spirit energy to do so. She made one of the two remaining scarecrows set if off, causing a blinding flash. When the light dissipated, the scarecrow was undamaged. He looked at her with a slightly confused expression, to which she responded by saying, "If it's undead or 'evil', then Holy Trap will do damage. Otherwise, it just temporarily blinds them. Now, all that's left is testing Anselm, and I know you don't yet have enough energy to cast it, so until you recover, let's lock lips, okay?"
He shrugged, not having any complaints about kissing her. The two of them started off slow but quickly got into what could be called a frenzy of kissing. She hungrily went at him, entwining her tongue with his when she wasn't thrashing it around inside his mouth, trying to lick every last inch. He tried to kiss back in a similar fashion, but he couldn't keep up with her sudden desperation. After about two minutes of this, she finally forced herself to stop. They stood there in each other's arms, panting. He asked, "Was there any particular reason for that intensity?"
She looked him in the eye and asked, "Are you complaining?"
"No. I was just wondering if something was wrong. We got to the 'fast' stuff a bit early, I think."
"I did it because I could. I love you, and when I get the opportunity to get intimate with you, I'm going to take it, and I'm going to do so like I just did. You shouldn't have any reason to complain."
"I'm not complaining. I'm just surprised."
"And rock-hard," she added, giggling as she rubbed her hand over his groin.
"We'll do it tonight, okay? Wait until then."
She took her hand off of his crotch and sighed. "Fine." She then gave him a quick kiss on the lips and said, "Now, show me that you learned Anselm."
He let go of her and faced the final scarecrow. He held out his hand and focused, then spoke the incantation. "Tai To Low. Anselm!" Three light arrows shot from his palm and hit the scarecrow, tearing it apart. He turned back to her and said, "I think you're right. I might just use this as my 'first attack spell'."
She walked up to him and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him into another deep kiss that lasted a full 10 seconds. When she pulled back, she said, "Three arrows already... You really are amazing."
He scoffed. "Are you sure it's not because of all the sex we've had up to now?"
She smiled. "Part of it is the sex, so yes, you can thank me for giving you the boosts you got from each session, but your ability to focus is part of it, too, and that is all you."
He grinned. "Thanks, honey. Let's go back to the inn and think about something to do until Zeraine and Amarantha are done."
She nodded and began walking with him back to the inn. "You already know what I want to do."
He rolled his eyes. "Yes, I know."
She looked at him pleadingly and asked, "Can we? We don't have anything else to do..."
He still had a partial erection from their making out at the edge of the forest during the practice session, and this caused him to think about it. After a couple of minutes of thinking, he sighed. "Well, it'd be better than sitting around twiddling our thumbs, so yes, we'll do it."
She nearly squealed with delight as she jumped on him, throwing her arms around him and kissing him repeatedly, much to his embarrassment, for there were people who, despite not hearing, could clearly see the spectacle. They returned to the inn, went to their room, stripped, and got to it.
Amarantha frowned at him and said, "I can assure you that it's not a silver or gold dragon. Brass and bronze dragons don't tend to live around these types of areas, and neither do yellows. 'Light in color' rules out reds, unless there's a red out there with pale enough scales to be called that, and blacks are definitely out. Sure, there's the possibility of a necromancer commanding an undead dragon, or a dragon of one of the aforementioned types living out here for some weird reason, so that doesn't really mean much. Under normal circumstances, it'd pretty much have to be one of the types that dwell in the mountains or one of the types that wander around. There's no way to tell unless we see it for ourselves."
Zeraine scoffed. "Well, I know you're really strong, Ammie, but do you think you could handle fighting another dragon on your own?"
She shrugged. "If it's younger than me, probably. If it's older than me, I might need everybody's help. If it's a really old dragon, we'll probably need more than what we have here, like my clan, if they're still around, or a little help from some mages, Sol included. ...If you can get his mind off of having sex with Vicky and Hilda, that is. All I can say is, 'we'll see'."
The succubus said, "Alright, everyone calm down. We will find a way to get through this when we get more info. The only way you can justify saying that we're screwed is if it's one of those old, powerful dragons, or if we've recently had sex. I guess we'll talk with Amarantha's clan if they're up there, and if they're not, we'll think of something else. Until then, we need to find some way to kill time until tomorrow morning. Personally, as you can probably guess, I'd prefer to spend that time teaching my husband these new spells, followed by nonstop sex until tonight, but I doubt he'll agree, right honey?"
The hero cleared his throat. "Can't you teach me the spells and let me practice them and the Signs until tonight? We don't need to spend all that time doing nothing but fucking."
Zeraine said, "Guys, keep the personal stuff private between you, okay? Now, what is there to do?"
The hero showed them the flyers. Zeraine looked at them closely and frowned. "Guarding a storeroom and hauling ore? That's all they had?"
The hero nodded.
Amarantha said, "Okay, how about this; I'll take the ore-hauling job, if they're still hiring at this time of day, and Zeraine will take the guard job. You two will practice magic and stuff, then tonight we'll all get some sleep and head out in the morning. Sound good?"
Everyone nodded. Zeraine took the flyer for the guard job and stood up. "I'll go see about this job right now. See you guys later, okay?"
Amarantha grabbed the flyer for the ore-hauling job. "And I'll go see about this one."
After they left, the hero and the succubus looked at each other. She smiled at him and asked, "How about loosening up before the lessons?"
He shook his head. "Teach me the spells and we'll find a way to let me try them out. After that, we'll both practice for a while. We can have sex tonight like usual."
She nodded, satisfied with his answer. "Okay. One thing though... You know, after I turn you into an incubus, you'll get more out of having sex with me than you will out of practicing the spells."
He paused in thought for a moment and said, "Maybe, but I have to know how to cast them. If I practice them and familiarize myself with casting them, I'll be able to use them more effectively than I would if I only spent my time in bed with you. Also, even though magic is very powerful, I still need my physical capabilities. I need to practice with my sword and shield to stay good with them, and I don't think that having sex instead will keep my skills sharp."
She shrugged. "True. You will get stronger, though, and your magic will get more powerful. Anyway, let's get to it. As I promised, since I've learned Holy Trap, I'll teach it to you. After that, I'll teach you the other spell, Anselm. I think it'd be great for you, what with your 'Order Paladin'-like stuff."
The hero raised an eyebrow. "What is Anselm and what does it do?"
"It's a light-element spell, and it shoots out arrows of light that have a homing effect. The incantation is short, and unless the enemy is using enchanted armor, or spells to protect themselves, they might as well be naked, because if the enemy's means of protection aren't magic, they're useless against this spell."
The hero nodded, very interested. "Sounds good to me. I know I won't end up limited to only one element, right?"
She scoffed. "Of course. I'm not about to let you be a one-trick pony. Still, this might become your main method of attack when it comes to magic."
She proceeded to teach him both spells, then they went outside of town to let him test them. The hero remembered that he hadn't tested the other elemental Trap spells yet and told the succubus. She realized it, too, and accommodated him by summoning animated scarecrows for him to use as targets. He cast one Fire Trap and one Ice Trap, then had to wait for his enchanted amulet to restore his spirit energy. While he waited, she had her scarecrows step on the traps, setting them off. The Fire Trap spell worked exactly like the scroll version, causing a fiery explosion, blowing the scarecrow to pieces and lighting what was left on fire. The next one stepped on the Ice Trap and got hit with the explosion of ice shards, leaving it in pieces. Once he had recovered enough, he set a Shock Trap and tried to set a Holy Trap, but failed.
When he looked over at her, she said, "Holy Trap costs more energy to cast than the other elemental Trap spells. You'll have to wait a while before you can cast it."
He nodded, then watched as she made the third scarecrow set off the Shock Trap. It smoked and burned as the lightning zapped it and eventually caught fire. He nodded in satisfaction upon seeing that, then said, "So I have to wait before I can cast Holy Trap?"
She shrugged. "Try it again. If you succeed, good. If not, I want to make out until you can."
He took a breath and tried again, this time succeeding because, unlike the previous attempt, he had regenerated enough spirit energy to do so. She made one of the two remaining scarecrows set if off, causing a blinding flash. When the light dissipated, the scarecrow was undamaged. He looked at her with a slightly confused expression, to which she responded by saying, "If it's undead or 'evil', then Holy Trap will do damage. Otherwise, it just temporarily blinds them. Now, all that's left is testing Anselm, and I know you don't yet have enough energy to cast it, so until you recover, let's lock lips, okay?"
He shrugged, not having any complaints about kissing her. The two of them started off slow but quickly got into what could be called a frenzy of kissing. She hungrily went at him, entwining her tongue with his when she wasn't thrashing it around inside his mouth, trying to lick every last inch. He tried to kiss back in a similar fashion, but he couldn't keep up with her sudden desperation. After about two minutes of this, she finally forced herself to stop. They stood there in each other's arms, panting. He asked, "Was there any particular reason for that intensity?"
She looked him in the eye and asked, "Are you complaining?"
"No. I was just wondering if something was wrong. We got to the 'fast' stuff a bit early, I think."
"I did it because I could. I love you, and when I get the opportunity to get intimate with you, I'm going to take it, and I'm going to do so like I just did. You shouldn't have any reason to complain."
"I'm not complaining. I'm just surprised."
"And rock-hard," she added, giggling as she rubbed her hand over his groin.
"We'll do it tonight, okay? Wait until then."
She took her hand off of his crotch and sighed. "Fine." She then gave him a quick kiss on the lips and said, "Now, show me that you learned Anselm."
He let go of her and faced the final scarecrow. He held out his hand and focused, then spoke the incantation. "Tai To Low. Anselm!" Three light arrows shot from his palm and hit the scarecrow, tearing it apart. He turned back to her and said, "I think you're right. I might just use this as my 'first attack spell'."
She walked up to him and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him into another deep kiss that lasted a full 10 seconds. When she pulled back, she said, "Three arrows already... You really are amazing."
He scoffed. "Are you sure it's not because of all the sex we've had up to now?"
She smiled. "Part of it is the sex, so yes, you can thank me for giving you the boosts you got from each session, but your ability to focus is part of it, too, and that is all you."
He grinned. "Thanks, honey. Let's go back to the inn and think about something to do until Zeraine and Amarantha are done."
She nodded and began walking with him back to the inn. "You already know what I want to do."
He rolled his eyes. "Yes, I know."
She looked at him pleadingly and asked, "Can we? We don't have anything else to do..."
He still had a partial erection from their making out at the edge of the forest during the practice session, and this caused him to think about it. After a couple of minutes of thinking, he sighed. "Well, it'd be better than sitting around twiddling our thumbs, so yes, we'll do it."
She nearly squealed with delight as she jumped on him, throwing her arms around him and kissing him repeatedly, much to his embarrassment, for there were people who, despite not hearing, could clearly see the spectacle. They returned to the inn, went to their room, stripped, and got to it.
Chapter 104
Spoiler: show
Zeraine had found the man responsible for the flyer and discussed the job. He explained that he was a veteran spellsword but he'd only be able to guard the room until that evening. The man said, "That's fine. You won't be working the whole day, though, so you won't get the full rate. Since you'll be working for about 5 or so hours, you'll be making 50 gold instead of the full 100. If that's okay with you, good. We can let some of our guys get back to work on other stuff until the night guard shows up. I'm sure you won't have any problems, but do keep an eye out, alright, young man?"
Zeraine laughed to himself inside his mind, thinking, "He calls me 'young man', but I'm probably older than he is..." He shook hands with the man and said, "That'll be just fine. Do I start now?"
The man nodded and led him to the storeroom. "Nobody gets in, period. At the end of the day, my crew will take over and put the ore in the storeroom, then lock up. After that, it's the night guard's job."
Zeraine raised an eyebrow and asked, "You're keeping ore in here?"
"Yeah."
"From the Dwarven mine in the mountains?"
"Yep. Why do you ask?"
Zeraine shrugged it off. "Well, I was just thinking that I might run into my wife. She went off to help haul ore."
"Really?" the man said, cracking his knuckles. "Well, don't let it interfere with your job, okay? This stuff's valuable and I don't want you slacking off because your woman's waving her tits in your face. As the foreman for this understaffed crew, I can't afford to tolerate people who won't focus on the job."
"No need to worry, foreman. We'll do our jobs."
With a nod that indicated he didn't quite believe Zeraine, the foreman left to oversee some other part of the job, leaving Zeraine to stand guard at the storeroom by himself.
...
Amarantha had similarly sought out the person in charge of hiring help for ore hauling. It turns out a Dwarf was that person. He stroked his waist-length beard and said, "Well, we need all the help we can get, so we'll hire ya, but ye'll have to pull yer own weight. We pay by how much ore ya haul ta town. If ya can haul a good enough amount, you just might have something ta brag about. Now go on, get ta work."
She followed the workers to where the carts and piles of ore were and listened as the foreman, who, unbeknownst to her, was the same man that Zeraine spoke to, announced in a rather foul-mouthed manner that they should load the carts only with what they can handle so as to reduce the potential problem of runaway carts. Upon finishing giving that advice, he told them to get to work. Most of them paired up to load and handle the carts, but about a third of them went solo, Amarantha included. She heard snickering from a few of the other workers as they noticed that she was alone. She quickly put a stop to it as she began loading her cart with chunks of ore as big as her own head and bigger, handling them as an ordinary human would a pebble. Once her cart was loaded up with as much ore as she dared to burden it with, she started to town, carefully handling the cart to make sure that it didn't get damaged by any bumps in the road.
Once she got to town, she decided that she wouldn't load the next cart as much for fear of breaking the cart. She brought the cart to the designated unloading spot and waited as they unloaded the ore. Once it was recorded, she was "released" to get another load.
...
As Zeraine stood guard, he thought, "That foreman seems like an asshole. Was that comment really necessary?"
The next thing he knew, a couple of fairly good-looking women with a little too much makeup came over and tried to chat him up. One of them, a blond, started, "You must be lonely and bored, standing here all by yourself."
The other, a brunette, said, "Why don't you have some fun with us? Nothing will happen while you're gone."
Zeraine said, "Sorry, ladies, but I'll have to refuse. I'm being paid to guard this storeroom, and I intend to uphold my end of the agreement. ...That, and my wife would kill me."
The blond said, "Oh, come on, she won't find out."
Zeraine scoffed. "She'd find out somehow, I know it."
The brunette shrugged. "Maybe later?"
He shook his head. "Not a chance."
Disappointed, the two of them left, leaving him to think, "Ammie looks so much better than those two it's ridiculous. They have too much makeup on, and Ammie looks better than them with no makeup on at all. Anyway, after all she and I have been through together, why would I want anyone else? ...Wait, why would they try to get me away from here? Was that some kind of failed diversion meant to lure me away from my 'post' so someone could steal something?"
...
The rest of the day was uneventful for them. Zeraine encountered no further distractions and Amarantha continued hauling ore. When the day was done, Zeraine pocketed his 50 gold and went to find Amarantha. He found her standing around with the other workers, waiting to be paid. Despite working only half a day, she hauled as much ore as the average amount hauled by those who had been working from that morning. She ended up with 200 gold for her efforts.
She and Zeraine left, heading for the inn. Upon arriving, they went to the hero's room, but before knocking on the door, they leaned in, thinking they heard something. As they put their ears closer to the door, they heard moaning from inside. Zeraine said, "Well, I guess it was going to happen. Should we let them go at it, or should we interrupt them?"
Amarantha said, "We'll interrupt them. I'm hungry, and I kind of prefer it when we all eat together. Knock on the door. We'll let them finish up and get dressed, then we'll all go eat. After that, if they're still not satisfied, they can resume."
Zeraine cleared his throat and knocked on the door. "Hey, kid! Princess! It's dinnertime!"
...
As the hero neared his seventh shot, he heard Zeraine knocking on the door, telling him that it was dinnertime. He looked out the window and noticed, much to his surprise, that it was dinnertime. He was surprised that he had gone at it with the succubus for a full 5 hours without stopping. He looked at her and said, "We should finish up so we can go eat, okay?"
She nodded and said, "Let's finish together again."
He resumed his thrusting and brought both himself and her to a simultaneous orgasm, it being the fourth time he came inside. She drank the other three shots. He got up and let her clean him off first, then started getting dressed. He thought, "Damn... I can't believe I went five hours straight and shot seven times. That should satisfy her for tonight, right?"
She got up out of bed, letting his semen splatter loudly on the floor as it seeped out of her vagina and dripped from her lower lips with each step. She looked down at her crotch and complained, "I hate letting it run out. I need to find a way to keep it in..."
The hero glanced over at the bed and saw that there was a large puddle of semen where the succubus's butt was. Amazed, he thought, "I came that much? Demonic energy sure is something..."
She saw what he was looking at and giggled. "Yes, dear, all of that cum is yours and it was inside me at one point. I know you're tired after all that, so after we eat, we'll go to sleep. By the way, guess what."
He looked at her and asked, "What?"
She smiled proudly and said, "I can cast Megadeath now. If we're ever up against a large army of enemies, I'll be able to deal major damage to them, or if we're faced with the task of tearing down a large structure, such as a castle, I can do it."
He replied, "That's great. Let me guess, right now, you'll only be able to cast it once before you need a 'refill', right?"
She nodded. "And giving you a quickie is the best way to accomplish that."
"I would have to say that Mana Potions aren't useless."
She cleaned herself off and out, then put her clothes on. "True, I could use one or two to accomplish that, but sex with you still works the best. And before you say it, yes, I know that most enemies won't have the courtesy to wait while I suck you off, so we'll still need the potions."
He cleared his throat and asked, "So, uh... How many more times do you think we'll need to do it before I transform?"
She shrugged. "If we can do sessions like we just did, it'll probably take three or four more times. Otherwise, it'll probably take another dozen or so. Oh, and just to let you know, when you transform, you'll most likely be hit by a surge of lust, which means you'll have to keep fucking me until it passes. Once it does, everything should be fine."
He was a little uncomfortable with the thought, but he realized that if it were to happen, he would just have to deal with it. Once they were both dressed, they stepped out of the room and met up with Zeraine and Amarantha. Zeraine teased, "Couldn't wait, huh?"
The succubus said, "I suppose I should warn you two, since I just remembered to warm him, so..."
Zeraine asked, "Warn us? Of what?"
She said, "When Amarantha finally gives you enough demonic energy to turn you into an incubus, chances are you'll be hit with a surge of lust. The best way to handle that is to keep fucking until it passes. Fighting it would be incredibly difficult."
Amarantha had an expression of slight hopelessness. "I'll probably be worn out by the time the transformation starts, and to have to keep going with Zeraine's technique? I'm doomed."
Zeraine patted her on the shoulder. "I'll go as gentle as I can and try not to stimulate you too much, okay? I don't want you becoming the first dragon to ever die from having sex with a human. That'd be humiliating for both of us."
The four of them left to go eat dinner at a nice restaurant. After the meal, they returned to the inn and went to their rooms. The hero and the succubus stripped down to their underwear and prepared to get in bed. She used a little magic to clean the bed and wash away the puddle of his cum, for he didn't want to try to sleep in it and she didn't want the hassle of cleaning herself again in the morning.
...
Meanwhile, Zeraine and Amarantha got naked and had sex, once again doing the not-quite-as-enjoyable-as-others type of session in which she infused him with demonic energy during intercourse. She made sure not to overdo it, and they came together, then went to sleep.
Zeraine laughed to himself inside his mind, thinking, "He calls me 'young man', but I'm probably older than he is..." He shook hands with the man and said, "That'll be just fine. Do I start now?"
The man nodded and led him to the storeroom. "Nobody gets in, period. At the end of the day, my crew will take over and put the ore in the storeroom, then lock up. After that, it's the night guard's job."
Zeraine raised an eyebrow and asked, "You're keeping ore in here?"
"Yeah."
"From the Dwarven mine in the mountains?"
"Yep. Why do you ask?"
Zeraine shrugged it off. "Well, I was just thinking that I might run into my wife. She went off to help haul ore."
"Really?" the man said, cracking his knuckles. "Well, don't let it interfere with your job, okay? This stuff's valuable and I don't want you slacking off because your woman's waving her tits in your face. As the foreman for this understaffed crew, I can't afford to tolerate people who won't focus on the job."
"No need to worry, foreman. We'll do our jobs."
With a nod that indicated he didn't quite believe Zeraine, the foreman left to oversee some other part of the job, leaving Zeraine to stand guard at the storeroom by himself.
...
Amarantha had similarly sought out the person in charge of hiring help for ore hauling. It turns out a Dwarf was that person. He stroked his waist-length beard and said, "Well, we need all the help we can get, so we'll hire ya, but ye'll have to pull yer own weight. We pay by how much ore ya haul ta town. If ya can haul a good enough amount, you just might have something ta brag about. Now go on, get ta work."
She followed the workers to where the carts and piles of ore were and listened as the foreman, who, unbeknownst to her, was the same man that Zeraine spoke to, announced in a rather foul-mouthed manner that they should load the carts only with what they can handle so as to reduce the potential problem of runaway carts. Upon finishing giving that advice, he told them to get to work. Most of them paired up to load and handle the carts, but about a third of them went solo, Amarantha included. She heard snickering from a few of the other workers as they noticed that she was alone. She quickly put a stop to it as she began loading her cart with chunks of ore as big as her own head and bigger, handling them as an ordinary human would a pebble. Once her cart was loaded up with as much ore as she dared to burden it with, she started to town, carefully handling the cart to make sure that it didn't get damaged by any bumps in the road.
Once she got to town, she decided that she wouldn't load the next cart as much for fear of breaking the cart. She brought the cart to the designated unloading spot and waited as they unloaded the ore. Once it was recorded, she was "released" to get another load.
...
As Zeraine stood guard, he thought, "That foreman seems like an asshole. Was that comment really necessary?"
The next thing he knew, a couple of fairly good-looking women with a little too much makeup came over and tried to chat him up. One of them, a blond, started, "You must be lonely and bored, standing here all by yourself."
The other, a brunette, said, "Why don't you have some fun with us? Nothing will happen while you're gone."
Zeraine said, "Sorry, ladies, but I'll have to refuse. I'm being paid to guard this storeroom, and I intend to uphold my end of the agreement. ...That, and my wife would kill me."
The blond said, "Oh, come on, she won't find out."
Zeraine scoffed. "She'd find out somehow, I know it."
The brunette shrugged. "Maybe later?"
He shook his head. "Not a chance."
Disappointed, the two of them left, leaving him to think, "Ammie looks so much better than those two it's ridiculous. They have too much makeup on, and Ammie looks better than them with no makeup on at all. Anyway, after all she and I have been through together, why would I want anyone else? ...Wait, why would they try to get me away from here? Was that some kind of failed diversion meant to lure me away from my 'post' so someone could steal something?"
...
The rest of the day was uneventful for them. Zeraine encountered no further distractions and Amarantha continued hauling ore. When the day was done, Zeraine pocketed his 50 gold and went to find Amarantha. He found her standing around with the other workers, waiting to be paid. Despite working only half a day, she hauled as much ore as the average amount hauled by those who had been working from that morning. She ended up with 200 gold for her efforts.
She and Zeraine left, heading for the inn. Upon arriving, they went to the hero's room, but before knocking on the door, they leaned in, thinking they heard something. As they put their ears closer to the door, they heard moaning from inside. Zeraine said, "Well, I guess it was going to happen. Should we let them go at it, or should we interrupt them?"
Amarantha said, "We'll interrupt them. I'm hungry, and I kind of prefer it when we all eat together. Knock on the door. We'll let them finish up and get dressed, then we'll all go eat. After that, if they're still not satisfied, they can resume."
Zeraine cleared his throat and knocked on the door. "Hey, kid! Princess! It's dinnertime!"
...
As the hero neared his seventh shot, he heard Zeraine knocking on the door, telling him that it was dinnertime. He looked out the window and noticed, much to his surprise, that it was dinnertime. He was surprised that he had gone at it with the succubus for a full 5 hours without stopping. He looked at her and said, "We should finish up so we can go eat, okay?"
She nodded and said, "Let's finish together again."
He resumed his thrusting and brought both himself and her to a simultaneous orgasm, it being the fourth time he came inside. She drank the other three shots. He got up and let her clean him off first, then started getting dressed. He thought, "Damn... I can't believe I went five hours straight and shot seven times. That should satisfy her for tonight, right?"
She got up out of bed, letting his semen splatter loudly on the floor as it seeped out of her vagina and dripped from her lower lips with each step. She looked down at her crotch and complained, "I hate letting it run out. I need to find a way to keep it in..."
The hero glanced over at the bed and saw that there was a large puddle of semen where the succubus's butt was. Amazed, he thought, "I came that much? Demonic energy sure is something..."
She saw what he was looking at and giggled. "Yes, dear, all of that cum is yours and it was inside me at one point. I know you're tired after all that, so after we eat, we'll go to sleep. By the way, guess what."
He looked at her and asked, "What?"
She smiled proudly and said, "I can cast Megadeath now. If we're ever up against a large army of enemies, I'll be able to deal major damage to them, or if we're faced with the task of tearing down a large structure, such as a castle, I can do it."
He replied, "That's great. Let me guess, right now, you'll only be able to cast it once before you need a 'refill', right?"
She nodded. "And giving you a quickie is the best way to accomplish that."
"I would have to say that Mana Potions aren't useless."
She cleaned herself off and out, then put her clothes on. "True, I could use one or two to accomplish that, but sex with you still works the best. And before you say it, yes, I know that most enemies won't have the courtesy to wait while I suck you off, so we'll still need the potions."
He cleared his throat and asked, "So, uh... How many more times do you think we'll need to do it before I transform?"
She shrugged. "If we can do sessions like we just did, it'll probably take three or four more times. Otherwise, it'll probably take another dozen or so. Oh, and just to let you know, when you transform, you'll most likely be hit by a surge of lust, which means you'll have to keep fucking me until it passes. Once it does, everything should be fine."
He was a little uncomfortable with the thought, but he realized that if it were to happen, he would just have to deal with it. Once they were both dressed, they stepped out of the room and met up with Zeraine and Amarantha. Zeraine teased, "Couldn't wait, huh?"
The succubus said, "I suppose I should warn you two, since I just remembered to warm him, so..."
Zeraine asked, "Warn us? Of what?"
She said, "When Amarantha finally gives you enough demonic energy to turn you into an incubus, chances are you'll be hit with a surge of lust. The best way to handle that is to keep fucking until it passes. Fighting it would be incredibly difficult."
Amarantha had an expression of slight hopelessness. "I'll probably be worn out by the time the transformation starts, and to have to keep going with Zeraine's technique? I'm doomed."
Zeraine patted her on the shoulder. "I'll go as gentle as I can and try not to stimulate you too much, okay? I don't want you becoming the first dragon to ever die from having sex with a human. That'd be humiliating for both of us."
The four of them left to go eat dinner at a nice restaurant. After the meal, they returned to the inn and went to their rooms. The hero and the succubus stripped down to their underwear and prepared to get in bed. She used a little magic to clean the bed and wash away the puddle of his cum, for he didn't want to try to sleep in it and she didn't want the hassle of cleaning herself again in the morning.
...
Meanwhile, Zeraine and Amarantha got naked and had sex, once again doing the not-quite-as-enjoyable-as-others type of session in which she infused him with demonic energy during intercourse. She made sure not to overdo it, and they came together, then went to sleep.
Chapter 105
Spoiler: show
The next morning, Zeraine and Amarantha were the first ones to wake up. They shared a "good morning" kiss, cleaned themselves off, and got dressed. They brought out their cold-weather gear, which consisted of a heavy insulated cloak for Zeraine and a normal cloak for Amarantha. They decided they wouldn't put them on until they started their trek up the mountain, so they simply carried them for now.
...
The hero and the succubus woke up at about the same time. To his surprise, he had a morning wood despite yesterday's feat. The succubus smiled lustfully and said, "Look at you, standing so tall this morning. We've got time... How about I relieve you real quick?"
"No. We need to be quick about our trip to Icewind Peak. If Amarantha's clan is still there, we need to get their help to deal with this city's problematic dragon, which they've somehow managed to keep under wraps. The mountains will get cold as we climb, so it's time we bundle up." He got up and got dressed, then brought out the heavy insulated cloak and insulated boots he bought back in Sturdumph and put them on. He also brought out the heavy insulated clothing, cloak, and boots they bought for the succubus and set them out for her.
She got up and got dressed after once again reassuming her human disguise form, which she had dropped right before her 5 hour session with the hero, before reassuming it for dinner, then dropping it again before bed. Once she was suited up in the thick clothing and cloak, she handed her normal clothes to the hero, who put them in his Bag of Holding. She looked down at herself and half-jokingly complained, "I don't look sexy at all in this..."
The hero made sure they had their things and left the room with her.
In the hallway, they met Zeraine and Amarantha, greeted them, then went to check out of the inn. The four of them went along the path out of the city to the footpaths leading into the Blackrock Mountains. Along the way, they passed a scraggly-looking man with bestial eyes and messy platinum blond hair. His blue eyes met with Amarantha's, causing them to quickly look each other over as they passed one another. She got a bad feeling from him, but didn't dwell on it, for they were too busy right now.
Upon arriving, Zeraine and Amarantha put on their cloaks. The hero looked at Amarantha's cloak, and saw that compared to those of everyone else, it was a bit light and thin. He asked, "Is that thin cloak going to be enough for you?"
She nodded. "I'm a silver dragon. We silvers like the cold."
Several minutes after beginning their hike, the succubus asked, "So, about that clan of gold dragons that's rumored to be in these mountains... Where is it?"
Amarantha shrugged. "That rumor started going around long after my last visit. My clan would probably know if it's true or not, though. Of course, that assumes that they're still up here..."
About an hour later, after passing many uninteresting empty caves, they were stopped by a band of orcs. The orc leader said, "Humans, you give women or you not pass."
The four of them looked at each other and started laughing.
This enraged the orc. He yelled, "Give women or we kill you!"
Amarantha asked, "Should I?"
Zeraine nodded. "Have fun."
She reverted to her dragon form, which sent a sudden wave of fear through the orcs. Due to her much larger size, she couldn't fit on the footpath and had to grab onto the side of the mountain to keep from falling or having to take flight. She roared and used her ice breath to quickly freeze all of the orcs, then transformed back to her human form. The party proceeded to shatter the flash-frozen orcs with their weapons, occasionally throwing a few off the path to break apart as they fell down the side of the mountain.
After that bit of fun, the four of them continued up the path. The succubus asked, "About how long do you think it'll take us to get there?"
Amarantha replied, "If we keep a good pace and don't encounter any obstacles, we might get there after midnight. Of course, that also assumes that we don't stop to eat, which would be stupid. We'll hike until evening, then find a cave to set up in for the night. Tomorrow morning, we'll continue. It'll probably take us another day or two to get down."
The hero said, "I told Gaston that it'd take us about two days. I'd rather not end up lying because I assumed something, but I guess I don't have a choice, do I?"
Amarantha said, "Well, if you knew a levitation spell that offered a decent speed, we could probably get there faster. I could fly while you guys levitated, both for getting there and returning to the city, but..."
The hero scowled. "I'm holding us back again."
The succubus said, "Don't be that way. I just have to teach you a stronger levitation spell. I'm sure that you can maintain it long enough to make it down the mountain now, after all the power you should have built up from our nightly fun. If I'm wrong, I suppose we could get members of Amarantha's clan to fly us down, if they're up here and willing. If not, we might have to call Sol and get him to teleport us down."
Amarantha looked at her and said, "Speaking of which, why can't you teleport us down?"
"I'm not very good with teleportation spells. With my current ability level, it'd be too risky."
The party continued along the path, stopping for lunch at noon. During their lunch break, the succubus taught the hero a stronger levitation spell and he aptly demonstrated his ability to use it. Unfortunately, the succubus's estimate was wrong. He felt that he wasn't able to maintain it long enough to fly down the mountain with it yet. The four of them shrugged it off and continued on.
As the sun started to set, they began looking for a cave to stop in for the night and found one. It was very small, but it'd work. They set up camp in the cave, made dinner, ate, then went to bed. Naturally, the hero and the succubus had sex before going to sleep as usual. Zeraine and Amarantha, out of respect for their privacy, didn't look, but the sounds aroused them, too. Amarantha wanted to make love, but didn't want anyone, even her close friends, to see, so she held back. Zeraine, out of respect for her wishes, endured his boner. The four of them slept somewhat well, awoke the next morning, packed up, ate breakfast, and continued.
They finally arrived at Icewind Peak shortly before noon. Amarantha sped up ahead of the group and said, "We're here. Everything looks the same as I remember, so the entrance should be around here..."
"'Entrance'?" the hero asked. "Your clan lives underground?"
Amarantha, without stopping her search for the hidden entrance, said, "We live inside the mountains, so yes, in a way, we live underground. ...Ah, here it is! Let's go in."
They followed her into the mountain, eventually reaching an elaborate underground city. The succubus looked around and realized that the mountain must have been hollowed out, because it looked about like any other small city, except for the rocky walls and ceiling formed by the inside of the mountain. They looked around and saw what looked like humans going about their daily lives. Amarantha stopped and turned around to face the others, then said, "As you can see, my clan is alive and well. They spend most of their time in their human forms because it's more convenient. Anyway, I'm relieved to see that everything's fine. C'mon, let's go see if my parents still live in the same house!"
They followed her to a two-story house of average appearance and stood by as she knocked on the door. Moments later, a woman with shoulder-length red hair answered the door. "Yes? ...Amarantha, is that you!?"
Amarantha smiled. "Mom!" she shouted as she threw her arms around the woman who was obviously her mother.
Amarantha's mother said, "It's been so long since we last saw you! How have you been? Have you been eating well?"
Amarantha nodded. "I'm fine. I've done pretty good, I think. These three are my friends," she said, gesturing toward the hero, the succubus, and Zeraine.
They each introduced themselves to her, and she replied, "I'm Amarantha's mother, Miranda. It's good to see she made such good friends. Please, come in."
She led the four of them into the living room where she offered to serve them drinks. Amarantha said, "Where's Dad? I need to talk to him."
Miranda said, "You're in luck. About a decade ago, he returned here to work as a healer at the clinic. It's a bit sad, though. You see, he had gone to live with this small community of people, but they started dying of diseases. He couldn't cure them because he didn't know any spells for it, nor could he find any 'normal' ways to treat them because the diseases hadn't been identified. He researched all he could to find a way to cure them, but they all died before he finally found out what the diseases were. It turns out they were different strains of plague. They weren't around for him to protect anymore so he came back and learned various spells and non-magic treatment methods for all kinds of illnesses. Anyway, he works at the clinic. You should find him there, though you could wait for him to get back home. What do you need to talk to him about?"
Amarantha replied, "You know the city at the base of the mountain? Stormforge? Well, they're facing a 'silent crisis'. They're not far from going bankrupt, and they will if someone doesn't do something about a dragon that's been sneakily hurting them."
Miranda looked confused. "A dragon?"
Amarantha nodded. "A city official approached him," she said, gesturing toward the hero, "and told him that a dragon had threatened to destroy the city, but they made a deal with it. The deal was that they'd feed it, and in exchange, it'd spare the town. They're almost out of money. If they run out, they won't be able to keep the deal going, and the dragon will wipe everything out. We're supposed to take care of that, but we thought it would be best if we asked for help from the clan."
Miranda said, "How appalling! To think that any dragon would stoop to such cruel extortion... Well, actually, there are plenty of kinds that would. Do you have any details?"
The hero said, "All they could tell me was that it was 'light in color'."
"Hmm... That doesn't give us much to go on. The city must have done a very good job at keeping it quiet, considering that we don't know about it. You'll have to tell your father when he gets home about it and we'll see what we can do. Until then, your friends can make themselves at home. I'll go make up the guest rooms for them."
Amarantha stopped her and said, "Actually, if my old room is still available, um... I'll be sharing it with Zeraine. And those two are a couple, so you only need to make up one room and one bed."
Miranda looked at her suspiciously. "There's something you haven't told me yet."
Before Amarantha could answer, the succubus stood up and dropped her disguise. "A few things, actually. I'm a succubus, and this man is my future husband," she said, patting the hero on the shoulder.
Amarantha quickly added, "But she's a good one. She's not with the Demon Lord. And, um..."
"And this man?" Miranda asked, gesturing toward Zeraine.
Amarantha blushed and said, "Zeraine is my chosen mate."
Miranda sighed and rolled her eyes. "No wonder you're covered in his scent. I guess I'm fine with it, but your father probably won't be very happy with it."
Amarantha crossed her arms. "Regardless, I chose him and I'm not changing my mind, especially after what we've done together."
Miranda paused for a moment, then said, "Oh. You've only done that in human form, correct?"
Amarantha nodded. "Of course."
Miranda shrugged. "Well, you're obviously old enough to make your own decisions, so I won't try to do anything. Maybe your father will take it well. Your mate seems like a good person. He must be for you to have shown him your true nature, as well as to have done 'that' with him, right?"
Amarantha nodded again. "Is my old room available?"
Miranda smiled. "Yes. I'll make your bed so you and your mate can sleep together tonight. Your father and I haven't made any other offspring, despite occasionally trying." She turned to look at the hero and the succubus. "I'll also make up one of the guest rooms so you two will have a place to sleep."
Miranda left the room, leaving the party to chat for a while. When she was done, she returned and talked with everyone about various things, including their mission and some of the things they had done up to now. Amarantha asked, "Hey, Mom, there's a rumor about a clan of gold dragons living in these mountains. Is it true?"
Miranda shook her head. "No. There never was, either. I don't know who started it, but it's entirely false."
The succubus shrugged. "So much for that..."
They ate lunch and continued visiting until evening, when Amarantha's father came home.
...
The hero and the succubus woke up at about the same time. To his surprise, he had a morning wood despite yesterday's feat. The succubus smiled lustfully and said, "Look at you, standing so tall this morning. We've got time... How about I relieve you real quick?"
"No. We need to be quick about our trip to Icewind Peak. If Amarantha's clan is still there, we need to get their help to deal with this city's problematic dragon, which they've somehow managed to keep under wraps. The mountains will get cold as we climb, so it's time we bundle up." He got up and got dressed, then brought out the heavy insulated cloak and insulated boots he bought back in Sturdumph and put them on. He also brought out the heavy insulated clothing, cloak, and boots they bought for the succubus and set them out for her.
She got up and got dressed after once again reassuming her human disguise form, which she had dropped right before her 5 hour session with the hero, before reassuming it for dinner, then dropping it again before bed. Once she was suited up in the thick clothing and cloak, she handed her normal clothes to the hero, who put them in his Bag of Holding. She looked down at herself and half-jokingly complained, "I don't look sexy at all in this..."
The hero made sure they had their things and left the room with her.
In the hallway, they met Zeraine and Amarantha, greeted them, then went to check out of the inn. The four of them went along the path out of the city to the footpaths leading into the Blackrock Mountains. Along the way, they passed a scraggly-looking man with bestial eyes and messy platinum blond hair. His blue eyes met with Amarantha's, causing them to quickly look each other over as they passed one another. She got a bad feeling from him, but didn't dwell on it, for they were too busy right now.
Upon arriving, Zeraine and Amarantha put on their cloaks. The hero looked at Amarantha's cloak, and saw that compared to those of everyone else, it was a bit light and thin. He asked, "Is that thin cloak going to be enough for you?"
She nodded. "I'm a silver dragon. We silvers like the cold."
Several minutes after beginning their hike, the succubus asked, "So, about that clan of gold dragons that's rumored to be in these mountains... Where is it?"
Amarantha shrugged. "That rumor started going around long after my last visit. My clan would probably know if it's true or not, though. Of course, that assumes that they're still up here..."
About an hour later, after passing many uninteresting empty caves, they were stopped by a band of orcs. The orc leader said, "Humans, you give women or you not pass."
The four of them looked at each other and started laughing.
This enraged the orc. He yelled, "Give women or we kill you!"
Amarantha asked, "Should I?"
Zeraine nodded. "Have fun."
She reverted to her dragon form, which sent a sudden wave of fear through the orcs. Due to her much larger size, she couldn't fit on the footpath and had to grab onto the side of the mountain to keep from falling or having to take flight. She roared and used her ice breath to quickly freeze all of the orcs, then transformed back to her human form. The party proceeded to shatter the flash-frozen orcs with their weapons, occasionally throwing a few off the path to break apart as they fell down the side of the mountain.
After that bit of fun, the four of them continued up the path. The succubus asked, "About how long do you think it'll take us to get there?"
Amarantha replied, "If we keep a good pace and don't encounter any obstacles, we might get there after midnight. Of course, that also assumes that we don't stop to eat, which would be stupid. We'll hike until evening, then find a cave to set up in for the night. Tomorrow morning, we'll continue. It'll probably take us another day or two to get down."
The hero said, "I told Gaston that it'd take us about two days. I'd rather not end up lying because I assumed something, but I guess I don't have a choice, do I?"
Amarantha said, "Well, if you knew a levitation spell that offered a decent speed, we could probably get there faster. I could fly while you guys levitated, both for getting there and returning to the city, but..."
The hero scowled. "I'm holding us back again."
The succubus said, "Don't be that way. I just have to teach you a stronger levitation spell. I'm sure that you can maintain it long enough to make it down the mountain now, after all the power you should have built up from our nightly fun. If I'm wrong, I suppose we could get members of Amarantha's clan to fly us down, if they're up here and willing. If not, we might have to call Sol and get him to teleport us down."
Amarantha looked at her and said, "Speaking of which, why can't you teleport us down?"
"I'm not very good with teleportation spells. With my current ability level, it'd be too risky."
The party continued along the path, stopping for lunch at noon. During their lunch break, the succubus taught the hero a stronger levitation spell and he aptly demonstrated his ability to use it. Unfortunately, the succubus's estimate was wrong. He felt that he wasn't able to maintain it long enough to fly down the mountain with it yet. The four of them shrugged it off and continued on.
As the sun started to set, they began looking for a cave to stop in for the night and found one. It was very small, but it'd work. They set up camp in the cave, made dinner, ate, then went to bed. Naturally, the hero and the succubus had sex before going to sleep as usual. Zeraine and Amarantha, out of respect for their privacy, didn't look, but the sounds aroused them, too. Amarantha wanted to make love, but didn't want anyone, even her close friends, to see, so she held back. Zeraine, out of respect for her wishes, endured his boner. The four of them slept somewhat well, awoke the next morning, packed up, ate breakfast, and continued.
They finally arrived at Icewind Peak shortly before noon. Amarantha sped up ahead of the group and said, "We're here. Everything looks the same as I remember, so the entrance should be around here..."
"'Entrance'?" the hero asked. "Your clan lives underground?"
Amarantha, without stopping her search for the hidden entrance, said, "We live inside the mountains, so yes, in a way, we live underground. ...Ah, here it is! Let's go in."
They followed her into the mountain, eventually reaching an elaborate underground city. The succubus looked around and realized that the mountain must have been hollowed out, because it looked about like any other small city, except for the rocky walls and ceiling formed by the inside of the mountain. They looked around and saw what looked like humans going about their daily lives. Amarantha stopped and turned around to face the others, then said, "As you can see, my clan is alive and well. They spend most of their time in their human forms because it's more convenient. Anyway, I'm relieved to see that everything's fine. C'mon, let's go see if my parents still live in the same house!"
They followed her to a two-story house of average appearance and stood by as she knocked on the door. Moments later, a woman with shoulder-length red hair answered the door. "Yes? ...Amarantha, is that you!?"
Amarantha smiled. "Mom!" she shouted as she threw her arms around the woman who was obviously her mother.
Amarantha's mother said, "It's been so long since we last saw you! How have you been? Have you been eating well?"
Amarantha nodded. "I'm fine. I've done pretty good, I think. These three are my friends," she said, gesturing toward the hero, the succubus, and Zeraine.
They each introduced themselves to her, and she replied, "I'm Amarantha's mother, Miranda. It's good to see she made such good friends. Please, come in."
She led the four of them into the living room where she offered to serve them drinks. Amarantha said, "Where's Dad? I need to talk to him."
Miranda said, "You're in luck. About a decade ago, he returned here to work as a healer at the clinic. It's a bit sad, though. You see, he had gone to live with this small community of people, but they started dying of diseases. He couldn't cure them because he didn't know any spells for it, nor could he find any 'normal' ways to treat them because the diseases hadn't been identified. He researched all he could to find a way to cure them, but they all died before he finally found out what the diseases were. It turns out they were different strains of plague. They weren't around for him to protect anymore so he came back and learned various spells and non-magic treatment methods for all kinds of illnesses. Anyway, he works at the clinic. You should find him there, though you could wait for him to get back home. What do you need to talk to him about?"
Amarantha replied, "You know the city at the base of the mountain? Stormforge? Well, they're facing a 'silent crisis'. They're not far from going bankrupt, and they will if someone doesn't do something about a dragon that's been sneakily hurting them."
Miranda looked confused. "A dragon?"
Amarantha nodded. "A city official approached him," she said, gesturing toward the hero, "and told him that a dragon had threatened to destroy the city, but they made a deal with it. The deal was that they'd feed it, and in exchange, it'd spare the town. They're almost out of money. If they run out, they won't be able to keep the deal going, and the dragon will wipe everything out. We're supposed to take care of that, but we thought it would be best if we asked for help from the clan."
Miranda said, "How appalling! To think that any dragon would stoop to such cruel extortion... Well, actually, there are plenty of kinds that would. Do you have any details?"
The hero said, "All they could tell me was that it was 'light in color'."
"Hmm... That doesn't give us much to go on. The city must have done a very good job at keeping it quiet, considering that we don't know about it. You'll have to tell your father when he gets home about it and we'll see what we can do. Until then, your friends can make themselves at home. I'll go make up the guest rooms for them."
Amarantha stopped her and said, "Actually, if my old room is still available, um... I'll be sharing it with Zeraine. And those two are a couple, so you only need to make up one room and one bed."
Miranda looked at her suspiciously. "There's something you haven't told me yet."
Before Amarantha could answer, the succubus stood up and dropped her disguise. "A few things, actually. I'm a succubus, and this man is my future husband," she said, patting the hero on the shoulder.
Amarantha quickly added, "But she's a good one. She's not with the Demon Lord. And, um..."
"And this man?" Miranda asked, gesturing toward Zeraine.
Amarantha blushed and said, "Zeraine is my chosen mate."
Miranda sighed and rolled her eyes. "No wonder you're covered in his scent. I guess I'm fine with it, but your father probably won't be very happy with it."
Amarantha crossed her arms. "Regardless, I chose him and I'm not changing my mind, especially after what we've done together."
Miranda paused for a moment, then said, "Oh. You've only done that in human form, correct?"
Amarantha nodded. "Of course."
Miranda shrugged. "Well, you're obviously old enough to make your own decisions, so I won't try to do anything. Maybe your father will take it well. Your mate seems like a good person. He must be for you to have shown him your true nature, as well as to have done 'that' with him, right?"
Amarantha nodded again. "Is my old room available?"
Miranda smiled. "Yes. I'll make your bed so you and your mate can sleep together tonight. Your father and I haven't made any other offspring, despite occasionally trying." She turned to look at the hero and the succubus. "I'll also make up one of the guest rooms so you two will have a place to sleep."
Miranda left the room, leaving the party to chat for a while. When she was done, she returned and talked with everyone about various things, including their mission and some of the things they had done up to now. Amarantha asked, "Hey, Mom, there's a rumor about a clan of gold dragons living in these mountains. Is it true?"
Miranda shook her head. "No. There never was, either. I don't know who started it, but it's entirely false."
The succubus shrugged. "So much for that..."
They ate lunch and continued visiting until evening, when Amarantha's father came home.
Chapter 106
Spoiler: show
Everyone heard the door open, then close, followed by a man's voice announcing, "I'm home!"
Miranda jumped up and quickly went to greet him. "Welcome home, dear. Guess who dropped by."
"Now how would I know?" he asked, somewhat snidely.
Miranda led him into the living room and the party saw him. He had black hair, with a flat-top hairstyle, and blue eyes, just like Amarantha's and Miranda's. Amarantha stood up and smiled, then rushed for him. His expression went from neutral to bright in a split second as soon as he heard her call out, "Dad!"
The two embraced one another happily. He said, "Good to see you, Amarantha. What brings you here?"
She replied, "Well, it's a bit of a long story. How about we sit down and I'll tell you a few things while Mom makes dinner?"
He nodded. "Sounds good to me." He walked over to a recliner and sat down while Miranda left the room.
"First things first; introductions. Dad, these are my friends," she started, gesturing to the others. "Everyone, this is my Dad, William," she continued. "We've been traveling together for a while and we need some help. Uh, let me start at the beginning..."
She proceeded to tell him about their adventure thus far, their goal, their need for help in defeating the Demon Lord, and their current problem with a dragon in Stormforge.
His expression showed that he was partially impressed, yet partially dismayed. "You've certainly been through a lot. That's also a heavy burden you've taken on. In this clan, we look out for our own, so you can count on our help when the time comes. Now, about this problematic dragon..."
Amarantha took that as her cue and explained all they knew about it.
He scratched his chin. "Hmm. I can't be sure, but I'd have to say that if the dragon is being so discreet, it's weak, young, or both. I'm about 90% sure you could handle it on your own, but with what little we have to go on, I'm basically just guessing. If you're for some reason unable to use your true form, I do have something that can help you."
"What is it?" she asked.
He smirked. "You're staying the night, right? I'll give it to you tomorrow morning."
Amarantha looked a little disappointed, but she was obviously still excited to see what it was.
He looked at the others, then said, "So my daughter's been traveling with a human from The Order, a succubus, and a mercenary? I know her, so I know that she wouldn't be traveling with you unless you were good people, which means that you, young knight, must be from the 'old' part of The Order, and you, young succubus, must be either neutral or against the Demon Lord. Considering what I've been told just now, it must be the latter. And you, mercenary, your name was Zeraine, right? I understand that you've been with her the longest."
Amarantha said, "That's right. Zeraine has been with me for decades. I should probably go ahead and mention this right now, too... He is my mate."
William paused for a moment, then said, "He's not a dragon of any kind."
"I know."
"You won't be able to have children with him."
"I eventually will, thanks to her," she said, gesturing toward the succubus, who smiled proudly.
William blinked a couple of times, then asked, "What do you mean?"
The succubus smiled even bigger, then gave him a short explanation of her plan to "humanize" monsters to the point that they'll be able to breed with humans, leaving out certain details.
He sighed. "Then I only have two things left to say. First, a question. Do you love him?"
Amarantha nodded. "Yes, and it's mutual."
He nodded, then said, "Okay, then. Now, some advice; he's a human. That means he's not as strong or long-lived as a dragon. You'll probably outlive him by centuries. Do you think you can handle the loss of a loved one?"
The succubus interrupted and said, "I'll ensure that won't happen. I'll change things so that, aside from him already living much longer due to his impending transformation into an incubus, his lifespan will match that of his partner's. He'll live as long as Amarantha, and neither of them will physically age, so they won't feel old. They'll feel young and energetic their whole lives."
He shook his head. "Then I have no more to say on the matter, except for 'good luck'."
Amarantha looked surprised. "No further objections?"
He shook his head. "You're not a hatchling. You're a full-grown silver dragon. I'm sure I can trust you to make your own decisions, so I'll respect it and hope that everything goes fine. The two of you have my acceptance and blessing."
She smiled. "Thanks, Dad."
Miranda returned soon after and announced that dinner was ready. Everyone ate their fill and conversed about various things afterward. Once it was time for bed, Amarantha said "good night" to her parents and led Zeraine up to her room while Miranda led the hero and the succubus to the guest bedroom.
Upon arriving in the guest bedroom and after Miranda left, the succubus said, "Well, we've got the trek back down the mountain, unless something comes up, so we should get our sleep. I'll let you off easy tonight, okay? Just creampie me twice and make sure I cum once and we'll go to sleep. Is that alright with you?"
The hero nodded. "Let's get started."
They stripped, did a little foreplay, and made love. The hero managed to make her cum on his second shot, but he was still hard after it. She smiled devilishly and asked, "What's the matter, honey? You didn't get enough?"
He looked away in embarrassment and shame. "I... want to go again. Is that alright?"
She hugged him and said, "Of course it is, dummy! What are you waiting for? Move those hips!"
He went for his third shot while rubbing her nipples, which allowed them to cum together again. As soon as he was done squirting his seed into her, he pulled out, lest he begin desiring another round. They kissed and went to sleep.
...
When Amarantha got to her room, she looked around and saw that everything was just as she remembered. She looked closer and smiled warmly. "Mom kept my room clean this whole time... There isn't a speck of dust anywhere."
Zeraine said, "Your parents are really nice."
She began undressing and said, "Yeah. To be honest, Dad is taking my relationship with you a lot better than I expected."
"Maybe he saw how serious we are about each other?"
Now in just her underwear, she shrugged. "Don't know. Anyway, since you're really close to transforming, it'd be a bad idea to try to work on it tonight. I'd hate to have to deal with a sore crotch as we fight that bad dragon tomorrow or the next day because you transformed and had to unload on me tonight. We'll just do it normally, okay?"
He nodded and began undressing. "To be honest, I also like 'normal' better. We both feel a lot better from it and it's more fun."
Now naked, she proceeded to help him undress as she said, "My point exactly. I've told you before how I love it when you're on top, right?"
He smirked. "Yeah, and it's because I'm so good at pleasing you, right?"
She kissed him and said, "Something like that. Now, it's time to 'ride the dragon'. Are you ready?"
He failed at not laughing as he replied, "Yeah, and if she wants, I'll 'impale' her really good on my 'spear'."
She started laughing, too, and said, "Alright, enough jokes. Fuck me."
He nodded and started the foreplay, which led to passionate, slow, but incredible sex. They came hard enough to nearly pass out, but held on until they were through cumming before they fell asleep in each other's arms.
Miranda jumped up and quickly went to greet him. "Welcome home, dear. Guess who dropped by."
"Now how would I know?" he asked, somewhat snidely.
Miranda led him into the living room and the party saw him. He had black hair, with a flat-top hairstyle, and blue eyes, just like Amarantha's and Miranda's. Amarantha stood up and smiled, then rushed for him. His expression went from neutral to bright in a split second as soon as he heard her call out, "Dad!"
The two embraced one another happily. He said, "Good to see you, Amarantha. What brings you here?"
She replied, "Well, it's a bit of a long story. How about we sit down and I'll tell you a few things while Mom makes dinner?"
He nodded. "Sounds good to me." He walked over to a recliner and sat down while Miranda left the room.
"First things first; introductions. Dad, these are my friends," she started, gesturing to the others. "Everyone, this is my Dad, William," she continued. "We've been traveling together for a while and we need some help. Uh, let me start at the beginning..."
She proceeded to tell him about their adventure thus far, their goal, their need for help in defeating the Demon Lord, and their current problem with a dragon in Stormforge.
His expression showed that he was partially impressed, yet partially dismayed. "You've certainly been through a lot. That's also a heavy burden you've taken on. In this clan, we look out for our own, so you can count on our help when the time comes. Now, about this problematic dragon..."
Amarantha took that as her cue and explained all they knew about it.
He scratched his chin. "Hmm. I can't be sure, but I'd have to say that if the dragon is being so discreet, it's weak, young, or both. I'm about 90% sure you could handle it on your own, but with what little we have to go on, I'm basically just guessing. If you're for some reason unable to use your true form, I do have something that can help you."
"What is it?" she asked.
He smirked. "You're staying the night, right? I'll give it to you tomorrow morning."
Amarantha looked a little disappointed, but she was obviously still excited to see what it was.
He looked at the others, then said, "So my daughter's been traveling with a human from The Order, a succubus, and a mercenary? I know her, so I know that she wouldn't be traveling with you unless you were good people, which means that you, young knight, must be from the 'old' part of The Order, and you, young succubus, must be either neutral or against the Demon Lord. Considering what I've been told just now, it must be the latter. And you, mercenary, your name was Zeraine, right? I understand that you've been with her the longest."
Amarantha said, "That's right. Zeraine has been with me for decades. I should probably go ahead and mention this right now, too... He is my mate."
William paused for a moment, then said, "He's not a dragon of any kind."
"I know."
"You won't be able to have children with him."
"I eventually will, thanks to her," she said, gesturing toward the succubus, who smiled proudly.
William blinked a couple of times, then asked, "What do you mean?"
The succubus smiled even bigger, then gave him a short explanation of her plan to "humanize" monsters to the point that they'll be able to breed with humans, leaving out certain details.
He sighed. "Then I only have two things left to say. First, a question. Do you love him?"
Amarantha nodded. "Yes, and it's mutual."
He nodded, then said, "Okay, then. Now, some advice; he's a human. That means he's not as strong or long-lived as a dragon. You'll probably outlive him by centuries. Do you think you can handle the loss of a loved one?"
The succubus interrupted and said, "I'll ensure that won't happen. I'll change things so that, aside from him already living much longer due to his impending transformation into an incubus, his lifespan will match that of his partner's. He'll live as long as Amarantha, and neither of them will physically age, so they won't feel old. They'll feel young and energetic their whole lives."
He shook his head. "Then I have no more to say on the matter, except for 'good luck'."
Amarantha looked surprised. "No further objections?"
He shook his head. "You're not a hatchling. You're a full-grown silver dragon. I'm sure I can trust you to make your own decisions, so I'll respect it and hope that everything goes fine. The two of you have my acceptance and blessing."
She smiled. "Thanks, Dad."
Miranda returned soon after and announced that dinner was ready. Everyone ate their fill and conversed about various things afterward. Once it was time for bed, Amarantha said "good night" to her parents and led Zeraine up to her room while Miranda led the hero and the succubus to the guest bedroom.
Upon arriving in the guest bedroom and after Miranda left, the succubus said, "Well, we've got the trek back down the mountain, unless something comes up, so we should get our sleep. I'll let you off easy tonight, okay? Just creampie me twice and make sure I cum once and we'll go to sleep. Is that alright with you?"
The hero nodded. "Let's get started."
They stripped, did a little foreplay, and made love. The hero managed to make her cum on his second shot, but he was still hard after it. She smiled devilishly and asked, "What's the matter, honey? You didn't get enough?"
He looked away in embarrassment and shame. "I... want to go again. Is that alright?"
She hugged him and said, "Of course it is, dummy! What are you waiting for? Move those hips!"
He went for his third shot while rubbing her nipples, which allowed them to cum together again. As soon as he was done squirting his seed into her, he pulled out, lest he begin desiring another round. They kissed and went to sleep.
...
When Amarantha got to her room, she looked around and saw that everything was just as she remembered. She looked closer and smiled warmly. "Mom kept my room clean this whole time... There isn't a speck of dust anywhere."
Zeraine said, "Your parents are really nice."
She began undressing and said, "Yeah. To be honest, Dad is taking my relationship with you a lot better than I expected."
"Maybe he saw how serious we are about each other?"
Now in just her underwear, she shrugged. "Don't know. Anyway, since you're really close to transforming, it'd be a bad idea to try to work on it tonight. I'd hate to have to deal with a sore crotch as we fight that bad dragon tomorrow or the next day because you transformed and had to unload on me tonight. We'll just do it normally, okay?"
He nodded and began undressing. "To be honest, I also like 'normal' better. We both feel a lot better from it and it's more fun."
Now naked, she proceeded to help him undress as she said, "My point exactly. I've told you before how I love it when you're on top, right?"
He smirked. "Yeah, and it's because I'm so good at pleasing you, right?"
She kissed him and said, "Something like that. Now, it's time to 'ride the dragon'. Are you ready?"
He failed at not laughing as he replied, "Yeah, and if she wants, I'll 'impale' her really good on my 'spear'."
She started laughing, too, and said, "Alright, enough jokes. Fuck me."
He nodded and started the foreplay, which led to passionate, slow, but incredible sex. They came hard enough to nearly pass out, but held on until they were through cumming before they fell asleep in each other's arms.
Chapter 107
Spoiler: show
Amarantha woke up first, nuzzling him until he woke up. Once they were both awake and up, she laughed and said, "You know, it's a little funny. We first had sex in a gold dragon's mansion, then we did it a lot in our inn rooms, as well as on the beach, but only now do we do it in my bed. I kind of would have preferred that we did it here first, given the chance, but whatever. I finally had sex in my own bed, and it's with the man I've chosen to be my mate for life. That's good enough for me. How about you?"
Zeraine stretched and said, "Well, I believe that us being together is more important than where we do it, so whatever. Being your one and only man is definitely a big boost for my ego, you know. Those few who befriend a dragon like to brag about it, but I'd say that being a dragon's mate is even better. Of course, nobody would brag about that for fear of claims or accusations of bestiality or some bullshit like that. Anyway, I'd like to see what this present is your dad has for you. Let's get dressed."
They did just that, putting on their normal clothes. Zeraine decided he wouldn't suit up in his armor until they leave.
...
The hero woke up and recalled last night's session with the succubus, then facepalmed. He mumbled, "I guess that's going to happen, what with me becoming an incubus... Well, other couples do the same, right? It's not unusual for a man to want another round with his wife, right?"
He felt a familiar spade-tipped tail rubbing against his morning wood as he heard the succubus say, "Of course it's normal. Don't worry yourself over the fact that you're sexually maturing and desiring me. You should get used to wanting sex from me, because once you're an incubus, you'll want it a lot, and I will never refuse you, unless something of great importance forces me to. Now, unless you want me again, we should get dressed."
He sighed. "Stop stroking my dick with your tail. I know you're trying to goad me into another round."
She smiled. "Look in a mirror. Can you blame me?"
His face got slightly red as he replied, "Thanks. Now let's get dressed. We need to ask about a quick way to get back down to Stormforge."
They got up and got dressed, then stepped out of their room to see Zeraine and Amarantha heading for the dining room.
As the hero and the succubus followed them, he looked out a window and commented, "It's incredible how they managed to mimic day and night inside this mountain..."
William, who had been sitting at the table, said, "It kind of is, isn't it? Thanks to our mages, we've been able to live here easily for centuries, living inside the mountain, yet able to see the sunrise and sunset despite being underground."
Amarantha sat down at the table next to Zeraine and asked, "So what's this present you have for me, Dad?"
William smirked and said, "Eat your breakfast first, then I'll go get it. I think you'll like it."
Seconds later, Miranda came in with a plate in each hand. On each plate were eggs, bacon, sausages, toast, and pancakes. She set the plates out for William and the hero, then returned to the kitchen for another two, one for the succubus and one for Zeraine, then made another trip to get the last two for her and Amarantha. After eating the meal, William got up and said, "Wait here."
He left the room for a few minutes, then returned with a large warhammer. Upon handing it to Amarantha, he said, "That's the hammer I used back when I was a warrior. Because it's a hammer, it's fairly low-maintenance, and because of its all-steel construction, and enchantments, it's unbreakable. It can handle our strength. From what you've told me, you like to use your fists, sometimes borrowing your mate's spear or great sword. With this, you have your own weapon, thus you won't need to borrow one unless you need something that cuts or stabs. Also, if you need something with a blunt impact that hits harder than your fists, you'll have it. One of the enchantments I had put on it was the ability for the wielder to 'call' it back to his or her hand, which means if you drop it, or if it gets knocked out of your hands, you can make it return to you."
She closely examined the hammer, then looked up at him and smiled. "Thanks, Dad!" she said, hugging him.
He patted her on the back and said, "I guess you'll be leaving to deal with that problematic dragon today, right?"
She nodded. "We're pretty much obligated. If I have to stay in human form, this hammer is sure to come in handy. Still, we need a way to get down the mountain quickly."
"Already taken care of. Two of our clan's constables are waiting at the park. You can carry your mate and they'll carry your friends. You'll land close to the bottom of the mountains, but in a place that can't be seen from the city. From there, you'll walk back to the city, which should take no more than an hour. The constables will accompany you. Once you've found this dragon, you and your friends will do what you can to defeat it. If you need their help, the constables will step in. Once the situation is handled, they will return and you will be free to do as you wish. It would be preferable that you didn't let the people know about us."
Amarantha nodded. "I guess after we handle the dragon, we'll talk to the city officials about supporting us in the future battle against the Demon Lord, then we'll come back here for a bit, I guess."
William nodded. "That's fine. Now, considering the problem, it'd be best if you take care of it as soon as possible. The sooner you do, the more grateful they'll be."
Amarantha said her good byes to her parents and left with the party after Zeraine got suited up. In the park, they found the constables, dressed in chainmail.
Amarantha transformed, as did they. Zeraine got on her back and the others got on the other dragons, then they left via the air-access entrance. The hero noticed that the inside of the mountain perfectly mimicked the actual outside.
Amarantha followed the constables as they flew low along the mountain sides opposite the city. Once they landed, everyone got off and the dragons returned to human form. The six of them went back down the mountain and into the city. As they neared the notice board where they first met Gaston, they saw him frantically approach them. "You're back! Good! You're just in time to do something about him! He came into the city the day before yesterday, the day you left. Since then, he's been staying at the mayor's house, eating almost non-stop. Please tell me you have some good news."
The hero said, "We do, sort of. We brought help." He gestured to the constables.
Gaston nearly shouted, but managed to keep it down as he protested, "Only two men!? Just the six of you? Against him? Did the lack of oxygen at the higher altitude affect your brains!?"
Amarantha glared at him. "Hey! Calm down. We can handle it. Now take us there."
Gaston recoiled from her reprimand, then nodded. "Sure. Follow me."
As they got closer to the mayor's house, they noticed Gaston getting more and more nervous. Once at the door, Gaston said, "I'll let you guys go in and confront him. I'll be waiting at the guards' quarters, okay?" and ran off.
Before entering, Amarantha said, "I think I should tell you guys this; as we were heading for the mountain, a guy passed us. I got a really bad feeling from him and I think he's the dragon."
They knocked on the door and were greeted by the mayor, a well-dressed man with a noticeable receding hair line. "Can I help you?"
The hero leaned in and said, "I understand you have a dragon problem. We're here to help."
Before the mayor could reply, they all heard a man's voice from another room shouting, "More meat, wench!"
The mayor motioned for them to come in. "Right this way."
Zeraine stretched and said, "Well, I believe that us being together is more important than where we do it, so whatever. Being your one and only man is definitely a big boost for my ego, you know. Those few who befriend a dragon like to brag about it, but I'd say that being a dragon's mate is even better. Of course, nobody would brag about that for fear of claims or accusations of bestiality or some bullshit like that. Anyway, I'd like to see what this present is your dad has for you. Let's get dressed."
They did just that, putting on their normal clothes. Zeraine decided he wouldn't suit up in his armor until they leave.
...
The hero woke up and recalled last night's session with the succubus, then facepalmed. He mumbled, "I guess that's going to happen, what with me becoming an incubus... Well, other couples do the same, right? It's not unusual for a man to want another round with his wife, right?"
He felt a familiar spade-tipped tail rubbing against his morning wood as he heard the succubus say, "Of course it's normal. Don't worry yourself over the fact that you're sexually maturing and desiring me. You should get used to wanting sex from me, because once you're an incubus, you'll want it a lot, and I will never refuse you, unless something of great importance forces me to. Now, unless you want me again, we should get dressed."
He sighed. "Stop stroking my dick with your tail. I know you're trying to goad me into another round."
She smiled. "Look in a mirror. Can you blame me?"
His face got slightly red as he replied, "Thanks. Now let's get dressed. We need to ask about a quick way to get back down to Stormforge."
They got up and got dressed, then stepped out of their room to see Zeraine and Amarantha heading for the dining room.
As the hero and the succubus followed them, he looked out a window and commented, "It's incredible how they managed to mimic day and night inside this mountain..."
William, who had been sitting at the table, said, "It kind of is, isn't it? Thanks to our mages, we've been able to live here easily for centuries, living inside the mountain, yet able to see the sunrise and sunset despite being underground."
Amarantha sat down at the table next to Zeraine and asked, "So what's this present you have for me, Dad?"
William smirked and said, "Eat your breakfast first, then I'll go get it. I think you'll like it."
Seconds later, Miranda came in with a plate in each hand. On each plate were eggs, bacon, sausages, toast, and pancakes. She set the plates out for William and the hero, then returned to the kitchen for another two, one for the succubus and one for Zeraine, then made another trip to get the last two for her and Amarantha. After eating the meal, William got up and said, "Wait here."
He left the room for a few minutes, then returned with a large warhammer. Upon handing it to Amarantha, he said, "That's the hammer I used back when I was a warrior. Because it's a hammer, it's fairly low-maintenance, and because of its all-steel construction, and enchantments, it's unbreakable. It can handle our strength. From what you've told me, you like to use your fists, sometimes borrowing your mate's spear or great sword. With this, you have your own weapon, thus you won't need to borrow one unless you need something that cuts or stabs. Also, if you need something with a blunt impact that hits harder than your fists, you'll have it. One of the enchantments I had put on it was the ability for the wielder to 'call' it back to his or her hand, which means if you drop it, or if it gets knocked out of your hands, you can make it return to you."
She closely examined the hammer, then looked up at him and smiled. "Thanks, Dad!" she said, hugging him.
He patted her on the back and said, "I guess you'll be leaving to deal with that problematic dragon today, right?"
She nodded. "We're pretty much obligated. If I have to stay in human form, this hammer is sure to come in handy. Still, we need a way to get down the mountain quickly."
"Already taken care of. Two of our clan's constables are waiting at the park. You can carry your mate and they'll carry your friends. You'll land close to the bottom of the mountains, but in a place that can't be seen from the city. From there, you'll walk back to the city, which should take no more than an hour. The constables will accompany you. Once you've found this dragon, you and your friends will do what you can to defeat it. If you need their help, the constables will step in. Once the situation is handled, they will return and you will be free to do as you wish. It would be preferable that you didn't let the people know about us."
Amarantha nodded. "I guess after we handle the dragon, we'll talk to the city officials about supporting us in the future battle against the Demon Lord, then we'll come back here for a bit, I guess."
William nodded. "That's fine. Now, considering the problem, it'd be best if you take care of it as soon as possible. The sooner you do, the more grateful they'll be."
Amarantha said her good byes to her parents and left with the party after Zeraine got suited up. In the park, they found the constables, dressed in chainmail.
Amarantha transformed, as did they. Zeraine got on her back and the others got on the other dragons, then they left via the air-access entrance. The hero noticed that the inside of the mountain perfectly mimicked the actual outside.
Amarantha followed the constables as they flew low along the mountain sides opposite the city. Once they landed, everyone got off and the dragons returned to human form. The six of them went back down the mountain and into the city. As they neared the notice board where they first met Gaston, they saw him frantically approach them. "You're back! Good! You're just in time to do something about him! He came into the city the day before yesterday, the day you left. Since then, he's been staying at the mayor's house, eating almost non-stop. Please tell me you have some good news."
The hero said, "We do, sort of. We brought help." He gestured to the constables.
Gaston nearly shouted, but managed to keep it down as he protested, "Only two men!? Just the six of you? Against him? Did the lack of oxygen at the higher altitude affect your brains!?"
Amarantha glared at him. "Hey! Calm down. We can handle it. Now take us there."
Gaston recoiled from her reprimand, then nodded. "Sure. Follow me."
As they got closer to the mayor's house, they noticed Gaston getting more and more nervous. Once at the door, Gaston said, "I'll let you guys go in and confront him. I'll be waiting at the guards' quarters, okay?" and ran off.
Before entering, Amarantha said, "I think I should tell you guys this; as we were heading for the mountain, a guy passed us. I got a really bad feeling from him and I think he's the dragon."
They knocked on the door and were greeted by the mayor, a well-dressed man with a noticeable receding hair line. "Can I help you?"
The hero leaned in and said, "I understand you have a dragon problem. We're here to help."
Before the mayor could reply, they all heard a man's voice from another room shouting, "More meat, wench!"
The mayor motioned for them to come in. "Right this way."
Chapter 108
Spoiler: show
When they arrived in the dining room, the party saw that the two servants, both of them female, were clearly either suffering or uncomfortable, depending on what was happening at the moment. Amarantha stepped forward and narrowed her eyes at the man, glaring at him with a look colder than anyone in the room had ever seen. "You..." she growled.
Exactly as she suspected, the scraggly man with platinum blond hair from before was the one sitting at the table. He looked up at her and snorted. "So what are you here for?" he asked, taking a large bite of whatever kind of meat it was he had.
Amarantha said coldly, "I saw you when we went up the mountain. I got a bad feeling from you then, but I didn't tell anyone until a minute ago. It looks like I should have, so we could have turned around and dealt with you."
He scoffed and spat a bit of chewed meat out, hitting the dress of one of the servants. "I can tell you're a dragon, too. Why the hell do you care about pissant humans? Why should you care what I do to them?" He turned his head and thrust out his hand, holding a goblet. "Refill!"
One of the servants stepped forward to refill his goblet with what was apparently wine. As she stepped away, he moved his leg and tripped her, causing her to fall and spill the rest of the wine out of the jug she was carrying. He laughed cruelly, watching her get up. She turned around and glared at him, but it only amused him. "What are you gonna do, bitch? I'm a dragon and you're just a human. Raise one hand against me and I'll rip your fucking head off, got it? I'll have to do something with you later. I might kill you, or I might eat you. I might even use this human form of mine to rape you. Heh heh, maybe I'll do all three!"
The party looked at each other and nodded. Using Telepathy, the succubus told the servants to get away from him. The hero waited until they were far enough away, then said, "That's enough! This has gone on for too long. Stop stuffing your face and answer for your crimes."
He sneered at the hero and said, "Make me."
The mayor interrupted and asked, "Wait, what's this about someone else being a dragon?"
Amarantha said, "I'm a dragon, too, but I'm a silver dragon. I'm nothing like him, whatever he is. The two men with us that are in chainmail and without Order markings are, too. We'll stop this bastard."
The enemy laughed. "You will, will you? Really? Think about things for a minute. We're inside a house. The house isn't big enough for me to fit inside were I to transform. That means if I did, I'd bring the house down around me. I would be fine, but it'd most likely kill these three humans, the two upstairs, and maybe even your non-dragon friends. You wanna take the chance?"
Amarantha held up her father's hammer. "We silver dragons are fast. I'm sure I can kill you before you can transform, unless you'd be willing to take this fight of ours to the forest. If we fought there, we'd have plenty of room to fight in our true forms."
"Hah! Trying to get me away from the city, are you? You don't want me destroying things and killing people, nor do you want me to have that capability. That's why you want to take this to the forest."
She gritted her teeth and charged, hammer raised. "You cowardly son of a bitch!"
He laughed and jumped from his seat at the last moment, evading her strike. He landed on her back, then kick-jumped off toward the door. The others were in the way, though, and tried to attack. Zeraine raised his fists, because he knew that there wasn't enough room to use his claymore, his great sword, or his spear. The hero had his sword partially out of its sheath when the "man" hit him in the face with a flying kick, breaking his nose and knocking him into the succubus, knocking them both down. He then threw a punch at Zeraine. Even though Zeraine blocked it, he was still knocked down by the force of the hit. One of the silver dragon constables caught him while the other tried to stop the enemy. He failed, as the enemy dove between his legs, rolled to his feet, and taunted, "Stop me if you can, fools!" He then ran out of the mayor's house, tearing the door off its hinges as he kicked it open.
Amarantha stopped her swing and spun around just in time to see him evade everyone and run out. She mumbled a few curses under her breath and went to check on everyone. "Are you guys okay?"
Zeraine and the constables nodded. The hero groaned, holding his face as blood dripped from his chin. The succubus said, "That bastard broke his nose!"
Amarantha walked over and kneeled down next to them. "I'll fix this so she can heal it, okay? Brace yourself, 'cause it's gonna hurt."
The hero nodded and took a breath through his mouth, then growled in pain as Amarantha grabbed his nose and jerked it back to its normal position and shape. As soon as the succubus had healed him, and as soon as he had blown some lingering blood out of his nose, he said, "Let's go after him. We might be able to catch him before he does any more damage." Everyone nodded in agreement and went outside. They heard a loud crash and went to investigate. As they ran, the hero asked, "By the way, why didn't he transform?"
Amarantha said, "He didn't have enough time. Transforming takes a few seconds, and as you saw, he had less than half of one before I would have nailed him with Dad's hammer. That's why the cowardly asshole ran away."
When they found the source of the noise, they saw the enemy grinding the heel of his boot on a woman's side as she lay on the ground facing away from him, trying unsuccessfully to defend herself after who was apparently her husband had been thrown through a storefront window. Amarantha remembered what he father told her about the hammer, and decided that now was as good a time as any to try it, so she threw it at him as hard as she could. It hit him square in the chest and knocked him down, away from the woman, who frantically crawled away.
She mentally called the hammer and it flew back to her hand, just as her father told her it would. He got up slowly and glared at her. "You'll pay for that, bitch." Just as the succubus was about to throw a Fireball to help out, he glowed with a blindingly bright light. When the light faded, he stood there in his true form, that of a white dragon. "Watch this..." He inhaled deeply, rearing his head back.
Amarantha saw this and knew what he was about to do. She also knew that his ice breath would be aimed at the nearest "viable target", which was the woman who was now near the door to the shop. Amarantha quickly dashed over and got in between him and the woman right when he let loose his freezing breath.
The hero looked at Zeraine and asked, "Is she going to be alright?"
He nodded. "Silver and white dragons are both sort of 'ice-types'. They both use ice breath and they're both very resistant to cold. Something like this wouldn't hurt her."
When the white dragon's blast of ice breath ended, Amarantha still stood there, arms out, but she was encased in ice. Just as the white dragon was about to make an insulting remark, the ice cracked and bright light came out. Moments later, the ice shattered, and there stood Amarantha in her dragon form. She roared at him, then blew her own ice breath at him. He shrunk back a little and turned his head. "Dumb bitch! Ice doesn't work on me!"
Her intention wasn't to hurt him with her ice breath, however. Her intention was to block his vision, and that is exactly what happened. She jumped through the cloud of frost that hung in the air from her ice breath and tackled him. "Ice may not, but this will!" She tried to bite him, but he moved his neck out of the way just in time to let her snap at the air. She tried again, this time biting him on his shoulder. He roared in pain, then began thrashing around. He clawed at her head with his front legs while trying to rake at her with his hind legs.
He eventually succeeded in making her lose her grip on him and rolled them both over, then bit her. He sunk his teeth into the base of her neck, causing her to roar in pain this time. Using her front legs, she tried to hit him with the closest thing to a punch her front feet were capable of. She succeeded in making him loosen his grip, then she rolled them back over and grabbed his right wing with her left front leg, dragging her claws across the leathery membrane, cutting large holes in it, thus removing him of his ability to fly. He let go of her neck and yelled, "You little bitch! Fuck up MY wing, will you!? Take this!"
Before he could do anything, she jumped off him. "That's so you can't get away, coward!"
He rolled over and stood up, then charged at her. She took flight, flying low toward a more open area of the city. As he ran after her, he taunted, "You call me a coward and then fly away after disabling my wing? You're a hypocrite!"
Once he got where she wanted him, she ascended, then did a 180 and dove at him. She crashed into him and the two rolled to a stop, all the while snapping, biting, and clawing at each other. They continued rolling around, grappling and slashing at one another. Just when it looked like he was gaining the upper hand, she threw him off, rolled to her feet, and tail-whipped him in the face as he advanced, probably to jump back on. She decided to swing her tail back the other way, hitting him a second time, this time in the side of the neck.
He growled and retaliated by swinging his own tail at her, but she ducked her head under it and charged. Unfortunately, her plan to get on his back and bite him failed, for he extended his wing, putting it in her way and forcing her to back off.
The two began circling each other. He said, "I see now. You wanted more room to fight without destroying things, and you managed to lead me out here. Well done. Why are you so intent on stopping me? Are these pathetic humans really worth it? Are they really worth that much to you?"
She glared at him. "You give dragons a bad name. You also oppress, hurt, and kill people in an attempt to deal with your own inferiority complex, typical of white dragons. You're a total scumbag and you make me sick." She breathed out sharply and said, "You're weak, so you have to pick on those weaker than you to make yourself feel better... You're just a pathetic bully and a lowlife piece of shit."
"You fucking bitch!" Making it obvious that she hit a nerve, he charged at her and tackled her. "I'll show you! I'll show you right now! I'll make you give birth to my hatchlings!"
She thrashed wildly and kicked him off. "Like hell you will!"
Before he could get up, she jumped on him and held his head down with one of her front legs, using the other to hold onto his neck near the base. She then sunk her teeth into his neck as hard as she could. As she bit down, she could feel his neck bones creaking under the force of her bite. Feeling that, and hearing him growl in pain, she bit harder. Eventually, she felt his neck break and his body go limp as he stopped resisting. She let go and backed off, then walked around him and looked closely, making sure he was dead.
She began walking back in the direction she came from but stopped when everyone arrived. Zeraine looked at her, seeing the blood running down her silver scales, dripping off her in various places. He asked, "You alright, Ammie?"
She exhaled. "Yeah, I'm fine. Come here."
He walked up to her with a quizzical look on his face and she brought her head down to him, then started nuzzling him. He rubbed her snout and pressed his head against hers. "...You know, this is kind of awkward, considering stuff like last night."
She nudged him a little with her head and said, "Shut up. These wounds hurt and I want some affection."
The succubus approached and said, "I'd hate to interrupt, but we kind of need to wash you off and heal you."
Amarantha reluctantly raised her head back up, forcing Zeraine to stop petting her. "Do it."
The succubus used a very weak version of Access to clean her off, washing away the blood and dirt that had gotten all over her during the fight. Once that was done, she healed Amarantha's wounds and washed her off again to clean off the blood that seeped from her wounds during the healing. Once Amarantha was fully healed and cleaned off, she shook off, much like a cat or dog would, then saw the crowd of people that had gathered around.
One of the constables walked up and said, "Amarantha, you're definitely a credit to our clan. Congratulations on beating that white dragon on your own."
She leaned in with the closest thing to a frown she could make in her dragon form on her face and said, "A little help would have been appreciated. Three of us on him would have made short work of him, and it would have saved me from those wounds."
He said, "I apologize, but the woman and her husband needed immediate help, as did the shopkeeper."
She looked over at Zeraine and the others and said, "And I guess while the princess was healing the man, you guys were trying to catch up, right?"
Zeraine nodded. "You flew pretty far and did so really fast, so of course it'd take us time to catch up. How'd you know the guy needed healing?"
"I may not have been there, but I know that he must have had lots of cuts that needed healing, because that's what happens when you're thrown through a window."
"Right, right. So, uh, should we try to leave?"
She looked over at the crowd and saw that the hero was attempting to keep them calm, telling them that she was one of the good guys and that she had just killed a bad dragon. At one point, he remarked, "She's basically the city's savior."
She looked back to Zeraine and said, "Is that possible?"
He shrugged. "I don't know, but the princess might be able to cast an invisibility spell on you, which would allow you to run or fly away, or maybe transform before you do."
Her eyes went a bit wide as she recalled the start of the fight. "Speaking of which, how many people saw me transform?"
"Uh, I think the woman saw you. I think the shopkeeper also saw, as well as whoever all was there and whoever all came when he transformed."
"In other words, a lot of people saw? How the hell am I going to stay in this town tonight?"
"We could go back to your house and hope they forget by tomorrow, or leave for a completely different place tomorrow morning."
"That sounds good." She walked over to the hero. As she got closer, the crowd started to back up fearfully. "Kid, Zeraine and I are leaving. Take care of whatever you have to and meet us later, okay?"
The hero said, "You're not staying? Sure, they're still afraid of you, but once they see-"
"No. You can probably guess where I'm going, so like I said, meet us later." With that, she walked back over to Zeraine, let him get on, and flew away, first high into the sky, then off in the opposite direction of the Blackrock Mountains.
The succubus, having heard the conversation, said, "Well, dear, I guess we'll go back with these guys when we're done, okay?"
He nodded and turned to the constables. "Well..."
One of them said, "We know. We'll take you back with us when you're ready."
The four of them headed for the mayor's house as the crowd gathered around the corpse of the white dragon, gawking at it and carefully touching it.
Exactly as she suspected, the scraggly man with platinum blond hair from before was the one sitting at the table. He looked up at her and snorted. "So what are you here for?" he asked, taking a large bite of whatever kind of meat it was he had.
Amarantha said coldly, "I saw you when we went up the mountain. I got a bad feeling from you then, but I didn't tell anyone until a minute ago. It looks like I should have, so we could have turned around and dealt with you."
He scoffed and spat a bit of chewed meat out, hitting the dress of one of the servants. "I can tell you're a dragon, too. Why the hell do you care about pissant humans? Why should you care what I do to them?" He turned his head and thrust out his hand, holding a goblet. "Refill!"
One of the servants stepped forward to refill his goblet with what was apparently wine. As she stepped away, he moved his leg and tripped her, causing her to fall and spill the rest of the wine out of the jug she was carrying. He laughed cruelly, watching her get up. She turned around and glared at him, but it only amused him. "What are you gonna do, bitch? I'm a dragon and you're just a human. Raise one hand against me and I'll rip your fucking head off, got it? I'll have to do something with you later. I might kill you, or I might eat you. I might even use this human form of mine to rape you. Heh heh, maybe I'll do all three!"
The party looked at each other and nodded. Using Telepathy, the succubus told the servants to get away from him. The hero waited until they were far enough away, then said, "That's enough! This has gone on for too long. Stop stuffing your face and answer for your crimes."
He sneered at the hero and said, "Make me."
The mayor interrupted and asked, "Wait, what's this about someone else being a dragon?"
Amarantha said, "I'm a dragon, too, but I'm a silver dragon. I'm nothing like him, whatever he is. The two men with us that are in chainmail and without Order markings are, too. We'll stop this bastard."
The enemy laughed. "You will, will you? Really? Think about things for a minute. We're inside a house. The house isn't big enough for me to fit inside were I to transform. That means if I did, I'd bring the house down around me. I would be fine, but it'd most likely kill these three humans, the two upstairs, and maybe even your non-dragon friends. You wanna take the chance?"
Amarantha held up her father's hammer. "We silver dragons are fast. I'm sure I can kill you before you can transform, unless you'd be willing to take this fight of ours to the forest. If we fought there, we'd have plenty of room to fight in our true forms."
"Hah! Trying to get me away from the city, are you? You don't want me destroying things and killing people, nor do you want me to have that capability. That's why you want to take this to the forest."
She gritted her teeth and charged, hammer raised. "You cowardly son of a bitch!"
He laughed and jumped from his seat at the last moment, evading her strike. He landed on her back, then kick-jumped off toward the door. The others were in the way, though, and tried to attack. Zeraine raised his fists, because he knew that there wasn't enough room to use his claymore, his great sword, or his spear. The hero had his sword partially out of its sheath when the "man" hit him in the face with a flying kick, breaking his nose and knocking him into the succubus, knocking them both down. He then threw a punch at Zeraine. Even though Zeraine blocked it, he was still knocked down by the force of the hit. One of the silver dragon constables caught him while the other tried to stop the enemy. He failed, as the enemy dove between his legs, rolled to his feet, and taunted, "Stop me if you can, fools!" He then ran out of the mayor's house, tearing the door off its hinges as he kicked it open.
Amarantha stopped her swing and spun around just in time to see him evade everyone and run out. She mumbled a few curses under her breath and went to check on everyone. "Are you guys okay?"
Zeraine and the constables nodded. The hero groaned, holding his face as blood dripped from his chin. The succubus said, "That bastard broke his nose!"
Amarantha walked over and kneeled down next to them. "I'll fix this so she can heal it, okay? Brace yourself, 'cause it's gonna hurt."
The hero nodded and took a breath through his mouth, then growled in pain as Amarantha grabbed his nose and jerked it back to its normal position and shape. As soon as the succubus had healed him, and as soon as he had blown some lingering blood out of his nose, he said, "Let's go after him. We might be able to catch him before he does any more damage." Everyone nodded in agreement and went outside. They heard a loud crash and went to investigate. As they ran, the hero asked, "By the way, why didn't he transform?"
Amarantha said, "He didn't have enough time. Transforming takes a few seconds, and as you saw, he had less than half of one before I would have nailed him with Dad's hammer. That's why the cowardly asshole ran away."
When they found the source of the noise, they saw the enemy grinding the heel of his boot on a woman's side as she lay on the ground facing away from him, trying unsuccessfully to defend herself after who was apparently her husband had been thrown through a storefront window. Amarantha remembered what he father told her about the hammer, and decided that now was as good a time as any to try it, so she threw it at him as hard as she could. It hit him square in the chest and knocked him down, away from the woman, who frantically crawled away.
She mentally called the hammer and it flew back to her hand, just as her father told her it would. He got up slowly and glared at her. "You'll pay for that, bitch." Just as the succubus was about to throw a Fireball to help out, he glowed with a blindingly bright light. When the light faded, he stood there in his true form, that of a white dragon. "Watch this..." He inhaled deeply, rearing his head back.
Amarantha saw this and knew what he was about to do. She also knew that his ice breath would be aimed at the nearest "viable target", which was the woman who was now near the door to the shop. Amarantha quickly dashed over and got in between him and the woman right when he let loose his freezing breath.
The hero looked at Zeraine and asked, "Is she going to be alright?"
He nodded. "Silver and white dragons are both sort of 'ice-types'. They both use ice breath and they're both very resistant to cold. Something like this wouldn't hurt her."
When the white dragon's blast of ice breath ended, Amarantha still stood there, arms out, but she was encased in ice. Just as the white dragon was about to make an insulting remark, the ice cracked and bright light came out. Moments later, the ice shattered, and there stood Amarantha in her dragon form. She roared at him, then blew her own ice breath at him. He shrunk back a little and turned his head. "Dumb bitch! Ice doesn't work on me!"
Her intention wasn't to hurt him with her ice breath, however. Her intention was to block his vision, and that is exactly what happened. She jumped through the cloud of frost that hung in the air from her ice breath and tackled him. "Ice may not, but this will!" She tried to bite him, but he moved his neck out of the way just in time to let her snap at the air. She tried again, this time biting him on his shoulder. He roared in pain, then began thrashing around. He clawed at her head with his front legs while trying to rake at her with his hind legs.
He eventually succeeded in making her lose her grip on him and rolled them both over, then bit her. He sunk his teeth into the base of her neck, causing her to roar in pain this time. Using her front legs, she tried to hit him with the closest thing to a punch her front feet were capable of. She succeeded in making him loosen his grip, then she rolled them back over and grabbed his right wing with her left front leg, dragging her claws across the leathery membrane, cutting large holes in it, thus removing him of his ability to fly. He let go of her neck and yelled, "You little bitch! Fuck up MY wing, will you!? Take this!"
Before he could do anything, she jumped off him. "That's so you can't get away, coward!"
He rolled over and stood up, then charged at her. She took flight, flying low toward a more open area of the city. As he ran after her, he taunted, "You call me a coward and then fly away after disabling my wing? You're a hypocrite!"
Once he got where she wanted him, she ascended, then did a 180 and dove at him. She crashed into him and the two rolled to a stop, all the while snapping, biting, and clawing at each other. They continued rolling around, grappling and slashing at one another. Just when it looked like he was gaining the upper hand, she threw him off, rolled to her feet, and tail-whipped him in the face as he advanced, probably to jump back on. She decided to swing her tail back the other way, hitting him a second time, this time in the side of the neck.
He growled and retaliated by swinging his own tail at her, but she ducked her head under it and charged. Unfortunately, her plan to get on his back and bite him failed, for he extended his wing, putting it in her way and forcing her to back off.
The two began circling each other. He said, "I see now. You wanted more room to fight without destroying things, and you managed to lead me out here. Well done. Why are you so intent on stopping me? Are these pathetic humans really worth it? Are they really worth that much to you?"
She glared at him. "You give dragons a bad name. You also oppress, hurt, and kill people in an attempt to deal with your own inferiority complex, typical of white dragons. You're a total scumbag and you make me sick." She breathed out sharply and said, "You're weak, so you have to pick on those weaker than you to make yourself feel better... You're just a pathetic bully and a lowlife piece of shit."
"You fucking bitch!" Making it obvious that she hit a nerve, he charged at her and tackled her. "I'll show you! I'll show you right now! I'll make you give birth to my hatchlings!"
She thrashed wildly and kicked him off. "Like hell you will!"
Before he could get up, she jumped on him and held his head down with one of her front legs, using the other to hold onto his neck near the base. She then sunk her teeth into his neck as hard as she could. As she bit down, she could feel his neck bones creaking under the force of her bite. Feeling that, and hearing him growl in pain, she bit harder. Eventually, she felt his neck break and his body go limp as he stopped resisting. She let go and backed off, then walked around him and looked closely, making sure he was dead.
She began walking back in the direction she came from but stopped when everyone arrived. Zeraine looked at her, seeing the blood running down her silver scales, dripping off her in various places. He asked, "You alright, Ammie?"
She exhaled. "Yeah, I'm fine. Come here."
He walked up to her with a quizzical look on his face and she brought her head down to him, then started nuzzling him. He rubbed her snout and pressed his head against hers. "...You know, this is kind of awkward, considering stuff like last night."
She nudged him a little with her head and said, "Shut up. These wounds hurt and I want some affection."
The succubus approached and said, "I'd hate to interrupt, but we kind of need to wash you off and heal you."
Amarantha reluctantly raised her head back up, forcing Zeraine to stop petting her. "Do it."
The succubus used a very weak version of Access to clean her off, washing away the blood and dirt that had gotten all over her during the fight. Once that was done, she healed Amarantha's wounds and washed her off again to clean off the blood that seeped from her wounds during the healing. Once Amarantha was fully healed and cleaned off, she shook off, much like a cat or dog would, then saw the crowd of people that had gathered around.
One of the constables walked up and said, "Amarantha, you're definitely a credit to our clan. Congratulations on beating that white dragon on your own."
She leaned in with the closest thing to a frown she could make in her dragon form on her face and said, "A little help would have been appreciated. Three of us on him would have made short work of him, and it would have saved me from those wounds."
He said, "I apologize, but the woman and her husband needed immediate help, as did the shopkeeper."
She looked over at Zeraine and the others and said, "And I guess while the princess was healing the man, you guys were trying to catch up, right?"
Zeraine nodded. "You flew pretty far and did so really fast, so of course it'd take us time to catch up. How'd you know the guy needed healing?"
"I may not have been there, but I know that he must have had lots of cuts that needed healing, because that's what happens when you're thrown through a window."
"Right, right. So, uh, should we try to leave?"
She looked over at the crowd and saw that the hero was attempting to keep them calm, telling them that she was one of the good guys and that she had just killed a bad dragon. At one point, he remarked, "She's basically the city's savior."
She looked back to Zeraine and said, "Is that possible?"
He shrugged. "I don't know, but the princess might be able to cast an invisibility spell on you, which would allow you to run or fly away, or maybe transform before you do."
Her eyes went a bit wide as she recalled the start of the fight. "Speaking of which, how many people saw me transform?"
"Uh, I think the woman saw you. I think the shopkeeper also saw, as well as whoever all was there and whoever all came when he transformed."
"In other words, a lot of people saw? How the hell am I going to stay in this town tonight?"
"We could go back to your house and hope they forget by tomorrow, or leave for a completely different place tomorrow morning."
"That sounds good." She walked over to the hero. As she got closer, the crowd started to back up fearfully. "Kid, Zeraine and I are leaving. Take care of whatever you have to and meet us later, okay?"
The hero said, "You're not staying? Sure, they're still afraid of you, but once they see-"
"No. You can probably guess where I'm going, so like I said, meet us later." With that, she walked back over to Zeraine, let him get on, and flew away, first high into the sky, then off in the opposite direction of the Blackrock Mountains.
The succubus, having heard the conversation, said, "Well, dear, I guess we'll go back with these guys when we're done, okay?"
He nodded and turned to the constables. "Well..."
One of them said, "We know. We'll take you back with us when you're ready."
The four of them headed for the mayor's house as the crowd gathered around the corpse of the white dragon, gawking at it and carefully touching it.
Chapter 109
Spoiler: show
Once back at the mayor's house, the hero and the succubus talked with him, explaining their mission, their plans, and their intentions, then asked for his support in the battle. He leaned back in his chair and said, "As you might be able to guess, whether our city guard can help you or not depends on whether or not we can recover from the dragon's damage to our coffers. If we can build our money reserves back up enough in time, we'll certainly help. If not, we'll only be able to send what volunteers will step up."
The hero nodded and said, "Any help would be appreciated, even that of drunken miners with pickaxes. We'll need all the help we can get to get the four of us to the Demon Lord so we can kill him, and his Dullahan army is no joke."
The mayor closed his eyes and said, "Well, that's all I can say. I suppose you'll come to see us when the time comes, right? Good luck on your journey until then."
"Thanks, and good luck on recovering."
With that, the hero and the succubus, along with the two silver dragon constables, left for the mountains. Making absolutely sure they weren't followed, they went back to the same spot they landed at before, let the constables transform, and rode back to the clan's lair.
...
Meanwhile, Amarantha, with Zeraine on her back, flew higher and higher until she was far above the clouds, then circled back and headed for Icewind Peak. When she was sure that they were over it, she dove down through the clouds. Just as she had guessed, she was right above Icewind Peak. She went in through the air entrance and landed in the park, allowing Zeraine to get off before she transformed back to human form. She turned around and asked, "You okay? It's kind of cold up here, and flying at that speed... You didn't get frostbite from the wind chill, did you?"
He shook his head. "No. I'm freezing my balls off, but I'm otherwise fine."
She smiled at him and said, "Well, let's go home. Mom can get you some soup to warm you up from the inside, and after that, I'll warm you up from the outside, okay?"
He nodded and followed her back to her house. Upon returning, Miranda greeted them and, after hearing the situation, got started on the aforementioned soup. While she was busy, Amarantha helped Zeraine out of his armor, then cuddled with him on the couch until the soup was ready.
...
As Amarantha did with Zeraine, the constables flew the two into the clan's lair by way of the air entrance, then landed in the park and let them get off. They transformed back to human form and one of them said, "Don't worry, knight. I'm sure you'll have plenty of support in that 'final battle'."
The hero nodded confidently and the succubus said, "I'm sure it'll be a sight to behold. Humans and monsters united against the Demon Lord, working together to strike down his tyranny so I can take his place and fix things. I'll unite humans and monsters permanently after that."
The hero smiled and said, "And I'll help you any way I can."
She smiled back, gave him a quick hug, then walked with him back to Amarantha's house.
When they got into the living room, they found Zeraine sitting on the couch, just starting to eat his soup, with Amarantha sitting on her knees, hugging him from behind and to his side.
The succubus raised an eyebrow and said, "I know you're not the type to try and do him while he's eating, nor are you comfortable with doing it in a place where you can be seen, so what happened?"
Amarantha gave her a confused look while Miranda blushed a little and giggled. The hero said, "What she means is, 'did something happen?' You're hugging him like that while he's eating what looks like soup, so..."
"Oh. Yeah, he got pretty cold. I'm guessing the constables flew you back at about the same speed as when we all went back down, right? Well, I flew pretty fast in the 'wrong' direction, then back here, so the wind and cold air got to him. I'm helping him warm up."
The succubus grinned. "There's a better way, you know."
Amarantha blushed and said, "That comes later."
Zeraine asked, "How did things go?"
The hero replied, "Okay, I guess. They said they'd have to recover from their near financial ruin before they could promise to help us, and if they couldn't, we'd get whatever volunteers there'd be." He sat down in a recliner and said, "So, what next? We've taken care of a big problem for Stormforge, we've visited Amarantha's clan, and now we're relaxing a bit. What do we look at doing next?"
Everyone shrugged, then the succubus looked at Amarantha and said, "I'd like to try the polymorph spell on you again. I think I've fixed a few of your complaints about it."
Amarantha looked around and said, "Okay, I guess."
Miranda asked, "What polymorph spell?"
The succubus explained it, recounting some of the details about the first attempt.
"That I'll have to see, but you should wait until this evening. As for your question of what to do next, William might have some suggestions," she said, obviously curious about the spell.
Zeraine finished his soup and handed the bowl to Miranda, who took it back into the kitchen. When she got back, she asked, "Was it good?"
Zeraine nodded and said, "Yeah, very. Thanks."
"No problem. I take it you're going to spend the night here again?"
The hero said, "Well that'd probably be the smart thing to do."
"That's alright. Amarantha's friends are welcome here any time."
A few hours later, William returned home. After greeting Miranda, the first thing he did was ask Amarantha, "How'd it go? Was my hammer handy?"
She nodded and said, "It worked for what I used it for. I had to transform to fight him, though." She went on to tell him that it was a white dragon and that he dodged her first swing, but she hit him with the hammer-throw later, as well as the details of the fight with the both of them transforming and having their savage fight in the city.
When she was through telling him about the battle, she asked if he had any suggestions as to what they should do next, to which he replied, "Elementalists would be a great help. I don't know if you'll want to seek them out, but I know where the world's greatest elementalists are. The one contracted with a gnome lives right down in Stormforge. He's a Dwarf that works in the mine. The one contracted with an ignis lives in the swamp to the east of these mountains. She should be easy to spot, too, with her excessive use of her power. Her twin sister is, coincidentally enough, the greatest water elementalist, and is contracted to an undine, and living with her. Finally, the greatest wind elementalist, contracted to a sylph, lives in Windgate, but travels all over the country. I don't know how to contact him."
The hero shrugged. "I guess that takes care of that. I suppose that, by 'recruiting' them, they'll contact other elementalists and we'll get more than just those four, right?"
"Maybe, though searching for other elementalists during your travels would also be a good idea."
After a few seconds of silence, Miranda looked at Amarantha and said, "Since your father's home now, how about showing us that polymorph spell?"
The succubus nodded and grinned. "Good idea. Come on, Ammie!" she said, getting up and grabbing Amarantha by the arm.
Amarantha tried to protest, but she knew her parents wanted to see it, and she knew it needed to be tested, so she followed. Once outside, she transformed and let the succubus cast the spell. Once in her future new form, she asked, "Well, how do I look?"
Miranda looked between the succubus and Amarantha and asked, "Is that how I'll look after your plan is put into effect?"
The succubus nodded. "And your husband will look about like he does right now, but with a masculine body of that appearance. Also, your 'default' hair color will be silvery. You'll be able to change it, should you want to, which means you can keep your red hair and he can keep his black hair." She turned to Amarantha and asked, "How is it?"
Amarantha walked a little, then looked at the succubus with a surprised expression. "I don't feel off-balance."
The succubus said, "I made it so that your natural equilibrium will 'update' when you change, which means you'll never feel off-balance from just transforming. I figured it was better to do it that way rather than make your hands and feet bigger to give you a larger 'foundation' and offset the balance a little. I also changed the clothing so that it'll go away when you want it to via picturing it clearly doing so. I can also make it so that it's detachable as well, if you want."
"Yeah, that'd be a good idea. This outfit is a bit too revealing for my tastes, and I might want to wear something else from time to time."
"I also made your claws incredibly dull. Right now, they're at a point where they can't even cut wet paper. It's only a temporary thing, though, because once I've made those changes to the nature and properties of demonic energy, it'll protect those you don't want to hurt, especially your beloved Zeraine."
"Thanks. I guess I'll stay in this form until tomorrow morning, right?"
"Yes, I'd like for you to get used to your extra parts and tell me how tonight works for you. I need to know if this is the 'final version' or if I need to tweak it some more."
Amarantha blushed a little and said, "Okay."
Everyone went back inside and chatted to and through dinner, then went to bed.
The hero nodded and said, "Any help would be appreciated, even that of drunken miners with pickaxes. We'll need all the help we can get to get the four of us to the Demon Lord so we can kill him, and his Dullahan army is no joke."
The mayor closed his eyes and said, "Well, that's all I can say. I suppose you'll come to see us when the time comes, right? Good luck on your journey until then."
"Thanks, and good luck on recovering."
With that, the hero and the succubus, along with the two silver dragon constables, left for the mountains. Making absolutely sure they weren't followed, they went back to the same spot they landed at before, let the constables transform, and rode back to the clan's lair.
...
Meanwhile, Amarantha, with Zeraine on her back, flew higher and higher until she was far above the clouds, then circled back and headed for Icewind Peak. When she was sure that they were over it, she dove down through the clouds. Just as she had guessed, she was right above Icewind Peak. She went in through the air entrance and landed in the park, allowing Zeraine to get off before she transformed back to human form. She turned around and asked, "You okay? It's kind of cold up here, and flying at that speed... You didn't get frostbite from the wind chill, did you?"
He shook his head. "No. I'm freezing my balls off, but I'm otherwise fine."
She smiled at him and said, "Well, let's go home. Mom can get you some soup to warm you up from the inside, and after that, I'll warm you up from the outside, okay?"
He nodded and followed her back to her house. Upon returning, Miranda greeted them and, after hearing the situation, got started on the aforementioned soup. While she was busy, Amarantha helped Zeraine out of his armor, then cuddled with him on the couch until the soup was ready.
...
As Amarantha did with Zeraine, the constables flew the two into the clan's lair by way of the air entrance, then landed in the park and let them get off. They transformed back to human form and one of them said, "Don't worry, knight. I'm sure you'll have plenty of support in that 'final battle'."
The hero nodded confidently and the succubus said, "I'm sure it'll be a sight to behold. Humans and monsters united against the Demon Lord, working together to strike down his tyranny so I can take his place and fix things. I'll unite humans and monsters permanently after that."
The hero smiled and said, "And I'll help you any way I can."
She smiled back, gave him a quick hug, then walked with him back to Amarantha's house.
When they got into the living room, they found Zeraine sitting on the couch, just starting to eat his soup, with Amarantha sitting on her knees, hugging him from behind and to his side.
The succubus raised an eyebrow and said, "I know you're not the type to try and do him while he's eating, nor are you comfortable with doing it in a place where you can be seen, so what happened?"
Amarantha gave her a confused look while Miranda blushed a little and giggled. The hero said, "What she means is, 'did something happen?' You're hugging him like that while he's eating what looks like soup, so..."
"Oh. Yeah, he got pretty cold. I'm guessing the constables flew you back at about the same speed as when we all went back down, right? Well, I flew pretty fast in the 'wrong' direction, then back here, so the wind and cold air got to him. I'm helping him warm up."
The succubus grinned. "There's a better way, you know."
Amarantha blushed and said, "That comes later."
Zeraine asked, "How did things go?"
The hero replied, "Okay, I guess. They said they'd have to recover from their near financial ruin before they could promise to help us, and if they couldn't, we'd get whatever volunteers there'd be." He sat down in a recliner and said, "So, what next? We've taken care of a big problem for Stormforge, we've visited Amarantha's clan, and now we're relaxing a bit. What do we look at doing next?"
Everyone shrugged, then the succubus looked at Amarantha and said, "I'd like to try the polymorph spell on you again. I think I've fixed a few of your complaints about it."
Amarantha looked around and said, "Okay, I guess."
Miranda asked, "What polymorph spell?"
The succubus explained it, recounting some of the details about the first attempt.
"That I'll have to see, but you should wait until this evening. As for your question of what to do next, William might have some suggestions," she said, obviously curious about the spell.
Zeraine finished his soup and handed the bowl to Miranda, who took it back into the kitchen. When she got back, she asked, "Was it good?"
Zeraine nodded and said, "Yeah, very. Thanks."
"No problem. I take it you're going to spend the night here again?"
The hero said, "Well that'd probably be the smart thing to do."
"That's alright. Amarantha's friends are welcome here any time."
A few hours later, William returned home. After greeting Miranda, the first thing he did was ask Amarantha, "How'd it go? Was my hammer handy?"
She nodded and said, "It worked for what I used it for. I had to transform to fight him, though." She went on to tell him that it was a white dragon and that he dodged her first swing, but she hit him with the hammer-throw later, as well as the details of the fight with the both of them transforming and having their savage fight in the city.
When she was through telling him about the battle, she asked if he had any suggestions as to what they should do next, to which he replied, "Elementalists would be a great help. I don't know if you'll want to seek them out, but I know where the world's greatest elementalists are. The one contracted with a gnome lives right down in Stormforge. He's a Dwarf that works in the mine. The one contracted with an ignis lives in the swamp to the east of these mountains. She should be easy to spot, too, with her excessive use of her power. Her twin sister is, coincidentally enough, the greatest water elementalist, and is contracted to an undine, and living with her. Finally, the greatest wind elementalist, contracted to a sylph, lives in Windgate, but travels all over the country. I don't know how to contact him."
The hero shrugged. "I guess that takes care of that. I suppose that, by 'recruiting' them, they'll contact other elementalists and we'll get more than just those four, right?"
"Maybe, though searching for other elementalists during your travels would also be a good idea."
After a few seconds of silence, Miranda looked at Amarantha and said, "Since your father's home now, how about showing us that polymorph spell?"
The succubus nodded and grinned. "Good idea. Come on, Ammie!" she said, getting up and grabbing Amarantha by the arm.
Amarantha tried to protest, but she knew her parents wanted to see it, and she knew it needed to be tested, so she followed. Once outside, she transformed and let the succubus cast the spell. Once in her future new form, she asked, "Well, how do I look?"
Miranda looked between the succubus and Amarantha and asked, "Is that how I'll look after your plan is put into effect?"
The succubus nodded. "And your husband will look about like he does right now, but with a masculine body of that appearance. Also, your 'default' hair color will be silvery. You'll be able to change it, should you want to, which means you can keep your red hair and he can keep his black hair." She turned to Amarantha and asked, "How is it?"
Amarantha walked a little, then looked at the succubus with a surprised expression. "I don't feel off-balance."
The succubus said, "I made it so that your natural equilibrium will 'update' when you change, which means you'll never feel off-balance from just transforming. I figured it was better to do it that way rather than make your hands and feet bigger to give you a larger 'foundation' and offset the balance a little. I also changed the clothing so that it'll go away when you want it to via picturing it clearly doing so. I can also make it so that it's detachable as well, if you want."
"Yeah, that'd be a good idea. This outfit is a bit too revealing for my tastes, and I might want to wear something else from time to time."
"I also made your claws incredibly dull. Right now, they're at a point where they can't even cut wet paper. It's only a temporary thing, though, because once I've made those changes to the nature and properties of demonic energy, it'll protect those you don't want to hurt, especially your beloved Zeraine."
"Thanks. I guess I'll stay in this form until tomorrow morning, right?"
"Yes, I'd like for you to get used to your extra parts and tell me how tonight works for you. I need to know if this is the 'final version' or if I need to tweak it some more."
Amarantha blushed a little and said, "Okay."
Everyone went back inside and chatted to and through dinner, then went to bed.
Chapter 110
Spoiler: show
The hero and the succubus went to the guest room and started undressing. The succubus, having dropped her disguise upon returning, spread her wings and stuck her tail straight out as she stretched. She then helped the hero finish stripping and led him over to the bed. "Do you want the lead or should I take it?"
He paused for a moment, then replied, "Well, I guess I'll take the lead, at least through the foreplay. After that, the lead will probably go to whoever happens to be on top at the time or something."
She shrugged. "Repeatedly changing who's in the lead during the act can be fun. ...I wonder, will this 'revised version' of Amarantha's new form work well for her?"
The hero shook his head. "You can ask them that tomorrow, just as you planned to. Right now, we should focus on this."
She grinned at him and teasingly asked, "Is that eagerness I hear?"
He frowned. "So? What man doesn't want his wife?"
She giggled. "Rather than get into that, let's get started, okay?"
He huffed, then got on top of her. They began passionately kissing while he rubbed her breasts, changing position so that he was cradling her head with one hand while he rubbed her breast with the other, which made the making out easier. In response to his caresses, she gently rubbed his balls with her tail while slowly stroking his penis with her hand. After about a minute of this, she broke off the kissing just long enough to ask him to rub her vagina instead, so he did. She quickly got wet, her juices flowing out and wetting the sheet. His pre-cum started to seep out, which she rubbed and smeared all over his dick, helping to lubricate it for smoother stroking.
Eventually, she said, "As much as I like kissing you, my pussy needs some attention."
He asked, "How do you want it?"
"Sixty-nine position. Let's try and cum together from mutual oral, then move on to sex, okay? By the way, while you're down there, finger my ass."
"You've taken a liking to it?"
She nodded. "It feels good when you stick your finger in my ass, especially when you do other things to me at the same time. Also, try two fingers."
"Got it." He gave her one last kiss on her lips, then started to get into position. He stopped and asked, "Wouldn't it be better if you were on top for this?"
"Yeah, probably." She sat up and let him lay down, then got on top of him.
When she got in position, she lowered her lower lips to his face and he got started, kissing, licking, and occasionally fingering. He made sure to coat his fingers with her vaginal juices and stick one into her anus. Shortly after his finger was in her ass, she began expertly sucking his dick and massaging his balls. Occasionally, she'd stop sucking and take her mouth off so she could lick him from base to tip and back, lick the head in a circular motion, and suck on the side of his shaft. At one point, he slipped a second finger into her anus, which made her let out a small moan of pleasure on top of the moaning she was already doing from feeling his fingers and tongue in her vagina. They carefully watched each other's bodies while pleasuring one another, eventually timing it so that they came together. He lapped up her fluids, leaving behind some for what came next, and she drank every last drop of his cum.
She stood on her knees, turned around to face him, then sat down on him, pressing her wet lower lips against the shaft of his dick, sandwiching it between her pussy and his abdomen. "Cowgirl, missionary, or doggy style?"
"Can we do missionary?"
"Sure. Why do you ask?"
"Well, I like the feeling of closeness and, knowing you, I'd have figured you'd prefer to do cowgirl."
She scoffed and gave his balls a sensual rub with her tail. "You're partially right. I would like to get a bit wild and ride you, but if you want the intimacy of missionary, I'm all for it." He started to try to slide out from under her, but she quickly grabbed him by the waist. "Nuh-uh. Let's do it like this..." She raised up, grabbed his dick, lined it up, and brought herself down on him, taking him all the way inside in one go. "Now we'll roll over, okay?" she asked, squeezing his dick with her vagina.
"Alright." He grabbed her by the hips, sat up, wrapped his arms around her, and rolled over, getting on top of her.
She smiled. "Don't forget to finger my ass, but before you start thrusting, let me try something." She adjusted herself so that her arms and legs were around him, then she extended her wings and wrapped them around his waist, too. "How's this?"
He looked around at her legs wrapped around his hips, her wings around his waist, and her arms around his chest. "Well, it's new, but it's not bad."
She pouted. "And here I thought that 'hugging' you with something in addition to my arms and legs would make you happy."
He kissed her on the forehead. "Sorry. It is kind of nice, but I'm just not used to it yet."
She nodded. "Fine, now, just what the hell was that?"
He gave her a confused look and asked, "What was what?"
"Kiss me like you mean it!" she said, pulling him down into a passionate kiss with full-on, no holds barred tongue action. He instinctively started moving, slowly sliding in and out of her warm, wet depths. He also slid one hand down and stuck two fingers in her ass, thrusting into her pussy with his dick and her ass with his fingers, which very quickly made her extremely wet, causing wet smacking sounds with each thrust. Eventually, the two of them came together again.
The two stayed as they were as he unloaded his second shot into her. She sighed contentedly and said, "You've gotten so good..."
When he finished squiring inside her, he caught his breath and asked, "Before we fall asleep like this, can you wash my hands off?"
She nodded and drowsily did so, then asked, "Hey, after you're an incubus and I'm the Demon Lord, how many kids do you want us to have?"
"I don't know. I'd say at least two, though."
"I can't wait... Good night."
"Good night, honey."
The two of them fell asleep, still embracing, with him still inside her as his erection went down.
...
Amarantha and Zeraine went to her room and got undressed. Because her claws were not razor sharp now, she was able to help him, occasionally running her now-scaly hands over his chest. Once he was in his birthday suit, she focused on making her outfit disappear, and just as she wished, it did. She smiled at him and said, "Now this part is definitely better. Also, with my claws no longer an issue, I can do this..." She got around behind him and pressed her bare breasts against his naked back, hugging him from behind as she grabbed and stroked his dick until it was fully hard.
He simply stood there and enjoyed it, then when she stopped, he said, "It feels incredible. I'd ask you to do that again, but I know you want something else, right?"
She nodded. "I want you inside me, and I want you on top."
He paused for a moment, then asked, "Shouldn't we try doggy style position? You know, just so we can make sure your new form won't hinder anything."
She sighed. "Sure. I'd rather have eye contact with you, but I guess we'll need to do it eventually, so let's get to it."
She got on the bed on her hands and knees and Zeraine got behind her, standing on his knees. He reached out and grabbed her ass with both hands, kneading her ass cheeks slowly and lovingly. He then took one hand off and began stroking her tail with it, occasionally licking her tail near the base. She shuddered and moaned in pleasure from it, stopping him about a minute later. "I don't want to cum from just this, Zeraine."
He said, "Well, I need to eat you out a bit before I stick it in. Is that alright with you?"
She looked back at him over her shoulder. "I'm not wet enough yet?"
He glanced at her honeypot and said, "You're plenty wet. I just want to lick you down here a little before we get to it."
"Okay. Go ahead."
With that, he began licking her vagina, inside and out, rubbing her clit with his thumb and rubbing the underside of her tail with his other hand. Not even a minute later, she cried out, "Wait, stop!"
He did so, leaving her panting and shaking. "What is it?"
She looked back at him and shook her ass from side to side. "Stick it in."
He nodded and slid his rock-hard penis into her incredibly wet pussy. He then positioned her tail so that it went up in front of his body and over his shoulder, enabling him to lick it should he so choose. After that, he grabbed her hips and began thrusting, only to feel her wet inner walls contracting around him, squeezing him fairly hard as she came. "Ammie?"
She caught her breath and said, "All that stimulation got me too close to the edge. I'm sorry I came without you."
He scoffed. "Ammie, you don't have to cum with me. You just have to cum."
"I know, but I'd rather not cum if your dick isn't in me. ...Are you okay with staying still for a bit so I can recover?"
He nodded. "I'm hard as hell and in bad need of relief, but if you can't handle it right now, I can manage."
"Thanks." She closed her eyes and hung her head for a while, then looked back at him and said, "I'm ready."
He nodded and started thrusting, bottoming out in her with each forward movement, making her ass jiggle a little each time. After a while of thrusting into her like this, he leaned over her and reached around, grabbing her breasts, then began to massage them. He held her up, both of them standing on their knees in a sort of spooning position, as he rubbed her breasts, pinched her nipples, and slowly, gently pounded her pussy with his manhood. Several minutes later, he stopped rubbing her breasts and simply hugged her from behind as he blew his load inside her.
After flooding her insides with his semen, Zeraine said, "Looks like this time, I came without you." He grabbed her horns with one hand, feeling them. "We'll have to be careful with these. Even when dull they could put an eye out."
She flexed her vaginal muscles, squeezing him. "Let's not talk about that stuff right now, okay?"
He kissed the nape of her neck and said, "Okay. I want more. How about you?"
She nodded. "Make me cum, then let me rest a little. After that, I want us to go again and I want to cum together. Also, I want it from the front, with you on top."
"Okay, Ammie." With that, he began rubbing her clit, quickly bringing her to orgasm. After that, he pulled out of her just long enough to change positions, then put it back in before very much of his cum could seep out. Once in position, they wrapped their arms around each other in a tight embrace, then she wrapped her legs around his waist and her tail around one of his legs, then they got started. He moved his hips, bouncing his balls off her ass with each thrust as he slammed into her cervix, causing her intense pleasure. Eventually, they both came, him unleashing another torrent of semen inside her and her squirting a little. They didn't bother to let go, preferring instead to go to sleep just as they were.
He paused for a moment, then replied, "Well, I guess I'll take the lead, at least through the foreplay. After that, the lead will probably go to whoever happens to be on top at the time or something."
She shrugged. "Repeatedly changing who's in the lead during the act can be fun. ...I wonder, will this 'revised version' of Amarantha's new form work well for her?"
The hero shook his head. "You can ask them that tomorrow, just as you planned to. Right now, we should focus on this."
She grinned at him and teasingly asked, "Is that eagerness I hear?"
He frowned. "So? What man doesn't want his wife?"
She giggled. "Rather than get into that, let's get started, okay?"
He huffed, then got on top of her. They began passionately kissing while he rubbed her breasts, changing position so that he was cradling her head with one hand while he rubbed her breast with the other, which made the making out easier. In response to his caresses, she gently rubbed his balls with her tail while slowly stroking his penis with her hand. After about a minute of this, she broke off the kissing just long enough to ask him to rub her vagina instead, so he did. She quickly got wet, her juices flowing out and wetting the sheet. His pre-cum started to seep out, which she rubbed and smeared all over his dick, helping to lubricate it for smoother stroking.
Eventually, she said, "As much as I like kissing you, my pussy needs some attention."
He asked, "How do you want it?"
"Sixty-nine position. Let's try and cum together from mutual oral, then move on to sex, okay? By the way, while you're down there, finger my ass."
"You've taken a liking to it?"
She nodded. "It feels good when you stick your finger in my ass, especially when you do other things to me at the same time. Also, try two fingers."
"Got it." He gave her one last kiss on her lips, then started to get into position. He stopped and asked, "Wouldn't it be better if you were on top for this?"
"Yeah, probably." She sat up and let him lay down, then got on top of him.
When she got in position, she lowered her lower lips to his face and he got started, kissing, licking, and occasionally fingering. He made sure to coat his fingers with her vaginal juices and stick one into her anus. Shortly after his finger was in her ass, she began expertly sucking his dick and massaging his balls. Occasionally, she'd stop sucking and take her mouth off so she could lick him from base to tip and back, lick the head in a circular motion, and suck on the side of his shaft. At one point, he slipped a second finger into her anus, which made her let out a small moan of pleasure on top of the moaning she was already doing from feeling his fingers and tongue in her vagina. They carefully watched each other's bodies while pleasuring one another, eventually timing it so that they came together. He lapped up her fluids, leaving behind some for what came next, and she drank every last drop of his cum.
She stood on her knees, turned around to face him, then sat down on him, pressing her wet lower lips against the shaft of his dick, sandwiching it between her pussy and his abdomen. "Cowgirl, missionary, or doggy style?"
"Can we do missionary?"
"Sure. Why do you ask?"
"Well, I like the feeling of closeness and, knowing you, I'd have figured you'd prefer to do cowgirl."
She scoffed and gave his balls a sensual rub with her tail. "You're partially right. I would like to get a bit wild and ride you, but if you want the intimacy of missionary, I'm all for it." He started to try to slide out from under her, but she quickly grabbed him by the waist. "Nuh-uh. Let's do it like this..." She raised up, grabbed his dick, lined it up, and brought herself down on him, taking him all the way inside in one go. "Now we'll roll over, okay?" she asked, squeezing his dick with her vagina.
"Alright." He grabbed her by the hips, sat up, wrapped his arms around her, and rolled over, getting on top of her.
She smiled. "Don't forget to finger my ass, but before you start thrusting, let me try something." She adjusted herself so that her arms and legs were around him, then she extended her wings and wrapped them around his waist, too. "How's this?"
He looked around at her legs wrapped around his hips, her wings around his waist, and her arms around his chest. "Well, it's new, but it's not bad."
She pouted. "And here I thought that 'hugging' you with something in addition to my arms and legs would make you happy."
He kissed her on the forehead. "Sorry. It is kind of nice, but I'm just not used to it yet."
She nodded. "Fine, now, just what the hell was that?"
He gave her a confused look and asked, "What was what?"
"Kiss me like you mean it!" she said, pulling him down into a passionate kiss with full-on, no holds barred tongue action. He instinctively started moving, slowly sliding in and out of her warm, wet depths. He also slid one hand down and stuck two fingers in her ass, thrusting into her pussy with his dick and her ass with his fingers, which very quickly made her extremely wet, causing wet smacking sounds with each thrust. Eventually, the two of them came together again.
The two stayed as they were as he unloaded his second shot into her. She sighed contentedly and said, "You've gotten so good..."
When he finished squiring inside her, he caught his breath and asked, "Before we fall asleep like this, can you wash my hands off?"
She nodded and drowsily did so, then asked, "Hey, after you're an incubus and I'm the Demon Lord, how many kids do you want us to have?"
"I don't know. I'd say at least two, though."
"I can't wait... Good night."
"Good night, honey."
The two of them fell asleep, still embracing, with him still inside her as his erection went down.
...
Amarantha and Zeraine went to her room and got undressed. Because her claws were not razor sharp now, she was able to help him, occasionally running her now-scaly hands over his chest. Once he was in his birthday suit, she focused on making her outfit disappear, and just as she wished, it did. She smiled at him and said, "Now this part is definitely better. Also, with my claws no longer an issue, I can do this..." She got around behind him and pressed her bare breasts against his naked back, hugging him from behind as she grabbed and stroked his dick until it was fully hard.
He simply stood there and enjoyed it, then when she stopped, he said, "It feels incredible. I'd ask you to do that again, but I know you want something else, right?"
She nodded. "I want you inside me, and I want you on top."
He paused for a moment, then asked, "Shouldn't we try doggy style position? You know, just so we can make sure your new form won't hinder anything."
She sighed. "Sure. I'd rather have eye contact with you, but I guess we'll need to do it eventually, so let's get to it."
She got on the bed on her hands and knees and Zeraine got behind her, standing on his knees. He reached out and grabbed her ass with both hands, kneading her ass cheeks slowly and lovingly. He then took one hand off and began stroking her tail with it, occasionally licking her tail near the base. She shuddered and moaned in pleasure from it, stopping him about a minute later. "I don't want to cum from just this, Zeraine."
He said, "Well, I need to eat you out a bit before I stick it in. Is that alright with you?"
She looked back at him over her shoulder. "I'm not wet enough yet?"
He glanced at her honeypot and said, "You're plenty wet. I just want to lick you down here a little before we get to it."
"Okay. Go ahead."
With that, he began licking her vagina, inside and out, rubbing her clit with his thumb and rubbing the underside of her tail with his other hand. Not even a minute later, she cried out, "Wait, stop!"
He did so, leaving her panting and shaking. "What is it?"
She looked back at him and shook her ass from side to side. "Stick it in."
He nodded and slid his rock-hard penis into her incredibly wet pussy. He then positioned her tail so that it went up in front of his body and over his shoulder, enabling him to lick it should he so choose. After that, he grabbed her hips and began thrusting, only to feel her wet inner walls contracting around him, squeezing him fairly hard as she came. "Ammie?"
She caught her breath and said, "All that stimulation got me too close to the edge. I'm sorry I came without you."
He scoffed. "Ammie, you don't have to cum with me. You just have to cum."
"I know, but I'd rather not cum if your dick isn't in me. ...Are you okay with staying still for a bit so I can recover?"
He nodded. "I'm hard as hell and in bad need of relief, but if you can't handle it right now, I can manage."
"Thanks." She closed her eyes and hung her head for a while, then looked back at him and said, "I'm ready."
He nodded and started thrusting, bottoming out in her with each forward movement, making her ass jiggle a little each time. After a while of thrusting into her like this, he leaned over her and reached around, grabbing her breasts, then began to massage them. He held her up, both of them standing on their knees in a sort of spooning position, as he rubbed her breasts, pinched her nipples, and slowly, gently pounded her pussy with his manhood. Several minutes later, he stopped rubbing her breasts and simply hugged her from behind as he blew his load inside her.
After flooding her insides with his semen, Zeraine said, "Looks like this time, I came without you." He grabbed her horns with one hand, feeling them. "We'll have to be careful with these. Even when dull they could put an eye out."
She flexed her vaginal muscles, squeezing him. "Let's not talk about that stuff right now, okay?"
He kissed the nape of her neck and said, "Okay. I want more. How about you?"
She nodded. "Make me cum, then let me rest a little. After that, I want us to go again and I want to cum together. Also, I want it from the front, with you on top."
"Okay, Ammie." With that, he began rubbing her clit, quickly bringing her to orgasm. After that, he pulled out of her just long enough to change positions, then put it back in before very much of his cum could seep out. Once in position, they wrapped their arms around each other in a tight embrace, then she wrapped her legs around his waist and her tail around one of his legs, then they got started. He moved his hips, bouncing his balls off her ass with each thrust as he slammed into her cervix, causing her intense pleasure. Eventually, they both came, him unleashing another torrent of semen inside her and her squirting a little. They didn't bother to let go, preferring instead to go to sleep just as they were.
Chapter 111
Spoiler: show
Zeraine and Amarantha woke up first, noticing that they were still holding each other tightly and that her tail was still around his leg. Zeraine started to get up, but Amarantha tightened her grip and wrapped her wings around him. "I want to stay like this for a while."
He smiled at her. "Fine by me. Looks like I fell out of you last night..." he said, glancing down toward their groins.
She rubbed her partially scaly cheek against his, nuzzling him. "That's okay. We won't have sex again until tonight anyway, so..."
He nodded, then smirked and said, "Well, since I'm stuck here, I might as well have a little fun." He began softly planting kisses all over her neck and shoulders, occasionally stopping to kiss her lips.
At first, she squirmed as if uncomfortable or trying to stop him, but she quickly began reveling in it. After several minutes of necking, they stopped and she let him go. They cleaned up and Zeraine got dressed, then watched as Amarantha closed her eyes for a second and focused. After a couple of seconds, her outfit reappeared, slowly materializing on her body. She smiled at Zeraine and said, "Yep, I definitely like this better. I can control when the outfit goes away or comes back, which would allow me to make it go away so I can wear something else, or I can keep it, since despite how revealing it is, it seems like it'd work for a little bit of protection. Maybe... Anyway, I might ask her to make it so that we can do either, take it off, or will it away. What do you think?"
Zeraine shrugged. "I don't know. If it works as is, then I don't see a reason to add or remove anything. You can will it away, so why make it possible to take it off, too? I mean, I like the idea of you wearing stuff that I can remove, because stripping you is part of the fun, but... Well, if you will away the 'new outfit' and wear your regular clothes in your new form, that'd kind of solve the matter, I think. It's up to you, Ammie."
After several moments, she nodded. "Yeah, I guess being able to take it off aside from also being able to will it away would be pointless and redundant. It'd also introduce the possibility of losing it, too. I guess it's best how it is right now."
She walked over to him and kissed him again, then went downstairs with him.
...
The hero and the succubus woke up at about the same time, finding that they had held each other all night long. She started giggling, and when he asked why, she said, "We're still in each other's arms, and you're still inside me. I can feel your morning wood throbbing."
He looked down and saw that, just as she said, he was rock hard and almost all the way in.
She smiled and released her grip on him. "It's your choice, dear. You can fuck me again real quick, or you can pull out and we'll get started on our day. I'm fine either way, though you know what I'd prefer."
He paused for several seconds, then said, "We need to get going. We'll get cleaned up, get dressed, eat breakfast, then plan what to do." He then pulled out, got out of bed, and stood there, waiting.
She sighed and rubbed her crotch a little. "Maybe next time..." She got up and cleaned them both up, then the two of them got dressed and headed for the dining room.
They met with everyone and ate breakfast. After breakfast, William left for the clinic and Miranda sat down with the party in the living room. She asked, "What are your plans for today?"
The hero said, "Well, that Dwarf that's supposed to be the world's best earth elementalist supposedly works in the Stormforge mines, and since that's right at the base of the mountain, I think it'd be the best start. We'll go find him, see about getting him to join our cause, then..."
Miranda said, "Once you're done, you're welcome to come back and rest here. I suppose after that you'll be heading to the swamps to find the fire and water elementalists, right?"
He nodded. "Since we don't know where the wind elementalist is, nor do we know how to contact him, after we've 'recruited' the Dwarf, the next logical thing would be to go after them. And thank you for your hospitality, ma'am."
She smiled cheerfully. "Amarantha's friends are welcome here any time. Will you be fine going down the mountain on your own?"
The succubus nodded and said, "I recently taught him a good levitation spell, and I think he can finally maintain it as long as is needed to make it, so the trip down should go quickly. Obviously, Amarantha can fly Zeraine down, so there's no worry there."
Zeraine asked, "Well, we should get going, shouldn't we?"
Everyone agreed, and the two men left to get their armor on. Amarantha left with Zeraine to help him, and the hero managed by himself while the succubus talked with Miranda. When they returned, the succubus led them outside. "First, we need to dispel the polymorph, so hold still."
The succubus dispelled the polymorph, returning Amarantha to her full-dragon form. Amarantha motioned for Zeraine to get on, then looked back at the succubus. "Just to make sure, when I transform back to my human form, my clothes will still be there, right?"
The succubus nodded. "Of course. Why wouldn't they?"
With that, Amarantha took flight, exiting the underground city from the air while the hero and the succubus exited by way of the hidden entrance on foot. Once outside, the two of them cast their levitation spells and began flying down toward the base of the mountain while Amarantha flew Zeraine along the same path as yesterday. The two groups met up in about the same spot as yesterday, too, Amarantha having landed where she did before, transforming back to human form, and walking with Zeraine to meet back up with the others.
As they walked toward the mine from the mountain, Zeraine sensed something from Amarantha and asked, "Is everything okay?"
She shrugged. "I'm worried about how many people saw me transform yesterday. I'm also concerned that I might get strange stares from the miners, since, in a way, I outdid them the other day."
Zeraine scoffed. "We're here, so everything will be fine."
As they got close to the mine, they ran into the foreman. He recognized Zeraine and Amarantha and said, "Hey, you two! Great job the other day. You, especially, little lady. You wouldn't mind putting in a full day or two, would you? Also, to think that you're a dragon... You stopped that other one from terrorizing everyone, too. Like your Order guy said, you're the city's savior."
Amarantha's race went red from embarrassment quickly. After a moment of awkward silence, she said, "Uh, thanks. I might look into working again later. Right now, we need to talk to someone."
The hero stepped in and said, "We heard one of the Dwarves that works in these mines is an earth elementalist, and the best in the world, too. May we speak with him?"
The foreman scratched his chin and said, "Aye. He's my brother-in-law. There's no way in hell we could get this much work done without him, either. I'll take you to him. Follow me."
As the foreman led the party into the mine, Amarantha asked, "So just how many people know?"
"Know what?" the foreman asked. "That my brother is the best earth elementalist in the world or that you're really a dragon?"
"The latter."
"Well, I suppose almost everyone knows now. You see, with hair that long, you tend to stand out, and a handful of people saw you transform. After that, word spread around the city real quick-like. After hearing the description, I put two and two together and figured out it was you. I'm sure everyone else in the city that sees that long hair of yours will realize it, too."
She looked over at Zeraine. "Should I cut my hair?"
He shook his head. "No, don't do that. Your hair is fine the way it is. There was no avoiding it, so we'll just have to deal with it."
After several minutes of walking, they came to a room in which a Dwarf was reaching into the wall, pulling out large chunks of ore with little effort, obviously using powers gained from a contract with a gnome. The foreman clapped his hands loudly. "Hey, Ramas! I got some people here that want to talk to you!"
The Dwarf dusted his hands off and turned to face them. "Whatcha need?"
The party introduced themselves and the hero explained everything.
Ramas stroked his beard in thought and said, "Sure, I'll help ya when the time comes. Y'see, out here, The Order ain't around to help defend us from the Demon Lord an' his minions. Piss on 'em anyway, 'cause they're fallin' fast. They used to be great people, lettin' humans, non-humans, an' even decent monsters join, but now? They're a bunch of racists and bigots."
The hero frowned. "I take offense to that. I'm not a racist, nor is the Grandmaster."
Ramas shrugged. "Decent guys like you an' him are gettin' rare. Every day, The Order falls farther an' farther 'cause assholes keep takin' over. Still, if you guys think you can beat 'im, I'll help. Dyin' in a righteous fight like that is better than lettin' him do as he pleases, that's for sure. An' if we win, we'll get some relief. ...Hell, to take that bastard out, I'd be fine with fightin' beside the Elves!"
The hero nodded. "Thank you. Do you know of any other elementalists around?"
Ramas shook his head. "Other than that bad-tempered lass an' her sister in the swamps to the east, no, but that's not really 'around here', is it?"
The party thanked him again and left. They noticed it was getting close to noon, so they went out for lunch. After that, they decided to head back up the mountain, since there was pretty much nothing to do in town, and Amarantha didn't want to be seen for fear of drawing a large crowd.
He smiled at her. "Fine by me. Looks like I fell out of you last night..." he said, glancing down toward their groins.
She rubbed her partially scaly cheek against his, nuzzling him. "That's okay. We won't have sex again until tonight anyway, so..."
He nodded, then smirked and said, "Well, since I'm stuck here, I might as well have a little fun." He began softly planting kisses all over her neck and shoulders, occasionally stopping to kiss her lips.
At first, she squirmed as if uncomfortable or trying to stop him, but she quickly began reveling in it. After several minutes of necking, they stopped and she let him go. They cleaned up and Zeraine got dressed, then watched as Amarantha closed her eyes for a second and focused. After a couple of seconds, her outfit reappeared, slowly materializing on her body. She smiled at Zeraine and said, "Yep, I definitely like this better. I can control when the outfit goes away or comes back, which would allow me to make it go away so I can wear something else, or I can keep it, since despite how revealing it is, it seems like it'd work for a little bit of protection. Maybe... Anyway, I might ask her to make it so that we can do either, take it off, or will it away. What do you think?"
Zeraine shrugged. "I don't know. If it works as is, then I don't see a reason to add or remove anything. You can will it away, so why make it possible to take it off, too? I mean, I like the idea of you wearing stuff that I can remove, because stripping you is part of the fun, but... Well, if you will away the 'new outfit' and wear your regular clothes in your new form, that'd kind of solve the matter, I think. It's up to you, Ammie."
After several moments, she nodded. "Yeah, I guess being able to take it off aside from also being able to will it away would be pointless and redundant. It'd also introduce the possibility of losing it, too. I guess it's best how it is right now."
She walked over to him and kissed him again, then went downstairs with him.
...
The hero and the succubus woke up at about the same time, finding that they had held each other all night long. She started giggling, and when he asked why, she said, "We're still in each other's arms, and you're still inside me. I can feel your morning wood throbbing."
He looked down and saw that, just as she said, he was rock hard and almost all the way in.
She smiled and released her grip on him. "It's your choice, dear. You can fuck me again real quick, or you can pull out and we'll get started on our day. I'm fine either way, though you know what I'd prefer."
He paused for several seconds, then said, "We need to get going. We'll get cleaned up, get dressed, eat breakfast, then plan what to do." He then pulled out, got out of bed, and stood there, waiting.
She sighed and rubbed her crotch a little. "Maybe next time..." She got up and cleaned them both up, then the two of them got dressed and headed for the dining room.
They met with everyone and ate breakfast. After breakfast, William left for the clinic and Miranda sat down with the party in the living room. She asked, "What are your plans for today?"
The hero said, "Well, that Dwarf that's supposed to be the world's best earth elementalist supposedly works in the Stormforge mines, and since that's right at the base of the mountain, I think it'd be the best start. We'll go find him, see about getting him to join our cause, then..."
Miranda said, "Once you're done, you're welcome to come back and rest here. I suppose after that you'll be heading to the swamps to find the fire and water elementalists, right?"
He nodded. "Since we don't know where the wind elementalist is, nor do we know how to contact him, after we've 'recruited' the Dwarf, the next logical thing would be to go after them. And thank you for your hospitality, ma'am."
She smiled cheerfully. "Amarantha's friends are welcome here any time. Will you be fine going down the mountain on your own?"
The succubus nodded and said, "I recently taught him a good levitation spell, and I think he can finally maintain it as long as is needed to make it, so the trip down should go quickly. Obviously, Amarantha can fly Zeraine down, so there's no worry there."
Zeraine asked, "Well, we should get going, shouldn't we?"
Everyone agreed, and the two men left to get their armor on. Amarantha left with Zeraine to help him, and the hero managed by himself while the succubus talked with Miranda. When they returned, the succubus led them outside. "First, we need to dispel the polymorph, so hold still."
The succubus dispelled the polymorph, returning Amarantha to her full-dragon form. Amarantha motioned for Zeraine to get on, then looked back at the succubus. "Just to make sure, when I transform back to my human form, my clothes will still be there, right?"
The succubus nodded. "Of course. Why wouldn't they?"
With that, Amarantha took flight, exiting the underground city from the air while the hero and the succubus exited by way of the hidden entrance on foot. Once outside, the two of them cast their levitation spells and began flying down toward the base of the mountain while Amarantha flew Zeraine along the same path as yesterday. The two groups met up in about the same spot as yesterday, too, Amarantha having landed where she did before, transforming back to human form, and walking with Zeraine to meet back up with the others.
As they walked toward the mine from the mountain, Zeraine sensed something from Amarantha and asked, "Is everything okay?"
She shrugged. "I'm worried about how many people saw me transform yesterday. I'm also concerned that I might get strange stares from the miners, since, in a way, I outdid them the other day."
Zeraine scoffed. "We're here, so everything will be fine."
As they got close to the mine, they ran into the foreman. He recognized Zeraine and Amarantha and said, "Hey, you two! Great job the other day. You, especially, little lady. You wouldn't mind putting in a full day or two, would you? Also, to think that you're a dragon... You stopped that other one from terrorizing everyone, too. Like your Order guy said, you're the city's savior."
Amarantha's race went red from embarrassment quickly. After a moment of awkward silence, she said, "Uh, thanks. I might look into working again later. Right now, we need to talk to someone."
The hero stepped in and said, "We heard one of the Dwarves that works in these mines is an earth elementalist, and the best in the world, too. May we speak with him?"
The foreman scratched his chin and said, "Aye. He's my brother-in-law. There's no way in hell we could get this much work done without him, either. I'll take you to him. Follow me."
As the foreman led the party into the mine, Amarantha asked, "So just how many people know?"
"Know what?" the foreman asked. "That my brother is the best earth elementalist in the world or that you're really a dragon?"
"The latter."
"Well, I suppose almost everyone knows now. You see, with hair that long, you tend to stand out, and a handful of people saw you transform. After that, word spread around the city real quick-like. After hearing the description, I put two and two together and figured out it was you. I'm sure everyone else in the city that sees that long hair of yours will realize it, too."
She looked over at Zeraine. "Should I cut my hair?"
He shook his head. "No, don't do that. Your hair is fine the way it is. There was no avoiding it, so we'll just have to deal with it."
After several minutes of walking, they came to a room in which a Dwarf was reaching into the wall, pulling out large chunks of ore with little effort, obviously using powers gained from a contract with a gnome. The foreman clapped his hands loudly. "Hey, Ramas! I got some people here that want to talk to you!"
The Dwarf dusted his hands off and turned to face them. "Whatcha need?"
The party introduced themselves and the hero explained everything.
Ramas stroked his beard in thought and said, "Sure, I'll help ya when the time comes. Y'see, out here, The Order ain't around to help defend us from the Demon Lord an' his minions. Piss on 'em anyway, 'cause they're fallin' fast. They used to be great people, lettin' humans, non-humans, an' even decent monsters join, but now? They're a bunch of racists and bigots."
The hero frowned. "I take offense to that. I'm not a racist, nor is the Grandmaster."
Ramas shrugged. "Decent guys like you an' him are gettin' rare. Every day, The Order falls farther an' farther 'cause assholes keep takin' over. Still, if you guys think you can beat 'im, I'll help. Dyin' in a righteous fight like that is better than lettin' him do as he pleases, that's for sure. An' if we win, we'll get some relief. ...Hell, to take that bastard out, I'd be fine with fightin' beside the Elves!"
The hero nodded. "Thank you. Do you know of any other elementalists around?"
Ramas shook his head. "Other than that bad-tempered lass an' her sister in the swamps to the east, no, but that's not really 'around here', is it?"
The party thanked him again and left. They noticed it was getting close to noon, so they went out for lunch. After that, they decided to head back up the mountain, since there was pretty much nothing to do in town, and Amarantha didn't want to be seen for fear of drawing a large crowd.
Chapter 112
Spoiler: show
Using levitation, the party managed to make it back to Amarantha's house in time for dinner. William was sitting at the table already, and upon seeing the party, he asked, "Any progress?"
Amarantha nodded. "We managed to get Ramas, the earth elementalist, to agree to help us."
"Great job," he replied, nodding in approval.
"As we've already talked about," she continued, "the four of us will stay here tonight, then leave for the swamps tomorrow morning. Is there anything you can tell us about the other three that might help?"
"The elementalists? Well, the two you'll be going after tomorrow are humans. To be honest, I don't know very much about the wind elementalist. Some say he's an Elf, some say he's a human, various others claim he's something else entirely. Personally, I don't know what 'species' he is, so I'm afraid I can't help much in that regard."
The hero shrugged and said, "We'll find him somehow. For now, we need to get as many elementalists, mages, warriors, guards; anyone who can wear armor and use a weapon, or anyone who can use magic, on our side."
The six of them ate dinner and went to bed. Naturally, the hero had sex with the succubus, and Zeraine did it with Amarantha, this time also choosing intimacy and pleasure over trying to channel more demonic energy into him for the purpose of transforming him into an incubus. Also, when they did it this time, Amarantha was in her "normal" human form, having managed to drag Zeraine to her room before the succubus could think to polymorph her again.
...
The next morning, the party ate breakfast and left, heading east down the mountain. Once at the foot, they began walking in a general eastern direction. The woods quickly changed to something else as the ground got softer and the air got more humid. The fact that they were now in the swamp became very obvious when the succubus began swatting at mosquitoes. Zeraine looked down at his feet and commented, "This heavy armor of mine won't be worth a damn if we get ambushed by anything. I'll have to cast some kind of Feather spell or something to make myself, or at least my armor, weight less."
The hero looked and saw that with every step Zeraine took, his feet sank into the soft, muddy ground nearly completely. "I guess it wouldn't exactly be reasonable to have you keep such a spell going at all times, would it?"
"Nope. I'd have to chug a bunch of Mana Potions, and we don't have that many. As long as we're not attacked before I can cast the spell, we should be fine."
The succubus nodded. "Because we'll have to move slowly anyway, you should still be able to keep up with no problems."
He shrugged. "If we're just walking, yeah. If we have to run or fight, I'll have to cast the spell and maintain it."
Amarantha said, "Wouldn't it be best to keep moving?"
They all agreed and kept going. After about an hour, they began seeing more and more areas with somewhat deep, murky water. Rather than take any chances, they decided to stay out of the water and keep to the natural paths. After another half hour, they decided to have the succubus levitate into the air and try to see someone or something. When she came back down, she merely shrugged. The party stood there, looking around for several minutes, trying to decide if they should try heading north or south from here.
"Are you four lost?" asked a voice from behind a mangrove tree.
The four of them spun around to face the source of the voice, reaching for their weapons, when the woman to whom the voice belonged stepped out. She had shoulder-length light brown hair and blue eyes, and was wearing a very plain-looking outfit consisting of an ordinary blouse and an unremarkable skirt. She looked much like a typical peasant. The succubus asked, "Who are you?"
The woman replied, "I am Margaret, and I pose no danger to you four. Might you introduce yourselves?"
The four of them did so.
"If you don't mind my asking, what is your business here? I'll help if I can. If not, maybe my sister Carrie can."
The four of them looked at each other, then the hero asked, "Are you and your sister twins?"
"Yes. Why?" she replied, taken aback by the sudden personal question.
He said, "If you're a water elementalist, and your sister is a fire elementalist, then the two of you are who we're looking for."
Margaret asked, "Looking for us? What for?"
The hero replied, "We'd rather discuss the details with both you and your sister at once. That way, we won't have to repeat it. It's about getting the two of you to help us."
"I see. Well, it's getting late. Follow me."
Margaret led the party as she headed home. She made sure to stay on or close to the land paths for the party's convenience, though she would often use her powers to walk on top of the water so she could walk in a bit of a straight line.
It got later and later as they walked, with the swamp getting darker and darker as the sun went down. Eventually, they started hearing a woman laughing loudly and seeing flashes, flickers, and the occasional fireball fly off randomly. Once they got close enough to see what was happening, they saw a woman who looked exactly like Margaret, except that her hair was pulled back into a short, braided ponytail that came down to just below her shoulders, and she was wearing pants instead of a skirt. The woman was laughing, wearing a wild smile on her face as she terrorized a small band of goblins. One of them appeared to be a merchant, trying to sell something. All of them were cowering at her display.
Margaret sighed and shook her head. "Carrie, I'm back!" she called out.
She turned to face her sister and the party, which allowed the goblins to run away at speeds that a cockatrice might envy, and said, "Hey, sis. Who've you got with you?"
Margaret stepped aside and allowed the hero to introduce himself and the others. He and the rest of the party then followed Carrie and Margaret into their house, which was surprisingly well-constructed, not like the run-down shack one would expect to see in this area.
Once inside, the hero sat down and began explaining everything. When he was finished, Carrie asked, "So when that fight comes, I'll be able to go all-out, huh? Sounds fun."
Margaret looked at the succubus, who had dropped her disguise, and asked, "What will happen to elementals like my undine once you're in power?"
The succubus replied, "Well, as you already know, they are basically spirit-like beings, unable to interact with the physical world unless they have a covenanter, in which case it's only an indirect interaction through the person, thus they're still not able to directly interact with the world. Once I've 'corrupted' them, they'll be able to take on a physical form, which will allow them to do pretty much anything a human can."
The twins looked at each other and nodded in approval. Margaret said, "My undine is happy to hear that. I've frequently felt a kind of sadness from it due to it being unable to help me in any physical way that doesn't involve using our powers. From what you're saying, that will no longer be an 'insurmountable obstacle' for it."
The succubus nodded. "And 'it' will become a 'she'."
The hero asked, "So do we have your support?"
Carrie grinned and said, "You sure as hell do! Bring the fight on!"
"Settle down," Margaret scolded. She turned back to the hero and said, "We'll help you. The world will be a much better place without the current Demon Lord, and if all goes well, it'll improve under your leadership. Personally, I am honored that you would ask for my help in such a task, therefore, I am proud to assist you. Please, stay here for the night. We might not really be set up to receive visitors or entertain guests, but it's much safer here than out there."
Carrie said, "Yeah, the damned goblins will rob you blind if you try and camp out in the swamp."
The hero nodded. "Thank you. By the way, do you know anything about the world's greatest wind elementalist? Or any wind elementalist, for that matter?"
They both shook their heads. Margaret apologized and said, "I'm afraid we don't."
Carrie looked at Amarantha. "Hey, my ignis wants to know why you have a 'strange aura'. Her 'strange aura'," she said, gesturing at the succubus, "is 'cause she's a succubus. What about you?"
Amarantha fidgeted nervously and said, "I'm a silver dragon."
Margaret was surprised, but didn't respond further. Carrie, on the other hand, leaned in close and said, "No way! Really? Fucking awesome!" She then began to look Amarantha over excitedly.
Amarantha asked, "Could you maybe calm down? This is really making me uncomfortable..."
Carrie gazed at her in wonder and said, "Sorry, but it's not every day you get to talk to a dragon!"
Amarantha looked to Zeraine for help and he put his arm around her shoulder.
Carrie raised an eyebrow and asked, "What's the deal with this? Are you two-"
Margaret shouted, "Enough!" as she conjured up a ball of water, made it take on the same density and hardness of an orange, and hit Carrie with it. "Don't make a nuisance of yourself."
The twins left after Margaret made Carrie apologize, leaving the party to set up their sleeping spots in the living room. Amarantha and Zeraine stripped down to their normal clothes and got ready to get into their sleeping bag. The hero and the succubus stripped down to their underwear in preparation for their nightly ritual. The hero said, "So I guess we'll head back up to Icewind Peak tomorrow, see if Amarantha's parents have any more advice or suggestions for us, and then we'll leave the next morning and head out to wherever's appropriate, right?"
Zeraine nodded and said, "Yeah, where we go from there depends on a few things like any advice my future in-laws might have and stuff, so... Anyway, we should get to bed. Good night, guys."
The succubus grinned and said, "Oh, it'll be a 'good night', alright."
Amarantha said, "Speaking of which, could you two try and keep it down? We don't want our 'hosts' to get angry for disturbing their sleep, and since we're not at an inn or at my house, you can't make too much noise."
The succubus snickered and asked, "Could it be just that you don't want to get turned on by listening to me and him go at it?"
Amarantha huffed and crawled into the sleeping bag, then motioned for Zeraine to join her. He did so, spooning her as they snuggled.
The succubus boldly took off her panties and bra and set them with her dress, standing there in front of the hero, not attempting to hide anything. "You heard her. You'll have to keep my mouth covered with yours the whole time. You ready?"
The hero nodded and the two of them got into their sleeping bag together, after which he finished getting naked and got started. Five shots later, they fell asleep in each other's arms, still connected at their crotches.
Amarantha nodded. "We managed to get Ramas, the earth elementalist, to agree to help us."
"Great job," he replied, nodding in approval.
"As we've already talked about," she continued, "the four of us will stay here tonight, then leave for the swamps tomorrow morning. Is there anything you can tell us about the other three that might help?"
"The elementalists? Well, the two you'll be going after tomorrow are humans. To be honest, I don't know very much about the wind elementalist. Some say he's an Elf, some say he's a human, various others claim he's something else entirely. Personally, I don't know what 'species' he is, so I'm afraid I can't help much in that regard."
The hero shrugged and said, "We'll find him somehow. For now, we need to get as many elementalists, mages, warriors, guards; anyone who can wear armor and use a weapon, or anyone who can use magic, on our side."
The six of them ate dinner and went to bed. Naturally, the hero had sex with the succubus, and Zeraine did it with Amarantha, this time also choosing intimacy and pleasure over trying to channel more demonic energy into him for the purpose of transforming him into an incubus. Also, when they did it this time, Amarantha was in her "normal" human form, having managed to drag Zeraine to her room before the succubus could think to polymorph her again.
...
The next morning, the party ate breakfast and left, heading east down the mountain. Once at the foot, they began walking in a general eastern direction. The woods quickly changed to something else as the ground got softer and the air got more humid. The fact that they were now in the swamp became very obvious when the succubus began swatting at mosquitoes. Zeraine looked down at his feet and commented, "This heavy armor of mine won't be worth a damn if we get ambushed by anything. I'll have to cast some kind of Feather spell or something to make myself, or at least my armor, weight less."
The hero looked and saw that with every step Zeraine took, his feet sank into the soft, muddy ground nearly completely. "I guess it wouldn't exactly be reasonable to have you keep such a spell going at all times, would it?"
"Nope. I'd have to chug a bunch of Mana Potions, and we don't have that many. As long as we're not attacked before I can cast the spell, we should be fine."
The succubus nodded. "Because we'll have to move slowly anyway, you should still be able to keep up with no problems."
He shrugged. "If we're just walking, yeah. If we have to run or fight, I'll have to cast the spell and maintain it."
Amarantha said, "Wouldn't it be best to keep moving?"
They all agreed and kept going. After about an hour, they began seeing more and more areas with somewhat deep, murky water. Rather than take any chances, they decided to stay out of the water and keep to the natural paths. After another half hour, they decided to have the succubus levitate into the air and try to see someone or something. When she came back down, she merely shrugged. The party stood there, looking around for several minutes, trying to decide if they should try heading north or south from here.
"Are you four lost?" asked a voice from behind a mangrove tree.
The four of them spun around to face the source of the voice, reaching for their weapons, when the woman to whom the voice belonged stepped out. She had shoulder-length light brown hair and blue eyes, and was wearing a very plain-looking outfit consisting of an ordinary blouse and an unremarkable skirt. She looked much like a typical peasant. The succubus asked, "Who are you?"
The woman replied, "I am Margaret, and I pose no danger to you four. Might you introduce yourselves?"
The four of them did so.
"If you don't mind my asking, what is your business here? I'll help if I can. If not, maybe my sister Carrie can."
The four of them looked at each other, then the hero asked, "Are you and your sister twins?"
"Yes. Why?" she replied, taken aback by the sudden personal question.
He said, "If you're a water elementalist, and your sister is a fire elementalist, then the two of you are who we're looking for."
Margaret asked, "Looking for us? What for?"
The hero replied, "We'd rather discuss the details with both you and your sister at once. That way, we won't have to repeat it. It's about getting the two of you to help us."
"I see. Well, it's getting late. Follow me."
Margaret led the party as she headed home. She made sure to stay on or close to the land paths for the party's convenience, though she would often use her powers to walk on top of the water so she could walk in a bit of a straight line.
It got later and later as they walked, with the swamp getting darker and darker as the sun went down. Eventually, they started hearing a woman laughing loudly and seeing flashes, flickers, and the occasional fireball fly off randomly. Once they got close enough to see what was happening, they saw a woman who looked exactly like Margaret, except that her hair was pulled back into a short, braided ponytail that came down to just below her shoulders, and she was wearing pants instead of a skirt. The woman was laughing, wearing a wild smile on her face as she terrorized a small band of goblins. One of them appeared to be a merchant, trying to sell something. All of them were cowering at her display.
Margaret sighed and shook her head. "Carrie, I'm back!" she called out.
She turned to face her sister and the party, which allowed the goblins to run away at speeds that a cockatrice might envy, and said, "Hey, sis. Who've you got with you?"
Margaret stepped aside and allowed the hero to introduce himself and the others. He and the rest of the party then followed Carrie and Margaret into their house, which was surprisingly well-constructed, not like the run-down shack one would expect to see in this area.
Once inside, the hero sat down and began explaining everything. When he was finished, Carrie asked, "So when that fight comes, I'll be able to go all-out, huh? Sounds fun."
Margaret looked at the succubus, who had dropped her disguise, and asked, "What will happen to elementals like my undine once you're in power?"
The succubus replied, "Well, as you already know, they are basically spirit-like beings, unable to interact with the physical world unless they have a covenanter, in which case it's only an indirect interaction through the person, thus they're still not able to directly interact with the world. Once I've 'corrupted' them, they'll be able to take on a physical form, which will allow them to do pretty much anything a human can."
The twins looked at each other and nodded in approval. Margaret said, "My undine is happy to hear that. I've frequently felt a kind of sadness from it due to it being unable to help me in any physical way that doesn't involve using our powers. From what you're saying, that will no longer be an 'insurmountable obstacle' for it."
The succubus nodded. "And 'it' will become a 'she'."
The hero asked, "So do we have your support?"
Carrie grinned and said, "You sure as hell do! Bring the fight on!"
"Settle down," Margaret scolded. She turned back to the hero and said, "We'll help you. The world will be a much better place without the current Demon Lord, and if all goes well, it'll improve under your leadership. Personally, I am honored that you would ask for my help in such a task, therefore, I am proud to assist you. Please, stay here for the night. We might not really be set up to receive visitors or entertain guests, but it's much safer here than out there."
Carrie said, "Yeah, the damned goblins will rob you blind if you try and camp out in the swamp."
The hero nodded. "Thank you. By the way, do you know anything about the world's greatest wind elementalist? Or any wind elementalist, for that matter?"
They both shook their heads. Margaret apologized and said, "I'm afraid we don't."
Carrie looked at Amarantha. "Hey, my ignis wants to know why you have a 'strange aura'. Her 'strange aura'," she said, gesturing at the succubus, "is 'cause she's a succubus. What about you?"
Amarantha fidgeted nervously and said, "I'm a silver dragon."
Margaret was surprised, but didn't respond further. Carrie, on the other hand, leaned in close and said, "No way! Really? Fucking awesome!" She then began to look Amarantha over excitedly.
Amarantha asked, "Could you maybe calm down? This is really making me uncomfortable..."
Carrie gazed at her in wonder and said, "Sorry, but it's not every day you get to talk to a dragon!"
Amarantha looked to Zeraine for help and he put his arm around her shoulder.
Carrie raised an eyebrow and asked, "What's the deal with this? Are you two-"
Margaret shouted, "Enough!" as she conjured up a ball of water, made it take on the same density and hardness of an orange, and hit Carrie with it. "Don't make a nuisance of yourself."
The twins left after Margaret made Carrie apologize, leaving the party to set up their sleeping spots in the living room. Amarantha and Zeraine stripped down to their normal clothes and got ready to get into their sleeping bag. The hero and the succubus stripped down to their underwear in preparation for their nightly ritual. The hero said, "So I guess we'll head back up to Icewind Peak tomorrow, see if Amarantha's parents have any more advice or suggestions for us, and then we'll leave the next morning and head out to wherever's appropriate, right?"
Zeraine nodded and said, "Yeah, where we go from there depends on a few things like any advice my future in-laws might have and stuff, so... Anyway, we should get to bed. Good night, guys."
The succubus grinned and said, "Oh, it'll be a 'good night', alright."
Amarantha said, "Speaking of which, could you two try and keep it down? We don't want our 'hosts' to get angry for disturbing their sleep, and since we're not at an inn or at my house, you can't make too much noise."
The succubus snickered and asked, "Could it be just that you don't want to get turned on by listening to me and him go at it?"
Amarantha huffed and crawled into the sleeping bag, then motioned for Zeraine to join her. He did so, spooning her as they snuggled.
The succubus boldly took off her panties and bra and set them with her dress, standing there in front of the hero, not attempting to hide anything. "You heard her. You'll have to keep my mouth covered with yours the whole time. You ready?"
The hero nodded and the two of them got into their sleeping bag together, after which he finished getting naked and got started. Five shots later, they fell asleep in each other's arms, still connected at their crotches.
Chapter 113
Spoiler: show
The next morning, the hero and the succubus woke up, cleaned themselves off, and got dressed. They noticed that Zeraine and Amarantha were still sleeping and decided to let them sleep.
Margaret and Carrie had already woken up, as well. Using Margaret's powers as a water elementalist, they cleaned themselves and each other very quickly. They dried off using Carrie's powers as a fire elementalist. Once they had gotten their morning bathing done, they went to the living room and greeted the hero and the succubus. Margaret asked, "What are your plans for today, if you don't mind my asking?"
The hero replied, "Well, we were going to go back toward Stormforge and-"
Margaret interrupted and said, "You don't need to lie or hide anything. Tell us the truth."
"How did you know?" he asked with an astonished look on his face.
"Elementals are beings of energy. They can easily sense when someone is lying or not, among other things. My undine told me you were hiding something."
The succubus shrugged and spoke instead of the hero. "Our plan was to head back to Icewind Peak. Amarantha's clan lives there, and we were going to go back to her house and see if her parents have any advice or further suggestions. After that, we were going to spend the night there, then we were going to leave. We hadn't quite worked out where we were going to go, since that depends on what they have to say, if anything."
Margaret nodded. "I see. Yesterday you asked about 'any' wind elementalists. Were you looking for just one good one to possibly replace the 'master' should you be unable to find him, or were you looking to acquire the help of as many as you can?"
The hero said, "Since we're going up against the Demon Lord and his army, we'll need all the help we can get. Having the world's greatest elementalists on our side is excellent, but we'll need more help than that. For example, your sister might be great and powerful on her own, but if she had maybe twenty or so other fire elementalists helping her, she'd be able to combine her power with theirs and achieve an effect greater than she could on her own."
"Then might I interest you in a detour?" Margaret asked. "To the north, close to the border of the Demon Realm, there lives an old man. This old man is the one who taught me everything I know about being a water elementalist. He may be old, but he's still powerful. I think you would want his help."
The succubus asked, "Your teacher? Was he the best water elementalist before you came along? Also, is it swamp territory all the way there?"
Margaret nodded. "Yes, he was, and yes, it is."
Carrie butted in and said, "If you're going that way, be careful. The goblins around here are terrified of me, but they'll still try to steal your stuff if they think they can get away with it. If you have anything that looks valuable, they might even be tempted to ambush you, conk you over the head, and take it."
Margaret added, "True, but there's more to worry about than just goblins. Mosquitoes can carry diseases, and there are alligators and crocodiles in the water. There's also a tribe of Lizardmen that lives somewhere between here and there. As long as you're polite and courteous, you should be fine if you encounter them."
"Thanks. Now," he said, looking at Zeraine and Amarantha, "I guess we should wake them up, fill them in, and get going."
He woke the two of them up, causing them to groan and yawn, as expected. Zeraine asked, "What time is it?"
The hero shrugged. "I'm not quite sure, but it's time to go. You two need to get dressed so we can go."
Amarantha asked, "What's the hurry? We know how to get back, so-"
"We're not going back to Icewind Peak yet," the hero said, interrupting her. "We have another powerful water elementalist to recruit, and he's to the north." He turned to Margaret and asked, "Can you show us on our map where he is? We need to know how long of a journey we have ahead of us."
"Certainly," she said, waiting for him to bring out their map before getting next to him and pointing. "He's around in that area. It's uncomfortably close to the border of the Demon Realm, but that's where he chose to live, for whatever reason. Right now, you're about here," she said, pointing at another spot. "I don't know what all you're capable of, but it'll probably take you a couple of days to get there. Remember to be extremely careful. Mistakes in this area are not often forgiven, but in that area, it's even more so."
The hero frowned. "So we're dead if we screw up, huh?"
Carrie said, "As long as you watch your ass, you should be fine. Just don't get careless, and when walking near the water, for fuck's sake, keep your eyes open! Damn gators and crocs'll try to jump you, and if they get a hold of you, you're fucked."
By the time the hero put the map away, Zeraine and Amarantha were suited up and ready to go. Everyone packed their things back up and they left.
Once out in the swamp and heading north, the hero took note of Zeraine's and Amarantha's frequent yawning. He asked, "You two alright?"
Zeraine shrugged. "I guess. I mean, we didn't sleep all that good, but we're otherwise fine."
"Why didn't you sleep good?" he asked. "The humid air?"
Zeraine yawned again and said, "Well, that's part of it. Mostly, though, it's because you guys were not exactly quiet enough."
The succubus said, "So you two got all hot and bothered hearing what sounds we were making, despite us trying to keep it quiet, huh? Let me guess, she got wet and you got hard, and because of how she is, she was too paranoid to have a quickie with you, right?"
Amarantha glared at her and said, "So? I could smell everything, and unfortunately, hearing and smelling it aroused me, which is completely natural. As you know, I refuse to do it if anyone can see or hear, no matter how bad I want it. Is there anything wrong with that?"
The succubus shrugged. "Not really. I mean, sure, you could lighten up a bit and stop caring if you're seen or heard, or at least be less shy or worried about it. I'm not expecting you to get like me, not caring if someone's watching you ride your man because you only care about him and his dick at that time, then still not caring that you were seen after you've calmed down post-sex. I do expect you to eventually trust me and him enough to make love to Zeraine with us nearby without worrying about anything or being shy about it, however."
Zeraine waved his hand dismissively. "Lay off, okay? Ammie's a bit shy, and that's fine. If she's afraid someone will see her, that's okay. I can hold it until she's ready, after we've found a suitable place."
The hero nodded and said, "Yeah, it's dangerous here, so let's focus on our surroundings instead of the lewd conversation."
Almost as if on cue, an arrow sailed past the hero's head. He quickly cast Quen as he readied his sword and shield. Zeraine took his spear out of his Bag of Holding, Amarantha readied her father's warhammer, and the succubus looked around for the source of the arrow. Amarantha saw it first, though, and called out, "There!" pointing at the goblin archer, who was readying another arrow. Unfortunately, the goblin was on the other side of a large body of water, and there were what appeared to be floating sticks or logs in it. Rather than take the risk of trying to get through or across, they looked at each other and nodded, then formed up in a column with the hero out front, shield up. The succubus got behind him, and Zeraine got behind her, scanning the area for other enemies that might attack from behind. Amarantha threw her hammer, hitting the goblin square in the chest, knocking it down. As she called it back to her hand, the succubus used Drash Gan to impale the goblin, finishing it off.
The party looked around for more enemies, but there were none. Zeraine scoffed and said, "The twins were right; it is dangerous out here."
The succubus said, "You know, it seems safe enough right now that, if you wanted to, you and Ammie could 'relieve' yourselves before we continue."
Amarantha shook her head. "No way. It's too dangerous here for that. ...And only Zeraine and Sol get to call me 'Ammie'."
The succubus frowned. "I'd keep a barrier maintained that would allow you to safely do it, but whatever. I guess you still don't trust us enough to let us call you by your 'nickname', huh? I'm guessing Zeraine gets to call you that because he's the closest one in the world to you, and Sol gets to because he's like a brother to you, right? When do I get to use that nickname?"
Amarantha didn't answer. She felt a little guilty that she still didn't fully trust the succubus and the hero, but dragons, especially silver dragons, were often guilty of lacking trust in others. She simply hefted the hammer, resting it on her shoulder, grabbed Zeraine's hand, and resumed walking.
Margaret and Carrie had already woken up, as well. Using Margaret's powers as a water elementalist, they cleaned themselves and each other very quickly. They dried off using Carrie's powers as a fire elementalist. Once they had gotten their morning bathing done, they went to the living room and greeted the hero and the succubus. Margaret asked, "What are your plans for today, if you don't mind my asking?"
The hero replied, "Well, we were going to go back toward Stormforge and-"
Margaret interrupted and said, "You don't need to lie or hide anything. Tell us the truth."
"How did you know?" he asked with an astonished look on his face.
"Elementals are beings of energy. They can easily sense when someone is lying or not, among other things. My undine told me you were hiding something."
The succubus shrugged and spoke instead of the hero. "Our plan was to head back to Icewind Peak. Amarantha's clan lives there, and we were going to go back to her house and see if her parents have any advice or further suggestions. After that, we were going to spend the night there, then we were going to leave. We hadn't quite worked out where we were going to go, since that depends on what they have to say, if anything."
Margaret nodded. "I see. Yesterday you asked about 'any' wind elementalists. Were you looking for just one good one to possibly replace the 'master' should you be unable to find him, or were you looking to acquire the help of as many as you can?"
The hero said, "Since we're going up against the Demon Lord and his army, we'll need all the help we can get. Having the world's greatest elementalists on our side is excellent, but we'll need more help than that. For example, your sister might be great and powerful on her own, but if she had maybe twenty or so other fire elementalists helping her, she'd be able to combine her power with theirs and achieve an effect greater than she could on her own."
"Then might I interest you in a detour?" Margaret asked. "To the north, close to the border of the Demon Realm, there lives an old man. This old man is the one who taught me everything I know about being a water elementalist. He may be old, but he's still powerful. I think you would want his help."
The succubus asked, "Your teacher? Was he the best water elementalist before you came along? Also, is it swamp territory all the way there?"
Margaret nodded. "Yes, he was, and yes, it is."
Carrie butted in and said, "If you're going that way, be careful. The goblins around here are terrified of me, but they'll still try to steal your stuff if they think they can get away with it. If you have anything that looks valuable, they might even be tempted to ambush you, conk you over the head, and take it."
Margaret added, "True, but there's more to worry about than just goblins. Mosquitoes can carry diseases, and there are alligators and crocodiles in the water. There's also a tribe of Lizardmen that lives somewhere between here and there. As long as you're polite and courteous, you should be fine if you encounter them."
"Thanks. Now," he said, looking at Zeraine and Amarantha, "I guess we should wake them up, fill them in, and get going."
He woke the two of them up, causing them to groan and yawn, as expected. Zeraine asked, "What time is it?"
The hero shrugged. "I'm not quite sure, but it's time to go. You two need to get dressed so we can go."
Amarantha asked, "What's the hurry? We know how to get back, so-"
"We're not going back to Icewind Peak yet," the hero said, interrupting her. "We have another powerful water elementalist to recruit, and he's to the north." He turned to Margaret and asked, "Can you show us on our map where he is? We need to know how long of a journey we have ahead of us."
"Certainly," she said, waiting for him to bring out their map before getting next to him and pointing. "He's around in that area. It's uncomfortably close to the border of the Demon Realm, but that's where he chose to live, for whatever reason. Right now, you're about here," she said, pointing at another spot. "I don't know what all you're capable of, but it'll probably take you a couple of days to get there. Remember to be extremely careful. Mistakes in this area are not often forgiven, but in that area, it's even more so."
The hero frowned. "So we're dead if we screw up, huh?"
Carrie said, "As long as you watch your ass, you should be fine. Just don't get careless, and when walking near the water, for fuck's sake, keep your eyes open! Damn gators and crocs'll try to jump you, and if they get a hold of you, you're fucked."
By the time the hero put the map away, Zeraine and Amarantha were suited up and ready to go. Everyone packed their things back up and they left.
Once out in the swamp and heading north, the hero took note of Zeraine's and Amarantha's frequent yawning. He asked, "You two alright?"
Zeraine shrugged. "I guess. I mean, we didn't sleep all that good, but we're otherwise fine."
"Why didn't you sleep good?" he asked. "The humid air?"
Zeraine yawned again and said, "Well, that's part of it. Mostly, though, it's because you guys were not exactly quiet enough."
The succubus said, "So you two got all hot and bothered hearing what sounds we were making, despite us trying to keep it quiet, huh? Let me guess, she got wet and you got hard, and because of how she is, she was too paranoid to have a quickie with you, right?"
Amarantha glared at her and said, "So? I could smell everything, and unfortunately, hearing and smelling it aroused me, which is completely natural. As you know, I refuse to do it if anyone can see or hear, no matter how bad I want it. Is there anything wrong with that?"
The succubus shrugged. "Not really. I mean, sure, you could lighten up a bit and stop caring if you're seen or heard, or at least be less shy or worried about it. I'm not expecting you to get like me, not caring if someone's watching you ride your man because you only care about him and his dick at that time, then still not caring that you were seen after you've calmed down post-sex. I do expect you to eventually trust me and him enough to make love to Zeraine with us nearby without worrying about anything or being shy about it, however."
Zeraine waved his hand dismissively. "Lay off, okay? Ammie's a bit shy, and that's fine. If she's afraid someone will see her, that's okay. I can hold it until she's ready, after we've found a suitable place."
The hero nodded and said, "Yeah, it's dangerous here, so let's focus on our surroundings instead of the lewd conversation."
Almost as if on cue, an arrow sailed past the hero's head. He quickly cast Quen as he readied his sword and shield. Zeraine took his spear out of his Bag of Holding, Amarantha readied her father's warhammer, and the succubus looked around for the source of the arrow. Amarantha saw it first, though, and called out, "There!" pointing at the goblin archer, who was readying another arrow. Unfortunately, the goblin was on the other side of a large body of water, and there were what appeared to be floating sticks or logs in it. Rather than take the risk of trying to get through or across, they looked at each other and nodded, then formed up in a column with the hero out front, shield up. The succubus got behind him, and Zeraine got behind her, scanning the area for other enemies that might attack from behind. Amarantha threw her hammer, hitting the goblin square in the chest, knocking it down. As she called it back to her hand, the succubus used Drash Gan to impale the goblin, finishing it off.
The party looked around for more enemies, but there were none. Zeraine scoffed and said, "The twins were right; it is dangerous out here."
The succubus said, "You know, it seems safe enough right now that, if you wanted to, you and Ammie could 'relieve' yourselves before we continue."
Amarantha shook her head. "No way. It's too dangerous here for that. ...And only Zeraine and Sol get to call me 'Ammie'."
The succubus frowned. "I'd keep a barrier maintained that would allow you to safely do it, but whatever. I guess you still don't trust us enough to let us call you by your 'nickname', huh? I'm guessing Zeraine gets to call you that because he's the closest one in the world to you, and Sol gets to because he's like a brother to you, right? When do I get to use that nickname?"
Amarantha didn't answer. She felt a little guilty that she still didn't fully trust the succubus and the hero, but dragons, especially silver dragons, were often guilty of lacking trust in others. She simply hefted the hammer, resting it on her shoulder, grabbed Zeraine's hand, and resumed walking.
Chapter 114
Spoiler: show
The party trudged along slowly and cautiously. They remained vigilant, scanning the water, the trees, everywhere, for any signs of danger. They were certain that there'd be more goblins after them, and they suspected they'd have an unpleasant encounter with a croc or a gator sooner or later.
The various kinds of plants seemed to get more in number and thicker in concentration as they progressed. Soon, they were attempting to navigate through very dense foliage, unable to see what was ahead of them. Unfortunately, this caused them to walk right into a goblin camp. There was an awkward pause and an equally awkward silence as everyone and everything stopped, with the party and the goblins looking at each other in shock. The silence was broken when one goblin shouted something, which caused the others to brandish their maces, hammers, and daggers.
The hero quickly drew his sword. His shield was still strapped to his arm after the earlier encounter, for he expected trouble just such as this, though probably not in this magnitude. A quick glance told him that there were about 15 goblins in the camp with the high possibility of more being in the tents. He cast Quen and got in position to protect the succubus.
Amarantha let go of Zeraine's hand and readied her warhammer. Zeraine mumbled a curse or two, knowing that his claymore would be better for this situation, then raised his spear anyway. He cast a Feather spell, which made him light enough to move normally, then he rushed toward the farthest goblin, smacking aside a few on his way. Amarantha decided to help the hero protect the succubus, so she put herself between them and the goblins.
The succubus gritted her teeth and began thinking to choose a fitting spell for the situation. As she thought about what to cast, Amarantha sent one goblin into the water via a mighty swing of her hammer. The hero blocked a mace, disarmed the attacker with a backhand swing of his shield, and ran the enemy through, then kicked it off his blade.
At that time, Zeraine was busy fending off the attacks of three goblins, all of them armed with daggers. He managed to create an opening and stab one through the head, but the two that remained continued pushing him back, right toward the water. It was then that Zeraine got a sudden chill and the hair on the back of his neck stood up. Instinctively, he dove to the side. As he rolled to his feet and turned around, he saw one goblin caught in the mouth of an alligator; the source of the danger he sensed a moment before. The other goblin panicked, seeing its ally in the mouth of the gigantic lizard. It started to run away, but Zeraine nailed it with a Fireball. The alligator dragged its prey into the murky water and disappeared, leaving Zeraine to stab the last goblin to make sure it was dead before he ran back to the others.
During that time, the succubus began setting Fire Traps in front of the tents. Because she wanted to conserve her energy in case she needed it for an attack spell, she only set two. She patted the hero on the shoulder and said, "Set some Fire Traps in front of the other tents. I already put two down in front of those two, one each. Use scrolls; it's faster."
He nodded and took out a few Fire Trap scrolls. He looked and saw that there were a total of 6 tents. With the two that the succubus had already set, he only needed four. He set two, then had to fend off a goblin, which made him drop the third. After he killed it, he picked the scroll up and used it, then took out one last scroll and set the last one. With all 6 tents taken care of, he focused back on the remaining goblins.
Amarantha caught one hammer-wielding goblin by its wrist, snapped its arm like a twig, then tossed it into the air and smacked it with her hammer, sending it into the murky water where it was promptly devoured by gators. She suddenly felt electricity in the air behind her and spun around to see a dagger-wielding goblin getting fried by a Lightning Bolt, courtesy of the succubus. The girls nodded at each other, then resumed looking for more targets.
Zeraine got back and warned, "Don't get too close to the water. A gator almost got me."
Amarantha said, "I saw. Next time use some magic, okay?"
The remaining goblins started frantically shouting and yelling, apparently calling for help. Help came, but not nearly in the numbers they had probably hoped, for as the reinforcements came running out of the tents, they set off the Fire Traps and were blown up. Six explosions later, there were only about 10 goblins left in total. They fell quickly to the succubus and her use of Intelipeli.
The hero looked around for any more, but saw none. He asked, "Do you think that archer from earlier was with these guys?"
Zeraine shrugged and said, "Maybe. Something tells me that we haven't gotten all of them, though."
The succubus asked, "What makes you say that?"
He shrugged, shaking his head. Amarantha said, "I have that same feeling. We should be as careful as possible."
The four of them searched around the goblin camp and found about 100 gold, but that was all that was worth taking. They proceeded on, keeping an eye out in all directions. As they slowly advanced, the hero asked, "So, Zeraine, why the spear?"
He answered, "I thought crocs and gators would be the bigger threat, and the spear would give me the ability to stab them to death from a relatively safe distance. The claymore would have worked a lot better back at that goblin camp, though."
The four of them proceeded on, slowly advancing until lunch time. They sat down and ate, still not letting their guard down for a second. As they ate, Amarantha took Zeraine aside and asked, "Hey, Zeraine... Do you think I'm too untrusting? I mean, we've been with them for a while now, and..."
"Is this about what you guys said earlier?" he asked.
She nodded. "It's just-"
"You feel guilty after her calling you out on you not letting her use your 'nickname', and now you're wondering if you're right or wrong in still not trusting them. You're worried you might be wrong, and the possibility of that is making you feel even more guilty."
"How did you...?"
"We've been together a long time, Ammie. I know you pretty well by now."
"So am I wrong?"
"Well..." he started, scratching his head. "I'd have to say so. The four of us have been through a lot so far, and we're looking at going through a lot more. If we're going to watch each other's backs, we should trust each other. Without a certain level of trust, we won't be able to work as a team. Sure, we did good with our well-timed team attacks against those giant scorpions in the desert, but those were pretty easy compared with what we'll probably have to face."
Amarantha hung her head in shame. "What do I do?"
He put his arm around her. "Start being a bit more trusting of them. I guess you'd start by letting them use your 'nickname'."
"Are we eventually going to have to let them watch us have sex?"
"I'd hope not. I mean, sure, the kid's a good guy and he wouldn't expect that from us, but the princess... Well, she's a pervert, and she'd watch us if we let her, unless she was busy with the kid, that is."
Amarantha thought for several seconds, then nodded. "As soon as I get the opportunity, I'll let them know that they can call me 'Ammie'. For right now, though, do you feel like we're being watched?"
"Kind of. We should finish eating and get moving."
The two of them went back to the others and told them about the feeling of being watched. The hero and the succubus looked at each other, then nodded. The party quickly finished eating, packed up, and resumed their journey.
The various kinds of plants seemed to get more in number and thicker in concentration as they progressed. Soon, they were attempting to navigate through very dense foliage, unable to see what was ahead of them. Unfortunately, this caused them to walk right into a goblin camp. There was an awkward pause and an equally awkward silence as everyone and everything stopped, with the party and the goblins looking at each other in shock. The silence was broken when one goblin shouted something, which caused the others to brandish their maces, hammers, and daggers.
The hero quickly drew his sword. His shield was still strapped to his arm after the earlier encounter, for he expected trouble just such as this, though probably not in this magnitude. A quick glance told him that there were about 15 goblins in the camp with the high possibility of more being in the tents. He cast Quen and got in position to protect the succubus.
Amarantha let go of Zeraine's hand and readied her warhammer. Zeraine mumbled a curse or two, knowing that his claymore would be better for this situation, then raised his spear anyway. He cast a Feather spell, which made him light enough to move normally, then he rushed toward the farthest goblin, smacking aside a few on his way. Amarantha decided to help the hero protect the succubus, so she put herself between them and the goblins.
The succubus gritted her teeth and began thinking to choose a fitting spell for the situation. As she thought about what to cast, Amarantha sent one goblin into the water via a mighty swing of her hammer. The hero blocked a mace, disarmed the attacker with a backhand swing of his shield, and ran the enemy through, then kicked it off his blade.
At that time, Zeraine was busy fending off the attacks of three goblins, all of them armed with daggers. He managed to create an opening and stab one through the head, but the two that remained continued pushing him back, right toward the water. It was then that Zeraine got a sudden chill and the hair on the back of his neck stood up. Instinctively, he dove to the side. As he rolled to his feet and turned around, he saw one goblin caught in the mouth of an alligator; the source of the danger he sensed a moment before. The other goblin panicked, seeing its ally in the mouth of the gigantic lizard. It started to run away, but Zeraine nailed it with a Fireball. The alligator dragged its prey into the murky water and disappeared, leaving Zeraine to stab the last goblin to make sure it was dead before he ran back to the others.
During that time, the succubus began setting Fire Traps in front of the tents. Because she wanted to conserve her energy in case she needed it for an attack spell, she only set two. She patted the hero on the shoulder and said, "Set some Fire Traps in front of the other tents. I already put two down in front of those two, one each. Use scrolls; it's faster."
He nodded and took out a few Fire Trap scrolls. He looked and saw that there were a total of 6 tents. With the two that the succubus had already set, he only needed four. He set two, then had to fend off a goblin, which made him drop the third. After he killed it, he picked the scroll up and used it, then took out one last scroll and set the last one. With all 6 tents taken care of, he focused back on the remaining goblins.
Amarantha caught one hammer-wielding goblin by its wrist, snapped its arm like a twig, then tossed it into the air and smacked it with her hammer, sending it into the murky water where it was promptly devoured by gators. She suddenly felt electricity in the air behind her and spun around to see a dagger-wielding goblin getting fried by a Lightning Bolt, courtesy of the succubus. The girls nodded at each other, then resumed looking for more targets.
Zeraine got back and warned, "Don't get too close to the water. A gator almost got me."
Amarantha said, "I saw. Next time use some magic, okay?"
The remaining goblins started frantically shouting and yelling, apparently calling for help. Help came, but not nearly in the numbers they had probably hoped, for as the reinforcements came running out of the tents, they set off the Fire Traps and were blown up. Six explosions later, there were only about 10 goblins left in total. They fell quickly to the succubus and her use of Intelipeli.
The hero looked around for any more, but saw none. He asked, "Do you think that archer from earlier was with these guys?"
Zeraine shrugged and said, "Maybe. Something tells me that we haven't gotten all of them, though."
The succubus asked, "What makes you say that?"
He shrugged, shaking his head. Amarantha said, "I have that same feeling. We should be as careful as possible."
The four of them searched around the goblin camp and found about 100 gold, but that was all that was worth taking. They proceeded on, keeping an eye out in all directions. As they slowly advanced, the hero asked, "So, Zeraine, why the spear?"
He answered, "I thought crocs and gators would be the bigger threat, and the spear would give me the ability to stab them to death from a relatively safe distance. The claymore would have worked a lot better back at that goblin camp, though."
The four of them proceeded on, slowly advancing until lunch time. They sat down and ate, still not letting their guard down for a second. As they ate, Amarantha took Zeraine aside and asked, "Hey, Zeraine... Do you think I'm too untrusting? I mean, we've been with them for a while now, and..."
"Is this about what you guys said earlier?" he asked.
She nodded. "It's just-"
"You feel guilty after her calling you out on you not letting her use your 'nickname', and now you're wondering if you're right or wrong in still not trusting them. You're worried you might be wrong, and the possibility of that is making you feel even more guilty."
"How did you...?"
"We've been together a long time, Ammie. I know you pretty well by now."
"So am I wrong?"
"Well..." he started, scratching his head. "I'd have to say so. The four of us have been through a lot so far, and we're looking at going through a lot more. If we're going to watch each other's backs, we should trust each other. Without a certain level of trust, we won't be able to work as a team. Sure, we did good with our well-timed team attacks against those giant scorpions in the desert, but those were pretty easy compared with what we'll probably have to face."
Amarantha hung her head in shame. "What do I do?"
He put his arm around her. "Start being a bit more trusting of them. I guess you'd start by letting them use your 'nickname'."
"Are we eventually going to have to let them watch us have sex?"
"I'd hope not. I mean, sure, the kid's a good guy and he wouldn't expect that from us, but the princess... Well, she's a pervert, and she'd watch us if we let her, unless she was busy with the kid, that is."
Amarantha thought for several seconds, then nodded. "As soon as I get the opportunity, I'll let them know that they can call me 'Ammie'. For right now, though, do you feel like we're being watched?"
"Kind of. We should finish eating and get moving."
The two of them went back to the others and told them about the feeling of being watched. The hero and the succubus looked at each other, then nodded. The party quickly finished eating, packed up, and resumed their journey.
Chapter 115
Spoiler: show
They continued walking north, keeping to the land paths, staying as far from the water as possible. The whole time, they continued to feel that they were being watched and followed. Obviously, they didn't like that, and it only served to anger and unnerve them. At one point, the succubus, in a tone just loud enough for the hero, Amarantha, and Zeraine to hear it, said, "Why don't I just unleash hell on everything around us with Intelipeli? That'd take care of whoever or whatever's following us."
The hero shook his head. "We don't want to raze the place, nor do we want to destroy everything. If we did such a thing, once word got around of what we did, fewer people would want to help us. We need to be patient. Sooner or later, we'll run into who or whatever's following us and we'll be able to deal with it."
They suddenly came to a place where there was a lot of water, with only one narrow land path between them. They noticed the crocodiles and alligators in the water, then looked amongst themselves. The hero sighed. "Obviously, this isn't good. We need to get across, but it's going to be very risky. If we go all at once, we'll be stuck in a column formation. We won't have much room to move if the need arises, but it might be the safest as far as dealing with these lizards."
"Because you'll have me and my strength nearby to fend them off, right?" Amarantha asked.
"Yes," he replied. "With us on the narrow land path, we'll also be sitting ducks for any archers that might be following us. Imagine us having to avoid getting ambushed by those crocs and gators while trying to dodge arrows, all while trying to get to the other side."
Zeraine looked around, trying to think. "What about levitating? It'd help us avoid the lizards, which would leave us with only the potential arrows to deal with."
Amarantha let out a frustrated groan. "If only I could transform right now... I could carry you guys across on my back and we wouldn't have to worry."
The hero nodded. "True. Unfortunately, you can't because there's not enough room. If you did transform, you'd destroy a lot of trees and stuff, and that'd be bad. Anyway, levitating might be a good idea, assuming we don't have skilled archers in the bushes. It's pretty much our only option, anyway, so I guess it'll have to do."
The hero and Zeraine both cast Quen before levitating to the other side. To their surprise, no arrows came for them. Amarantha and the succubus followed, also getting across with no trouble. Once across, they looked around, slightly confused. The succubus commented, "Somehow I really don't think that they just want to watch us. Why haven't they attacked yet?"
Hesitantly and cautiously, the party continued. Once they got past a few thick, neck-high patches of weeds, they found themselves in a clearing. Suddenly, they all stopped and began looking around. Something just didn't feel right.
Just as Amarantha was about to say something, several arrows flew by. Amarantha dodged a couple while the hero used his shield to protect himself and the succubus. Zeraine simply stood there and let the arrows bounce off his armor. Zeraine scoffed and said, "Well, now they're attacking."
The succubus shouted, "Dome Barrier!" and a yellowish dome of light encircled the party, blocking the second volley of arrows. She grabbed her staff with both hands and began focusing. She said, "This spell will keep us safe from the arrows, but we'll have to take the enemies out soon. That means we'll need to step outside of the barrier to attack."
The hero looked at her and asked, "Why?"
"Because it's a type of Shield spell which reduces damage from both physical attacks and magic. At my level, I can easily completely block arrows, but if you guys hit it with your weapons or spells, you'd break it very quickly."
He nodded. "It 'reduces' damage?"
"For the average mage, yes, it just reduces damage, which means it would only slow the arrows down to the point that they don't hurt very much. For us higher level mages, we can completely block arrows and even weapons and spells, but very few of us ever get that powerful. Anyway, I'll need to focus to maintain this barrier. Step out of it when you go to attack, okay?"
He nodded and walked to the edge of the barrier. He took a deep breath, cast Quen, waited for the lull between volleys, then stepped out and shouted, "Tai To Low! Anselm!" The homing arrows of light shot forth from his hand and disappeared into the bushes. Judging by the yelling, he got one or two, and judging by the sound of the yelling, it was more goblins. He jumped back into the dome as an arrow hit his Quen, weakening it a little, letting the rest of the arrows hit the Dome Barrier.
Zeraine stepped up next, waiting for the lull between volleys before stepping out and throwing a Fireball. He jumped back inside the barrier before they managed to launch their next volley. From all the shouting, he couldn't tell if he got any or not, but he waited for his "turn" to come again. Amarantha did the same as him, using Tankad to send a few ice missiles at the enemies before retreating into the safety of the barrier. She couldn't tell if she got any, either.
As they repeated it two more times, Zeraine said, "If the princess can maintain this barrier long enough, and if we get lucky enough with our spells, we can beat the bastards without taking a scratch!" On the third round, however, just as he let loose with another Fireball, an arrow from an unexpected direction hit him in the back of his knee, right where there was no armor to protect him. He yelled in pain and fell to his hands and knees. Before the next volley could come, though, Amarantha grabbed him and pulled him back into the barrier.
"Zeraine! Are you okay!?" she asked, frantic.
He growled in both anger and pain and said, "Pull it out and heal me."
She nodded and, with a quick jerk, yanked the arrow out. "The princess is busy so I'll use a scroll, okay?" She proceeded to take a Scroll of Healing out of her Bag of Holding and use it. In seconds, he was fully healed.
"Thanks, Ammie. Now I don't have to become a guard." He grinned at her, causing her to snicker back and shake her head before they resumed their attack, making sure to throw a few attacks in the direction the arrow that hit Zeraine's knee came from.
The hero looked at the succubus and asked, "Don't you have anything that can help?"
She opened her eyes and said, "If I could see them, I could use Van Dera to wipe them out easily, but with them hiding in the bushes, I can't do shit."
The hero, Zeraine, and Amarantha continued their projectile assault for another several minutes, blindly launching their spells into the weeds and bushes. Finally, the goblins came out, drawing their daggers and hammers. Apparently, they had run out of arrows. They rushed the party, running face-first into the barrier and falling back onto their asses. The succubus took down the barrier and the party attacked, making short work of the goblins. Naturally, Amarantha threw and hit a few into the water, feeding them, some of which were still alive, to the gators and crocs. When the battle was over, the party continued north.
As they walked, the hero asked the succubus, "How was it that we could pass through the barrier and the goblins couldn't?"
She smiled. "You set all that up, stuff like who or what can and can't go through, as you cast the spell. Higher level spells are pretty complicated."
Zeraine said, "I hope this old guy isn't much farther. I hate this swamp."
Amarantha nodded. "I hope this trip is worth it. We're killing goblins, burning up our energy, getting tired, and even getting injured, trying to get to this bastard to ask him for help. I don't want all this to be a waste, because if it is, then Zeraine got hurt for nothing."
The hero pulled out their map and looked. "I think we'll get there sometime tomorrow, but I'm not sure. Hopefully, the only things we'll have to deal with for the rest of this trip are crocs and gators. I don't know about you guys, but I'd rather not run into that tribe of Lizardmen."
They all nodded in agreement, the hero put the map away, and they resumed their journey.
The hero shook his head. "We don't want to raze the place, nor do we want to destroy everything. If we did such a thing, once word got around of what we did, fewer people would want to help us. We need to be patient. Sooner or later, we'll run into who or whatever's following us and we'll be able to deal with it."
They suddenly came to a place where there was a lot of water, with only one narrow land path between them. They noticed the crocodiles and alligators in the water, then looked amongst themselves. The hero sighed. "Obviously, this isn't good. We need to get across, but it's going to be very risky. If we go all at once, we'll be stuck in a column formation. We won't have much room to move if the need arises, but it might be the safest as far as dealing with these lizards."
"Because you'll have me and my strength nearby to fend them off, right?" Amarantha asked.
"Yes," he replied. "With us on the narrow land path, we'll also be sitting ducks for any archers that might be following us. Imagine us having to avoid getting ambushed by those crocs and gators while trying to dodge arrows, all while trying to get to the other side."
Zeraine looked around, trying to think. "What about levitating? It'd help us avoid the lizards, which would leave us with only the potential arrows to deal with."
Amarantha let out a frustrated groan. "If only I could transform right now... I could carry you guys across on my back and we wouldn't have to worry."
The hero nodded. "True. Unfortunately, you can't because there's not enough room. If you did transform, you'd destroy a lot of trees and stuff, and that'd be bad. Anyway, levitating might be a good idea, assuming we don't have skilled archers in the bushes. It's pretty much our only option, anyway, so I guess it'll have to do."
The hero and Zeraine both cast Quen before levitating to the other side. To their surprise, no arrows came for them. Amarantha and the succubus followed, also getting across with no trouble. Once across, they looked around, slightly confused. The succubus commented, "Somehow I really don't think that they just want to watch us. Why haven't they attacked yet?"
Hesitantly and cautiously, the party continued. Once they got past a few thick, neck-high patches of weeds, they found themselves in a clearing. Suddenly, they all stopped and began looking around. Something just didn't feel right.
Just as Amarantha was about to say something, several arrows flew by. Amarantha dodged a couple while the hero used his shield to protect himself and the succubus. Zeraine simply stood there and let the arrows bounce off his armor. Zeraine scoffed and said, "Well, now they're attacking."
The succubus shouted, "Dome Barrier!" and a yellowish dome of light encircled the party, blocking the second volley of arrows. She grabbed her staff with both hands and began focusing. She said, "This spell will keep us safe from the arrows, but we'll have to take the enemies out soon. That means we'll need to step outside of the barrier to attack."
The hero looked at her and asked, "Why?"
"Because it's a type of Shield spell which reduces damage from both physical attacks and magic. At my level, I can easily completely block arrows, but if you guys hit it with your weapons or spells, you'd break it very quickly."
He nodded. "It 'reduces' damage?"
"For the average mage, yes, it just reduces damage, which means it would only slow the arrows down to the point that they don't hurt very much. For us higher level mages, we can completely block arrows and even weapons and spells, but very few of us ever get that powerful. Anyway, I'll need to focus to maintain this barrier. Step out of it when you go to attack, okay?"
He nodded and walked to the edge of the barrier. He took a deep breath, cast Quen, waited for the lull between volleys, then stepped out and shouted, "Tai To Low! Anselm!" The homing arrows of light shot forth from his hand and disappeared into the bushes. Judging by the yelling, he got one or two, and judging by the sound of the yelling, it was more goblins. He jumped back into the dome as an arrow hit his Quen, weakening it a little, letting the rest of the arrows hit the Dome Barrier.
Zeraine stepped up next, waiting for the lull between volleys before stepping out and throwing a Fireball. He jumped back inside the barrier before they managed to launch their next volley. From all the shouting, he couldn't tell if he got any or not, but he waited for his "turn" to come again. Amarantha did the same as him, using Tankad to send a few ice missiles at the enemies before retreating into the safety of the barrier. She couldn't tell if she got any, either.
As they repeated it two more times, Zeraine said, "If the princess can maintain this barrier long enough, and if we get lucky enough with our spells, we can beat the bastards without taking a scratch!" On the third round, however, just as he let loose with another Fireball, an arrow from an unexpected direction hit him in the back of his knee, right where there was no armor to protect him. He yelled in pain and fell to his hands and knees. Before the next volley could come, though, Amarantha grabbed him and pulled him back into the barrier.
"Zeraine! Are you okay!?" she asked, frantic.
He growled in both anger and pain and said, "Pull it out and heal me."
She nodded and, with a quick jerk, yanked the arrow out. "The princess is busy so I'll use a scroll, okay?" She proceeded to take a Scroll of Healing out of her Bag of Holding and use it. In seconds, he was fully healed.
"Thanks, Ammie. Now I don't have to become a guard." He grinned at her, causing her to snicker back and shake her head before they resumed their attack, making sure to throw a few attacks in the direction the arrow that hit Zeraine's knee came from.
The hero looked at the succubus and asked, "Don't you have anything that can help?"
She opened her eyes and said, "If I could see them, I could use Van Dera to wipe them out easily, but with them hiding in the bushes, I can't do shit."
The hero, Zeraine, and Amarantha continued their projectile assault for another several minutes, blindly launching their spells into the weeds and bushes. Finally, the goblins came out, drawing their daggers and hammers. Apparently, they had run out of arrows. They rushed the party, running face-first into the barrier and falling back onto their asses. The succubus took down the barrier and the party attacked, making short work of the goblins. Naturally, Amarantha threw and hit a few into the water, feeding them, some of which were still alive, to the gators and crocs. When the battle was over, the party continued north.
As they walked, the hero asked the succubus, "How was it that we could pass through the barrier and the goblins couldn't?"
She smiled. "You set all that up, stuff like who or what can and can't go through, as you cast the spell. Higher level spells are pretty complicated."
Zeraine said, "I hope this old guy isn't much farther. I hate this swamp."
Amarantha nodded. "I hope this trip is worth it. We're killing goblins, burning up our energy, getting tired, and even getting injured, trying to get to this bastard to ask him for help. I don't want all this to be a waste, because if it is, then Zeraine got hurt for nothing."
The hero pulled out their map and looked. "I think we'll get there sometime tomorrow, but I'm not sure. Hopefully, the only things we'll have to deal with for the rest of this trip are crocs and gators. I don't know about you guys, but I'd rather not run into that tribe of Lizardmen."
They all nodded in agreement, the hero put the map away, and they resumed their journey.
Chapter 116
Spoiler: show
Another hour or two later, it started getting dark. The party set up camp for the night, making sure to keep away from the water. Thinking it to be a good idea, the hero and the succubus set up several Fire Traps around the perimeter of the camp, spacing them so that if anything tried to come through, they'd set off at least one of the traps.
After eating dinner, they got ready for bed. Amarantha took Zeraine aside and said, "You know they're going to do it tonight, too."
He nodded. "They do it every night. So?"
She frowned at him and said, "You remember how last night went, don't you? Neither of us could sleep very well because of the sounds they were making! It'll probably be like that tonight, too!"
"You said earlier you also got aroused by the smell, too, right? Anyway, yeah, unless we try to do it, too, we'll have trouble sleeping again."
"That's the problem! I-"
"You'll just have to get over it and we'll have to make love tonight. Otherwise, like last night, I'll be rubbing my manhood against your ass and you'll be squirming around, rubbing your legs together."
"But the thought of them seeing, it's-"
He wrapped his arms around her and held her close, looking in her eyes with a confident smile. "Trust me, Ammie, you won't be able to think about that once I get started."
She blushed. "You're gonna go all-out?"
He nodded, which caused her to blush even more. The two of them returned and got into their sleeping bag.
Meanwhile, the hero and the succubus sat down and rested for a bit before stripping and getting ready to go to bed. When Zeraine and Amarantha returned and got into bed, the succubus paused just long enough to steal a glance at them. She began smiling, part-happy, part-pervertedly. The hero saw and asked, "What is it?"
She smiled bigger and said, "I think they're going to fuck tonight."
"So?"
"Unlike the times they did it before, you and I are right here, well within earshot. Amarantha might be starting to trust us enough to have sex with Zeraine despite us being nearby."
"And that's significant, why?"
She flicked him on the forehead and said, "It means she's going to trust us more! That's important!"
"Oh, right. I thought you were emphasizing the sex part."
She frowned and shoved him down, then took off her underwear and reverted to her true form. "Just for that, I'm not letting you have the lead at all tonight. Now, if your dick isn't standing up, I'm going to be pissed." She stripped him, then, at his request, waited until they were in their sleeping bag before getting started.
Shortly after, Zeraine and Amarantha looked over at them and he commented, "They're really getting after it." They looked back to each other. "Well? Should we?"
Her face still red, she nodded. "We should get started before I change my mind."
He caressed her as he stripped her, making her cringe in embarrassment and squirm uncomfortably as she tried to hold in her voice. Soon, just as he promised, Zeraine brought her to such a point of arousal, and made her feel such pleasure from his touch, that she completely stopped worrying about the others seeing or hearing. She let out small, soft moans at first, then got louder as he went on. Eventually, the noise she and Zeraine were making rivaled that of the hero and the succubus. The two couples made love, Zeraine and Amarantha going for two rounds and the hero and the succubus going for six. Needless to say, both couples slept well that night.
...
The next morning, everyone got up, got dressed, and ate breakfast, thankful that nothing tried to get into their camp during the night. The hero and the succubus counted and, sure enough, all the Fire Traps were still in place. She quickly taught the hero how to cast Dispel and the two of them dispelled the traps, then the party packed up, getting ready to leave. No sooner than they finished putting everything away, they heard a heavy footstep. They all looked to see what it was and saw that it was a Lizardman, wearing a loincloth and various kinds of bead necklaces. Seconds later, several more arrived, garbed in similar outfits. The party assumed a few of them were female, for they were also wearing cloth or hide strips that covered their chests.
Cautiously, the hero asked, "Can we help you?"
The one who arrived first smirked. "Yes, you can. Come with us and I will tell you about it."
The four of them cooperated, going along with no resistance. They silently cursed their luck, knowing that this would only prolong their stay in this swamp. It didn't take them long to arrive at the Lizardman camp. Once there, the leader made a few hand motions and the others surrounded the party. He asked, "You are from The Order, yes?"
The hero nodded. "I am, yes. These three aren't."
The Lizardman took a long, hard look at the others. "A man from The Order, traveling with a succubus, another human man, and a monster in disguise, is strange. You don't hate monsters, yes?"
The hero nodded again. "That's right."
The Lizardman's tail flicked around as he thought, showing that he was a little agitated. "So it is true..."
"What is?"
"That not all in The Order hate us."
"Why would you think that?"
The Lizardman turned around and made some sort of hand gesture while giving a soft hiss. Moments later, two other Lizardmen dragged a somewhat recently-killed human body into sight and dropped it in front of the party. They could see that the corpse wore armor bearing the symbol of The Order. "This fool helped kill one of us. We threaten no one, yet this man and four others came to our camp and killed one of our best hunters."
The hero was shocked. "What? Why?"
"We do not know. They came to our camp, acting courteous enough, being polite enough. They looked at us with contempt and revulsion, but we did not care. Most humans who see us do the same, often when they do not mean to. The next thing we knew, they had killed our tribesman and were fleeing. We chased them until this one stopped and faced us. He wounded several of us before we finally killed him. The others ran away toward a cave. They all wore the symbol of The Order."
The hero hesitantly asked, "Did they say anything during all this?"
The Lizardman nodded. "Something about trading when they were trying to get in, then insults when this one fought us."
The hero became visibly angry, gritting his teeth. The Lizardmen surrounding the party became wary, raising their spears and axes. He said, "That's not what The Order is about. We don't hate monsters. We defend humanity from the non-sapient ones and the evil ones. We don't go around killing them for no reason."
The Lizardman asked, "What does 'sapient' mean?"
"Basically, it means a being that's wise enough to think rationally. A being like a human, Lizardman, dragon, or succubus."
The Lizardman nodded, taking in the information. "If it is not what The Order does, why did this man and his friends do what they did?"
The succubus stepped forward, standing next to the hero, and said, "It's because evil people are trying to take control of it. For whatever reason, these people hate monsters and want to kill them all. Right now, over half of The Order has been taken over by these people. I can assure you, however, that my husband is from the still-good part."
The Lizardman glanced around and shook his head slightly, silently ordering the others to lower their weapons. "Then would you help us by killing those who attacked us?"
The hero looked around at Zeraine, Amarantha, and the succubus, all of whom nodded their heads. He then looked at the Lizardman and said, "Yes. They dishonor the name of The Order by committing such unforgivable acts. I can't allow their evil deeds to go unpunished. Can you tell us how to get to the cave?"
After eating dinner, they got ready for bed. Amarantha took Zeraine aside and said, "You know they're going to do it tonight, too."
He nodded. "They do it every night. So?"
She frowned at him and said, "You remember how last night went, don't you? Neither of us could sleep very well because of the sounds they were making! It'll probably be like that tonight, too!"
"You said earlier you also got aroused by the smell, too, right? Anyway, yeah, unless we try to do it, too, we'll have trouble sleeping again."
"That's the problem! I-"
"You'll just have to get over it and we'll have to make love tonight. Otherwise, like last night, I'll be rubbing my manhood against your ass and you'll be squirming around, rubbing your legs together."
"But the thought of them seeing, it's-"
He wrapped his arms around her and held her close, looking in her eyes with a confident smile. "Trust me, Ammie, you won't be able to think about that once I get started."
She blushed. "You're gonna go all-out?"
He nodded, which caused her to blush even more. The two of them returned and got into their sleeping bag.
Meanwhile, the hero and the succubus sat down and rested for a bit before stripping and getting ready to go to bed. When Zeraine and Amarantha returned and got into bed, the succubus paused just long enough to steal a glance at them. She began smiling, part-happy, part-pervertedly. The hero saw and asked, "What is it?"
She smiled bigger and said, "I think they're going to fuck tonight."
"So?"
"Unlike the times they did it before, you and I are right here, well within earshot. Amarantha might be starting to trust us enough to have sex with Zeraine despite us being nearby."
"And that's significant, why?"
She flicked him on the forehead and said, "It means she's going to trust us more! That's important!"
"Oh, right. I thought you were emphasizing the sex part."
She frowned and shoved him down, then took off her underwear and reverted to her true form. "Just for that, I'm not letting you have the lead at all tonight. Now, if your dick isn't standing up, I'm going to be pissed." She stripped him, then, at his request, waited until they were in their sleeping bag before getting started.
Shortly after, Zeraine and Amarantha looked over at them and he commented, "They're really getting after it." They looked back to each other. "Well? Should we?"
Her face still red, she nodded. "We should get started before I change my mind."
He caressed her as he stripped her, making her cringe in embarrassment and squirm uncomfortably as she tried to hold in her voice. Soon, just as he promised, Zeraine brought her to such a point of arousal, and made her feel such pleasure from his touch, that she completely stopped worrying about the others seeing or hearing. She let out small, soft moans at first, then got louder as he went on. Eventually, the noise she and Zeraine were making rivaled that of the hero and the succubus. The two couples made love, Zeraine and Amarantha going for two rounds and the hero and the succubus going for six. Needless to say, both couples slept well that night.
...
The next morning, everyone got up, got dressed, and ate breakfast, thankful that nothing tried to get into their camp during the night. The hero and the succubus counted and, sure enough, all the Fire Traps were still in place. She quickly taught the hero how to cast Dispel and the two of them dispelled the traps, then the party packed up, getting ready to leave. No sooner than they finished putting everything away, they heard a heavy footstep. They all looked to see what it was and saw that it was a Lizardman, wearing a loincloth and various kinds of bead necklaces. Seconds later, several more arrived, garbed in similar outfits. The party assumed a few of them were female, for they were also wearing cloth or hide strips that covered their chests.
Cautiously, the hero asked, "Can we help you?"
The one who arrived first smirked. "Yes, you can. Come with us and I will tell you about it."
The four of them cooperated, going along with no resistance. They silently cursed their luck, knowing that this would only prolong their stay in this swamp. It didn't take them long to arrive at the Lizardman camp. Once there, the leader made a few hand motions and the others surrounded the party. He asked, "You are from The Order, yes?"
The hero nodded. "I am, yes. These three aren't."
The Lizardman took a long, hard look at the others. "A man from The Order, traveling with a succubus, another human man, and a monster in disguise, is strange. You don't hate monsters, yes?"
The hero nodded again. "That's right."
The Lizardman's tail flicked around as he thought, showing that he was a little agitated. "So it is true..."
"What is?"
"That not all in The Order hate us."
"Why would you think that?"
The Lizardman turned around and made some sort of hand gesture while giving a soft hiss. Moments later, two other Lizardmen dragged a somewhat recently-killed human body into sight and dropped it in front of the party. They could see that the corpse wore armor bearing the symbol of The Order. "This fool helped kill one of us. We threaten no one, yet this man and four others came to our camp and killed one of our best hunters."
The hero was shocked. "What? Why?"
"We do not know. They came to our camp, acting courteous enough, being polite enough. They looked at us with contempt and revulsion, but we did not care. Most humans who see us do the same, often when they do not mean to. The next thing we knew, they had killed our tribesman and were fleeing. We chased them until this one stopped and faced us. He wounded several of us before we finally killed him. The others ran away toward a cave. They all wore the symbol of The Order."
The hero hesitantly asked, "Did they say anything during all this?"
The Lizardman nodded. "Something about trading when they were trying to get in, then insults when this one fought us."
The hero became visibly angry, gritting his teeth. The Lizardmen surrounding the party became wary, raising their spears and axes. He said, "That's not what The Order is about. We don't hate monsters. We defend humanity from the non-sapient ones and the evil ones. We don't go around killing them for no reason."
The Lizardman asked, "What does 'sapient' mean?"
"Basically, it means a being that's wise enough to think rationally. A being like a human, Lizardman, dragon, or succubus."
The Lizardman nodded, taking in the information. "If it is not what The Order does, why did this man and his friends do what they did?"
The succubus stepped forward, standing next to the hero, and said, "It's because evil people are trying to take control of it. For whatever reason, these people hate monsters and want to kill them all. Right now, over half of The Order has been taken over by these people. I can assure you, however, that my husband is from the still-good part."
The Lizardman glanced around and shook his head slightly, silently ordering the others to lower their weapons. "Then would you help us by killing those who attacked us?"
The hero looked around at Zeraine, Amarantha, and the succubus, all of whom nodded their heads. He then looked at the Lizardman and said, "Yes. They dishonor the name of The Order by committing such unforgivable acts. I can't allow their evil deeds to go unpunished. Can you tell us how to get to the cave?"
Chapter 117
Spoiler: show
Several minutes later, the party was trudging through the swamp, heading for the cave. The Lizardman told them that the cave was about a 40 minute walk in this direction, northwest of their camp. Like everywhere else in the swamp, the ground was still very soft and muddy, the greenery was thick, and there were bodies of water of various sizes everywhere. Naturally, they spotted a few gators and crocs in the water as they continued on. Perfectly normal. What wasn't normal, however, was the strangely foul odor in the air. For the past few minutes, Amarantha had been walking along, holding her nose with her free hand. Finally, she asked, "Alright, what the fuck is that smell?"
The hero looked around, seeing nothing, then said, "I don't know, but it has gotten worse, hasn't it?"
Zeraine nodded. "It's natural for this place, a swamp, to stink, but this... This just seems strange. Why does it stink so bad all of a sudden?"
The succubus looked around, then uttered, "Detect: Creature." Having cast the spell, she used her now temporarily magically augmented vision to try and see what may be hiding nearby. Seeing nothing but the large lizards in the water, she then cast another spell. "Detect: Monster." She looked around again, then locked her eyes on one spot. "Damn it."
The hero stepped up next to her and asked, "What's wrong?"
"I know what's causing that smell," she said. "It's a Bubble Slime, and it's in that small pool over there." She pointed at a seemingly empty pool of water. "I think it's been following us."
Amarantha said, "A Bubble Slime? Let's kill it, then! It fucking stinks, almost as bad as those undead in Matilda's lair, and from what I remember, any type of Slime can be deadly."
The succubus nodded. "If not for their 'tell', Bubble Slimes would be much more dangerous, considering they carry diseases and emit poison gas. If we can lure it out of the water, we can deal with it easily enough. Be careful if you try to do so, however, because there's a crocodile in there, too."
Amarantha scoffed. "How about I freeze the water with my ice breath?"
"That wouldn't be anything more than a temporary thing. You'd have to lure it out of the water so we can either freeze it and shatter it into small enough pieces to kill it, or at least prevent it from reforming before we evaporate said pieces, or burn it away, evaporating it from the start."
"Then I'll lure it out of the water so we can do that," she said, gritting her teeth and walking over to the water's edge. The crocodile made itself known by attempting to attack Amarantha, lunging out of the water with great speed and force. She was ready for it, though, and yelled, "Fuck off!" as she brought her hammer down on its head, shattering its skull, killing it almost instantly and forcing it several inches into the soft, muddy ground.
The succubus said, "Nice display, Amarantha. Now, the Bubble Slime is heading your way. Get away from the water and lure it fully onto land. If we don't, it'll use some of the swamp water to regenerate."
Amarantha did as she was told, hopping backward when she saw the moving blob ooze its way out of the water and over the crocodile's corpse. Once she saw that it wasn't near the water anymore, she inhaled deeply, then blew out, exhaling frost. She froze the Bubble Slime with her ice breath, then raised her hammer.
The succubus shouted, "Wait!"
"Why?" Amarantha asked, hammer still ready to swing.
"If you hit it that hard, you'll send pieces of it everywhere, which might leave enough for it to live, reform, and regenerate. Break off small pieces and shatter them. He and I will burn them away," the succubus said, pointing at the hero.
Amarantha lowered her hammer. "So much for that..." She set her hammer down and began using careful precision strikes via her fists, with the occasional palm strike, to chip off small pieces of the frozen Bubble Slime, then set them in a pile next to her. "Is this good?"
The succubus nodded and stepped forward with the hero. "Step back." She and the hero used fire, Fireball and Igni, respectively, to completely destroy what was left of the Bubble Slime. "Now that that's done, let's get moving."
The problem solved, they left, continuing toward the cave.
Several minutes of walking later, the succubus grinned and said, "So, Amarantha..."
"Um..." Amarantha started, shyly. "You can call me 'Ammie'."
The succubus smiled bigger upon hearing that and said, "Thanks."
"So what is it?"
The succubus cleared her throat and said, "Well, Ammie, you certainly got into it last night."
Amarantha spun around to face her, blushing deeply. "You're bringing that up now?"
She nodded, still grinning. "You two were as loud as we were. Does this mean that you'll be 'taking care of each other' on a nightly basis, now?"
Amarantha stayed silent, too embarrassed to say anything.
The grin soon left the succubus's face, though. She suddenly slowed down, frowning. "You guys feel that?"
The hero looked around. "What?"
"Traces of divine power."
The others looked at her, somewhat stunned. They looked at each other, all of them realizing the same thing, remembering when the Lizardman they spoke with showed them the wounded before they left. It made sense now. Lizardmen were known for being stronger than humans on average, and even with this tribe's rather primitive weaponry compared to the Order knight's steel longsword and chainmail armor, with so many of them attacking one person, he shouldn't have been able to wound so many of them. Normally, at best he would have wounded one, maybe two, before they got him. He wouldn't have been able to wound eight of them, and certainly not badly enough to render them bedridden.
The hero said, "I remember hearing how, from time to time, when the monsters under the Demon Lord's command have us on the brink, the gods will bestow their power upon a person or a few individuals so they can save us. I even met one when he visited the Grandmaster a few years back. I watched him singlehandedly defeat every last one of our best swordsmen and spearmen in a small tournament. He made it look easy."
Zeraine cringed. "You think that guy could be ahead?"
The hero shook his head. "No. He was good friends with a few different monsters. If I remember correctly, one of them was a centaur and another was a lamia, so there's no way he could have started hating monsters. These guys must be new 'champions' like him, though. I hope they're just really misguided..."
The four of them continued on. A few minutes later, Amarantha commented that she felt the divine energy, too, shortly followed by the hero and Zeraine. A few minutes after that, they spotted the cave. The succubus asked, "Well, what are we going to do?"
The hero shrugged and shook his head. "Even with your disguise, they'd probably know. Same with Amarantha."
Amarantha said, "You can call me 'Ammie', too, kid."
"Okay. Anyway, " he continued, "I don't know how they'd receive Zeraine, so unless we just barge in with a full-on assault, I'd have to go alone. I want to talk to them and ask why they attacked the Lizardmen. You guys wait here. If anything happens, I'll probably come running out, using Signs or something to get away until you can help."
The succubus gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and said, "Be careful."
He nodded and went into the cave while the others hid nearby. Zeraine asked, "What are his chances of reasoning with them?"
"I'd guess slim to none, honestly," the succubus replied. "We'll just have to wait and see."
...
The hero entered the cave, then paused and allowed his eyes to adjust. He walked along with his hand to the wall so as to not get turned around and thus lost. At one point, he bumped into something. He looked down and saw that some sort of humanoid was laying dead at his feet. When he squatted down to take a closer look, he mumbled, "This must be a werebat. It's cut up pretty bad, too. I guess these guys killed it, and it kind of looks like they used both a sword and an axe..."
He stepped over the werebat's corpse and continued. Soon, he saw light and sped up a little. He found the source of the light, a campfire, in the center of a large open area, with the other three Order knights sitting around it. He walked toward the knights, not making any attempts at stealth. The three of them jumped to their feet and readied their weapons, but quickly noticed the Order insignia on his armor and relaxed. One of them, the biggest one, armed with a two-handed battleaxe, said, "Greetings, brother. What brings you here?"
The hero approached and asked, "Are you the guys who attacked the Lizardmen at their camp?"
"Aye, we are. And a damn fine job we did, too! With just the four of us, even with the Divine Blessings we got, just getting one of them is good enough. Too bad about-"
"Why did you attack them?"
"What do you mean, 'why'? It's our job! It's what we do! Heh, you're sounding like young Martin here, all hesitant and stuff," the knight said, gesturing toward one knight, who was armed with a crossbow and short sword. "He still hasn't killed a monster yet. Too young, I guess. He just can't bring himself to strike a deathblow on one. Says they have feelings and stuff. What hogwash!"
The hero shook his head. "The sapient monsters do have feelings. I've met several in my travels, and they were anywhere from 'decent' to 'good'. From what I understand, these Lizardmen are harmless unless provoked, which you did. You were wrong to attack them, and especially wrong to kill one for no reason."
The man looked at the third knight, who was armed with a longsword, then back to the hero. "You're on thin ice, brother. The Chief God told humans to hate monsters and to kill them. That's what The Order is for. We received our Divine Blessings with the expectation that we would kill monsters, not get all buddy-buddy with them. If you're here to scold us about slaying monsters, then stop. We put up with it out of Martin because he's only 15. You are a grown man, though. As an Order knight, you should know better than to question the Chief God. Now, get out before you anger us any further."
The hero gazed at them with an angry, hateful glare and said, "I'm afraid I can't do that." He assumed a ready stance and continued, "Your actions have dishonored The Order. They go against everything we really stand for and bring shame to us. You murdered a sapient being because you claim the Chief God told you to. You disgust me. You must be punished!"
He cast Quen, then ran at them, shield up.
The hero looked around, seeing nothing, then said, "I don't know, but it has gotten worse, hasn't it?"
Zeraine nodded. "It's natural for this place, a swamp, to stink, but this... This just seems strange. Why does it stink so bad all of a sudden?"
The succubus looked around, then uttered, "Detect: Creature." Having cast the spell, she used her now temporarily magically augmented vision to try and see what may be hiding nearby. Seeing nothing but the large lizards in the water, she then cast another spell. "Detect: Monster." She looked around again, then locked her eyes on one spot. "Damn it."
The hero stepped up next to her and asked, "What's wrong?"
"I know what's causing that smell," she said. "It's a Bubble Slime, and it's in that small pool over there." She pointed at a seemingly empty pool of water. "I think it's been following us."
Amarantha said, "A Bubble Slime? Let's kill it, then! It fucking stinks, almost as bad as those undead in Matilda's lair, and from what I remember, any type of Slime can be deadly."
The succubus nodded. "If not for their 'tell', Bubble Slimes would be much more dangerous, considering they carry diseases and emit poison gas. If we can lure it out of the water, we can deal with it easily enough. Be careful if you try to do so, however, because there's a crocodile in there, too."
Amarantha scoffed. "How about I freeze the water with my ice breath?"
"That wouldn't be anything more than a temporary thing. You'd have to lure it out of the water so we can either freeze it and shatter it into small enough pieces to kill it, or at least prevent it from reforming before we evaporate said pieces, or burn it away, evaporating it from the start."
"Then I'll lure it out of the water so we can do that," she said, gritting her teeth and walking over to the water's edge. The crocodile made itself known by attempting to attack Amarantha, lunging out of the water with great speed and force. She was ready for it, though, and yelled, "Fuck off!" as she brought her hammer down on its head, shattering its skull, killing it almost instantly and forcing it several inches into the soft, muddy ground.
The succubus said, "Nice display, Amarantha. Now, the Bubble Slime is heading your way. Get away from the water and lure it fully onto land. If we don't, it'll use some of the swamp water to regenerate."
Amarantha did as she was told, hopping backward when she saw the moving blob ooze its way out of the water and over the crocodile's corpse. Once she saw that it wasn't near the water anymore, she inhaled deeply, then blew out, exhaling frost. She froze the Bubble Slime with her ice breath, then raised her hammer.
The succubus shouted, "Wait!"
"Why?" Amarantha asked, hammer still ready to swing.
"If you hit it that hard, you'll send pieces of it everywhere, which might leave enough for it to live, reform, and regenerate. Break off small pieces and shatter them. He and I will burn them away," the succubus said, pointing at the hero.
Amarantha lowered her hammer. "So much for that..." She set her hammer down and began using careful precision strikes via her fists, with the occasional palm strike, to chip off small pieces of the frozen Bubble Slime, then set them in a pile next to her. "Is this good?"
The succubus nodded and stepped forward with the hero. "Step back." She and the hero used fire, Fireball and Igni, respectively, to completely destroy what was left of the Bubble Slime. "Now that that's done, let's get moving."
The problem solved, they left, continuing toward the cave.
Several minutes of walking later, the succubus grinned and said, "So, Amarantha..."
"Um..." Amarantha started, shyly. "You can call me 'Ammie'."
The succubus smiled bigger upon hearing that and said, "Thanks."
"So what is it?"
The succubus cleared her throat and said, "Well, Ammie, you certainly got into it last night."
Amarantha spun around to face her, blushing deeply. "You're bringing that up now?"
She nodded, still grinning. "You two were as loud as we were. Does this mean that you'll be 'taking care of each other' on a nightly basis, now?"
Amarantha stayed silent, too embarrassed to say anything.
The grin soon left the succubus's face, though. She suddenly slowed down, frowning. "You guys feel that?"
The hero looked around. "What?"
"Traces of divine power."
The others looked at her, somewhat stunned. They looked at each other, all of them realizing the same thing, remembering when the Lizardman they spoke with showed them the wounded before they left. It made sense now. Lizardmen were known for being stronger than humans on average, and even with this tribe's rather primitive weaponry compared to the Order knight's steel longsword and chainmail armor, with so many of them attacking one person, he shouldn't have been able to wound so many of them. Normally, at best he would have wounded one, maybe two, before they got him. He wouldn't have been able to wound eight of them, and certainly not badly enough to render them bedridden.
The hero said, "I remember hearing how, from time to time, when the monsters under the Demon Lord's command have us on the brink, the gods will bestow their power upon a person or a few individuals so they can save us. I even met one when he visited the Grandmaster a few years back. I watched him singlehandedly defeat every last one of our best swordsmen and spearmen in a small tournament. He made it look easy."
Zeraine cringed. "You think that guy could be ahead?"
The hero shook his head. "No. He was good friends with a few different monsters. If I remember correctly, one of them was a centaur and another was a lamia, so there's no way he could have started hating monsters. These guys must be new 'champions' like him, though. I hope they're just really misguided..."
The four of them continued on. A few minutes later, Amarantha commented that she felt the divine energy, too, shortly followed by the hero and Zeraine. A few minutes after that, they spotted the cave. The succubus asked, "Well, what are we going to do?"
The hero shrugged and shook his head. "Even with your disguise, they'd probably know. Same with Amarantha."
Amarantha said, "You can call me 'Ammie', too, kid."
"Okay. Anyway, " he continued, "I don't know how they'd receive Zeraine, so unless we just barge in with a full-on assault, I'd have to go alone. I want to talk to them and ask why they attacked the Lizardmen. You guys wait here. If anything happens, I'll probably come running out, using Signs or something to get away until you can help."
The succubus gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and said, "Be careful."
He nodded and went into the cave while the others hid nearby. Zeraine asked, "What are his chances of reasoning with them?"
"I'd guess slim to none, honestly," the succubus replied. "We'll just have to wait and see."
...
The hero entered the cave, then paused and allowed his eyes to adjust. He walked along with his hand to the wall so as to not get turned around and thus lost. At one point, he bumped into something. He looked down and saw that some sort of humanoid was laying dead at his feet. When he squatted down to take a closer look, he mumbled, "This must be a werebat. It's cut up pretty bad, too. I guess these guys killed it, and it kind of looks like they used both a sword and an axe..."
He stepped over the werebat's corpse and continued. Soon, he saw light and sped up a little. He found the source of the light, a campfire, in the center of a large open area, with the other three Order knights sitting around it. He walked toward the knights, not making any attempts at stealth. The three of them jumped to their feet and readied their weapons, but quickly noticed the Order insignia on his armor and relaxed. One of them, the biggest one, armed with a two-handed battleaxe, said, "Greetings, brother. What brings you here?"
The hero approached and asked, "Are you the guys who attacked the Lizardmen at their camp?"
"Aye, we are. And a damn fine job we did, too! With just the four of us, even with the Divine Blessings we got, just getting one of them is good enough. Too bad about-"
"Why did you attack them?"
"What do you mean, 'why'? It's our job! It's what we do! Heh, you're sounding like young Martin here, all hesitant and stuff," the knight said, gesturing toward one knight, who was armed with a crossbow and short sword. "He still hasn't killed a monster yet. Too young, I guess. He just can't bring himself to strike a deathblow on one. Says they have feelings and stuff. What hogwash!"
The hero shook his head. "The sapient monsters do have feelings. I've met several in my travels, and they were anywhere from 'decent' to 'good'. From what I understand, these Lizardmen are harmless unless provoked, which you did. You were wrong to attack them, and especially wrong to kill one for no reason."
The man looked at the third knight, who was armed with a longsword, then back to the hero. "You're on thin ice, brother. The Chief God told humans to hate monsters and to kill them. That's what The Order is for. We received our Divine Blessings with the expectation that we would kill monsters, not get all buddy-buddy with them. If you're here to scold us about slaying monsters, then stop. We put up with it out of Martin because he's only 15. You are a grown man, though. As an Order knight, you should know better than to question the Chief God. Now, get out before you anger us any further."
The hero gazed at them with an angry, hateful glare and said, "I'm afraid I can't do that." He assumed a ready stance and continued, "Your actions have dishonored The Order. They go against everything we really stand for and bring shame to us. You murdered a sapient being because you claim the Chief God told you to. You disgust me. You must be punished!"
He cast Quen, then ran at them, shield up.
Chapter 118
Spoiler: show
As he ran out of the cave, clutching his side where at least one rib was broken, the hero replayed the battle from a few moments ago in his head.
He had set up Quen and rushed at them, but even though he hit the one with the axe right in the neck, it didn't wound him. When he saw that it did nothing, he stopped, stunned and speechless. It was then that the man with the axe hit him, knocking out his Quen in one hit. The man with the longsword quickly stepped in and, holding his sword by the blade, swung it, hitting the hero in the side with the pommel of the handle in a textbook example of a "Mordhau". Following that, which was certainly the attack that broke at least one of his ribs, the axe man picked him up by the collar of his tunic and threw him across the room. The crossbowman, whose name must have been "Martin", had his crossbow aimed at him the whole time, but he never fired, possibly because he was too hesitant. Regardless, the hero saw that he wasn't going to be able to beat them on his own and ran as fast as he could out of the cave, leaving behind an Yrden and using three Scrolls of Shock Trap to slow them down.
Once outside, he looked around for his companions and kept running away from the cave.
...
The others saw the hero exit the cave, holding his side. Zeraine scowled upon seeing him and said, "Damn it, he's wounded! Let's go!"
The succubus nodded and followed Zeraine and Amarantha as they rushed out from their hiding spot. She was furious, hoping that she could personally feed whoever hurt the hero to a Bubble Slime or crocodile.
Once they regrouped, the succubus grabbed the hero and asked, "What happened!? Why are you wounded!? How bad is it!?"
He held up his hand, coughed a few times, groaned in pain, then said, "One of my ribs is broken. There are three of them. We might be able to save one of them-"
Zeraine patted the hero lightly on the shoulder. "Slow down, kid. Let's tend to you, first, okay?" He took out a Scroll of Healing and handed it to the succubus. "This'll save you some energy so you can use it on them."
She took the scroll and used it, which healed him enough for him to stand up straight. She then locked eyes with him and asked, "Who did this?"
He replied, "Like I said, there are three of them. One has an axe, one has a longsword, and the third has a crossbow. We might be able to save the one with the crossbow. I think his name is Martin, but whatever. The thing is, he doesn't hate monsters like the other two. I think if we get rid of the others, we can spare him."
The hero went on to give them a quick rundown of what happened. The succubus then said, "You fucking idiot! Why did you try to fight them by yourself!?"
"Look, I was pissed, okay? I though more about punishing those who dishonor and besmirch The Order than I did about regrouping with you guys, and due to that, I made an error in judgment. They'll be here any second, so lay off and get ready."
She wanted to slap him, for a number of reasons, but she instead got ready, facing the cave and preparing a spell, saying, "Slayard Slayard... Lightning of darkness, come to me..." As the lightning crackled in her hands, the hero reminded her not to hit the crossbowman, to which she replied with a nod.
Zeraine put away his spear and took out his claymore while Amarantha hefted her hammer. Soon enough, the three enemies came out of the cave and spotted the party. The man with the axe hoisted it effortlessly and shouted, "Come, heretic! I, Cyrus of The Order, shall smite you in the name of the Chief God!"
The man with the longsword pointed at the succubus, who had been in her true form since last night, and said, "And I'll slay you, demon."
Zeraine scoffed. "You'll have to get past me, first."
"Are you her consort?" he asked.
Zeraine shook his head. "He is her husband," he said, pointing at the hero. "I'm just going to do him a favor while he's busy with your buddy."
The man took a two-handed grip on his sword and assumed a ready stance. "Then I, Alec of The Order, shall have to dispose of you, first."
He and Zeraine ran at each other, weapons raised. The succubus finished her spell, shouting, "Val Volt!" The lightning bolt flew from her hand and hit Alec with little effect.
"Did you really think such a weak lightning spell would hurt me?" he taunted, clashing blades with Zeraine.
Zeraine pushed as hard as he could against Alec, but Alec's strength, enhanced by the Divine Blessing, was unbelievable. He actually pushed Zeraine back. After a grunt of effort, Zeraine shouted, "Ammie! Go help the kid!"
She nodded and ran to assist the hero, who had just dodged a mighty swing from Cyrus's axe. She stood back and watched for any openings she might have to take, trying to stay out of the hero's way. The hero, on the other hand, was mainly focusing on maintaining Quen and keeping from getting hit. At one point, the hero baited Cyrus into making a cleaving strike, dodged, and stabbed him in the knee, which did nothing. He dodged another axe swing, backed off, and tried using Anselm. It, too, did nothing. "Why isn't this working!?" he yelled in frustration.
Cyrus laughed tauntingly. "Your sword is enchanted with holy magic, and that spell you used just then is holy-element, too. We three are immune to holy magic, except for healing, which you can't use to harm anyone. You're screwed, heretic."
The hero thought, "Well, shit. If my sword won't work, and if holy spells won't work, I'll just have to use something else." He smirked defiantly and said, "I can do more than that," then put away his sword.
Cyrus cocked his head to the side and said, "You're giving up? Or have you lost it, thinking you can beat me with your fists?"
"Anselm is not my only spell!" He jumped backward and shouted, "Explosion!"
The spell hit Cyrus, causing him to take a step back and shake it off. "Not bad, young man! How long can you last, though? You're not a mage."
"Shut up!" The hero used Aard to knock Cyrus another step or two back, then tried to use Drash Gan to impale him, but Cyrus blocked the small stone pillar with the large head of his axe. He then charged forward, swinging his axe at the hero, who dodged it by jumping over the swing, landing on the side of the axe's head.
Cyrus scoffed. "Nice trick, but now you can't do anything, right? Your sword doesn't work, you know," he taunted.
With a roar of effort, the hero swung his shield in a backhand motion, hitting Cyrus in the head, dazing him. He tried to follow up with Drash Gan again, but Cyrus dodged the spell by jumping to the side. The hero then used Igni in fireball form to hit him, temporarily lighting him on fire.
Meanwhile, Zeraine and Alec had broken their weapon-lock and jumped away from each other. Zeraine asked, "Why do you hate monsters, anyway? Hating them because the Chief God told you to is bullshit. It's not sufficient justification."
"They are monsters. They're not human, and that's reason enough."
"Then what about Elves and Dwarves? They're not human, but they're not monsters, either."
"I don't care about them."
"Too bad. Like the kid told you, there are some really good monsters out there, but I guess you're too far gone to understand that."
"Silence, cur!" Alec shouted as he rushed forward, forcing Zeraine to block a deceptively heavy blow from his sword. "I can sense the taint in you and your heretic friend. Do you enjoy spending time in the Demon Realm?"
Zeraine used an Aard to shove Alec back, then said, "I'm a spellsword. I travel around, doing mercenary work. Sometimes my job takes me to places with highly concentrated demonic energy, and I have no choice but to absorb some of it, because that's what happens. Just by being there, you take it in. Sure, Ammie has recently infused me with a lot of it, but it's for a very good reason, and eventually becoming an incubus doesn't seem that bad."
Alec began circling Zeraine. "And I assume this 'Ammie' is the other female with you? What is she? The Divine Blessing allows me to sense monsters, and I can tell she's not human."
"She's a silver dragon. What's it to you?"
"I heard that silver dragons have a reputation of helping righteous adventurers, as do gold dragons. I suppose there are always exceptions, though, if that's even the truth."
"Insult Ammie again and I'll cut you up and feed you to an alligator!"
"What, are you in love with her? I can sort of understand the heretic marrying a succubus, being that they are demons of lust, able to use their exceptional looks to tempt almost any man, but to fall in love with a monster that isn't physically like you in the least? You must be a bigger freak than anyone."
Zeraine threw a Fireball while yelling, "Shut the fuck up!" then charged in, swinging his claymore with great fury. He and Alec clashed swords many times, parrying each other's strikes to no avail, making unsuccessful attempts at counterattacks. Eventually, they clashed swords again in another weapon-lock, leading to another shoving contest. At one point, Zeraine decided that it was time to use anything he could to beat this enemy, and thus head-butted Alec, then nailed him with a left hook, followed by a thrust kick to his abdomen, then an Aard. This opened Alec up for Zeraine to hit him in the knee with his sword, which actually drew blood. He smiled at Alec and said, "If you bleed, I can kill you."
Back with the hero and Cyrus, things were heating up in more ways than one. When Cyrus realized he was on fire, he didn't make any attempt at putting it out. Instead, he went into a berserker rage and charged the hero, swinging his axe like a madman. The hero repeatedly hopped backward, trying to stay away. Amarantha saw where she was needed and came running, stopping Cyrus's axe with a swing of her hammer, creating a loud metal-on-metal crashing sound that was nearly deafening. She quickly noticed that her swing had put a crack in the axe, so she drew back her hammer and swing again, making another deafening crash and shattering Cyrus's axe. She then did a jumping back-roundhouse kick that hit Cyrus's wrist hard enough to crack the bones despite the Diving Blessing's strengthening, and spin him around from the force of the hit. She then hit him in the back with her hammer, cracking his cuirass. "Even with the Divine Blessing, you can't match a dragon!" she shouted as she kicked the backs of his legs, knocking him to his knees. She raised her hammer, then brought it down with a roar, but Cyrus managed to roll away, causing her to miss.
Cyrus got up and laughed. "Not bad, lizard, not bad. It's not enough to kill me, though."
"I'm a dragon!" Amarantha yelled as she swung her hammer horizontally, missing him as he ducked.
All this time, Martin had been staying back, watching the battle. He continually questioned his allies and their actions. Eventually, he'd had enough and wanted the battle to end. He didn't believe that all monsters were evil, nor did he believe that they should all die because they weren't human. He shouldered his crossbow and aimed, then fired.
The bolt hit Cyrus in the back of the knee, causing him to fall down, allowing the hero to use Drash Gan to impale him through the chest with 5 stone spikes while Amarantha crushed his skull with her hammer.
Zeraine used every last bit of skill and creativeness he could muster during his duel with Alec, but that was only good enough to keep the fight even. The others saw this and realized that he couldn't hold out, so they got together and quickly formed a plan. The succubus asked, "Honey, didn't you say that the guy with the longsword was the one who broke your rib?"
The hero nodded. "Yeah. Why?"
She turned to Amarantha and asked, "From what I remember, silver dragons can breathe paralyzing gas as well as frost. Is this true?"
Amarantha nodded. "You got an idea?"
The succubus grinned, somewhat evilly, and said, "Yes, I do. Ammie, you'll paralyze the bastard with the gas, then I'll kill him with Venom."
The hero asked, "And what's 'Venom'?"
"You'll see," she said. "Let's go, guys!"
The three ran into position, the hero protecting the succubus as she readied her spell, and Amarantha ready to run in. The succubus shouted, "Now!" and Amarantha ran in, inhaling deeply before blowing out a cloud of gas at Alec. He tried to cover his mouth and nose as Zeraine turned and ran, but it failed, he breathed it, and was immobilized. Demonic energy swirled around the succubus, alluding to her barely-hidden anger and hatred for this man, the one who hurt her beloved. She approached him and spoke her incantation. "Zazard Zazard Scrowno Lorsk. By the darkness of Hell's crackling flames, let the black fire be mine. Become my sword and strike down my enemy. Venom!"
Alec could do nothing as the spell hit him, engulfing him in dark matter and disintegrating him almost instantly.
Martin was terrified, worried that he might have made the wrong choice, but he was frozen stiff, unable to move let alone run away. The hero approached him and said, "Thanks. You really saved us."
"Y-you're welcome, sir," he replied. "Um, so what now?"
The hero said, "Now, you'll tell us the details of what happened when you and these men attacked the Lizardmen. Afterward, you'll come with us, apologize to them, and do whatever you must to make up for it. Once you've paid your debt to the Lizardmen, you'll be free to go. If you want to leave The Order, we'll understand. If you want to stay in The Order, and possibly make use of your Divine Blessing, then I'd suggest you go to our main headquarters near Westcreek and speak with the Grandmaster."
Martin nodded. "Thank you, sir!"
The hero cleared his throat and said, "You don't have to call me 'sir'."
Zeraine, Amarantha, and the hero were fairly tired after the battle, so they decided to rest a bit before starting back.
He had set up Quen and rushed at them, but even though he hit the one with the axe right in the neck, it didn't wound him. When he saw that it did nothing, he stopped, stunned and speechless. It was then that the man with the axe hit him, knocking out his Quen in one hit. The man with the longsword quickly stepped in and, holding his sword by the blade, swung it, hitting the hero in the side with the pommel of the handle in a textbook example of a "Mordhau". Following that, which was certainly the attack that broke at least one of his ribs, the axe man picked him up by the collar of his tunic and threw him across the room. The crossbowman, whose name must have been "Martin", had his crossbow aimed at him the whole time, but he never fired, possibly because he was too hesitant. Regardless, the hero saw that he wasn't going to be able to beat them on his own and ran as fast as he could out of the cave, leaving behind an Yrden and using three Scrolls of Shock Trap to slow them down.
Once outside, he looked around for his companions and kept running away from the cave.
...
The others saw the hero exit the cave, holding his side. Zeraine scowled upon seeing him and said, "Damn it, he's wounded! Let's go!"
The succubus nodded and followed Zeraine and Amarantha as they rushed out from their hiding spot. She was furious, hoping that she could personally feed whoever hurt the hero to a Bubble Slime or crocodile.
Once they regrouped, the succubus grabbed the hero and asked, "What happened!? Why are you wounded!? How bad is it!?"
He held up his hand, coughed a few times, groaned in pain, then said, "One of my ribs is broken. There are three of them. We might be able to save one of them-"
Zeraine patted the hero lightly on the shoulder. "Slow down, kid. Let's tend to you, first, okay?" He took out a Scroll of Healing and handed it to the succubus. "This'll save you some energy so you can use it on them."
She took the scroll and used it, which healed him enough for him to stand up straight. She then locked eyes with him and asked, "Who did this?"
He replied, "Like I said, there are three of them. One has an axe, one has a longsword, and the third has a crossbow. We might be able to save the one with the crossbow. I think his name is Martin, but whatever. The thing is, he doesn't hate monsters like the other two. I think if we get rid of the others, we can spare him."
The hero went on to give them a quick rundown of what happened. The succubus then said, "You fucking idiot! Why did you try to fight them by yourself!?"
"Look, I was pissed, okay? I though more about punishing those who dishonor and besmirch The Order than I did about regrouping with you guys, and due to that, I made an error in judgment. They'll be here any second, so lay off and get ready."
She wanted to slap him, for a number of reasons, but she instead got ready, facing the cave and preparing a spell, saying, "Slayard Slayard... Lightning of darkness, come to me..." As the lightning crackled in her hands, the hero reminded her not to hit the crossbowman, to which she replied with a nod.
Zeraine put away his spear and took out his claymore while Amarantha hefted her hammer. Soon enough, the three enemies came out of the cave and spotted the party. The man with the axe hoisted it effortlessly and shouted, "Come, heretic! I, Cyrus of The Order, shall smite you in the name of the Chief God!"
The man with the longsword pointed at the succubus, who had been in her true form since last night, and said, "And I'll slay you, demon."
Zeraine scoffed. "You'll have to get past me, first."
"Are you her consort?" he asked.
Zeraine shook his head. "He is her husband," he said, pointing at the hero. "I'm just going to do him a favor while he's busy with your buddy."
The man took a two-handed grip on his sword and assumed a ready stance. "Then I, Alec of The Order, shall have to dispose of you, first."
He and Zeraine ran at each other, weapons raised. The succubus finished her spell, shouting, "Val Volt!" The lightning bolt flew from her hand and hit Alec with little effect.
"Did you really think such a weak lightning spell would hurt me?" he taunted, clashing blades with Zeraine.
Zeraine pushed as hard as he could against Alec, but Alec's strength, enhanced by the Divine Blessing, was unbelievable. He actually pushed Zeraine back. After a grunt of effort, Zeraine shouted, "Ammie! Go help the kid!"
She nodded and ran to assist the hero, who had just dodged a mighty swing from Cyrus's axe. She stood back and watched for any openings she might have to take, trying to stay out of the hero's way. The hero, on the other hand, was mainly focusing on maintaining Quen and keeping from getting hit. At one point, the hero baited Cyrus into making a cleaving strike, dodged, and stabbed him in the knee, which did nothing. He dodged another axe swing, backed off, and tried using Anselm. It, too, did nothing. "Why isn't this working!?" he yelled in frustration.
Cyrus laughed tauntingly. "Your sword is enchanted with holy magic, and that spell you used just then is holy-element, too. We three are immune to holy magic, except for healing, which you can't use to harm anyone. You're screwed, heretic."
The hero thought, "Well, shit. If my sword won't work, and if holy spells won't work, I'll just have to use something else." He smirked defiantly and said, "I can do more than that," then put away his sword.
Cyrus cocked his head to the side and said, "You're giving up? Or have you lost it, thinking you can beat me with your fists?"
"Anselm is not my only spell!" He jumped backward and shouted, "Explosion!"
The spell hit Cyrus, causing him to take a step back and shake it off. "Not bad, young man! How long can you last, though? You're not a mage."
"Shut up!" The hero used Aard to knock Cyrus another step or two back, then tried to use Drash Gan to impale him, but Cyrus blocked the small stone pillar with the large head of his axe. He then charged forward, swinging his axe at the hero, who dodged it by jumping over the swing, landing on the side of the axe's head.
Cyrus scoffed. "Nice trick, but now you can't do anything, right? Your sword doesn't work, you know," he taunted.
With a roar of effort, the hero swung his shield in a backhand motion, hitting Cyrus in the head, dazing him. He tried to follow up with Drash Gan again, but Cyrus dodged the spell by jumping to the side. The hero then used Igni in fireball form to hit him, temporarily lighting him on fire.
Meanwhile, Zeraine and Alec had broken their weapon-lock and jumped away from each other. Zeraine asked, "Why do you hate monsters, anyway? Hating them because the Chief God told you to is bullshit. It's not sufficient justification."
"They are monsters. They're not human, and that's reason enough."
"Then what about Elves and Dwarves? They're not human, but they're not monsters, either."
"I don't care about them."
"Too bad. Like the kid told you, there are some really good monsters out there, but I guess you're too far gone to understand that."
"Silence, cur!" Alec shouted as he rushed forward, forcing Zeraine to block a deceptively heavy blow from his sword. "I can sense the taint in you and your heretic friend. Do you enjoy spending time in the Demon Realm?"
Zeraine used an Aard to shove Alec back, then said, "I'm a spellsword. I travel around, doing mercenary work. Sometimes my job takes me to places with highly concentrated demonic energy, and I have no choice but to absorb some of it, because that's what happens. Just by being there, you take it in. Sure, Ammie has recently infused me with a lot of it, but it's for a very good reason, and eventually becoming an incubus doesn't seem that bad."
Alec began circling Zeraine. "And I assume this 'Ammie' is the other female with you? What is she? The Divine Blessing allows me to sense monsters, and I can tell she's not human."
"She's a silver dragon. What's it to you?"
"I heard that silver dragons have a reputation of helping righteous adventurers, as do gold dragons. I suppose there are always exceptions, though, if that's even the truth."
"Insult Ammie again and I'll cut you up and feed you to an alligator!"
"What, are you in love with her? I can sort of understand the heretic marrying a succubus, being that they are demons of lust, able to use their exceptional looks to tempt almost any man, but to fall in love with a monster that isn't physically like you in the least? You must be a bigger freak than anyone."
Zeraine threw a Fireball while yelling, "Shut the fuck up!" then charged in, swinging his claymore with great fury. He and Alec clashed swords many times, parrying each other's strikes to no avail, making unsuccessful attempts at counterattacks. Eventually, they clashed swords again in another weapon-lock, leading to another shoving contest. At one point, Zeraine decided that it was time to use anything he could to beat this enemy, and thus head-butted Alec, then nailed him with a left hook, followed by a thrust kick to his abdomen, then an Aard. This opened Alec up for Zeraine to hit him in the knee with his sword, which actually drew blood. He smiled at Alec and said, "If you bleed, I can kill you."
Back with the hero and Cyrus, things were heating up in more ways than one. When Cyrus realized he was on fire, he didn't make any attempt at putting it out. Instead, he went into a berserker rage and charged the hero, swinging his axe like a madman. The hero repeatedly hopped backward, trying to stay away. Amarantha saw where she was needed and came running, stopping Cyrus's axe with a swing of her hammer, creating a loud metal-on-metal crashing sound that was nearly deafening. She quickly noticed that her swing had put a crack in the axe, so she drew back her hammer and swing again, making another deafening crash and shattering Cyrus's axe. She then did a jumping back-roundhouse kick that hit Cyrus's wrist hard enough to crack the bones despite the Diving Blessing's strengthening, and spin him around from the force of the hit. She then hit him in the back with her hammer, cracking his cuirass. "Even with the Divine Blessing, you can't match a dragon!" she shouted as she kicked the backs of his legs, knocking him to his knees. She raised her hammer, then brought it down with a roar, but Cyrus managed to roll away, causing her to miss.
Cyrus got up and laughed. "Not bad, lizard, not bad. It's not enough to kill me, though."
"I'm a dragon!" Amarantha yelled as she swung her hammer horizontally, missing him as he ducked.
All this time, Martin had been staying back, watching the battle. He continually questioned his allies and their actions. Eventually, he'd had enough and wanted the battle to end. He didn't believe that all monsters were evil, nor did he believe that they should all die because they weren't human. He shouldered his crossbow and aimed, then fired.
The bolt hit Cyrus in the back of the knee, causing him to fall down, allowing the hero to use Drash Gan to impale him through the chest with 5 stone spikes while Amarantha crushed his skull with her hammer.
Zeraine used every last bit of skill and creativeness he could muster during his duel with Alec, but that was only good enough to keep the fight even. The others saw this and realized that he couldn't hold out, so they got together and quickly formed a plan. The succubus asked, "Honey, didn't you say that the guy with the longsword was the one who broke your rib?"
The hero nodded. "Yeah. Why?"
She turned to Amarantha and asked, "From what I remember, silver dragons can breathe paralyzing gas as well as frost. Is this true?"
Amarantha nodded. "You got an idea?"
The succubus grinned, somewhat evilly, and said, "Yes, I do. Ammie, you'll paralyze the bastard with the gas, then I'll kill him with Venom."
The hero asked, "And what's 'Venom'?"
"You'll see," she said. "Let's go, guys!"
The three ran into position, the hero protecting the succubus as she readied her spell, and Amarantha ready to run in. The succubus shouted, "Now!" and Amarantha ran in, inhaling deeply before blowing out a cloud of gas at Alec. He tried to cover his mouth and nose as Zeraine turned and ran, but it failed, he breathed it, and was immobilized. Demonic energy swirled around the succubus, alluding to her barely-hidden anger and hatred for this man, the one who hurt her beloved. She approached him and spoke her incantation. "Zazard Zazard Scrowno Lorsk. By the darkness of Hell's crackling flames, let the black fire be mine. Become my sword and strike down my enemy. Venom!"
Alec could do nothing as the spell hit him, engulfing him in dark matter and disintegrating him almost instantly.
Martin was terrified, worried that he might have made the wrong choice, but he was frozen stiff, unable to move let alone run away. The hero approached him and said, "Thanks. You really saved us."
"Y-you're welcome, sir," he replied. "Um, so what now?"
The hero said, "Now, you'll tell us the details of what happened when you and these men attacked the Lizardmen. Afterward, you'll come with us, apologize to them, and do whatever you must to make up for it. Once you've paid your debt to the Lizardmen, you'll be free to go. If you want to leave The Order, we'll understand. If you want to stay in The Order, and possibly make use of your Divine Blessing, then I'd suggest you go to our main headquarters near Westcreek and speak with the Grandmaster."
Martin nodded. "Thank you, sir!"
The hero cleared his throat and said, "You don't have to call me 'sir'."
Zeraine, Amarantha, and the hero were fairly tired after the battle, so they decided to rest a bit before starting back.
Chapter 119
Spoiler: show
After a few minutes of resting, the hero began to feel uneasy. He looked around at everyone, then asked, "Considering how dangerous this swamp is, shouldn't we get going?"
The succubus nodded, saying, "Yeah, we never know when another Bubble Slime will show up, nor do we know if anything else will come after us, so... We have enough scrolls and potions to allow it, so let's use them and get going."
They each, except for Martin, took one Scroll of Rest and used it. The five of them then got moving, heading for the Lizardman camp.
It started to get dark as they made their way back, with the sun setting just as they arrived. The hero explained everything that happened, then asked for them to show mercy to Martin. The Lizardman they had originally followed to the camp, the one who asked for their help, said, "From what I remember of the battle, this one did not attack. He only ran. Since you have done us this justice of punishing his companions, and because he desires to make amends, I, Reenum, will spare him." Reenum looked Martin in the eye and said, "You will begin by helping tend to our wounded. You will then help to protect us until we are all back on our feet. Do you understand?"
Martin nodded solemnly and said, "Yes. I'll do my best, you have my word." At Reenum's direction, one of the other Lizardmen led Martin away.
The hero looked fairly concerned, but once Martin was gone, Reenum said, "Do not worry. You have kept your word, so I will keep mine. We will not harm him so long as he does not attempt to harm us, and from the sound of things, he will not. Did he mention where he came from? If there is a whole chapter of Order knights like his former comrades, we will probably not be so lucky next time, even with him on our side."
The hero shrugged, then left to go question Martin. While he was gone, the succubus asked, "Do you know the way to the old man that is supposed to live somewhere north of here?"
Reenum smirked. "Yes, I do. I do not think he will be able to help you beyond giving advice, though. Go back to where we found you, then head north. You will have to either cross the large pools of water or go around them, but on the other side, you will eventually find a 'path' that goblins use. Follow it and you will eventually find his house. I do not know why he lives so close to the border of the Demon Realm, but he seems to be a decent man."
The hero got back and said, "He and the other three came from an Order chapter far to the west, and a bit north. He said it's hidden in a valley not far from the border of the Demon Realm, but the Demon Lord must not know about them, since they've never been attacked. He told me that he and the others were the only ones with Divine Blessings, so you shouldn't have to worry, unless more of them somehow receive them. Still, as soon as we're done with something, and possibly after a short break, we'll go take care of it."
Reenum listened intently, then replied, "Thank you, friend. You four are welcome to stay in our camp tonight. I suggest you do, for the swamp is especially dangerous at night, even for us. Good luck, my friends."
The party nodded and began setting up for the night. As they did, Zeraine asked Amarantha, "Ammie? Are we gonna... you know?"
She looked around, then shook her head. "I'm sorry, Zeraine, but I can't tonight. It was embarrassing enough letting them hear us. Letting a whole tribe of Lizardmen hear and maybe see? No way."
He shrugged. "That's fine, I guess."
She looked at him apologetically and said, "Tomorrow night, if it's just us, with at most the kid and the princess around, then we can do it."
"I look forward to it," he said, getting ready to go to bed.
"So do I," she said, helping him.
Meanwhile, the succubus, having kept an eye on Zeraine and Amarantha, turned to the hero and said, "Too bad. It looks like they won't do it tonight. Oh, well... At least we're still going to."
The hero said, "You know, had we had to camp out on the way back, I'd have suggested we not do it."
"What!? Why!?" she asked, shocked that he'd suggest not having sex after all the times they'd done it up to now.
"I'd rather not expose a young man like Martin to such things. He'll be a good man if he joins up with the Grandmaster, but I don't want him being negatively influenced in any way. He's had enough of that from those other guys, which he has managed to resist. Even though you and I are 'close', I'd rather not let him see or hear us 'being intimate'," the hero said, hoping she'd understand.
"Well, he'll be busy with the Lizardmen, and if it will make you feel better, we'll go slow this time and I'll try to be quiet, okay?"
Zeraine and Amarantha went to sleep in each other's arms again, while the hero and the succubus made love as discreetly as they could before going to sleep.
...
The next morning, the party woke up, packed up, and left after bidding farewell to Reenum, Martin, and the other Lizardmen. They continued along, following Reenum's directions and going back to where they camped out before, then heading north, levitating over the water and finding then following the "path", eventually coming across a rather ordinary and unremarkable house. There was a white-haired old man out in the garden. The party guessed that it must be him, so they approached.
The hero greeted him, introduced himself and the others, then explained everything. The old man, having gotten up and walked over to a chair on his porch to sit down, said, "I'm afraid I can't help you in the fight, sonny. I'm too old."
The hero, having seen from the old man's movements just how badly aging had gotten to him, said, "I understand. Maybe you can help us with something else, then. Would you happen to know who, what, or where the 'world's greatest' wind elementalist is?"
The old man gave a melancholy smile and said, "I do, young man. He was an Elf, and a damn fine wind user, too, as well as a good man."
The hero questioned, "'Was'?"
The old man nodded. "He's dead now. He died a few years ago trying to hold off some of the Demon Lord's minions so some people could get away. If you want wind elementalists, two good ones would be his son and daughter. If you have a map, I can show you where their village is."
The hero took out his map and the old man pointed at a spot in the forest. "Right here, between Greymarch and Rendmark."
The hero said, "Thanks. We should probably get going, then."
"No problem, young man. Always glad to help good people, and good monsters."
The hero looked at him confusedly and started, "How did you-" before glancing back at the succubus, seeing and remembering that she had been in her true form since the night before the battle with Alec and Cyrus. "Oh. ...Right."
The four of them left, feeling mixed emotions. The succubus said what everyone was thinking, "Well, we didn't get the old guy, and the Elf who was the greatest wind elementalist is dead, but his kids are apparently very good, and we know where they are. I guess now we should go back to Icewind Peak, take a short break, then head out to meet them."
Everyone nodded in agreement and they began heading in a fairly straight line toward the mountain until their crystals started humming. The succubus took hers out and established the connection. "Sol?"
"Are all four of you there?" he asked, his voice laced with worry.
The succubus said, "Yeah, we're all here. What's wrong?"
Sol took a couple of breaths, obviously trying to calm down, then said, "I just got through talking with Viktor a little bit ago and he told me that you guys are now known in the Demon Realm. He's sending The Four Horsemen after you!"
Zeraine, Amarantha, and the hero had a little bit of an idea how ominous this was, but only the succubus knew just how bad it really was. Her face went paler than usual as she completely froze, eyes wide. The hero noticed this and asked, "What is it?"
She didn't respond, so he asked again, shaking her a little, which caused her to snap to and answer, "You remember that Dullahan we fought?" The hero nodded, to which she continued, "Now imagine fighting four of them at once."
There was an uncomfortable silence, followed by the hero asking, "Well, after everything we've been through, I'm stronger, now, right? We all are. Shouldn't we be able to handle them?"
The succubus shook her head. "By my guess, considering that The Four Horsemen are the strongest Dullahan warriors and spellswords in the world, with the one we fought being much, much weaker, despite our improvements, I'd say we could only handle one or two of them. All four at once would destroy us. If we want to have a chance at surviving, we'll need you and Zeraine to become incubi as quickly as possible. You know what that entails, too. It's too dangerous to try the quicker way, which would involve us actually entering the Demon Realm, finding a place with a high concentration of demonic energy, and having me channel it into you via sex, so all things considered, we have one option: Go back to Ammie's house, explain everything, and hope we can do it enough to turn you into an incubus before they show up. I'd rather not involve Ammie's clan in this, and if we were to defeat them ourselves, it might give us an even better reputation."
The hero stood silently in thought, thinking hard about what might happen. Zeraine shrugged and walked past the hero, patting him on the shoulder and saying, "Well, kid, our success and the fate of the world rides on our dicks, so let's get going."
Sol said, "Good luck, guys." He then severed the connection, causing the crystal to dim.
The four of them began quickly but cautiously heading back to Icewind Peak.
The succubus nodded, saying, "Yeah, we never know when another Bubble Slime will show up, nor do we know if anything else will come after us, so... We have enough scrolls and potions to allow it, so let's use them and get going."
They each, except for Martin, took one Scroll of Rest and used it. The five of them then got moving, heading for the Lizardman camp.
It started to get dark as they made their way back, with the sun setting just as they arrived. The hero explained everything that happened, then asked for them to show mercy to Martin. The Lizardman they had originally followed to the camp, the one who asked for their help, said, "From what I remember of the battle, this one did not attack. He only ran. Since you have done us this justice of punishing his companions, and because he desires to make amends, I, Reenum, will spare him." Reenum looked Martin in the eye and said, "You will begin by helping tend to our wounded. You will then help to protect us until we are all back on our feet. Do you understand?"
Martin nodded solemnly and said, "Yes. I'll do my best, you have my word." At Reenum's direction, one of the other Lizardmen led Martin away.
The hero looked fairly concerned, but once Martin was gone, Reenum said, "Do not worry. You have kept your word, so I will keep mine. We will not harm him so long as he does not attempt to harm us, and from the sound of things, he will not. Did he mention where he came from? If there is a whole chapter of Order knights like his former comrades, we will probably not be so lucky next time, even with him on our side."
The hero shrugged, then left to go question Martin. While he was gone, the succubus asked, "Do you know the way to the old man that is supposed to live somewhere north of here?"
Reenum smirked. "Yes, I do. I do not think he will be able to help you beyond giving advice, though. Go back to where we found you, then head north. You will have to either cross the large pools of water or go around them, but on the other side, you will eventually find a 'path' that goblins use. Follow it and you will eventually find his house. I do not know why he lives so close to the border of the Demon Realm, but he seems to be a decent man."
The hero got back and said, "He and the other three came from an Order chapter far to the west, and a bit north. He said it's hidden in a valley not far from the border of the Demon Realm, but the Demon Lord must not know about them, since they've never been attacked. He told me that he and the others were the only ones with Divine Blessings, so you shouldn't have to worry, unless more of them somehow receive them. Still, as soon as we're done with something, and possibly after a short break, we'll go take care of it."
Reenum listened intently, then replied, "Thank you, friend. You four are welcome to stay in our camp tonight. I suggest you do, for the swamp is especially dangerous at night, even for us. Good luck, my friends."
The party nodded and began setting up for the night. As they did, Zeraine asked Amarantha, "Ammie? Are we gonna... you know?"
She looked around, then shook her head. "I'm sorry, Zeraine, but I can't tonight. It was embarrassing enough letting them hear us. Letting a whole tribe of Lizardmen hear and maybe see? No way."
He shrugged. "That's fine, I guess."
She looked at him apologetically and said, "Tomorrow night, if it's just us, with at most the kid and the princess around, then we can do it."
"I look forward to it," he said, getting ready to go to bed.
"So do I," she said, helping him.
Meanwhile, the succubus, having kept an eye on Zeraine and Amarantha, turned to the hero and said, "Too bad. It looks like they won't do it tonight. Oh, well... At least we're still going to."
The hero said, "You know, had we had to camp out on the way back, I'd have suggested we not do it."
"What!? Why!?" she asked, shocked that he'd suggest not having sex after all the times they'd done it up to now.
"I'd rather not expose a young man like Martin to such things. He'll be a good man if he joins up with the Grandmaster, but I don't want him being negatively influenced in any way. He's had enough of that from those other guys, which he has managed to resist. Even though you and I are 'close', I'd rather not let him see or hear us 'being intimate'," the hero said, hoping she'd understand.
"Well, he'll be busy with the Lizardmen, and if it will make you feel better, we'll go slow this time and I'll try to be quiet, okay?"
Zeraine and Amarantha went to sleep in each other's arms again, while the hero and the succubus made love as discreetly as they could before going to sleep.
...
The next morning, the party woke up, packed up, and left after bidding farewell to Reenum, Martin, and the other Lizardmen. They continued along, following Reenum's directions and going back to where they camped out before, then heading north, levitating over the water and finding then following the "path", eventually coming across a rather ordinary and unremarkable house. There was a white-haired old man out in the garden. The party guessed that it must be him, so they approached.
The hero greeted him, introduced himself and the others, then explained everything. The old man, having gotten up and walked over to a chair on his porch to sit down, said, "I'm afraid I can't help you in the fight, sonny. I'm too old."
The hero, having seen from the old man's movements just how badly aging had gotten to him, said, "I understand. Maybe you can help us with something else, then. Would you happen to know who, what, or where the 'world's greatest' wind elementalist is?"
The old man gave a melancholy smile and said, "I do, young man. He was an Elf, and a damn fine wind user, too, as well as a good man."
The hero questioned, "'Was'?"
The old man nodded. "He's dead now. He died a few years ago trying to hold off some of the Demon Lord's minions so some people could get away. If you want wind elementalists, two good ones would be his son and daughter. If you have a map, I can show you where their village is."
The hero took out his map and the old man pointed at a spot in the forest. "Right here, between Greymarch and Rendmark."
The hero said, "Thanks. We should probably get going, then."
"No problem, young man. Always glad to help good people, and good monsters."
The hero looked at him confusedly and started, "How did you-" before glancing back at the succubus, seeing and remembering that she had been in her true form since the night before the battle with Alec and Cyrus. "Oh. ...Right."
The four of them left, feeling mixed emotions. The succubus said what everyone was thinking, "Well, we didn't get the old guy, and the Elf who was the greatest wind elementalist is dead, but his kids are apparently very good, and we know where they are. I guess now we should go back to Icewind Peak, take a short break, then head out to meet them."
Everyone nodded in agreement and they began heading in a fairly straight line toward the mountain until their crystals started humming. The succubus took hers out and established the connection. "Sol?"
"Are all four of you there?" he asked, his voice laced with worry.
The succubus said, "Yeah, we're all here. What's wrong?"
Sol took a couple of breaths, obviously trying to calm down, then said, "I just got through talking with Viktor a little bit ago and he told me that you guys are now known in the Demon Realm. He's sending The Four Horsemen after you!"
Zeraine, Amarantha, and the hero had a little bit of an idea how ominous this was, but only the succubus knew just how bad it really was. Her face went paler than usual as she completely froze, eyes wide. The hero noticed this and asked, "What is it?"
She didn't respond, so he asked again, shaking her a little, which caused her to snap to and answer, "You remember that Dullahan we fought?" The hero nodded, to which she continued, "Now imagine fighting four of them at once."
There was an uncomfortable silence, followed by the hero asking, "Well, after everything we've been through, I'm stronger, now, right? We all are. Shouldn't we be able to handle them?"
The succubus shook her head. "By my guess, considering that The Four Horsemen are the strongest Dullahan warriors and spellswords in the world, with the one we fought being much, much weaker, despite our improvements, I'd say we could only handle one or two of them. All four at once would destroy us. If we want to have a chance at surviving, we'll need you and Zeraine to become incubi as quickly as possible. You know what that entails, too. It's too dangerous to try the quicker way, which would involve us actually entering the Demon Realm, finding a place with a high concentration of demonic energy, and having me channel it into you via sex, so all things considered, we have one option: Go back to Ammie's house, explain everything, and hope we can do it enough to turn you into an incubus before they show up. I'd rather not involve Ammie's clan in this, and if we were to defeat them ourselves, it might give us an even better reputation."
The hero stood silently in thought, thinking hard about what might happen. Zeraine shrugged and walked past the hero, patting him on the shoulder and saying, "Well, kid, our success and the fate of the world rides on our dicks, so let's get going."
Sol said, "Good luck, guys." He then severed the connection, causing the crystal to dim.
The four of them began quickly but cautiously heading back to Icewind Peak.
Chapter 120
Spoiler: show
After easily dispatching another two Bubble Slimes along the way, the party arrived at the foot of the mountain. They then levitated up onto the footpath and walked the rest of the way to Icewind Peak and Amarantha's house. When they finally arrived, Miranda greeted them, worriedly asking, "What took you so long?"
Once the four of them got comfortable, Zeraine and the hero removing their armor, they sat down in the living room and began explaining. Amarantha let the hero do most of the talking. He gave a fairly quick rundown, saying, "Well, we met with and 'recruited' Carrie and Margaret, the fire and water elementalists, then they told us about Margaret's teacher, an old man living close to the border to the Demon Realm. We went to visit him and had to get rid of some goblins along the way, as well as help out a tribe of Lizardmen who had been attacked by a group of four knights from The Order. Three of them were irredeemable bastards, and the Lizardmen had managed to kill one of them, but the last guy was just a kid, 15 years old. He had some sense about him, so we managed to 'save' him. We killed the other two remaining guys and left the kid with the Lizardmen so he could make up for what his former allies did."
He then went into detail about the battle with the corrupted Order knights and their Divine Blessings. Miranda shook her head. "Why would the gods give Divine Blessings to such people? ...Well, I guess most of what the gods do tends to not make sense to anyone, anyway. So, what then?"
The hero continued, "We finally found the old man and asked him to help, but he claimed he was too old to help fight. We did learn that the wind elementalist we were searching for is dead, though."
"That sucks," Miranda said, letting out a small groan, sharing the party's frustration.
"Yeah, but we found out that he's an Elf, and his children are also great wind elementalists, so we might be able to get them to help us. We also discovered the location of the base the knights came from. From what the kid, Martin, told us, he and the other three were the only ones to receive Divine Blessings, so if we decide to sack the place, we'll only have to deal with large numbers of highly trained, though possibly tactically lacking, knights. It'd still be difficult as hell, but we'd have a much better chance than if any of them had Divine Blessings."
The succubus nodded and said, "If I could be sure of Megadeath's power, and if I knew I could cast it without passing out, feeling weak, or needing a 'recharge', we could simply sneak in close, let me open with the spell, then we mop up any stragglers."
The hero glanced at her and asked, "What do you mean? I thought you said earlier that you could cast it now."
She nodded. "I can cast it once, but then I'd need a quick 'recharge', be it from a potion or 'fun'. Without that, I'd have to sit out the rest of the fight and possibly take a nap or something. By the time we're ready to consider sacking the base, I'm sure I'll be more than capable of casting it with energy to spare, though. I still need to test it to be sure of what it can do... Anyway, we also found out that the Demon Lord knows about us now, and is sending The Four Horsemen after us."
Miranda's eyes went wide. "The Four Horsemen? You had best run and hide until you're strong enough to face them."
The succubus smirked. "We fought a Dullahan before, though he wasn't nearly as powerful as those of The Four Horsemen. Through good teamwork, we beat him, though we had a bit of a close call..." She remembered almost meeting her end at the blade of the Dullahan, Zeraine and Amarantha saving her, and the rest of the battle, and her face went a little pale. "Uh, anyway, we killed him. We've gotten quite a bit stronger and more skilled since then, but these four are going to be much stronger as well. As I told everyone earlier, by my estimates, we could handle one or two of them right now, and it would certainly be no picnic. If we fought all four at once, we'd die. Fortunately, both men here are very close to becoming incubi, which means that a notable increase in power in only a few sessions of sex away."
Amarantha then said, "And that's pretty much what we're going to have to do for the next few days. She and the kid are going to have to fuck like rabbits to turn him, and Zeraine and I need to get in on to try and turn him, too."
Miranda's face showed the sudden awkwardness she felt. "I understood the sex you had last time. You know, couples making love at night before bed and stuff, but..."
The succubus interrupted, saying, "We have to if we want to survive the rest of this journey, let alone put me on the throne so he and I can make the world a better place," gesturing toward the hero. "To put it quite simply, sex is our salvation."
Miranda shrugged. "It's going to be an all-day thing, isn't it?"
The succubus nodded. "I'm afraid so. We don't have a choice, not that I'm complaining, of course..." she said, sending the hero a lustful smile.
Miranda sighed and scratched her head. "Well, we do need someone to make some changes to the world, and since your lives depend on it, I suppose it'd be fine as long as you be somewhat reasonable about it."
The succubus looked somewhat confused. "How do you mean?"
"Only have sex in your respective rooms, on the bed. That'd make it easier to clean later. Don't overdo it, either. We can't afford for you guys to hurt yourselves doing this."
The succubus smiled reassuringly and said, "Don't worry. Our men will be fine, and we'll keep our lovemaking in the bed."
Miranda then asked, "When do you think you should start?"
The succubus shrugged. "Ammie and I should probably be riding our men right now, actually."
Miranda nodded. "Amarantha, I'll tell William about this when he gets home, so don't worry about having to explain it. I won't keep you any longer now, but before you get to it, will you stop long enough for dinner when the time comes?"
The succubus nodded, smirking. "Of course. The boys will need food to help keep them energized."
...
Minutes later, both couples were in their respective rooms, naked and ready to get started. Zeraine and Amarantha had done a little foreplay to get her wet, and once she was, they got in bed, cowgirl position. She stood on her knees, straddling him, dripping her vaginal juices all over his crotch as she lined his penis up for insertion. After lowering herself enough for his glans to spread her lips, she paused and let out a small huff of dissatisfaction. Zeraine asked, "Is something wrong?"
She shook her head. "It's more fun and it feels better if we don't have to worry about me channeling my demonic energy into you. Also, I like it when you do things during sex, but with this, if you do anything, it'll make me feel too good to concentrate."
Zeraine caressed her cheek lovingly and said, "It'll be fine, Ammie. There will be plenty of time later on for us to make love purely for pleasure, strengthening our bond, or whatever. We just have to deal with this for now. It won't last forever."
She kissed him and said, "We should get started. Be still and let me work." She then brought herself down on him, taking him all the way inside. After that, she focused on transferring her demonic energy into him as she rode him for about an hour and a half. The two of them came together, and she, due to transferring as much demonic energy as she could, passed out on top of him.
...
Meanwhile, the succubus was similarly going with cowgirl position, but she didn't hesitate in the least when she impaled herself on his penis. She quickly got started, passionately kissing him as if to devour him while wildly and intensely riding him, all while pouring her demonic energy into him. Their session lasted seven rounds, each shot a vaginal creampie, with him never pulling out even once. Shortly after the seventh shot, they heard Miranda calling them for dinner, so they cleaned up, got dressed, and went to eat.
...
After calling the hero and the succubus, Miranda called Zeraine and Amarantha to dinner. He gently shook her, waking her up. She was obviously a little confused and tired, having not gotten enough rest since she passed out. Upon him telling her that it was dinnertime, she groggily got up, cleaned up, and got dressed, as did he. They then went to eat, too.
Once they were all in the dining room, they waited as Miranda served the food. William, who had gotten home a while before and heard everything from Miranda, said, "Good luck, heroes. Hopefully it won't take too long for this to happen." He looked at Amarantha and said, "You shouldn't push yourself so hard, Amarantha. You look worn out and tired, like you could fall asleep at any moment."
She sleepily nodded in response, then ate dinner.
Once dinner was over, Amarantha and Zeraine went back to her room and she went to sleep, him doing the same shortly after. The hero and the succubus, however, went at it again, going for five rounds before she said, "You look tired. Let's stop for tonight and get some sleep. We'll have all day tomorrow to continue, okay?"
He nodded and the two of them went to sleep.
Once the four of them got comfortable, Zeraine and the hero removing their armor, they sat down in the living room and began explaining. Amarantha let the hero do most of the talking. He gave a fairly quick rundown, saying, "Well, we met with and 'recruited' Carrie and Margaret, the fire and water elementalists, then they told us about Margaret's teacher, an old man living close to the border to the Demon Realm. We went to visit him and had to get rid of some goblins along the way, as well as help out a tribe of Lizardmen who had been attacked by a group of four knights from The Order. Three of them were irredeemable bastards, and the Lizardmen had managed to kill one of them, but the last guy was just a kid, 15 years old. He had some sense about him, so we managed to 'save' him. We killed the other two remaining guys and left the kid with the Lizardmen so he could make up for what his former allies did."
He then went into detail about the battle with the corrupted Order knights and their Divine Blessings. Miranda shook her head. "Why would the gods give Divine Blessings to such people? ...Well, I guess most of what the gods do tends to not make sense to anyone, anyway. So, what then?"
The hero continued, "We finally found the old man and asked him to help, but he claimed he was too old to help fight. We did learn that the wind elementalist we were searching for is dead, though."
"That sucks," Miranda said, letting out a small groan, sharing the party's frustration.
"Yeah, but we found out that he's an Elf, and his children are also great wind elementalists, so we might be able to get them to help us. We also discovered the location of the base the knights came from. From what the kid, Martin, told us, he and the other three were the only ones to receive Divine Blessings, so if we decide to sack the place, we'll only have to deal with large numbers of highly trained, though possibly tactically lacking, knights. It'd still be difficult as hell, but we'd have a much better chance than if any of them had Divine Blessings."
The succubus nodded and said, "If I could be sure of Megadeath's power, and if I knew I could cast it without passing out, feeling weak, or needing a 'recharge', we could simply sneak in close, let me open with the spell, then we mop up any stragglers."
The hero glanced at her and asked, "What do you mean? I thought you said earlier that you could cast it now."
She nodded. "I can cast it once, but then I'd need a quick 'recharge', be it from a potion or 'fun'. Without that, I'd have to sit out the rest of the fight and possibly take a nap or something. By the time we're ready to consider sacking the base, I'm sure I'll be more than capable of casting it with energy to spare, though. I still need to test it to be sure of what it can do... Anyway, we also found out that the Demon Lord knows about us now, and is sending The Four Horsemen after us."
Miranda's eyes went wide. "The Four Horsemen? You had best run and hide until you're strong enough to face them."
The succubus smirked. "We fought a Dullahan before, though he wasn't nearly as powerful as those of The Four Horsemen. Through good teamwork, we beat him, though we had a bit of a close call..." She remembered almost meeting her end at the blade of the Dullahan, Zeraine and Amarantha saving her, and the rest of the battle, and her face went a little pale. "Uh, anyway, we killed him. We've gotten quite a bit stronger and more skilled since then, but these four are going to be much stronger as well. As I told everyone earlier, by my estimates, we could handle one or two of them right now, and it would certainly be no picnic. If we fought all four at once, we'd die. Fortunately, both men here are very close to becoming incubi, which means that a notable increase in power in only a few sessions of sex away."
Amarantha then said, "And that's pretty much what we're going to have to do for the next few days. She and the kid are going to have to fuck like rabbits to turn him, and Zeraine and I need to get in on to try and turn him, too."
Miranda's face showed the sudden awkwardness she felt. "I understood the sex you had last time. You know, couples making love at night before bed and stuff, but..."
The succubus interrupted, saying, "We have to if we want to survive the rest of this journey, let alone put me on the throne so he and I can make the world a better place," gesturing toward the hero. "To put it quite simply, sex is our salvation."
Miranda shrugged. "It's going to be an all-day thing, isn't it?"
The succubus nodded. "I'm afraid so. We don't have a choice, not that I'm complaining, of course..." she said, sending the hero a lustful smile.
Miranda sighed and scratched her head. "Well, we do need someone to make some changes to the world, and since your lives depend on it, I suppose it'd be fine as long as you be somewhat reasonable about it."
The succubus looked somewhat confused. "How do you mean?"
"Only have sex in your respective rooms, on the bed. That'd make it easier to clean later. Don't overdo it, either. We can't afford for you guys to hurt yourselves doing this."
The succubus smiled reassuringly and said, "Don't worry. Our men will be fine, and we'll keep our lovemaking in the bed."
Miranda then asked, "When do you think you should start?"
The succubus shrugged. "Ammie and I should probably be riding our men right now, actually."
Miranda nodded. "Amarantha, I'll tell William about this when he gets home, so don't worry about having to explain it. I won't keep you any longer now, but before you get to it, will you stop long enough for dinner when the time comes?"
The succubus nodded, smirking. "Of course. The boys will need food to help keep them energized."
...
Minutes later, both couples were in their respective rooms, naked and ready to get started. Zeraine and Amarantha had done a little foreplay to get her wet, and once she was, they got in bed, cowgirl position. She stood on her knees, straddling him, dripping her vaginal juices all over his crotch as she lined his penis up for insertion. After lowering herself enough for his glans to spread her lips, she paused and let out a small huff of dissatisfaction. Zeraine asked, "Is something wrong?"
She shook her head. "It's more fun and it feels better if we don't have to worry about me channeling my demonic energy into you. Also, I like it when you do things during sex, but with this, if you do anything, it'll make me feel too good to concentrate."
Zeraine caressed her cheek lovingly and said, "It'll be fine, Ammie. There will be plenty of time later on for us to make love purely for pleasure, strengthening our bond, or whatever. We just have to deal with this for now. It won't last forever."
She kissed him and said, "We should get started. Be still and let me work." She then brought herself down on him, taking him all the way inside. After that, she focused on transferring her demonic energy into him as she rode him for about an hour and a half. The two of them came together, and she, due to transferring as much demonic energy as she could, passed out on top of him.
...
Meanwhile, the succubus was similarly going with cowgirl position, but she didn't hesitate in the least when she impaled herself on his penis. She quickly got started, passionately kissing him as if to devour him while wildly and intensely riding him, all while pouring her demonic energy into him. Their session lasted seven rounds, each shot a vaginal creampie, with him never pulling out even once. Shortly after the seventh shot, they heard Miranda calling them for dinner, so they cleaned up, got dressed, and went to eat.
...
After calling the hero and the succubus, Miranda called Zeraine and Amarantha to dinner. He gently shook her, waking her up. She was obviously a little confused and tired, having not gotten enough rest since she passed out. Upon him telling her that it was dinnertime, she groggily got up, cleaned up, and got dressed, as did he. They then went to eat, too.
Once they were all in the dining room, they waited as Miranda served the food. William, who had gotten home a while before and heard everything from Miranda, said, "Good luck, heroes. Hopefully it won't take too long for this to happen." He looked at Amarantha and said, "You shouldn't push yourself so hard, Amarantha. You look worn out and tired, like you could fall asleep at any moment."
She sleepily nodded in response, then ate dinner.
Once dinner was over, Amarantha and Zeraine went back to her room and she went to sleep, him doing the same shortly after. The hero and the succubus, however, went at it again, going for five rounds before she said, "You look tired. Let's stop for tonight and get some sleep. We'll have all day tomorrow to continue, okay?"
He nodded and the two of them went to sleep.
Chapter 121
Spoiler: show
The next morning, it was the hero that looked tired as everyone assembled at the table for breakfast. William glanced at him and asked, "You alright, young man?"
The hero nodded. "Yeah, I'm just a bit drained after yesterday evening and last night."
The succubus smirked and said, "That's understandable, considering we did it twelve times. We'll have to do as much or even more today, too, because we can't afford to put this off any longer."
Amarantha turned to her mother and asked, "Mom, can you fix something for lunch, and maybe dinner, for me and the kid that'll help us stay energized?"
Miranda shrugged. "I'll have to ask around to find out what might work. In the mean time, you'll have to try to pace yourselves."
After breakfast, the couples returned to their rooms. As Miranda saw William off, she quietly asked, "Do you think we could... you know, tonight?"
"You mean try and make a younger sibling for our daughter?" he asked with a smirk.
"Yeah. Hearing them go at it is..." she said, trailing off because she couldn't find the words to finish.
William paused a moment, then said, "Think about it while I'm gone today and decide; do you want to do it in these human forms for the sake of 'relief', or do you want us to go to the Mating Chamber, where we'd do it in our true forms, thus maximizing your chance of pregnancy?"
Miranda's face turned red as she replied, "I'll try and decide by this evening. See you then, dear."
The two kissed and he left.
...
In Amarantha's room, Zeraine had laid down on his back, just as before, waiting for her to mount him. She straddled him and sat on his abdomen, just high enough that his already-erect penis would barely rub against her rapidly moistening lips. She looked at him for a full 5 seconds, not doing anything else. Just as he asked, "What is it-" she threw herself on him in a very tight embrace.
"I wish we could do it normally, damn it!" she complained.
He hugged her and rubbed her back, gradually moving his hands down until he was massaging her ass. "I don't know how many more times we'll have to do it like this, but bear with it, Ammie. Soon enough, we'll be able to do it normally again. Until then, we'll try to make my transformation happen as soon as possible."
She let out a depressed sigh. "The problem is that, doing it like this, I'm good for one round. After that, I need a whole day or night of rest before I can go again, and if I don't exhaust myself by giving you all of my demonic energy, it won't turn you soon enough! This sucks!"
He kissed her, then began rubbing her thighs. "It'll be okay, Ammie. Trust me." He reached for her lower lips and found them to be very wet. Using his fingers, he smeared her juices all over her vagina, then moved his hips just enough to prod her butt with his dick. Taking the hint, she stood on her knees, positioned herself, and inserted his penis. As always, he laid still as she moved her hips, bouncing and grinding while focusing on channeling her demonic energy into him.
After about an hour of riding him, she started looking a bit weak, indicating that she was close to passing out from the energy transfer. Zeraine noticed and grabbed her by her hips, then began thrusting from below. "What are you-" she began, unable to finish as he sped up, assailing her cervix with very quick and hard thrusts, causing them to orgasm together and her to pass out on top of him. He held her, gently caressing the back of her head and brushing her hair with his fingers as he waited for her to regain consciousness.
...
Meanwhile, with the hero and the succubus, she had gotten naked in record time, excitedly helping him disrobe as fast as possible. The hero noticed that she couldn't stop smiling, either. "You're pretty eager, aren't you?" he asked, his tone slightly snide.
Having just yanked his underwear down as if throwing it off of him, she stood up in a flash, looking into his eyes. "I'll remind you again; I'm a succubus. Succubi love to have sex. It's pretty much what the gods created us for. In other words, our entire purpose for existing is to fuck.You know I love you, and you know I'm a bit of a romantic. The thought of having sex all day long with the man I love makes me extremely happy. I'm sure I'll be even happier once we're actually doing it, but you understand, right?" He gave her a sad look, which caused her to ask, "What?"
He shrugged and said, "You said a succubus's only purpose for existing is to have sex, and that the gods made it that way. I think that's sad. Even more so if it's true. I used to be faithful, yet moderate, tempering my faith with sense and decency. I used to get upset when people talked bad about the gods. Now, after what I've seen so far, I'm not sure what to think."
"You're starting to lose your faith and you're troubled by it. You also want answers. You want to know the true nature of the gods and whether or not what some of us say about them is true. Am I right?"
He nodded. "I know this isn't really the time to say this, but-"
She put her finger over his mouth and said, "It's good that you're getting it off your chest. I don't want you thinking stuff like that or worrying about something while we're fucking. I only want you to focus on me, my vagina, your dick, and how good it feels to be inside me."
He started snickering, which turned into half-hearted laughter.
"What?"
"You're right. Right now, we should focus on sex. The sooner I become an incubus, the better. If I don't, we won't live through the inevitable encounter with The Four Horsemen."
She nodded approvingly, then laid down in the bed and spread her legs. She began massaging one of her breasts while slowly rubbing her vagina, smiling at him as he quickly got hard. She then spread her lower lips with her fingers and said, "Come on, baby. Today, you're on top."
He swallowed hard, then got in bed and put it in. She quickly wrapped her legs around his waist and her arms around his chest, extending her wings and trying to wrap them around his lower back, too. She used her tail to rub his balls as he kissed her passionately, occasionally rubbed her breasts, and pounded away. The two would stay entwined as such all the way until lunch, five hours later, losing count of their respective number of orgasms in favor of simply having more sex.
...
After a four or so hour nap, Amarantha finally woke up. Before her mind could fully awaken, however, Zeraine kissed her and said, "Good afternoon, sleepyhead. Or should I call you 'sleeping beauty'?"
She groaned and sat up, noticing that his penis had fallen out of her at one point, but was hard again and pressing against her ass. She also noticed the wet spot of Zeraine's chest where she had been drooling in her sleep. When she realized that she had drooled on him while sleeping, her face went red in a flash and her mind, having been jumpstarted by the shock and embarrassment, went wild, causing her thoughts to get jumbled up and her attempts at talking to become a mess of stuttering and unintelligible sounds. He started laughing and said, "I guess you didn't get enough sleep, huh?"
She let out a frustrated huff, calmed down, and said, "I'm sorry I drooled on you, Zeraine."
He laughed again and said, "If it's you, it's fine. Anyway, even though I'm ready to go again, I think you should rest some more. We'll try to do it again tonight, okay?"
She nodded, then they got up. Amarantha checked in her closet and saw that she still had a few bathrobes hanging up, so she took two of them and put one on, then handed the other to Zeraine. The two of them spent the next hour in the living room, cuddling while recounting their past adventures together and reminiscing about different it was back then now that the fate of the world partially rests on their shoulders.
About half an hour before lunch, Miranda came back, carrying a few groceries. She saw Zeraine and Amarantha and said, "I asked around, but all of the food recommended had a reputation of tasting very bad. Our clan's alchemist told me that Rest potions and scrolls will work for the physical exhaustion, but to actually recover, you'll need to drink Mana potions, too, since you're burning up both your physical and magical energy when you do 'that'. He also told me to warn you two that, considering how things have gone, you should try to time it so that you transform him during the 'first round' of your first session for the day."
Amarantha said, "Well, unfortunately, right now our sessions only last one round because I give him all of my energy. I pass out afterward, which means that it'll take us longer. From the way it looks right now, he and I can only do it twice a day at most. Anyway, why do we have to time it like that?"
Miranda nodded understandingly, then answered, "Because rumor has it that when a man transforms into an incubus, he goes through a bit of a 'shock', becomes incredibly lustful for a time, and is overcome with a bad need for 'relief'. As much as you and Zeraine love each other, I don't think he'll be able to keep from jumping on you when that time comes."
Amarantha and Zeraine looked at each other, then he said, "That's what happened to Sol when he transformed! But wait, he didn't jump on Vicky or Hilda... Them stroking him off several times was enough for him, too."
Amarantha nodded. "True, but he was horny as hell already. Because of that, it probably didn't hit him as hard as it will the kid. I don't think it'll hit you as hard as the kid, though."
Miranda asked, "Who is Sol?"
Zeraine smirked. "A buddy of ours. He's an alchemist in Westcreek. He has two employees, a Lizardman named Victoria and a salamander named Hilda. All three of them are perverts, but whatever. Thing is, he became an incubus not long ago while he was out gathering ingredients in the Demon Realm with his employees." Zeraine went on to explain everything that Sol told them back then.
Miranda shrugged. "I guess if they truly love each other I can't look down on the polygamy part. Anyway, so it's true, and you can expect to experience the same thing, except worse?"
Amarantha shrugged and shook her head. "I don't know. Maybe our princess can teach me how to absorb Zeraine's spirit energy to restore my demonic energy or something. That'd definitely make it easier on me."
Zeraine shook his head. "We should have thought of that before. As soon as it's lunch time, we'll ask her. Maybe she can keep from riding the kid long enough to teach you, if she can, or if it can even be taught."
Miranda made lunch and called everyone together. They ate, and immediately after the meal, Amarantha asked the succubus about teaching her to absorb Zeraine's spirit energy during sex. The succubus shook her head. "You could, but it wouldn't do anything."
"Why?" Amarantha asked, both curious and saddened.
The succubus replied, "Because currently only succubi can absorb spirit energy and convert it to demonic energy, thus 'recharging' from sex. You could absorb his spirit energy, but since your body can't do anything with it, it'd just fade away or get expelled harmlessly, essentially doing absolutely nothing. In other words, you'd be wasting your time."
Amarantha asked, "What about the polymorph spell? Would that make it possible?"
"No. It can't make the necessary changes for that to happen, similar to how with your human form, which is a kind of 'natural' polymorph ability, you still can't get pregnant with Zeraine's child no matter how many times he blows his load in you. Once I'm Demon Lord, however, that'll change. You'll be able to naturally absorb his released spirit energy during sex, and as I've said before, you two will be able to have all the kids you want."
Miranda, her face red from hearing more lewd and sex-related things than she's used to, said, "By the way, while I was out, I heard that you can use Rest and Mana scrolls and potions to 'recover' so you can continue." She told the hero and the succubus what she had told Zeraine and Amarantha earlier.
The succubus then said, "Well, that's great! I can make him drink a Rest potion or use a scroll on him, which will leave my demonic energy available for me to infuse him with, which will speed this up a little more!"
"I'd also need to drink a Mana potion, too," the hero reminded her.
"Whatever. You'd be able to go longer, and I'd be more certain about how much energy I should put into you."
Amarantha asked, "Hey, while we're taking a break, shouldn't we check in with Sol and see if he's heard anything more?"
"Good idea," the succubus said, jumping up to go get her crystal, returning shortly after and making the connection.
The hero nodded. "Yeah, I'm just a bit drained after yesterday evening and last night."
The succubus smirked and said, "That's understandable, considering we did it twelve times. We'll have to do as much or even more today, too, because we can't afford to put this off any longer."
Amarantha turned to her mother and asked, "Mom, can you fix something for lunch, and maybe dinner, for me and the kid that'll help us stay energized?"
Miranda shrugged. "I'll have to ask around to find out what might work. In the mean time, you'll have to try to pace yourselves."
After breakfast, the couples returned to their rooms. As Miranda saw William off, she quietly asked, "Do you think we could... you know, tonight?"
"You mean try and make a younger sibling for our daughter?" he asked with a smirk.
"Yeah. Hearing them go at it is..." she said, trailing off because she couldn't find the words to finish.
William paused a moment, then said, "Think about it while I'm gone today and decide; do you want to do it in these human forms for the sake of 'relief', or do you want us to go to the Mating Chamber, where we'd do it in our true forms, thus maximizing your chance of pregnancy?"
Miranda's face turned red as she replied, "I'll try and decide by this evening. See you then, dear."
The two kissed and he left.
...
In Amarantha's room, Zeraine had laid down on his back, just as before, waiting for her to mount him. She straddled him and sat on his abdomen, just high enough that his already-erect penis would barely rub against her rapidly moistening lips. She looked at him for a full 5 seconds, not doing anything else. Just as he asked, "What is it-" she threw herself on him in a very tight embrace.
"I wish we could do it normally, damn it!" she complained.
He hugged her and rubbed her back, gradually moving his hands down until he was massaging her ass. "I don't know how many more times we'll have to do it like this, but bear with it, Ammie. Soon enough, we'll be able to do it normally again. Until then, we'll try to make my transformation happen as soon as possible."
She let out a depressed sigh. "The problem is that, doing it like this, I'm good for one round. After that, I need a whole day or night of rest before I can go again, and if I don't exhaust myself by giving you all of my demonic energy, it won't turn you soon enough! This sucks!"
He kissed her, then began rubbing her thighs. "It'll be okay, Ammie. Trust me." He reached for her lower lips and found them to be very wet. Using his fingers, he smeared her juices all over her vagina, then moved his hips just enough to prod her butt with his dick. Taking the hint, she stood on her knees, positioned herself, and inserted his penis. As always, he laid still as she moved her hips, bouncing and grinding while focusing on channeling her demonic energy into him.
After about an hour of riding him, she started looking a bit weak, indicating that she was close to passing out from the energy transfer. Zeraine noticed and grabbed her by her hips, then began thrusting from below. "What are you-" she began, unable to finish as he sped up, assailing her cervix with very quick and hard thrusts, causing them to orgasm together and her to pass out on top of him. He held her, gently caressing the back of her head and brushing her hair with his fingers as he waited for her to regain consciousness.
...
Meanwhile, with the hero and the succubus, she had gotten naked in record time, excitedly helping him disrobe as fast as possible. The hero noticed that she couldn't stop smiling, either. "You're pretty eager, aren't you?" he asked, his tone slightly snide.
Having just yanked his underwear down as if throwing it off of him, she stood up in a flash, looking into his eyes. "I'll remind you again; I'm a succubus. Succubi love to have sex. It's pretty much what the gods created us for. In other words, our entire purpose for existing is to fuck.You know I love you, and you know I'm a bit of a romantic. The thought of having sex all day long with the man I love makes me extremely happy. I'm sure I'll be even happier once we're actually doing it, but you understand, right?" He gave her a sad look, which caused her to ask, "What?"
He shrugged and said, "You said a succubus's only purpose for existing is to have sex, and that the gods made it that way. I think that's sad. Even more so if it's true. I used to be faithful, yet moderate, tempering my faith with sense and decency. I used to get upset when people talked bad about the gods. Now, after what I've seen so far, I'm not sure what to think."
"You're starting to lose your faith and you're troubled by it. You also want answers. You want to know the true nature of the gods and whether or not what some of us say about them is true. Am I right?"
He nodded. "I know this isn't really the time to say this, but-"
She put her finger over his mouth and said, "It's good that you're getting it off your chest. I don't want you thinking stuff like that or worrying about something while we're fucking. I only want you to focus on me, my vagina, your dick, and how good it feels to be inside me."
He started snickering, which turned into half-hearted laughter.
"What?"
"You're right. Right now, we should focus on sex. The sooner I become an incubus, the better. If I don't, we won't live through the inevitable encounter with The Four Horsemen."
She nodded approvingly, then laid down in the bed and spread her legs. She began massaging one of her breasts while slowly rubbing her vagina, smiling at him as he quickly got hard. She then spread her lower lips with her fingers and said, "Come on, baby. Today, you're on top."
He swallowed hard, then got in bed and put it in. She quickly wrapped her legs around his waist and her arms around his chest, extending her wings and trying to wrap them around his lower back, too. She used her tail to rub his balls as he kissed her passionately, occasionally rubbed her breasts, and pounded away. The two would stay entwined as such all the way until lunch, five hours later, losing count of their respective number of orgasms in favor of simply having more sex.
...
After a four or so hour nap, Amarantha finally woke up. Before her mind could fully awaken, however, Zeraine kissed her and said, "Good afternoon, sleepyhead. Or should I call you 'sleeping beauty'?"
She groaned and sat up, noticing that his penis had fallen out of her at one point, but was hard again and pressing against her ass. She also noticed the wet spot of Zeraine's chest where she had been drooling in her sleep. When she realized that she had drooled on him while sleeping, her face went red in a flash and her mind, having been jumpstarted by the shock and embarrassment, went wild, causing her thoughts to get jumbled up and her attempts at talking to become a mess of stuttering and unintelligible sounds. He started laughing and said, "I guess you didn't get enough sleep, huh?"
She let out a frustrated huff, calmed down, and said, "I'm sorry I drooled on you, Zeraine."
He laughed again and said, "If it's you, it's fine. Anyway, even though I'm ready to go again, I think you should rest some more. We'll try to do it again tonight, okay?"
She nodded, then they got up. Amarantha checked in her closet and saw that she still had a few bathrobes hanging up, so she took two of them and put one on, then handed the other to Zeraine. The two of them spent the next hour in the living room, cuddling while recounting their past adventures together and reminiscing about different it was back then now that the fate of the world partially rests on their shoulders.
About half an hour before lunch, Miranda came back, carrying a few groceries. She saw Zeraine and Amarantha and said, "I asked around, but all of the food recommended had a reputation of tasting very bad. Our clan's alchemist told me that Rest potions and scrolls will work for the physical exhaustion, but to actually recover, you'll need to drink Mana potions, too, since you're burning up both your physical and magical energy when you do 'that'. He also told me to warn you two that, considering how things have gone, you should try to time it so that you transform him during the 'first round' of your first session for the day."
Amarantha said, "Well, unfortunately, right now our sessions only last one round because I give him all of my energy. I pass out afterward, which means that it'll take us longer. From the way it looks right now, he and I can only do it twice a day at most. Anyway, why do we have to time it like that?"
Miranda nodded understandingly, then answered, "Because rumor has it that when a man transforms into an incubus, he goes through a bit of a 'shock', becomes incredibly lustful for a time, and is overcome with a bad need for 'relief'. As much as you and Zeraine love each other, I don't think he'll be able to keep from jumping on you when that time comes."
Amarantha and Zeraine looked at each other, then he said, "That's what happened to Sol when he transformed! But wait, he didn't jump on Vicky or Hilda... Them stroking him off several times was enough for him, too."
Amarantha nodded. "True, but he was horny as hell already. Because of that, it probably didn't hit him as hard as it will the kid. I don't think it'll hit you as hard as the kid, though."
Miranda asked, "Who is Sol?"
Zeraine smirked. "A buddy of ours. He's an alchemist in Westcreek. He has two employees, a Lizardman named Victoria and a salamander named Hilda. All three of them are perverts, but whatever. Thing is, he became an incubus not long ago while he was out gathering ingredients in the Demon Realm with his employees." Zeraine went on to explain everything that Sol told them back then.
Miranda shrugged. "I guess if they truly love each other I can't look down on the polygamy part. Anyway, so it's true, and you can expect to experience the same thing, except worse?"
Amarantha shrugged and shook her head. "I don't know. Maybe our princess can teach me how to absorb Zeraine's spirit energy to restore my demonic energy or something. That'd definitely make it easier on me."
Zeraine shook his head. "We should have thought of that before. As soon as it's lunch time, we'll ask her. Maybe she can keep from riding the kid long enough to teach you, if she can, or if it can even be taught."
Miranda made lunch and called everyone together. They ate, and immediately after the meal, Amarantha asked the succubus about teaching her to absorb Zeraine's spirit energy during sex. The succubus shook her head. "You could, but it wouldn't do anything."
"Why?" Amarantha asked, both curious and saddened.
The succubus replied, "Because currently only succubi can absorb spirit energy and convert it to demonic energy, thus 'recharging' from sex. You could absorb his spirit energy, but since your body can't do anything with it, it'd just fade away or get expelled harmlessly, essentially doing absolutely nothing. In other words, you'd be wasting your time."
Amarantha asked, "What about the polymorph spell? Would that make it possible?"
"No. It can't make the necessary changes for that to happen, similar to how with your human form, which is a kind of 'natural' polymorph ability, you still can't get pregnant with Zeraine's child no matter how many times he blows his load in you. Once I'm Demon Lord, however, that'll change. You'll be able to naturally absorb his released spirit energy during sex, and as I've said before, you two will be able to have all the kids you want."
Miranda, her face red from hearing more lewd and sex-related things than she's used to, said, "By the way, while I was out, I heard that you can use Rest and Mana scrolls and potions to 'recover' so you can continue." She told the hero and the succubus what she had told Zeraine and Amarantha earlier.
The succubus then said, "Well, that's great! I can make him drink a Rest potion or use a scroll on him, which will leave my demonic energy available for me to infuse him with, which will speed this up a little more!"
"I'd also need to drink a Mana potion, too," the hero reminded her.
"Whatever. You'd be able to go longer, and I'd be more certain about how much energy I should put into you."
Amarantha asked, "Hey, while we're taking a break, shouldn't we check in with Sol and see if he's heard anything more?"
"Good idea," the succubus said, jumping up to go get her crystal, returning shortly after and making the connection.
Chapter 122
Spoiler: show
When Sol answered, before anyone could say anything, he said, "Guys, The Four Horsemen just left the castle. They're heading in your general direction right now, seemingly by way of Pale Pass."
The hero questioned, "Pale Pass? That's near where that Order base was that Martin and those guys came from, isn't it?"
Zeraine went and got the map from the hero's stuff. "Yeah, it is. Are they stopping to fight The Order, or will they ride past them?"
Sol shrugged, though the party couldn't see him, and said, "I don't know. Viktor hasn't heard anything else, and neither of us know if the Demon Lord and The Four Horsemen know about it. I didn't even know there was an Order base in the area, but it doesn't matter. You guys still have some time, but you need to do something."
The succubus smirked. "We are. Ammie and I are trying to turn our men into incubi. I know I'll succeed soon enough if we continue at this rate, though I'm not sure about her and Zeraine. As you might be able to guess, we're taking a break right now. We can talk a little before we have to get back to work, though."
"That's good, but you shouldn't push it. Anyway, since you apparently have time, how have things been going for you?"
The four of them took turns telling Sol about everything that had happened since the last time they talked. The succubus finished, saying, "So now we've decided that, at the very least, my man needs to become an incubus if we want to live through this. We've been at it since last night, or rather, we did it twelve times last night, got some sleep, and did it again a bunch of times this morning. He's close to turning, I can tell."
"So thing are going to work out?"
"We'll make it work," she replied, smiling confidently, even though he couldn't see her, as he was still watching The Four Horsemen and their movements.
Sol scoffed. "They just rode past a merchant caravan, and none of the people gave them a second thought."
The succubus asked, "They have their heads on?"
"Yeah. Right now, they look just like ordinary human knights. I guess they intend to keep a low profile until they either attack that Order base or go after you guys. Regardless, they'll eventually find you."
"Then I need to get back 'on top of things', right?" the succubus asked, causing the hero to groan and shake his head. "What, you want to be on top? That's perfectly okay, you know."
Sol cleared his throat and said, "I'll keep you guys posted on what they're doing, alright?"
Amarantha looked to her mother and asked, "Hey, mom, wouldn't it be a good idea if he came over? He could bring his scrying orb with him and watch them from here, which would let him warn us faster if anything important happens."
Miranda nodded. "Good idea, dear. Sol, this is Miranda, Amarantha's mother. You heard her idea, right?"
"Yes, and it's a good one. This evening, after I close up shop, I'll teleport over there. ...Um, can I bring Vicky and Hilda, too?"
Even though Sol couldn't see her do so, Miranda smiled. "Sure. Wouldn't want to keep you from your loved ones."
"I see Ammie told you about us. Anyway, I'll be there this evening. See you then, guys!"
He broke the connection and the crystal dimmed. Miranda said, "So I need to make dinner for nine people, then. I had better see if we have what we need. If we don't, I'll have to go out to the market again."
She got up and went into the kitchen. The hero got up seconds later and grabbed the succubus gently by her hand. "Let's resume, honey."
She jumped to her feet and threw her arms around him, hugging him tightly. He asked, "What is it?"
She let out a small squeal of glee and said, "You have no idea how happy it makes me when you ask me for sex. Anyway, yes, let's get started!" She rushed back to their room, nearly dragging him, and shut the door. Not even 30 seconds later, quiet moans could be heard inside.
Zeraine and Amarantha looked at each other and he said, "Should we go again?"
"It'd be a good idea, I guess. We'll have to use our potions if we want to go more than one round, though," she said, her tone showing that she was eager for Zeraine's touch, but reluctant to have sex again like they have been.
He stood up, then turned to face her and picked her up off the couch. "Whoa, Zeraine!? What are you-"
Once he had her in bridal-carry position, he carried her back upstairs to her room. Miranda happened to see him carrying her and giggled to herself, glad that her daughter had found such a person.
Once back in her room, Zeraine laid her on the bed and opened her bathrobe, revealing her firm breasts. He smiled and started to descent on her, but she stopped him, gently pushing him back. "What, Ammie?"
She sat up, then went over to their things and set out one Mana Potion and one Potion of Rest. She then took the bathrobe off and tossed it aside. "These bathrobes are for covering ourselves when we're not trying and failing to keep up with the kid and the princess. I don't want to get them all covered in your cum and have them get crusty or stink."
"How would I get my cum all over them?"
"Well, I may have been exaggerating a little, but still, you let out a lot when you cum. All that semen inevitably seeps back out of me, and like this, it'd end up soaking whatever parts of the robe came in contact with my crotch. If I sat down, your cum would leak out and put a huge wet spot on the back of the robe. Of course, what would most likely happen had I not stopped you would be that your cum would pour out of me and all over the robe, which I'd be laying on."
He smirked. "You'd rather dirty your sheets?"
She rolled her eyes, then quickly stripped him of his bathrobe and tossed it away. Immediately after, she picked him up while saying, "Turnabout's fair play!" and, after holding him in a bridal-carry position, tossed him onto the bed, then mounted him.
"What, you're going to do some fem-dom?"
"Maybe. It'd spice this up a bit, wouldn't it?" she said, grinning.
The two of them went on to thoroughly arouse each other via foreplay, then Amarantha tried a little fem-dom play and quickly found out that it wouldn't work for this. "Damn it! If I do anything that makes it feel too good, I can't concentrate on what I need to!"
She managed to retake control of her anger and frustration before continuing normally. After making love for about an hour, nearly pouring all of her demonic energy into him, she started to feel very tired. She forced herself to go on, though, achieving simultaneous orgasm with Zeraine, sitting in his lap with him still all the way inside as she waited for him to stop cumming. Once she felt him stop squirting inside her, she got up, leaving a trail of his cum from the bed to her desk, it dripping from her lower lips with each step. Once at her desk, she took both potions and drank them.
Still laying on the bed, Zeraine asked, "Is it working?"
Amarantha walked back over to the bed, her vagina still dripping with Zeraine's semen as she went, and laid down next to him. "I think I can feel it working. If it is actually working, I'll be ready to go again in a little bit. We'll just have to wait and see."
Fortunately for them, it did work, and Amarantha was ready for the next round in a few minutes. Unfortunately, she passed out after cumming together with Zeraine again, having transferred too much energy to him. Again.
...
The hero and the succubus had sex until evening, not stopping except to have the hero occasionally drink a Mana Potion and a Potion of Rest. As dinnertime approached, he had quaffed three of each and was still going. He had taken the lead and was on top, missionary position, as she enjoyed laying in the ever-enlarging puddle of his semen.
...
Once Amarantha finally woke up, she yawned and stretched, then got up and put her bathrobe back on, waited for Zeraine to do the same, and went downstairs with him. They sat in the living room and waited for dinner. Soon, a teleportation portal opened behind the couch and Sol, Victoria, and Hilda all stepped through. Zeraine greeted them, saying, "Hey, you three."
Sol turned around, as did Victoria and Hilda, and said, "Hey. You know, bathrobes aren't exactly a substitute for mages' robes."
Amaranth frowned. "Not funny, Sol."
Miranda entered the room and upon seeing Sol, Victoria, and Hilda, stopped in her tracks for a moment. "Oh, you must be Sol. Nice to meet you." They shook hands and he introduced Victoria and Hilda, the two of them also shaking hands with Miranda. After the introductions, Miranda said, "Dinner is ready. Go get your friends."
She then returned to the kitchen, leaving the five of them to chat a little as they got ready for dinner. Zeraine asked, "You got your scrying orb?"
Sol nodded. "Right here," he said, pointing at Victoria's shoulder bag. "I guess I'll go get them?"
Amarantha nodded. "Yeah, you do that. After all the sex they've had today, I doubt I want to see what they look like right now. I probably don't even want to see the bed."
Sol shrugged and started to walk away, but then stopped. Just as he was about to ask where they were, Zeraine said, "Follow the moans."
He nodded and listened, following the faint moans to the couple's room. He opened the door, saying, "Yo, dinner- whoa..."
As if triggered by Sol opening the door, it happened. Black mist began to fill the air, causing the succubus to happily shout, "It's happening! It's finally happening!" She then got off of the hero's dick as he looked at himself in a panic. "Remember, don't fight it," she warned.
He looked her in the eye and nodded, composed himself, and let it continue. Demonic energy swirled in the room as the hero underwent his transformation.
Outside, Zeraine and Amarantha sensed a split-second spike in demonic energy, one that would almost be unnoticeable. They came running and found that Sol had set up a barrier to mask it. "Don't want the neighbors to worry, do we? My staff would come in handy about now..."
Crowding around the door, Zeraine, Amarantha, Sol, Victoria, and Hilda all watched as the hero doubled over, clutching at his chest while the succubus repeatedly warned him to not fight it. He groaned in pain, then grabbed and squeezed the sheets with one hand. The "audience" saw his penis swell up to full size very quickly, followed by him taking deep, heaving breaths. Still panting heavily and wincing in pain from his throbbing erection, he looked at the succubus. She looked in his eyes and saw that lust had consumed him. "Come to me," she said, spreading her cum-covered vagina for him.
Almost as soon as she finished speaking, he jumped on her, roughly shoving her down and slamming himself all the way in with the first thrust. As he proceeded to ravage her, thrusting into her as hard as he could while he squeezed her breasts hard and bit her nipples, pulling on them with his teeth, Amarantha hugged Zeraine's arm tightly, grabbing his hand and interlocking her fingers with his, then squeezing firmly. He glanced at her and asked, "What is it, Ammie?"
She looked him in the eye, then to the hero and the succubus, then back to him. "Now I'm scared. What if that happens to you? What if you get that violent with me?"
He let her words sink in as he watched the hero forcefully jam three fingers into the succubus's anus as he continued to pound away at her pussy while biting her breasts hard enough to leave teeth marks. He cringed as he watched the hero violently slam himself all the way in and cum inside the succubus before pulling out, roughly rolling her over, and holding her head down with one hand, pressing her face into the pillow as he put his dick back in her pussy and gave her a hard doggy-style fucking. He pulled out and came all over her back, then flipped her over and positioned her for irrumatio, then shoved his dick down her throat and began to vigorously hump her mouth, bouncing his balls off her nose with each thrust. She tried to pat him on the thigh to get him to slow down or ease up, but it didn't work. After a while of rough thrusting, he began squeezing her neck, trying for a tighter fit. She started thrashing as she coughed and gagged with his dick still down her throat, frantically patting him on the thigh and ass, trying to get him to stop. He didn't. Instead, he sped up, thrusting faster and harder until he came in her throat.
He finally let go and pulled his dick out, allowing the succubus to roll over and get up to her hands and knees before going into a coughing fit, coughing up large amounts of his semen as she struggled to catch her breath. Unfortunately for her, he didn't let her rest. He got around behind her and put it back in her pussy for another round of doggy style, finishing by pulling out, jerking her around by her horns, and ejaculating all over her face, followed by shoving his dick down her throat from this angle, bouncing his balls off her chin with each thrust as he went for another round of irrumatio.
Amarantha was very scared by now, and Zeraine was worried that he might try to do something similar to her when his time came. Sol commented, "It's hard to watch, but you can't look away no matter how bad you want to, right?"
Miranda, who had snuck up to see what everyone was watching before freezing in place at the sight, said, "Yeah... Amarantha, you're a lot physically stronger than your man, so if he gets violent, you can stop him. And you, Zeraine, I don't want you treating my daughter like that, you hear?"
"Yes, ma'am. If I start doing the same thing when I transform, you, Ammie, and William can kick my ass."
Moments later, the hero came down the succubus's throat again, causing her to go into another violent coughing fit, spitting up his semen and some mucus, with some of his cum even running and dripping out of her nose. Once again, she couldn't recover before he threw her onto her back, slammed his dick into her pussy, and began assaulting her again, squeezing and biting her breasts, twisting her nipples, pinching and pulling on them with his fingers and teeth, and squeezing her clitoris with his thumb and index finger.
The others could tell that her moans were of pain, not pleasure. Zeraine shook his head. "I can't watch this, nor can I let it continue. I'm stopping him before he hurts her any worse."
As he stepped forward, she cried out in pain from the hero squeezing her clit and biting her nipple, then she threw her hand out and said, "NO! Don't stop him! This will pass soon enough, just let him finish."
"But-"
"Let him! Once he's unloaded on me, he'll go back to normal. I can handle it."
Despite the large amount of semen on her face, Zeraine saw the tears in the succubus's eyes, which were obviously not just from gagging on the hero's penis during the earlier irrumatio. He looked back at Amarantha and the others, then to the succubus again. Sol said, "Listen to her and leave them alone. I just hope she's right."
Amarantha looked at Sol and, in a demanding tone, said, "When you transformed, how did it go? Did you get that violent? Tell me!"
"Calm down, Ammie. For me, due to contending with high amounts of lust every day up to then, it wasn't as hard on me. For me, it was sort of like, 'Damn, I have another persistent boner,' then it was like, 'I really want to cum! I want relief!' After that, it quickly got like, 'Shit, I can't go without blowing my load! I need to cum!' When it got to that point, I started stroking myself, and that's when Vicky and Hilda stepped in to take over. So no, I didn't get that violent."
Zeraine asked, "And the black mist?"
"You've seen Ammie when she's pissed, right? When she goes all-out with Mana Burst? That's similar to what's happening here. Yes, there was black mist. I guess it happens when there's large amounts of demonic energy present. Anyway, hopefully she's right and he'll regain control of himself."
They continued watching as the hero pulled out of her vagina and came on her face again, then put it back in for yet another round. She tried to take control of the situation as much as she could, wrapping her legs around his waist in an attempt to keep him from doing anything else with his dick, such as the irrumatio from earlier. Fortunately for her, he settled on simply fucking her cunt as hard as he could for six more rounds before he finally passed out.
After the hero passed out, the mist cleared and they could no longer feel the demonic energy inside Sol's barrier. Sol took down the barrier, saying, "Finally! I didn't pass out when I transformed, but whatever. It's done. It goes without saying that they'll have some issues to work out after this, but I'm sure they'll get over it and return to normal."
When both the hero and the succubus lay collapsed on the bed, everyone found themselves able to move again. Miranda said, "Well, dinner's cold by now. I'll have to heat it back up. It seems William is late, too..." and returned to the kitchen.
Zeraine asked, "So what do we do now?"
Sol shrugged. "Wait for them to wake up, let the reality of what he did sink in, eat dinner, and let them sort it out. Or at least, that's all I know to do."
Zeraine and Amarantha went back to the living room and sat back down on the couch, not sure what to do or think after what they witnessed. Sol closed the door to the couple's room and followed them, Victoria and Hilda in tow. Once in the living room, he set up his scrying orb and checked on where The Four Horsemen were.
The hero questioned, "Pale Pass? That's near where that Order base was that Martin and those guys came from, isn't it?"
Zeraine went and got the map from the hero's stuff. "Yeah, it is. Are they stopping to fight The Order, or will they ride past them?"
Sol shrugged, though the party couldn't see him, and said, "I don't know. Viktor hasn't heard anything else, and neither of us know if the Demon Lord and The Four Horsemen know about it. I didn't even know there was an Order base in the area, but it doesn't matter. You guys still have some time, but you need to do something."
The succubus smirked. "We are. Ammie and I are trying to turn our men into incubi. I know I'll succeed soon enough if we continue at this rate, though I'm not sure about her and Zeraine. As you might be able to guess, we're taking a break right now. We can talk a little before we have to get back to work, though."
"That's good, but you shouldn't push it. Anyway, since you apparently have time, how have things been going for you?"
The four of them took turns telling Sol about everything that had happened since the last time they talked. The succubus finished, saying, "So now we've decided that, at the very least, my man needs to become an incubus if we want to live through this. We've been at it since last night, or rather, we did it twelve times last night, got some sleep, and did it again a bunch of times this morning. He's close to turning, I can tell."
"So thing are going to work out?"
"We'll make it work," she replied, smiling confidently, even though he couldn't see her, as he was still watching The Four Horsemen and their movements.
Sol scoffed. "They just rode past a merchant caravan, and none of the people gave them a second thought."
The succubus asked, "They have their heads on?"
"Yeah. Right now, they look just like ordinary human knights. I guess they intend to keep a low profile until they either attack that Order base or go after you guys. Regardless, they'll eventually find you."
"Then I need to get back 'on top of things', right?" the succubus asked, causing the hero to groan and shake his head. "What, you want to be on top? That's perfectly okay, you know."
Sol cleared his throat and said, "I'll keep you guys posted on what they're doing, alright?"
Amarantha looked to her mother and asked, "Hey, mom, wouldn't it be a good idea if he came over? He could bring his scrying orb with him and watch them from here, which would let him warn us faster if anything important happens."
Miranda nodded. "Good idea, dear. Sol, this is Miranda, Amarantha's mother. You heard her idea, right?"
"Yes, and it's a good one. This evening, after I close up shop, I'll teleport over there. ...Um, can I bring Vicky and Hilda, too?"
Even though Sol couldn't see her do so, Miranda smiled. "Sure. Wouldn't want to keep you from your loved ones."
"I see Ammie told you about us. Anyway, I'll be there this evening. See you then, guys!"
He broke the connection and the crystal dimmed. Miranda said, "So I need to make dinner for nine people, then. I had better see if we have what we need. If we don't, I'll have to go out to the market again."
She got up and went into the kitchen. The hero got up seconds later and grabbed the succubus gently by her hand. "Let's resume, honey."
She jumped to her feet and threw her arms around him, hugging him tightly. He asked, "What is it?"
She let out a small squeal of glee and said, "You have no idea how happy it makes me when you ask me for sex. Anyway, yes, let's get started!" She rushed back to their room, nearly dragging him, and shut the door. Not even 30 seconds later, quiet moans could be heard inside.
Zeraine and Amarantha looked at each other and he said, "Should we go again?"
"It'd be a good idea, I guess. We'll have to use our potions if we want to go more than one round, though," she said, her tone showing that she was eager for Zeraine's touch, but reluctant to have sex again like they have been.
He stood up, then turned to face her and picked her up off the couch. "Whoa, Zeraine!? What are you-"
Once he had her in bridal-carry position, he carried her back upstairs to her room. Miranda happened to see him carrying her and giggled to herself, glad that her daughter had found such a person.
Once back in her room, Zeraine laid her on the bed and opened her bathrobe, revealing her firm breasts. He smiled and started to descent on her, but she stopped him, gently pushing him back. "What, Ammie?"
She sat up, then went over to their things and set out one Mana Potion and one Potion of Rest. She then took the bathrobe off and tossed it aside. "These bathrobes are for covering ourselves when we're not trying and failing to keep up with the kid and the princess. I don't want to get them all covered in your cum and have them get crusty or stink."
"How would I get my cum all over them?"
"Well, I may have been exaggerating a little, but still, you let out a lot when you cum. All that semen inevitably seeps back out of me, and like this, it'd end up soaking whatever parts of the robe came in contact with my crotch. If I sat down, your cum would leak out and put a huge wet spot on the back of the robe. Of course, what would most likely happen had I not stopped you would be that your cum would pour out of me and all over the robe, which I'd be laying on."
He smirked. "You'd rather dirty your sheets?"
She rolled her eyes, then quickly stripped him of his bathrobe and tossed it away. Immediately after, she picked him up while saying, "Turnabout's fair play!" and, after holding him in a bridal-carry position, tossed him onto the bed, then mounted him.
"What, you're going to do some fem-dom?"
"Maybe. It'd spice this up a bit, wouldn't it?" she said, grinning.
The two of them went on to thoroughly arouse each other via foreplay, then Amarantha tried a little fem-dom play and quickly found out that it wouldn't work for this. "Damn it! If I do anything that makes it feel too good, I can't concentrate on what I need to!"
She managed to retake control of her anger and frustration before continuing normally. After making love for about an hour, nearly pouring all of her demonic energy into him, she started to feel very tired. She forced herself to go on, though, achieving simultaneous orgasm with Zeraine, sitting in his lap with him still all the way inside as she waited for him to stop cumming. Once she felt him stop squirting inside her, she got up, leaving a trail of his cum from the bed to her desk, it dripping from her lower lips with each step. Once at her desk, she took both potions and drank them.
Still laying on the bed, Zeraine asked, "Is it working?"
Amarantha walked back over to the bed, her vagina still dripping with Zeraine's semen as she went, and laid down next to him. "I think I can feel it working. If it is actually working, I'll be ready to go again in a little bit. We'll just have to wait and see."
Fortunately for them, it did work, and Amarantha was ready for the next round in a few minutes. Unfortunately, she passed out after cumming together with Zeraine again, having transferred too much energy to him. Again.
...
The hero and the succubus had sex until evening, not stopping except to have the hero occasionally drink a Mana Potion and a Potion of Rest. As dinnertime approached, he had quaffed three of each and was still going. He had taken the lead and was on top, missionary position, as she enjoyed laying in the ever-enlarging puddle of his semen.
...
Once Amarantha finally woke up, she yawned and stretched, then got up and put her bathrobe back on, waited for Zeraine to do the same, and went downstairs with him. They sat in the living room and waited for dinner. Soon, a teleportation portal opened behind the couch and Sol, Victoria, and Hilda all stepped through. Zeraine greeted them, saying, "Hey, you three."
Sol turned around, as did Victoria and Hilda, and said, "Hey. You know, bathrobes aren't exactly a substitute for mages' robes."
Amaranth frowned. "Not funny, Sol."
Miranda entered the room and upon seeing Sol, Victoria, and Hilda, stopped in her tracks for a moment. "Oh, you must be Sol. Nice to meet you." They shook hands and he introduced Victoria and Hilda, the two of them also shaking hands with Miranda. After the introductions, Miranda said, "Dinner is ready. Go get your friends."
She then returned to the kitchen, leaving the five of them to chat a little as they got ready for dinner. Zeraine asked, "You got your scrying orb?"
Sol nodded. "Right here," he said, pointing at Victoria's shoulder bag. "I guess I'll go get them?"
Amarantha nodded. "Yeah, you do that. After all the sex they've had today, I doubt I want to see what they look like right now. I probably don't even want to see the bed."
Sol shrugged and started to walk away, but then stopped. Just as he was about to ask where they were, Zeraine said, "Follow the moans."
He nodded and listened, following the faint moans to the couple's room. He opened the door, saying, "Yo, dinner- whoa..."
As if triggered by Sol opening the door, it happened. Black mist began to fill the air, causing the succubus to happily shout, "It's happening! It's finally happening!" She then got off of the hero's dick as he looked at himself in a panic. "Remember, don't fight it," she warned.
He looked her in the eye and nodded, composed himself, and let it continue. Demonic energy swirled in the room as the hero underwent his transformation.
Outside, Zeraine and Amarantha sensed a split-second spike in demonic energy, one that would almost be unnoticeable. They came running and found that Sol had set up a barrier to mask it. "Don't want the neighbors to worry, do we? My staff would come in handy about now..."
Crowding around the door, Zeraine, Amarantha, Sol, Victoria, and Hilda all watched as the hero doubled over, clutching at his chest while the succubus repeatedly warned him to not fight it. He groaned in pain, then grabbed and squeezed the sheets with one hand. The "audience" saw his penis swell up to full size very quickly, followed by him taking deep, heaving breaths. Still panting heavily and wincing in pain from his throbbing erection, he looked at the succubus. She looked in his eyes and saw that lust had consumed him. "Come to me," she said, spreading her cum-covered vagina for him.
Almost as soon as she finished speaking, he jumped on her, roughly shoving her down and slamming himself all the way in with the first thrust. As he proceeded to ravage her, thrusting into her as hard as he could while he squeezed her breasts hard and bit her nipples, pulling on them with his teeth, Amarantha hugged Zeraine's arm tightly, grabbing his hand and interlocking her fingers with his, then squeezing firmly. He glanced at her and asked, "What is it, Ammie?"
She looked him in the eye, then to the hero and the succubus, then back to him. "Now I'm scared. What if that happens to you? What if you get that violent with me?"
He let her words sink in as he watched the hero forcefully jam three fingers into the succubus's anus as he continued to pound away at her pussy while biting her breasts hard enough to leave teeth marks. He cringed as he watched the hero violently slam himself all the way in and cum inside the succubus before pulling out, roughly rolling her over, and holding her head down with one hand, pressing her face into the pillow as he put his dick back in her pussy and gave her a hard doggy-style fucking. He pulled out and came all over her back, then flipped her over and positioned her for irrumatio, then shoved his dick down her throat and began to vigorously hump her mouth, bouncing his balls off her nose with each thrust. She tried to pat him on the thigh to get him to slow down or ease up, but it didn't work. After a while of rough thrusting, he began squeezing her neck, trying for a tighter fit. She started thrashing as she coughed and gagged with his dick still down her throat, frantically patting him on the thigh and ass, trying to get him to stop. He didn't. Instead, he sped up, thrusting faster and harder until he came in her throat.
He finally let go and pulled his dick out, allowing the succubus to roll over and get up to her hands and knees before going into a coughing fit, coughing up large amounts of his semen as she struggled to catch her breath. Unfortunately for her, he didn't let her rest. He got around behind her and put it back in her pussy for another round of doggy style, finishing by pulling out, jerking her around by her horns, and ejaculating all over her face, followed by shoving his dick down her throat from this angle, bouncing his balls off her chin with each thrust as he went for another round of irrumatio.
Amarantha was very scared by now, and Zeraine was worried that he might try to do something similar to her when his time came. Sol commented, "It's hard to watch, but you can't look away no matter how bad you want to, right?"
Miranda, who had snuck up to see what everyone was watching before freezing in place at the sight, said, "Yeah... Amarantha, you're a lot physically stronger than your man, so if he gets violent, you can stop him. And you, Zeraine, I don't want you treating my daughter like that, you hear?"
"Yes, ma'am. If I start doing the same thing when I transform, you, Ammie, and William can kick my ass."
Moments later, the hero came down the succubus's throat again, causing her to go into another violent coughing fit, spitting up his semen and some mucus, with some of his cum even running and dripping out of her nose. Once again, she couldn't recover before he threw her onto her back, slammed his dick into her pussy, and began assaulting her again, squeezing and biting her breasts, twisting her nipples, pinching and pulling on them with his fingers and teeth, and squeezing her clitoris with his thumb and index finger.
The others could tell that her moans were of pain, not pleasure. Zeraine shook his head. "I can't watch this, nor can I let it continue. I'm stopping him before he hurts her any worse."
As he stepped forward, she cried out in pain from the hero squeezing her clit and biting her nipple, then she threw her hand out and said, "NO! Don't stop him! This will pass soon enough, just let him finish."
"But-"
"Let him! Once he's unloaded on me, he'll go back to normal. I can handle it."
Despite the large amount of semen on her face, Zeraine saw the tears in the succubus's eyes, which were obviously not just from gagging on the hero's penis during the earlier irrumatio. He looked back at Amarantha and the others, then to the succubus again. Sol said, "Listen to her and leave them alone. I just hope she's right."
Amarantha looked at Sol and, in a demanding tone, said, "When you transformed, how did it go? Did you get that violent? Tell me!"
"Calm down, Ammie. For me, due to contending with high amounts of lust every day up to then, it wasn't as hard on me. For me, it was sort of like, 'Damn, I have another persistent boner,' then it was like, 'I really want to cum! I want relief!' After that, it quickly got like, 'Shit, I can't go without blowing my load! I need to cum!' When it got to that point, I started stroking myself, and that's when Vicky and Hilda stepped in to take over. So no, I didn't get that violent."
Zeraine asked, "And the black mist?"
"You've seen Ammie when she's pissed, right? When she goes all-out with Mana Burst? That's similar to what's happening here. Yes, there was black mist. I guess it happens when there's large amounts of demonic energy present. Anyway, hopefully she's right and he'll regain control of himself."
They continued watching as the hero pulled out of her vagina and came on her face again, then put it back in for yet another round. She tried to take control of the situation as much as she could, wrapping her legs around his waist in an attempt to keep him from doing anything else with his dick, such as the irrumatio from earlier. Fortunately for her, he settled on simply fucking her cunt as hard as he could for six more rounds before he finally passed out.
After the hero passed out, the mist cleared and they could no longer feel the demonic energy inside Sol's barrier. Sol took down the barrier, saying, "Finally! I didn't pass out when I transformed, but whatever. It's done. It goes without saying that they'll have some issues to work out after this, but I'm sure they'll get over it and return to normal."
When both the hero and the succubus lay collapsed on the bed, everyone found themselves able to move again. Miranda said, "Well, dinner's cold by now. I'll have to heat it back up. It seems William is late, too..." and returned to the kitchen.
Zeraine asked, "So what do we do now?"
Sol shrugged. "Wait for them to wake up, let the reality of what he did sink in, eat dinner, and let them sort it out. Or at least, that's all I know to do."
Zeraine and Amarantha went back to the living room and sat back down on the couch, not sure what to do or think after what they witnessed. Sol closed the door to the couple's room and followed them, Victoria and Hilda in tow. Once in the living room, he set up his scrying orb and checked on where The Four Horsemen were.
Chapter 123
Spoiler: show
Nobody said anything. Zeraine and Amarantha were both silent and nearly motionless as they sat on the couch next to each other, still trying to come to terms with what they saw. Zeraine was upset over seeing the hero lose himself and hurt the succubus like he did. He also couldn't figure out why she told him not to stop the hero. Amarantha was pondering the same, but neither said anything.
Sol sat on the floor in front of his scrying orb, the orb sitting securely in its stand. Victoria sat next to him at his left and Hilda did the same at his right. Both of them were incredibly unnerved over the incident, too, and they wanted to stick as close to Sol as they could. Sol watched the movements and activities of The Four Horsemen, ready to report anything important.
Eventually, William came home. Upon setting foot in the living room, he sensed the sullen mood. After taking note of the three new guests, he prioritized breaking the awkward silence and finding out what was wrong. "What happened?"
Zeraine and Amarantha both shrugged, then he replied, "The kid finally transformed. He's an incubus now, but something went wrong. We don't know what happened, but he lost it or something."
Amarantha added, "What he did to her... It was horrible."
The two of them took turns explaining what happened. Afterward, Amarantha commented, "Now I'm scared, thinking about what might happen when Zeraine turns."
Zeraine said, "Ammie, I know this isn't exactly the time for humor, but like I told your mom, you, she, and your dad all have my permission to kick my ass if I start trying anything like that, and I mean that."
William's tone was one of disgust. "If anything like that happens when you turn, you had better hope that my wife or daughter takes care of it before I get there, because if they don't, I'll kill you. I won't let anyone even try to rape my daughter, regardless of whether or not they're aware of what they're doing." He attempted to return to a normal tone before addressing Sol and the others, but noticeable traces of hostility lingered. "Forgive me for not being as welcoming as I usually am, but who might you three be?"
Sol got up and said, "I'm Sol. I work in Westcreek as an alchemist, and I sell various magic scrolls and enchanted items, as well." He gestured toward Victoria and said, "This is one of my two employees, Victoria. As you can see, she's a Lizardman. She's also my apprentice." He then gestured toward Hilda and said, "And this is my other employee, Hilda. As you can plainly see, she is a salamander."
All three of them shook hands with William as he said, "I'm William, Amarantha's father. I work at our clan's clinic as a healer."
"Nice to meet you. I wish it were under happier circumstances, though," Sol said apologetically.
William scoffed. "As far as I know, you have nothing to apologize for, so don't take that one. I agree, though, that it would have been better to meet at a time when something like this hadn't happened."
...
Meanwhile, the hero finally came to. He raised up, getting off of the succubus, and sat on his knees on the bed. As his mind cleared up, his disorientation faded and he started to get his bearings. The first thing he noticed was that the bed was almost completely covered in semen, and possibly due to the sheer volume of it, it hadn't dried up. There was a rather large "pool" of it in the middle of the bed, too. He then noticed the succubus laying in it, her face covered with cum and her vagina letting out a small stream of white from where he came inside so many times.
It was then that the memories came flooding into his consciousness. He looked down at himself, not noticing anything different. He was supposed to be an incubus now. He felt for horns, wings, or a tail and found nothing. He vaguely remembered the succubus saying that some men didn't grow anything of the sort when they turned; they stayed looking fully human. He paused for a moment, blinked a few times, then the realization hit him. He remembered in vivid detail everything he did to her, which made him sick to his stomach. He remembered how violent he was, and how hard he fucked her. He remembered how he hurt her, evidenced by her cries, which he now heard non-stop in his head. He also remembered her telling Zeraine not to stop him, which hurt him more than any of the memories of what he did to her.
He held his head and thought, "Gods damn it! I raped her, didn't I? That was rape. My future wife whom I love dearly, and I fucking raped her! What the fuck is wrong with me? First I treated her like I did back then, then I called her a slut, and now I raped her as if I was trying to kill her by it! Why couldn't I stop myself!?" After several more minutes of thinking, being so lost in his thoughts that he didn't notice William peeking in and snorting in disgust before heading for the kitchen, the hero thought, "I panicked. I fought it. She told me not to, but I did. That's why I lost control. It still doesn't excuse what I did, though. If anything, it makes it worse. She told me what to do, but I chickened out and didn't listen. I guess I didn't trust her enough to take her advice or something... I wouldn't be surprised if she hated me after this, especially after she finds out why it happened. I'm just not good enough for her."
He moved to the edge of the bed and sat down, resting his head in his hands, elbows on his knees, as he continued berating himself.
Eventually, the succubus came to, as well. She turned her head and saw the hero's back as he sat at the edge of the bed. She rolled over on her side, trying not to make him aware of her. Her ass hurt, as did her vagina, throat, and breasts. The fact that her beloved had done it only made it hurt worse. She wanted to know why, though she had a few ideas. She sat up, taking care not to put pressure on her vagina or anus if she could keep from it. Unfortunately, as she adjusted herself, she did just that. Her sensitive, sore holes shot spikes of pain through her that made her wince. The realization that he did it hit her again and tears began streaming down her face.
The hero heard her sniffling and hung his head lower. He was thoroughly ashamed of himself and didn't know what to do. He considered running away from her, possibly trying to continue helping her from a distance, as well as throwing himself on his own sword. Soon, her voice hoarse, she said, "I see you're up."
"Yeah," he replied, his voice full of self-hate. He wished hard that he could change what happened, or that the gods would strike him dead.
"How do you feel?"
"Like shit."
"Why?"
"Because of what I did to you! Don't try to tell me you forgot!"
"Don't snap at me! I saw that you lost control of yourself. Would you happen to know why?"
"Yeah. It's because even though you told me not to fight it, I still panicked and did so. Then I did all of that... I literally raped you. You, the woman I'm supposed to love and cherish, the woman I was going to marry, the last person I should ever hurt! If for some reason you still love me, I have no idea why. Someone as weak as I-"
He was so busy beating himself up over it that he didn't notice when she got up and walked around to his side of the bed. She interrupted him with a slap; one that was hard enough to nearly spin him and lay him out on the bed, and loud enough to bring the others running. He glanced up at her with a confused look, but his self-loathing quickly made him look away, and his shame prevented him from looking at her again. "Stop it right now. Look at me." She waited a few seconds, then more sternly said, "Look at me." She grabbed his head and forced him to look at her. "I said look at me! To be honest, I'm disappointed. You panicked and lost control due to not listening to me, and not doing what I told you to. My ass still hurts from when you shoved three fingers in there. My throat hurts from you jamming your cock down it like you were trying to reach my stomach with it. My nipples and clit hurt from your pinching, squeezing, pulling, and biting. My tits hurt from where you bit me. Your teeth marks are still there. My pussy hurts from you slamming yourself into me as hard as you could. You hurt me bad, both physically and emotionally."
"I know! That's why-"
She slapped him again. "Shut up! You know what hurt me the most? It wasn't you savagely fucking me like a wild animal. It was the thought that something had gone horribly wrong and I had lost you forever. I was scared to death thinking that you had done like so many others, losing yourself and becoming a mindless beast. I was also worried that you might have had some repressed hatred of me that surfaced during the transformation, causing you to do that. Now that I know why it happened, I'm pissed. I'm not pissed at you for fucking up like you did, though. I'm pissed at you for making me worry."
"So... You don't hate me? Even after what I did?"
She leaned down and got face to face with him. "I'm so mad at you right now I could strangle you, but no, I don't hate you. I still love you, despite your colossal fuck-up, and I'm not going to let you sit around feeling sorry for yourself, hating yourself for your mistake. I'll admit that I won't be able to forgive you for quite a while, but I won't hate you for it."
The hero let out a big sigh. He was obviously glad that she didn't hate him, though he still felt as though he didn't deserve her love after what he did. He now began looking forward to making it up to her however he could. He knew, though, that it would take him a very long time to get over his guilt.
Everyone watching looked amongst each other and expressed various emotions and reactions, all of them some degree of positive. Miranda announced, "Dinner's ready. ...Again."
William said, "I guess the worst is over? Regardless, could you clean the room up a bit? It's starting to stink. And make sure to clean yourselves up and get dressed before you come to the dinner table, okay?"
Sol and his lizard girls went back to the living room as he checked on The Four Horsemen one last time before heading to the dining room. Zeraine and Amarantha left the two alone to take care of business while they followed William.
The succubus got to work, using her magic to clean herself and the hero off, then the bed and sheets. When she was done, it looked as though the bed was unused. There wasn't a drop of semen to be found. As she and the hero got dressed for dinner, she said, "You know, you're in for it tomorrow morning."
"What do you mean?"
"Like I said, I'm really mad at you. I need to vent. You have to help me. I can vent either by hitting you until I'm satisfied, or we can do it through sex. The former wouldn't be as fun for either of us, and I'd have to heal you afterwards. The latter would make us stronger, but I'd be on top and we'd try some bondage and fem-dom stuff."
"Right now I think I'd have to go with the for-"
"I'm not listening! I'm tying you up and fucking you tomorrow morning and that's final. No arguing."
"So I don't get a choice in the matter?"
"I said no arguing. I'm going to punish you for not listening to me, and you're going to accept it and take it like a man."
He couldn't help but crack a smile. "You're so pushy."
She smirked at him. "Shut up, come here, and give me a kiss. Right now. Immediately, if not sooner."
He gave her a kiss, then they got dressed and went to the dining room.
Sol sat on the floor in front of his scrying orb, the orb sitting securely in its stand. Victoria sat next to him at his left and Hilda did the same at his right. Both of them were incredibly unnerved over the incident, too, and they wanted to stick as close to Sol as they could. Sol watched the movements and activities of The Four Horsemen, ready to report anything important.
Eventually, William came home. Upon setting foot in the living room, he sensed the sullen mood. After taking note of the three new guests, he prioritized breaking the awkward silence and finding out what was wrong. "What happened?"
Zeraine and Amarantha both shrugged, then he replied, "The kid finally transformed. He's an incubus now, but something went wrong. We don't know what happened, but he lost it or something."
Amarantha added, "What he did to her... It was horrible."
The two of them took turns explaining what happened. Afterward, Amarantha commented, "Now I'm scared, thinking about what might happen when Zeraine turns."
Zeraine said, "Ammie, I know this isn't exactly the time for humor, but like I told your mom, you, she, and your dad all have my permission to kick my ass if I start trying anything like that, and I mean that."
William's tone was one of disgust. "If anything like that happens when you turn, you had better hope that my wife or daughter takes care of it before I get there, because if they don't, I'll kill you. I won't let anyone even try to rape my daughter, regardless of whether or not they're aware of what they're doing." He attempted to return to a normal tone before addressing Sol and the others, but noticeable traces of hostility lingered. "Forgive me for not being as welcoming as I usually am, but who might you three be?"
Sol got up and said, "I'm Sol. I work in Westcreek as an alchemist, and I sell various magic scrolls and enchanted items, as well." He gestured toward Victoria and said, "This is one of my two employees, Victoria. As you can see, she's a Lizardman. She's also my apprentice." He then gestured toward Hilda and said, "And this is my other employee, Hilda. As you can plainly see, she is a salamander."
All three of them shook hands with William as he said, "I'm William, Amarantha's father. I work at our clan's clinic as a healer."
"Nice to meet you. I wish it were under happier circumstances, though," Sol said apologetically.
William scoffed. "As far as I know, you have nothing to apologize for, so don't take that one. I agree, though, that it would have been better to meet at a time when something like this hadn't happened."
...
Meanwhile, the hero finally came to. He raised up, getting off of the succubus, and sat on his knees on the bed. As his mind cleared up, his disorientation faded and he started to get his bearings. The first thing he noticed was that the bed was almost completely covered in semen, and possibly due to the sheer volume of it, it hadn't dried up. There was a rather large "pool" of it in the middle of the bed, too. He then noticed the succubus laying in it, her face covered with cum and her vagina letting out a small stream of white from where he came inside so many times.
It was then that the memories came flooding into his consciousness. He looked down at himself, not noticing anything different. He was supposed to be an incubus now. He felt for horns, wings, or a tail and found nothing. He vaguely remembered the succubus saying that some men didn't grow anything of the sort when they turned; they stayed looking fully human. He paused for a moment, blinked a few times, then the realization hit him. He remembered in vivid detail everything he did to her, which made him sick to his stomach. He remembered how violent he was, and how hard he fucked her. He remembered how he hurt her, evidenced by her cries, which he now heard non-stop in his head. He also remembered her telling Zeraine not to stop him, which hurt him more than any of the memories of what he did to her.
He held his head and thought, "Gods damn it! I raped her, didn't I? That was rape. My future wife whom I love dearly, and I fucking raped her! What the fuck is wrong with me? First I treated her like I did back then, then I called her a slut, and now I raped her as if I was trying to kill her by it! Why couldn't I stop myself!?" After several more minutes of thinking, being so lost in his thoughts that he didn't notice William peeking in and snorting in disgust before heading for the kitchen, the hero thought, "I panicked. I fought it. She told me not to, but I did. That's why I lost control. It still doesn't excuse what I did, though. If anything, it makes it worse. She told me what to do, but I chickened out and didn't listen. I guess I didn't trust her enough to take her advice or something... I wouldn't be surprised if she hated me after this, especially after she finds out why it happened. I'm just not good enough for her."
He moved to the edge of the bed and sat down, resting his head in his hands, elbows on his knees, as he continued berating himself.
Eventually, the succubus came to, as well. She turned her head and saw the hero's back as he sat at the edge of the bed. She rolled over on her side, trying not to make him aware of her. Her ass hurt, as did her vagina, throat, and breasts. The fact that her beloved had done it only made it hurt worse. She wanted to know why, though she had a few ideas. She sat up, taking care not to put pressure on her vagina or anus if she could keep from it. Unfortunately, as she adjusted herself, she did just that. Her sensitive, sore holes shot spikes of pain through her that made her wince. The realization that he did it hit her again and tears began streaming down her face.
The hero heard her sniffling and hung his head lower. He was thoroughly ashamed of himself and didn't know what to do. He considered running away from her, possibly trying to continue helping her from a distance, as well as throwing himself on his own sword. Soon, her voice hoarse, she said, "I see you're up."
"Yeah," he replied, his voice full of self-hate. He wished hard that he could change what happened, or that the gods would strike him dead.
"How do you feel?"
"Like shit."
"Why?"
"Because of what I did to you! Don't try to tell me you forgot!"
"Don't snap at me! I saw that you lost control of yourself. Would you happen to know why?"
"Yeah. It's because even though you told me not to fight it, I still panicked and did so. Then I did all of that... I literally raped you. You, the woman I'm supposed to love and cherish, the woman I was going to marry, the last person I should ever hurt! If for some reason you still love me, I have no idea why. Someone as weak as I-"
He was so busy beating himself up over it that he didn't notice when she got up and walked around to his side of the bed. She interrupted him with a slap; one that was hard enough to nearly spin him and lay him out on the bed, and loud enough to bring the others running. He glanced up at her with a confused look, but his self-loathing quickly made him look away, and his shame prevented him from looking at her again. "Stop it right now. Look at me." She waited a few seconds, then more sternly said, "Look at me." She grabbed his head and forced him to look at her. "I said look at me! To be honest, I'm disappointed. You panicked and lost control due to not listening to me, and not doing what I told you to. My ass still hurts from when you shoved three fingers in there. My throat hurts from you jamming your cock down it like you were trying to reach my stomach with it. My nipples and clit hurt from your pinching, squeezing, pulling, and biting. My tits hurt from where you bit me. Your teeth marks are still there. My pussy hurts from you slamming yourself into me as hard as you could. You hurt me bad, both physically and emotionally."
"I know! That's why-"
She slapped him again. "Shut up! You know what hurt me the most? It wasn't you savagely fucking me like a wild animal. It was the thought that something had gone horribly wrong and I had lost you forever. I was scared to death thinking that you had done like so many others, losing yourself and becoming a mindless beast. I was also worried that you might have had some repressed hatred of me that surfaced during the transformation, causing you to do that. Now that I know why it happened, I'm pissed. I'm not pissed at you for fucking up like you did, though. I'm pissed at you for making me worry."
"So... You don't hate me? Even after what I did?"
She leaned down and got face to face with him. "I'm so mad at you right now I could strangle you, but no, I don't hate you. I still love you, despite your colossal fuck-up, and I'm not going to let you sit around feeling sorry for yourself, hating yourself for your mistake. I'll admit that I won't be able to forgive you for quite a while, but I won't hate you for it."
The hero let out a big sigh. He was obviously glad that she didn't hate him, though he still felt as though he didn't deserve her love after what he did. He now began looking forward to making it up to her however he could. He knew, though, that it would take him a very long time to get over his guilt.
Everyone watching looked amongst each other and expressed various emotions and reactions, all of them some degree of positive. Miranda announced, "Dinner's ready. ...Again."
William said, "I guess the worst is over? Regardless, could you clean the room up a bit? It's starting to stink. And make sure to clean yourselves up and get dressed before you come to the dinner table, okay?"
Sol and his lizard girls went back to the living room as he checked on The Four Horsemen one last time before heading to the dining room. Zeraine and Amarantha left the two alone to take care of business while they followed William.
The succubus got to work, using her magic to clean herself and the hero off, then the bed and sheets. When she was done, it looked as though the bed was unused. There wasn't a drop of semen to be found. As she and the hero got dressed for dinner, she said, "You know, you're in for it tomorrow morning."
"What do you mean?"
"Like I said, I'm really mad at you. I need to vent. You have to help me. I can vent either by hitting you until I'm satisfied, or we can do it through sex. The former wouldn't be as fun for either of us, and I'd have to heal you afterwards. The latter would make us stronger, but I'd be on top and we'd try some bondage and fem-dom stuff."
"Right now I think I'd have to go with the for-"
"I'm not listening! I'm tying you up and fucking you tomorrow morning and that's final. No arguing."
"So I don't get a choice in the matter?"
"I said no arguing. I'm going to punish you for not listening to me, and you're going to accept it and take it like a man."
He couldn't help but crack a smile. "You're so pushy."
She smirked at him. "Shut up, come here, and give me a kiss. Right now. Immediately, if not sooner."
He gave her a kiss, then they got dressed and went to the dining room.
Chapter 124
Spoiler: show
Once everyone was seated at the table, Sol said, "Before we start eating, I have what seems to be good news. The Four Horsemen have stopped not far from the Order base near Pale Pass. From what I can tell, they plan to wait until after dark and attack the place. It's good news, at least in my opinion, because the world doesn't need zealots like those guys, and because it gives you guys more time to rest and prepare."
The hero scowled. "The bastards smear The Order's good name with every action they take. They are dead to me, and if The Four Horsemen don't get rid of them, I will. It's good that we have more time, though."
The nine of them ate dinner, then William and Miranda went to bed, leaving the party, Sol, and his lizard-girls to converse in the living room. Sol silently resumed watching through his scrying orb while the others talked.
"Okay, so what now? Do we continue trying to turn me into an incubus, too? Or do we forego that and hope that I'm good enough right now?" Zeraine asked, obviously reluctant to continue after witnessing the hero's not-ideal transformation.
The succubus, her voice having returned to normal after letting her throat recover (said recovery assisted by a couple of healing spells), said, "First, how much do you lust after Ammie?"
"Huh?" Zeraine asked, confused.
"I know you two love each other deeply, but how much do you lust after her? How often do you want to bone her?"
Zeraine cleared his throat and asked, "Do I have to answer that?"
The succubus crossed her arms and said, "If you want to get an idea of how hard it'll be on you, yes."
"Well, I'd like to make love to her every night, if possible. If we find an opportunity during the day, then I'd be up for that, too."
"So then, you lust after her quite a bit?"
"I guess. Why?"
"Then you might not have it as bad as he did," the succubus said, pointing at the hero with her thumb. "You're not under nearly as much pressure as he is, nor have you just recently been exposed to high amounts of lust. Also, I doubt you'd panic and fight it. At least, not as strongly as he did. Accept and embrace it without succumbing to it and everything will go smoothly. Fight it and it'll be a rough ride."
Zeraine looked at Amarantha, making eye-contact before looking back to the succubus. "So I should be fine, right? How many more times do you think Ammie and I will need to do it before I turn?"
"As long as you do as I said, yes, you'll be fine. As for how many times, it's hard to say. It depends on how much of her demonic energy she dumps into you in each session. To be honest, I can't tell. You might turn next time you bang her, it might take a few more times, or it might take another dozen or so. I'm not familiar with you, your body, and your system, so I can't give any better estimate than that."
Sol interrupted, asking, "What's the normal way The Order does things for guarding their bases at night?"
The hero, surprised by the sudden question, took a moment to collect himself and answered, "Well, uh, there are less patrols at night. Most people are asleep by dark, which I guess would be right about now. Why?"
"Then that means something should happen soon. Our headless warriors should be just about ready to- oh, there they go." Sol glanced up and motioned for everyone to gather around and watch.
As the party gathered around Sol's scrying orb to watch, they saw the four Dullahan put on their heads and ride toward the front gates. They couldn't hear anything, but they guessed the gate guards stopped them with the usual "Who goes there?" or "Who be ye?" before falling for their human appearance and letting them in. Once the gates were open, the riders entered, then dismounted. Their black horses seemed to dissolve into nothingness soon after, but the guards never noticed, for one Dullahan each had rushed them, running them through with their long swords before anyone could do anything.
"They got in, killed the gate guards, and are still undetected. Not bad," Sol commented.
One of the other two riders raised the corpses, who then went back to their posts, making it seem as though all were normal. In the dark of night, it was difficult to see the blood on the ground and their armor.
"Was that a Thrall spell?" the succubus asked.
"Looks like it. Very clever." Sol was fascinated with how The Four Horsemen were so easily going about their raid so far, and it showed on his face.
They kept watching as the four of them went into the guard towers, up the stairs, and onto the walls, slaying the knights with such speed, skill, and precision that it made obvious their inhuman nature. Once the men on the walls were all dead, the Dullahans began searching for the barracks, quickly finding them. The four of them looked at each other, nodded, and went to each wall of the small building, drew large runes on the walls, stepped back, and set them off. The runes blew the walls down and set the inside of the building on fire. About a dozen men came running out of the building, a few of them on fire. The Dullahans ignored them, choosing to knock out the corners of the walls, bringing the roof down on those still inside, trapping them under burning rubble.
The Dullahan who raised the gate guards ordered them to fire on the survivors, which they did, killing them easily. Afterwards, the Dullahan ordered them to come down, and the four of them, with their two puppets, waited. A couple of minutes later, a few Order priests came running out. Upon seeing the commotion, and the source of it, they began attacking with spells, mostly using what was obviously Anselm, which the Dullahans blocked with their shields, blocked with Ward spells, or simply evaded. The puppet gate guards fired another volley from their crossbows and killed one of the priests before being blown apart by several arrows of light from the other priests' Anselm spells. The priests proved no match for the Horsemen and fell quickly as their spells did nothing and the riders nailed them with simple Firebolt and Ice Bolt spells.
Zeraine scoffed. "So much for them. I guess it was obvious that they'd win, but... Man, they make it look easy."
The riders, now without their puppets, not bothering to raise any more, stood there, waiting for several more minutes. After those several minutes, the last several knights, obviously the elite of the base, along with their commander, came out, decked out in full armor with their halberds, swords, shields, and pole axes. They attempted to surround and attack the Horsemen, but it didn't work. The four split up, leaving one of them behind to face the knights directly while the other three took up advantageous positions nearby, such as on the walls or at the side or the knights. The Dullahan that stayed behind drew its two swords and assumed a fighting stance for the first time in this event.
Showing off how much experience The Four Horsemen have had, as well as the depth of their trust and their level of teamwork, the other three used Firebolt and Ice Bolt spells, mostly for harassment, as the fourth rushed in with dance-like steps, taking out the two men at the left flank in the blink of an eye before tossing one of its swords into the air, frying another knight with Lightning Bolt, and tripping another with a sweep kick, causing him to fall down just in time to be impaled through the chest by the Dullahan's sword as it came back down.
One of the others jumped down from the wall with its long sword in hand and took out the men on the right flank with fast, precise strikes. The knights, having been overwhelmed from the start, tried to retreat, but the other two Dullahans teleported to block them. Now, the eight remaining knights, surrounded by the four Dullahans, had nowhere to go. They stood there, bunched up, unsure of what to do. The dual-wield Dullahan put away its other sword in favor of its shield. It was then that the party noticed that each of the Horsemen had a sword and a shield, with one of them having a claymore on its back. Aside from the one with the claymore and the one with two swords, they couldn't tell what all weapons the Horsemen had.
Another minute or so later, the knights decided to charge, two men at each enemy. In seconds, the knights' failure was complete and they were all dead. The commander was dead, too. The Horsemen didn't bother with anything like saving him for last; they simply killed him as he charged, just like the rest of his men. They then split up and began searching the rest of the fort.
Amarantha commented, "We're in for one hell of a fight."
Sol looked at the hero and asked, "Do you still have that Sanctuary scroll?"
The hero nodded. "Yeah, I've managed to get by so far without it."
"Use it. Naturally you shouldn't use it right at the beginning, because they would simply keep away from you until it ran out, but still, at the right moment, use it and do like a berserker; attack as viciously as you can, be completely and totally relentless, show no mercy, and try to kill at least one of them while the scroll is in effect. It'd be best if you could get two of them during that time, because then, you'd only have two left to deal with once your temporary invincibility expired."
Amarantha asked, "What about my true form? Wouldn't it be best if we fought them in a place where I could transform? I'm sure my ice breath at full power could at least temporarily take one of them out of the fight, and my dragon-strength might let me overwhelm one of them."
The succubus shrugged. "If we can do that, yes, that'd be good. Don't forget, though, that they might try and get up on your back to attack you. Normal humans wouldn't be much of a threat in that situation because of your scales, but Dullahans are incredibly strong. I'm not sure, but you might be best sticking with your human form, using your warhammer."
The hero said, "Well, we've seen how they work together, and we've seen what they're capable of, so we have at least a little bit of an idea of what we're up against. We should get some rest tonight and see about practicing, training, preparing... doing whatever we can to get ready. Once we're prepared, we need to head out and meet them before they can get anywhere near here. The sooner we take them out, the better."
Everyone agreed and went to their rooms. Sol stayed behind in the living room with Victoria and Hilda to watch for a while longer.
The hero scowled. "The bastards smear The Order's good name with every action they take. They are dead to me, and if The Four Horsemen don't get rid of them, I will. It's good that we have more time, though."
The nine of them ate dinner, then William and Miranda went to bed, leaving the party, Sol, and his lizard-girls to converse in the living room. Sol silently resumed watching through his scrying orb while the others talked.
"Okay, so what now? Do we continue trying to turn me into an incubus, too? Or do we forego that and hope that I'm good enough right now?" Zeraine asked, obviously reluctant to continue after witnessing the hero's not-ideal transformation.
The succubus, her voice having returned to normal after letting her throat recover (said recovery assisted by a couple of healing spells), said, "First, how much do you lust after Ammie?"
"Huh?" Zeraine asked, confused.
"I know you two love each other deeply, but how much do you lust after her? How often do you want to bone her?"
Zeraine cleared his throat and asked, "Do I have to answer that?"
The succubus crossed her arms and said, "If you want to get an idea of how hard it'll be on you, yes."
"Well, I'd like to make love to her every night, if possible. If we find an opportunity during the day, then I'd be up for that, too."
"So then, you lust after her quite a bit?"
"I guess. Why?"
"Then you might not have it as bad as he did," the succubus said, pointing at the hero with her thumb. "You're not under nearly as much pressure as he is, nor have you just recently been exposed to high amounts of lust. Also, I doubt you'd panic and fight it. At least, not as strongly as he did. Accept and embrace it without succumbing to it and everything will go smoothly. Fight it and it'll be a rough ride."
Zeraine looked at Amarantha, making eye-contact before looking back to the succubus. "So I should be fine, right? How many more times do you think Ammie and I will need to do it before I turn?"
"As long as you do as I said, yes, you'll be fine. As for how many times, it's hard to say. It depends on how much of her demonic energy she dumps into you in each session. To be honest, I can't tell. You might turn next time you bang her, it might take a few more times, or it might take another dozen or so. I'm not familiar with you, your body, and your system, so I can't give any better estimate than that."
Sol interrupted, asking, "What's the normal way The Order does things for guarding their bases at night?"
The hero, surprised by the sudden question, took a moment to collect himself and answered, "Well, uh, there are less patrols at night. Most people are asleep by dark, which I guess would be right about now. Why?"
"Then that means something should happen soon. Our headless warriors should be just about ready to- oh, there they go." Sol glanced up and motioned for everyone to gather around and watch.
As the party gathered around Sol's scrying orb to watch, they saw the four Dullahan put on their heads and ride toward the front gates. They couldn't hear anything, but they guessed the gate guards stopped them with the usual "Who goes there?" or "Who be ye?" before falling for their human appearance and letting them in. Once the gates were open, the riders entered, then dismounted. Their black horses seemed to dissolve into nothingness soon after, but the guards never noticed, for one Dullahan each had rushed them, running them through with their long swords before anyone could do anything.
"They got in, killed the gate guards, and are still undetected. Not bad," Sol commented.
One of the other two riders raised the corpses, who then went back to their posts, making it seem as though all were normal. In the dark of night, it was difficult to see the blood on the ground and their armor.
"Was that a Thrall spell?" the succubus asked.
"Looks like it. Very clever." Sol was fascinated with how The Four Horsemen were so easily going about their raid so far, and it showed on his face.
They kept watching as the four of them went into the guard towers, up the stairs, and onto the walls, slaying the knights with such speed, skill, and precision that it made obvious their inhuman nature. Once the men on the walls were all dead, the Dullahans began searching for the barracks, quickly finding them. The four of them looked at each other, nodded, and went to each wall of the small building, drew large runes on the walls, stepped back, and set them off. The runes blew the walls down and set the inside of the building on fire. About a dozen men came running out of the building, a few of them on fire. The Dullahans ignored them, choosing to knock out the corners of the walls, bringing the roof down on those still inside, trapping them under burning rubble.
The Dullahan who raised the gate guards ordered them to fire on the survivors, which they did, killing them easily. Afterwards, the Dullahan ordered them to come down, and the four of them, with their two puppets, waited. A couple of minutes later, a few Order priests came running out. Upon seeing the commotion, and the source of it, they began attacking with spells, mostly using what was obviously Anselm, which the Dullahans blocked with their shields, blocked with Ward spells, or simply evaded. The puppet gate guards fired another volley from their crossbows and killed one of the priests before being blown apart by several arrows of light from the other priests' Anselm spells. The priests proved no match for the Horsemen and fell quickly as their spells did nothing and the riders nailed them with simple Firebolt and Ice Bolt spells.
Zeraine scoffed. "So much for them. I guess it was obvious that they'd win, but... Man, they make it look easy."
The riders, now without their puppets, not bothering to raise any more, stood there, waiting for several more minutes. After those several minutes, the last several knights, obviously the elite of the base, along with their commander, came out, decked out in full armor with their halberds, swords, shields, and pole axes. They attempted to surround and attack the Horsemen, but it didn't work. The four split up, leaving one of them behind to face the knights directly while the other three took up advantageous positions nearby, such as on the walls or at the side or the knights. The Dullahan that stayed behind drew its two swords and assumed a fighting stance for the first time in this event.
Showing off how much experience The Four Horsemen have had, as well as the depth of their trust and their level of teamwork, the other three used Firebolt and Ice Bolt spells, mostly for harassment, as the fourth rushed in with dance-like steps, taking out the two men at the left flank in the blink of an eye before tossing one of its swords into the air, frying another knight with Lightning Bolt, and tripping another with a sweep kick, causing him to fall down just in time to be impaled through the chest by the Dullahan's sword as it came back down.
One of the others jumped down from the wall with its long sword in hand and took out the men on the right flank with fast, precise strikes. The knights, having been overwhelmed from the start, tried to retreat, but the other two Dullahans teleported to block them. Now, the eight remaining knights, surrounded by the four Dullahans, had nowhere to go. They stood there, bunched up, unsure of what to do. The dual-wield Dullahan put away its other sword in favor of its shield. It was then that the party noticed that each of the Horsemen had a sword and a shield, with one of them having a claymore on its back. Aside from the one with the claymore and the one with two swords, they couldn't tell what all weapons the Horsemen had.
Another minute or so later, the knights decided to charge, two men at each enemy. In seconds, the knights' failure was complete and they were all dead. The commander was dead, too. The Horsemen didn't bother with anything like saving him for last; they simply killed him as he charged, just like the rest of his men. They then split up and began searching the rest of the fort.
Amarantha commented, "We're in for one hell of a fight."
Sol looked at the hero and asked, "Do you still have that Sanctuary scroll?"
The hero nodded. "Yeah, I've managed to get by so far without it."
"Use it. Naturally you shouldn't use it right at the beginning, because they would simply keep away from you until it ran out, but still, at the right moment, use it and do like a berserker; attack as viciously as you can, be completely and totally relentless, show no mercy, and try to kill at least one of them while the scroll is in effect. It'd be best if you could get two of them during that time, because then, you'd only have two left to deal with once your temporary invincibility expired."
Amarantha asked, "What about my true form? Wouldn't it be best if we fought them in a place where I could transform? I'm sure my ice breath at full power could at least temporarily take one of them out of the fight, and my dragon-strength might let me overwhelm one of them."
The succubus shrugged. "If we can do that, yes, that'd be good. Don't forget, though, that they might try and get up on your back to attack you. Normal humans wouldn't be much of a threat in that situation because of your scales, but Dullahans are incredibly strong. I'm not sure, but you might be best sticking with your human form, using your warhammer."
The hero said, "Well, we've seen how they work together, and we've seen what they're capable of, so we have at least a little bit of an idea of what we're up against. We should get some rest tonight and see about practicing, training, preparing... doing whatever we can to get ready. Once we're prepared, we need to head out and meet them before they can get anywhere near here. The sooner we take them out, the better."
Everyone agreed and went to their rooms. Sol stayed behind in the living room with Victoria and Hilda to watch for a while longer.
Chapter 125
Spoiler: show
In the guest room, the hero and the succubus got ready for bed. When he looked at the bed, he cringed, immediately remembering what had happened. He glanced at the succubus, who was getting naked, and felt himself getting aroused. He quickly stripped and got in bed, making sure to not let her see his erection. All the while, he thought, "Damn it! How the hell could I get aroused like this!? I just- ...and then I... Damn!"
She joined him about a minute later, spooning him as she got comfortable. He felt her naked breasts against his back, her nipples through his shirt, and only got more aroused. She noticed his squirming and asked, "What's wrong?"
"N-nothing," he said. Unfortunately, his tone gave him away.
"Really? Then what's this?" she asked, reaching around and gently grabbing his groin, feeling his penis through his underwear.
He shuddered in pleasure at her touch. It would seem his penis was, at least at the moment, more sensitive than normal. "Please, don't."
"Why?" she asked, moving her hand to his muscular abdomen.
"I just... you know, earlier, and..."
"You're still upset over that, and now you're ashamed of yourself for getting a boner from me so soon after."
"...Yeah."
She sighed, then began sensually rubbing her hands up and down his chest, pressing her breasts against his back firmly. "Don't be. You're an incubus now. Getting aroused this easily is normal." She lightly touched his dick through his underwear.
"Wait..."
"Don't worry. I know you well enough by now to say with absolute certainty that what you did earlier won't happen again." She kissed him on the cheek and rubbed his balls.
"Isn't your body still sore?"
"Yes, but we're not having sex tonight. I'll be better in the morning, so we'll fuck then. For now, I'll use my hands to relieve you. It would be pretty hard to sleep with a boner like this."
"Yeah, I guess you're right. Go ahead."
She proceeded to stroke him off, then they fell asleep.
...
Meanwhile, in Amarantha's room, she and Zeraine also got ready for bed. He asked, "Ammie, we should do it again before we go to sleep, shouldn't we?"
She gave him a sad look and said, "Yeah, we should."
"Why the sad face?"
"It's so much better when we're not focusing on this."
"The sooner we finish, the sooner we can go back to 'normal'."
She shrugged, they stripped, had sex in exactly the same way they have for the past several times, then Amarantha passed out and Zeraine went to sleep.
...
The next morning, in the guest room, the hero and the succubus woke up. She asked, "Are you ready?"
He replied, "Can it wait?"
"If you mean 'wait until after breakfast', then that's what I was planning on in the first place."
"Oh. Okay. Well, let's go eat."
They got dressed and left for the kitchen.
...
Amarantha yawned, stretched, and got off of Zeraine, then they cleaned themselves up, got dressed, and went downstairs. As they passed through the living room, they saw Sol still sitting in front of his scrying orb, with Victoria and Hilda resting their heads in his lap. Zeraine asked, "Did you even sleep?"
Sol shook his head, not taking his eyes off the orb.
Zeraine then asked, "Did anything important enough happen that would cause you to stay up all night?"
Sol shook his head again. "Nope. The Four Horsemen are still at that Order base. They haven't come out since they went in. Now, I don't really know jack shit about Dullahans, but I'd guess they're either sleeping, enjoying the high quality beds the elite of The Order get to sleep on, or they're searching for something. I don't know what they'd be searching for, so..."
Amarantha asked, "How about you wake them up and eat breakfast with us? After that, get some sleep. Vicky can watch for you, can't she?"
"Yeah. Good idea." Sol lovingly petted Victoria and Hilda, then gently shook them. As they sat up, Zeraine and Amarantha could see that Hilda had a thick stream of drool running out of the corner of her mouth and down her chin. They also noticed, now that Hilda's head was out of the way, that Sol had a large wet spot on his robe where Hilda's head had been. Amarantha let out a quiet giggle, thinking it was cute. What came next, however, surprised both her and Zeraine. Sol said, "Hold still, Hilda..." before licking her drool off her face.
Zeraine and Amarantha looked back and forth between each other and Sol in disbelief. Amarantha said, "We know he's a pervert, but that's gross."
Zeraine paused for a moment and said, "Maybe, but I think it's kind of hot, too. I'd like to try it with you sometime, Ammie."
She frowned at him and said, "I don't drool in my- ...Well, not usually. Still, I'd prefer you didn't."
"It's not that different from drinking your saliva when we kiss, if you think about it."
"Stop. I want to be able to eat my breakfast and keep it down, okay?"
"Okay, then."
Soon, everyone was seated at the table, ready for breakfast. Miranda hummed some sort of cheerful tune as she set out a hearty breakfast for everyone. After they all ate, and after William left, the two couples returned to their rooms. Sol went to sleep on the couch and let Victoria keep watch on The Four Horsemen via the scrying orb.
She joined him about a minute later, spooning him as she got comfortable. He felt her naked breasts against his back, her nipples through his shirt, and only got more aroused. She noticed his squirming and asked, "What's wrong?"
"N-nothing," he said. Unfortunately, his tone gave him away.
"Really? Then what's this?" she asked, reaching around and gently grabbing his groin, feeling his penis through his underwear.
He shuddered in pleasure at her touch. It would seem his penis was, at least at the moment, more sensitive than normal. "Please, don't."
"Why?" she asked, moving her hand to his muscular abdomen.
"I just... you know, earlier, and..."
"You're still upset over that, and now you're ashamed of yourself for getting a boner from me so soon after."
"...Yeah."
She sighed, then began sensually rubbing her hands up and down his chest, pressing her breasts against his back firmly. "Don't be. You're an incubus now. Getting aroused this easily is normal." She lightly touched his dick through his underwear.
"Wait..."
"Don't worry. I know you well enough by now to say with absolute certainty that what you did earlier won't happen again." She kissed him on the cheek and rubbed his balls.
"Isn't your body still sore?"
"Yes, but we're not having sex tonight. I'll be better in the morning, so we'll fuck then. For now, I'll use my hands to relieve you. It would be pretty hard to sleep with a boner like this."
"Yeah, I guess you're right. Go ahead."
She proceeded to stroke him off, then they fell asleep.
...
Meanwhile, in Amarantha's room, she and Zeraine also got ready for bed. He asked, "Ammie, we should do it again before we go to sleep, shouldn't we?"
She gave him a sad look and said, "Yeah, we should."
"Why the sad face?"
"It's so much better when we're not focusing on this."
"The sooner we finish, the sooner we can go back to 'normal'."
She shrugged, they stripped, had sex in exactly the same way they have for the past several times, then Amarantha passed out and Zeraine went to sleep.
...
The next morning, in the guest room, the hero and the succubus woke up. She asked, "Are you ready?"
He replied, "Can it wait?"
"If you mean 'wait until after breakfast', then that's what I was planning on in the first place."
"Oh. Okay. Well, let's go eat."
They got dressed and left for the kitchen.
...
Amarantha yawned, stretched, and got off of Zeraine, then they cleaned themselves up, got dressed, and went downstairs. As they passed through the living room, they saw Sol still sitting in front of his scrying orb, with Victoria and Hilda resting their heads in his lap. Zeraine asked, "Did you even sleep?"
Sol shook his head, not taking his eyes off the orb.
Zeraine then asked, "Did anything important enough happen that would cause you to stay up all night?"
Sol shook his head again. "Nope. The Four Horsemen are still at that Order base. They haven't come out since they went in. Now, I don't really know jack shit about Dullahans, but I'd guess they're either sleeping, enjoying the high quality beds the elite of The Order get to sleep on, or they're searching for something. I don't know what they'd be searching for, so..."
Amarantha asked, "How about you wake them up and eat breakfast with us? After that, get some sleep. Vicky can watch for you, can't she?"
"Yeah. Good idea." Sol lovingly petted Victoria and Hilda, then gently shook them. As they sat up, Zeraine and Amarantha could see that Hilda had a thick stream of drool running out of the corner of her mouth and down her chin. They also noticed, now that Hilda's head was out of the way, that Sol had a large wet spot on his robe where Hilda's head had been. Amarantha let out a quiet giggle, thinking it was cute. What came next, however, surprised both her and Zeraine. Sol said, "Hold still, Hilda..." before licking her drool off her face.
Zeraine and Amarantha looked back and forth between each other and Sol in disbelief. Amarantha said, "We know he's a pervert, but that's gross."
Zeraine paused for a moment and said, "Maybe, but I think it's kind of hot, too. I'd like to try it with you sometime, Ammie."
She frowned at him and said, "I don't drool in my- ...Well, not usually. Still, I'd prefer you didn't."
"It's not that different from drinking your saliva when we kiss, if you think about it."
"Stop. I want to be able to eat my breakfast and keep it down, okay?"
"Okay, then."
Soon, everyone was seated at the table, ready for breakfast. Miranda hummed some sort of cheerful tune as she set out a hearty breakfast for everyone. After they all ate, and after William left, the two couples returned to their rooms. Sol went to sleep on the couch and let Victoria keep watch on The Four Horsemen via the scrying orb.
Chapter 126
Spoiler: show
Once the hero and the succubus were back in the guest room, she quickly got naked. He did so slowly, however, for he was uncertain what might happen. He was worried he might lose it again, or that she might get too rough with him, but he resigned himself to whatever acts she would commit. His lingering shame and his desperation to make it up to her drove him to accept whatever punishment she would lay on him. Despite that, he was still reluctant. He shook his head and finished undressing quickly, not wanting to keep her waiting.
She stood there, looking at him and his half-hard penis with her arms crossed, obviously trying to decide what to do. He patiently waited for a full 10 minutes, not doing or saying anything. Finally, just as he was about to ask her why she's taking so long, she shrugged and said, "You know what? To hell with it. I'll just do this... Heretic!"
He was confused at first, but then he saw the floor become shadowed with a mix of purple and black, followed by tentacles rising out of the darkness. He grit his teeth, trying to keep himself from grimacing at the thought of her violating him with those tentacles. At one point, he remembered her using them before. As he felt the tentacles snake their way around him, firmly binding him, he sighed and thought, "I'll let her do whatever she wants."
She looked at him and asked, "What's with that look?"
"Hmm?"
"Right now you look like you'd rather be anywhere but here."
"Uh... Well, I..." He looked around uncomfortably, struggling to find the right words.
She sighed and said, "It's the tentacles, isn't it? They're just for restraining you. ...If you want, though, I could make one of them violate you." She grinned pervertedly.
"You're giving me a choice?"
Her grin immediately switched to a frown. "Fine, I'll take the surprise out of it. The 'bondage and fem-dom' I planned on doing this morning? I always intended for it to be 'light'. In other words, I'd restrain you with Heretic, then I'd blow you once or twice, then I'd move you to the bed and ride you for a few rounds. After that, I'd release you and you would do whatever I told you, which would be fairly 'normal' stuff, like 'finger my ass' or 'suck my nipples'. I never intended to hurt you or make you do anything disgusting."
He hung his head. "Does this mean you're forgiving me already?"
She scoffed. "No way! You think I'm so kind-hearted that I could forgive something like that this soon? You're out of your mind. Now, be still and enjoy this."
She gave him a light love bite on his shoulder, then sat on her knees and began stroking his dick. In mere seconds, he was fully hard. She kissed his penis before continuing to stroke it while licking and sucking on his balls. In no time at all, she felt his pre-cum leaking out. As she smeared it all over his dick, which helped to lubricate it to make the stroking easier and more pleasurable for him, she said, "Not much of a punishment if you enjoy it this much, huh?"
She then resumed sucking his balls while stroking his shaft. A few seconds later, he heard her let out a mischievous giggle, then felt her sticking her finger into his anus. "Hey!?" he shouted with a surprised jolt.
She stopped tending to his balls just long enough to smile at him and say, "Relax, dear. This will feel really good soon." As she resumed her work on his scrotum, she felt around inside his ass and found what she was looking for; his prostate. She began gently massaging it, causing him to spasm as if he were being electrocuted. It didn't take long for him to blow his load, shooting it halfway across the room. The succubus let go of his dick and balls, then took her finger out of his ass and said, "Oops..."
He caught his breath as fast as he could and asked, "What do you mean, 'oops'?"
She smiled devilishly and said, "Well, it wouldn't really hurt you, nor would it be disgusting, but I was planning on doing a little orgasm denial. I wanted to bring you to the edge, then stop and let you throb for a little bit, then do it a few more times, then finally let you cum, but I got a little carried away. No matter, though. I think I'll have more fun making you cum as many times as I can, anyway, and it'd be better for you, too, since I wouldn't be literally torturing you with pleasure."
The hero couldn't believe he was about to say it, but he did. "Uh... You know, if you want to do that, I'd be okay with it..."
She laughed a little and asked, "Did you just tell me to do orgasm denial on you if I want?" He nodded shyly and she said, "Whatever. Maybe we'll do that some other time. Right now, I just want you to feel good. To be honest, I'm on the verge of throwing out the bondage and fem-dom in favor just having sex."
He asked, "Didn't you want to get back at me?"
She laughed a little as she stood up and walked around behind him. She then hugged him from behind, pressing her breasts against his back, laid her chin on his shoulder, and said, "That's what I'm doing right now."
"I don't follow..." he said, enjoying the feeling of her erect nipples on his back.
She gently blew into his ear, then grabbed his still-hard dick and began stroking it again. She softly whispered into his ear, "Don't worry about it. Just give yourself to me."
"Okay- gah!?" he started to reply, but soon felt her finger in his ass again, which made him let out another surprised shout. Said shout quickly turned into an elongated grunting whimper as she rubbed his prostate again while giving him a handjob from behind.
She giggled, still resting her chin on his shoulder. "You really respond to the prostate massage, don't you? It feels good, doesn't it?"
The combined stimulation of her hand stroking his dick, her other hand's finger rubbing his prostate, and her breath on his ear rendered him unable to reply. Instead, he came again, letting out just as much semen and shooting it just as far as the first time. She didn't give him any time to rest, however, and resumed stroking his dick as she playfully licked and nibbled on his ear. She took her finger out of his ass, cleaned it with a quick, weak casting of Access, and massaged his balls with her now-clean other hand. She moved around to his side in such a way that she didn't have to stop stroking his dick for even a moment, adjusting herself so that she could reach between his legs from behind to rub his balls. She then alternated between teasing his nipple, licking, sucking, gently biting, and lightly tugging on it with her teeth, and kissing him. She also added in the occasional lick, kiss, or nibble to his neck and shoulder, all while rubbing her crotch against his leg. It wasn't long before he came again.
This time, she let him catch his breath, saying, "I had better start sucking your cock if I want any cum to drink..." and smiling at him.
Panting heavily, he asked, "About that... Why hasn't the amount gone down?"
She giggled and said, "I was just joking about not having any cum to drink. You see, now that you're an incubus, your semen production is in overdrive. The way it is now, you'd run out of spirit energy before you ran out of cum. That means from now on, when we get to the fifth and sixth shots, you won't be just barely leaking anything out anymore. You'll be blowing full-size loads into me every time. ...Just thinking about you filling me with all that cum makes my pussy ache for it..." She moaned and pressed her crotch against his knee as hard as she could from this position, clinging tightly to him for several seconds before releasing him. She did her best to compose herself despite the flood of juices running down the full length of her pale legs and said, "Still, I'm thirsty for your seed right now, and I won't let my hungry womb get the better of me. ...Oh, speaking of which, you realize you can get me pregnant now?"
"Huh?" he asked, his penis immediately throbbing at the word.
She leaned in close to his ear and said, "That's right. Now that you're an incubus, you can knock me up. Imagine it... We fuck enough times and sooner or later, I'll be carrying our child. You would like to impregnate me, wouldn't you?"
Seemingly without warning, and with no obvious physical stimulation, he came again, hitting her hip with some of it. "Sorry..." he said, embarrassed.
She smiled, part proudly, part pervertedly, and said, "You came just from me talking about you knocking me up?"
"I don't know why it happened; it just did. My body did that on its own-" he started before she put her finger over his lips.
"Don't apologize. You have plenty of semen to spare, and I'm happy you like that thought. Now, I'll reward you with a blowjob." She got back down on her knees and began licking his penis from base to tip, occasionally bouncing his balls off her tongue. She then said, "Four shots and you're still hard..." before taking him into her mouth. She slowly and gently sucked his dick for all of 10 seconds before she sped up greatly, going at him hungrily as if she were desperate to make him cum. Soon, she got what she wanted as he filled her mouth with more than she could swallow, causing her to back off and drink what she caught as he plastered her face and tits with the rest. "Delicious..." she said, sounding almost as if she were drunk as she slowly, erotically wiped his cum up from her breasts and face and licked it off her fingers.
After seeing her do that, he couldn't settle down. His breathing was ragged and he wanted more, but unlike what he feared in the back of his mind, he remained in full control of his body. He was still restrained by the tentacles, of course, but were she to release him now, he knew he'd retain the self-control to love her, not ravage her. This stoked his confidence, but he reminded himself that she was the boss right now.
Her eyes regained focus as she looked at his dick again, then looked him in the eye and smiled at him. "You want me?" she asked, to which he nodded. "I'm not about to refuse you, so let's get to it!" She snapped her fingers and the tentacles moved, carrying the hero to the bed, laying him down on it, face-up, and continuing to bind him. As she walked over to the bed, she made no effort to hide the thick gobs of vaginal juices that dripped from her lower lips, nor did she try to hide the fact that her legs were coated with her pussy juice all the way down to her feet, causing her to leave small wet spots on the carpet with each step. She mounted him, impaled herself on his shaft, and said, "You came five times so far, and I'm going to ride you for at least four more before we stop. You don't have any problem with cumming inside me four times in a row without pulling out, do you?" She paused for a second before continuing in a teasing voice, "Or does the possibility of getting me pregnant not excite you?" giggling as she felt him throb inside her.
She proceeded to ride him, making him cum in her four times. He found himself wanting more, though, and she happily rode him to two more shots. Just as they finished cumming together, marking his eleventh orgasm for this session, the door flew open.
She stood there, looking at him and his half-hard penis with her arms crossed, obviously trying to decide what to do. He patiently waited for a full 10 minutes, not doing or saying anything. Finally, just as he was about to ask her why she's taking so long, she shrugged and said, "You know what? To hell with it. I'll just do this... Heretic!"
He was confused at first, but then he saw the floor become shadowed with a mix of purple and black, followed by tentacles rising out of the darkness. He grit his teeth, trying to keep himself from grimacing at the thought of her violating him with those tentacles. At one point, he remembered her using them before. As he felt the tentacles snake their way around him, firmly binding him, he sighed and thought, "I'll let her do whatever she wants."
She looked at him and asked, "What's with that look?"
"Hmm?"
"Right now you look like you'd rather be anywhere but here."
"Uh... Well, I..." He looked around uncomfortably, struggling to find the right words.
She sighed and said, "It's the tentacles, isn't it? They're just for restraining you. ...If you want, though, I could make one of them violate you." She grinned pervertedly.
"You're giving me a choice?"
Her grin immediately switched to a frown. "Fine, I'll take the surprise out of it. The 'bondage and fem-dom' I planned on doing this morning? I always intended for it to be 'light'. In other words, I'd restrain you with Heretic, then I'd blow you once or twice, then I'd move you to the bed and ride you for a few rounds. After that, I'd release you and you would do whatever I told you, which would be fairly 'normal' stuff, like 'finger my ass' or 'suck my nipples'. I never intended to hurt you or make you do anything disgusting."
He hung his head. "Does this mean you're forgiving me already?"
She scoffed. "No way! You think I'm so kind-hearted that I could forgive something like that this soon? You're out of your mind. Now, be still and enjoy this."
She gave him a light love bite on his shoulder, then sat on her knees and began stroking his dick. In mere seconds, he was fully hard. She kissed his penis before continuing to stroke it while licking and sucking on his balls. In no time at all, she felt his pre-cum leaking out. As she smeared it all over his dick, which helped to lubricate it to make the stroking easier and more pleasurable for him, she said, "Not much of a punishment if you enjoy it this much, huh?"
She then resumed sucking his balls while stroking his shaft. A few seconds later, he heard her let out a mischievous giggle, then felt her sticking her finger into his anus. "Hey!?" he shouted with a surprised jolt.
She stopped tending to his balls just long enough to smile at him and say, "Relax, dear. This will feel really good soon." As she resumed her work on his scrotum, she felt around inside his ass and found what she was looking for; his prostate. She began gently massaging it, causing him to spasm as if he were being electrocuted. It didn't take long for him to blow his load, shooting it halfway across the room. The succubus let go of his dick and balls, then took her finger out of his ass and said, "Oops..."
He caught his breath as fast as he could and asked, "What do you mean, 'oops'?"
She smiled devilishly and said, "Well, it wouldn't really hurt you, nor would it be disgusting, but I was planning on doing a little orgasm denial. I wanted to bring you to the edge, then stop and let you throb for a little bit, then do it a few more times, then finally let you cum, but I got a little carried away. No matter, though. I think I'll have more fun making you cum as many times as I can, anyway, and it'd be better for you, too, since I wouldn't be literally torturing you with pleasure."
The hero couldn't believe he was about to say it, but he did. "Uh... You know, if you want to do that, I'd be okay with it..."
She laughed a little and asked, "Did you just tell me to do orgasm denial on you if I want?" He nodded shyly and she said, "Whatever. Maybe we'll do that some other time. Right now, I just want you to feel good. To be honest, I'm on the verge of throwing out the bondage and fem-dom in favor just having sex."
He asked, "Didn't you want to get back at me?"
She laughed a little as she stood up and walked around behind him. She then hugged him from behind, pressing her breasts against his back, laid her chin on his shoulder, and said, "That's what I'm doing right now."
"I don't follow..." he said, enjoying the feeling of her erect nipples on his back.
She gently blew into his ear, then grabbed his still-hard dick and began stroking it again. She softly whispered into his ear, "Don't worry about it. Just give yourself to me."
"Okay- gah!?" he started to reply, but soon felt her finger in his ass again, which made him let out another surprised shout. Said shout quickly turned into an elongated grunting whimper as she rubbed his prostate again while giving him a handjob from behind.
She giggled, still resting her chin on his shoulder. "You really respond to the prostate massage, don't you? It feels good, doesn't it?"
The combined stimulation of her hand stroking his dick, her other hand's finger rubbing his prostate, and her breath on his ear rendered him unable to reply. Instead, he came again, letting out just as much semen and shooting it just as far as the first time. She didn't give him any time to rest, however, and resumed stroking his dick as she playfully licked and nibbled on his ear. She took her finger out of his ass, cleaned it with a quick, weak casting of Access, and massaged his balls with her now-clean other hand. She moved around to his side in such a way that she didn't have to stop stroking his dick for even a moment, adjusting herself so that she could reach between his legs from behind to rub his balls. She then alternated between teasing his nipple, licking, sucking, gently biting, and lightly tugging on it with her teeth, and kissing him. She also added in the occasional lick, kiss, or nibble to his neck and shoulder, all while rubbing her crotch against his leg. It wasn't long before he came again.
This time, she let him catch his breath, saying, "I had better start sucking your cock if I want any cum to drink..." and smiling at him.
Panting heavily, he asked, "About that... Why hasn't the amount gone down?"
She giggled and said, "I was just joking about not having any cum to drink. You see, now that you're an incubus, your semen production is in overdrive. The way it is now, you'd run out of spirit energy before you ran out of cum. That means from now on, when we get to the fifth and sixth shots, you won't be just barely leaking anything out anymore. You'll be blowing full-size loads into me every time. ...Just thinking about you filling me with all that cum makes my pussy ache for it..." She moaned and pressed her crotch against his knee as hard as she could from this position, clinging tightly to him for several seconds before releasing him. She did her best to compose herself despite the flood of juices running down the full length of her pale legs and said, "Still, I'm thirsty for your seed right now, and I won't let my hungry womb get the better of me. ...Oh, speaking of which, you realize you can get me pregnant now?"
"Huh?" he asked, his penis immediately throbbing at the word.
She leaned in close to his ear and said, "That's right. Now that you're an incubus, you can knock me up. Imagine it... We fuck enough times and sooner or later, I'll be carrying our child. You would like to impregnate me, wouldn't you?"
Seemingly without warning, and with no obvious physical stimulation, he came again, hitting her hip with some of it. "Sorry..." he said, embarrassed.
She smiled, part proudly, part pervertedly, and said, "You came just from me talking about you knocking me up?"
"I don't know why it happened; it just did. My body did that on its own-" he started before she put her finger over his lips.
"Don't apologize. You have plenty of semen to spare, and I'm happy you like that thought. Now, I'll reward you with a blowjob." She got back down on her knees and began licking his penis from base to tip, occasionally bouncing his balls off her tongue. She then said, "Four shots and you're still hard..." before taking him into her mouth. She slowly and gently sucked his dick for all of 10 seconds before she sped up greatly, going at him hungrily as if she were desperate to make him cum. Soon, she got what she wanted as he filled her mouth with more than she could swallow, causing her to back off and drink what she caught as he plastered her face and tits with the rest. "Delicious..." she said, sounding almost as if she were drunk as she slowly, erotically wiped his cum up from her breasts and face and licked it off her fingers.
After seeing her do that, he couldn't settle down. His breathing was ragged and he wanted more, but unlike what he feared in the back of his mind, he remained in full control of his body. He was still restrained by the tentacles, of course, but were she to release him now, he knew he'd retain the self-control to love her, not ravage her. This stoked his confidence, but he reminded himself that she was the boss right now.
Her eyes regained focus as she looked at his dick again, then looked him in the eye and smiled at him. "You want me?" she asked, to which he nodded. "I'm not about to refuse you, so let's get to it!" She snapped her fingers and the tentacles moved, carrying the hero to the bed, laying him down on it, face-up, and continuing to bind him. As she walked over to the bed, she made no effort to hide the thick gobs of vaginal juices that dripped from her lower lips, nor did she try to hide the fact that her legs were coated with her pussy juice all the way down to her feet, causing her to leave small wet spots on the carpet with each step. She mounted him, impaled herself on his shaft, and said, "You came five times so far, and I'm going to ride you for at least four more before we stop. You don't have any problem with cumming inside me four times in a row without pulling out, do you?" She paused for a second before continuing in a teasing voice, "Or does the possibility of getting me pregnant not excite you?" giggling as she felt him throb inside her.
She proceeded to ride him, making him cum in her four times. He found himself wanting more, though, and she happily rode him to two more shots. Just as they finished cumming together, marking his eleventh orgasm for this session, the door flew open.
Chapter 127
Spoiler: show
Meanwhile, in Amarantha's room, the two of them got naked. They'd gotten quite bored with repeating the same stuff for the last several sessions, each one being pretty much an exact copy of the last, but they knew they needed to. Before they got started, Amarantha decided to take a Mana Potion and a Scroll of Rest and set them on the nightstand next to her bed. As she did, she asked, "Zeraine, can I count on you to use this scroll on me when the time comes?"
Laying on the bed, ready and waiting for her, he nodded. "Yeah, no problem."
...
In the living room, Sol was sleeping on the couch while Hilda watched over him, occasionally playing with his hair. Victoria watched the Order base through the scrying orb, making sure not to miss anything. At one point, Hilda sat down next to her and looked at it, asking, "Anything happen yet?"
Victoria shook her head. "No. Nobody's come out, nor has anyone gone in. It's like the fort is empty. The Order doesn't have secret passages in their bases that lead out, do they?"
Hilda shrugged. "Hell if I know. Those guys sure kicked their asses, though. Just four Dullahans wiped out a whole fort full of Order knights..."
Victoria jumped to attention as she looked into the scrying orb. "They just came back out!"
Hilda quickly adjusted herself so she could see, too. She and Victoria watched as each of The Four Horsemen came out, dragging a corpse behind them. Hilda thought out loud, "What are they doing?"
The Horsemen then tossed the corpses into a pile, gathered together, and simultaneously snapped their gazes to the sky, each of them looking at the same spot. To Victoria and Hilda, it was as if they were looking right at them. Startled by it, the two of them jumped back away from the scrying orb, landing on their butts, then looked at each other. Nervously, they crawled back over to it and looked again. What they saw fixed their eyes on the orb, leaving them unable to stop watching until it was over. They watched as The Four Horsemen proceeded to cut apart the bodies of the dead knights, arranging their limbs in the middle of the courtyard so that said severed limbs spelled out the message, "WE AWAIT YOU".
Had they had human skin on their faces, or had they been under the effects of the polymorph spell, they'd have both been pale. The looks on their faces made their queasiness obvious enough, however, and they began shaking Sol. He reached out, trying to put his arms around them, but Hilda thrust his glasses at him and Victoria repeatedly tugged at his hand. He groaned, yawned, put his glasses on, and asked, "What is it?" They both pointed at the scrying orb. "Did something happen?" he asked as he sat down in front of it. As soon as he looked into it, he cringed. "Damn... That's a hell of a way to send a message. Go get our heroes; they need to see this."
They nodded and ran off, Hilda heading for the guest room and Victoria heading for Amarantha's room.
...
As soon as she felt his semen stop flowing into her, Amarantha got off Zeraine and grabbed the potion and the scroll. She handed the scroll to him and drank the potion, then laid back down next to him and let him use the scroll on her. She was just about to cuddle with him as she waited to be ready for the next round, but Victoria threw the door open. Upon seeing the door open, Amarantha and Zeraine both quickly covered themselves with the sheets. Victoria said, "Guys, you need to see this. Hurry!"
She left the room as Zeraine and Amarantha nodded. Amarantha then shut the door back and they put on their bathrobes, then they went downstairs. As they did, Amarantha mumbled, "What could be so important that she wouldn't knock first?"
...
After their mutual orgasm, the succubus turned around, switching to a reverse cowgirl position, and asked, "What is it, Hilda?"
The hero tried to sit up and look around the succubus's body, under her wing, but the tentacles prevented him from moving very much. He could just barely see Hilda's face. He thought, "Maybe we shouldn't do this very much. If we needed to hurry, this would make us take too long..."
When Hilda saw them, she immediately began thinking up perverted fantasies, some of which involved Sol being held down by tentacles, while others had her being held down while Sol had his way with her, and still others involved her and Victoria, either binding Sol and doing him or him binding them and doing them, or her and Sol binding Victoria and teaming up on her. At one point, she even imagined Sol and Victoria binding her and teaming up on her, too. When the succubus addressed her, she shook her head to clear the perverted thoughts and said, "Something happened. It'd be best if you guys saw it. Come quick, okay?"
Hilda returned to the living room, leaving the succubus with the hero. The succubus sighed and got off him, then dispelled the tentacles, allowing him to get up. She quickly put her panties on, hoping that when his cum leaked out, it'd get thickly pooled up in them, thus letting her enjoy wearing wet panties soaked with his semen. After doing what she could to ensure it, she started laughing. The hero asked, "What?"
She said, "Hilda said 'come quick'."
"So?"
She grinned. "That's what you did when I said 'that' earlier."
"Wha- ...oh. Right..." he said, finally understanding. "Let's just go see what happened."
Naturally, as they walked to the living room, some of his semen leaked out and soaked her panties. She moaned in pleasure, thoroughly enjoying it. When he gave her a questioning look, she said, "You have no idea how good it feels for me to wear panties soaked with your cum, or how good it feels when your cum leaks out of my pussy, keeping my panties wet and sticky."
To his surprise, he got hard from hearing her say that, and she noticed. She smiled and said, "As soon as they fill us in, we'll go right back to having sex, okay?"
Finding himself anxious to do so, he nodded. "Yeah."
When everyone was assembled in the living room, Sol showed them the image. The Four Horsemen were still standing there, waiting near the message. The hero commented, "Couldn't they have used some other way? I mean, sure, I don't care about what happens to those who have betrayed The Order, but still, using body parts to send us a message..."
Sol said, "It's kind of like in those stories where some big criminal organization takes someone, cuts them up, then sends their body parts to whoever, usually as some sort of 'go away' or 'back off' type of message, I suppose. Of course, this time, they're letting you know they're waiting, so you should probably do something pretty soon."
Zeraine chimed in, saying, "Speaking of which, wasn't there an incident a few years back where some group of assassins killed a retired guard captain and cut off his finger, then left it in the desk of his successor?"
Amarantha nodded. "Yeah, there was. He was famous for persistently trying to hunt them down, but they finally took him out."
The succubus shrugged. "Well, since incubi and succubi get more powerful the more they have sex with each other, I should get back to it with my beloved, right, dear?" she asked, giving the hero a "come hither" look.
The hero said, "If that's so, then yeah, definitely."
She sidled up to him and rubbed her hands on his chest. "Didn't you want more, too?" she asked, her voice sweet and seductive.
His face started turning red. "Y-yeah..."
Amarantha said, "No sex in the living room. Go back to the bedroom if you're going to do it, okay?"
Zeraine said, "Well, I suppose whether or not Ammie can turn me into an incubus today, we're heading out tomorrow, right?"
The hero nodded. "It would be a good idea. We don't want to let them get impatient. This time they wiped out some guys we would have disposed of anyway. Imagine if they tried to provoke us by slaughtering a village of innocent people."
Zeraine nodded. "That would suck, to say the least." He shrugged. "Come on, Ammie. Let's do it again."
She nodded and they returned to her room, then got started on yet another round of the exact same thing.
The succubus led the hero back to the guest room and shut the door, then smiled at him. She then took off her dress and stripped him naked, then cast Heretic again to bind him where he stood. She saw how hard his penis was and knew how bad he wanted it, so she decided to mess with him. "You know, my cum-filled panties feel so good I don't want to take them off. Unfortunately, I'm full from earlier, so I can't drink any more of your exquisite semen, either..." She rubbed herself through her panties, making sure that her finger movements made as much noise as possible, sloshing around the cum against her vagina. "Should I give you a tit-fuck and bathe in your cum? Should I see if I can take you up my ass? Or should I just use my pussy again? I'm supposed to be in charge right now, but with so many wonderful options to choose from, I can't decide. I want to do them all, but we don't have time... What do-"
Just then, they felt a spike in demonic energy from upstairs and heard running footsteps, followed by the demonic energy disappearing shortly after. They looked at each other and nodded, then she quickly dispelled the tentacles and put her dress on. The hero put on his underwear and pants as quickly as he could then ran out of the room bare-chested, the succubus following closely behind him. When they got upstairs, they saw Miranda, Sol, Victoria, and Hilda crowded around the door the Amarantha's room, with Sol maintaining a barrier like before.
...
At one point in the middle of their session, Zeraine started breathing a bit more heavily than normal. He then looked at himself and said, "I think it's starting!"
Amarantha remembered what she saw with the hero's transformation and got scared. "What do I do?"
He grunted and groaned as he squirmed, obviously very uncomfortable. "My back feels weird!"
Amarantha jumped off him and got off the bed. She was so focused on what was happening with Zeraine that she didn't notice that the door was open, nor that everyone watching. Zeraine quickly rolled over, then tried to get up, only making it as far as his hands and knees before two places on his back started bulging. Amarantha had no idea what was happening. She worriedly asked, "Zeraine, are you okay?"
He desperately called out to her, reaching for her and saying, "Ammie!" He then managed to remember what the succubus told him and forced himself to calm down a little. "What's going on with my back?"
She cautiously rushed forward and grabbed his hand, then watched as he sprouted wings. Once the wings had finished growing in, she took a look at them. They reminded her of the succubus's, but were a little bit different. She didn't get much of a chance to think about it, though, for the next thing she knew, Zeraine pulled on her arm and said, "Ammie, I need you."
She looked and saw his throbbing erection, then asked, "You're going to stay in control of yourself? You're not going to brutalize me like the kid did with the princess?"
The hero instantly frowned upon being reminded yet again of his transformation, but he didn't speak up. He and the others kept watching as Zeraine struggled to manage his boner while saying, "Ammie, I need you right now. Please."
Amarantha knew just by looking that his penis was hurting him pretty badly, so despite her fear, she put her arms around Zeraine and kissed him. "Go ahead. Just be gentle, okay?"
He grabbed her and pulled her down, then rolled over, putting her on the bottom. "I'm sorry, Ammie. I don't think I can hold back enough for that."
He then quickly and strongly inserted himself and began thrusting at a very quick pace. She was surprised at first, but because he was still mostly in control of himself, his thrusting felt good. It was hard, but not too hard. She moaned in pleasure and thought, "If it's only this rough, it'll be fine."
He pounded away as if he'd die if he stopped, all the while repeatedly calling her name. After calling her name at least a dozen times, he forcefully kissed her. He was passionate and aggressive, violently thrashing his tongue around in her mouth, hungrily sucking on her tongue once she put it in his mouth. With a loud grunt from him and squeal from her, he blew a load in her, still kissing her as if to devour her. Once he was done ejaculating, he resumed his hard, quick thrusts. He broke the kiss off just long enough to say, "I'm sorry, Ammie, I can't stop!"
She wanted to tell him it was alright, but his lips sealed hers before she could reply. She simply tightened her hug and wrapped her legs around his waist, trying to time it so that she pulled him into her as he went in, trying to let him know that she was fine with how he was doing her right now. She also decided to try and do something, so she started moving her hips in time with his thrusting, as well as squeezing him with her inner walls, bringing them both even greater pleasure.
Compared with what they saw out of the hero earlier, the nonstop missionary sex Zeraine and Amarantha were doing was nothing to worry about. They watched the two go at it for a few more rounds. Zeraine seemed to cum a total of six times before he and Amarantha both passed out, still in each other's embrace.
Laying on the bed, ready and waiting for her, he nodded. "Yeah, no problem."
...
In the living room, Sol was sleeping on the couch while Hilda watched over him, occasionally playing with his hair. Victoria watched the Order base through the scrying orb, making sure not to miss anything. At one point, Hilda sat down next to her and looked at it, asking, "Anything happen yet?"
Victoria shook her head. "No. Nobody's come out, nor has anyone gone in. It's like the fort is empty. The Order doesn't have secret passages in their bases that lead out, do they?"
Hilda shrugged. "Hell if I know. Those guys sure kicked their asses, though. Just four Dullahans wiped out a whole fort full of Order knights..."
Victoria jumped to attention as she looked into the scrying orb. "They just came back out!"
Hilda quickly adjusted herself so she could see, too. She and Victoria watched as each of The Four Horsemen came out, dragging a corpse behind them. Hilda thought out loud, "What are they doing?"
The Horsemen then tossed the corpses into a pile, gathered together, and simultaneously snapped their gazes to the sky, each of them looking at the same spot. To Victoria and Hilda, it was as if they were looking right at them. Startled by it, the two of them jumped back away from the scrying orb, landing on their butts, then looked at each other. Nervously, they crawled back over to it and looked again. What they saw fixed their eyes on the orb, leaving them unable to stop watching until it was over. They watched as The Four Horsemen proceeded to cut apart the bodies of the dead knights, arranging their limbs in the middle of the courtyard so that said severed limbs spelled out the message, "WE AWAIT YOU".
Had they had human skin on their faces, or had they been under the effects of the polymorph spell, they'd have both been pale. The looks on their faces made their queasiness obvious enough, however, and they began shaking Sol. He reached out, trying to put his arms around them, but Hilda thrust his glasses at him and Victoria repeatedly tugged at his hand. He groaned, yawned, put his glasses on, and asked, "What is it?" They both pointed at the scrying orb. "Did something happen?" he asked as he sat down in front of it. As soon as he looked into it, he cringed. "Damn... That's a hell of a way to send a message. Go get our heroes; they need to see this."
They nodded and ran off, Hilda heading for the guest room and Victoria heading for Amarantha's room.
...
As soon as she felt his semen stop flowing into her, Amarantha got off Zeraine and grabbed the potion and the scroll. She handed the scroll to him and drank the potion, then laid back down next to him and let him use the scroll on her. She was just about to cuddle with him as she waited to be ready for the next round, but Victoria threw the door open. Upon seeing the door open, Amarantha and Zeraine both quickly covered themselves with the sheets. Victoria said, "Guys, you need to see this. Hurry!"
She left the room as Zeraine and Amarantha nodded. Amarantha then shut the door back and they put on their bathrobes, then they went downstairs. As they did, Amarantha mumbled, "What could be so important that she wouldn't knock first?"
...
After their mutual orgasm, the succubus turned around, switching to a reverse cowgirl position, and asked, "What is it, Hilda?"
The hero tried to sit up and look around the succubus's body, under her wing, but the tentacles prevented him from moving very much. He could just barely see Hilda's face. He thought, "Maybe we shouldn't do this very much. If we needed to hurry, this would make us take too long..."
When Hilda saw them, she immediately began thinking up perverted fantasies, some of which involved Sol being held down by tentacles, while others had her being held down while Sol had his way with her, and still others involved her and Victoria, either binding Sol and doing him or him binding them and doing them, or her and Sol binding Victoria and teaming up on her. At one point, she even imagined Sol and Victoria binding her and teaming up on her, too. When the succubus addressed her, she shook her head to clear the perverted thoughts and said, "Something happened. It'd be best if you guys saw it. Come quick, okay?"
Hilda returned to the living room, leaving the succubus with the hero. The succubus sighed and got off him, then dispelled the tentacles, allowing him to get up. She quickly put her panties on, hoping that when his cum leaked out, it'd get thickly pooled up in them, thus letting her enjoy wearing wet panties soaked with his semen. After doing what she could to ensure it, she started laughing. The hero asked, "What?"
She said, "Hilda said 'come quick'."
"So?"
She grinned. "That's what you did when I said 'that' earlier."
"Wha- ...oh. Right..." he said, finally understanding. "Let's just go see what happened."
Naturally, as they walked to the living room, some of his semen leaked out and soaked her panties. She moaned in pleasure, thoroughly enjoying it. When he gave her a questioning look, she said, "You have no idea how good it feels for me to wear panties soaked with your cum, or how good it feels when your cum leaks out of my pussy, keeping my panties wet and sticky."
To his surprise, he got hard from hearing her say that, and she noticed. She smiled and said, "As soon as they fill us in, we'll go right back to having sex, okay?"
Finding himself anxious to do so, he nodded. "Yeah."
When everyone was assembled in the living room, Sol showed them the image. The Four Horsemen were still standing there, waiting near the message. The hero commented, "Couldn't they have used some other way? I mean, sure, I don't care about what happens to those who have betrayed The Order, but still, using body parts to send us a message..."
Sol said, "It's kind of like in those stories where some big criminal organization takes someone, cuts them up, then sends their body parts to whoever, usually as some sort of 'go away' or 'back off' type of message, I suppose. Of course, this time, they're letting you know they're waiting, so you should probably do something pretty soon."
Zeraine chimed in, saying, "Speaking of which, wasn't there an incident a few years back where some group of assassins killed a retired guard captain and cut off his finger, then left it in the desk of his successor?"
Amarantha nodded. "Yeah, there was. He was famous for persistently trying to hunt them down, but they finally took him out."
The succubus shrugged. "Well, since incubi and succubi get more powerful the more they have sex with each other, I should get back to it with my beloved, right, dear?" she asked, giving the hero a "come hither" look.
The hero said, "If that's so, then yeah, definitely."
She sidled up to him and rubbed her hands on his chest. "Didn't you want more, too?" she asked, her voice sweet and seductive.
His face started turning red. "Y-yeah..."
Amarantha said, "No sex in the living room. Go back to the bedroom if you're going to do it, okay?"
Zeraine said, "Well, I suppose whether or not Ammie can turn me into an incubus today, we're heading out tomorrow, right?"
The hero nodded. "It would be a good idea. We don't want to let them get impatient. This time they wiped out some guys we would have disposed of anyway. Imagine if they tried to provoke us by slaughtering a village of innocent people."
Zeraine nodded. "That would suck, to say the least." He shrugged. "Come on, Ammie. Let's do it again."
She nodded and they returned to her room, then got started on yet another round of the exact same thing.
The succubus led the hero back to the guest room and shut the door, then smiled at him. She then took off her dress and stripped him naked, then cast Heretic again to bind him where he stood. She saw how hard his penis was and knew how bad he wanted it, so she decided to mess with him. "You know, my cum-filled panties feel so good I don't want to take them off. Unfortunately, I'm full from earlier, so I can't drink any more of your exquisite semen, either..." She rubbed herself through her panties, making sure that her finger movements made as much noise as possible, sloshing around the cum against her vagina. "Should I give you a tit-fuck and bathe in your cum? Should I see if I can take you up my ass? Or should I just use my pussy again? I'm supposed to be in charge right now, but with so many wonderful options to choose from, I can't decide. I want to do them all, but we don't have time... What do-"
Just then, they felt a spike in demonic energy from upstairs and heard running footsteps, followed by the demonic energy disappearing shortly after. They looked at each other and nodded, then she quickly dispelled the tentacles and put her dress on. The hero put on his underwear and pants as quickly as he could then ran out of the room bare-chested, the succubus following closely behind him. When they got upstairs, they saw Miranda, Sol, Victoria, and Hilda crowded around the door the Amarantha's room, with Sol maintaining a barrier like before.
...
At one point in the middle of their session, Zeraine started breathing a bit more heavily than normal. He then looked at himself and said, "I think it's starting!"
Amarantha remembered what she saw with the hero's transformation and got scared. "What do I do?"
He grunted and groaned as he squirmed, obviously very uncomfortable. "My back feels weird!"
Amarantha jumped off him and got off the bed. She was so focused on what was happening with Zeraine that she didn't notice that the door was open, nor that everyone watching. Zeraine quickly rolled over, then tried to get up, only making it as far as his hands and knees before two places on his back started bulging. Amarantha had no idea what was happening. She worriedly asked, "Zeraine, are you okay?"
He desperately called out to her, reaching for her and saying, "Ammie!" He then managed to remember what the succubus told him and forced himself to calm down a little. "What's going on with my back?"
She cautiously rushed forward and grabbed his hand, then watched as he sprouted wings. Once the wings had finished growing in, she took a look at them. They reminded her of the succubus's, but were a little bit different. She didn't get much of a chance to think about it, though, for the next thing she knew, Zeraine pulled on her arm and said, "Ammie, I need you."
She looked and saw his throbbing erection, then asked, "You're going to stay in control of yourself? You're not going to brutalize me like the kid did with the princess?"
The hero instantly frowned upon being reminded yet again of his transformation, but he didn't speak up. He and the others kept watching as Zeraine struggled to manage his boner while saying, "Ammie, I need you right now. Please."
Amarantha knew just by looking that his penis was hurting him pretty badly, so despite her fear, she put her arms around Zeraine and kissed him. "Go ahead. Just be gentle, okay?"
He grabbed her and pulled her down, then rolled over, putting her on the bottom. "I'm sorry, Ammie. I don't think I can hold back enough for that."
He then quickly and strongly inserted himself and began thrusting at a very quick pace. She was surprised at first, but because he was still mostly in control of himself, his thrusting felt good. It was hard, but not too hard. She moaned in pleasure and thought, "If it's only this rough, it'll be fine."
He pounded away as if he'd die if he stopped, all the while repeatedly calling her name. After calling her name at least a dozen times, he forcefully kissed her. He was passionate and aggressive, violently thrashing his tongue around in her mouth, hungrily sucking on her tongue once she put it in his mouth. With a loud grunt from him and squeal from her, he blew a load in her, still kissing her as if to devour her. Once he was done ejaculating, he resumed his hard, quick thrusts. He broke the kiss off just long enough to say, "I'm sorry, Ammie, I can't stop!"
She wanted to tell him it was alright, but his lips sealed hers before she could reply. She simply tightened her hug and wrapped her legs around his waist, trying to time it so that she pulled him into her as he went in, trying to let him know that she was fine with how he was doing her right now. She also decided to try and do something, so she started moving her hips in time with his thrusting, as well as squeezing him with her inner walls, bringing them both even greater pleasure.
Compared with what they saw out of the hero earlier, the nonstop missionary sex Zeraine and Amarantha were doing was nothing to worry about. They watched the two go at it for a few more rounds. Zeraine seemed to cum a total of six times before he and Amarantha both passed out, still in each other's embrace.
Chapter 128
Spoiler: show
Miranda sighed with relief. "Looks like it went well, this time. I don't have to beat up my daughter's mate," she said, smiling.
Sol laughed a little, as did the succubus. The hero asked, "How did he manage?"
The succubus answered, "I've got a few guesses, but we'll wait until they wake up and we'll ask him, first. Anyway, you still hard?"
Looking down at the bulge in his pants, the hero confirmed that he was. "Yeah. So, uh..."
The succubus patted him on the ass and said, "Let's go relieve you."
The two of them returned to the guest room and they got started. The succubus decided not to bother with teasing him, bondage, or anything else. She simply made him lay down on the bed and she rode him nonstop for three rounds.
...
As Sol, Victoria, Hilda, and Miranda went back downstairs, Miranda asked, "Now that both men have become incubi, what will you do?"
Sol shrugged. "Well, I, myself, am an incubus, and I'm sure Amarantha's told you by now how much of a horny pervert I am, so... I guess I'll stick around until after lunch, in case they need me for anything, then I'll go home and get some much-needed relief."
"Relief?"
"Yes. You see, despite not really enjoying the show, I got hard when I saw the kid fuck the hell out of his future wife. I got hard again when I saw Zeraine desperately boning Ammie just then. And just looking at Vicky or Hilda makes me horny as hell, and since I haven't made love to them in so long, I'm hurting. As soon as I get home, I'm going to enjoy the scaly bodies of my beloved employees, and I'm not stopping until tomorrow morning. ...Unless they tire out before I do."
Miranda shook her head, her face red. "You sure are frank and open about it."
"Why shouldn't I be? I love these two, and I love having sex with them, and I don't care who knows."
Victoria and Hilda smiled proudly, their egos inflating as Sol stated his love and desire for them. Miranda cleared her throat and changed the subject. "Well, maybe by the time I finish lunch they'll wake up. I'll get started."
She went off into the kitchen while Sol and his lizard-girls returned to the living room. He checked the scrying orb and saw that The Four Horsemen were still standing there, waiting patiently. It appeared as though they hadn't moved a muscle. He sighed and sat down on the couch, then said, "Can you two take the edge off this lust for me?"
Hilda, her tone showing she was more than happy to do so, said, "What should we do?"
Sol smiled and said, "Well, since we can't do it here, nor can we be 'indecent' in the living room, I can't ask for what I'd like the most, which means I'll have to settle for being sandwiched between your flat chests."
Victoria scoffed and hesitantly said, "I know you like boobs. Wouldn't it be better to use the polymorph spell she taught you on us so you can enjoy being between two pairs of breasts?"
Sol thought for a second and said, "Maybe you're right, but that might stimulate me too much. As much as I want to empty my balls, I don't want to do it in my pants. ...Your scaly flat chests will have to do. We can have as much fun with the polymorph spell as we want when we get home. For now, press those hard little nipples against me!"
They both happily complied, hugging him from both sides, rubbing against him a little.
...
Several minutes after everyone left, Zeraine woke up. He sat up on his knees, holding his head. "Did that-" he started before noticing his new wings. "...Yeah, it did." He tried several times to move his wings, but he only succeeded in twitching them once or twice. "Man, these things really are alien to me. What am I going to do now, though? I have wings, which means I need to modify my clothes and stuff. ...What a pain. I hope I can fly with these, even when wearing my armor." He grabbed one of his wings and pulled it around in front of him so he could look at it better. Before he could start, Amarantha woke up.
She stretched and groaned, her movements causing her breasts to bounce and jiggle. "Well Zeraine, how do you feel?" she asked right before noticing his rising erection.
He replied, "Well, I have wings, obviously. It's strange, and I can't really move them yet, but... I guess I feel pretty good."
She nodded. "Your dick is energetic."
"Speaking of which, I wasn't too rough with you, was I, Ammie?"
"No. You were kind of rough, but it felt good. If that's as rough as you ever get, I'll have no complaints. Still, you scared me for a minute, there. I thought you were going to lose it, too. And when you told me you couldn't hold back, I thought I was in for a painful pounding, but..."
"Well, I remembered the princess's advice, and I calmed myself as best I could, but it was still hard to deal with. I figured the sooner I put it in you and started fucking, the sooner I'd be able to get the relief I needed, and thus the sooner I did, the less chance there'd be of me getting out of control."
Amarantha nodded. "It worked, I guess, since you're an incubus, now, and you're not ravaging me like a savage beast. You look like you want to go again, too."
He nodded. "I think I need to eat, first, though. Are you hungry?"
She nodded. "Let's go eat. Mom should have lunch ready, soon."
They got dressed. Zeraine had to leave part of his back exposed because his wings, which came out of the small of his back, were in the way. As they walked downstairs, Amarantha finally got the chance to look at his wings. She said, "They look like the princess's wings, sort of demonic-bat-like, but there seem to be some draconic elements, too."
"Really? Maybe they're there because you participated in my transformation?"
She grinned. "That would be nice. It'd serve as sort of a 'mark' that you're mine. It could also be thought of as me giving a part of myself to you or something... Anyway, I think they look kind of good on you."
"A part of yourself? As in your demonic energy, what little we used in comparison to what I've absorbed throughout the years, caused me to take on a little dragon-like appearance in my new wings? And I may belong to you, Ammie, but you also belong to me, right?"
She smiled proudly. "Of course!" As they passed through the living room, Amarantha stopped in her tracks and asked, "What are they doing?" She walked over toward the couch. As she got close, she saw that Victoria was laying on the couch on her front side, with Sol resting his head on her butt, and Hilda laying on him in a sort of 69 position, though they were all fully-clothed. Amarantha crossed her arms and said sternly, "I thought I said 'no sex in the living room'. What are you three doing?"
Sol, his face right next to Hilda's crotch, said, "I needed a little 'stimulation' from these two, and I only intended to have them press their nipples against me, but we kind of got carried away. Vicky's ass makes for a nice pillow, though." He rubbed Victoria's butt while smiling, then turned his head to face Hilda's crotch and inhaled deeply. "...And I love the smell of Hilda's crotch. Well, I love the smell of Vicky's crotch, too, but... Anyway, are you guys doing okay?" he asked, gently nudging Hilda, which was her cue to get off.
Zeraine nodded. "I'm fine. I feel pretty good, actually. These wings will take some getting used to, though. I can't even move them right now."
Sol reluctantly sat up, rubbing his head on Victoria's ass and tail one last time before doing so. "Well, humans weren't born with wings, and something tells me the gods never intended for us to have them, either. Same thing with stuff like my horns, or the incubi that only get tails. Anyway, you went after Ammie pretty vigorously, didn't you?" he asked, grinning big.
Amarantha's face went red in an instant. "What!?"
Sol's grin got even bigger as he nodded. "We all saw. The kid, the princess, me, Vicky, Hilda, and your mother. We all watched the whole thing."
Amarantha looked to Zeraine for help, but he only commented with, "So that's why the door was open..."
Sol said, "You know, if it'd make you feel any better, I could even it out a little by letting you watch me bone Vicky and Hilda. You might even be able to talk your mother into letting you watch her do your fa-"
Amarantha grabbed his mouth and forced it shut, holding it closed as she glared into his eyes. "Not. another. word."
Unable to speak, he saluted her, indicating his compliance. She let go, grabbed Zeraine's hand, and pulled him along, nearly dragging him as she went into the dining room. Sol sent Victoria and Hilda ahead and stopped at the door to the guest room. He knocked and said, "Lunch time!" then went to the dining room table and sat down. Not long after, the hero and the succubus, both of them a little sweaty, joined the group.
Throughout lunch, Amarantha was too embarrassed to look directly at anyone other than Zeraine. When the meal was over, they all went to the living room and sat down to talk for a little while.
Sol laughed a little, as did the succubus. The hero asked, "How did he manage?"
The succubus answered, "I've got a few guesses, but we'll wait until they wake up and we'll ask him, first. Anyway, you still hard?"
Looking down at the bulge in his pants, the hero confirmed that he was. "Yeah. So, uh..."
The succubus patted him on the ass and said, "Let's go relieve you."
The two of them returned to the guest room and they got started. The succubus decided not to bother with teasing him, bondage, or anything else. She simply made him lay down on the bed and she rode him nonstop for three rounds.
...
As Sol, Victoria, Hilda, and Miranda went back downstairs, Miranda asked, "Now that both men have become incubi, what will you do?"
Sol shrugged. "Well, I, myself, am an incubus, and I'm sure Amarantha's told you by now how much of a horny pervert I am, so... I guess I'll stick around until after lunch, in case they need me for anything, then I'll go home and get some much-needed relief."
"Relief?"
"Yes. You see, despite not really enjoying the show, I got hard when I saw the kid fuck the hell out of his future wife. I got hard again when I saw Zeraine desperately boning Ammie just then. And just looking at Vicky or Hilda makes me horny as hell, and since I haven't made love to them in so long, I'm hurting. As soon as I get home, I'm going to enjoy the scaly bodies of my beloved employees, and I'm not stopping until tomorrow morning. ...Unless they tire out before I do."
Miranda shook her head, her face red. "You sure are frank and open about it."
"Why shouldn't I be? I love these two, and I love having sex with them, and I don't care who knows."
Victoria and Hilda smiled proudly, their egos inflating as Sol stated his love and desire for them. Miranda cleared her throat and changed the subject. "Well, maybe by the time I finish lunch they'll wake up. I'll get started."
She went off into the kitchen while Sol and his lizard-girls returned to the living room. He checked the scrying orb and saw that The Four Horsemen were still standing there, waiting patiently. It appeared as though they hadn't moved a muscle. He sighed and sat down on the couch, then said, "Can you two take the edge off this lust for me?"
Hilda, her tone showing she was more than happy to do so, said, "What should we do?"
Sol smiled and said, "Well, since we can't do it here, nor can we be 'indecent' in the living room, I can't ask for what I'd like the most, which means I'll have to settle for being sandwiched between your flat chests."
Victoria scoffed and hesitantly said, "I know you like boobs. Wouldn't it be better to use the polymorph spell she taught you on us so you can enjoy being between two pairs of breasts?"
Sol thought for a second and said, "Maybe you're right, but that might stimulate me too much. As much as I want to empty my balls, I don't want to do it in my pants. ...Your scaly flat chests will have to do. We can have as much fun with the polymorph spell as we want when we get home. For now, press those hard little nipples against me!"
They both happily complied, hugging him from both sides, rubbing against him a little.
...
Several minutes after everyone left, Zeraine woke up. He sat up on his knees, holding his head. "Did that-" he started before noticing his new wings. "...Yeah, it did." He tried several times to move his wings, but he only succeeded in twitching them once or twice. "Man, these things really are alien to me. What am I going to do now, though? I have wings, which means I need to modify my clothes and stuff. ...What a pain. I hope I can fly with these, even when wearing my armor." He grabbed one of his wings and pulled it around in front of him so he could look at it better. Before he could start, Amarantha woke up.
She stretched and groaned, her movements causing her breasts to bounce and jiggle. "Well Zeraine, how do you feel?" she asked right before noticing his rising erection.
He replied, "Well, I have wings, obviously. It's strange, and I can't really move them yet, but... I guess I feel pretty good."
She nodded. "Your dick is energetic."
"Speaking of which, I wasn't too rough with you, was I, Ammie?"
"No. You were kind of rough, but it felt good. If that's as rough as you ever get, I'll have no complaints. Still, you scared me for a minute, there. I thought you were going to lose it, too. And when you told me you couldn't hold back, I thought I was in for a painful pounding, but..."
"Well, I remembered the princess's advice, and I calmed myself as best I could, but it was still hard to deal with. I figured the sooner I put it in you and started fucking, the sooner I'd be able to get the relief I needed, and thus the sooner I did, the less chance there'd be of me getting out of control."
Amarantha nodded. "It worked, I guess, since you're an incubus, now, and you're not ravaging me like a savage beast. You look like you want to go again, too."
He nodded. "I think I need to eat, first, though. Are you hungry?"
She nodded. "Let's go eat. Mom should have lunch ready, soon."
They got dressed. Zeraine had to leave part of his back exposed because his wings, which came out of the small of his back, were in the way. As they walked downstairs, Amarantha finally got the chance to look at his wings. She said, "They look like the princess's wings, sort of demonic-bat-like, but there seem to be some draconic elements, too."
"Really? Maybe they're there because you participated in my transformation?"
She grinned. "That would be nice. It'd serve as sort of a 'mark' that you're mine. It could also be thought of as me giving a part of myself to you or something... Anyway, I think they look kind of good on you."
"A part of yourself? As in your demonic energy, what little we used in comparison to what I've absorbed throughout the years, caused me to take on a little dragon-like appearance in my new wings? And I may belong to you, Ammie, but you also belong to me, right?"
She smiled proudly. "Of course!" As they passed through the living room, Amarantha stopped in her tracks and asked, "What are they doing?" She walked over toward the couch. As she got close, she saw that Victoria was laying on the couch on her front side, with Sol resting his head on her butt, and Hilda laying on him in a sort of 69 position, though they were all fully-clothed. Amarantha crossed her arms and said sternly, "I thought I said 'no sex in the living room'. What are you three doing?"
Sol, his face right next to Hilda's crotch, said, "I needed a little 'stimulation' from these two, and I only intended to have them press their nipples against me, but we kind of got carried away. Vicky's ass makes for a nice pillow, though." He rubbed Victoria's butt while smiling, then turned his head to face Hilda's crotch and inhaled deeply. "...And I love the smell of Hilda's crotch. Well, I love the smell of Vicky's crotch, too, but... Anyway, are you guys doing okay?" he asked, gently nudging Hilda, which was her cue to get off.
Zeraine nodded. "I'm fine. I feel pretty good, actually. These wings will take some getting used to, though. I can't even move them right now."
Sol reluctantly sat up, rubbing his head on Victoria's ass and tail one last time before doing so. "Well, humans weren't born with wings, and something tells me the gods never intended for us to have them, either. Same thing with stuff like my horns, or the incubi that only get tails. Anyway, you went after Ammie pretty vigorously, didn't you?" he asked, grinning big.
Amarantha's face went red in an instant. "What!?"
Sol's grin got even bigger as he nodded. "We all saw. The kid, the princess, me, Vicky, Hilda, and your mother. We all watched the whole thing."
Amarantha looked to Zeraine for help, but he only commented with, "So that's why the door was open..."
Sol said, "You know, if it'd make you feel any better, I could even it out a little by letting you watch me bone Vicky and Hilda. You might even be able to talk your mother into letting you watch her do your fa-"
Amarantha grabbed his mouth and forced it shut, holding it closed as she glared into his eyes. "Not. another. word."
Unable to speak, he saluted her, indicating his compliance. She let go, grabbed Zeraine's hand, and pulled him along, nearly dragging him as she went into the dining room. Sol sent Victoria and Hilda ahead and stopped at the door to the guest room. He knocked and said, "Lunch time!" then went to the dining room table and sat down. Not long after, the hero and the succubus, both of them a little sweaty, joined the group.
Throughout lunch, Amarantha was too embarrassed to look directly at anyone other than Zeraine. When the meal was over, they all went to the living room and sat down to talk for a little while.
Chapter 129
Spoiler: show
Once they were all seated, the succubus ignored Amarantha, who was hiding her red face with her hands, and asked, "So, Zeraine, how is it?"
"How's what, my being an incubus now? Well, I'll need to get used to these wings. Can you give me any tips on how to just move them?"
She shook her head. "Moving my wings is a natural thing for me. I don't know how I'd teach you, what with you needing to learn. Just do your best. You'll get it eventually. Anything else?"
"Well... I definitely feel good, like I'm more powerful or something. I have more energy, I think, and I get aroused even more easily by Ammie. Personally, I think I can take on one of the Horsemen now."
The succubus nodded in satisfaction. "Good. I don't know what you'll want to do for the rest of the day, but it'd be a good idea to either spend it sparring or having sex, maybe alternate between both."
"Would we really need to keep having that much sex? I know it's weird for an incubus to ask that, but Ammie's not a succubus. We can't power each other up through sex, right?"
"True. If you knew how, and wanted to, you could now absorb and make use of her demonic energy, drawing it from her body to feed on it, making yourself stronger, or just get her to channel it into you like you've been doing, but I don't think that was very fun, was it?"
Zeraine shook his head. "It was sex between us, with us being lovers, so it felt good, but it wasn't anywhere near as good as 'normal sex' is. It was just the same thing over and over, with neither of us able to really enjoy it. If we have to keep doing that to make me stronger, if possible, I'd like to put it off until she and I can stand to do it like that again."
The succubus nodded, thinking. She then said, "Well, after the throne is mine, her transferring demonic energy into you and you giving her your spirit energy during sex will happen automatically. ...Well, a human man releasing spirit energy during sex already happens automatically, but all monsters will be able to absorb it to varying degrees of benefit. Anyway, you two won't have to worry about subpar sex then." She finally looked directly at Amarantha and asked, "What's wrong with you?"
Amarantha, still hiding her face, said, "You all saw... You watched! Even mom did..."
The succubus sat back and crossed her arms, raising an eyebrow. "So?"
Still hiding her face, Amarantha snapped, "What the fuck do you mean, 'so'!? You fucking watched!"
The succubus closed her eyes and shook her head. "What about in the swamp, when we heard you? You seemed to be fine with that."
Still hiding her face, Amarantha said, "That and this are different!"
"How?" the succubus asked, not understanding.
Amarantha stopped hiding her face, which was still red with embarrassment, and said, "That was just you and the kid, being able to hear Zeraine and me. You couldn't see us, which means you couldn't see what we were doing. This time, you, the kid, Sol, Vicky, Hilda, and even mom, ALL stood there, watching! That's four more people than then, and you could see everything!"
Zeraine put his arm around Amarantha's shoulder and pulled her close, rubbing her upper arm. "She's shy, remember?" he asked.
"Oh. Right..." the succubus said, suddenly realizing that. "Yeah, see, when I'm riding him," she started, pointing at the hero with her thumb, "I don't care who's watching, nor do I care who sees what. At that time, I only care about him and what he's doing to me, or what I'm doing to him. Someone sees as he gives me a facial? Big deal. If I'm feeling particularly bold at the time, I'll gladly walk around town with his cum all over my face, and maybe even bring him with me, bragging that all that semen is his. If he wanted to fuck me in the park in the middle of the day, creampie me in my pussy, and have me walk around with him, dripping his cum everywhere from my cunt, I'd have no problems with it."
Everyone, especially the hero, was embarrassed after that, but all three men were turned on. The hero couldn't help but imagine doing those things to the succubus, and he got hard over it. Zeraine, still fairly aroused with anticipation of having "fun" sex with Amarantha, got fully hard from the sheer level of eroticism of the proposed acts. Sol was already fully hard, aching for sex with Victoria and Hilda, but upon the succubus's mention of the acts, he imagined doing those things to Victoria and Hilda, and nearly blew a load in his pants. It didn't help matters that Hilda had one leg over his, rubbing the head of his dick through his pants with the back of her thigh.
After a few seconds of silence, the succubus smiled and looked at the hero. "Hey, how about I suck you off and you cum on my face, right here, while they watch?"
The hero desperately shook his head. "No. No way."
Amarantha quickly followed up with, "For the third time, no sex in the living room! And Hilda! Stop rubbing Sol's groin!" Amarantha's face was still red, as was everyone else's, to varying degrees and for varying reasons. Hilda reluctantly stopped, though.
The succubus shrugged. "Then how about you and Zeraine come to the guest room and watch me ride him until my pussy's packed full of his cum?" she asked, getting more and more horny by the second.
Amarantha facepalmed, then Zeraine said, "As tempting as that is, I think Ammie and I need to go back to her room for a while. Kid, good luck with reining in your wife. Come on, Ammie."
Amarantha was about to say something, but she, too, was eager for "normal" sex after only having the "ritual" sex for so long, so she got up and quickly followed Zeraine.
His voice indicating he was in serious pain, with a mix of pleasure, Sol asked, "So are you guys done with my help for now? I don't need to stick around any longer, right?"
The succubus shrugged. "Go have fun with your girls. After you've relieved yourselves, keep watch on The Four Horsemen for us, okay?"
Sol nodded and got up, then grabbed his scrying orb and its stand and opened a teleportation portal to his shop. "Vicky, Hilda, come on!" he said, his voice somewhat pleading. The two of them nodded, said goodbye to the hero and the succubus, and nearly ran to follow Sol.
After they were gone, the succubus said, "You know, what he was going through just then, with the 'no sex in the living room' rule and his lust, with Hilda's rubbing and stuff? That could, in a way, be considered orgasm denial. Obviously, the pleasure and stimulation that keeps you hard and 'on edge' would feel good, but it'd start to hurt like hell if it went on too long. I kind of feel sorry for keeping him from his lovers for so long..."
The hero thought about it for a few seconds and said, "Yeah, maybe we should have gave him a break or something... I don't know." He cleared his throat and looked at her. "You sure are a dirty pervert, though," he said, his tone somewhat playful.
She saw the lust in his eyes and replied, "I don't know if that was an insult or not, but I'm too horny to care right now. How about we get Amarantha's mother to watch us? Or maybe go to the park, where there's more people?"
He grabbed her by the shoulder and said, "Well, it's silver dragons, not humans, so they'd likely be very offended if we did that. I'd rather not be banned from ever coming back, you know. Anyway, what's with this sudden desire to be watched?"
She shrugged. "I guess I want to show the world that we belong to each other by doing perverted things to each other in front of others."
"I'm a little shy, too, remember. I think we should stick to the 'normal' way."
"Fine. My pussy aches, my womb is throbbing, and I want your baby. Fuck me."
Unable to endure his erection any longer, he stood up, picked her up, and carried her to the guest room.
...
Back in Amarantha's room, she shut and locked the door. Now alone with Zeraine, she was free to strip and happily lay on the bed with her arms spread, waiting for him. He laid on top of her, wrapping his arms around her while she did the same to him, also wrapping her legs around his waist. Without a word, they began kissing with incredible passion, both of them obviously starved for it. After a few minutes of kissing, entwining their tongues, and grinding their crotches together, she loosened her grip on his waist, allowing him to prod her wet lower lips with his throbbing rod. He moved his hands and began rubbing her breasts, kissing, licking, and occasionally lightly biting her on the neck. He left a trail of kisses down her neck, past her collar, and up one of her breasts all the way to the nipple. He then licked it in circles, flicking it with his tongue occasionally, before nibbling on it, rolling it between his teeth. After teasing her nipples for a minute or two, alternating between them, giving them each an equal treatment, he started simply sucking on them, every action causing her to moan loudly.
She suddenly patted him on the shoulder and he stopped. Before he asked her what she wanted, she asked, "Zeraine, how long has it been since the last time I sucked your dick?" He shrugged in response, to which she smiled and said, "How about I give you a blowjob, then?"
He frowned. "Ammie, I can feel how wet and hot you are down there. I feel it wouldn't be fair to you if I didn't eat you out at the same time. I say we do 69 or move on to penetration."
She kissed him a couple of times, then said, "Well, I think you deserve one, so let's do a round of 69 before you put it in, okay?"
He nodded and rolled over, then she turned around and immediately put his dick in her mouth and began sucking rather intensely. Zeraine jumped when he felt the hard suction right from the start, glad that she wanted to please him, glad that she was going to get him off quickly, but slightly disappointed that she wasn't going to drag it out and tease him for a while. Rather than dwell on it, however, he grabbed her ass and pulled her vagina down to his face so he could start licking. She was almost dripping, but he quickly lapped up her juice, then began licking circles around the outside of her slit. He kept at it for a short time, squeezing and kneading her ass cheeks as he licked her. Once his saliva was the only thing on her labia majora, he licked her up and down the slit, letting his tongue sink in to her hot hole slightly. When she started massaging his balls, he shoved his tongue inside her vagina, licking her salmon-pink flesh, savoring every last one of her moans. After licking around inside, he took his tongue out and licked her urethra and clitoris, which caused her to cry out and shudder, but she didn't stop her hungry assault on his shaft. He then clamped his mouth over her clit and sucked hard, which made her spasm while letting out one long moan. About halfway through the moan, he felt a small squirt from her urethra on his tongue. He could tell from the taste that it wasn't urine. She's had an orgasm, and a bit of a squirting one at that. The mere knowledge that he had gotten her off brought him to the edge. He decided to kiss her vagina as he came in her mouth.
When he felt himself stop ejaculating, he took his lips off her pussy. He shuddered as he felt her tightly-shut lips sliding off his penis, taking what was left of his load with them, for she had already swallowed most of it as he shot it. Not wanting to make him uncomfortable by sitting on his face, she stood on her knees and walked forward a bit so she could sit on his chest. She swallowed the last of his semen and licked her lips. As he laid there waiting, one thought crossed his mind. He remembered the polymorph spell and her future form, then thought that, were she in said form, he'd be licking her tail right now. She got up and turned around, then sat back down on his chest, facing him this time. Smiling lovingly at him, she asked, "Was it good?"
He laughed. "Of course it was, Ammie. How'd I do?"
She giggled and said, "I squirted, didn't I? Speaking of which, there was more semen in this load than there was the last time I sucked you off."
"Really? You sure?"
"Pretty sure. It was kind of a long time ago, though, so I might be misremembering, but there was definitely a lot of cum."
"Sorry..."
"Don't apologize. I wanted to do this. And to me, your semen is kind of good, so I don't mind drinking it, even when it's that much." She turned halfway around and saw his dick, still hard. "You're ready to go again?"
"Yeah, are you?"
"I just came, so no. Unless I give you a handjob, a titfuck, or a blowjob, as in no 69, you'll have to wait."
"I suppose you would be too sensitive after cumming for me to go straight into it again..."
"...Zeraine?"
"Yeah?"
"If you really need it again that bad, go ahead."
"Ammie?"
"I mean, if you really need to, you can stick it in me right now. I'm sure you'll do it right so that nothing bad happens."
With that, he pulled her down into a kiss, rolled over, getting on top, and pressed his dick against her pussy, which was wet from vaginal juices that failed to seep out earlier when he ate her out. He slowly penetrated her, feeling her insides quiver violently and squeeze him hard as if trying to crush his dick. She tried to endure the stimulation, breathing very hard as he entered her. Soon, he bottomed out in her, then looked at her face and saw tears in her eyes. "Are you okay, Ammie?"
She nodded. "I've never felt anything like this. I almost came when you were about halfway in, I almost came again when you hit my cervix, and I think I'll cum if you move at all, now."
"Should I pull out?"
"No. Let's see what it's like to have sex right after I cum, okay?"
He nodded and began slowly sliding out. He felt a small squirt hit him right above his dick and quickly realized it was Amarantha, having another squirting orgasm. He thought, "She came just from this? I guess she was right when she said she thought she'd cum if I moved..."
He resumed moving, seeing her tightly grip and squeeze the bed sheets, her whole body shaking as he moved. Soon, she squirted again. He gradually sped up his thrusting, causing her orgasms to increase in frequency, too. When she came for the third time, squirting on him again, she cried out loudly. About 30 seconds after that, she came again from his slowly-increasing speed. When she did, she let go of the sheets and threw her arms around him, holding him very tightly. On her fifth orgasm, she squeezed tighter. Zeraine didn't stop thrusting, but his rhythm was slightly interrupted by the sudden pain. "Ammie, that hurts."
She tried to apologize, but she couldn't stop moaning and crying out long enough to form even one word. She tried with little success to loosen her grip, but then her sixth orgasm hit her, causing her to dig her fingernails into his back. He cringed in pain, but kept going. Her squeezing tightened against her will as she came a seventh time, this time causing bruises to form on his sides. At the time, it strangely started to feel good, so he kept going. By the time her eighth orgasm hit, she had raked, scratched, and otherwise clawed his back up, drawing blood in a few places and turning the rest of it red, but that felt good, too. Finally, as she came for the ninth time, he blew his load inside her, then they collapsed. Finally, after so long, they had been able to fully satisfy each other. Completely out of it, she had a vague awareness that she had accidentally hurt him, but she fell asleep before she could check on him. As he caught his breath, he thought, "Good thing we weren't using that polymorph spell. She'd have torn the skin from my bones even with the 'dull claws version'. I don't know why it started to feel good, though... My back stings and burns, like a whole beehive got after me. She's going to worry when she wakes up, I know. ...Whatever. I'm kind of tired now, too, so I'll just go to sleep."
He kissed her once on the lips, then soon fell asleep on top of her.
"How's what, my being an incubus now? Well, I'll need to get used to these wings. Can you give me any tips on how to just move them?"
She shook her head. "Moving my wings is a natural thing for me. I don't know how I'd teach you, what with you needing to learn. Just do your best. You'll get it eventually. Anything else?"
"Well... I definitely feel good, like I'm more powerful or something. I have more energy, I think, and I get aroused even more easily by Ammie. Personally, I think I can take on one of the Horsemen now."
The succubus nodded in satisfaction. "Good. I don't know what you'll want to do for the rest of the day, but it'd be a good idea to either spend it sparring or having sex, maybe alternate between both."
"Would we really need to keep having that much sex? I know it's weird for an incubus to ask that, but Ammie's not a succubus. We can't power each other up through sex, right?"
"True. If you knew how, and wanted to, you could now absorb and make use of her demonic energy, drawing it from her body to feed on it, making yourself stronger, or just get her to channel it into you like you've been doing, but I don't think that was very fun, was it?"
Zeraine shook his head. "It was sex between us, with us being lovers, so it felt good, but it wasn't anywhere near as good as 'normal sex' is. It was just the same thing over and over, with neither of us able to really enjoy it. If we have to keep doing that to make me stronger, if possible, I'd like to put it off until she and I can stand to do it like that again."
The succubus nodded, thinking. She then said, "Well, after the throne is mine, her transferring demonic energy into you and you giving her your spirit energy during sex will happen automatically. ...Well, a human man releasing spirit energy during sex already happens automatically, but all monsters will be able to absorb it to varying degrees of benefit. Anyway, you two won't have to worry about subpar sex then." She finally looked directly at Amarantha and asked, "What's wrong with you?"
Amarantha, still hiding her face, said, "You all saw... You watched! Even mom did..."
The succubus sat back and crossed her arms, raising an eyebrow. "So?"
Still hiding her face, Amarantha snapped, "What the fuck do you mean, 'so'!? You fucking watched!"
The succubus closed her eyes and shook her head. "What about in the swamp, when we heard you? You seemed to be fine with that."
Still hiding her face, Amarantha said, "That and this are different!"
"How?" the succubus asked, not understanding.
Amarantha stopped hiding her face, which was still red with embarrassment, and said, "That was just you and the kid, being able to hear Zeraine and me. You couldn't see us, which means you couldn't see what we were doing. This time, you, the kid, Sol, Vicky, Hilda, and even mom, ALL stood there, watching! That's four more people than then, and you could see everything!"
Zeraine put his arm around Amarantha's shoulder and pulled her close, rubbing her upper arm. "She's shy, remember?" he asked.
"Oh. Right..." the succubus said, suddenly realizing that. "Yeah, see, when I'm riding him," she started, pointing at the hero with her thumb, "I don't care who's watching, nor do I care who sees what. At that time, I only care about him and what he's doing to me, or what I'm doing to him. Someone sees as he gives me a facial? Big deal. If I'm feeling particularly bold at the time, I'll gladly walk around town with his cum all over my face, and maybe even bring him with me, bragging that all that semen is his. If he wanted to fuck me in the park in the middle of the day, creampie me in my pussy, and have me walk around with him, dripping his cum everywhere from my cunt, I'd have no problems with it."
Everyone, especially the hero, was embarrassed after that, but all three men were turned on. The hero couldn't help but imagine doing those things to the succubus, and he got hard over it. Zeraine, still fairly aroused with anticipation of having "fun" sex with Amarantha, got fully hard from the sheer level of eroticism of the proposed acts. Sol was already fully hard, aching for sex with Victoria and Hilda, but upon the succubus's mention of the acts, he imagined doing those things to Victoria and Hilda, and nearly blew a load in his pants. It didn't help matters that Hilda had one leg over his, rubbing the head of his dick through his pants with the back of her thigh.
After a few seconds of silence, the succubus smiled and looked at the hero. "Hey, how about I suck you off and you cum on my face, right here, while they watch?"
The hero desperately shook his head. "No. No way."
Amarantha quickly followed up with, "For the third time, no sex in the living room! And Hilda! Stop rubbing Sol's groin!" Amarantha's face was still red, as was everyone else's, to varying degrees and for varying reasons. Hilda reluctantly stopped, though.
The succubus shrugged. "Then how about you and Zeraine come to the guest room and watch me ride him until my pussy's packed full of his cum?" she asked, getting more and more horny by the second.
Amarantha facepalmed, then Zeraine said, "As tempting as that is, I think Ammie and I need to go back to her room for a while. Kid, good luck with reining in your wife. Come on, Ammie."
Amarantha was about to say something, but she, too, was eager for "normal" sex after only having the "ritual" sex for so long, so she got up and quickly followed Zeraine.
His voice indicating he was in serious pain, with a mix of pleasure, Sol asked, "So are you guys done with my help for now? I don't need to stick around any longer, right?"
The succubus shrugged. "Go have fun with your girls. After you've relieved yourselves, keep watch on The Four Horsemen for us, okay?"
Sol nodded and got up, then grabbed his scrying orb and its stand and opened a teleportation portal to his shop. "Vicky, Hilda, come on!" he said, his voice somewhat pleading. The two of them nodded, said goodbye to the hero and the succubus, and nearly ran to follow Sol.
After they were gone, the succubus said, "You know, what he was going through just then, with the 'no sex in the living room' rule and his lust, with Hilda's rubbing and stuff? That could, in a way, be considered orgasm denial. Obviously, the pleasure and stimulation that keeps you hard and 'on edge' would feel good, but it'd start to hurt like hell if it went on too long. I kind of feel sorry for keeping him from his lovers for so long..."
The hero thought about it for a few seconds and said, "Yeah, maybe we should have gave him a break or something... I don't know." He cleared his throat and looked at her. "You sure are a dirty pervert, though," he said, his tone somewhat playful.
She saw the lust in his eyes and replied, "I don't know if that was an insult or not, but I'm too horny to care right now. How about we get Amarantha's mother to watch us? Or maybe go to the park, where there's more people?"
He grabbed her by the shoulder and said, "Well, it's silver dragons, not humans, so they'd likely be very offended if we did that. I'd rather not be banned from ever coming back, you know. Anyway, what's with this sudden desire to be watched?"
She shrugged. "I guess I want to show the world that we belong to each other by doing perverted things to each other in front of others."
"I'm a little shy, too, remember. I think we should stick to the 'normal' way."
"Fine. My pussy aches, my womb is throbbing, and I want your baby. Fuck me."
Unable to endure his erection any longer, he stood up, picked her up, and carried her to the guest room.
...
Back in Amarantha's room, she shut and locked the door. Now alone with Zeraine, she was free to strip and happily lay on the bed with her arms spread, waiting for him. He laid on top of her, wrapping his arms around her while she did the same to him, also wrapping her legs around his waist. Without a word, they began kissing with incredible passion, both of them obviously starved for it. After a few minutes of kissing, entwining their tongues, and grinding their crotches together, she loosened her grip on his waist, allowing him to prod her wet lower lips with his throbbing rod. He moved his hands and began rubbing her breasts, kissing, licking, and occasionally lightly biting her on the neck. He left a trail of kisses down her neck, past her collar, and up one of her breasts all the way to the nipple. He then licked it in circles, flicking it with his tongue occasionally, before nibbling on it, rolling it between his teeth. After teasing her nipples for a minute or two, alternating between them, giving them each an equal treatment, he started simply sucking on them, every action causing her to moan loudly.
She suddenly patted him on the shoulder and he stopped. Before he asked her what she wanted, she asked, "Zeraine, how long has it been since the last time I sucked your dick?" He shrugged in response, to which she smiled and said, "How about I give you a blowjob, then?"
He frowned. "Ammie, I can feel how wet and hot you are down there. I feel it wouldn't be fair to you if I didn't eat you out at the same time. I say we do 69 or move on to penetration."
She kissed him a couple of times, then said, "Well, I think you deserve one, so let's do a round of 69 before you put it in, okay?"
He nodded and rolled over, then she turned around and immediately put his dick in her mouth and began sucking rather intensely. Zeraine jumped when he felt the hard suction right from the start, glad that she wanted to please him, glad that she was going to get him off quickly, but slightly disappointed that she wasn't going to drag it out and tease him for a while. Rather than dwell on it, however, he grabbed her ass and pulled her vagina down to his face so he could start licking. She was almost dripping, but he quickly lapped up her juice, then began licking circles around the outside of her slit. He kept at it for a short time, squeezing and kneading her ass cheeks as he licked her. Once his saliva was the only thing on her labia majora, he licked her up and down the slit, letting his tongue sink in to her hot hole slightly. When she started massaging his balls, he shoved his tongue inside her vagina, licking her salmon-pink flesh, savoring every last one of her moans. After licking around inside, he took his tongue out and licked her urethra and clitoris, which caused her to cry out and shudder, but she didn't stop her hungry assault on his shaft. He then clamped his mouth over her clit and sucked hard, which made her spasm while letting out one long moan. About halfway through the moan, he felt a small squirt from her urethra on his tongue. He could tell from the taste that it wasn't urine. She's had an orgasm, and a bit of a squirting one at that. The mere knowledge that he had gotten her off brought him to the edge. He decided to kiss her vagina as he came in her mouth.
When he felt himself stop ejaculating, he took his lips off her pussy. He shuddered as he felt her tightly-shut lips sliding off his penis, taking what was left of his load with them, for she had already swallowed most of it as he shot it. Not wanting to make him uncomfortable by sitting on his face, she stood on her knees and walked forward a bit so she could sit on his chest. She swallowed the last of his semen and licked her lips. As he laid there waiting, one thought crossed his mind. He remembered the polymorph spell and her future form, then thought that, were she in said form, he'd be licking her tail right now. She got up and turned around, then sat back down on his chest, facing him this time. Smiling lovingly at him, she asked, "Was it good?"
He laughed. "Of course it was, Ammie. How'd I do?"
She giggled and said, "I squirted, didn't I? Speaking of which, there was more semen in this load than there was the last time I sucked you off."
"Really? You sure?"
"Pretty sure. It was kind of a long time ago, though, so I might be misremembering, but there was definitely a lot of cum."
"Sorry..."
"Don't apologize. I wanted to do this. And to me, your semen is kind of good, so I don't mind drinking it, even when it's that much." She turned halfway around and saw his dick, still hard. "You're ready to go again?"
"Yeah, are you?"
"I just came, so no. Unless I give you a handjob, a titfuck, or a blowjob, as in no 69, you'll have to wait."
"I suppose you would be too sensitive after cumming for me to go straight into it again..."
"...Zeraine?"
"Yeah?"
"If you really need it again that bad, go ahead."
"Ammie?"
"I mean, if you really need to, you can stick it in me right now. I'm sure you'll do it right so that nothing bad happens."
With that, he pulled her down into a kiss, rolled over, getting on top, and pressed his dick against her pussy, which was wet from vaginal juices that failed to seep out earlier when he ate her out. He slowly penetrated her, feeling her insides quiver violently and squeeze him hard as if trying to crush his dick. She tried to endure the stimulation, breathing very hard as he entered her. Soon, he bottomed out in her, then looked at her face and saw tears in her eyes. "Are you okay, Ammie?"
She nodded. "I've never felt anything like this. I almost came when you were about halfway in, I almost came again when you hit my cervix, and I think I'll cum if you move at all, now."
"Should I pull out?"
"No. Let's see what it's like to have sex right after I cum, okay?"
He nodded and began slowly sliding out. He felt a small squirt hit him right above his dick and quickly realized it was Amarantha, having another squirting orgasm. He thought, "She came just from this? I guess she was right when she said she thought she'd cum if I moved..."
He resumed moving, seeing her tightly grip and squeeze the bed sheets, her whole body shaking as he moved. Soon, she squirted again. He gradually sped up his thrusting, causing her orgasms to increase in frequency, too. When she came for the third time, squirting on him again, she cried out loudly. About 30 seconds after that, she came again from his slowly-increasing speed. When she did, she let go of the sheets and threw her arms around him, holding him very tightly. On her fifth orgasm, she squeezed tighter. Zeraine didn't stop thrusting, but his rhythm was slightly interrupted by the sudden pain. "Ammie, that hurts."
She tried to apologize, but she couldn't stop moaning and crying out long enough to form even one word. She tried with little success to loosen her grip, but then her sixth orgasm hit her, causing her to dig her fingernails into his back. He cringed in pain, but kept going. Her squeezing tightened against her will as she came a seventh time, this time causing bruises to form on his sides. At the time, it strangely started to feel good, so he kept going. By the time her eighth orgasm hit, she had raked, scratched, and otherwise clawed his back up, drawing blood in a few places and turning the rest of it red, but that felt good, too. Finally, as she came for the ninth time, he blew his load inside her, then they collapsed. Finally, after so long, they had been able to fully satisfy each other. Completely out of it, she had a vague awareness that she had accidentally hurt him, but she fell asleep before she could check on him. As he caught his breath, he thought, "Good thing we weren't using that polymorph spell. She'd have torn the skin from my bones even with the 'dull claws version'. I don't know why it started to feel good, though... My back stings and burns, like a whole beehive got after me. She's going to worry when she wakes up, I know. ...Whatever. I'm kind of tired now, too, so I'll just go to sleep."
He kissed her once on the lips, then soon fell asleep on top of her.
Chapter 130
Spoiler: show
Later that day, Miranda went to the door of the guest room to get the hero and the succubus for dinner, and, hearing both of them moaning, knocked on the door. "Dinner's almost ready!" she called, making sure she was loud enough for them to hear her. When the succubus responded, Miranda wasn't sure if she meant "coming" or "cumming", so she simply shrugged it off and went upstairs. Once at the door to Amarantha's room, she waited for a few seconds and, upon hearing nothing, she tried the door while asking, "You two awake in there?" She noticed it was locked, waited a few seconds, then knocked.
...
In the guest room, the hero and the succubus, having just had a simultaneous orgasm again, the latest round being in cowgirl position, paused to catch their breath. He laid there, still inside her, and she sat there, enjoying having his manhood inside her. She sighed contentedly and said, "You know, I thought I should go ahead and tell you..."
He locked eyes with her, gazing at her with a mix of love and curiosity, and asked, "Tell me what?"
She smiled and said, "I've decided that I'll forgive you for raping me during your transformation as soon as we're sure that I'm pregnant with our child. Sound good?"
He nodded, not sure why she'd choose to do it that way, but glad that she was clear about it. "I guess that means we should go another round, huh?"
She giggled. "Want to go again, do you?"
"Yeah. Even though I was, and still am, for moderation, we've established that, at least for now, we should have a lot of sex. I'd like to know if I'm really getting more powerful from this, and if you are, too, which would mean that it's definitely been worth it, but I don't know how we'd test it. Also, I kind of would like to be a father. ...And there's the fact that I'm still ashamed of myself for doing that to you, coupled with the fact that I really want your forgiveness for it so I can forgive myself, with you having just defined how to get your forgiveness..."
She nodded, listening intently, then asked, "Aren't you forgetting something?" as she leaned down, getting face-to-face with him.
He sighed with resignation and his face slowly turned red as he said, "Okay, fine, I'll admit it. I like having sex with you. Now that I'm an incubus, I desire you even more, and that makes me want more sex. As soon as we can, I'd like to cut it back to only mornings and evenings. We can't get anything done if we spend all our time fucking, you know."
She smiled devilishly, then started kissing his neck. "I'm fine with that schedule. And not to worry, dear, we'll be leaving tomorrow. We're going to beat The Four Horsemen, then we're going to find those elves and get them to help us with their wind elementalist powers, then we'll find something else to do to further ensure our success." She gave him a love bite, leaving a hickey on his neck, then continued, "Eventually, we'll gather our army, send it to meet the Demon Lord's, break into the castle, kill the bastard, and take control. Then you and me, darling, we'll change the world for the better."
They started moving again, going for another round when they heard a knock at the door. When Miranda told them that dinner was almost ready, she, between moans, answered, "Coming!"
The hero looked at her and shrugged. "We should eat."
She reluctantly got off, then cleaned him and herself up, grumbling, "One thing I'll do is make it completely possible for a succubus and her incubus to live off having sex with each other. They'll be able to subsist comfortably on one another's energy, thus they won't have to worry about interrupting their sex to eat."
As they got dressed, the hero asked, "Aren't you overreacting a bit? We can get back to it after dinner, go a few rounds, then go to sleep."
"True, but I would have liked to have finished the round we started before going to eat... By the way, sometime after we leave here, when we're back out on the road again, I'll find a way to prove that us having sex has made us more powerful."
They left the room and went to the dining room.
...
Zeraine woke up, but he didn't know why. He didn't know that Miranda's voice on the other side of the door is what woke him. As he pondered why he woke up, he heard her knock. He got up, cleaned himself off quickly, and put on his pants, then made sure Amarantha's unmentionables were covered with the sheet and answered the door. Before he could say anything, Miranda asked, "Are you two okay?"
"Yeah. Why?" he asked before yawning.
"Well, you didn't answer at first, and Amarantha's probably still shy about all of us watching you and her earlier."
"We're alright. We wore ourselves out, but we're fine."
Miranda looked him over, and said, "You say you're alright, but those bruises on your sides suggest otherwise."
Zeraine looked down at his body and saw the rather large bruises from where Amarantha hugged him a little too tightly. "Yeah, we got a little... 'intense'."
"I assume she's fine?"
"Yeah. I probably made her feel a little too good, because these bruises are from her wrapping her arms around me a bit too tightly..." He touched the bruises and noticed that they were numb, which explained why they weren't hurting like hell. "I know she's going to worry like crazy when she wakes up, though."
When Zeraine turned around to glance back at Amarantha, Miranda saw his back. "You're bleeding."
"I know. It's from her fingernails. I can't see, but she really clawed my back up, didn't she? It stings and burns like hell..."
Miranda smirked and shook her head. "Well, William should be home any minute now, so we'll get him to heal you. Wake her up and come to dinner, okay?"
He nodded and shut the door once she left. Amarantha let out a loud groan as she woke up, quickly noticed Zeraine wasn't on top of her or next to her, and quickly sat up and rubbed her eyes. "Hey, Ammie," he said, walking over to her.
She noticed the bruises on his sides and instantly realized it was her fault. She looked at him very apologetically, looking very sad and sorry, then said, "I'm sorry, Zeraine... Show me your back."
Knowing that she was going to get up and look if he didn't, thus she was going to see it anyway, he turned around and showed her his scratched-up back. He heard her quietly gasp, then turned back around and said, "Ammie, calm down. This just proves I did it right, doesn't it?"
Her eyes welled up with tears and she said, "But it hurts, right? And I drew blood... I hurt you..."
He hugged her, patting her on the back reassuringly. "I'll be fine. I just hope your dad gets home before these bruises start hurting... Anyway, don't cry."
She got up, cleaned up, and got dressed. Zeraine decided to stay shirtless, since his back was very sensitive, and they went downstairs. She didn't cry, but her eyes stayed watery even after they arrived in the dining room. Upon entering, they noticed that William had come home and was seated in his usual spot at the table. When he looked at them to acknowledge their presence, he saw Amarantha's face, her tear-filled eyes, and Zeraine's bruises, then asked, "What happened?"
Amarantha looked as though she had been harshly scolded for it and sniffled, on the verge of crying. Zeraine cringed and said, "Damn, the bruises are starting to hurt... William, can you heal me before Ammie starts the waterworks?"
"Sure. How did it happen?" he said, getting up.
Miranda answered for him, saying, "He put out an 'exceptional performance' and she couldn't help it."
William smirked and asked, "Kind of like that time when you dug your talons into my shoulders, right?"
"Don't bring that up!" she scolded.
William grinned mischievously and explained, "She and I were in our true forms, using the Mating Chamber, and at the end, she grabbed me with her front legs and dug her talons into my shoulders. It hurt like hell and I bled like a stuck pig, but it wasn't a big deal because I'm a good healer."
Miranda glared at him and called his name again, her tone suggesting she was both complaining that he didn't listen and pleading for him to shut up.
William laughed and got to healing Zeraine, casting Healing Hands and maintaining it for about 5 seconds, slightly longer than what was needed to fully heal him. "All better. Be careful next time, alright?"
"Yeah..." Zeraine said, not sure how he'd accomplish that.
Amarantha grabbed him, spun him around to face her, and hugged him, burying her face in his muscular chest, repeatedly apologizing for hurting him.
He sighed when he felt the wetness on his chest and said, "I thought I told you not to cry, Ammie."
She pulled her head back and looked at him. "But-"
Before she could say another word, he sealed her lips with a kiss. After he broke it off, he said, "I'm fine, so stop."
"Even so-"
"Shut up!" he said in a raised voice, interrupting her with another kiss. "Let's eat." He sat down, having to grab his wings with his hands and move them out of the way to do so.
William and Miranda both thought it was cute, so neither intervened. The party ate dinner, then went back to their rooms. Both couples had sex again before going to sleep, Zeraine and Amarantha doing it once, while the hero and the succubus did it five times.
The next morning, during breakfast, the hero commented, "You know, I'm surprised nobody has come around here, asking about yesterday's demonic energy spike. When Zeraine transformed, we could feel the energy for several seconds before Sol set up that barrier."
William said, "That's because I told everyone that Miranda was going to try learning a couple of spells to help with her housework. Well, try again, to be precise."
Seeing that the hero didn't get it, the succubus said, "Sometimes, beginners have to either gather large amounts of demonic energy, which could easily cause something like that, or they might fail when they try to cast the spell, which could also easily cause something like that."
Miranda pouted. "So what if magic is a bit hard for me? Sure, it'd make things a bit more convenient, but it's not like I need it."
After breakfast, William left for work and Zeraine and Amarantha returned to her room to work on modifying Zeraine's clothes and armor to allow for his new wings. During that time, the succubus asked the hero, "I know we just did it before breakfast, but do you want to do it again before we leave?"
The hero hesitated for a moment, then said, "Yeah, I do, but we don't have time. Let's see if anything happened with our enemies." He pulled his crystal out of his pocket and asked, "How do you use this thing?"
After the succubus instructed him, he successfully contacted Sol and asked, "Hey, have they done anything else?"
Sol's voice, full of boredom, answered, "Nope. They know we're watching and they don't like it. You can see the irritation on their faces if you look close enough. Other than that, there's nothing to report. From where you are now, it should take about two days to get there, right?"
The hero ran and got his map, then returned and looked at it, then said, "Yeah, as long as nothing sidetracks us. You think they'll keep waiting patiently for us?"
"They probably don't have anything else to do, so I'd guess they would."
The succubus asked, "You sound kind of bored."
Sol laughed and said, "Watching these four stand around doing nothing is boring."
"You feeling better?"
"Yeah. Vicky and Hilda gave me some badly needed relief, and I ended up staying up all night again."
"Let me guess, most of that time was spent emptying yourself into them, right?" the succubus asked with a perverted grin.
"Of course it was. The rest of it was because there wasn't enough time left for me to sleep, so I stayed up, took inventory of my merchandise, and watched the Horsemen, occasionally passing the time by reading some porn stories about lesbian lamia."
The hero and the succubus heard Hilda ask Sol if he was talking to them, which he confirmed. She asked, "Hey, you know that thing you were doing with him with the tentacles?"
The succubus asked, "You mean the spell, Heretic?"
"Yeah. You think you could teach me and Vicky? Maybe Sol, too?"
The succubus giggled and said, "Intend to use them for perverted things, do you?"
"Yeah! It looks like it could be a lot of fun."
"After we beat The Four Horsemen, I'll teach you guys."
They heard Hilda shout, "Awesome!" before Sol said, "I think I know what she plans on doing with that spell, and I have no objections. With you teaching us that spell, I suppose I'll have to knock a bit more off the price of the next Bag of Holding I find. Let's see, you already get a bit of a discount on it for teaching me the polymorph spells... Yeah, it'll be easily affordable. Anyway, if you guys want to get there and do what you need to, you should leave soon. I'll keep watch on things, so go ahead and contact me every two or three hours. I'll tell you if anything noteworthy happened, and if anything important happens, I'll contact you."
The hero nodded. "Sounds good. We'll keep in touch."
They broke the connection and got packed and ready to leave.
...
In the guest room, the hero and the succubus, having just had a simultaneous orgasm again, the latest round being in cowgirl position, paused to catch their breath. He laid there, still inside her, and she sat there, enjoying having his manhood inside her. She sighed contentedly and said, "You know, I thought I should go ahead and tell you..."
He locked eyes with her, gazing at her with a mix of love and curiosity, and asked, "Tell me what?"
She smiled and said, "I've decided that I'll forgive you for raping me during your transformation as soon as we're sure that I'm pregnant with our child. Sound good?"
He nodded, not sure why she'd choose to do it that way, but glad that she was clear about it. "I guess that means we should go another round, huh?"
She giggled. "Want to go again, do you?"
"Yeah. Even though I was, and still am, for moderation, we've established that, at least for now, we should have a lot of sex. I'd like to know if I'm really getting more powerful from this, and if you are, too, which would mean that it's definitely been worth it, but I don't know how we'd test it. Also, I kind of would like to be a father. ...And there's the fact that I'm still ashamed of myself for doing that to you, coupled with the fact that I really want your forgiveness for it so I can forgive myself, with you having just defined how to get your forgiveness..."
She nodded, listening intently, then asked, "Aren't you forgetting something?" as she leaned down, getting face-to-face with him.
He sighed with resignation and his face slowly turned red as he said, "Okay, fine, I'll admit it. I like having sex with you. Now that I'm an incubus, I desire you even more, and that makes me want more sex. As soon as we can, I'd like to cut it back to only mornings and evenings. We can't get anything done if we spend all our time fucking, you know."
She smiled devilishly, then started kissing his neck. "I'm fine with that schedule. And not to worry, dear, we'll be leaving tomorrow. We're going to beat The Four Horsemen, then we're going to find those elves and get them to help us with their wind elementalist powers, then we'll find something else to do to further ensure our success." She gave him a love bite, leaving a hickey on his neck, then continued, "Eventually, we'll gather our army, send it to meet the Demon Lord's, break into the castle, kill the bastard, and take control. Then you and me, darling, we'll change the world for the better."
They started moving again, going for another round when they heard a knock at the door. When Miranda told them that dinner was almost ready, she, between moans, answered, "Coming!"
The hero looked at her and shrugged. "We should eat."
She reluctantly got off, then cleaned him and herself up, grumbling, "One thing I'll do is make it completely possible for a succubus and her incubus to live off having sex with each other. They'll be able to subsist comfortably on one another's energy, thus they won't have to worry about interrupting their sex to eat."
As they got dressed, the hero asked, "Aren't you overreacting a bit? We can get back to it after dinner, go a few rounds, then go to sleep."
"True, but I would have liked to have finished the round we started before going to eat... By the way, sometime after we leave here, when we're back out on the road again, I'll find a way to prove that us having sex has made us more powerful."
They left the room and went to the dining room.
...
Zeraine woke up, but he didn't know why. He didn't know that Miranda's voice on the other side of the door is what woke him. As he pondered why he woke up, he heard her knock. He got up, cleaned himself off quickly, and put on his pants, then made sure Amarantha's unmentionables were covered with the sheet and answered the door. Before he could say anything, Miranda asked, "Are you two okay?"
"Yeah. Why?" he asked before yawning.
"Well, you didn't answer at first, and Amarantha's probably still shy about all of us watching you and her earlier."
"We're alright. We wore ourselves out, but we're fine."
Miranda looked him over, and said, "You say you're alright, but those bruises on your sides suggest otherwise."
Zeraine looked down at his body and saw the rather large bruises from where Amarantha hugged him a little too tightly. "Yeah, we got a little... 'intense'."
"I assume she's fine?"
"Yeah. I probably made her feel a little too good, because these bruises are from her wrapping her arms around me a bit too tightly..." He touched the bruises and noticed that they were numb, which explained why they weren't hurting like hell. "I know she's going to worry like crazy when she wakes up, though."
When Zeraine turned around to glance back at Amarantha, Miranda saw his back. "You're bleeding."
"I know. It's from her fingernails. I can't see, but she really clawed my back up, didn't she? It stings and burns like hell..."
Miranda smirked and shook her head. "Well, William should be home any minute now, so we'll get him to heal you. Wake her up and come to dinner, okay?"
He nodded and shut the door once she left. Amarantha let out a loud groan as she woke up, quickly noticed Zeraine wasn't on top of her or next to her, and quickly sat up and rubbed her eyes. "Hey, Ammie," he said, walking over to her.
She noticed the bruises on his sides and instantly realized it was her fault. She looked at him very apologetically, looking very sad and sorry, then said, "I'm sorry, Zeraine... Show me your back."
Knowing that she was going to get up and look if he didn't, thus she was going to see it anyway, he turned around and showed her his scratched-up back. He heard her quietly gasp, then turned back around and said, "Ammie, calm down. This just proves I did it right, doesn't it?"
Her eyes welled up with tears and she said, "But it hurts, right? And I drew blood... I hurt you..."
He hugged her, patting her on the back reassuringly. "I'll be fine. I just hope your dad gets home before these bruises start hurting... Anyway, don't cry."
She got up, cleaned up, and got dressed. Zeraine decided to stay shirtless, since his back was very sensitive, and they went downstairs. She didn't cry, but her eyes stayed watery even after they arrived in the dining room. Upon entering, they noticed that William had come home and was seated in his usual spot at the table. When he looked at them to acknowledge their presence, he saw Amarantha's face, her tear-filled eyes, and Zeraine's bruises, then asked, "What happened?"
Amarantha looked as though she had been harshly scolded for it and sniffled, on the verge of crying. Zeraine cringed and said, "Damn, the bruises are starting to hurt... William, can you heal me before Ammie starts the waterworks?"
"Sure. How did it happen?" he said, getting up.
Miranda answered for him, saying, "He put out an 'exceptional performance' and she couldn't help it."
William smirked and asked, "Kind of like that time when you dug your talons into my shoulders, right?"
"Don't bring that up!" she scolded.
William grinned mischievously and explained, "She and I were in our true forms, using the Mating Chamber, and at the end, she grabbed me with her front legs and dug her talons into my shoulders. It hurt like hell and I bled like a stuck pig, but it wasn't a big deal because I'm a good healer."
Miranda glared at him and called his name again, her tone suggesting she was both complaining that he didn't listen and pleading for him to shut up.
William laughed and got to healing Zeraine, casting Healing Hands and maintaining it for about 5 seconds, slightly longer than what was needed to fully heal him. "All better. Be careful next time, alright?"
"Yeah..." Zeraine said, not sure how he'd accomplish that.
Amarantha grabbed him, spun him around to face her, and hugged him, burying her face in his muscular chest, repeatedly apologizing for hurting him.
He sighed when he felt the wetness on his chest and said, "I thought I told you not to cry, Ammie."
She pulled her head back and looked at him. "But-"
Before she could say another word, he sealed her lips with a kiss. After he broke it off, he said, "I'm fine, so stop."
"Even so-"
"Shut up!" he said in a raised voice, interrupting her with another kiss. "Let's eat." He sat down, having to grab his wings with his hands and move them out of the way to do so.
William and Miranda both thought it was cute, so neither intervened. The party ate dinner, then went back to their rooms. Both couples had sex again before going to sleep, Zeraine and Amarantha doing it once, while the hero and the succubus did it five times.
The next morning, during breakfast, the hero commented, "You know, I'm surprised nobody has come around here, asking about yesterday's demonic energy spike. When Zeraine transformed, we could feel the energy for several seconds before Sol set up that barrier."
William said, "That's because I told everyone that Miranda was going to try learning a couple of spells to help with her housework. Well, try again, to be precise."
Seeing that the hero didn't get it, the succubus said, "Sometimes, beginners have to either gather large amounts of demonic energy, which could easily cause something like that, or they might fail when they try to cast the spell, which could also easily cause something like that."
Miranda pouted. "So what if magic is a bit hard for me? Sure, it'd make things a bit more convenient, but it's not like I need it."
After breakfast, William left for work and Zeraine and Amarantha returned to her room to work on modifying Zeraine's clothes and armor to allow for his new wings. During that time, the succubus asked the hero, "I know we just did it before breakfast, but do you want to do it again before we leave?"
The hero hesitated for a moment, then said, "Yeah, I do, but we don't have time. Let's see if anything happened with our enemies." He pulled his crystal out of his pocket and asked, "How do you use this thing?"
After the succubus instructed him, he successfully contacted Sol and asked, "Hey, have they done anything else?"
Sol's voice, full of boredom, answered, "Nope. They know we're watching and they don't like it. You can see the irritation on their faces if you look close enough. Other than that, there's nothing to report. From where you are now, it should take about two days to get there, right?"
The hero ran and got his map, then returned and looked at it, then said, "Yeah, as long as nothing sidetracks us. You think they'll keep waiting patiently for us?"
"They probably don't have anything else to do, so I'd guess they would."
The succubus asked, "You sound kind of bored."
Sol laughed and said, "Watching these four stand around doing nothing is boring."
"You feeling better?"
"Yeah. Vicky and Hilda gave me some badly needed relief, and I ended up staying up all night again."
"Let me guess, most of that time was spent emptying yourself into them, right?" the succubus asked with a perverted grin.
"Of course it was. The rest of it was because there wasn't enough time left for me to sleep, so I stayed up, took inventory of my merchandise, and watched the Horsemen, occasionally passing the time by reading some porn stories about lesbian lamia."
The hero and the succubus heard Hilda ask Sol if he was talking to them, which he confirmed. She asked, "Hey, you know that thing you were doing with him with the tentacles?"
The succubus asked, "You mean the spell, Heretic?"
"Yeah. You think you could teach me and Vicky? Maybe Sol, too?"
The succubus giggled and said, "Intend to use them for perverted things, do you?"
"Yeah! It looks like it could be a lot of fun."
"After we beat The Four Horsemen, I'll teach you guys."
They heard Hilda shout, "Awesome!" before Sol said, "I think I know what she plans on doing with that spell, and I have no objections. With you teaching us that spell, I suppose I'll have to knock a bit more off the price of the next Bag of Holding I find. Let's see, you already get a bit of a discount on it for teaching me the polymorph spells... Yeah, it'll be easily affordable. Anyway, if you guys want to get there and do what you need to, you should leave soon. I'll keep watch on things, so go ahead and contact me every two or three hours. I'll tell you if anything noteworthy happened, and if anything important happens, I'll contact you."
The hero nodded. "Sounds good. We'll keep in touch."
They broke the connection and got packed and ready to leave.
Chapter 131
Spoiler: show
The hero and the succubus stood in the living room, waiting for Zeraine and Amarantha. Soon enough, the two of them came downstairs, both of them suited up in their respective "usual" outfits. Amarantha waved her hand and said, "Be right back, guys," before heading into the dining room.
The hero noticed that Zeraine had his armor on, and his wings were showing. He asked, "How'd you manage the armor?"
Zeraine turned around and said, "I heated the metal with a little magic. Once it was hot enough to shape, I had Ammie use a knifehand to chop a couple of grooves into the back from the bottom. This way, the back piece of the cuirass fits over my wings while protecting everything it's supposed to. Can you see?"
The hero and the succubus looked close and saw how the armor looked as if it were "bent" or "rolled up" in the two "slots" for his wings. The hero nodded and said, "Maybe once we're done with The Four Horsemen, and once we get enough money, we can get you some custom-made armor. Until then, it looks like it should work."
The succubus said, "You know, we might be able to take care of that in the Demon Realm. Some incubi are warriors, and there's armor made specifically for those with wings. We could probably get it cheaper there than we could from a human or Dwarf blacksmith."
Amarantha returned, Miranda following behind her. Miranda smiled at the party and said, "It was good to have you guys here. Good luck on your journey, and may you succeed. We're counting on you."
Amarantha gave her mother a hug and said, "We'll come back eventually."
As the four of them left, Miranda said, "You should go say goodbye to your father, too."
Amarantha nodded and said, "Guys, go on ahead. Use the secret ground entrance to leave. You know the one I'm talking about, right? The one we used when we first came here? I'll catch up in a little bit."
They nodded and split up, Amarantha heading for the clinic while the others exited via the secret ground entrance. As they left, the succubus asked, "When do you think we should check in with Sol again?"
The hero shrugged and said, "I'd guess after we've been on the road for a bit. Speaking of which... I'd suppose it'd be best to go ahead and levitate down the mountain, skip going into town, and cut through a little wilderness to get on the road that goes to Pale Pass, right?"
The succubus asked, "Isn't that about the only way we could get there in two days? It'd take us almost a full day to climb down the mountain on foot, remember? If you're worried about being able to maintain a levitation spell, don't be. You're plenty powerful to maintain that spell I taught you back then for this, and longer."
"You mean that stronger levitation spell?" he asked.
She nodded and said, "Once we get into a fight with something, you'll quickly learn that, thanks to all the sex we had at Ammie's house, your Signs and spells are a lot more powerful. You should be physically stronger, too, though to what extent I don't know. As I'm sure you're aware, you're going to need every bit of it for the upcoming battle."
"Right. Your spells should be stronger, too, right?"
"Yes. I also have more energy to cast spells with, thanks to all that delicious spirit energy you've pumped into me," she said, smiling and licking her lips. "Give me a lot tonight, too, okay?"
The hero, obviously looking forward to it, nodded and said with a smirk, "Will do."
Finally outside, they began their quick descent via levitation, heading in a fairly northwest direction. They wanted to land as soon as possible, because they didn't exactly have the supplies to spare to levitate for too long, but they also wanted to make good time. They were hoping to make progress toward Pale Pass while also heading for the road, which this idea would accomplish sooner or later. About halfway down the mountain, the party heard a silver dragon roar as it left the hidden city by way of the air entrance. It flew up into the air, then followed them, diving to catch up. Zeraine asked, "Well, Ammie? Did your dad have anything important to say?"
The dragon, obviously Amarantha in her true form, said, "Not unless you count 'stay safe' or 'show them the strength of one of our clan'."
A minute or two later, they reached the ground and kept heading northwest, passing trees, large rocks, and the occasional bit of wildlife as they traveled. Amarantha had decided to stay in her dragon form for now, and was walking along behind the others. Zeraine asked, "Was there a reason for your roar earlier?"
She smiled, which would appear menacing to those who didn't know her, and said, "It felt good to stretch my wings, so to speak. It's kind of rare that I get to revert to my true form, you know."
"That's why you're still in it?"
"Yep. Why, you prefer the form that has tits?"
Zeraine rolled his eyes. "Remember that the kid and I just recently became incubi. I don't know about him, but if you remind me of your human form's naughty bits again, I might end up going after you in that form. I already want to do it again, you know."
Everyone stopped in their tracks right before Zeraine's last sentence, causing him to stop a few steps later. All three of them staring at him, Amarantha asked in a shocked tone, "Are you saying that even though I'm in my true form, that of a dragon, you'd still try and do me?"
Zeraine shrugged and said, "If I get horny enough, I might. I've actually considered trying it before, to be honest."
She closed her eyes and sighed. "Then how should we handle it? Should I try to stay in this form so I don't excite you, or is it safe to take on my human form?"
"Either way is fine, I suppose. It's just that my dick is trying to think for me, so..."
"Then I'm staying in my true form until we get close to the road. You'll have to hold it until tonight."
The succubus whispered to the hero, "You know, the only way I can really imagine them doing it like that is her licking him down there until he shoots. I mean, sure, she still has a vagina in her true form, but..."
The hero shook his head. "Guys, let's keep going."
He started walking, followed by the succubus, who couldn't stop trying to imagine how Zeraine would do Amarantha in her dragon form. Zeraine and Amarantha stood still in an awkward silence until the couple were out of earshot, then Amarantha looked at Zeraine and asked, "Did you really consider having sex with me like this before?"
Somewhat embarrassed and a little ashamed of himself, he nodded. "I had a raging hard-on at the time, but..."
She decided it was best to drop the subject, and simply gestured with her head for Zeraine to follow, then started walking to catch up with the others, him following her in a jog.
The party traveled for a few hours, still not seeing any signs of the road, but noticed the sun was high overhead and they were all hungry. They decided to stop for lunch, Amarantha returning to her human form for the duration of the meal. After the meal, they checked in with Sol, who told them that nothing had happened so far, then Amarantha reverted to her true form again and they resumed their journey.
About another two hours of walking later, the group finally saw the road. Amarantha once again returned to her human form, and the four of them followed the road until sundown. They then made camp not far from the road, had dinner, checked with Sol again, had their "nightly fun", and went to sleep. The next morning, the couples made love again, ate breakfast, packed up, and carried on. Eventually they caught sight of a man pacing back and forth across the road, obviously agitated. The party looked amongst themselves and nodded, knowing it was up to them to help, if possible.
As they approached, the man, who looked to be in his 50s, with mostly brown hair that had patches of gray, and thick stubble on his face, called out, "You there! Youngsters!"
The hero approached and asked, "How can we help?"
The man said, "Those damned wolves took something of mine and I need it back. Help an old man out, would you?"
"Okay, what did they take?"
"My spine."
The party paused for a moment, then all four said simultaneously, "...What?"
The hero noticed that Zeraine had his armor on, and his wings were showing. He asked, "How'd you manage the armor?"
Zeraine turned around and said, "I heated the metal with a little magic. Once it was hot enough to shape, I had Ammie use a knifehand to chop a couple of grooves into the back from the bottom. This way, the back piece of the cuirass fits over my wings while protecting everything it's supposed to. Can you see?"
The hero and the succubus looked close and saw how the armor looked as if it were "bent" or "rolled up" in the two "slots" for his wings. The hero nodded and said, "Maybe once we're done with The Four Horsemen, and once we get enough money, we can get you some custom-made armor. Until then, it looks like it should work."
The succubus said, "You know, we might be able to take care of that in the Demon Realm. Some incubi are warriors, and there's armor made specifically for those with wings. We could probably get it cheaper there than we could from a human or Dwarf blacksmith."
Amarantha returned, Miranda following behind her. Miranda smiled at the party and said, "It was good to have you guys here. Good luck on your journey, and may you succeed. We're counting on you."
Amarantha gave her mother a hug and said, "We'll come back eventually."
As the four of them left, Miranda said, "You should go say goodbye to your father, too."
Amarantha nodded and said, "Guys, go on ahead. Use the secret ground entrance to leave. You know the one I'm talking about, right? The one we used when we first came here? I'll catch up in a little bit."
They nodded and split up, Amarantha heading for the clinic while the others exited via the secret ground entrance. As they left, the succubus asked, "When do you think we should check in with Sol again?"
The hero shrugged and said, "I'd guess after we've been on the road for a bit. Speaking of which... I'd suppose it'd be best to go ahead and levitate down the mountain, skip going into town, and cut through a little wilderness to get on the road that goes to Pale Pass, right?"
The succubus asked, "Isn't that about the only way we could get there in two days? It'd take us almost a full day to climb down the mountain on foot, remember? If you're worried about being able to maintain a levitation spell, don't be. You're plenty powerful to maintain that spell I taught you back then for this, and longer."
"You mean that stronger levitation spell?" he asked.
She nodded and said, "Once we get into a fight with something, you'll quickly learn that, thanks to all the sex we had at Ammie's house, your Signs and spells are a lot more powerful. You should be physically stronger, too, though to what extent I don't know. As I'm sure you're aware, you're going to need every bit of it for the upcoming battle."
"Right. Your spells should be stronger, too, right?"
"Yes. I also have more energy to cast spells with, thanks to all that delicious spirit energy you've pumped into me," she said, smiling and licking her lips. "Give me a lot tonight, too, okay?"
The hero, obviously looking forward to it, nodded and said with a smirk, "Will do."
Finally outside, they began their quick descent via levitation, heading in a fairly northwest direction. They wanted to land as soon as possible, because they didn't exactly have the supplies to spare to levitate for too long, but they also wanted to make good time. They were hoping to make progress toward Pale Pass while also heading for the road, which this idea would accomplish sooner or later. About halfway down the mountain, the party heard a silver dragon roar as it left the hidden city by way of the air entrance. It flew up into the air, then followed them, diving to catch up. Zeraine asked, "Well, Ammie? Did your dad have anything important to say?"
The dragon, obviously Amarantha in her true form, said, "Not unless you count 'stay safe' or 'show them the strength of one of our clan'."
A minute or two later, they reached the ground and kept heading northwest, passing trees, large rocks, and the occasional bit of wildlife as they traveled. Amarantha had decided to stay in her dragon form for now, and was walking along behind the others. Zeraine asked, "Was there a reason for your roar earlier?"
She smiled, which would appear menacing to those who didn't know her, and said, "It felt good to stretch my wings, so to speak. It's kind of rare that I get to revert to my true form, you know."
"That's why you're still in it?"
"Yep. Why, you prefer the form that has tits?"
Zeraine rolled his eyes. "Remember that the kid and I just recently became incubi. I don't know about him, but if you remind me of your human form's naughty bits again, I might end up going after you in that form. I already want to do it again, you know."
Everyone stopped in their tracks right before Zeraine's last sentence, causing him to stop a few steps later. All three of them staring at him, Amarantha asked in a shocked tone, "Are you saying that even though I'm in my true form, that of a dragon, you'd still try and do me?"
Zeraine shrugged and said, "If I get horny enough, I might. I've actually considered trying it before, to be honest."
She closed her eyes and sighed. "Then how should we handle it? Should I try to stay in this form so I don't excite you, or is it safe to take on my human form?"
"Either way is fine, I suppose. It's just that my dick is trying to think for me, so..."
"Then I'm staying in my true form until we get close to the road. You'll have to hold it until tonight."
The succubus whispered to the hero, "You know, the only way I can really imagine them doing it like that is her licking him down there until he shoots. I mean, sure, she still has a vagina in her true form, but..."
The hero shook his head. "Guys, let's keep going."
He started walking, followed by the succubus, who couldn't stop trying to imagine how Zeraine would do Amarantha in her dragon form. Zeraine and Amarantha stood still in an awkward silence until the couple were out of earshot, then Amarantha looked at Zeraine and asked, "Did you really consider having sex with me like this before?"
Somewhat embarrassed and a little ashamed of himself, he nodded. "I had a raging hard-on at the time, but..."
She decided it was best to drop the subject, and simply gestured with her head for Zeraine to follow, then started walking to catch up with the others, him following her in a jog.
The party traveled for a few hours, still not seeing any signs of the road, but noticed the sun was high overhead and they were all hungry. They decided to stop for lunch, Amarantha returning to her human form for the duration of the meal. After the meal, they checked in with Sol, who told them that nothing had happened so far, then Amarantha reverted to her true form again and they resumed their journey.
About another two hours of walking later, the group finally saw the road. Amarantha once again returned to her human form, and the four of them followed the road until sundown. They then made camp not far from the road, had dinner, checked with Sol again, had their "nightly fun", and went to sleep. The next morning, the couples made love again, ate breakfast, packed up, and carried on. Eventually they caught sight of a man pacing back and forth across the road, obviously agitated. The party looked amongst themselves and nodded, knowing it was up to them to help, if possible.
As they approached, the man, who looked to be in his 50s, with mostly brown hair that had patches of gray, and thick stubble on his face, called out, "You there! Youngsters!"
The hero approached and asked, "How can we help?"
The man said, "Those damned wolves took something of mine and I need it back. Help an old man out, would you?"
"Okay, what did they take?"
"My spine."
The party paused for a moment, then all four said simultaneously, "...What?"
Chapter 132
Spoiler: show
The party just stood there, staring at the man in disbelief. They couldn't believe what they heard. After several seconds of awkward silence, the man said, "What, you deaf? I said, 'my spine'. Why are you standing there?"
The hero asked, "Your spine?"
The man replied, "Yes, that's what I said."
"'Spine' as in 'backbone'?" the hero asked for clarification.
The man nodded and said, "Yes, now are you going to get it back for me or not?"
The succubus cleared her throat and said, "If you didn't have your spine, you wouldn't be able to stand."
The man paused for a second with a confused look on his face, then realized the miscommunication. "Not the one in my back, damn it! It's a human spine, and it's one of my belongings, which makes it my spine! Those damned wolves took it this morning while I was packing up!"
Zeraine looked around and, seeing nothing, asked, "Where's your stuff?"
The man said, "Still at my camp. When I saw those hairy bastards run off with it, I decided that I wasn't going to move on until I got it back, with some help from someone."
Zeraine asked, "Can you take us there?"
"It's on the way, so I suppose so. Follow me."
As the four of them followed the man, the hero asked in a whisper, "Why did you want to see his camp?"
Zeraine whispered back, "Because, The Four Horsemen are probably capable of a lot more than what we saw in Sol's scrying orb. I didn't see any supplies or anything, so I considered that this could be a trap or something."
The hero nodded. "Good thinking. Honestly, I was too focused on the upcoming fight, and getting there, to think about that."
They arrived at the man's camp, which consisted of a tent with a rolled-up bedroll inside, set up near a small fire. The man said, "This is my camp. Now, if you're satisfied with this, the wolves went this way."
As the man started to walk away, the hero asked, "Just regular wolves?"
"Yes, regular, ordinary, pain-in-the-ass, hairy fucking wolves."
"No werewolves?"
"Not that I could tell. If you're looking for justification on killing the mangy bastards, there's a farm a ways up the road, and the farmer would probably appreciate you helping to keep his livestock safe. Is that good enough for you?"
The hero shrugged. "I guess... Let's get it over with, then."
At that moment, the party all shared the same thought; "He sure is a cranky asshole..."
The party followed the man deeper into the woods, then he stopped and pointed, saying, "There! See!? The fuckers have probably already chewed it up! Get them!"
Sure enough, there were about 12 wolves in the area ahead. The succubus patted the hero on the shoulder as she stepped forward and said, "Let's get them. Try your spells out, but don't use Explosion or Fire Trap. We don't want to damage the bone."
Amarantha asked, "I guess you two have this, then?"
The succubus nodded. "Only about 12 wolves? Yeah, it'll be a cakewalk."
The hero stepped forward with the succubus, cast Quen, noticed that it seemed to have a bit more intensity than the last time he used it, and said, "I guess we'll try and use Drash Gan, then, right? That should kill the wolves without damaging the guy's bone, wherever it is..."
She nodded, then they ran toward the beasts.
As the hero and the succubus made short work of the wolves, the hero noticing how many more stone spikes he could make at once now, the man glanced at Zeraine and asked, "What's with the wings? They an enchanted accessory or something?"
Zeraine stumbled in his speech for a second, trying to decide whether or not it was a good enough lie to say yes, then decided it wasn't and simply told the truth. "No, they're my actual wings. I just recently became an incubus."
The man nodded. "I see. Can you fly with them?"
"Nope. I can barely move them, but I've got levitation spells for flying."
The man nodded once more, hiding a grin as he rubbed his chin. The hero and the succubus then came back, and she said, "We got them all. Go find your bone."
The man ran off toward the emmental cheese-like corpses of the wolves, leaving the party to stand and chat while waiting. The hero said, "My Quen looks and feels stronger now. A couple of the wolves seemed to die after trying to bite me, too."
The succubus said, "That's because, at its current level, it's a weaker version of a Lightning Cloak or Lightning Shield spell. When they tried to bite you, part of the force of their attack was reflected right back at them, which was enough to kill them after the beating you gave them. Before you ask, though, no, it won't affect someone shooting arrows or casting spells at you, unless they're standing right next to you. It's basically only good for enemies that are within arm's reach."
"I see... Good to know. Will it help against 'them'?"
"Maybe a little, but don't count on it. Did you notice how much stronger your spells are?"
"I don't know about stronger, but I can make a lot more spikes with Drash Gan than I could before. I'd guess at least three times as many. ...A while back, you told me Explosion's power was 'constant' or 'fixed' or something. How would it have been affected?"
"It'll be easier to cast, which means you'll probably be able to cast it a little faster. On the subject of explosive, area-effect fire spells, I'd like to teach you Damned later this evening. You might have to remind me, though, because I know you are going to be after me, aching for it, and I'll be strongly wanting you, too."
The hero grinned and asked, "When are you not?"
Amarantha wanted to say something to Zeraine, but she kept her mouth shut. She didn't want to tell him in front of the others, nor did she want the cranky old man to hear, so she waited. The man finally shouted, "I found it!" and stepped back into view, holding it above his head triumphantly. "Now, let's get back to my camp so I can pack up and get moving. This way."
He took off in a completely different direction than that which they came from, the party following him out of fear he had lost his mind somehow, or just had a terrible sense of direction. Shortly, they arrived at his camp, which was now in a completely different location from before, but still looked exactly the same; the tent with the rolled-up bedroll near the small fire. The four of them tensed up, alarm bells in their heads ringing incessantly, warning them of the possible danger they might soon face. They instinctively reached for their weapons, the hero for his bastard sword, Amarantha for her warhammer, Zeraine for his claymore, while the succubus focused her energy in preparation to cast a spell.
The man suddenly stopped near the fire. With his back still facing the party, he began laughing. As the party drew their weapons in preparation for a fight, the man, his campsite, the wolves, and their blood, all turned a ghostly blue. There was a flash of blue fire. Where the man had once been, there stood a Dullahan, helmeted head in its arm, but it, too, was still the same ghostly blue color as everything else. Revealing itself to be male by the sound of its voice, it laughed mockingly. It put its head on and said, "Excellent work, heroes. You're as kind and generous as the rumors say, offering to help someone with no promise of reward, but if you let things like this happen too much, we might get tired of waiting, if you know what I mean."
Everything, the campsite, the wolves, the blood from the wolves, and the Dullahan, all faded away, leaving the party stunned with their mouths agape. Zeraine commented in astonishment, shock, and surprise, "That was one of The Four Horsemen!"
"Son of a bitch!" the hero cursed. "He fooled us! And so easily! How!?"
The succubus said in a low tone, "I'd tell you guys to calm down, but I'm probably more pissed than both of you combined. I'm a mage, yet he fooled me with his illusion. He is obviously highly skilled, but I had no idea he or any of them were capable of something like this."
The hero gritted his teeth and said, "Guys, let's move! We need to get there as soon as possible. Honey, contact Sol and ask him if any of the Horsemen did anything. Do it on the move!"
The others nodded and they all took off running, heading for the road, the succubus getting out her crystal as she ran.
The hero asked, "Your spine?"
The man replied, "Yes, that's what I said."
"'Spine' as in 'backbone'?" the hero asked for clarification.
The man nodded and said, "Yes, now are you going to get it back for me or not?"
The succubus cleared her throat and said, "If you didn't have your spine, you wouldn't be able to stand."
The man paused for a second with a confused look on his face, then realized the miscommunication. "Not the one in my back, damn it! It's a human spine, and it's one of my belongings, which makes it my spine! Those damned wolves took it this morning while I was packing up!"
Zeraine looked around and, seeing nothing, asked, "Where's your stuff?"
The man said, "Still at my camp. When I saw those hairy bastards run off with it, I decided that I wasn't going to move on until I got it back, with some help from someone."
Zeraine asked, "Can you take us there?"
"It's on the way, so I suppose so. Follow me."
As the four of them followed the man, the hero asked in a whisper, "Why did you want to see his camp?"
Zeraine whispered back, "Because, The Four Horsemen are probably capable of a lot more than what we saw in Sol's scrying orb. I didn't see any supplies or anything, so I considered that this could be a trap or something."
The hero nodded. "Good thinking. Honestly, I was too focused on the upcoming fight, and getting there, to think about that."
They arrived at the man's camp, which consisted of a tent with a rolled-up bedroll inside, set up near a small fire. The man said, "This is my camp. Now, if you're satisfied with this, the wolves went this way."
As the man started to walk away, the hero asked, "Just regular wolves?"
"Yes, regular, ordinary, pain-in-the-ass, hairy fucking wolves."
"No werewolves?"
"Not that I could tell. If you're looking for justification on killing the mangy bastards, there's a farm a ways up the road, and the farmer would probably appreciate you helping to keep his livestock safe. Is that good enough for you?"
The hero shrugged. "I guess... Let's get it over with, then."
At that moment, the party all shared the same thought; "He sure is a cranky asshole..."
The party followed the man deeper into the woods, then he stopped and pointed, saying, "There! See!? The fuckers have probably already chewed it up! Get them!"
Sure enough, there were about 12 wolves in the area ahead. The succubus patted the hero on the shoulder as she stepped forward and said, "Let's get them. Try your spells out, but don't use Explosion or Fire Trap. We don't want to damage the bone."
Amarantha asked, "I guess you two have this, then?"
The succubus nodded. "Only about 12 wolves? Yeah, it'll be a cakewalk."
The hero stepped forward with the succubus, cast Quen, noticed that it seemed to have a bit more intensity than the last time he used it, and said, "I guess we'll try and use Drash Gan, then, right? That should kill the wolves without damaging the guy's bone, wherever it is..."
She nodded, then they ran toward the beasts.
As the hero and the succubus made short work of the wolves, the hero noticing how many more stone spikes he could make at once now, the man glanced at Zeraine and asked, "What's with the wings? They an enchanted accessory or something?"
Zeraine stumbled in his speech for a second, trying to decide whether or not it was a good enough lie to say yes, then decided it wasn't and simply told the truth. "No, they're my actual wings. I just recently became an incubus."
The man nodded. "I see. Can you fly with them?"
"Nope. I can barely move them, but I've got levitation spells for flying."
The man nodded once more, hiding a grin as he rubbed his chin. The hero and the succubus then came back, and she said, "We got them all. Go find your bone."
The man ran off toward the emmental cheese-like corpses of the wolves, leaving the party to stand and chat while waiting. The hero said, "My Quen looks and feels stronger now. A couple of the wolves seemed to die after trying to bite me, too."
The succubus said, "That's because, at its current level, it's a weaker version of a Lightning Cloak or Lightning Shield spell. When they tried to bite you, part of the force of their attack was reflected right back at them, which was enough to kill them after the beating you gave them. Before you ask, though, no, it won't affect someone shooting arrows or casting spells at you, unless they're standing right next to you. It's basically only good for enemies that are within arm's reach."
"I see... Good to know. Will it help against 'them'?"
"Maybe a little, but don't count on it. Did you notice how much stronger your spells are?"
"I don't know about stronger, but I can make a lot more spikes with Drash Gan than I could before. I'd guess at least three times as many. ...A while back, you told me Explosion's power was 'constant' or 'fixed' or something. How would it have been affected?"
"It'll be easier to cast, which means you'll probably be able to cast it a little faster. On the subject of explosive, area-effect fire spells, I'd like to teach you Damned later this evening. You might have to remind me, though, because I know you are going to be after me, aching for it, and I'll be strongly wanting you, too."
The hero grinned and asked, "When are you not?"
Amarantha wanted to say something to Zeraine, but she kept her mouth shut. She didn't want to tell him in front of the others, nor did she want the cranky old man to hear, so she waited. The man finally shouted, "I found it!" and stepped back into view, holding it above his head triumphantly. "Now, let's get back to my camp so I can pack up and get moving. This way."
He took off in a completely different direction than that which they came from, the party following him out of fear he had lost his mind somehow, or just had a terrible sense of direction. Shortly, they arrived at his camp, which was now in a completely different location from before, but still looked exactly the same; the tent with the rolled-up bedroll near the small fire. The four of them tensed up, alarm bells in their heads ringing incessantly, warning them of the possible danger they might soon face. They instinctively reached for their weapons, the hero for his bastard sword, Amarantha for her warhammer, Zeraine for his claymore, while the succubus focused her energy in preparation to cast a spell.
The man suddenly stopped near the fire. With his back still facing the party, he began laughing. As the party drew their weapons in preparation for a fight, the man, his campsite, the wolves, and their blood, all turned a ghostly blue. There was a flash of blue fire. Where the man had once been, there stood a Dullahan, helmeted head in its arm, but it, too, was still the same ghostly blue color as everything else. Revealing itself to be male by the sound of its voice, it laughed mockingly. It put its head on and said, "Excellent work, heroes. You're as kind and generous as the rumors say, offering to help someone with no promise of reward, but if you let things like this happen too much, we might get tired of waiting, if you know what I mean."
Everything, the campsite, the wolves, the blood from the wolves, and the Dullahan, all faded away, leaving the party stunned with their mouths agape. Zeraine commented in astonishment, shock, and surprise, "That was one of The Four Horsemen!"
"Son of a bitch!" the hero cursed. "He fooled us! And so easily! How!?"
The succubus said in a low tone, "I'd tell you guys to calm down, but I'm probably more pissed than both of you combined. I'm a mage, yet he fooled me with his illusion. He is obviously highly skilled, but I had no idea he or any of them were capable of something like this."
The hero gritted his teeth and said, "Guys, let's move! We need to get there as soon as possible. Honey, contact Sol and ask him if any of the Horsemen did anything. Do it on the move!"
The others nodded and they all took off running, heading for the road, the succubus getting out her crystal as she ran.
Chapter 133
Spoiler: show
Once back on the road, the party looked around carefully, seeing no sign of any enemies, Horsemen or otherwise. They then resumed their journey, walking as quickly as they could. The succubus managed to make contact with Sol via her crystal as they walked. Before Sol could greet them, she asked, "Has anything happened while you've been watching them?"
Sol replied, "No. One of them had their eyes closed for a while now, and it opened them a minute or two ago, then it must have said something funny, because all four of them appear to be laughing. Anyway, you sound a little shaken up. What happened?"
The hero said, "We just fell victim to an illusion, made by one of them."
The hero told Sol what happened, then Sol said, "Damn. That's some skill he's got. Sounds to me like you guys have your work cut out for you, then. Let's see... Yeah, you've got a bit of distance to travel before you arrive, and from the look of things, even if you ran, running because levitation for that far would be too draining, you still wouldn't get there until sometime tomorrow morning. Don't let it get to you, go at a reasonable pace, and make sure you time it so that you get there after your food has settled."
Zeraine asked, "And by that, you mean after tomorrow's breakfast, right?"
"Of course. I'm not sure if they'll continue to be patient for much longer than that."
The succubus said, "Earlier, you said that you could see their eyes..."
"Their helmets have holes for them to be able to see out. I can use said holes to look in, too. All I have to do is adjust my scrying viewpoint. ...Speaking of which, one of them is almost certainly female. I'm guessing that because when I tried to look under the skirt part of its armor, it put its hand in the way. That also confirms that they can tell I'm watching, and from what angle, too. Oh, and they have removed their helmets from time to time, which is what spurred me to do so, seeing as how one of them is very effeminate, and another is, too, but less so."
Ignoring Sol's lewd admission because she was still pissed off, the succubus asked, "Are they still laughing?"
"Looks like they are, a little. Not as much as they were a bit ago, though. Anyway, were you-"
Suddenly, there was the sound of the door to Sol's shop slamming open, followed by a familiar voice saying, "Hey, Sol!"
To which Sol replied in surprise, "Cedric!? What are you doing here?"
Cedric chuckled a little and said, "I went on a little adventure in the desert with a few people, helped them out pretty good, and went my own way afterward. I decided I'd come visit you and Hilda. So, you treating my little sister good?"
"Of course. Every night, I make her scream in pleasure and beg for more."
"That's not what I meant..."
"Well-"
Sol was interrupted by Hilda shouting, "Big bro!"
The party heard Cedric grunt as if he were hit by something, then he asked, "You doing okay, Hilda?"
She replied, "Yep! Hey, one of our friends, a succubus, taught Sol a couple of polymorph spells to use on me and Vicky. You wanna see?"
"Maybe later. What's with the scrying orb, Sol?"
Sol cleared his throat and said, "I'm keeping watch on The Four Horsemen."
In a shocked voice, Cedric said, "The Four Horsemen!? Let me see!" After a moment's pause, he asked, "Why are they just standing there?"
The hero interrupted, saying, "That's because they're waiting for us."
"Oh? Hey, it's the Order knight and everyone! How are you guys doing? What happened after we split up?"
The succubus said, "We did some stuff, got a bit more help for our war, and both my future husband and Zeraine became incubi."
"Congrats, I guess. So you guys are gonna fight The Four Horsemen? Damn, I wish I could be there."
Amarantha said, "You can watch it with Sol and his girls through his scrying orb. While you might be able to hold your own for a little while against one of them, they're after us, and we don't need anyone putting themselves in danger, getting in the way."
Cedric scoffed. "Fine, fine. Maybe I'll eventually find and fight a Dullahan... Anyway, I'm sure you guys already know how strong and powerful they are, so good luck. We'll be watching."
Sol butted in and said, "You know, I think it'd be a good idea to project this into the sky above the city so everyone can see when it happens. Imagine having a whole city's worth of people watching you defeat The Four Horsemen. Imagine after that, marriage. Zeraine and Amarantha; our future Demon Lord and the Order knight. Not only will you be tying the knot officially, thus becoming actual couples, but think of the publicity. A man, a knight of The Order, teams up with a succubus, and he willingly becomes an incubus. Another man, a mercenary spellsword, willingly becomes an incubus by way of his love, a silver dragon. The four fight together and defeat The Four Horsemen, then the men marry their respective partners, then they go on to fight and kill the current Demon Lord, then the succubus becomes the new Demon Lord and makes things better for both humans and monsters with her new power and authority."
The succubus sighed. "It won't be that easy. Still, I get what you're saying. 'Win the people and the world is yours' or however it goes. And yes, someone needs to fix things, and I intend to do it, with the help of my friends."
Zeraine shrugged. "I have to admit, I do like the sound of being officially married to Ammie. Anyway, we need to hurry."
After breaking the connection and putting away her crystal, the succubus said, "If only my plan were that easy..."
The hero asked, "What do you mean?"
She looked at him with a somewhat melancholy expression and said, "My plan, the implementation of it, the changes I want to make, my desire to make the world a better place for both humans and monsters... It'd be nice if it were easy to pull off."
The hero nodded. "I know what you mean, but like the Grandmaster told me, nothing worth having is free. For what you envision, we'll have to work our asses off and go through great amounts of hell, trials, and problems before we get close to succeeding."
"I know," she said, sighing.
"And I'll be right there with you, every step of the way," he said, smiling at her reassuringly.
Just as the Dullahan had mentioned, there was a farm up the road. The party didn't have time to stop and check it out, however, so they kept walking. Eventually, the sun started to set, so they made camp while they could still see. Once everything was set up, they tried to relax for the night, deciding to contact Sol one more time before bed.
Once the connection was established, it was Victoria that answered, asking, "Everything going good?"
The hero answered, "Yeah, so far. Where's Sol?"
Victoria sighed, said sigh giving away her frustration and jealousy, and said, "On the floor. Hilda's had her tongue in his mouth for about five minutes now."
Amarantha asked, "Is he somehow getting even hornier, lusting after you two even more?"
"No. Cedric wanted to 'play', which means he wanted to wrestle, and since he's so strong, Sol can't handle him even with strength enhancement spells, so Sol tried to talk him out of it, but it didn't work. Hilda came to his rescue by tackling him and shoving her tongue into his mouth, aggressively kissing him, and she's been at it ever since, even though Cedric stepped out to see the blacksmith."
The succubus teasingly said, "And you're jealous because you want in on it. You want to make out with him, too, but Hilda's in the way. Why not just join in? Stick your tongue in his mouth, too. I'm sure he'd love that."
"B-but... But then I might..." Victoria started, trying to protest the suggestion, but was too embarrassed to finish.
The succubus giggled. "What, too afraid you might touch Hilda's tongue with yours while you're going at him? You know it'll happen if you try it. Why worry about it? Just get down there with him and Hilda and join in. So what if you lick her during it? I bet Sol would enjoy seeing that. He'd probably enjoy feeling you and Hilda licking each other's tongues while they're in his mouth, too, so go ahead."
"But I'm heterosexual! I'm not into females and I don't like the thought of doing anything erotic or perverted with one! Sol's straight, too, as is Hilda, but she's wild enough to attack me, too!"
The succubus sighed. "I had to have lesbian sex with a Dark Elf in order to keep my man and my friends safe. I didn't like the thought of having sex with anyone but my man, even if it was a woman, and I still don't, but I admit that when I took the lead, I had fun. If my husband wanted me to, or if I knew it would make him happy, I'd get it on with a woman, but otherwise, no. You know that Sol would enjoy seeing you two doing it, so why not?"
They heard Victoria growl in frustration, then she said, "Whatever. Is there anything else you need? You know, potions, scrolls, enchanted items, a status update on The Four Horsemen?"
The hero asked, "Actually, yeah, can you tell us if they've done anything?"
After a short pause, Victoria said, "All four of them are sitting down on the ground right now. I can't tell if they're sleeping or not."
The hero thanked her and said, "We'll check in again tomorrow morning, okay?"
Victoria replied, "Alright. Talk to you then."
They severed the connection and started getting ready for bed. The hero said, "You told me to remind you that you wanted to teach me Damned."
The succubus, now only in her underwear, said, "That's right, I did. As much as I'd like to have you strip naked, first, this isn't the time to play around like that. Now, pay attention..." She proceeded to teach him the spell. Once her lesson was over, she got up, slipped her boots back on, and led the hero a short distance away into the woods, still within sight of the others. "Now, show me what you've learned. Destroy this tree," she said, pointing at a fairly large one next to her. "Aim for about the middle of the trunk, so we don't have to worry too much about it falling in an unwanted direction."
He nodded and stepped forward as she got behind him.
...
While the succubus was busy teaching the hero Damned, Zeraine and Amarantha were also getting ready for bed. He said, "I guess we should wait until they're done before we get started, right Ammie?"
"Yeah, that'd probably be best. I'd rather not try to have sex while things explode around us. ...Speaking of which, Zeraine?"
"Yeah?"
"I, um... I did some thinking. You know, about what you said earlier."
"Hmm? Oh, you mean when I confessed to thinking about having sex with you in your dragon form."
Her face turned slightly red. "I think... If you really wanted to, I'd be okay with it."
Zeraine paused, then smiled at her in a thankful manner. "I was worried you might not like that... Anyway, didn't we technically already have sex while you were in your true form back when the princess used the polymorph spell on you?"
Amarantha nodded. "Yeah, sort of. I turned back into my dragon form, which is my true form, then she cast it on me, then we did it... But that wasn't me in my dragon form. Anyway, I think that, if you really want to try it, we should wait until after we deal with the Horsemen."
"I agree." Zeraine glanced over and saw the succubus, in just her underwear and boots, leading the hero a short distance away into the woods. He snickered, thinking it looked comical.
Amarantha got into their sleeping bag, then finished stripping. "Now we just have to wait for them to finish."
Zeraine got naked and joined her, watching the others, waiting for the "lesson" to finish.
...
The succubus said, "Remember what I told you. This spell's power scales with your skill and power. You should be a bit more powerful than I was back when we met, which means if you cast it without charging it up, you should be able to seriously wound a person. You don't have the skill I did back then, and you certainly don't have the skill I have now, so it'll be a while before your uncharged Damned can outright kill a person. Also, like I said, you can charge this spell up. Remember the bow analogy? Take the bow, pull the string back a little bit, then let go. The arrow won't fly very far, and if it hits something, it won't hurt it much, if at all. Draw the string all the way back and let go, and it'll kill your target, if you hit it right. This spell and the ability to charge it work on the same principal. Charge it all the way up, then blast the tree with it."
He nodded, held out his hand, and began concentrating his energy. Soon, the ball of energy in his hand was glowing intensely. He aimed up at the tree's trunk. "Damned!" The released energy hit the tree in the form of a fiery explosion, obviously more violent than the one from Explosion. The tree's trunk blew to pieces, splintering to billions of fragments. The top of it started falling, but there wasn't much left, and it harmlessly landed on the other side of what was left of the tree below where he aimed. He looked very impressed, then turned to her and asked, "So, this one was more powerful than the one you used on me back at the beach?"
She nodded. "Yes, a little. Remember, though, you just used it fully-charged. Mine back then was uncharged, and it undoubtedly would have killed you had you not blocked it." The look on her face showed that she was still somewhat ashamed of herself for losing her temper like that back then. Her expression then shifted, showing relieved happiness. "Good thing you did, too."
The hero vividly remembered barely casting Quen in time and his face went slightly paler. "Yeah... Well, I've learned a new spell from you, and we have a big fight tomorrow, so let's get to bed."
She smirked. "You know we're going to fuck first, right? How about six shots?"
"I think I can manage."
They returned to their camp, got naked, and got into their sleeping bag. They then proceeded to have sex, going for six rounds before they went to sleep, whereas Zeraine and Amarantha only went twice.
Sol replied, "No. One of them had their eyes closed for a while now, and it opened them a minute or two ago, then it must have said something funny, because all four of them appear to be laughing. Anyway, you sound a little shaken up. What happened?"
The hero said, "We just fell victim to an illusion, made by one of them."
The hero told Sol what happened, then Sol said, "Damn. That's some skill he's got. Sounds to me like you guys have your work cut out for you, then. Let's see... Yeah, you've got a bit of distance to travel before you arrive, and from the look of things, even if you ran, running because levitation for that far would be too draining, you still wouldn't get there until sometime tomorrow morning. Don't let it get to you, go at a reasonable pace, and make sure you time it so that you get there after your food has settled."
Zeraine asked, "And by that, you mean after tomorrow's breakfast, right?"
"Of course. I'm not sure if they'll continue to be patient for much longer than that."
The succubus said, "Earlier, you said that you could see their eyes..."
"Their helmets have holes for them to be able to see out. I can use said holes to look in, too. All I have to do is adjust my scrying viewpoint. ...Speaking of which, one of them is almost certainly female. I'm guessing that because when I tried to look under the skirt part of its armor, it put its hand in the way. That also confirms that they can tell I'm watching, and from what angle, too. Oh, and they have removed their helmets from time to time, which is what spurred me to do so, seeing as how one of them is very effeminate, and another is, too, but less so."
Ignoring Sol's lewd admission because she was still pissed off, the succubus asked, "Are they still laughing?"
"Looks like they are, a little. Not as much as they were a bit ago, though. Anyway, were you-"
Suddenly, there was the sound of the door to Sol's shop slamming open, followed by a familiar voice saying, "Hey, Sol!"
To which Sol replied in surprise, "Cedric!? What are you doing here?"
Cedric chuckled a little and said, "I went on a little adventure in the desert with a few people, helped them out pretty good, and went my own way afterward. I decided I'd come visit you and Hilda. So, you treating my little sister good?"
"Of course. Every night, I make her scream in pleasure and beg for more."
"That's not what I meant..."
"Well-"
Sol was interrupted by Hilda shouting, "Big bro!"
The party heard Cedric grunt as if he were hit by something, then he asked, "You doing okay, Hilda?"
She replied, "Yep! Hey, one of our friends, a succubus, taught Sol a couple of polymorph spells to use on me and Vicky. You wanna see?"
"Maybe later. What's with the scrying orb, Sol?"
Sol cleared his throat and said, "I'm keeping watch on The Four Horsemen."
In a shocked voice, Cedric said, "The Four Horsemen!? Let me see!" After a moment's pause, he asked, "Why are they just standing there?"
The hero interrupted, saying, "That's because they're waiting for us."
"Oh? Hey, it's the Order knight and everyone! How are you guys doing? What happened after we split up?"
The succubus said, "We did some stuff, got a bit more help for our war, and both my future husband and Zeraine became incubi."
"Congrats, I guess. So you guys are gonna fight The Four Horsemen? Damn, I wish I could be there."
Amarantha said, "You can watch it with Sol and his girls through his scrying orb. While you might be able to hold your own for a little while against one of them, they're after us, and we don't need anyone putting themselves in danger, getting in the way."
Cedric scoffed. "Fine, fine. Maybe I'll eventually find and fight a Dullahan... Anyway, I'm sure you guys already know how strong and powerful they are, so good luck. We'll be watching."
Sol butted in and said, "You know, I think it'd be a good idea to project this into the sky above the city so everyone can see when it happens. Imagine having a whole city's worth of people watching you defeat The Four Horsemen. Imagine after that, marriage. Zeraine and Amarantha; our future Demon Lord and the Order knight. Not only will you be tying the knot officially, thus becoming actual couples, but think of the publicity. A man, a knight of The Order, teams up with a succubus, and he willingly becomes an incubus. Another man, a mercenary spellsword, willingly becomes an incubus by way of his love, a silver dragon. The four fight together and defeat The Four Horsemen, then the men marry their respective partners, then they go on to fight and kill the current Demon Lord, then the succubus becomes the new Demon Lord and makes things better for both humans and monsters with her new power and authority."
The succubus sighed. "It won't be that easy. Still, I get what you're saying. 'Win the people and the world is yours' or however it goes. And yes, someone needs to fix things, and I intend to do it, with the help of my friends."
Zeraine shrugged. "I have to admit, I do like the sound of being officially married to Ammie. Anyway, we need to hurry."
After breaking the connection and putting away her crystal, the succubus said, "If only my plan were that easy..."
The hero asked, "What do you mean?"
She looked at him with a somewhat melancholy expression and said, "My plan, the implementation of it, the changes I want to make, my desire to make the world a better place for both humans and monsters... It'd be nice if it were easy to pull off."
The hero nodded. "I know what you mean, but like the Grandmaster told me, nothing worth having is free. For what you envision, we'll have to work our asses off and go through great amounts of hell, trials, and problems before we get close to succeeding."
"I know," she said, sighing.
"And I'll be right there with you, every step of the way," he said, smiling at her reassuringly.
Just as the Dullahan had mentioned, there was a farm up the road. The party didn't have time to stop and check it out, however, so they kept walking. Eventually, the sun started to set, so they made camp while they could still see. Once everything was set up, they tried to relax for the night, deciding to contact Sol one more time before bed.
Once the connection was established, it was Victoria that answered, asking, "Everything going good?"
The hero answered, "Yeah, so far. Where's Sol?"
Victoria sighed, said sigh giving away her frustration and jealousy, and said, "On the floor. Hilda's had her tongue in his mouth for about five minutes now."
Amarantha asked, "Is he somehow getting even hornier, lusting after you two even more?"
"No. Cedric wanted to 'play', which means he wanted to wrestle, and since he's so strong, Sol can't handle him even with strength enhancement spells, so Sol tried to talk him out of it, but it didn't work. Hilda came to his rescue by tackling him and shoving her tongue into his mouth, aggressively kissing him, and she's been at it ever since, even though Cedric stepped out to see the blacksmith."
The succubus teasingly said, "And you're jealous because you want in on it. You want to make out with him, too, but Hilda's in the way. Why not just join in? Stick your tongue in his mouth, too. I'm sure he'd love that."
"B-but... But then I might..." Victoria started, trying to protest the suggestion, but was too embarrassed to finish.
The succubus giggled. "What, too afraid you might touch Hilda's tongue with yours while you're going at him? You know it'll happen if you try it. Why worry about it? Just get down there with him and Hilda and join in. So what if you lick her during it? I bet Sol would enjoy seeing that. He'd probably enjoy feeling you and Hilda licking each other's tongues while they're in his mouth, too, so go ahead."
"But I'm heterosexual! I'm not into females and I don't like the thought of doing anything erotic or perverted with one! Sol's straight, too, as is Hilda, but she's wild enough to attack me, too!"
The succubus sighed. "I had to have lesbian sex with a Dark Elf in order to keep my man and my friends safe. I didn't like the thought of having sex with anyone but my man, even if it was a woman, and I still don't, but I admit that when I took the lead, I had fun. If my husband wanted me to, or if I knew it would make him happy, I'd get it on with a woman, but otherwise, no. You know that Sol would enjoy seeing you two doing it, so why not?"
They heard Victoria growl in frustration, then she said, "Whatever. Is there anything else you need? You know, potions, scrolls, enchanted items, a status update on The Four Horsemen?"
The hero asked, "Actually, yeah, can you tell us if they've done anything?"
After a short pause, Victoria said, "All four of them are sitting down on the ground right now. I can't tell if they're sleeping or not."
The hero thanked her and said, "We'll check in again tomorrow morning, okay?"
Victoria replied, "Alright. Talk to you then."
They severed the connection and started getting ready for bed. The hero said, "You told me to remind you that you wanted to teach me Damned."
The succubus, now only in her underwear, said, "That's right, I did. As much as I'd like to have you strip naked, first, this isn't the time to play around like that. Now, pay attention..." She proceeded to teach him the spell. Once her lesson was over, she got up, slipped her boots back on, and led the hero a short distance away into the woods, still within sight of the others. "Now, show me what you've learned. Destroy this tree," she said, pointing at a fairly large one next to her. "Aim for about the middle of the trunk, so we don't have to worry too much about it falling in an unwanted direction."
He nodded and stepped forward as she got behind him.
...
While the succubus was busy teaching the hero Damned, Zeraine and Amarantha were also getting ready for bed. He said, "I guess we should wait until they're done before we get started, right Ammie?"
"Yeah, that'd probably be best. I'd rather not try to have sex while things explode around us. ...Speaking of which, Zeraine?"
"Yeah?"
"I, um... I did some thinking. You know, about what you said earlier."
"Hmm? Oh, you mean when I confessed to thinking about having sex with you in your dragon form."
Her face turned slightly red. "I think... If you really wanted to, I'd be okay with it."
Zeraine paused, then smiled at her in a thankful manner. "I was worried you might not like that... Anyway, didn't we technically already have sex while you were in your true form back when the princess used the polymorph spell on you?"
Amarantha nodded. "Yeah, sort of. I turned back into my dragon form, which is my true form, then she cast it on me, then we did it... But that wasn't me in my dragon form. Anyway, I think that, if you really want to try it, we should wait until after we deal with the Horsemen."
"I agree." Zeraine glanced over and saw the succubus, in just her underwear and boots, leading the hero a short distance away into the woods. He snickered, thinking it looked comical.
Amarantha got into their sleeping bag, then finished stripping. "Now we just have to wait for them to finish."
Zeraine got naked and joined her, watching the others, waiting for the "lesson" to finish.
...
The succubus said, "Remember what I told you. This spell's power scales with your skill and power. You should be a bit more powerful than I was back when we met, which means if you cast it without charging it up, you should be able to seriously wound a person. You don't have the skill I did back then, and you certainly don't have the skill I have now, so it'll be a while before your uncharged Damned can outright kill a person. Also, like I said, you can charge this spell up. Remember the bow analogy? Take the bow, pull the string back a little bit, then let go. The arrow won't fly very far, and if it hits something, it won't hurt it much, if at all. Draw the string all the way back and let go, and it'll kill your target, if you hit it right. This spell and the ability to charge it work on the same principal. Charge it all the way up, then blast the tree with it."
He nodded, held out his hand, and began concentrating his energy. Soon, the ball of energy in his hand was glowing intensely. He aimed up at the tree's trunk. "Damned!" The released energy hit the tree in the form of a fiery explosion, obviously more violent than the one from Explosion. The tree's trunk blew to pieces, splintering to billions of fragments. The top of it started falling, but there wasn't much left, and it harmlessly landed on the other side of what was left of the tree below where he aimed. He looked very impressed, then turned to her and asked, "So, this one was more powerful than the one you used on me back at the beach?"
She nodded. "Yes, a little. Remember, though, you just used it fully-charged. Mine back then was uncharged, and it undoubtedly would have killed you had you not blocked it." The look on her face showed that she was still somewhat ashamed of herself for losing her temper like that back then. Her expression then shifted, showing relieved happiness. "Good thing you did, too."
The hero vividly remembered barely casting Quen in time and his face went slightly paler. "Yeah... Well, I've learned a new spell from you, and we have a big fight tomorrow, so let's get to bed."
She smirked. "You know we're going to fuck first, right? How about six shots?"
"I think I can manage."
They returned to their camp, got naked, and got into their sleeping bag. They then proceeded to have sex, going for six rounds before they went to sleep, whereas Zeraine and Amarantha only went twice.
Chapter 134
Spoiler: show
The next morning, the couples made love again, then got cleaned up, got dressed, ate breakfast, packed up, and hit the road again. As they walked, they contacted Sol once again. Or rather, they tried to. Victoria answered this time, too, saying, "Hey."
The hero asked, "Well, what are our enemies doing?"
"They're standing there, waiting for you."
Zeraine asked, "How about the 'project the image into the sky' thing? Does Sol have everything ready to let the people watch the fight?"
"I think so. Cedric has him in a headlock right now, so he can't exactly answer. Unfortunately, neither Hilda nor I could come to his rescue this time. ...Anyway, are you guys all set?"
The succubus replied, "Yep. From what we could see from looking at the map, we're not far from a small path that leads to the secluded Order base, so we will soon meet The Four Horsemen. Tell Cedric to let him go so he can do what he needs to."
"Okay." Victoria's voice was somewhat quieter as she turned away from the crystal and said, "Cedric! Knock it off! Sol's got stuff to do. Let him go."
Cedric laughed and said, "Oh, come on! Let us play a little longer!"
The party then heard Victoria huff in frustration, followed by her shouting, "Sparks!"
The party heard electricity crackling, quickly followed by both Cedric and Sol yelling in pain, then Cedric complaining, "What the hell!?" and Sol scolding, "Don't hit me, damn it! Use ice or wind or something!"
Victoria said, "I'm sorry, Sol. I'll make it up to you tonight. Right now, you have work to do. The fight is soon to happen. Is everything ready?"
"Yeah. I just need to do it. You know, speak the incantation, activate the projection..."
The succubus smiled. "Good. Hopefully we won't be humiliated or anything, and will be able to defeat them, putting on a decent enough show at the same time, allowing the news to spread and stuff, eventually ending in us getting enough assistance for the final battle to win for sure. We'll still have to visit the Demon Realm and see what monsters we can recruit, but that's irrelevant at the moment."
Cedric shouted, "I'll be watching, so kick their asses good, okay?"
Amarantha scoffed. "We will."
The hero asked, "Is that the path?"
The rest of the party looked at where he was pointing while he got out their map, then they compared what they saw with where they thought they were. As they did, Victoria said, "I'm good enough with scrying to help out a little... Yeah, you're right there. Take that path and you'll be there soon. Good luck."
The succubus severed the connection while the hero put away the map. All four acting as one, they took a deep breath, exhaled, put on looks of fierce determination, and started up the path.
...
Unknown to the party, one of the Horsemen had taken advantage of the sudden lack of being watched to levitate into the air and used Far Sight to watch them on their approach. The Dullahan smiled under its helmet and returned to the base, announcing, "They approach."
The four of them got to work clearing away the corpses in preparation for the fight.
...
The party followed the path up the hill and, once at its top, saw the base. They kept going, heading down the hill, still following the path, going all the way to the main gate, which was open. Inside, in the middle of the courtyard, stood The Four Horsemen. One of them, which appeared to only be armed with a sword and shield, stepped forward, causing the party to all draw their weapons and assume ready stances. "Greetings."
The hero asked, "Shall we get to it?"
The Dullahan, who by its voice was male, said, "We will. For the moment, however..."
He teleported back into formation with the others, then they all drew their swords and pointed them straight up, arm fully extended. Seconds later, a black dome lined with runes encompassed the entire base. The four sheathed their swords, then he stepped forward again and took off his helmet, but left his head on. His face was quite effeminate, and had they not heard his voice, they might have mistaken him for a female. "I am the leader of The Four Horsemen. I will not yet tell you my name, for I believe a test is in order. You see, we have personally witnessed the atrocities this Demon Lord has committed, and because we are bound by oath to serve him, we have carried out a few, ourselves. We feel it is an insult to our honor as knights to follow such a savage and barbarous leader, but we cannot stand against him. We know that even with the four of us together, we cannot beat him. His power is too great. If you four can defeat us, we shall break that oath and side with you. If you cannot, we will kill you and await the next champion of humanity in the hopes that he or she can allow us to restore our honor and pride."
The hero scoffed. "'Honor and pride'? What do you call this, then? I have no love for those who betray the principals of The Order, but how was it 'honorable'? You attacked them in the middle of the night, burned down the barracks while most of them were asleep, slaughtered them all..."
His expression, one that showed no emotion, didn't change as he replied, "You would have killed them anyway. They were honorless cretins that deserved no such formalities, and thus we did not grant them."
"And how would you know that?"
"Do not think we are uninformed of our enemy's beliefs. We probably know more about the locations of Order bases, and the feelings toward monsters of those in them, than you or your Grandmaster."
The succubus asked, "I guess you know who I am and my intentions, don't you?"
"Yes, exiled princess. We have yet to see if you will be much more desirable than our current 'overlord', but we know who you are. We also know you plan to usurp the throne in the hopes of leading humans and monsters into a 'golden age of peace and prosperity'. The raucous actions that led to your exile are still well-remembered. Even now, the topic of your persistent ranting about peace when you were a child pops up from time to time. Not long after you were exiled, just out of cruelty, the Demon Lord delivered an ultimatum to your parents. They were to disown you before all of the Demon Realm nobility. When your father refused, he was severely beaten. When your mother refused, she was whipped with a barbed chain. Despite that, they still wouldn't disown you, so he took it a step further. One by one, he broke your father's fingers, telling your mother that if she didn't disown you, he'd have him drawn and quartered. She finally gave in when she couldn't stand to see the Demon Lord break his finger for the eighth time. The Demon Lord wanted both of them to disown you, though, so he then threatened your father, saying that if he didn't do so, he'd shove a spear through your mother's vagina and out her mouth, then dismember her corpse. Your father gave in. Now, they live a fairly empty existence, all but stripped of their influence by the Demon Lord's decree, wondering if they should have resisted to the death instead."
The hero heard the succubus sniffle, then dared to take his eyes off the Horsemen and look at her. Tears were streaming down her face. She mumbled, "Mom... Dad..."
The hero looked back and forth between the Horsemen and the succubus, not sure if he should take the risk. The Dullahan nodded at him and said, "Comfort your woman."
The hero gave him a thankful nod and sheathed his sword, then put his arms around the succubus and held her, rubbing her back and the back of her head as she clung to him, crying on his shoulder.
One of the other Horsemen stepped forward and took its helmet off, revealing a masculine face with a neatly trimmed beard. He said, "My advice to you, princess, is to turn your current sorrow into anger, then use that anger against me. As the Horseman most heavily focused on magic, I feel I am the best opponent for you."
Amarantha said, "It sounds like the Demon Lord is a total bastard. He's just evil and cruel and possibly has some sort of complex, wanting to rule with an iron fist to make himself feel superior to everyone else or something."
The Dullahan with two swords, now obviously the most slender of the four, stepped forward and took off its helmet, leaving its head on, revealing a very effeminate face. It then spoke, revealing without a doubt that it was female. "That's why we hate serving him, but until the right being comes along, we're stuck. Like our leader said, if you can beat us, we'll join you."
Zeraine asked, "So, what about this black dome? We've got a guy back in a city that wants to project the image of this fight from his scrying orb into the air above the city so everyone can watch. With this dome in the way, they won't be able to see."
The last Horseman, the one with the claymore, took off its helmet, revealing itself to be male, having a clean-shaven masculine face, and said, "Not a bad idea, if you win. Otherwise you'll be broadcasting your deaths to the populace and despair will grab hold of their hearts, making all you efforts thus far in vain."
The female Dullahan said, "I'm guessing this guy you're talking about is the same one that's been watching us for the past few days, and is also the one who tried to use his scrying orb to get a close look at my crotch."
Zeraine nodded, forcing a grin. "Yeah, he is. Surely you understand that upon hearing about the four of you being sent after us, we wanted to keep an eye on you to see what you were capable of, and to see if we needed to take the risk of engaging you early to stop any slaughter sprees?"
She frowned and asked, "I understand that, which is a smart idea, but did it have to be a pervert?"
Amarantha said, "Well, he was probably the only guy we could get to do it for free... Anyway, that illusion yesterday; what the hell was that for and who did it?"
The Dullahan with the beard smiled, raised his hand, and said, "I did that. As for why, well, you've kept us waiting for quite a while. We had to have a little fun, you know."
Zeraine asked, "So, about the dome thing?"
The leader said, "We'll take it down before the fight. If the princess is done blaming herself for what happened to her parents, and is done crying, we can start. If not, we will wait."
The succubus snapped at him, yelling, "Shut the fuck up! That bastard tortured my parents because of what I did!"
"It is very likely he would have done it anyway. Your actions merely made it more certain. You being this affected by it would only make him laugh uncontrollably. As my companion advised, turn those feelings you have right now into anger. Come at him with everything you have. All of you, come at us, hit us with your best, for we will not hold back."
The hero looked at the succubus and saw the anger in her eyes, gradually building up and overpowering her sorrow. She loosened her grip on him and he let go in response. She wiped away the remaining tears and raised her staff. He drew his sword.
The Horsemen put their helmets back on and drew their weapons; the one with the claymore drew it, the one with two swords drew both, the one who only had a sword and shield readied them, and the last one drew what looked somewhat like a mace, holding it in his left hand, his sword in the other.
When the black dome faded away, the battle began.
The hero asked, "Well, what are our enemies doing?"
"They're standing there, waiting for you."
Zeraine asked, "How about the 'project the image into the sky' thing? Does Sol have everything ready to let the people watch the fight?"
"I think so. Cedric has him in a headlock right now, so he can't exactly answer. Unfortunately, neither Hilda nor I could come to his rescue this time. ...Anyway, are you guys all set?"
The succubus replied, "Yep. From what we could see from looking at the map, we're not far from a small path that leads to the secluded Order base, so we will soon meet The Four Horsemen. Tell Cedric to let him go so he can do what he needs to."
"Okay." Victoria's voice was somewhat quieter as she turned away from the crystal and said, "Cedric! Knock it off! Sol's got stuff to do. Let him go."
Cedric laughed and said, "Oh, come on! Let us play a little longer!"
The party then heard Victoria huff in frustration, followed by her shouting, "Sparks!"
The party heard electricity crackling, quickly followed by both Cedric and Sol yelling in pain, then Cedric complaining, "What the hell!?" and Sol scolding, "Don't hit me, damn it! Use ice or wind or something!"
Victoria said, "I'm sorry, Sol. I'll make it up to you tonight. Right now, you have work to do. The fight is soon to happen. Is everything ready?"
"Yeah. I just need to do it. You know, speak the incantation, activate the projection..."
The succubus smiled. "Good. Hopefully we won't be humiliated or anything, and will be able to defeat them, putting on a decent enough show at the same time, allowing the news to spread and stuff, eventually ending in us getting enough assistance for the final battle to win for sure. We'll still have to visit the Demon Realm and see what monsters we can recruit, but that's irrelevant at the moment."
Cedric shouted, "I'll be watching, so kick their asses good, okay?"
Amarantha scoffed. "We will."
The hero asked, "Is that the path?"
The rest of the party looked at where he was pointing while he got out their map, then they compared what they saw with where they thought they were. As they did, Victoria said, "I'm good enough with scrying to help out a little... Yeah, you're right there. Take that path and you'll be there soon. Good luck."
The succubus severed the connection while the hero put away the map. All four acting as one, they took a deep breath, exhaled, put on looks of fierce determination, and started up the path.
...
Unknown to the party, one of the Horsemen had taken advantage of the sudden lack of being watched to levitate into the air and used Far Sight to watch them on their approach. The Dullahan smiled under its helmet and returned to the base, announcing, "They approach."
The four of them got to work clearing away the corpses in preparation for the fight.
...
The party followed the path up the hill and, once at its top, saw the base. They kept going, heading down the hill, still following the path, going all the way to the main gate, which was open. Inside, in the middle of the courtyard, stood The Four Horsemen. One of them, which appeared to only be armed with a sword and shield, stepped forward, causing the party to all draw their weapons and assume ready stances. "Greetings."
The hero asked, "Shall we get to it?"
The Dullahan, who by its voice was male, said, "We will. For the moment, however..."
He teleported back into formation with the others, then they all drew their swords and pointed them straight up, arm fully extended. Seconds later, a black dome lined with runes encompassed the entire base. The four sheathed their swords, then he stepped forward again and took off his helmet, but left his head on. His face was quite effeminate, and had they not heard his voice, they might have mistaken him for a female. "I am the leader of The Four Horsemen. I will not yet tell you my name, for I believe a test is in order. You see, we have personally witnessed the atrocities this Demon Lord has committed, and because we are bound by oath to serve him, we have carried out a few, ourselves. We feel it is an insult to our honor as knights to follow such a savage and barbarous leader, but we cannot stand against him. We know that even with the four of us together, we cannot beat him. His power is too great. If you four can defeat us, we shall break that oath and side with you. If you cannot, we will kill you and await the next champion of humanity in the hopes that he or she can allow us to restore our honor and pride."
The hero scoffed. "'Honor and pride'? What do you call this, then? I have no love for those who betray the principals of The Order, but how was it 'honorable'? You attacked them in the middle of the night, burned down the barracks while most of them were asleep, slaughtered them all..."
His expression, one that showed no emotion, didn't change as he replied, "You would have killed them anyway. They were honorless cretins that deserved no such formalities, and thus we did not grant them."
"And how would you know that?"
"Do not think we are uninformed of our enemy's beliefs. We probably know more about the locations of Order bases, and the feelings toward monsters of those in them, than you or your Grandmaster."
The succubus asked, "I guess you know who I am and my intentions, don't you?"
"Yes, exiled princess. We have yet to see if you will be much more desirable than our current 'overlord', but we know who you are. We also know you plan to usurp the throne in the hopes of leading humans and monsters into a 'golden age of peace and prosperity'. The raucous actions that led to your exile are still well-remembered. Even now, the topic of your persistent ranting about peace when you were a child pops up from time to time. Not long after you were exiled, just out of cruelty, the Demon Lord delivered an ultimatum to your parents. They were to disown you before all of the Demon Realm nobility. When your father refused, he was severely beaten. When your mother refused, she was whipped with a barbed chain. Despite that, they still wouldn't disown you, so he took it a step further. One by one, he broke your father's fingers, telling your mother that if she didn't disown you, he'd have him drawn and quartered. She finally gave in when she couldn't stand to see the Demon Lord break his finger for the eighth time. The Demon Lord wanted both of them to disown you, though, so he then threatened your father, saying that if he didn't do so, he'd shove a spear through your mother's vagina and out her mouth, then dismember her corpse. Your father gave in. Now, they live a fairly empty existence, all but stripped of their influence by the Demon Lord's decree, wondering if they should have resisted to the death instead."
The hero heard the succubus sniffle, then dared to take his eyes off the Horsemen and look at her. Tears were streaming down her face. She mumbled, "Mom... Dad..."
The hero looked back and forth between the Horsemen and the succubus, not sure if he should take the risk. The Dullahan nodded at him and said, "Comfort your woman."
The hero gave him a thankful nod and sheathed his sword, then put his arms around the succubus and held her, rubbing her back and the back of her head as she clung to him, crying on his shoulder.
One of the other Horsemen stepped forward and took its helmet off, revealing a masculine face with a neatly trimmed beard. He said, "My advice to you, princess, is to turn your current sorrow into anger, then use that anger against me. As the Horseman most heavily focused on magic, I feel I am the best opponent for you."
Amarantha said, "It sounds like the Demon Lord is a total bastard. He's just evil and cruel and possibly has some sort of complex, wanting to rule with an iron fist to make himself feel superior to everyone else or something."
The Dullahan with two swords, now obviously the most slender of the four, stepped forward and took off its helmet, leaving its head on, revealing a very effeminate face. It then spoke, revealing without a doubt that it was female. "That's why we hate serving him, but until the right being comes along, we're stuck. Like our leader said, if you can beat us, we'll join you."
Zeraine asked, "So, what about this black dome? We've got a guy back in a city that wants to project the image of this fight from his scrying orb into the air above the city so everyone can watch. With this dome in the way, they won't be able to see."
The last Horseman, the one with the claymore, took off its helmet, revealing itself to be male, having a clean-shaven masculine face, and said, "Not a bad idea, if you win. Otherwise you'll be broadcasting your deaths to the populace and despair will grab hold of their hearts, making all you efforts thus far in vain."
The female Dullahan said, "I'm guessing this guy you're talking about is the same one that's been watching us for the past few days, and is also the one who tried to use his scrying orb to get a close look at my crotch."
Zeraine nodded, forcing a grin. "Yeah, he is. Surely you understand that upon hearing about the four of you being sent after us, we wanted to keep an eye on you to see what you were capable of, and to see if we needed to take the risk of engaging you early to stop any slaughter sprees?"
She frowned and asked, "I understand that, which is a smart idea, but did it have to be a pervert?"
Amarantha said, "Well, he was probably the only guy we could get to do it for free... Anyway, that illusion yesterday; what the hell was that for and who did it?"
The Dullahan with the beard smiled, raised his hand, and said, "I did that. As for why, well, you've kept us waiting for quite a while. We had to have a little fun, you know."
Zeraine asked, "So, about the dome thing?"
The leader said, "We'll take it down before the fight. If the princess is done blaming herself for what happened to her parents, and is done crying, we can start. If not, we will wait."
The succubus snapped at him, yelling, "Shut the fuck up! That bastard tortured my parents because of what I did!"
"It is very likely he would have done it anyway. Your actions merely made it more certain. You being this affected by it would only make him laugh uncontrollably. As my companion advised, turn those feelings you have right now into anger. Come at him with everything you have. All of you, come at us, hit us with your best, for we will not hold back."
The hero looked at the succubus and saw the anger in her eyes, gradually building up and overpowering her sorrow. She loosened her grip on him and he let go in response. She wiped away the remaining tears and raised her staff. He drew his sword.
The Horsemen put their helmets back on and drew their weapons; the one with the claymore drew it, the one with two swords drew both, the one who only had a sword and shield readied them, and the last one drew what looked somewhat like a mace, holding it in his left hand, his sword in the other.
When the black dome faded away, the battle began.
Chapter 135
Spoiler: show
The hero and the Horseman with the sword and shield charged each other. They slammed into each other, shield first, then dug their heels in and began a shoving match, each trying to push the other off balance.
The Horseman with the claymore rushed Zeraine, the two clashing blades, similarly entering into a shoving match.
The only female Dullahan among them, the Horseman with two swords, charged at Amarantha, keeping her blades behind her as she ran fairly low to the ground. Once close enough, she thrust them forward, attempting a double-stab, which Amarantha evaded by way of a jump in which she flipped, did a half-turn, and landed, facing the enemy's back, before charging in with her hammer drawn back to her side.
The succubus and the last horseman simply stood there, gathering power. She asked, "That thing in your left hand... It's a combination mace and magic wand, isn't it?"
He answered, "Yes. It enhances my spells while still being durable enough to crush skulls or dent armor. I usually use it in tandem with my sword, but sometimes magic isn't necessary, in which case I use my shield. All four of us, despite our individual talents and choices of weapons, are skilled in the sword-and-shield style."
"One last question before I cast a spell..." she began. "How did your leader know the details about what happened to my parents after my exile?"
"We were there. Like it or not, we always attend such events."
"Somehow I get the feeling there's something you're not telling me."
"I suppose that something would be my confession, then. It was we four that were charged with torturing your parents."
"What!? A little bit ago your leader said that the Demon Lord did that stuff!"
"Princess, you should know from memory that the Demon Lord would never do anything such as that if he can order someone else to do it instead while he sits on his throne, grinning arrogantly. It was L- uh... our dual-wielder that whipped your mother. Our leader held your father down while I broke his fingers with my mace. None of us enjoyed it, but that was our duty."
The succubus's eyes began glowing red as her anger surged and power gathered. She held her staff in her right hand and held out her left, palm facing the Dullahan. A ball of magic energy formed in her hand and grew until it was about the size of an orange, but she kept pouring power and energy into it until it began looking unstable, crackling with energy. "Damned!"
When the smoke cleared, the Horseman stood unharmed, a slight shimmer in the air in front of him, showing that he put up a Ward to block it, but the spell had weakened it. Then he saw that the succubus already had another fully-charged Damned in her hand. She cast it again, and he blocked it with a Ward again. This time, the shimmer in the air was less apparent. She had yet another fully-charged Damned ready, and cast it. She heard him grunt as his Ward broke, then followed up with Anselm, sending 8 arrows of light after him, all of them hitting, driving him back several steps.
He looked up at her and saw a ball of lightning in her hand, then smirked under his helmet and said, "Not bad, princess. You may be able to defeat me, but don't think a simple approach of direct attacking will carry you to victory!" He then channeled power into his mace, lighting it aflame. When she cast Venjend, he launched a Fireball from his mace, the two spells colliding in the air, causing a violent burst of fire and lightning. She followed up with a Fireball of her own, but he teleported a few feet to the side and dodged it. "Dimensional Leap. A short ranged teleportation spell frequently used by high level mages in battle. It allows one to dodge spells, arrows, and physical attacks with ease. Can you cast it, princess?"
Obviously incredibly pissed off, her eyes still glowing red, she yelled, "Who gives a shit!? Dodge all you like! I'll hit you with one good Damned and you'll go down!"
"Didn't think so. If you beat me, I'll teach you, then you can teach your friends later. You'll need it against the Demon Lord. Now... Sourkiss Lar Syshu Mega Megade... Sodom!"
When he started the incantation, the succubus began running. When he finished, she dove behind a stone bench, which blocked the blades of air, but shattered in the process. She raised up onto her knees from behind the rubble and cast Lightning Bolt, which he dodged with Dimensional Leap, then he countered with his own Lightning Bolt, which she managed to block with a Ward of her own, but it broke from that single hit. When he saw her stagger from having her Ward broken, he decided to be smug and cast Ice Spike. She managed to dodge in time by diving aside, then she stood up and gathered energy. "Intelipeli!"
Dozens of fireballs appeared in the air floating around her, then flung themselves at the Dullahan. He leaned, bobbed, weaved, ducked, and short-hopped to dodge most of them, then dodged the last volley by using Dimensional Leap to teleport toward her. He charged at her, and she tried to run but knew she was too slow. She turned and faced him, then blocked his mace swing with her staff, the force of the blow knocking her down. He followed up with a downward swing from his sword, which she also blocked with her staff. He didn't draw his sword back for another strike, however. Instead, he leaned down on it, applying more pushing force. She pushed back as hard as she could, but he was stronger, and his blade gradually came closer and closer to her face. She tucked her legs in and rolled her hips back, allowing her to use both feet to kick him, but it did nothing, so she put her feet to him and pushed, lessening the load on her arms, allowing her to quickly cast a Firebolt, hitting the front of his helmet, knocking his head off, which surprised him just enough to allow her to slip out from under him. Back on her feet, she ran to put some distance between him and herself. Once she felt she was far enough away, she spun around and saw the Dullahan's body picking its head up off the ground and putting it back on. He cast a Fireball at her, and she responded with a Fireball of her own, causing another collision of two spells, this time causing two simultaneous bursts of fire. "You're doing well, princess. How long can you keep it up, though? I almost had you. It looks like if I come after you with my sword, I'll win for sure."
"Don't count on it! I've got a few spells for that!" she shouted, throwing another Fireball.
He used Dimensional Leap to dodge it, once again by teleporting toward her, then he charged at her again, shouting, "Let's see them!"
She used Drash Gan to make a wall of stone spikes jut out of the ground, pointed at him, then she cast another spell. "Wa Crow, Rei Von!" She took off, flying into the air under the power of her high-mobility flight spell. As she ascended, she saw him slide to a stop before getting to the spikes, then he cast the same spell and flew into the air after her.
"And now we take to the air with powerful levitation spells, allowing for easy movement at high speed, easier dodging of spells without using Dimensional Leap, and nothing to stop our spells until they dissipate, unless we aim downward, that is. Then, they'll either dissipate after enough distance, or they'll hit something. Fortunately for you, we're out here in the middle of nowhere, so you don't have to worry about accidentally killing anyone."
She sneered at him and shouted, "Barnard Voltard Da Warnard Richter... Water, hear my voice! Let my enemies become yours! Access!"
At first, two serpentine dragon-shaped spouts of water came after him, but as he dodged them, the number quickly increased. Soon, there were 10 of them snaking around, trying to hit him. He dodged them masterfully until he found himself completely surrounded with them closing in from every angle. He was about to use Dimensional Leap to dodge them, but the succubus gave them an extra burst of speed by putting more power into the spell. The spouts hit him all at once, leaving him floating motionless in the air, face-up, for several seconds. Unfortunately, the succubus was starting to get fatigued from the spellcasting, so rather than risk taking a chance for a finishing blow and failing, she took the opportunity to drink a Mana Potion. As she tossed away the vial, the Dullahan groaned and righted himself, then said, "Why didn't you deal the finishing blow? You might come to regret not taking that chance."
"I only had enough energy for one more spell at that time, and you're too dangerous to approach, even in that shape, so I didn't take the risk."
"I appreciate your honesty. Now, we shouldn't let this battle drag on too long, so let's resume."
She took a deep breath, exhaled, and readied another spell.
The Horseman with the claymore rushed Zeraine, the two clashing blades, similarly entering into a shoving match.
The only female Dullahan among them, the Horseman with two swords, charged at Amarantha, keeping her blades behind her as she ran fairly low to the ground. Once close enough, she thrust them forward, attempting a double-stab, which Amarantha evaded by way of a jump in which she flipped, did a half-turn, and landed, facing the enemy's back, before charging in with her hammer drawn back to her side.
The succubus and the last horseman simply stood there, gathering power. She asked, "That thing in your left hand... It's a combination mace and magic wand, isn't it?"
He answered, "Yes. It enhances my spells while still being durable enough to crush skulls or dent armor. I usually use it in tandem with my sword, but sometimes magic isn't necessary, in which case I use my shield. All four of us, despite our individual talents and choices of weapons, are skilled in the sword-and-shield style."
"One last question before I cast a spell..." she began. "How did your leader know the details about what happened to my parents after my exile?"
"We were there. Like it or not, we always attend such events."
"Somehow I get the feeling there's something you're not telling me."
"I suppose that something would be my confession, then. It was we four that were charged with torturing your parents."
"What!? A little bit ago your leader said that the Demon Lord did that stuff!"
"Princess, you should know from memory that the Demon Lord would never do anything such as that if he can order someone else to do it instead while he sits on his throne, grinning arrogantly. It was L- uh... our dual-wielder that whipped your mother. Our leader held your father down while I broke his fingers with my mace. None of us enjoyed it, but that was our duty."
The succubus's eyes began glowing red as her anger surged and power gathered. She held her staff in her right hand and held out her left, palm facing the Dullahan. A ball of magic energy formed in her hand and grew until it was about the size of an orange, but she kept pouring power and energy into it until it began looking unstable, crackling with energy. "Damned!"
When the smoke cleared, the Horseman stood unharmed, a slight shimmer in the air in front of him, showing that he put up a Ward to block it, but the spell had weakened it. Then he saw that the succubus already had another fully-charged Damned in her hand. She cast it again, and he blocked it with a Ward again. This time, the shimmer in the air was less apparent. She had yet another fully-charged Damned ready, and cast it. She heard him grunt as his Ward broke, then followed up with Anselm, sending 8 arrows of light after him, all of them hitting, driving him back several steps.
He looked up at her and saw a ball of lightning in her hand, then smirked under his helmet and said, "Not bad, princess. You may be able to defeat me, but don't think a simple approach of direct attacking will carry you to victory!" He then channeled power into his mace, lighting it aflame. When she cast Venjend, he launched a Fireball from his mace, the two spells colliding in the air, causing a violent burst of fire and lightning. She followed up with a Fireball of her own, but he teleported a few feet to the side and dodged it. "Dimensional Leap. A short ranged teleportation spell frequently used by high level mages in battle. It allows one to dodge spells, arrows, and physical attacks with ease. Can you cast it, princess?"
Obviously incredibly pissed off, her eyes still glowing red, she yelled, "Who gives a shit!? Dodge all you like! I'll hit you with one good Damned and you'll go down!"
"Didn't think so. If you beat me, I'll teach you, then you can teach your friends later. You'll need it against the Demon Lord. Now... Sourkiss Lar Syshu Mega Megade... Sodom!"
When he started the incantation, the succubus began running. When he finished, she dove behind a stone bench, which blocked the blades of air, but shattered in the process. She raised up onto her knees from behind the rubble and cast Lightning Bolt, which he dodged with Dimensional Leap, then he countered with his own Lightning Bolt, which she managed to block with a Ward of her own, but it broke from that single hit. When he saw her stagger from having her Ward broken, he decided to be smug and cast Ice Spike. She managed to dodge in time by diving aside, then she stood up and gathered energy. "Intelipeli!"
Dozens of fireballs appeared in the air floating around her, then flung themselves at the Dullahan. He leaned, bobbed, weaved, ducked, and short-hopped to dodge most of them, then dodged the last volley by using Dimensional Leap to teleport toward her. He charged at her, and she tried to run but knew she was too slow. She turned and faced him, then blocked his mace swing with her staff, the force of the blow knocking her down. He followed up with a downward swing from his sword, which she also blocked with her staff. He didn't draw his sword back for another strike, however. Instead, he leaned down on it, applying more pushing force. She pushed back as hard as she could, but he was stronger, and his blade gradually came closer and closer to her face. She tucked her legs in and rolled her hips back, allowing her to use both feet to kick him, but it did nothing, so she put her feet to him and pushed, lessening the load on her arms, allowing her to quickly cast a Firebolt, hitting the front of his helmet, knocking his head off, which surprised him just enough to allow her to slip out from under him. Back on her feet, she ran to put some distance between him and herself. Once she felt she was far enough away, she spun around and saw the Dullahan's body picking its head up off the ground and putting it back on. He cast a Fireball at her, and she responded with a Fireball of her own, causing another collision of two spells, this time causing two simultaneous bursts of fire. "You're doing well, princess. How long can you keep it up, though? I almost had you. It looks like if I come after you with my sword, I'll win for sure."
"Don't count on it! I've got a few spells for that!" she shouted, throwing another Fireball.
He used Dimensional Leap to dodge it, once again by teleporting toward her, then he charged at her again, shouting, "Let's see them!"
She used Drash Gan to make a wall of stone spikes jut out of the ground, pointed at him, then she cast another spell. "Wa Crow, Rei Von!" She took off, flying into the air under the power of her high-mobility flight spell. As she ascended, she saw him slide to a stop before getting to the spikes, then he cast the same spell and flew into the air after her.
"And now we take to the air with powerful levitation spells, allowing for easy movement at high speed, easier dodging of spells without using Dimensional Leap, and nothing to stop our spells until they dissipate, unless we aim downward, that is. Then, they'll either dissipate after enough distance, or they'll hit something. Fortunately for you, we're out here in the middle of nowhere, so you don't have to worry about accidentally killing anyone."
She sneered at him and shouted, "Barnard Voltard Da Warnard Richter... Water, hear my voice! Let my enemies become yours! Access!"
At first, two serpentine dragon-shaped spouts of water came after him, but as he dodged them, the number quickly increased. Soon, there were 10 of them snaking around, trying to hit him. He dodged them masterfully until he found himself completely surrounded with them closing in from every angle. He was about to use Dimensional Leap to dodge them, but the succubus gave them an extra burst of speed by putting more power into the spell. The spouts hit him all at once, leaving him floating motionless in the air, face-up, for several seconds. Unfortunately, the succubus was starting to get fatigued from the spellcasting, so rather than risk taking a chance for a finishing blow and failing, she took the opportunity to drink a Mana Potion. As she tossed away the vial, the Dullahan groaned and righted himself, then said, "Why didn't you deal the finishing blow? You might come to regret not taking that chance."
"I only had enough energy for one more spell at that time, and you're too dangerous to approach, even in that shape, so I didn't take the risk."
"I appreciate your honesty. Now, we shouldn't let this battle drag on too long, so let's resume."
She took a deep breath, exhaled, and readied another spell.
Chapter 136
Spoiler: show
Meanwhile, Zeraine was pushing with all his might against the Horseman with the claymore, but he was still being driven back. As he growled with effort, he thought, "Maybe Ammie and I should have done it a bit more, doing the whole 'ritual' thing rather than simply making love... Could we have pulled that off, though? ...No sense thinking about it right now. This guy's gonna kill me if I don't beat him."
Because he was wearing his helmet, he was able to pull off a headbutt, but it failed to knock the Dullahan's head off. Instead, it merely stunned him for a split second, which Zeraine used to break the weapon-lock and back off, assuming a defensive stance while beginning to slowly circle the enemy. The Dullahan quickly recovered, then mirrored Zeraine, saying, "So you can't use those wings of yours yet?"
"What of it? I've got levitation spells, so it doesn't matter."
"I guess it doesn't. Regardless..." The Dullahan charged, attacking with a lightning-fast horizontal swing, aiming for Zeraine's midsection. Zeraine put his sword in the way, blocking the hit. He then thrust his leg out to the side with a kick to the Dullahan's shin, then he spun around, throwing the Horseman's sword back and swinging diagonally downward, aiming for his neck. The Dullahan ducked and rolled aside, dodging by rolling to Zeraine's right. When Zeraine saw it, he dove forward and rolled to his feet just in time to see the Dullahan's claymore finish passing through the area where his knee had been moments ago. He scoffed and charged, swinging his sword almost straight downward mightily, but the Dullahan blocked it and said, "You obviously have lots of experience. I'm glad I got this chance to fight you."
Zeraine swing again, clashing swords again, then asked, "Really? What makes you say that?"
The Dullahan swung at him, but he parried, only to have his counterattack blocked, then the Dullahan said, "Usually, those I fight are, by comparison to myself, no better than children swinging sticks around wildly. It's good to fight an opponent with true skill and experience. That is why I am glad to have this opportunity. Thank you, warrior."
"My name is Zeraine, and I'm a spellsword, not a warrior. Someone who's just a warrior would never have been able to do some of the things I have in my adventures. Not unless they had a mage traveling with them, maybe."
"Is that so? Then please, don't hold back. Use your magic, too."
"I intend to, but I'm not going to waste it!"
"You've already worked up a strategy against me?"
"Am I that obvious?"
"The confidence in your voice is that of one who has a good plan."
"Truth is, I do. Here's part of it!" Zeraine began swinging his sword in a cleaving motion, repeatedly hitting the Dullahan's sword as he blocked it. The repeated savage strikes put the Dullahan on the defensive, despite said attacks being the same thing done repeatedly. Just as the Dullahan was about to parry him, Zeraine used Aard, knocking him back. He followed up by rushing in with a flying kick to the Dullahan's chest, which knocked him down.
The Dullahan recovered by rolling backwards to his feet, quickly reassuming a fighting stance. "Nice work. You did the same thing repeatedly, then caught me off guard when I went to counter you. You're good."
Zeraine smirked under his helmet and replied, "Thanks. Since I've told you my name, how about you tell me yours?"
"Survive our next exchange and I will. Have at you!" The Dullahan rushed at Zeraine, yelling as he charged. Zeraine braced himself and met him head on, clashing his sword with the Horseman's. The Dullahan then quickly lashed out with a forward thrust kick, knocking Zeraine back, lifting him a few inches off the ground from the force of the kick. Zeraine felt it through his armor, but he didn't have time to think about it, as the Dullahan was already on him again. He came in with a flurry of high-speed slashes and Zeraine frantically went to work blocking and parrying. The Dullahan sped up, using speed that no human could hope to achieve without magical assistance. The increased speed of the barrage pushed Zeraine to his limit as he tried to block and parry the well-aimed strikes, all of which targeted important places, such as his knees, neck, head, armpits, and groin. In other words, the gaps in his plate mail. Out of desperation, Zeraine threw himself backward, jumping away from the Horseman, narrowly avoiding a thrust aimed at his groin. He landed on his wings, which hurt bad, since he couldn't move them to avoid them getting into the bind they were now in, but injured wings were better than being sliced apart. Before even trying to get up, he cast Firebolt, forcing the Dullahan to stop its next attack to dodge it, which gave him enough time to roll to his feet and cast Quen, which he discovered was of about equal power to what he saw from the hero's during the illusion incident.
Zeraine smiled smugly, though his helmet hid his face, and said, "Well, I survived it. You owe me an introduction."
"Very well. My name is Belial. I'm pleased to make your acquaintance, Zeraine." The Dullahan bowed, then reassumed a fighting stance.
"Yeah, same to you. Let's go again!" Zeraine shouted as he rushed forward, lashing out with his own fast flurry of slashes.
The two of them began a back-and-forth series of parries and counters, neither of them able to attack the other successfully. The Dullahan sped up again, attacking faster and faster, reaching his superhuman speed. Zeraine took a couple of hits, which broke his Quen, but the pain Belial had to endure from hitting Zeraine's Quen, specifically the pain of being shocked when he hit it, caused him to slow back down. Zeraine pushed himself to his limit again, trying to create an opening in which to use another Aard, which he successfully did, knocking Belial back, enabling him to cast Shield, then Haste. "Now I'll be fast enough to keep up with you, and if you somehow manage to hit me, it won't injure me as seriously!" Zeraine shouted as he charged.
The two of them began yet another series of back-and-forth parries and counters, constantly parrying and countering each other's counterattacks. Zeraine made full use of Haste, keeping up with Belial as he got back up to his insanely fast speed. The sound of ringing, steel-on-steel clashing quickly became constant, then deafening. The two stayed in their exchange for a few minutes, which is when Zeraine began to feel Haste wearing off. Shield was still in effect, so he decided to redirect Belial's sword into his own side, causing it to slightly dent his armor as he shoulder-rammed the Dullahan, shoving him off balance. Zeraine then short-hopped backward a few times to put distance between them. He took a moment to feel the fresh dent in his chestplate with his left hand, then recast Haste and assumed a high guard.
Belial regained his footing and reassumed his fighting stance as well. "That was rather reckless. Had you not had Shield in effect, my sword would have broken through your armor."
"I knew what I was doing. Now, since we're supposed to beat you guys, what exactly constitutes a win? Do I have to knock your head off, send it far enough away from your body, then hold my sword to it?"
"No. You merely have to come close to killing me, though that would certainly be one way of doing so. Surely you've seen practice matches, probably with wooden swords, in which they fight for a while, then the fight ends when one of them has their sword to the other's neck or something, right?"
"Yeah. Also like in fencing, when one clearly has what would have been a killing strike had they gone through with it, right?"
"Exactly. If you manage to do that, I'll acknowledge your victory. Now that you have had a good little break, and a more certain idea of how to win, let's continue."
Because he was wearing his helmet, he was able to pull off a headbutt, but it failed to knock the Dullahan's head off. Instead, it merely stunned him for a split second, which Zeraine used to break the weapon-lock and back off, assuming a defensive stance while beginning to slowly circle the enemy. The Dullahan quickly recovered, then mirrored Zeraine, saying, "So you can't use those wings of yours yet?"
"What of it? I've got levitation spells, so it doesn't matter."
"I guess it doesn't. Regardless..." The Dullahan charged, attacking with a lightning-fast horizontal swing, aiming for Zeraine's midsection. Zeraine put his sword in the way, blocking the hit. He then thrust his leg out to the side with a kick to the Dullahan's shin, then he spun around, throwing the Horseman's sword back and swinging diagonally downward, aiming for his neck. The Dullahan ducked and rolled aside, dodging by rolling to Zeraine's right. When Zeraine saw it, he dove forward and rolled to his feet just in time to see the Dullahan's claymore finish passing through the area where his knee had been moments ago. He scoffed and charged, swinging his sword almost straight downward mightily, but the Dullahan blocked it and said, "You obviously have lots of experience. I'm glad I got this chance to fight you."
Zeraine swing again, clashing swords again, then asked, "Really? What makes you say that?"
The Dullahan swung at him, but he parried, only to have his counterattack blocked, then the Dullahan said, "Usually, those I fight are, by comparison to myself, no better than children swinging sticks around wildly. It's good to fight an opponent with true skill and experience. That is why I am glad to have this opportunity. Thank you, warrior."
"My name is Zeraine, and I'm a spellsword, not a warrior. Someone who's just a warrior would never have been able to do some of the things I have in my adventures. Not unless they had a mage traveling with them, maybe."
"Is that so? Then please, don't hold back. Use your magic, too."
"I intend to, but I'm not going to waste it!"
"You've already worked up a strategy against me?"
"Am I that obvious?"
"The confidence in your voice is that of one who has a good plan."
"Truth is, I do. Here's part of it!" Zeraine began swinging his sword in a cleaving motion, repeatedly hitting the Dullahan's sword as he blocked it. The repeated savage strikes put the Dullahan on the defensive, despite said attacks being the same thing done repeatedly. Just as the Dullahan was about to parry him, Zeraine used Aard, knocking him back. He followed up by rushing in with a flying kick to the Dullahan's chest, which knocked him down.
The Dullahan recovered by rolling backwards to his feet, quickly reassuming a fighting stance. "Nice work. You did the same thing repeatedly, then caught me off guard when I went to counter you. You're good."
Zeraine smirked under his helmet and replied, "Thanks. Since I've told you my name, how about you tell me yours?"
"Survive our next exchange and I will. Have at you!" The Dullahan rushed at Zeraine, yelling as he charged. Zeraine braced himself and met him head on, clashing his sword with the Horseman's. The Dullahan then quickly lashed out with a forward thrust kick, knocking Zeraine back, lifting him a few inches off the ground from the force of the kick. Zeraine felt it through his armor, but he didn't have time to think about it, as the Dullahan was already on him again. He came in with a flurry of high-speed slashes and Zeraine frantically went to work blocking and parrying. The Dullahan sped up, using speed that no human could hope to achieve without magical assistance. The increased speed of the barrage pushed Zeraine to his limit as he tried to block and parry the well-aimed strikes, all of which targeted important places, such as his knees, neck, head, armpits, and groin. In other words, the gaps in his plate mail. Out of desperation, Zeraine threw himself backward, jumping away from the Horseman, narrowly avoiding a thrust aimed at his groin. He landed on his wings, which hurt bad, since he couldn't move them to avoid them getting into the bind they were now in, but injured wings were better than being sliced apart. Before even trying to get up, he cast Firebolt, forcing the Dullahan to stop its next attack to dodge it, which gave him enough time to roll to his feet and cast Quen, which he discovered was of about equal power to what he saw from the hero's during the illusion incident.
Zeraine smiled smugly, though his helmet hid his face, and said, "Well, I survived it. You owe me an introduction."
"Very well. My name is Belial. I'm pleased to make your acquaintance, Zeraine." The Dullahan bowed, then reassumed a fighting stance.
"Yeah, same to you. Let's go again!" Zeraine shouted as he rushed forward, lashing out with his own fast flurry of slashes.
The two of them began a back-and-forth series of parries and counters, neither of them able to attack the other successfully. The Dullahan sped up again, attacking faster and faster, reaching his superhuman speed. Zeraine took a couple of hits, which broke his Quen, but the pain Belial had to endure from hitting Zeraine's Quen, specifically the pain of being shocked when he hit it, caused him to slow back down. Zeraine pushed himself to his limit again, trying to create an opening in which to use another Aard, which he successfully did, knocking Belial back, enabling him to cast Shield, then Haste. "Now I'll be fast enough to keep up with you, and if you somehow manage to hit me, it won't injure me as seriously!" Zeraine shouted as he charged.
The two of them began yet another series of back-and-forth parries and counters, constantly parrying and countering each other's counterattacks. Zeraine made full use of Haste, keeping up with Belial as he got back up to his insanely fast speed. The sound of ringing, steel-on-steel clashing quickly became constant, then deafening. The two stayed in their exchange for a few minutes, which is when Zeraine began to feel Haste wearing off. Shield was still in effect, so he decided to redirect Belial's sword into his own side, causing it to slightly dent his armor as he shoulder-rammed the Dullahan, shoving him off balance. Zeraine then short-hopped backward a few times to put distance between them. He took a moment to feel the fresh dent in his chestplate with his left hand, then recast Haste and assumed a high guard.
Belial regained his footing and reassumed his fighting stance as well. "That was rather reckless. Had you not had Shield in effect, my sword would have broken through your armor."
"I knew what I was doing. Now, since we're supposed to beat you guys, what exactly constitutes a win? Do I have to knock your head off, send it far enough away from your body, then hold my sword to it?"
"No. You merely have to come close to killing me, though that would certainly be one way of doing so. Surely you've seen practice matches, probably with wooden swords, in which they fight for a while, then the fight ends when one of them has their sword to the other's neck or something, right?"
"Yeah. Also like in fencing, when one clearly has what would have been a killing strike had they gone through with it, right?"
"Exactly. If you manage to do that, I'll acknowledge your victory. Now that you have had a good little break, and a more certain idea of how to win, let's continue."
Chapter 137
Spoiler: show
At the same time, Amarantha, having just landed and charged at the dual-wielder, swung her hammer. The Dullahan dove aside, dodging the strike, causing Amarantha to make a small crater in the ground where her hammer hit. The Dullahan rolled to her feet and dashed at Amarantha, swinging at her with both swords. Amarantha used her great strength to quickly block with her hammer, but the aggressiveness of the Dullahan's repeated attacks drove her back. She quickly realized that a hammer wasn't the best weapon to use against twin swords, so she inhaled deeply, then blew out a cloud of frost at the Dullahan's face. Some of the frost got through the eye-holes of the Dullahan's helmet, causing her to jump back in an effort to keep from being blinded.
Amarantha took the opportunity to take a quick look around. She saw that she had almost been driven up against the wall, which gave her an idea. She jumped up with a backflip, then kick jumped off the wall, launching herself right at the Dullahan, elbow first. The Dullahan noticed, having recovered just quickly enough to react, and held up her swords in such a way that Amarantha would collide with the blades' sharp edges. Seeing this, she reacted by holding her hammer out in front of her, causing her to collide with the Dullahan, hammer shaft to blades. The force of the tackle knocked the Dullahan down and caused Amarantha to land on top of her.
Amarantha saw a great opportunity to dish out some pain, so she quickly tossed aside her hammer, pinned the Dullahan's arms by sitting on them with her knees, and began pummeling her enemy's face and upper body. Unfortunately for her, the Dullahan was ready to counter. She let go of her swords and cast Flames with each hand at the same time, her palms aimed at Amarantha.
Amarantha stopped her vicious pummeling, cried out in pain, and jumped off when she felt the fire scorching her sides and back. She desperately rolled away from the Dullahan, who was casually standing up and feeling the new dents in her armor, and frantically rolled around on the ground, trying to put out the flames. Once she had succeeded, she rolled to her feet and glared at the Dullahan with extreme hatred. Before she could say anything, the Dullahan said, "We know you're a silver dragon. We also know that silver dragons are somewhat susceptible to fire. Burning you to get you off me was a valid tactic."
"Shut up, bitch."
Amarantha called her hammer, which flew back into her hand, then she threw it at the Dullahan and charged. The Dullahan ducked under the thrown hammer, then rolled to the side to dodge Amarantha's flying kick. As soon as Amaranth landed, the Dullahan attacked with a very fast series of dance-like steps and slashes, which Amarantha dodged by bobbing, leaning, ducking, weaving, and sidestepping. Amarantha then waited for the right moment and dodged a high slash by doing a sweep kick. The Dullahan reacted quickly and hopped over Amarantha's sweep kick, but was unprepared for the follow-up high side kick, which connected squarely with her chest, further denting her armor and knocking her away. Amarantha called her hammer again and threw it at the Dullahan, which knocked her down as she staggered back. Amarantha started to charge in, but the Dullahan used a quick burst of Flames to stop her in her tracks.
Seeing the fire, Amarantha stopped her approach before she got too close, then she cast Tankad, sending ice missiles after the Dullahan, who rolled to the side and backwards to dodge them. Amarantha said, "That fire spell of yours really pisses me off."
"It's effective. By the way, since you might be considering doing so, don't waste your breath. Dullahan are immune to all forms of paralysis."
"You're talking about my paralyzing gas breath? Thanks for the tip. I'll just freeze you, then." She called her hammer, then asked, "What's your name?"
"Why should I tell you?"
"I don't know if it bothers you, but I'll keep calling you 'bitch' if you don't."
"Fine. My name is Levi."
"Well, Levi, it's nice to meet ya!" Amarantha yelled as she activated Mana Burst and rushed forward, swinging her hammer horizontally, which the Dullahan evaded. Amarantha kept swinging, trying to hit Levi, but she kept dodging or parrying. Amarantha then began aiming for Levi's swords, hoping to break them with her powerful, magically enhanced strikes. Levi quickly caught on and started moving her swords out of the way so that she blocked Amarantha's hammer by putting her swords to its shaft instead of its head.
Amarantha quickly got frustrated by this and decided to use her ice breath again, aiming at Levi's swords, starting with the one in her left hand. "Trying to break my swords? Good thinking, but I won't make it easy for you!" Levi said as she dropped the sword in her right hand and cast Flames again.
Amarantha quickly turned her head and aimed her ice breath at the Flames spell, pushing the fire back, keeping it from touching her as she jumped away from Levi. Levi then switched her sword to her right hand and grabbed her shield with her left. "This should handle your ice breath."
Amarantha smiled and said, "You just gave me a really big target to hit, you know?"
She charged and hit Levi's shield with her hammer, knocking her back a step. She hit Levi's shield again, this time immediately pushing upon contact, driving her back. "That may be true, but you're forgetting something." Levi couldn't see because her shield blocked her vision of Amarantha, but she had a rough idea of where she was, so she thrust out her sword from behind her shield.
Amarantha saw it at the last second and sidestepped, twisting her body in an effort to dodge it, but she still got cut. Her studded leather jacket now had a big cut in the front-left abdomen area, and though not serious, she had a bleeding gash visible through said new hole. She jumped away, holding her side. "Damn you! This is nothing, though..." Amarantha quickly took out a Scroll of Healing and used it, which made the cut heal up completely in seconds.
Levi charged at Amarantha, shield up. Amarantha thought, "Damn it! I can't transform here because there's no room. I'd be at a disadvantage, which means I'd have to make strafing runs, and that would leave it possible for her to attack Zeraine while I'm coming around for another pass. Plus, the princess and the other guy are getting pretty destructive with their spells. I don't want to get hit by a stray shot... Wait, with her shield up, she can't see me. Let's try this!"
Amarantha waited for the right moment, then crouched down and caught Levi by wrapping her arms around her upper thighs, just below her butt, and lifted, throwing Levi through the air to impact upside down against the wall. As she slid down and ended up on her back on the ground, Amarantha approached, hammer in hand. She swung, slamming it into Levi's shield. She hit Levi's shield a few more times, trying to provoke a response. She had already planned that if Levi tried to use Flames again, she'd jump away, but if she tried to stab with her sword, she'd take it from her and break it.
Amarantha then switched from her hammer to stomping on Levi's shield, taunting, "What's the matter? Have I won already?" When Levi tried a stab from behind her shield, Amarantha dodged it, dropped her hammer and grabbed Levi's wrist, twisted it until she let go of her sword, then jumped away. "You already tried that, and I'm not falling for it again!" She blew her ice breath on the sword to make it brittle, then she called her hammer, dropped the sword, and shattered it. "One to go!"
Levi, who had recovered and stood up by then, said, "I can always get another later. I have one left, and that's all I need."
"Not if I destroy it, first!" Amarantha then made a break for Levi's other sword, which was, coincidentally enough, between them on the ground.
Levi cast Haste, then rushed in, meeting Amarantha with a swing of her shield as they both reached it, saying, "And what if I don't let you?"
Amarantha growled and blocked Levi's shield bash, then pushed as hard as she could. "Fuck that! So what if you plan to use Haste to stop me? I know it, too, and I can use it to exceed your speed! I'll just use it and take your sword, then break it!"
Levi scoffed and said, "I should probably tell you, we all know Haste. Belial, the one fighting your spellsword, is incredibly fast already. It looks like your guy had to use Haste to keep up. Just wait until Belial decides to play that trump card."
Just then, Amarantha heard the ringing of steel stop, followed by Belial saying, "Haste."
Levi commented, "Speak of the devil..."
Amarantha took the opportunity to take a quick look around. She saw that she had almost been driven up against the wall, which gave her an idea. She jumped up with a backflip, then kick jumped off the wall, launching herself right at the Dullahan, elbow first. The Dullahan noticed, having recovered just quickly enough to react, and held up her swords in such a way that Amarantha would collide with the blades' sharp edges. Seeing this, she reacted by holding her hammer out in front of her, causing her to collide with the Dullahan, hammer shaft to blades. The force of the tackle knocked the Dullahan down and caused Amarantha to land on top of her.
Amarantha saw a great opportunity to dish out some pain, so she quickly tossed aside her hammer, pinned the Dullahan's arms by sitting on them with her knees, and began pummeling her enemy's face and upper body. Unfortunately for her, the Dullahan was ready to counter. She let go of her swords and cast Flames with each hand at the same time, her palms aimed at Amarantha.
Amarantha stopped her vicious pummeling, cried out in pain, and jumped off when she felt the fire scorching her sides and back. She desperately rolled away from the Dullahan, who was casually standing up and feeling the new dents in her armor, and frantically rolled around on the ground, trying to put out the flames. Once she had succeeded, she rolled to her feet and glared at the Dullahan with extreme hatred. Before she could say anything, the Dullahan said, "We know you're a silver dragon. We also know that silver dragons are somewhat susceptible to fire. Burning you to get you off me was a valid tactic."
"Shut up, bitch."
Amarantha called her hammer, which flew back into her hand, then she threw it at the Dullahan and charged. The Dullahan ducked under the thrown hammer, then rolled to the side to dodge Amarantha's flying kick. As soon as Amaranth landed, the Dullahan attacked with a very fast series of dance-like steps and slashes, which Amarantha dodged by bobbing, leaning, ducking, weaving, and sidestepping. Amarantha then waited for the right moment and dodged a high slash by doing a sweep kick. The Dullahan reacted quickly and hopped over Amarantha's sweep kick, but was unprepared for the follow-up high side kick, which connected squarely with her chest, further denting her armor and knocking her away. Amarantha called her hammer again and threw it at the Dullahan, which knocked her down as she staggered back. Amarantha started to charge in, but the Dullahan used a quick burst of Flames to stop her in her tracks.
Seeing the fire, Amarantha stopped her approach before she got too close, then she cast Tankad, sending ice missiles after the Dullahan, who rolled to the side and backwards to dodge them. Amarantha said, "That fire spell of yours really pisses me off."
"It's effective. By the way, since you might be considering doing so, don't waste your breath. Dullahan are immune to all forms of paralysis."
"You're talking about my paralyzing gas breath? Thanks for the tip. I'll just freeze you, then." She called her hammer, then asked, "What's your name?"
"Why should I tell you?"
"I don't know if it bothers you, but I'll keep calling you 'bitch' if you don't."
"Fine. My name is Levi."
"Well, Levi, it's nice to meet ya!" Amarantha yelled as she activated Mana Burst and rushed forward, swinging her hammer horizontally, which the Dullahan evaded. Amarantha kept swinging, trying to hit Levi, but she kept dodging or parrying. Amarantha then began aiming for Levi's swords, hoping to break them with her powerful, magically enhanced strikes. Levi quickly caught on and started moving her swords out of the way so that she blocked Amarantha's hammer by putting her swords to its shaft instead of its head.
Amarantha quickly got frustrated by this and decided to use her ice breath again, aiming at Levi's swords, starting with the one in her left hand. "Trying to break my swords? Good thinking, but I won't make it easy for you!" Levi said as she dropped the sword in her right hand and cast Flames again.
Amarantha quickly turned her head and aimed her ice breath at the Flames spell, pushing the fire back, keeping it from touching her as she jumped away from Levi. Levi then switched her sword to her right hand and grabbed her shield with her left. "This should handle your ice breath."
Amarantha smiled and said, "You just gave me a really big target to hit, you know?"
She charged and hit Levi's shield with her hammer, knocking her back a step. She hit Levi's shield again, this time immediately pushing upon contact, driving her back. "That may be true, but you're forgetting something." Levi couldn't see because her shield blocked her vision of Amarantha, but she had a rough idea of where she was, so she thrust out her sword from behind her shield.
Amarantha saw it at the last second and sidestepped, twisting her body in an effort to dodge it, but she still got cut. Her studded leather jacket now had a big cut in the front-left abdomen area, and though not serious, she had a bleeding gash visible through said new hole. She jumped away, holding her side. "Damn you! This is nothing, though..." Amarantha quickly took out a Scroll of Healing and used it, which made the cut heal up completely in seconds.
Levi charged at Amarantha, shield up. Amarantha thought, "Damn it! I can't transform here because there's no room. I'd be at a disadvantage, which means I'd have to make strafing runs, and that would leave it possible for her to attack Zeraine while I'm coming around for another pass. Plus, the princess and the other guy are getting pretty destructive with their spells. I don't want to get hit by a stray shot... Wait, with her shield up, she can't see me. Let's try this!"
Amarantha waited for the right moment, then crouched down and caught Levi by wrapping her arms around her upper thighs, just below her butt, and lifted, throwing Levi through the air to impact upside down against the wall. As she slid down and ended up on her back on the ground, Amarantha approached, hammer in hand. She swung, slamming it into Levi's shield. She hit Levi's shield a few more times, trying to provoke a response. She had already planned that if Levi tried to use Flames again, she'd jump away, but if she tried to stab with her sword, she'd take it from her and break it.
Amarantha then switched from her hammer to stomping on Levi's shield, taunting, "What's the matter? Have I won already?" When Levi tried a stab from behind her shield, Amarantha dodged it, dropped her hammer and grabbed Levi's wrist, twisted it until she let go of her sword, then jumped away. "You already tried that, and I'm not falling for it again!" She blew her ice breath on the sword to make it brittle, then she called her hammer, dropped the sword, and shattered it. "One to go!"
Levi, who had recovered and stood up by then, said, "I can always get another later. I have one left, and that's all I need."
"Not if I destroy it, first!" Amarantha then made a break for Levi's other sword, which was, coincidentally enough, between them on the ground.
Levi cast Haste, then rushed in, meeting Amarantha with a swing of her shield as they both reached it, saying, "And what if I don't let you?"
Amarantha growled and blocked Levi's shield bash, then pushed as hard as she could. "Fuck that! So what if you plan to use Haste to stop me? I know it, too, and I can use it to exceed your speed! I'll just use it and take your sword, then break it!"
Levi scoffed and said, "I should probably tell you, we all know Haste. Belial, the one fighting your spellsword, is incredibly fast already. It looks like your guy had to use Haste to keep up. Just wait until Belial decides to play that trump card."
Just then, Amarantha heard the ringing of steel stop, followed by Belial saying, "Haste."
Levi commented, "Speak of the devil..."
Chapter 138
Spoiler: show
The hero and the leader of The Four Horsemen had their shields together, pressed against one another, both of them pushing as hard as they could. Fortunately for him, the hero had taken a low angle, half-crouching at the last second, and pushing somewhat upwards with his shield, whereas the Dullahan had not been able to predict that move, and was thus having to push somewhat downwards. This made him unable to use his full strength.
As they pushed against each other, the hero asked, "Why didn't you guys just leave?"
The Dullahan said, "You mean leave the service of the Demon Lord? Well, first, because he'd send assassins after us and keep doing so until we're dead. Second, it's a matter of honor and pride. We took an oath to serve the Demon Lord. As I've told you, we hate it. For us to break that oath, we would need to justify it. One such sufficient justification would be if you four defeated us in honorable combat with the terms stating that we join your side upon your victory."
The hero asked, "So you need to have a good enough reason, such as 'serving the greater good', which is what you'd be doing by siding with us, right?"
"Exactly. In this case, it'd be serving the greater good for all sapient monsters, and, by extension, humans. I'd like to ask that you not think ill of us for fighting you with the intent to kill you. You see, it would stain our honor if we simply defected to your side without making you prove your worth, and it would probably be an even bigger stain on our honor if we threw the fight, or if we didn't fight at our best."
"I understand. I'll use every skill, trick, and idea I can to defeat you. Still, we have a fairly large amount of time before we're ready to take the fight to the Demon Lord. What are you going to do until then?"
"We'll help you recruit others to your cause."
"Sounds good," the hero said, grinning.
The hero then switched his sword to his left hand so he could use Aard, just as he had always done when casting a Sign. The Aard knocked the Dullahan back a few steps, allowing the hero to run in while switching his sword back to his right hand, and swing. The Dullahan blocked with his shield, then made his own attack, which the hero blocked. The Dullahan then cast a Firebolt, which forced the hero to roll aside to dodge. The hero countered with Explosion, which staggered the Dullahan for a second, but it recovered in time to block his follow-up slash. When the Dullahan countered, the hero blocked it with his shield, then jumped back and cast Anselm. The Dullahan blocked all 8 arrows of light, sliding backwards from the force of the impacts. He countered with Ice Bolt, which the hero blocked, stumbling back a step from its impact before raising his shield again to block the Dullahan's follow-up sword strike. The hero tried a thrust kick, but the Dullahan blocked it and countered with his own thrust kick.
The hero backed off a little and thought, "This is almost a mirror-match. I don't know if he knows the same spells I do, or if he knows the Signs, but this won't be the least bit easy. He's stronger than me, too... I wonder; would I have an easier time against one of the others?"
The Dullahan, not wanting to let the hero rest for very long, threw another Firebolt at him. The hero blocked it, then cast Quen. He then set an Yrden and rushed at the Dullahan. The Dullahan blocked his strikes and shield bashes, then countered as he crouched down to set another Yrden, linking the two. The attack broke the hero's Quen and caused the Dullahan to grunt in pain as he was shocked in return, but the two recovered quickly enough for the Dullahan to attack for several more swings and the hero to block the remaining strikes, allowing himself to be driven back several steps. The Dullahan scoffed and said, "Nice try. I don't know the Signs, but I know what they do. I'll simply avoid the 'tripwire' you've set up."
The hero tried to think of a way to maneuver around the Dullahan and force him backwards into it, but then got an idea. He thought, "If my Quen is now powerful enough to hurt enemies who attack me, then what about my other Signs? I doubt Axii would do anything to a Dullahan, but my Aard worked well for staggering him. Igni might not do so good, though. It doesn't have a whole lot of impact to it, after all. Didn't she say that, later on, I could set and link three Yrdens? She said all that sex made me more powerful... Let's see if she was right!"
He dove aside, rolled to his feet, then ran several steps away and set another Yrden. He commented, "Heh, she was right." The third Yrden linked with the first two, forming a triangular "field" of sorts, with the hero and the Dullahan inside.
The Dullahan saw this, then grumbled, "I fell for it..."
The hero then said, "Hah! I'll have to thank her later. Anyway, a question; let's say I manage to beat you before the others show any results in their fights. Would you yield and wait until the battle's over? Also, would there be anything wrong with me then going to assist my friends?"
The Dullahan shook his head. "The rules were pretty much 'anything goes'. There was nothing against you or us teaming up against individual members of the other side, so if you beat me, then yes, it'd be perfectly fine to go help your companions. I'd bow out. Don't think it'll be easy for you, though. Now that I know what you're planning, I can counter it."
The hero stuck his sword in the ground and smirked. "You really think so? You don't know what I'm planning!" He then cast Anselm again, forcing the Dullahan to block it. While the Dullahan blocked his spell, the hero knew he couldn't see him, so as the arrows of light struck his enemy's shield, he pulled out a Scroll of Ice Trap. He pulled his sword out of the ground with his left hand, then rushed forward, using the scroll, which surprised the Dullahan with an attack from below, hurting him and making him stagger backwards a few steps. The hero immediately followed up with an Aard, which knocked the Dullahan back a few more steps, right into the "tripwire" that linked the second and third Yrdens, electrocuting and paralyzing him, which gave the hero enough time to fully charge up a Damned, then unleash it on him, knocking him down. Before the Dullahan could recover, the hero rushed over, switching his sword back to his right hand as he did, and stepped on his right wrist, pinning his arm to the ground, while thrusting his sword at the Dullahan's head, stopping just as his blade entered the left eye hole of his helmet.
The Dullahan froze, no doubt surprised to see the point of the hero's blade right in front of his eye. The hero asked, "Do you yield?"
The Dullahan said, "Yes. You win."
The hero smiled triumphantly and backed off, allowing the Dullahan to get back up and sheathe his sword. The Dullahan then said, "My name is Michael." He held out his hand.
The hero stuck his sword in the ground again and shook Michael's hand. "It's nice to meet you, Michael of The Four Horsemen. I honestly surprised myself a bit. I expected to have to use my Scroll of Sanctuary in order to win."
Michael took off his helmet and said, "If you're going to help your friends, you may yet need it. As you have just proven, strange and incredible things can happen when you least expect them to. Still, how did you manage to think that up? Such an incredible plan, using a series of Signs, spells, and scrolls to overwhelm me like that..."
The hero smirked. "Well, up to now, I had always been the 'weakest link' of the group. I was only physically stronger than my future wife, which is because I'm a man and a trained knight, and she's a woman, or rather, a succubus, and a mage. As for magic, I was without a doubt the weakest. Now, I don't know. Anyway, because of all that, I had to use my head, be creative, get crafty..."
"I see. Congratulations on your victory. Go help your friends. They might need it."
The hero nodded and looked to see who needed help, if anyone, while Michael jumped up to the top of the wall, sat down, and watched the rest of the battle.
As they pushed against each other, the hero asked, "Why didn't you guys just leave?"
The Dullahan said, "You mean leave the service of the Demon Lord? Well, first, because he'd send assassins after us and keep doing so until we're dead. Second, it's a matter of honor and pride. We took an oath to serve the Demon Lord. As I've told you, we hate it. For us to break that oath, we would need to justify it. One such sufficient justification would be if you four defeated us in honorable combat with the terms stating that we join your side upon your victory."
The hero asked, "So you need to have a good enough reason, such as 'serving the greater good', which is what you'd be doing by siding with us, right?"
"Exactly. In this case, it'd be serving the greater good for all sapient monsters, and, by extension, humans. I'd like to ask that you not think ill of us for fighting you with the intent to kill you. You see, it would stain our honor if we simply defected to your side without making you prove your worth, and it would probably be an even bigger stain on our honor if we threw the fight, or if we didn't fight at our best."
"I understand. I'll use every skill, trick, and idea I can to defeat you. Still, we have a fairly large amount of time before we're ready to take the fight to the Demon Lord. What are you going to do until then?"
"We'll help you recruit others to your cause."
"Sounds good," the hero said, grinning.
The hero then switched his sword to his left hand so he could use Aard, just as he had always done when casting a Sign. The Aard knocked the Dullahan back a few steps, allowing the hero to run in while switching his sword back to his right hand, and swing. The Dullahan blocked with his shield, then made his own attack, which the hero blocked. The Dullahan then cast a Firebolt, which forced the hero to roll aside to dodge. The hero countered with Explosion, which staggered the Dullahan for a second, but it recovered in time to block his follow-up slash. When the Dullahan countered, the hero blocked it with his shield, then jumped back and cast Anselm. The Dullahan blocked all 8 arrows of light, sliding backwards from the force of the impacts. He countered with Ice Bolt, which the hero blocked, stumbling back a step from its impact before raising his shield again to block the Dullahan's follow-up sword strike. The hero tried a thrust kick, but the Dullahan blocked it and countered with his own thrust kick.
The hero backed off a little and thought, "This is almost a mirror-match. I don't know if he knows the same spells I do, or if he knows the Signs, but this won't be the least bit easy. He's stronger than me, too... I wonder; would I have an easier time against one of the others?"
The Dullahan, not wanting to let the hero rest for very long, threw another Firebolt at him. The hero blocked it, then cast Quen. He then set an Yrden and rushed at the Dullahan. The Dullahan blocked his strikes and shield bashes, then countered as he crouched down to set another Yrden, linking the two. The attack broke the hero's Quen and caused the Dullahan to grunt in pain as he was shocked in return, but the two recovered quickly enough for the Dullahan to attack for several more swings and the hero to block the remaining strikes, allowing himself to be driven back several steps. The Dullahan scoffed and said, "Nice try. I don't know the Signs, but I know what they do. I'll simply avoid the 'tripwire' you've set up."
The hero tried to think of a way to maneuver around the Dullahan and force him backwards into it, but then got an idea. He thought, "If my Quen is now powerful enough to hurt enemies who attack me, then what about my other Signs? I doubt Axii would do anything to a Dullahan, but my Aard worked well for staggering him. Igni might not do so good, though. It doesn't have a whole lot of impact to it, after all. Didn't she say that, later on, I could set and link three Yrdens? She said all that sex made me more powerful... Let's see if she was right!"
He dove aside, rolled to his feet, then ran several steps away and set another Yrden. He commented, "Heh, she was right." The third Yrden linked with the first two, forming a triangular "field" of sorts, with the hero and the Dullahan inside.
The Dullahan saw this, then grumbled, "I fell for it..."
The hero then said, "Hah! I'll have to thank her later. Anyway, a question; let's say I manage to beat you before the others show any results in their fights. Would you yield and wait until the battle's over? Also, would there be anything wrong with me then going to assist my friends?"
The Dullahan shook his head. "The rules were pretty much 'anything goes'. There was nothing against you or us teaming up against individual members of the other side, so if you beat me, then yes, it'd be perfectly fine to go help your companions. I'd bow out. Don't think it'll be easy for you, though. Now that I know what you're planning, I can counter it."
The hero stuck his sword in the ground and smirked. "You really think so? You don't know what I'm planning!" He then cast Anselm again, forcing the Dullahan to block it. While the Dullahan blocked his spell, the hero knew he couldn't see him, so as the arrows of light struck his enemy's shield, he pulled out a Scroll of Ice Trap. He pulled his sword out of the ground with his left hand, then rushed forward, using the scroll, which surprised the Dullahan with an attack from below, hurting him and making him stagger backwards a few steps. The hero immediately followed up with an Aard, which knocked the Dullahan back a few more steps, right into the "tripwire" that linked the second and third Yrdens, electrocuting and paralyzing him, which gave the hero enough time to fully charge up a Damned, then unleash it on him, knocking him down. Before the Dullahan could recover, the hero rushed over, switching his sword back to his right hand as he did, and stepped on his right wrist, pinning his arm to the ground, while thrusting his sword at the Dullahan's head, stopping just as his blade entered the left eye hole of his helmet.
The Dullahan froze, no doubt surprised to see the point of the hero's blade right in front of his eye. The hero asked, "Do you yield?"
The Dullahan said, "Yes. You win."
The hero smiled triumphantly and backed off, allowing the Dullahan to get back up and sheathe his sword. The Dullahan then said, "My name is Michael." He held out his hand.
The hero stuck his sword in the ground again and shook Michael's hand. "It's nice to meet you, Michael of The Four Horsemen. I honestly surprised myself a bit. I expected to have to use my Scroll of Sanctuary in order to win."
Michael took off his helmet and said, "If you're going to help your friends, you may yet need it. As you have just proven, strange and incredible things can happen when you least expect them to. Still, how did you manage to think that up? Such an incredible plan, using a series of Signs, spells, and scrolls to overwhelm me like that..."
The hero smirked. "Well, up to now, I had always been the 'weakest link' of the group. I was only physically stronger than my future wife, which is because I'm a man and a trained knight, and she's a woman, or rather, a succubus, and a mage. As for magic, I was without a doubt the weakest. Now, I don't know. Anyway, because of all that, I had to use my head, be creative, get crafty..."
"I see. Congratulations on your victory. Go help your friends. They might need it."
The hero nodded and looked to see who needed help, if anyone, while Michael jumped up to the top of the wall, sat down, and watched the rest of the battle.
Chapter 139
Spoiler: show
The succubus and the Dullahan dodged each other's Firebolts and Ice Spikes, blocking each other's Lightning Bolts with Ward spells. After a short while, the succubus stopped dodging and simply used her Ward to block his spells. "Getting tired?" he taunted.
"Not hardly! If someone is good enough with Wards, they can absorb blocked spells with them, restoring their energy in the process," she replied.
He nodded knowingly. "That means we can both do so, however, remember that Wards can be broken by strong enough spells, or by enough repeated hits in rapid succession, like this!"
He quickly and repeatedly cast Fireball, but the succubus began dodging again. "I'm not stupid enough to sit still for you when you do something like that!"
"How about lightning, then?"
He began quickly and repeatedly casting Lightning Bolt, and the succubus did her best to dodge them, blocking what she couldn't dodge with her Ward. Just when she tried to counter with a Lightning Bolt of her own, he used Dimensional Leap to teleport behind her. Sensing the danger, she dropped down several feet just in time to dodge a slash that surely would have decapitated her. While he was still mid-slash, she took the opportunity to cast Lightning Bolt again, nailing him. While he was stunned from the shock, she hit him with Anselm for good measure, this time sending 10 arrows of light after him, all of which hit. She then flew back up at him while charging a Damned in her left hand. When she reached him, she dropped her staff and grabbed his right wrist with her right hand, then shoved her left hand up against his helmet. "If I cast the spell now, your head will explode. Have I won, or do I need to cast it?"
He sighed and said, "Good job, princess. I, Lucifer of The Four Horsemen, yield to you."
She still held the charged up spell in her hand, but she let go, backed off a little, and crossed her arms, wearing a victorious smile. "Good. How are the others doing?" she asked, looking down.
Lucifer looked, too, and they both saw Michael and the hero shaking hands. "Looks like your husband defeated my brother. Impressive."
She smiled. "I want to know how he did it, but regardless, I'm going to reward him tonight."
She and Lucifer then descended, him going to join Michael on the top of the wall, and her going to assist Amarantha, seeing that the hero was helping Zeraine.
...
Amarantha hit Levi's shield with a palm-strike and yelled, "Get out of my way!" As Levi absorbed the hit, Amarantha took off running, but only made it a few steps before Levi dashed around in front of her.
"Your fight is with me. Do not insult me by turning your back to me!" Levi shouted as she slashed at Amarantha. Amarantha barely dodged it by leaning backwards while stepping back, causing Levi's sword to only cut open the front center of her leather jacket, revealing her cleavage but otherwise not harming her.
Amarantha looked down at her more or less ruined jacket, then to Zeraine and his struggling with Belial, then she glared at Levi with extreme malice and said in a bone-chillingly cold voice, "Zeraine is everything to me. Step aside, now."
"Make me."
...
Zeraine, still under the effects of his own Shield and Haste spells, went toe-to-toe with Belial again in another high speed slash-fest. Due to Haste, Zeraine kept up quite well. Soon, Belial and Zeraine clashed swords again, but Belial shoved hard, breaking the lock and driving Zeraine back. Once they were separated, Belial said, "Excellent work keeping up so far, but I'm afraid this battle is mine. Haste."
The two went at it again and Zeraine felt Belial hit him several times, putting more new dents in his armor, as he tried his best to keep him from hitting anywhere vital. Feeling that he couldn't possibly handle Belial while his Haste was in effect, Zeraine tried to think of what to do. He considered trying to wait for Belial's Haste to wear off before attacking, but he wasn't sure he could pull it off, especially if it meant he had to play keep-away. He broke away and short-hopped backwards, tossing a Fireball as he did, which kept Belial occupied long enough for him to cast Quen. He knew it was risky, but he dashed in, blocked and parried Belial's first few strikes, then redirected his sword so that it hit him in the side, knocking out his Quen. Before Belial could draw back for another strike, Zeraine stepped forward and grabbed him in a bear-hug, holding Belials' right arm in place with his left arm while "hooking" the pommel of his sword in the gap between the pauldron and rerebrace at the back of Belial's upper left arm, effectively preventing either of them from attacking.
Belial laughed. "Not bad thinking, Zeraine! Risky, crazy, but it worked. ...For now. I'll break out of your grip soon enough!" he shouted, giving Zeraine a half-assed punch to the side of his chest plate.
Zeraine kept his footing as Belial tried to step around in an attempt to shake him off, then headbutted Belial. "Like hell you will!"
Neither of them paid any attention to the large amounts of water that began falling around them.
...
Amarantha was just about to attack Levi when she noticed the succubus floating down toward them. She dove aside and rolled to her feet just as the succubus cast Damned, hitting Levi in the back, nearly knocking her off her feet and putting small cracks in her armor. "Barnard Voltard Da Warnard Richter..." As the succubus spoke the incantation for her next spell, Amarantha sprung into action, dashing forward, disarming Levi with a left roundhouse kick to the back of her right hand, which sent her sword flipping up over the wall, only bounce off the ramparts and land on the footpath at the top of the wall. "Water, hear my voice!" Amarantha then threw several quick punches, forcing Levi to block them with her shield. Just as Levi was about to try to use Flames to make Amarantha back off, the succubus finished the spell. "Let my enemies become yours! Access!"
Amarantha jumped back as ten giant serpentine dragon-shaped spouts of water formed, two of them rushing forward immediately, hitting Levi and slamming her into the wall. One by one, the remaining eight rushed in and hit her, bouncing her off the wall again and again. Amarantha transformed into her true form, roared loudly, then, with her front right leg, stepped on Levi, who was obviously dazed after being hit ten consecutive times by giant masses of water. Amarantha growled ferociously, then asked, "Do you yield?" Because Levi didn't immediately answer, Amarantha lifted her foot and stomped on her, then asked again, this time more forcefully, "Do you yield!?"
Levi coughed and nodded her head, which came loose and fell off, rolling to a stop right before she croaked, "Yes." With that, Amarantha let her up. It was a bit of a strange sight, seeing Levi's detached head cough while her body jerked, moving like how an ordinary, non-headless person's would were they to cough in that position. Levi's body slowly stood up, then limped over to her head, picked it up, and put it on. She then said, "I yield. You have beaten me, uh..."
Amarantha, still in her true form, still giving Levi a sharp-eyed look, said, "Amarantha."
Levi nodded and continued, "...Amarantha. It seems we have lost."
Amarantha looked over at Zeraine's fight...
...
Zeraine and Belial almost looked as if they were trying to dance with each other in a very clumsy manner, but as comical as it might have looked, it was still a desperate struggle. Zeraine noticed the hero out of the corner of his eye and asked, "Hey, kid, you mind giving me a hand?"
Belial looked over and saw the hero, then said, "What? How-"
Zeraine headbutted him again. "Shut it!"
The hero dashed over, took Belial's helmet off, and held his sword up to his face. "We win, don't we?"
Belial growled with disappointed frustration, then said, "Yeah, you win." He and Zeraine let go of each other, then sheathed their weapons.
Amarantha transformed back to her human form and ran over to Zeraine. "Zeraine! Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, Ammie. I'm a little tired and sore, but I'm fine." He noticed that the front of her jacket was cut open and smiled upon seeing her cleavage. "Ammie, I've got an idea..."
She looked into his eyes, then followed his gaze to her chest, then looked back at him and asked, "It involves your penis, doesn't it?"
"And your breasts, with you still dressed."
"Save it for later."
The succubus walked over to the hero and said, "Well, dear, you beat him. You'll have to tell me how, but I think you deserve a reward."
He smiled and said, "Funny, I was just thinking I needed to thank you, since you contributed to my plan, which allowed me to win."
She walked up to him, wrapped her arms around him, and they kissed. Michael and Lucifer dropped down from the wall and The Four Horsemen assembled. Michael said, "You four truly did exceed our expectations and hopes. There's no shame at all in losing to you. By the way, had it not been for your leader beating me so soon, I would have ordered us to move to phase two, which involved us attacking you as a team."
Zeraine chuckled. "Well then it's good the kid won." He then sighed and sat down. "You guys don't mind if we take a break and rest here, do you?"
Michael laughed and replied, "I think we all need a break after that fight. Rest easy, friends. You've earned it."
Amarantha sat down next to Zeraine. "I'm glad you're alright."
"Me too, Ammie. Me too."
Levi looked at Zeraine and said, "You're a lucky man, to have a dragon think so highly of you as to say that you're everything to her. She seems to be very protective of you, too."
As Zeraine took his helmet off, Amarantha blushed and said, "You don't need to tell him!"
Zeraine snickered and said, "She's really jealous, too. And she goes into a panic whenever I'm the least bit hurt."
Amarantha's face went redder. "Hey-"
Levi laughed and said, "That's cute. She dotes on you a lot, doesn't she?"
Amarantha shouted, "So what!? I love him!"
Levi, and the other Horsemen for that matter, all snickered. She said, "Yes, we can see that."
The hero asked, "So what are you guys going to do?"
Michael said, "I suppose we'll stay here until you four leave, then we'll go our own way, too."
The succubus said, "After we rest, we should search this place and take anything useful."
"Good idea. Should we contact Sol and ask how things are with the show?" the hero asked.
She nodded and took out her crystal.
"Not hardly! If someone is good enough with Wards, they can absorb blocked spells with them, restoring their energy in the process," she replied.
He nodded knowingly. "That means we can both do so, however, remember that Wards can be broken by strong enough spells, or by enough repeated hits in rapid succession, like this!"
He quickly and repeatedly cast Fireball, but the succubus began dodging again. "I'm not stupid enough to sit still for you when you do something like that!"
"How about lightning, then?"
He began quickly and repeatedly casting Lightning Bolt, and the succubus did her best to dodge them, blocking what she couldn't dodge with her Ward. Just when she tried to counter with a Lightning Bolt of her own, he used Dimensional Leap to teleport behind her. Sensing the danger, she dropped down several feet just in time to dodge a slash that surely would have decapitated her. While he was still mid-slash, she took the opportunity to cast Lightning Bolt again, nailing him. While he was stunned from the shock, she hit him with Anselm for good measure, this time sending 10 arrows of light after him, all of which hit. She then flew back up at him while charging a Damned in her left hand. When she reached him, she dropped her staff and grabbed his right wrist with her right hand, then shoved her left hand up against his helmet. "If I cast the spell now, your head will explode. Have I won, or do I need to cast it?"
He sighed and said, "Good job, princess. I, Lucifer of The Four Horsemen, yield to you."
She still held the charged up spell in her hand, but she let go, backed off a little, and crossed her arms, wearing a victorious smile. "Good. How are the others doing?" she asked, looking down.
Lucifer looked, too, and they both saw Michael and the hero shaking hands. "Looks like your husband defeated my brother. Impressive."
She smiled. "I want to know how he did it, but regardless, I'm going to reward him tonight."
She and Lucifer then descended, him going to join Michael on the top of the wall, and her going to assist Amarantha, seeing that the hero was helping Zeraine.
...
Amarantha hit Levi's shield with a palm-strike and yelled, "Get out of my way!" As Levi absorbed the hit, Amarantha took off running, but only made it a few steps before Levi dashed around in front of her.
"Your fight is with me. Do not insult me by turning your back to me!" Levi shouted as she slashed at Amarantha. Amarantha barely dodged it by leaning backwards while stepping back, causing Levi's sword to only cut open the front center of her leather jacket, revealing her cleavage but otherwise not harming her.
Amarantha looked down at her more or less ruined jacket, then to Zeraine and his struggling with Belial, then she glared at Levi with extreme malice and said in a bone-chillingly cold voice, "Zeraine is everything to me. Step aside, now."
"Make me."
...
Zeraine, still under the effects of his own Shield and Haste spells, went toe-to-toe with Belial again in another high speed slash-fest. Due to Haste, Zeraine kept up quite well. Soon, Belial and Zeraine clashed swords again, but Belial shoved hard, breaking the lock and driving Zeraine back. Once they were separated, Belial said, "Excellent work keeping up so far, but I'm afraid this battle is mine. Haste."
The two went at it again and Zeraine felt Belial hit him several times, putting more new dents in his armor, as he tried his best to keep him from hitting anywhere vital. Feeling that he couldn't possibly handle Belial while his Haste was in effect, Zeraine tried to think of what to do. He considered trying to wait for Belial's Haste to wear off before attacking, but he wasn't sure he could pull it off, especially if it meant he had to play keep-away. He broke away and short-hopped backwards, tossing a Fireball as he did, which kept Belial occupied long enough for him to cast Quen. He knew it was risky, but he dashed in, blocked and parried Belial's first few strikes, then redirected his sword so that it hit him in the side, knocking out his Quen. Before Belial could draw back for another strike, Zeraine stepped forward and grabbed him in a bear-hug, holding Belials' right arm in place with his left arm while "hooking" the pommel of his sword in the gap between the pauldron and rerebrace at the back of Belial's upper left arm, effectively preventing either of them from attacking.
Belial laughed. "Not bad thinking, Zeraine! Risky, crazy, but it worked. ...For now. I'll break out of your grip soon enough!" he shouted, giving Zeraine a half-assed punch to the side of his chest plate.
Zeraine kept his footing as Belial tried to step around in an attempt to shake him off, then headbutted Belial. "Like hell you will!"
Neither of them paid any attention to the large amounts of water that began falling around them.
...
Amarantha was just about to attack Levi when she noticed the succubus floating down toward them. She dove aside and rolled to her feet just as the succubus cast Damned, hitting Levi in the back, nearly knocking her off her feet and putting small cracks in her armor. "Barnard Voltard Da Warnard Richter..." As the succubus spoke the incantation for her next spell, Amarantha sprung into action, dashing forward, disarming Levi with a left roundhouse kick to the back of her right hand, which sent her sword flipping up over the wall, only bounce off the ramparts and land on the footpath at the top of the wall. "Water, hear my voice!" Amarantha then threw several quick punches, forcing Levi to block them with her shield. Just as Levi was about to try to use Flames to make Amarantha back off, the succubus finished the spell. "Let my enemies become yours! Access!"
Amarantha jumped back as ten giant serpentine dragon-shaped spouts of water formed, two of them rushing forward immediately, hitting Levi and slamming her into the wall. One by one, the remaining eight rushed in and hit her, bouncing her off the wall again and again. Amarantha transformed into her true form, roared loudly, then, with her front right leg, stepped on Levi, who was obviously dazed after being hit ten consecutive times by giant masses of water. Amarantha growled ferociously, then asked, "Do you yield?" Because Levi didn't immediately answer, Amarantha lifted her foot and stomped on her, then asked again, this time more forcefully, "Do you yield!?"
Levi coughed and nodded her head, which came loose and fell off, rolling to a stop right before she croaked, "Yes." With that, Amarantha let her up. It was a bit of a strange sight, seeing Levi's detached head cough while her body jerked, moving like how an ordinary, non-headless person's would were they to cough in that position. Levi's body slowly stood up, then limped over to her head, picked it up, and put it on. She then said, "I yield. You have beaten me, uh..."
Amarantha, still in her true form, still giving Levi a sharp-eyed look, said, "Amarantha."
Levi nodded and continued, "...Amarantha. It seems we have lost."
Amarantha looked over at Zeraine's fight...
...
Zeraine and Belial almost looked as if they were trying to dance with each other in a very clumsy manner, but as comical as it might have looked, it was still a desperate struggle. Zeraine noticed the hero out of the corner of his eye and asked, "Hey, kid, you mind giving me a hand?"
Belial looked over and saw the hero, then said, "What? How-"
Zeraine headbutted him again. "Shut it!"
The hero dashed over, took Belial's helmet off, and held his sword up to his face. "We win, don't we?"
Belial growled with disappointed frustration, then said, "Yeah, you win." He and Zeraine let go of each other, then sheathed their weapons.
Amarantha transformed back to her human form and ran over to Zeraine. "Zeraine! Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, Ammie. I'm a little tired and sore, but I'm fine." He noticed that the front of her jacket was cut open and smiled upon seeing her cleavage. "Ammie, I've got an idea..."
She looked into his eyes, then followed his gaze to her chest, then looked back at him and asked, "It involves your penis, doesn't it?"
"And your breasts, with you still dressed."
"Save it for later."
The succubus walked over to the hero and said, "Well, dear, you beat him. You'll have to tell me how, but I think you deserve a reward."
He smiled and said, "Funny, I was just thinking I needed to thank you, since you contributed to my plan, which allowed me to win."
She walked up to him, wrapped her arms around him, and they kissed. Michael and Lucifer dropped down from the wall and The Four Horsemen assembled. Michael said, "You four truly did exceed our expectations and hopes. There's no shame at all in losing to you. By the way, had it not been for your leader beating me so soon, I would have ordered us to move to phase two, which involved us attacking you as a team."
Zeraine chuckled. "Well then it's good the kid won." He then sighed and sat down. "You guys don't mind if we take a break and rest here, do you?"
Michael laughed and replied, "I think we all need a break after that fight. Rest easy, friends. You've earned it."
Amarantha sat down next to Zeraine. "I'm glad you're alright."
"Me too, Ammie. Me too."
Levi looked at Zeraine and said, "You're a lucky man, to have a dragon think so highly of you as to say that you're everything to her. She seems to be very protective of you, too."
As Zeraine took his helmet off, Amarantha blushed and said, "You don't need to tell him!"
Zeraine snickered and said, "She's really jealous, too. And she goes into a panic whenever I'm the least bit hurt."
Amarantha's face went redder. "Hey-"
Levi laughed and said, "That's cute. She dotes on you a lot, doesn't she?"
Amarantha shouted, "So what!? I love him!"
Levi, and the other Horsemen for that matter, all snickered. She said, "Yes, we can see that."
The hero asked, "So what are you guys going to do?"
Michael said, "I suppose we'll stay here until you four leave, then we'll go our own way, too."
The succubus said, "After we rest, we should search this place and take anything useful."
"Good idea. Should we contact Sol and ask how things are with the show?" the hero asked.
She nodded and took out her crystal.
Chapter 140
Spoiler: show
When Victoria answered, the party and The Four Horsemen could hear lots of noise in the background. The hero asked, "What's going on?"
Victoria replied, "Everyone's trying to celebrate already. We all saw. ...Hang on, let me go get Sol."
A few moments later, Sol said, "Hey, guys! That was a tough fight, wasn't it? I was worried at first when that black barrier was up because people started complaining about nothing happening or that they couldn't see, but... Yeah. You won, everyone here saw it, and word is probably already spreading. Congratulations, guys. Oh, and Ammie? If they didn't know you're a dragon before, they know now."
Levi approached and asked, "Are you the one that tried to look up my skirt?"
"Yes, I am."
"If I see you, I'm gonna slug you."
"Why? There was no harm done, was there? I was just curious, after all..."
The hero said, "He's a complete and total pervert. It's probably best if you just let it go."
Levi glanced back at the hero, then said, "I'm still going to hit him."
Hilda yelled, "Like hell you are! Vicky and I ain't gonna let you lay a finger on him!"
Sol laughed and said, "Calm down. You two can nurse me afterwards, can't you?"
Victoria said, "I guess so, if it comes to that."
Sol laughed some more and said, "...In maid outfits! Or nurse outfits! Wait, sexy lingerie! Yeah!"
Michael approached and said, "Sol, was it? Can you amplify the sound so I can make an announcement to the people?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah. Hang on..." The noise seemed to grow louder, then they heard Sol shout, "Everyone! May I have your attention, please? Someone wants to make an announcement!" The noise died down, then Sol said, "Okay, go."
Michael announced in a gallant, stern voice, "To all present, this is Michael, leader of The Four Horsemen! Your young knight and his friends have defeated me and my companions in honorable combat. His mission is just and righteous, therefore we are defecting! As of the end of our battle, we are no longer servants of the Demon Lord. We are now on your side!"
There was a moment's pause, then the noise started back up, louder than before. Sol must have walked away, for the noise started getting a bit quieter. He said, "That seemed to go over quite well. They're all cheering even more intensely, screaming at the tops of their lungs and stuff. So, what are your plans, now?"
Michael said, "I'll still lead the Horsemen, and we'll stay together. I suppose we could sack another Order base or two. Only those corrupted by the zealot fools that are slowly taking over like a spreading cancer, that is. That might look bad, though, so I guess we should simply leave for now. If we hide out in the Old Kingdom until the final battle, I suppose we should be fine."
The succubus looked at the hero, then to Zeraine and Amarantha, and said, "I think it's time for two specific weddings, don't you?"
The hero said, "You mean you and I get married, then Zeraine and Ammie do, right?"
"Of course, dear. Would your Grandmaster be willing to hold the ceremonies?"
"Maybe. We could go there and see. Hey, Sol?"
"Yeah?" Sol replied, his attention apparently elsewhere.
"I think the four of us are going to spend the night here, since we're pretty worn out after the fight and stuff, but do you think you could teleport us to Westcreek tomorrow?"
"Sure. Make sure you guys celebrate tonight, too, alright?"
The succubus giggled suggestively and said, "Oh we will. You can count on it."
The hero said, "Well, I guess that's everything for now. We should go ahead and look through this base, then get our rest. We'll talk to you again tomorrow."
They said their goodbyes and broke the connection, then Lucifer approached the succubus and asked, "Are you ready to learn Dimensional Leap?"
She nodded and he proceeded to teach her. Once he was done instructing her, he said, "Pretty simple, isn't it? You dropped your staff right before you beat me, and it's over there. Use Dimensional Leap to go to it, then retrieve it and return via the spell."
She looked at where he was pointing, about 15 feet away from the destroyed stone bench that she used as a one-time shield during their battle. She nodded, then cast the spell, teleporting over to her staff. She picked it up and teleported back. "You're right, it is easy."
Michael said, "I suppose the four of us should be leaving soon, then. ...Unless you want us to stick around and guard you until then."
The hero looked around at the others and said, "I think we'll be fine. You guys go ahead and get going. The sooner you get there, the better, right?"
"Yes," Michael said, closing his eyes for a moment, before turning around and saying, "Horsemen! We ride!" while summoning his horse and jumping on. The other three summoned their horses, too. "Princess, I look forward to helping you and serving under you. I can already tell you'll be a much better master than our previous one."
The Four Horsemen then rode away, out of the courtyard, through the open gate, over the hill and out of sight.
The succubus said, "Let's get to work. We might find something useful."
They split into two groups, the hero and the succubus in one and Zeraine and Amarantha in the other. The four of them combed the base, looking for anything worth taking. In the end, they found 53 gold coins and a couple of textbooks on magic, but the books only taught spells the party already knew, namely Fireball and Lightning Bolt.
When they were ready to settle in for the rest of the day, they searched for the commander's quarters and saw six different rooms with large, high-quality, very comfortable-looking beds. They chose rooms at opposite sides of the hall, and opposite ends of the area. In the room the hero and the succubus chose, she checked the bed to make sure it was clean, then sat down and said, "You remember how Matilda taught me that spell, Megadeath? I think when we leave tomorrow morning, I'll use this empty base as a test target."
The hero, who had begun taking off his armor, said, "I want to see what it does, too."
She crossed her legs and said, "You know, we have a few minutes until lunch. If you wanted to, you could let me have some 'dessert' before we eat... then again, afterward."
He knew what she meant and though he liked the idea, he shook his head. "We'll relax for a couple of minutes, eat, then we can 'unwind' and you can have your 'dessert'."
She was somewhat disappointed, but she accepted his plan.
...
In the other room, Amarantha checked their bed, saw that it was clean, then asked Zeraine, "So, what was it you wanted to do earlier? I know it involves your dick and my tits, and possibly a tit-fuck..."
Zeraine nodded. "For whatever reason, I find your outfit incredibly sexy right now, and I want to fuck your tits while you're still fully clothed."
She shrugged. "It's probably because this outfit tends to be a bit tight, and now that Levi slashed open my jacket and my shirt-" Just then, her bra snapped, splitting in front, letting her breasts free, though they were still covered by her shirt and jacket. "-and apparently my bra, too, ruining all three, you can see my cleavage, and it's turning you on. ...She cut my clothes from collar to belly, damn near cutting all the way through the length of them."
Zeraine saw that her jacket was still intact at the neck and for a few inches at her waist, as far as frontal damage went. There was still the cut on the left side, too. "Still, I want to do it like that. Are you okay with it?"
She nodded. "Sure, but let's eat first. I think we should also go ahead and get the princess to heal us. I'd rather you not be sore while we're intimate, you know."
"Good idea. You stay like that, and I'll get out of my armor. Once I've satisfied myself, you'll strip and we'll make love normally, okay?"
"That's fine. By the way, when are we going to try it in my true form?"
"Either tonight or tomorrow morning."
Amarantha helped Zeraine out of his armor, kept hers on, and they left the room to rejoin the hero and the succubus for lunch.
Victoria replied, "Everyone's trying to celebrate already. We all saw. ...Hang on, let me go get Sol."
A few moments later, Sol said, "Hey, guys! That was a tough fight, wasn't it? I was worried at first when that black barrier was up because people started complaining about nothing happening or that they couldn't see, but... Yeah. You won, everyone here saw it, and word is probably already spreading. Congratulations, guys. Oh, and Ammie? If they didn't know you're a dragon before, they know now."
Levi approached and asked, "Are you the one that tried to look up my skirt?"
"Yes, I am."
"If I see you, I'm gonna slug you."
"Why? There was no harm done, was there? I was just curious, after all..."
The hero said, "He's a complete and total pervert. It's probably best if you just let it go."
Levi glanced back at the hero, then said, "I'm still going to hit him."
Hilda yelled, "Like hell you are! Vicky and I ain't gonna let you lay a finger on him!"
Sol laughed and said, "Calm down. You two can nurse me afterwards, can't you?"
Victoria said, "I guess so, if it comes to that."
Sol laughed some more and said, "...In maid outfits! Or nurse outfits! Wait, sexy lingerie! Yeah!"
Michael approached and said, "Sol, was it? Can you amplify the sound so I can make an announcement to the people?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah. Hang on..." The noise seemed to grow louder, then they heard Sol shout, "Everyone! May I have your attention, please? Someone wants to make an announcement!" The noise died down, then Sol said, "Okay, go."
Michael announced in a gallant, stern voice, "To all present, this is Michael, leader of The Four Horsemen! Your young knight and his friends have defeated me and my companions in honorable combat. His mission is just and righteous, therefore we are defecting! As of the end of our battle, we are no longer servants of the Demon Lord. We are now on your side!"
There was a moment's pause, then the noise started back up, louder than before. Sol must have walked away, for the noise started getting a bit quieter. He said, "That seemed to go over quite well. They're all cheering even more intensely, screaming at the tops of their lungs and stuff. So, what are your plans, now?"
Michael said, "I'll still lead the Horsemen, and we'll stay together. I suppose we could sack another Order base or two. Only those corrupted by the zealot fools that are slowly taking over like a spreading cancer, that is. That might look bad, though, so I guess we should simply leave for now. If we hide out in the Old Kingdom until the final battle, I suppose we should be fine."
The succubus looked at the hero, then to Zeraine and Amarantha, and said, "I think it's time for two specific weddings, don't you?"
The hero said, "You mean you and I get married, then Zeraine and Ammie do, right?"
"Of course, dear. Would your Grandmaster be willing to hold the ceremonies?"
"Maybe. We could go there and see. Hey, Sol?"
"Yeah?" Sol replied, his attention apparently elsewhere.
"I think the four of us are going to spend the night here, since we're pretty worn out after the fight and stuff, but do you think you could teleport us to Westcreek tomorrow?"
"Sure. Make sure you guys celebrate tonight, too, alright?"
The succubus giggled suggestively and said, "Oh we will. You can count on it."
The hero said, "Well, I guess that's everything for now. We should go ahead and look through this base, then get our rest. We'll talk to you again tomorrow."
They said their goodbyes and broke the connection, then Lucifer approached the succubus and asked, "Are you ready to learn Dimensional Leap?"
She nodded and he proceeded to teach her. Once he was done instructing her, he said, "Pretty simple, isn't it? You dropped your staff right before you beat me, and it's over there. Use Dimensional Leap to go to it, then retrieve it and return via the spell."
She looked at where he was pointing, about 15 feet away from the destroyed stone bench that she used as a one-time shield during their battle. She nodded, then cast the spell, teleporting over to her staff. She picked it up and teleported back. "You're right, it is easy."
Michael said, "I suppose the four of us should be leaving soon, then. ...Unless you want us to stick around and guard you until then."
The hero looked around at the others and said, "I think we'll be fine. You guys go ahead and get going. The sooner you get there, the better, right?"
"Yes," Michael said, closing his eyes for a moment, before turning around and saying, "Horsemen! We ride!" while summoning his horse and jumping on. The other three summoned their horses, too. "Princess, I look forward to helping you and serving under you. I can already tell you'll be a much better master than our previous one."
The Four Horsemen then rode away, out of the courtyard, through the open gate, over the hill and out of sight.
The succubus said, "Let's get to work. We might find something useful."
They split into two groups, the hero and the succubus in one and Zeraine and Amarantha in the other. The four of them combed the base, looking for anything worth taking. In the end, they found 53 gold coins and a couple of textbooks on magic, but the books only taught spells the party already knew, namely Fireball and Lightning Bolt.
When they were ready to settle in for the rest of the day, they searched for the commander's quarters and saw six different rooms with large, high-quality, very comfortable-looking beds. They chose rooms at opposite sides of the hall, and opposite ends of the area. In the room the hero and the succubus chose, she checked the bed to make sure it was clean, then sat down and said, "You remember how Matilda taught me that spell, Megadeath? I think when we leave tomorrow morning, I'll use this empty base as a test target."
The hero, who had begun taking off his armor, said, "I want to see what it does, too."
She crossed her legs and said, "You know, we have a few minutes until lunch. If you wanted to, you could let me have some 'dessert' before we eat... then again, afterward."
He knew what she meant and though he liked the idea, he shook his head. "We'll relax for a couple of minutes, eat, then we can 'unwind' and you can have your 'dessert'."
She was somewhat disappointed, but she accepted his plan.
...
In the other room, Amarantha checked their bed, saw that it was clean, then asked Zeraine, "So, what was it you wanted to do earlier? I know it involves your dick and my tits, and possibly a tit-fuck..."
Zeraine nodded. "For whatever reason, I find your outfit incredibly sexy right now, and I want to fuck your tits while you're still fully clothed."
She shrugged. "It's probably because this outfit tends to be a bit tight, and now that Levi slashed open my jacket and my shirt-" Just then, her bra snapped, splitting in front, letting her breasts free, though they were still covered by her shirt and jacket. "-and apparently my bra, too, ruining all three, you can see my cleavage, and it's turning you on. ...She cut my clothes from collar to belly, damn near cutting all the way through the length of them."
Zeraine saw that her jacket was still intact at the neck and for a few inches at her waist, as far as frontal damage went. There was still the cut on the left side, too. "Still, I want to do it like that. Are you okay with it?"
She nodded. "Sure, but let's eat first. I think we should also go ahead and get the princess to heal us. I'd rather you not be sore while we're intimate, you know."
"Good idea. You stay like that, and I'll get out of my armor. Once I've satisfied myself, you'll strip and we'll make love normally, okay?"
"That's fine. By the way, when are we going to try it in my true form?"
"Either tonight or tomorrow morning."
Amarantha helped Zeraine out of his armor, kept hers on, and they left the room to rejoin the hero and the succubus for lunch.
Chapter 141
Spoiler: show
Once the party had finished eating lunch, the succubus healed everyone. She used up most of her remaining energy doing so, but relieved everyone of their soreness. They sat in silence and rested for several minutes afterward, the succubus leaning on the hero, looking more and more tired as time passed. He asked, "Are you alright?"
She nodded and said, "Healing everyone wore me out. I'm tired and out of energy."
"Is there anything I should do?"
"Fucking me would help, but I'll still need some sleep."
"Should we return to our chosen rooms, then?"
Zeraine said, "Yeah, we probably should. Ammie and I need some time together and we're both a bit tired, too."
They all got up and started for their rooms, but the succubus was a bit wobbly on her feet. The hero put his arm around her to support her and asked, "Should I carry you?"
She shook her head. "No. I'm probably too heavy for you right now. Just help me- hah!?"
He picked her up and held her, bridal carry style. "You're not heavy. Let's go."
Amarantha giggled, thinking the sight was cute, and Zeraine snickered, thinking it was somewhat amusing. They all returned to their rooms, the hero carrying the succubus.
Once in their room, the hero put the succubus down on the bed and asked, "So if we had sex, it'd help you feel a little better?"
She nodded as she slipped her dress off. "Sex with you always makes me feel better, but yes."
He rolled his eyes and helped her get her boots and underwear off, then he stripped and got in bed on top of her. "Are you ready?"
She smirked, the sleepiness evident in her eyes, and asked, "Is my pussy wet?"
He gently slid his dick into her vagina and found that she was flooding. "I'd say so. Did the fight get you excited?"
"A little. The fact that you won on your own against Michael and my subsequent desire to reward you for it, as well as the fact that it made me extremely proud of you, is what did it."
He grinned. "You got to thinking about how you were going to reward me and it made you wet, right?"
She nodded. "Now, fuck me, cum inside me, and let's take a nap."
He nodded and got to work.
...
In the other room, Amarantha carefully took off what was left of her bra, then laid down on her back on the bed. "I'm ready when you are, Zeraine."
He stripped, then mounted her, spread her breasts, put his dick between them, and held them together around it. "When I cum, where do you want it?"
Amarantha paused in thought, then said, "I guess either on my face or in my mouth, whichever you want."
He nodded and got started, moving his penis slowly at first, gradually speeding up. Amarantha took off her leather gauntlets and slid one hand down her panties, masturbating as Zeraine pleased himself with her breasts. Soon, he came, letting out a very large amount of semen all over her face. The smell of the cum and the feeling of it all over her face made her orgasm soon after.
As she lay there panting, Zeraine got off and started stripping her. Once she was naked, he got on her again, and pressed the tip of his penis against her vagina. She partially sat up, trying to wipe his semen off her face with her fingers, and said, "Zeraine, I just came! You remember what happened last time, right?"
He nodded. "I could pin you down if you wanted, but otherwise, go ahead. Claw my back up all you want. It's worth it to please you to that level."
"You idiot, I don't want to claw your back up!"
"Then let's do it doggy style."
She sighed. She preferred being able to see his face while they did it, and preferred the mutual embrace that the missionary position allowed for, but she didn't want to hurt him, so she rolled over, got on her hands and knees, and stuck her ass out.
He put it in and started thrusting. It wasn't long before her violent orgasms caused her arms and legs to give out, so he let her fall onto her belly, followed her down, not letting himself fall out of her vagina, and continued thrusting as he laid on top of her. Eventually, he blew his load in her and collapsed on her. Before he fell asleep, he used the last of his energy to roll off her and pull her onto her side, holding her in a spooning position.
...
Later that evening, the party woke up from their nap, got dressed, and had dinner. As they let their food settle after the meal, the succubus looked at the hero and asked, "How soon do you think your Grandmaster will be ready?"
The hero shrugged. "Unless something extremely important is going on, it might take him a day or so to prepare everything. After that, well... I look forward to seeing you in a wedding dress."
She smiled and hugged him. "And I look forward to seeing what you'll wear."
The hero looked over at Zeraine and Amarantha and asked, "Aren't you guys looking forward to getting married?"
Amarantha scoffed. "Of course we are! I'm having trouble holding back my excitement, but I don't want to think about it too much and get all nervous and stuff, so I'm trying to think about other things."
"Like what?" the succubus asked.
Amarantha hesitated, her face reddening, then she said, "Like satisfying Zeraine's curiosity."
"What do you mean?"
"Remember how he said he wanted to try it in my true form?"
The hero's eyes went wide. "You agreed?" he asked in disbelief.
Amarantha's face went redder as she nodded. "I love him, so if he wants to do it while I'm in my dragon form, I'll let him."
The succubus thought for a second, then asked, "Can I watch?"
Zeraine and Amarantha both simultaneously replied, "No."
The succubus crossed her arms and pouted a little, saying, "Fine."
Once they were ready, Zeraine and Amarantha got up and headed for an open area in the courtyard. The hero and the succubus got up and started to head back to their room, but then she started walking over to Zeraine and Amarantha. They simultaneously said, "No, you can't watch."
She frowned. "Will you at least tell me what it's like?"
Once again, they spoke as one, saying, "No."
The hero walked over and grabbed her by one of her horns. "Come on, you have more important things to do."
"Hey! Let go!" she protested. "Things like what?"
He stopped, let go of her, and faced her, then he pulled her into a hug. "Can you feel it?"
She grinned hungrily. "I certainly can. When did you get assertive?"
"When we did it earlier, once wasn't enough. I want more."
"Same here, dear. Let's get started!"
She grabbed his hand and nearly dragged him as she ran back to their room.
Zeraine and Amarantha sighed and shook their heads, then she asked, "You ready?"
He nodded, which she took as her cue to transform. He got undressed and stood in front of her, his erection throbbing. There was a short, awkward silence, then he asked, "How is this going to work, exactly?"
"I don't know!" she replied. "I suppose I could lick your dick, but that's not what we're after here. ...Okay, I'll lay on my side and you'll look back there, near the base of my tail, okay?"
He nodded and she rolled onto her side, trying to keep watch of him as he walked towards her tail. Once back there, he asked, "What am I looking for?"
She said, "Look at the base of my tail, then follow it up until you see two places that look a little different from the surrounding area. The one closest to my tail is my anus, the other is my vagina. ...Can you see them?"
Zeraine looked and felt until he found them. "Right here, right?" he asked as he found that the scales in that area could be spread, which he did.
Amarantha shivered a little and said, "Careful! The exposed skin there is sensitive!"
"Sorry. Anyway, how am I going to put it in? With you like this, it's about shoulder-height. I don't have anything to stand on, and I'm not sure trying to use Levitation would be a good idea."
"Well, my dorsal frill won't allow me to lay on my back, so... Should we just forget it, at least for now, and do it normally?"
"Yeah, that'd be better. Transform back and we'll go back to our room."
He got out of the way and put his pants and boots back on as she switched back to her human form, then they returned to their room.
She nodded and said, "Healing everyone wore me out. I'm tired and out of energy."
"Is there anything I should do?"
"Fucking me would help, but I'll still need some sleep."
"Should we return to our chosen rooms, then?"
Zeraine said, "Yeah, we probably should. Ammie and I need some time together and we're both a bit tired, too."
They all got up and started for their rooms, but the succubus was a bit wobbly on her feet. The hero put his arm around her to support her and asked, "Should I carry you?"
She shook her head. "No. I'm probably too heavy for you right now. Just help me- hah!?"
He picked her up and held her, bridal carry style. "You're not heavy. Let's go."
Amarantha giggled, thinking the sight was cute, and Zeraine snickered, thinking it was somewhat amusing. They all returned to their rooms, the hero carrying the succubus.
Once in their room, the hero put the succubus down on the bed and asked, "So if we had sex, it'd help you feel a little better?"
She nodded as she slipped her dress off. "Sex with you always makes me feel better, but yes."
He rolled his eyes and helped her get her boots and underwear off, then he stripped and got in bed on top of her. "Are you ready?"
She smirked, the sleepiness evident in her eyes, and asked, "Is my pussy wet?"
He gently slid his dick into her vagina and found that she was flooding. "I'd say so. Did the fight get you excited?"
"A little. The fact that you won on your own against Michael and my subsequent desire to reward you for it, as well as the fact that it made me extremely proud of you, is what did it."
He grinned. "You got to thinking about how you were going to reward me and it made you wet, right?"
She nodded. "Now, fuck me, cum inside me, and let's take a nap."
He nodded and got to work.
...
In the other room, Amarantha carefully took off what was left of her bra, then laid down on her back on the bed. "I'm ready when you are, Zeraine."
He stripped, then mounted her, spread her breasts, put his dick between them, and held them together around it. "When I cum, where do you want it?"
Amarantha paused in thought, then said, "I guess either on my face or in my mouth, whichever you want."
He nodded and got started, moving his penis slowly at first, gradually speeding up. Amarantha took off her leather gauntlets and slid one hand down her panties, masturbating as Zeraine pleased himself with her breasts. Soon, he came, letting out a very large amount of semen all over her face. The smell of the cum and the feeling of it all over her face made her orgasm soon after.
As she lay there panting, Zeraine got off and started stripping her. Once she was naked, he got on her again, and pressed the tip of his penis against her vagina. She partially sat up, trying to wipe his semen off her face with her fingers, and said, "Zeraine, I just came! You remember what happened last time, right?"
He nodded. "I could pin you down if you wanted, but otherwise, go ahead. Claw my back up all you want. It's worth it to please you to that level."
"You idiot, I don't want to claw your back up!"
"Then let's do it doggy style."
She sighed. She preferred being able to see his face while they did it, and preferred the mutual embrace that the missionary position allowed for, but she didn't want to hurt him, so she rolled over, got on her hands and knees, and stuck her ass out.
He put it in and started thrusting. It wasn't long before her violent orgasms caused her arms and legs to give out, so he let her fall onto her belly, followed her down, not letting himself fall out of her vagina, and continued thrusting as he laid on top of her. Eventually, he blew his load in her and collapsed on her. Before he fell asleep, he used the last of his energy to roll off her and pull her onto her side, holding her in a spooning position.
...
Later that evening, the party woke up from their nap, got dressed, and had dinner. As they let their food settle after the meal, the succubus looked at the hero and asked, "How soon do you think your Grandmaster will be ready?"
The hero shrugged. "Unless something extremely important is going on, it might take him a day or so to prepare everything. After that, well... I look forward to seeing you in a wedding dress."
She smiled and hugged him. "And I look forward to seeing what you'll wear."
The hero looked over at Zeraine and Amarantha and asked, "Aren't you guys looking forward to getting married?"
Amarantha scoffed. "Of course we are! I'm having trouble holding back my excitement, but I don't want to think about it too much and get all nervous and stuff, so I'm trying to think about other things."
"Like what?" the succubus asked.
Amarantha hesitated, her face reddening, then she said, "Like satisfying Zeraine's curiosity."
"What do you mean?"
"Remember how he said he wanted to try it in my true form?"
The hero's eyes went wide. "You agreed?" he asked in disbelief.
Amarantha's face went redder as she nodded. "I love him, so if he wants to do it while I'm in my dragon form, I'll let him."
The succubus thought for a second, then asked, "Can I watch?"
Zeraine and Amarantha both simultaneously replied, "No."
The succubus crossed her arms and pouted a little, saying, "Fine."
Once they were ready, Zeraine and Amarantha got up and headed for an open area in the courtyard. The hero and the succubus got up and started to head back to their room, but then she started walking over to Zeraine and Amarantha. They simultaneously said, "No, you can't watch."
She frowned. "Will you at least tell me what it's like?"
Once again, they spoke as one, saying, "No."
The hero walked over and grabbed her by one of her horns. "Come on, you have more important things to do."
"Hey! Let go!" she protested. "Things like what?"
He stopped, let go of her, and faced her, then he pulled her into a hug. "Can you feel it?"
She grinned hungrily. "I certainly can. When did you get assertive?"
"When we did it earlier, once wasn't enough. I want more."
"Same here, dear. Let's get started!"
She grabbed his hand and nearly dragged him as she ran back to their room.
Zeraine and Amarantha sighed and shook their heads, then she asked, "You ready?"
He nodded, which she took as her cue to transform. He got undressed and stood in front of her, his erection throbbing. There was a short, awkward silence, then he asked, "How is this going to work, exactly?"
"I don't know!" she replied. "I suppose I could lick your dick, but that's not what we're after here. ...Okay, I'll lay on my side and you'll look back there, near the base of my tail, okay?"
He nodded and she rolled onto her side, trying to keep watch of him as he walked towards her tail. Once back there, he asked, "What am I looking for?"
She said, "Look at the base of my tail, then follow it up until you see two places that look a little different from the surrounding area. The one closest to my tail is my anus, the other is my vagina. ...Can you see them?"
Zeraine looked and felt until he found them. "Right here, right?" he asked as he found that the scales in that area could be spread, which he did.
Amarantha shivered a little and said, "Careful! The exposed skin there is sensitive!"
"Sorry. Anyway, how am I going to put it in? With you like this, it's about shoulder-height. I don't have anything to stand on, and I'm not sure trying to use Levitation would be a good idea."
"Well, my dorsal frill won't allow me to lay on my back, so... Should we just forget it, at least for now, and do it normally?"
"Yeah, that'd be better. Transform back and we'll go back to our room."
He got out of the way and put his pants and boots back on as she switched back to her human form, then they returned to their room.
Chapter 142
Spoiler: show
While the hero and the succubus went for their first round, the hero recounted to her how he beat Michael, which provoked her to aggressively grab him and shower him with kisses while she squeezed his shaft as hard as her vaginal muscles would allow. After he creampied her, she smiled and said, "I think it's time to reward you. How do you want to fuck me? I'll accept anything."
"I don't really know, actually. Just being with you is reward enough."
She rolled her eyes, not sure whether she should smile at his words of love, or if she should frown at him for his sexual indecisiveness. Then, she had an idea. "Hey, I think we've trained my ass enough, so how about anal?"
The hero remembered their first attempt. "I'm not sure. What happened last time-"
"-Won't happen again," she said, interrupting him. "During your transformation, you got really rough, shoving three fingers in. I didn't bleed after that, so I'd be willing to bet that I could handle your dick if you were gentle about it."
He scratched his head and mulled over it for a few seconds, then said, "Well, I suppose if you're sure about it, we could do that."
She smiled. "Good. You know where it is, so put it in."
He lubed himself up with the mixture of his semen and her love juice that seeped out of her vagina, then he gently, slowly pressed his penis into her anus. It went in fairly easily, though it was incredibly tight. As soon as he bottomed out in her butthole, he paused, feeling her squeezing him. "It's really tight..."
She smiled bigger. "Anal sex in the missionary position. How do you like it?"
"You're squeezing me so tightly it almost hurts. I think if I'm not careful I might cum already."
"Go ahead. Cum all you want. Now, are you going to start moving, or do I have to flex my sphincter muscle to literally 'suck' your dick with my ass?"
He started moving, slowly sliding in and out. It wasn't long before he came in her ass. He also felt her squirting out a little wetness onto his abdomen as she came. He then laid down on top of her, resting his head between her breasts. She stroked his head, running her fingers through his hair, and said, "How was it, now that we did it right?"
"It was great. I still think I like your vagina better, but your ass is good, too."
She giggled. "It felt good for me, too. ...Your cum in my ass feels weird, but I like it. As soon as you're ready, I'll clean you off so you can put it back in my pussy. I do want to have your kids, after all." She grinned slyly, knowing what effect her last comment would have on him.
"Well, that just now did it." He stood on his knees and showed her his throbbing erection. "I don't know why it excites me so much, but..."
She put her finger over his lips and used her magic to clean him off, then she spread her lower lips, from which still leaked his semen, and said, "Time for a bit of a pun. You're still mostly a warrior or knight despite the magic I've taught you. That means you're still a 'sword'. I, being a mage and your beloved, can be considered your 'sheath'. Guess what else can follow that analogy?" She waited for him to respond, but saw on his face that he wasn't quite following. She then pointed at his dick and said, "Put your 'sword'..." then she pointed at her vagina and finished, "...back in its 'sheath'."
He nodded, understanding. "Right, 'a sword belongs in its sheath', and my dick is a 'sword' and your pussy is its 'sheath', thus my dick belongs in your pussy. Got it." He then put it in and they went for another five rounds of sex, finally going to sleep once the sun set.
...
In the middle of their second round, Zeraine asked, "You know what's kind of funny, Ammie?"
"What?" she asked, not exactly pleased that he suddenly slowed down so much.
"In your dragon form, it looked like I could have put my whole arm in there with no problem, but in your human form, you're really tight, squeezing me really hard."
She blushed. "It goes without saying that in my bigger form I'd have a bigger vagina. Now, stop talking about that and finish so we can go to sleep."
"Yes, ma'am."
He resumed thrusting, soon bringing them both to climax. They shared a kiss before drifting off to sleep in each other's arms.
...
The next morning, both couples made love again before eating breakfast. After their meal, before they went to gather their things, the succubus asked, "So, how'd it go?"
Zeraine asked, "How'd what go?"
She put her hand on her hip and took on a somewhat impatient expression. "I mean last night when you tried to have sex with a female dragon's true form!"
Amarantha said, "That's none of your business."
The succubus nodded. "So it didn't go so good. Do you want my help next time?"
Amarantha quickly answered, "No!"
Zeraine, however, asked, "What kind of help would you give?"
"Zeraine!" Amarantha protested.
The succubus shrugged. "That depends on what you needed help with."
Because of Amarantha's glare, Zeraine didn't say or ask anything else. The hero then said, "Well, you wanted to test that spell before we left, so let's get that done."
The succubus agreed, then the party gathered their things and left the base. Once they were at the top of the hill, the succubus smiled, "Let's see what Megadeath does..." She began concentrating, gathering and focusing her energy, then she began the incantation. "Dee Vume Steen! By the earth and air spirits, let the ancient pact be accomplished! Megadeath!"
The ground started shaking, gradually increasing in intensity until nobody could deny that it was an earthquake. Dark clouds began forming overhead, with lightning flashing and thunder booming. The ground started cracking, especially around the base. Soon, the base itself began falling apart in chunks until it suddenly simply crumbled, falling in on itself as if it had been crushed. Only the succubus noticed the split-second explosion that tore it apart right before it crumbled.
The succubus smiled as she turned around to face the party, the last flash of lightning striking out across the sky ominously behind her before the clouds dissipated, and said, "Well, I like it. What about you guys?"
Zeraine said, "It's certainly flashy."
Amarantha nodded and said, "It felt powerful."
The hero said, "It's like something just crushed the base. If you can cast it easily, then I suppose it'd be good in a situation in which there was a building full of enemies that we needed to take out, as long as there was nothing worth taking inside."
The succubus, probably the only one who really understood the spell's power, said, "If the pressure didn't kill the enemies, the building coming down on them would. I could also use it to collapse a cave or something. Anyway, I'm going to need a little 'dessert' at lunch, dear."
The hero raised an eyebrow and asked, "The spell took that much energy?"
She nodded. "The spell harnesses the power of the spirits of earth and air, causing them to struggle against each other, creating a massive pressure. It's a type of 'grand-scale' spell, too, which means it has a huge area of effect. It's also a hell of a lot more powerful than Damned. It takes a lot of energy to cast something like that."
Zeraine asked, "Why didn't you just let us protect you while you cast it back when we fought The Four Horsemen?"
The succubus flatly replied, "It would have killed all of us."
"No shit!?"
"It's dangerous to the caster, too, which means that had I cast it during the fight, had Lucifer actually let me, all eight of us would have died."
The rest of the party stood in an awkward silence as the succubus took out her crystal and contacted Sol. He answered, saying, "Good morning, heroes! Are you ready for your break?"
The succubus said, "Yeah, we're ready. Teleport us to your shop. We need to get to The Order's main headquarters as soon as possible."
"Why? Did something happen?"
"I want to get married as soon as possible, damn it! Don't you remember me talking about it yesterday?"
"...I think I do. I'm not sure. I was a bit more focused on making sure Cedric didn't get drunk and cause any problems during the city's 'party'."
"Oh... Well, teleport us, okay?"
"Right away, ma'am!"
Several seconds later, a portal opened nearby. The party stepped through and found themselves in Sol's shop. The succubus looked at him and said, "You don't really need to call me 'ma'am'. You are older than me, after all."
Sol shrugged. "Whatever. You'll be the new Demon Lord in the near future, so... Anyway, you're going to see the Grandmaster to have your weddings, right? You don't suppose he'd do the same for me and my girls, do you?"
The hero shook his head apologetically. "The Order only recognizes marriage between one man and one woman. They don't accept polygamy."
Sol hung his head. Hilda said, "Well, if you wanted to, I'm fine with being your mistress or concubine. Vicky was here first, so she gets to have you for that, just like how she had your first time."
Sol shook his head. "No. I love you both equally. I refuse to accept a situation in which one of you is officially 'above' the other or whatever. If I can't marry both of you at the same time, having both of you as my wives, then forget it. We'll stay like we are now until we find someone who will allow it."
The succubus said, "Cheer up. Once I have the throne, and as soon as my changes take effect, I'll personally do the honors for you."
Sol looked up at her and surprisedly asked, "You will!?"
She nodded. "It would make the three of you happy, wouldn't it?"
"Damn right it would!"
Zeraine looked around and asked, "Just out of curiosity, did Cedric leave?"
"No. I think he's helping Cartridge train the guards."
The hero shrugged. "Well, I suppose we should get going, then. Once we return, I hope you're okay with teleporting us back to that area. From what I saw when I last looked at our map, we need to go a bit farther north from there so we can go west from some landmark, heading in a fairly straight line to the Elven village where the children of the world's greatest wind elementalist live."
Sol nodded and waved. "See you later, then."
The party stepped out of Sol's shop and started for the city gate.
"I don't really know, actually. Just being with you is reward enough."
She rolled her eyes, not sure whether she should smile at his words of love, or if she should frown at him for his sexual indecisiveness. Then, she had an idea. "Hey, I think we've trained my ass enough, so how about anal?"
The hero remembered their first attempt. "I'm not sure. What happened last time-"
"-Won't happen again," she said, interrupting him. "During your transformation, you got really rough, shoving three fingers in. I didn't bleed after that, so I'd be willing to bet that I could handle your dick if you were gentle about it."
He scratched his head and mulled over it for a few seconds, then said, "Well, I suppose if you're sure about it, we could do that."
She smiled. "Good. You know where it is, so put it in."
He lubed himself up with the mixture of his semen and her love juice that seeped out of her vagina, then he gently, slowly pressed his penis into her anus. It went in fairly easily, though it was incredibly tight. As soon as he bottomed out in her butthole, he paused, feeling her squeezing him. "It's really tight..."
She smiled bigger. "Anal sex in the missionary position. How do you like it?"
"You're squeezing me so tightly it almost hurts. I think if I'm not careful I might cum already."
"Go ahead. Cum all you want. Now, are you going to start moving, or do I have to flex my sphincter muscle to literally 'suck' your dick with my ass?"
He started moving, slowly sliding in and out. It wasn't long before he came in her ass. He also felt her squirting out a little wetness onto his abdomen as she came. He then laid down on top of her, resting his head between her breasts. She stroked his head, running her fingers through his hair, and said, "How was it, now that we did it right?"
"It was great. I still think I like your vagina better, but your ass is good, too."
She giggled. "It felt good for me, too. ...Your cum in my ass feels weird, but I like it. As soon as you're ready, I'll clean you off so you can put it back in my pussy. I do want to have your kids, after all." She grinned slyly, knowing what effect her last comment would have on him.
"Well, that just now did it." He stood on his knees and showed her his throbbing erection. "I don't know why it excites me so much, but..."
She put her finger over his lips and used her magic to clean him off, then she spread her lower lips, from which still leaked his semen, and said, "Time for a bit of a pun. You're still mostly a warrior or knight despite the magic I've taught you. That means you're still a 'sword'. I, being a mage and your beloved, can be considered your 'sheath'. Guess what else can follow that analogy?" She waited for him to respond, but saw on his face that he wasn't quite following. She then pointed at his dick and said, "Put your 'sword'..." then she pointed at her vagina and finished, "...back in its 'sheath'."
He nodded, understanding. "Right, 'a sword belongs in its sheath', and my dick is a 'sword' and your pussy is its 'sheath', thus my dick belongs in your pussy. Got it." He then put it in and they went for another five rounds of sex, finally going to sleep once the sun set.
...
In the middle of their second round, Zeraine asked, "You know what's kind of funny, Ammie?"
"What?" she asked, not exactly pleased that he suddenly slowed down so much.
"In your dragon form, it looked like I could have put my whole arm in there with no problem, but in your human form, you're really tight, squeezing me really hard."
She blushed. "It goes without saying that in my bigger form I'd have a bigger vagina. Now, stop talking about that and finish so we can go to sleep."
"Yes, ma'am."
He resumed thrusting, soon bringing them both to climax. They shared a kiss before drifting off to sleep in each other's arms.
...
The next morning, both couples made love again before eating breakfast. After their meal, before they went to gather their things, the succubus asked, "So, how'd it go?"
Zeraine asked, "How'd what go?"
She put her hand on her hip and took on a somewhat impatient expression. "I mean last night when you tried to have sex with a female dragon's true form!"
Amarantha said, "That's none of your business."
The succubus nodded. "So it didn't go so good. Do you want my help next time?"
Amarantha quickly answered, "No!"
Zeraine, however, asked, "What kind of help would you give?"
"Zeraine!" Amarantha protested.
The succubus shrugged. "That depends on what you needed help with."
Because of Amarantha's glare, Zeraine didn't say or ask anything else. The hero then said, "Well, you wanted to test that spell before we left, so let's get that done."
The succubus agreed, then the party gathered their things and left the base. Once they were at the top of the hill, the succubus smiled, "Let's see what Megadeath does..." She began concentrating, gathering and focusing her energy, then she began the incantation. "Dee Vume Steen! By the earth and air spirits, let the ancient pact be accomplished! Megadeath!"
The ground started shaking, gradually increasing in intensity until nobody could deny that it was an earthquake. Dark clouds began forming overhead, with lightning flashing and thunder booming. The ground started cracking, especially around the base. Soon, the base itself began falling apart in chunks until it suddenly simply crumbled, falling in on itself as if it had been crushed. Only the succubus noticed the split-second explosion that tore it apart right before it crumbled.
The succubus smiled as she turned around to face the party, the last flash of lightning striking out across the sky ominously behind her before the clouds dissipated, and said, "Well, I like it. What about you guys?"
Zeraine said, "It's certainly flashy."
Amarantha nodded and said, "It felt powerful."
The hero said, "It's like something just crushed the base. If you can cast it easily, then I suppose it'd be good in a situation in which there was a building full of enemies that we needed to take out, as long as there was nothing worth taking inside."
The succubus, probably the only one who really understood the spell's power, said, "If the pressure didn't kill the enemies, the building coming down on them would. I could also use it to collapse a cave or something. Anyway, I'm going to need a little 'dessert' at lunch, dear."
The hero raised an eyebrow and asked, "The spell took that much energy?"
She nodded. "The spell harnesses the power of the spirits of earth and air, causing them to struggle against each other, creating a massive pressure. It's a type of 'grand-scale' spell, too, which means it has a huge area of effect. It's also a hell of a lot more powerful than Damned. It takes a lot of energy to cast something like that."
Zeraine asked, "Why didn't you just let us protect you while you cast it back when we fought The Four Horsemen?"
The succubus flatly replied, "It would have killed all of us."
"No shit!?"
"It's dangerous to the caster, too, which means that had I cast it during the fight, had Lucifer actually let me, all eight of us would have died."
The rest of the party stood in an awkward silence as the succubus took out her crystal and contacted Sol. He answered, saying, "Good morning, heroes! Are you ready for your break?"
The succubus said, "Yeah, we're ready. Teleport us to your shop. We need to get to The Order's main headquarters as soon as possible."
"Why? Did something happen?"
"I want to get married as soon as possible, damn it! Don't you remember me talking about it yesterday?"
"...I think I do. I'm not sure. I was a bit more focused on making sure Cedric didn't get drunk and cause any problems during the city's 'party'."
"Oh... Well, teleport us, okay?"
"Right away, ma'am!"
Several seconds later, a portal opened nearby. The party stepped through and found themselves in Sol's shop. The succubus looked at him and said, "You don't really need to call me 'ma'am'. You are older than me, after all."
Sol shrugged. "Whatever. You'll be the new Demon Lord in the near future, so... Anyway, you're going to see the Grandmaster to have your weddings, right? You don't suppose he'd do the same for me and my girls, do you?"
The hero shook his head apologetically. "The Order only recognizes marriage between one man and one woman. They don't accept polygamy."
Sol hung his head. Hilda said, "Well, if you wanted to, I'm fine with being your mistress or concubine. Vicky was here first, so she gets to have you for that, just like how she had your first time."
Sol shook his head. "No. I love you both equally. I refuse to accept a situation in which one of you is officially 'above' the other or whatever. If I can't marry both of you at the same time, having both of you as my wives, then forget it. We'll stay like we are now until we find someone who will allow it."
The succubus said, "Cheer up. Once I have the throne, and as soon as my changes take effect, I'll personally do the honors for you."
Sol looked up at her and surprisedly asked, "You will!?"
She nodded. "It would make the three of you happy, wouldn't it?"
"Damn right it would!"
Zeraine looked around and asked, "Just out of curiosity, did Cedric leave?"
"No. I think he's helping Cartridge train the guards."
The hero shrugged. "Well, I suppose we should get going, then. Once we return, I hope you're okay with teleporting us back to that area. From what I saw when I last looked at our map, we need to go a bit farther north from there so we can go west from some landmark, heading in a fairly straight line to the Elven village where the children of the world's greatest wind elementalist live."
Sol nodded and waved. "See you later, then."
The party stepped out of Sol's shop and started for the city gate.
Chapter 143
Spoiler: show
On the way, the party heard what was undoubtedly Cedric's voice in the distance, yelling something, followed by several men yelling in unison. This repeated a few times, prompting Zeraine to comment, "I guess he's teaching them how to yell properly while they fight."
Once they exited and got on the path to The Order's main headquarters, Zeraine tapped the succubus on the shoulder. When she gave him a questioning look for a response, he said, "I've got a question about a spell. You know the one that makes stone spikes shoot out of the ground?"
The succubus nodded and replied, "Yeah, Drash Gan. What about it?"
"Can you use it to make a raised pillar to stand on?"
"Yeah, why?"
"Can you teach me how?"
The succubus quickly put two and two together and figured out what Zeraine was thinking. "Sure." She taught him Drash Gan, and how to control it to his desired effect. Once she was finished, she said, "Since you're only after one pillar, it'll be very easy. Have fun."
Amarantha also figured out what he was thinking and rolled her eyes. She thought, "He's going to try again... At least he has an idea to make it work this time."
The party finally arrived in the afternoon and they were stopped by the gate guards. The hero said, "I'm a knight originally from here. I need to see the Grandmaster."
One guard told him to wait before leaving. Minutes later, the Grandmaster himself came out and greeted them. "Ah, it's good to see you, young man! A few of our knights were out getting supplies in Westcreek when they saw your battle with The Four Horsemen. Not only did you defeat them but you recruited them, too! That's a most impressive feat! What brings you here?"
The hero blushed a little and said, "Well, things have happened while I was out on my mission, and I fell in love. If you're able, I'd like you to do the honors for us, sir."
The Grandmaster smiled and said, "Who's the lucky lady?"
The succubus stepped forward and hugged the hero's arm, then said, "I am."
The Grandmaster looked her over and said, "A succubus, huh? I take it she's the mage in your party?"
The hero nodded. "She's a good woman. She's kind and devoted, and despite her temper, I love her. I want to marry her."
The Grandmaster smiled. "That's fine. Knowing you, you wouldn't have fallen for her if she weren't a good person. It would be my pleasure to host your marriage. By the way, I sense a bit of a change in you."
The hero cleared his throat and said, "Well, um... I'm an incubus now."
The Grandmaster went wide-eyed. "You and she..."
The hero's face went redder as he nodded. "Also, my friends here, Zeraine and Amarantha, they want to get married, too. Can you do that, too?"
"Yes, of course." The Grandmaster looked at the succubus again and said, "I get the feeling we've met before. Am I mistaken?"
She shook her head and introduced herself, then said, "I'm the woman who came here and spoke with you about help in my plan to kill the current Demon Lord. You told me about him," she continued, nodding in the hero's direction, "and I managed to catch up with him, join him and the others, and we went on our little adventure up to now."
The Grandmaster thought for a second, then remembered. "Ah, yes, the pretty young woman with the long brown hair. That was one impressive disguise, miss." He walked around to Zeraine and said, "I'm the Grandmaster of The Order. It's nice to meet you."
Zeraine shook his hand and said, "I'm Zeraine. I used to be a human man, but I'm an incubus, too, now. Amarantha here helped with that."
Amarantha also shook the Grandmaster's hand. "I'm Amarantha. I'm actually a silver dragon, but I love Zeraine more than anyone, and I want to officially be his wife."
The Grandmaster nodded. "Believe it or not, we have held marriage ceremonies here before for monster couples and human-monster couples. I can't remember the last time we did that because it was so long ago, but... That doesn't matter. I'd be more than happy to do the honors for both marriages. Please, come in. You four look like you need a good meal, a bath, and a change of clothes." He led them inside to the great hall.
Amarantha scoffed. "If Levi hadn't ruined my clothes, I'd be fine."
Zeraine added, "And Belial put most of these dents in my armor. You wouldn't happen to have anything that would work as a replacement for my armor that would allow for my wings, would you?"
The Grandmaster shook his head. "The only thing I can think of that would work would be an angel's armor, but angels, when they're sent down from Heaven, are already wearing their armor, and they pretty much never take it off while they're here. Aside from that, the armor incubi and dark angels wear might work, but we don't have such things here. Your best bet would be to either visit a blacksmith and get a suit of armor custom made, or get lucky and stumble across a merchant selling a suit of it that's your size."
Zeraine forced a grin and said, "Yeah, I don't think any of us are that lucky, and I'm sure it'd take quite a bit of gold to afford that, which we don't have. ...Well, how about books on magic? I think all of us, especially our mage and future Demon Lord, would benefit from that."
The Grandmaster chuckled and said, "Your leader knows this place quite well. He can lead you to the library later, but what's this about a future Demon Lord?"
The succubus said, "I plan to take over once we've done away with the current one. I also plan to make a few changes that would allow humans and monsters to coexist peacefully. I want peace, an end to this war that has gone on since the day of creation."
The Grandmaster closed his eyes and sighed. "Don't we all..." He opened them again and said, "I take it you plan on reaching out and working with humans as you can to make things go smoothly?"
She nodded. "Of course. We can't have peace if we don't work together for it. I'm sure that, once everyone sees the changes I'm going to make, everything will fall into place and most people will be happy."
The Grandmaster mulled over her words, then said, "I'd like you to tell me in detail what your plan is and what changes you'll make, but that will come later. For now, rest, clean up, and we'll prepare for your happy day."
"Thank you, Grandmaster." The hero led everyone to the armory and explained to the scribe that ran it what happened. Coincidentally enough, the scribe was one of the people who watched their battle, and having seen it, he agreed to let Amarantha take a suit of armor for herself.
She chose a suit of chainmail from the women's armor closet and removed The Order's insignia from it, then changed into it from her leather outfit. She faced the party and asked, "Does it look alright?"
Zeraine nodded. "It looks fine. It'll offer better protection than your leather outfit did, too, so it's a good upgrade. Can you move easily enough in it?"
She nodded, walked out into the middle of the room, and did a cartwheel and a few backflips, then a front flip. "I'd say so."
The hero then said, "Now that Ammie has a new outfit, one that isn't damaged and/or prone to a wardrobe malfunction, we should get cleaned up." He looked at the succubus and said, "The bathing rooms for men and women are separate, so it'll be us guys in one and you girls in the other. Try to behave yourself, okay?"
The succubus crossed her arms and said, "And what do you mean by that?"
He ignored her, slightly grinning, and said, "Let's get cleaned up."
The four of them went into the respective changing rooms, then into the bath.
Once they exited and got on the path to The Order's main headquarters, Zeraine tapped the succubus on the shoulder. When she gave him a questioning look for a response, he said, "I've got a question about a spell. You know the one that makes stone spikes shoot out of the ground?"
The succubus nodded and replied, "Yeah, Drash Gan. What about it?"
"Can you use it to make a raised pillar to stand on?"
"Yeah, why?"
"Can you teach me how?"
The succubus quickly put two and two together and figured out what Zeraine was thinking. "Sure." She taught him Drash Gan, and how to control it to his desired effect. Once she was finished, she said, "Since you're only after one pillar, it'll be very easy. Have fun."
Amarantha also figured out what he was thinking and rolled her eyes. She thought, "He's going to try again... At least he has an idea to make it work this time."
The party finally arrived in the afternoon and they were stopped by the gate guards. The hero said, "I'm a knight originally from here. I need to see the Grandmaster."
One guard told him to wait before leaving. Minutes later, the Grandmaster himself came out and greeted them. "Ah, it's good to see you, young man! A few of our knights were out getting supplies in Westcreek when they saw your battle with The Four Horsemen. Not only did you defeat them but you recruited them, too! That's a most impressive feat! What brings you here?"
The hero blushed a little and said, "Well, things have happened while I was out on my mission, and I fell in love. If you're able, I'd like you to do the honors for us, sir."
The Grandmaster smiled and said, "Who's the lucky lady?"
The succubus stepped forward and hugged the hero's arm, then said, "I am."
The Grandmaster looked her over and said, "A succubus, huh? I take it she's the mage in your party?"
The hero nodded. "She's a good woman. She's kind and devoted, and despite her temper, I love her. I want to marry her."
The Grandmaster smiled. "That's fine. Knowing you, you wouldn't have fallen for her if she weren't a good person. It would be my pleasure to host your marriage. By the way, I sense a bit of a change in you."
The hero cleared his throat and said, "Well, um... I'm an incubus now."
The Grandmaster went wide-eyed. "You and she..."
The hero's face went redder as he nodded. "Also, my friends here, Zeraine and Amarantha, they want to get married, too. Can you do that, too?"
"Yes, of course." The Grandmaster looked at the succubus again and said, "I get the feeling we've met before. Am I mistaken?"
She shook her head and introduced herself, then said, "I'm the woman who came here and spoke with you about help in my plan to kill the current Demon Lord. You told me about him," she continued, nodding in the hero's direction, "and I managed to catch up with him, join him and the others, and we went on our little adventure up to now."
The Grandmaster thought for a second, then remembered. "Ah, yes, the pretty young woman with the long brown hair. That was one impressive disguise, miss." He walked around to Zeraine and said, "I'm the Grandmaster of The Order. It's nice to meet you."
Zeraine shook his hand and said, "I'm Zeraine. I used to be a human man, but I'm an incubus, too, now. Amarantha here helped with that."
Amarantha also shook the Grandmaster's hand. "I'm Amarantha. I'm actually a silver dragon, but I love Zeraine more than anyone, and I want to officially be his wife."
The Grandmaster nodded. "Believe it or not, we have held marriage ceremonies here before for monster couples and human-monster couples. I can't remember the last time we did that because it was so long ago, but... That doesn't matter. I'd be more than happy to do the honors for both marriages. Please, come in. You four look like you need a good meal, a bath, and a change of clothes." He led them inside to the great hall.
Amarantha scoffed. "If Levi hadn't ruined my clothes, I'd be fine."
Zeraine added, "And Belial put most of these dents in my armor. You wouldn't happen to have anything that would work as a replacement for my armor that would allow for my wings, would you?"
The Grandmaster shook his head. "The only thing I can think of that would work would be an angel's armor, but angels, when they're sent down from Heaven, are already wearing their armor, and they pretty much never take it off while they're here. Aside from that, the armor incubi and dark angels wear might work, but we don't have such things here. Your best bet would be to either visit a blacksmith and get a suit of armor custom made, or get lucky and stumble across a merchant selling a suit of it that's your size."
Zeraine forced a grin and said, "Yeah, I don't think any of us are that lucky, and I'm sure it'd take quite a bit of gold to afford that, which we don't have. ...Well, how about books on magic? I think all of us, especially our mage and future Demon Lord, would benefit from that."
The Grandmaster chuckled and said, "Your leader knows this place quite well. He can lead you to the library later, but what's this about a future Demon Lord?"
The succubus said, "I plan to take over once we've done away with the current one. I also plan to make a few changes that would allow humans and monsters to coexist peacefully. I want peace, an end to this war that has gone on since the day of creation."
The Grandmaster closed his eyes and sighed. "Don't we all..." He opened them again and said, "I take it you plan on reaching out and working with humans as you can to make things go smoothly?"
She nodded. "Of course. We can't have peace if we don't work together for it. I'm sure that, once everyone sees the changes I'm going to make, everything will fall into place and most people will be happy."
The Grandmaster mulled over her words, then said, "I'd like you to tell me in detail what your plan is and what changes you'll make, but that will come later. For now, rest, clean up, and we'll prepare for your happy day."
"Thank you, Grandmaster." The hero led everyone to the armory and explained to the scribe that ran it what happened. Coincidentally enough, the scribe was one of the people who watched their battle, and having seen it, he agreed to let Amarantha take a suit of armor for herself.
She chose a suit of chainmail from the women's armor closet and removed The Order's insignia from it, then changed into it from her leather outfit. She faced the party and asked, "Does it look alright?"
Zeraine nodded. "It looks fine. It'll offer better protection than your leather outfit did, too, so it's a good upgrade. Can you move easily enough in it?"
She nodded, walked out into the middle of the room, and did a cartwheel and a few backflips, then a front flip. "I'd say so."
The hero then said, "Now that Ammie has a new outfit, one that isn't damaged and/or prone to a wardrobe malfunction, we should get cleaned up." He looked at the succubus and said, "The bathing rooms for men and women are separate, so it'll be us guys in one and you girls in the other. Try to behave yourself, okay?"
The succubus crossed her arms and said, "And what do you mean by that?"
He ignored her, slightly grinning, and said, "Let's get cleaned up."
The four of them went into the respective changing rooms, then into the bath.
Chapter 144
Spoiler: show
Zeraine and the hero entered the men's bath, only to be greeted by the sight of three knights that were already bathing. One of them said, "Hey, 'champion'! I saw your fight with The Four Horsemen. Man, that was something."
The hero smirked and said, "Hey, Isaac. How are you doing?"
"Good. How about yourself? All that traveling must be rough."
"Yeah, I suppose it is, but thanks to my friends, it's bearable," the hero said, stepping into the bath.
Isaac looked between the hero and Zeraine, and then asked, "Hey, is it true that both of you are incubi?"
The hero nodded and replied, "Yeah."
"You don't look any different, but he has wings. Why is that?"
Zeraine, having also stepped into the bath and laid his towel on the marble floor nearby, said, "From what we've been told, when you turn, there's a possibility that you might grow horns, wings, or a tail, some combination of the three, or nothing at all. Apparently it's random."
"I see. What's it like?"
"What's what like?" the hero asked, getting comfortable.
"Being an incubus."
The hero paused and thought for a second, then said, "Well, I feel about the same as before, but I have more energy, I think I'm stronger, and my magic is more powerful."
"Damn it..." Zeraine uttered, obviously complaining about something.
"What?" the hero asked, looking over at him. As soon as the hero looked, however, he realized what was wrong. Zeraine's wings were folded behind him like normal, and it was preventing him from getting comfortable by not allowing him to lean back against the side of the bath.
Zeraine let out a frustrated growl and said, "These damned wings..."
Isaac asked, "Can't you spread them?"
Zeraine shook his head. "I can barely make the damn things twitch."
The hero said, "He just got them recently and hasn't learned how to use them, yet."
Isaac nodded, then went silent. Several minutes later, he and the other two knights left, leaving Zeraine and the hero alone. After another few minutes of silence, Zeraine finally grabbed his wings and forced them to spread, then laid back and relaxed. He asked, "How do weddings usually go here?"
The hero asked, "What do you mean?"
"Do they dress us up or do we just wear whatever?"
"They'll suit us up in ceremonial armor. The girls will be wearing typical wedding dresses, of course, though sometimes The Order dresses their female members up in ceremonial armor, too."
"...The girls will wear regular wedding dresses because they're not members of The Order?"
"Pretty much. Some female members of The Order prefer to wear the dress, others choose the armor."
"I can't wait to see Ammie in a wedding dress..."
As Zeraine began imagining that, the hero closed his eyes for a little bit. It wasn't long before he began thinking about the succubus, though, and he quickly got hard. He was embarrassed about it, but he kept it hidden and forced himself to remember different things such as zombies, orcs, and ogres, which helped it go down.
After another ten or so minutes, the two got out and left.
...
Amarantha and the succubus entered the women's bath, and upon doing so, the former commented, "We're the only ones here..."
The succubus shrugged and said, "Let's enjoy it, then." She got in the water and relaxed, sighing as she submerged up to her breasts.
Amarantha cautiously approached the edge and tested the water with her foot, jerking it back quickly after letting out an audible cringe. "It's really hot."
The succubus said, "Yeah, it's a bit hotter than I'm used to, but it's not that bad. ...Oh, silver dragons don't like heat, do they?"
Amarantha sat down and carefully dipped her feet in, trying to slowly get used to the hot bathwater. "Why do you think we tend to live in icy mountains? ...Should I cool the water a little with my ice breath?"
"As long as you don't cool it too much."
Amarantha took a deep breath, then exhaled, blowing her ice breath on the water to cool it as she got in. She managed to start relaxing and thinking about tomorrow until the succubus asked, "So when does Zeraine plan to 'try again'?"
Amarantha's face turned red in an instant as she replied, "That's none of your business!"
The succubus shrugged and said, "I just want my friends to be able to 'do it' how they want with no problems, even if it borders on bestiality."
"Can you drop it?"
"Fine. Still, good luck."
The two finished their bath in silence, Amarantha occasionally using her ice breath to keep the water around her comfortable. Once they got out and went back to the changing room, the succubus decided to have a little fun. She smiled mischievously and started, "You know, I'm a woman, yet I think I understand the appeal of a woman with a toned, athletic body..."
Before Amarantha could respond, the succubus grabbed her breasts from behind, causing her to squeal in a mix of surprise and fear. She quickly broke away from the succubus and spun around, covering herself with her hands and towel. "What the hell are you doing!? Have you gone bi!?"
The succubus laughed and said, "That squeal was cute. Your breasts feel like they're about the same size as mine. Still, my body is soft and supple compared to yours. Yours is firm, and your muscles can almost be seen, but they don't hurt your beauty... I'm kind of jealous."
Amarantha, obviously confused, asked, "What are you up to?"
"Nothing. I just wanted to compare us. You can feel me up in return, if you want," she said, grinning.
"...You were fucking with me. Let's see how soft you really are!" Amarantha said, tossing away her towel and grabbing the succubus before spinning her around and holding her from behind as she struggled. "Why are you resisting?" she asked sadistically.
The succubus squirmed a little more and said, "I never thought you'd actually do it!"
Amarantha laughed and said, "Payback!" as she grabbed the succubus's breasts, immediately stopping after giving them a couple of very rough squeezes. She let go and backed away with a slightly upset look on her face.
The succubus, now regretting her prank, asked, "What is it?"
Amarantha looked down at her own breasts and said, "Yours are bigger..."
"Yours are big enough, so that doesn't matter. Come on, let's get the others and go check out the library. I want to see if they have any books or tomes on really powerful magic," she said, grinning.
Amarantha raised an eyebrow and said, "Megadeath wasn't powerful enough for you?"
...
After all four members of the party finished their baths and got dressed, they regrouped and went to the library. It didn't take the succubus long to find the various books on magic and begin looking through them. At one point, she laughed and pointed to one of the tomes, saying, "Look! The Order has a tome on Riot!"
Just as clueless as the others, the hero asked, "And why is that important?"
The succubus crossed her arms and said, "Riot is basically a dark magic version of Val Volt. Why would The Order have tomes on dark magic available in their library?"
Zeraine asked, "Could it be that they believe something to the effect of 'magic is a tool to be used; the element doesn't matter'?"
The succubus shrugged. "I don't know, but I'm going to learn it."
The hero asked, "How long do you plan to spend looking over these books?"
"Until I've learned all the interesting and powerful spells. Why? You want to have me right now?"
The hero blushed slightly and said, "Well, I wouldn't say 'no', but dinner will be served soon, and you shouldn't miss a meal."
She smiled and said, "Don't worry, dear. I'll read this stuff, take a break for dinner, and then give you a good 'milking' tonight."
The hero found his head quickly filling with memories of their previous "activities" and felt his pants get a little tighter. He thought, "I don't know if I'd react this way had I not turned, but damn! Being an incubus is a pain sometimes..."
She glanced at his crotch and her smile got bigger. "I'd suck you off real quick, but I'm afraid we might get your cum on the books."
The hero frowned and said, "We'd get in trouble, too, even if that didn't happen."
She gave a hungry glance to his crotch and said, "Then hold it until tonight." She then resumed looking through the books and tomes for new spells.
The hero smirked and said, "Hey, Isaac. How are you doing?"
"Good. How about yourself? All that traveling must be rough."
"Yeah, I suppose it is, but thanks to my friends, it's bearable," the hero said, stepping into the bath.
Isaac looked between the hero and Zeraine, and then asked, "Hey, is it true that both of you are incubi?"
The hero nodded and replied, "Yeah."
"You don't look any different, but he has wings. Why is that?"
Zeraine, having also stepped into the bath and laid his towel on the marble floor nearby, said, "From what we've been told, when you turn, there's a possibility that you might grow horns, wings, or a tail, some combination of the three, or nothing at all. Apparently it's random."
"I see. What's it like?"
"What's what like?" the hero asked, getting comfortable.
"Being an incubus."
The hero paused and thought for a second, then said, "Well, I feel about the same as before, but I have more energy, I think I'm stronger, and my magic is more powerful."
"Damn it..." Zeraine uttered, obviously complaining about something.
"What?" the hero asked, looking over at him. As soon as the hero looked, however, he realized what was wrong. Zeraine's wings were folded behind him like normal, and it was preventing him from getting comfortable by not allowing him to lean back against the side of the bath.
Zeraine let out a frustrated growl and said, "These damned wings..."
Isaac asked, "Can't you spread them?"
Zeraine shook his head. "I can barely make the damn things twitch."
The hero said, "He just got them recently and hasn't learned how to use them, yet."
Isaac nodded, then went silent. Several minutes later, he and the other two knights left, leaving Zeraine and the hero alone. After another few minutes of silence, Zeraine finally grabbed his wings and forced them to spread, then laid back and relaxed. He asked, "How do weddings usually go here?"
The hero asked, "What do you mean?"
"Do they dress us up or do we just wear whatever?"
"They'll suit us up in ceremonial armor. The girls will be wearing typical wedding dresses, of course, though sometimes The Order dresses their female members up in ceremonial armor, too."
"...The girls will wear regular wedding dresses because they're not members of The Order?"
"Pretty much. Some female members of The Order prefer to wear the dress, others choose the armor."
"I can't wait to see Ammie in a wedding dress..."
As Zeraine began imagining that, the hero closed his eyes for a little bit. It wasn't long before he began thinking about the succubus, though, and he quickly got hard. He was embarrassed about it, but he kept it hidden and forced himself to remember different things such as zombies, orcs, and ogres, which helped it go down.
After another ten or so minutes, the two got out and left.
...
Amarantha and the succubus entered the women's bath, and upon doing so, the former commented, "We're the only ones here..."
The succubus shrugged and said, "Let's enjoy it, then." She got in the water and relaxed, sighing as she submerged up to her breasts.
Amarantha cautiously approached the edge and tested the water with her foot, jerking it back quickly after letting out an audible cringe. "It's really hot."
The succubus said, "Yeah, it's a bit hotter than I'm used to, but it's not that bad. ...Oh, silver dragons don't like heat, do they?"
Amarantha sat down and carefully dipped her feet in, trying to slowly get used to the hot bathwater. "Why do you think we tend to live in icy mountains? ...Should I cool the water a little with my ice breath?"
"As long as you don't cool it too much."
Amarantha took a deep breath, then exhaled, blowing her ice breath on the water to cool it as she got in. She managed to start relaxing and thinking about tomorrow until the succubus asked, "So when does Zeraine plan to 'try again'?"
Amarantha's face turned red in an instant as she replied, "That's none of your business!"
The succubus shrugged and said, "I just want my friends to be able to 'do it' how they want with no problems, even if it borders on bestiality."
"Can you drop it?"
"Fine. Still, good luck."
The two finished their bath in silence, Amarantha occasionally using her ice breath to keep the water around her comfortable. Once they got out and went back to the changing room, the succubus decided to have a little fun. She smiled mischievously and started, "You know, I'm a woman, yet I think I understand the appeal of a woman with a toned, athletic body..."
Before Amarantha could respond, the succubus grabbed her breasts from behind, causing her to squeal in a mix of surprise and fear. She quickly broke away from the succubus and spun around, covering herself with her hands and towel. "What the hell are you doing!? Have you gone bi!?"
The succubus laughed and said, "That squeal was cute. Your breasts feel like they're about the same size as mine. Still, my body is soft and supple compared to yours. Yours is firm, and your muscles can almost be seen, but they don't hurt your beauty... I'm kind of jealous."
Amarantha, obviously confused, asked, "What are you up to?"
"Nothing. I just wanted to compare us. You can feel me up in return, if you want," she said, grinning.
"...You were fucking with me. Let's see how soft you really are!" Amarantha said, tossing away her towel and grabbing the succubus before spinning her around and holding her from behind as she struggled. "Why are you resisting?" she asked sadistically.
The succubus squirmed a little more and said, "I never thought you'd actually do it!"
Amarantha laughed and said, "Payback!" as she grabbed the succubus's breasts, immediately stopping after giving them a couple of very rough squeezes. She let go and backed away with a slightly upset look on her face.
The succubus, now regretting her prank, asked, "What is it?"
Amarantha looked down at her own breasts and said, "Yours are bigger..."
"Yours are big enough, so that doesn't matter. Come on, let's get the others and go check out the library. I want to see if they have any books or tomes on really powerful magic," she said, grinning.
Amarantha raised an eyebrow and said, "Megadeath wasn't powerful enough for you?"
...
After all four members of the party finished their baths and got dressed, they regrouped and went to the library. It didn't take the succubus long to find the various books on magic and begin looking through them. At one point, she laughed and pointed to one of the tomes, saying, "Look! The Order has a tome on Riot!"
Just as clueless as the others, the hero asked, "And why is that important?"
The succubus crossed her arms and said, "Riot is basically a dark magic version of Val Volt. Why would The Order have tomes on dark magic available in their library?"
Zeraine asked, "Could it be that they believe something to the effect of 'magic is a tool to be used; the element doesn't matter'?"
The succubus shrugged. "I don't know, but I'm going to learn it."
The hero asked, "How long do you plan to spend looking over these books?"
"Until I've learned all the interesting and powerful spells. Why? You want to have me right now?"
The hero blushed slightly and said, "Well, I wouldn't say 'no', but dinner will be served soon, and you shouldn't miss a meal."
She smiled and said, "Don't worry, dear. I'll read this stuff, take a break for dinner, and then give you a good 'milking' tonight."
The hero found his head quickly filling with memories of their previous "activities" and felt his pants get a little tighter. He thought, "I don't know if I'd react this way had I not turned, but damn! Being an incubus is a pain sometimes..."
She glanced at his crotch and her smile got bigger. "I'd suck you off real quick, but I'm afraid we might get your cum on the books."
The hero frowned and said, "We'd get in trouble, too, even if that didn't happen."
She gave a hungry glance to his crotch and said, "Then hold it until tonight." She then resumed looking through the books and tomes for new spells.
Chapter 145
Spoiler: show
Zeraine and Amarantha decided to look through the books and tomes the succubus had already looked at, but they didn't see any spells they could cast. Just then, they heard the succubus exclaim excitedly and looked to see what it was. She glanced up at them and said, "Look," pointing at the page of another tome. "The spell, Magnet. A combination earth and fire spell that causes a small volcanic explosion underneath the target. Sounds nice, doesn't it?" she said, smiling.
Zeraine sighed and said, "Well, it looks like we can't cast any of these spells, so... I guess we'll go take a look around. See you at dinner, alright?"
The hero nodded and said, "Sure," as they walked out of the library. He sat down next to the succubus and watched her as she studied the various books, admiring how she could show this much dedication to something other than his manhood. Unfortunately, as soon as he thought that, his meat pole started swelling up again, and the memories of their "nighttime fun" resurfaced. He scoured over his memories and remembered how ever since he became an incubus, every day at about this time, he had started wanting it pretty badly.
A sly grin crept onto the succubus's face as she leered at him, not turning her head away from the book. She glanced back at the book long enough to close it and grab the next one before saying, "If you can't hold it, or if you just don't want to, I could get you off once before dinner."
He leaned in close and said, "We can't have sex here. We'd get caught. Also, now is not the time for it."
She snickered and said, "You have a boner, though. If you scooted closer, I could give you a handjob under the table while I study. Would you like that?"
Despite his current desire to say yes, he shook his head. "I can hold it. There's too much risk right now, and I prefer we do it in bed."
She shrugged. "Suit yourself, but just so you know, I'm getting wet."
"What?"
"Knowing you're hard right now arouses me." She neglected to mention that she really enjoyed making him cum regardless of whether or not she did, simply because he was her beloved and pleasing him pleased her in turn. She also liked watching and feeling the semen squirt out of his penis, too.
He looked around uncomfortably. They were talking quietly, but he wanted to make completely sure nobody heard. "Can we talk about something else?"
"Like what?"
"Well, like the spells you're learning. What do they do?"
She shrugged. "Unless it says in the book, I'd have to test it. I've told you what Riot and Magnet do, and those are the only ones I've seen so far that I don't already know." She opened the next book and looked through it. "Ah, here we go. Deen Tear. ...It looks like this spell's main purpose is to create a tornado, but you can also use it to fire extremely sharp blades of air."
The hero asked, "Wouldn't that make it do the same thing as Sodom?"
The succubus looked at him with a surprised expression. "You remember me using Sodom?"
He nodded. "That time way back when you used it to cut off that ogre's legs so I could finish it off; it's hard to forget something like that."
She smiled and said, "Yeah, and then I mentioned that we make a pretty good team. ...Anyway, back to the spell. Since the spell is mainly meant for creating a tornado, I'd guess that the 'air-blades' part would be stronger than Sodom. Regardless, being able to send a tornado after an enemy, or group of enemies, would be very nice."
The hero said, "Yeah, it would. ...I've got a question. How do you remember all of your spells?"
She grinned and said, "Well, first of all, I have a good memory. Second..." She reached into her satchel and pulled out a book. "...I have this. It's my spell book. Whenever I learn a new spell, the book's enchantment automatically adds the spell to its pages. Because the book is enchanted, it has an infinite number of pages, though it only appears to be the size of a standard dictionary. Anyway, the enchantment also allows the owner to quickly look up any spell with ease. Let's say I wanted to look up Intelipeli. I could use alphabetic sorting, or I could sort by element. I can also combine sorting methods, such as 'sort by element' and 'sort by power', to allow me to look up a strong spell of a certain element in a hurry."
The hero asked, "What about spells that use more than one element? Didn't you say that Megadeath is both earth and air?"
"I didn't directly say that, but yes, it is. It would show up in both categories, earth and air."
"I see. Where did you get your spell book?"
"Everyone who goes through a school of magic, no matter what school or where, is issued one upon enrollment. It's the one universal thing among the many different schools of magic in the world. Undoubtedly Sol and Lucifer have their own, as well. Matilda might have her own, too. As you've seen, you don't need a spell book to learn, remember, and cast spells, but it's a big help if you know lots of spells like I do. I intend to teach you all of my spells someday, so we'll have to get you one eventually."
The hero nodded, thinking about when a good time to do that might be, but before he could ask for her opinion, he noticed that she had gone back to looking over the books. He sat there patiently, silently keeping her company while she studied. Soon, someone called out, "Dinner time!" and everyone began leaving the library.
The hero waited for the succubus to close the book she was reading, then got up and held out his hand. She smiled and got up, then the two of them walked hand-in-hand to the mess hall. Once there, they regrouped with Zeraine and Amarantha, got their food, and they all sat down together to eat. Zeraine asked, "Well? Did you learn any interesting spells?"
The succubus shrugged. "I learned Riot, as you know. I also learned three others, Magnet, Deen Tear, and Anthem. I'm a little suspicious about Anthem, though."
"Why?"
"The description. It reminds me of another spell... I want to test it as soon as we're done eating. Is there a place where I could?"
The hero shrugged. "That probably depends on what the spell does, but I'll try and ask one of the instructors." He then looked at Zeraine and asked, "Did anything interesting happen on your end?"
Zeraine shrugged. "Not really. We found that Ammie and I are staying in the guest quarters, and that you two will be staying in your old room. Apparently they didn't do anything with it, other than maybe clean it, in the event you returned for whatever reason. Aside from that, no, nothing important happened."
The four of them finished eating and split up again, Zeraine and Amarantha going to the guest quarters, and the hero and the succubus going to look for an instructor. They found one and asked about a place for the succubus to try out Anthem. The instructor led them to a small building that housed a mostly empty room except for large boards with large circles painted on them. She said, "This is the room we use for practicing with the smaller spells. Go ahead and try it out."
The succubus nodded and said, "Let's see if my suspicions are true." She walked in and faced one of the targets. "Bullets of light, strike my enemy! Iron Lightning Anthem!" After casting the spell, she stared blankly at the target, then cast it again as if to prove to herself what she had just seen. "I was right. It's the same thing as Anselm."
The instructor said, "Sometimes 'duplicate spells' pop up; spells that do the same thing but have different names and incantations, like Anthem and Anselm."
"Yeah, I know. Lightning Bolt is sort of a 'shortcut' version of Val Volt, after all."
"Thank you for your time and help," the hero said to the instructor as he led the succubus out. "It's getting late, so we should get ready for bed."
She grinned and, in a playful tone, she accused, "You just want to stick it in."
His face went red and he said, "We need to get some sleep for tomorrow. ...And yes, I want to do it."
She smiled proudly and said, "I'll take good care of you."
They retired to his room, made love, and went to sleep.
...
The next morning, both couples barely had time to make love once before they had to get up and get dressed for breakfast. Immediately after eating, they were separated, one group of people leading Amarantha and the succubus away to one place and another leading Zeraine and the hero away to another. Once they arrived at their destinations, the groups of people began helping them prepare for the ceremony. The girls were measured and told to wait as some from the all-female group left. They could easily see the excitement in each other's eyes. It wasn't long before the women returned, carrying the two wedding dresses. They were told to strip, so the succubus did and stood waiting in her underwear as some from the group helped her get into the dress. Amarantha was hesitant, though. The succubus asked, "What's wrong?"
Amarantha, her face red, said, "Remember how Levi cut my bra? I don't have a spare..."
"You're not wearing one? It doesn't matter. We're all women here, and it looks like both of our dresses are A-line style with strapless necklines, so your bra would show if you wore one, and that might be more embarrassing than going bra-less," the succubus said, taking off her bra as the women continued helping her put the dress on. At one point, once she got a better look at the dresses, she commented, "Oh, they're off-the-shoulder style necklines..."
Amarantha reluctantly took off the chainmail armor and her sliced-open shirt and stood there in just her panties as the rest of the women helped her put her dress on. Once they were finished, Amarantha and the succubus were ready, wearing their wedding dresses. The succubus's dress was backless to allow for her wings and tail. Amarantha asked, "About what you said last night... Do I look strange?"
The succubus asked, "What do you mean?"
"Do I look strange wearing this with my figure and stuff?"
The succubus shook her head. "It looks fine on you. I can't wait to see our partners' reactions," she said, grinning.
...
Similarly, Zeraine and the hero were ordered to strip to their underwear to be suited up in The Order's ceremonial armor. While they were being measured by the all-male group, the Grandmaster came in, wearing a priest's robe. He said, "I know it hasn't happened yet, but I want to congratulate you two. I also want to let you know that, if he'll accept it, I'm going to make Zeraine a Knight-Brother of The Order."
Zeraine was taken aback by the announcement. "What? What does that mean?"
The Grandmaster replied, "Basically, I'd be making you an honorary member of The Order."
"Is there a catch?"
"Not really. You'd be free to continue your life as you have been, if you so choose, but as a Knight-Brother, we of The Order would come to your aid when you needed us, and we'd expect the same from you, if you were capable."
Zeraine thought for a few seconds, strongly considering the offer, then shook his head and said, "Thanks for the offer, but I don't want any problems with other Order members over my wife."
As the men returned with the two suits of armor, the Grandmaster said, "Very well, then. After your wedding, I'll let you two enjoy the rest of the day with your wives however you choose, but tomorrow, we must talk about that girl's plans."
He left, leaving the two to get suited up. Once they were, they were led to the chapel and told to stand before the altar and wait. Wait they did, and shortly after, the succubus and Amarantha, in their white wedding dresses, looking radiant and beautiful, arrived and walked up the aisle to join them. The Grandmaster walked up in between the couples and the off-duty knights in attendance and announced, "We are gathered here today to celebrate a most joyous occasion; a double wedding! With the power vested in me as Grandmaster of The Order, I have the honor, pleasure, and privilege of presiding over the unions of these two couples in holy matrimony. Most of you already know that both men here are incubi, and that one of them is marrying a succubus and the other is marrying a silver dragon. I remember the last time we performed a wedding of this kind... I was still just a young knight, serving under the previous Grandmaster. It fills my heart with joy that we are able to witness the two marriages of men to monsters today. May this wedding serve as proof that peaceful coexistence is possible! Now, without further ado..."
He turned to face Zeraine and asked, "Zeraine, do you take this woman-"
"Dragon," Amarantha interrupted.
The Grandmaster paused and said, "Yes, right..." Some of the congregation laughed a little, then he continued, "Zeraine, do you take this dragon, Amarantha, to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold, from this day forth, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, 'till death do you part?"
Zeraine nodded and said, "I do."
The Grandmaster then turned to Amarantha and asked, "Amarantha, do you take this man, Zeraine, to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, from this day forth, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, 'till death do you part?"
Amarantha smirked and said, "Of course I do."
The Grandmaster nodded in satisfaction, and then walked over in front of the hero and the succubus. He stopped in between them and looked at the hero. "Lucas, do you take this woman, Lilith, to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold, from this day forth, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, 'till death do you part?"
Lucas nodded and said, "Yes, I do."
The Grandmaster turned to the succubus and asked, "Lilith, do you take this man, Lucas, to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, from this day forth, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, 'till death do you part?"
Lilith scoffed and said, "Yes, I do, but our love will transcend that."
Lucas's face went slightly red and snickers were heard from the audience, but the Grandmaster ignored it and continued, "Then by the power vested in me by the Chief God, I hereby pronounce you men and wives. Grooms, you may kiss your brides."
Lucas and Lilith kissed, as did Zeraine and Amarantha, and those in attendance cheered. Suddenly, however, the party and the Grandmaster, as well as several people in attendance, felt something and turned to face the chapel doors. The doors slowly swung open and a bright light filled the chapel. When the light subsided enough, everyone could see a very beautiful blond man with long hair and blue eyes, wearing a white robe. One of the first things everyone noticed, aside from his powerful presence, was his large, white, feathered wings. Right after that, they noticed a ring of golden light above his head; a halo.
Lilith tensed up and grabbed Lucas's hand. He glanced at her and whispered, asking "What's wrong?
She whispered back, "That's an angel! Angels and demons, especially succubi, tend to not get along. At all."
The angel approached the altar. Everyone was frozen, be it with awe or fear, but none could move. His voice, calm and gentle, almost sounding like a song with its beauty, rang out as he spoke, saying, "I am Uriel. At the behest of the Chief God, I have come to announce that your champion, Lucas, was chosen to receive the Divine Blessing, but certain circumstances, specifically him becoming an incubus, has caused a delay. Because he chose to be corrupted into an incubus, he must prove that he is still righteous despite this. If he can prove himself as such, he may yet receive the Blessing."
Lucas stepped forward and said, "I did what I had to and I don't regret it. Had I chosen not to become an incubus, I wouldn't be alive right now."
Uriel looked at Lucas, looking him in the eye, causing him to back up a half-step. "The choice is not mine to make. This is what the Chief God has decreed. Would you dare to question the Chief God's will?"
"No. I merely humbly request that he, in his wisdom, know and understand that I had no choice."
Uriel, still as straight-faced as he had been since he arrived, said, "Your battle with The Four Horsemen is one of many things being taken into consideration. As long as you remain righteous and do not fall into depravity, you should still receive the Blessing at a later date." He looked at Lilith and saw that she was glaring at him hatefully while standing slightly behind Lucas. Without changing his expression, he said, "You need not fear me, succubus. I am not here to kill you."
Lilith gritted her teeth and said, "What makes you think I'm afraid? And what guarantee do I have that you or some other angel won't come along and try to later?"
Uriel narrowed his eyes slightly at her for a second before returning to his normal expression and said, "The Demon Lord has grown too powerful. The evil monsters number too many. Because you side with the humans, you will be spared. Is that good enough?"
She remained silent, still glaring at him.
Uriel then turned to the people attending the wedding and said, "Knights of The Order, you face a difficult battle in the very near future. Be strong and righteous and you shall win." He then walked outside and disappeared in a bright flash of light.
Zeraine sighed and said, "Well, it looks like we can't cast any of these spells, so... I guess we'll go take a look around. See you at dinner, alright?"
The hero nodded and said, "Sure," as they walked out of the library. He sat down next to the succubus and watched her as she studied the various books, admiring how she could show this much dedication to something other than his manhood. Unfortunately, as soon as he thought that, his meat pole started swelling up again, and the memories of their "nighttime fun" resurfaced. He scoured over his memories and remembered how ever since he became an incubus, every day at about this time, he had started wanting it pretty badly.
A sly grin crept onto the succubus's face as she leered at him, not turning her head away from the book. She glanced back at the book long enough to close it and grab the next one before saying, "If you can't hold it, or if you just don't want to, I could get you off once before dinner."
He leaned in close and said, "We can't have sex here. We'd get caught. Also, now is not the time for it."
She snickered and said, "You have a boner, though. If you scooted closer, I could give you a handjob under the table while I study. Would you like that?"
Despite his current desire to say yes, he shook his head. "I can hold it. There's too much risk right now, and I prefer we do it in bed."
She shrugged. "Suit yourself, but just so you know, I'm getting wet."
"What?"
"Knowing you're hard right now arouses me." She neglected to mention that she really enjoyed making him cum regardless of whether or not she did, simply because he was her beloved and pleasing him pleased her in turn. She also liked watching and feeling the semen squirt out of his penis, too.
He looked around uncomfortably. They were talking quietly, but he wanted to make completely sure nobody heard. "Can we talk about something else?"
"Like what?"
"Well, like the spells you're learning. What do they do?"
She shrugged. "Unless it says in the book, I'd have to test it. I've told you what Riot and Magnet do, and those are the only ones I've seen so far that I don't already know." She opened the next book and looked through it. "Ah, here we go. Deen Tear. ...It looks like this spell's main purpose is to create a tornado, but you can also use it to fire extremely sharp blades of air."
The hero asked, "Wouldn't that make it do the same thing as Sodom?"
The succubus looked at him with a surprised expression. "You remember me using Sodom?"
He nodded. "That time way back when you used it to cut off that ogre's legs so I could finish it off; it's hard to forget something like that."
She smiled and said, "Yeah, and then I mentioned that we make a pretty good team. ...Anyway, back to the spell. Since the spell is mainly meant for creating a tornado, I'd guess that the 'air-blades' part would be stronger than Sodom. Regardless, being able to send a tornado after an enemy, or group of enemies, would be very nice."
The hero said, "Yeah, it would. ...I've got a question. How do you remember all of your spells?"
She grinned and said, "Well, first of all, I have a good memory. Second..." She reached into her satchel and pulled out a book. "...I have this. It's my spell book. Whenever I learn a new spell, the book's enchantment automatically adds the spell to its pages. Because the book is enchanted, it has an infinite number of pages, though it only appears to be the size of a standard dictionary. Anyway, the enchantment also allows the owner to quickly look up any spell with ease. Let's say I wanted to look up Intelipeli. I could use alphabetic sorting, or I could sort by element. I can also combine sorting methods, such as 'sort by element' and 'sort by power', to allow me to look up a strong spell of a certain element in a hurry."
The hero asked, "What about spells that use more than one element? Didn't you say that Megadeath is both earth and air?"
"I didn't directly say that, but yes, it is. It would show up in both categories, earth and air."
"I see. Where did you get your spell book?"
"Everyone who goes through a school of magic, no matter what school or where, is issued one upon enrollment. It's the one universal thing among the many different schools of magic in the world. Undoubtedly Sol and Lucifer have their own, as well. Matilda might have her own, too. As you've seen, you don't need a spell book to learn, remember, and cast spells, but it's a big help if you know lots of spells like I do. I intend to teach you all of my spells someday, so we'll have to get you one eventually."
The hero nodded, thinking about when a good time to do that might be, but before he could ask for her opinion, he noticed that she had gone back to looking over the books. He sat there patiently, silently keeping her company while she studied. Soon, someone called out, "Dinner time!" and everyone began leaving the library.
The hero waited for the succubus to close the book she was reading, then got up and held out his hand. She smiled and got up, then the two of them walked hand-in-hand to the mess hall. Once there, they regrouped with Zeraine and Amarantha, got their food, and they all sat down together to eat. Zeraine asked, "Well? Did you learn any interesting spells?"
The succubus shrugged. "I learned Riot, as you know. I also learned three others, Magnet, Deen Tear, and Anthem. I'm a little suspicious about Anthem, though."
"Why?"
"The description. It reminds me of another spell... I want to test it as soon as we're done eating. Is there a place where I could?"
The hero shrugged. "That probably depends on what the spell does, but I'll try and ask one of the instructors." He then looked at Zeraine and asked, "Did anything interesting happen on your end?"
Zeraine shrugged. "Not really. We found that Ammie and I are staying in the guest quarters, and that you two will be staying in your old room. Apparently they didn't do anything with it, other than maybe clean it, in the event you returned for whatever reason. Aside from that, no, nothing important happened."
The four of them finished eating and split up again, Zeraine and Amarantha going to the guest quarters, and the hero and the succubus going to look for an instructor. They found one and asked about a place for the succubus to try out Anthem. The instructor led them to a small building that housed a mostly empty room except for large boards with large circles painted on them. She said, "This is the room we use for practicing with the smaller spells. Go ahead and try it out."
The succubus nodded and said, "Let's see if my suspicions are true." She walked in and faced one of the targets. "Bullets of light, strike my enemy! Iron Lightning Anthem!" After casting the spell, she stared blankly at the target, then cast it again as if to prove to herself what she had just seen. "I was right. It's the same thing as Anselm."
The instructor said, "Sometimes 'duplicate spells' pop up; spells that do the same thing but have different names and incantations, like Anthem and Anselm."
"Yeah, I know. Lightning Bolt is sort of a 'shortcut' version of Val Volt, after all."
"Thank you for your time and help," the hero said to the instructor as he led the succubus out. "It's getting late, so we should get ready for bed."
She grinned and, in a playful tone, she accused, "You just want to stick it in."
His face went red and he said, "We need to get some sleep for tomorrow. ...And yes, I want to do it."
She smiled proudly and said, "I'll take good care of you."
They retired to his room, made love, and went to sleep.
...
The next morning, both couples barely had time to make love once before they had to get up and get dressed for breakfast. Immediately after eating, they were separated, one group of people leading Amarantha and the succubus away to one place and another leading Zeraine and the hero away to another. Once they arrived at their destinations, the groups of people began helping them prepare for the ceremony. The girls were measured and told to wait as some from the all-female group left. They could easily see the excitement in each other's eyes. It wasn't long before the women returned, carrying the two wedding dresses. They were told to strip, so the succubus did and stood waiting in her underwear as some from the group helped her get into the dress. Amarantha was hesitant, though. The succubus asked, "What's wrong?"
Amarantha, her face red, said, "Remember how Levi cut my bra? I don't have a spare..."
"You're not wearing one? It doesn't matter. We're all women here, and it looks like both of our dresses are A-line style with strapless necklines, so your bra would show if you wore one, and that might be more embarrassing than going bra-less," the succubus said, taking off her bra as the women continued helping her put the dress on. At one point, once she got a better look at the dresses, she commented, "Oh, they're off-the-shoulder style necklines..."
Amarantha reluctantly took off the chainmail armor and her sliced-open shirt and stood there in just her panties as the rest of the women helped her put her dress on. Once they were finished, Amarantha and the succubus were ready, wearing their wedding dresses. The succubus's dress was backless to allow for her wings and tail. Amarantha asked, "About what you said last night... Do I look strange?"
The succubus asked, "What do you mean?"
"Do I look strange wearing this with my figure and stuff?"
The succubus shook her head. "It looks fine on you. I can't wait to see our partners' reactions," she said, grinning.
...
Similarly, Zeraine and the hero were ordered to strip to their underwear to be suited up in The Order's ceremonial armor. While they were being measured by the all-male group, the Grandmaster came in, wearing a priest's robe. He said, "I know it hasn't happened yet, but I want to congratulate you two. I also want to let you know that, if he'll accept it, I'm going to make Zeraine a Knight-Brother of The Order."
Zeraine was taken aback by the announcement. "What? What does that mean?"
The Grandmaster replied, "Basically, I'd be making you an honorary member of The Order."
"Is there a catch?"
"Not really. You'd be free to continue your life as you have been, if you so choose, but as a Knight-Brother, we of The Order would come to your aid when you needed us, and we'd expect the same from you, if you were capable."
Zeraine thought for a few seconds, strongly considering the offer, then shook his head and said, "Thanks for the offer, but I don't want any problems with other Order members over my wife."
As the men returned with the two suits of armor, the Grandmaster said, "Very well, then. After your wedding, I'll let you two enjoy the rest of the day with your wives however you choose, but tomorrow, we must talk about that girl's plans."
He left, leaving the two to get suited up. Once they were, they were led to the chapel and told to stand before the altar and wait. Wait they did, and shortly after, the succubus and Amarantha, in their white wedding dresses, looking radiant and beautiful, arrived and walked up the aisle to join them. The Grandmaster walked up in between the couples and the off-duty knights in attendance and announced, "We are gathered here today to celebrate a most joyous occasion; a double wedding! With the power vested in me as Grandmaster of The Order, I have the honor, pleasure, and privilege of presiding over the unions of these two couples in holy matrimony. Most of you already know that both men here are incubi, and that one of them is marrying a succubus and the other is marrying a silver dragon. I remember the last time we performed a wedding of this kind... I was still just a young knight, serving under the previous Grandmaster. It fills my heart with joy that we are able to witness the two marriages of men to monsters today. May this wedding serve as proof that peaceful coexistence is possible! Now, without further ado..."
He turned to face Zeraine and asked, "Zeraine, do you take this woman-"
"Dragon," Amarantha interrupted.
The Grandmaster paused and said, "Yes, right..." Some of the congregation laughed a little, then he continued, "Zeraine, do you take this dragon, Amarantha, to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold, from this day forth, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, 'till death do you part?"
Zeraine nodded and said, "I do."
The Grandmaster then turned to Amarantha and asked, "Amarantha, do you take this man, Zeraine, to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, from this day forth, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, 'till death do you part?"
Amarantha smirked and said, "Of course I do."
The Grandmaster nodded in satisfaction, and then walked over in front of the hero and the succubus. He stopped in between them and looked at the hero. "Lucas, do you take this woman, Lilith, to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold, from this day forth, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, 'till death do you part?"
Lucas nodded and said, "Yes, I do."
The Grandmaster turned to the succubus and asked, "Lilith, do you take this man, Lucas, to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, from this day forth, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, 'till death do you part?"
Lilith scoffed and said, "Yes, I do, but our love will transcend that."
Lucas's face went slightly red and snickers were heard from the audience, but the Grandmaster ignored it and continued, "Then by the power vested in me by the Chief God, I hereby pronounce you men and wives. Grooms, you may kiss your brides."
Lucas and Lilith kissed, as did Zeraine and Amarantha, and those in attendance cheered. Suddenly, however, the party and the Grandmaster, as well as several people in attendance, felt something and turned to face the chapel doors. The doors slowly swung open and a bright light filled the chapel. When the light subsided enough, everyone could see a very beautiful blond man with long hair and blue eyes, wearing a white robe. One of the first things everyone noticed, aside from his powerful presence, was his large, white, feathered wings. Right after that, they noticed a ring of golden light above his head; a halo.
Lilith tensed up and grabbed Lucas's hand. He glanced at her and whispered, asking "What's wrong?
She whispered back, "That's an angel! Angels and demons, especially succubi, tend to not get along. At all."
The angel approached the altar. Everyone was frozen, be it with awe or fear, but none could move. His voice, calm and gentle, almost sounding like a song with its beauty, rang out as he spoke, saying, "I am Uriel. At the behest of the Chief God, I have come to announce that your champion, Lucas, was chosen to receive the Divine Blessing, but certain circumstances, specifically him becoming an incubus, has caused a delay. Because he chose to be corrupted into an incubus, he must prove that he is still righteous despite this. If he can prove himself as such, he may yet receive the Blessing."
Lucas stepped forward and said, "I did what I had to and I don't regret it. Had I chosen not to become an incubus, I wouldn't be alive right now."
Uriel looked at Lucas, looking him in the eye, causing him to back up a half-step. "The choice is not mine to make. This is what the Chief God has decreed. Would you dare to question the Chief God's will?"
"No. I merely humbly request that he, in his wisdom, know and understand that I had no choice."
Uriel, still as straight-faced as he had been since he arrived, said, "Your battle with The Four Horsemen is one of many things being taken into consideration. As long as you remain righteous and do not fall into depravity, you should still receive the Blessing at a later date." He looked at Lilith and saw that she was glaring at him hatefully while standing slightly behind Lucas. Without changing his expression, he said, "You need not fear me, succubus. I am not here to kill you."
Lilith gritted her teeth and said, "What makes you think I'm afraid? And what guarantee do I have that you or some other angel won't come along and try to later?"
Uriel narrowed his eyes slightly at her for a second before returning to his normal expression and said, "The Demon Lord has grown too powerful. The evil monsters number too many. Because you side with the humans, you will be spared. Is that good enough?"
She remained silent, still glaring at him.
Uriel then turned to the people attending the wedding and said, "Knights of The Order, you face a difficult battle in the very near future. Be strong and righteous and you shall win." He then walked outside and disappeared in a bright flash of light.
Chapter 146
Spoiler: show
The people inside the chapel attending the wedding, as well as both couples and the Grandmaster himself, were all frozen in place for a full two minutes after Uriel left. Lilith was the only one not in awe. Instead, she was partly afraid, partly angry. Due to this, she recovered first and asked, "Hey, Grandmaster? We're not done yet, right?"
The Grandmaster snapped out of it, shook his head, and said, "Uh, yes, that's right. Um... Where were we? Oh, yes... Everyone, eyes to the front." He waited for everyone to comply before continuing, "Um... The men have kissed their brides, so to resume..." He took four plain-looking rings out of his pocket and gave one to each member of the party. "Let these rings serve as proof of your unions and... Uh..."
Lucas asked, "Just put them on?"
"Uh, no. The brides and grooms put the rings on each other's fingers. You put the one I handed you on your wife's finger and vice versa."
Lucas nodded and grabbed Lilith's left hand, then slid the ring onto her ring finger. She then paused long enough to look at the ring on her finger and smile happily before sliding the ring the Grandmaster handed her onto Lucas's left-hand ring finger. Zeraine and Amarantha similarly put the rings they were given onto each other's left-hand ring fingers.
The Grandmaster, his thoughts still obviously elsewhere due to Uriel's appearance, said, "With this the ceremony is now complete. Cherish each other, support each other, and let no one break your bond."
Those in the pews clapped. Lilith leaned in close and asked, "Do you think they'd let me wear this for another hour or so?" obviously referring to the dress.
Lucas whispered back, "I don't think so. I doubt they'd take kindly to us having sex in these, so forget it. We don't need the clothes to have fun, right?"
She sighed and whispered, "I still would've liked to have at least given you a blowjob while still wearing this dress, but I guess we can wait on the cosplay sex until after I've taken the throne. First, though, I think I saw a tome I wanted to look at, so I'm going to do that. After that, we'll do it a few times, okay?"
He nodded. The two groups from before returned and led the respective parties away to help them change again. Once it was done, the four of them regrouped outside the chapel. Lucas looked at Zeraine and Amarantha and asked, "Now that the wedding is done, what do you guys plan to do?"
Zeraine shrugged. "We're going to spar a little, then I guess we'll rest for a while. How about you guys?"
Lilith said, "I'm going to study a little more, then he and I are going to spend some 'quality time' together." She glanced at Lucas and licked her lips.
They split up, Zeraine and Amarantha going toward the training area and Lucas and Lilith heading back to the library. Once back in the library, Lilith went back to the table she worked at the night before and smiled, seeing that all of the books were still there. She sat down and started looking through them. Lucas sat down next to her and said, "I'm surprised you're in this good a mood."
She gave him a confused look, then her mood soured. "You're talking about that fucking angel interrupting my wedding. That stuck up bastard, giving me that disdainful look of his... I'll kill that son of a bitch," she growled, her eyes starting to glow red as she built up magic energy.
"Hey, calm down! At least we tied the knot, right?"
Her eyes returned to normal, but she continued to frown. "Yeah, I guess. ...I wish mom and dad could have been here for it, though. Still, I would have been fine with it had that asshole not shown up. Showing up to say that they're reconsidering giving you the Divine Blessing just because you became an incubus... What a load of horseshit. You're the most capable person for the job of doing away with the current Demon Lord. So what if you're an incubus? You're still going to help me fix things for everyone, so what the fuck does it matter?"
He nodded and said, "I'm going to have to agree with you on that. Still, now I'm nervous. What if they disapprove of something and I don't get it? Can we still beat the Demon Lord without it? And what if we really piss them off somehow? Can we beat an angel?"
"It sounds like you're not on their side anymore."
"That's not how it is. It's just that I'm worried, you know?"
"If it came down to it and you had to choose, who would you side with, me or the gods?"
Lucas found himself unable to answer, which made Lilith glare at him. She then went back to looking through the tomes and books.
...
Zeraine and Amarantha, having just finished a very short but very intense sparring session, sat down on the grass next to each other. Zeraine commented, "So that was an angel... Could you feel the guy's power, Ammie?"
She scoffed. "How could I not? Didn't about half the people sense him before he opened the door? It's good that he wasn't offended by the princess being in the chapel. These guys are good people, but I'm afraid they'd still rally behind the 'messenger of their god' and attack us if that happened."
Zeraine shook his head. "Actually, Ammie, I think he was offended. He just didn't show it, except for maybe that one little moment when he narrowed his eyes at her. It might be my imagination, but I swear I could feel mutual contempt between them. ...It was kind of funny, though."
"What was?"
"The princess wearing that white dress, said dress symbolizing purity, with her being inside an Order chapel, getting married like a human would."
Amarantha nodded. "Yeah, I guess. I think the dress was strangely fitting, though. Speaking of which, how did I look in mine?"
"So beautiful that words can't describe it," he answered, completely serious.
She smiled and blushed, then said, "Really? It didn't look strange on me? Even with my body like it is?"
He put his arm around her and said, "Your body is beautiful, and you were beautiful in the dress. Now, what are we going to do?"
"How long is it until lunch?"
"Probably a couple of hours. Why?"
"We could spar a little more."
He gave her a perverted smile and said, "And then, once you're all sweaty, we'll go back to the guest quarters and I'll lick it off you."
She blushed and shoved him playfully. "Be serious!"
"I am, Ammie."
The two of them got up and shared a kiss before resuming.
...
Lilith had calmed down to an extent, focusing on skimming through the various books rather than thinking about Uriel or Lucas's inability to answer her last question. Eventually, she found something. "Hey, this looks good. Check it out," she said, motioning for Lucas to look. "Chroming Row. It looks like the caster fires a screw-shaped beam of light."
"Is it different enough from Anselm to warrant learning? You remember yesterday with the 'Anselm/Anthem' thing, right?"
"Yeah. I'll learn it, though, since it seems like it'd be more powerful than Anselm, though it looks like I might only be able to attack one target with it at a time, at least at first."
Lucas drifted off into thought as he watched Lilith study. He thought, "She's so beautiful... That wedding dress looked good on her, too. I can't explain it, but it just seemed so right, so fitting..."
He returned to his senses when he heard her gasp in part-happiness, part-amazement. "This is what I was looking for! Look, dear!" She excitedly showed him the tome she was reading.
He read a little bit of it, then said, "I don't quite follow..."
She said, "This is Tesla, the strongest lightning spell in existence! Want to know what it does? It hits the enemy with a column of lightning from the sky. Want to know the voltage? 200,000 volts. Val Volt hits with 20,000 volts and Riot hits with 60,000 volts. Can you imagine the power?"
He shook his head. "No. I suppose I'd have to see it to appreciate it, possibly after seeing the other two for comparison."
She sighed and hung her head. "I guess only mages can really appreciate this stuff... Anyway, we've got another super-powerful spell in our arsenal. What do you think?"
"I think we've been keeping some pretty dangerous stuff here, honestly..."
She made sure to learn the spell, then she set the tome aside. She skimmed through the last two books, but found nothing useful. "Well, I'm pretty happy after learning that spell. Help me put the books back and we'll celebrate, okay?"
He nodded and they carried the books, several at a time, back to the shelves. She put them all back where she had found them, one at a time, even putting a couple of them back in their proper places after noticing that they were originally in the wrong ones. The hero asked, "So these 'super-powerful' spells; you know two now, right? One for both earth and air, and the other for lightning. Are there similar spells for fire and ice?"
As they began heading back to his room, she said, "Of course there are. I don't know where I'd learn them, though..." They got back to his room and shut the door, then locked it and stripped. She asked, "This morning wasn't enough for you, either, was it?"
He was only able to shake his head before she tackled him, both of them ending up on the bed, almost in cowgirl position. They proceeded to have sex until lunch time.
...
Zeraine and Amarantha had finished their second training session, and due to its intensity, they were both sweaty. Zeraine led the way back to the guest quarters and they stripped. Amarantha said, "Let's just wash off and do it, okay?"
He shook his head, shoved her down onto the bed, and began licking the sweat off her abdomen. "It's kind of salty... But it's Ammie's sweat," he said, continuing to lick her belly on his way up to her breasts.
She squirmed because it tickled and said, "Zeraine! Stop! Come on, you can't really enjoy this, can you?"
He kissed her just below her breasts and said, "Yeah, I do. If you'd let me, I'd lick all the sweat off you whole body, even your feet."
She frowned and said, "Don't you dare. Just stick it in, okay?"
"Not until I've licked it off your boobs, your neck, your thighs, your crotch, and your armpits."
"Hey, now..."
"You taste good when you're sweaty. I also love how you smell."
She growled, part frustration, part agitation, and grabbed him, then rolled over, pulling him down onto the bed and mounting him. "You want to suck my sweaty tits? Do it while I ride you!" she said as she lined him up for insertion and brought her nearly dripping lower lips down on him.
The two of them would go on to "fight" over the lead, wrestling with each other as they made love, thoroughly enjoying it until lunch.
The Grandmaster snapped out of it, shook his head, and said, "Uh, yes, that's right. Um... Where were we? Oh, yes... Everyone, eyes to the front." He waited for everyone to comply before continuing, "Um... The men have kissed their brides, so to resume..." He took four plain-looking rings out of his pocket and gave one to each member of the party. "Let these rings serve as proof of your unions and... Uh..."
Lucas asked, "Just put them on?"
"Uh, no. The brides and grooms put the rings on each other's fingers. You put the one I handed you on your wife's finger and vice versa."
Lucas nodded and grabbed Lilith's left hand, then slid the ring onto her ring finger. She then paused long enough to look at the ring on her finger and smile happily before sliding the ring the Grandmaster handed her onto Lucas's left-hand ring finger. Zeraine and Amarantha similarly put the rings they were given onto each other's left-hand ring fingers.
The Grandmaster, his thoughts still obviously elsewhere due to Uriel's appearance, said, "With this the ceremony is now complete. Cherish each other, support each other, and let no one break your bond."
Those in the pews clapped. Lilith leaned in close and asked, "Do you think they'd let me wear this for another hour or so?" obviously referring to the dress.
Lucas whispered back, "I don't think so. I doubt they'd take kindly to us having sex in these, so forget it. We don't need the clothes to have fun, right?"
She sighed and whispered, "I still would've liked to have at least given you a blowjob while still wearing this dress, but I guess we can wait on the cosplay sex until after I've taken the throne. First, though, I think I saw a tome I wanted to look at, so I'm going to do that. After that, we'll do it a few times, okay?"
He nodded. The two groups from before returned and led the respective parties away to help them change again. Once it was done, the four of them regrouped outside the chapel. Lucas looked at Zeraine and Amarantha and asked, "Now that the wedding is done, what do you guys plan to do?"
Zeraine shrugged. "We're going to spar a little, then I guess we'll rest for a while. How about you guys?"
Lilith said, "I'm going to study a little more, then he and I are going to spend some 'quality time' together." She glanced at Lucas and licked her lips.
They split up, Zeraine and Amarantha going toward the training area and Lucas and Lilith heading back to the library. Once back in the library, Lilith went back to the table she worked at the night before and smiled, seeing that all of the books were still there. She sat down and started looking through them. Lucas sat down next to her and said, "I'm surprised you're in this good a mood."
She gave him a confused look, then her mood soured. "You're talking about that fucking angel interrupting my wedding. That stuck up bastard, giving me that disdainful look of his... I'll kill that son of a bitch," she growled, her eyes starting to glow red as she built up magic energy.
"Hey, calm down! At least we tied the knot, right?"
Her eyes returned to normal, but she continued to frown. "Yeah, I guess. ...I wish mom and dad could have been here for it, though. Still, I would have been fine with it had that asshole not shown up. Showing up to say that they're reconsidering giving you the Divine Blessing just because you became an incubus... What a load of horseshit. You're the most capable person for the job of doing away with the current Demon Lord. So what if you're an incubus? You're still going to help me fix things for everyone, so what the fuck does it matter?"
He nodded and said, "I'm going to have to agree with you on that. Still, now I'm nervous. What if they disapprove of something and I don't get it? Can we still beat the Demon Lord without it? And what if we really piss them off somehow? Can we beat an angel?"
"It sounds like you're not on their side anymore."
"That's not how it is. It's just that I'm worried, you know?"
"If it came down to it and you had to choose, who would you side with, me or the gods?"
Lucas found himself unable to answer, which made Lilith glare at him. She then went back to looking through the tomes and books.
...
Zeraine and Amarantha, having just finished a very short but very intense sparring session, sat down on the grass next to each other. Zeraine commented, "So that was an angel... Could you feel the guy's power, Ammie?"
She scoffed. "How could I not? Didn't about half the people sense him before he opened the door? It's good that he wasn't offended by the princess being in the chapel. These guys are good people, but I'm afraid they'd still rally behind the 'messenger of their god' and attack us if that happened."
Zeraine shook his head. "Actually, Ammie, I think he was offended. He just didn't show it, except for maybe that one little moment when he narrowed his eyes at her. It might be my imagination, but I swear I could feel mutual contempt between them. ...It was kind of funny, though."
"What was?"
"The princess wearing that white dress, said dress symbolizing purity, with her being inside an Order chapel, getting married like a human would."
Amarantha nodded. "Yeah, I guess. I think the dress was strangely fitting, though. Speaking of which, how did I look in mine?"
"So beautiful that words can't describe it," he answered, completely serious.
She smiled and blushed, then said, "Really? It didn't look strange on me? Even with my body like it is?"
He put his arm around her and said, "Your body is beautiful, and you were beautiful in the dress. Now, what are we going to do?"
"How long is it until lunch?"
"Probably a couple of hours. Why?"
"We could spar a little more."
He gave her a perverted smile and said, "And then, once you're all sweaty, we'll go back to the guest quarters and I'll lick it off you."
She blushed and shoved him playfully. "Be serious!"
"I am, Ammie."
The two of them got up and shared a kiss before resuming.
...
Lilith had calmed down to an extent, focusing on skimming through the various books rather than thinking about Uriel or Lucas's inability to answer her last question. Eventually, she found something. "Hey, this looks good. Check it out," she said, motioning for Lucas to look. "Chroming Row. It looks like the caster fires a screw-shaped beam of light."
"Is it different enough from Anselm to warrant learning? You remember yesterday with the 'Anselm/Anthem' thing, right?"
"Yeah. I'll learn it, though, since it seems like it'd be more powerful than Anselm, though it looks like I might only be able to attack one target with it at a time, at least at first."
Lucas drifted off into thought as he watched Lilith study. He thought, "She's so beautiful... That wedding dress looked good on her, too. I can't explain it, but it just seemed so right, so fitting..."
He returned to his senses when he heard her gasp in part-happiness, part-amazement. "This is what I was looking for! Look, dear!" She excitedly showed him the tome she was reading.
He read a little bit of it, then said, "I don't quite follow..."
She said, "This is Tesla, the strongest lightning spell in existence! Want to know what it does? It hits the enemy with a column of lightning from the sky. Want to know the voltage? 200,000 volts. Val Volt hits with 20,000 volts and Riot hits with 60,000 volts. Can you imagine the power?"
He shook his head. "No. I suppose I'd have to see it to appreciate it, possibly after seeing the other two for comparison."
She sighed and hung her head. "I guess only mages can really appreciate this stuff... Anyway, we've got another super-powerful spell in our arsenal. What do you think?"
"I think we've been keeping some pretty dangerous stuff here, honestly..."
She made sure to learn the spell, then she set the tome aside. She skimmed through the last two books, but found nothing useful. "Well, I'm pretty happy after learning that spell. Help me put the books back and we'll celebrate, okay?"
He nodded and they carried the books, several at a time, back to the shelves. She put them all back where she had found them, one at a time, even putting a couple of them back in their proper places after noticing that they were originally in the wrong ones. The hero asked, "So these 'super-powerful' spells; you know two now, right? One for both earth and air, and the other for lightning. Are there similar spells for fire and ice?"
As they began heading back to his room, she said, "Of course there are. I don't know where I'd learn them, though..." They got back to his room and shut the door, then locked it and stripped. She asked, "This morning wasn't enough for you, either, was it?"
He was only able to shake his head before she tackled him, both of them ending up on the bed, almost in cowgirl position. They proceeded to have sex until lunch time.
...
Zeraine and Amarantha had finished their second training session, and due to its intensity, they were both sweaty. Zeraine led the way back to the guest quarters and they stripped. Amarantha said, "Let's just wash off and do it, okay?"
He shook his head, shoved her down onto the bed, and began licking the sweat off her abdomen. "It's kind of salty... But it's Ammie's sweat," he said, continuing to lick her belly on his way up to her breasts.
She squirmed because it tickled and said, "Zeraine! Stop! Come on, you can't really enjoy this, can you?"
He kissed her just below her breasts and said, "Yeah, I do. If you'd let me, I'd lick all the sweat off you whole body, even your feet."
She frowned and said, "Don't you dare. Just stick it in, okay?"
"Not until I've licked it off your boobs, your neck, your thighs, your crotch, and your armpits."
"Hey, now..."
"You taste good when you're sweaty. I also love how you smell."
She growled, part frustration, part agitation, and grabbed him, then rolled over, pulling him down onto the bed and mounting him. "You want to suck my sweaty tits? Do it while I ride you!" she said as she lined him up for insertion and brought her nearly dripping lower lips down on him.
The two of them would go on to "fight" over the lead, wrestling with each other as they made love, thoroughly enjoying it until lunch.
Chapter 147
Spoiler: show
After lunch, the two couples spent the rest of their day training, practicing, and having fun, frequently involving some of the knights in such things as sparring, giving and taking combat lessons, and games such as tag. After dinner, they retired to their rooms and made love again, this time with Zeraine being able to lick Amarantha's body a bit more before she took the lead and did some light domination, which he enjoyed. They then went to sleep, sleeping very well after such an intense day, with the sex sessions obviously contributing greatly to the good, restful sleep.
The next morning, after their "morning sex", Amarantha got back on top of Zeraine and started nuzzling him, rubbing her face on his neck and collar while smiling big and occasionally giggling. "What's gotten into you all of a sudden?" he asked, obviously partly confused, partly surprised.
She stopped long enough to look him in the eye as she traced shapes on his chest with her finger and asked, "You know what that ring on your finger means to me?" After seeing Zeraine's dumbfounded expression, she said, "It means you're mine. All mine. Every last part of you."
"Doesn't it also mean that we're husband and wife, and that we belong to each other? What about-"
She stole a kiss and interrupted, saying, "Yes, of course it means that, too, but remember that I am a dragon. You, my mate, are my greatest treasure. You're everything to me. Aside from what it means for humans, it means that you completely and totally belong to me. ...Of course, the ring on my finger means the same thing. I am yours in every way that you are mine. Like you said, we belong to each other, but now it's official."
"I don't want anyone but you, if that's what you're worried about."
"It's not, but that's good to hear. ...How about we make a little deal?"
"A deal? About what?"
"Once you've successfully fucked me in my true form, you won't think about any pussy but mine. How about it?" She waited for him to respond, which he did, with a very confused expression. She burst out laughing and said, "I was just fucking with you. Come on, let's get dressed." She patted him on the chest and got off.
"Ammie..." he said in an annoyed tone as he rolled his eyes and sat up. He then stood up and, right after she grabbed her panties but before she could put them on, he hugged her from behind and kissed her on the side of her neck.
She dropped her panties and savored his embrace, then smiled mischievously and said, "Be careful, Zeraine. Showing me attention like this might make me serious about what I said. Dragons are possessive, you know."
"That's fine," he said, licking her ear. "Like I said, I love you, Ammie."
She moaned as he gently rubbed her body. "Zeraine, stop... We don't have time for another round."
"I know." He nibbled on her earlobe while breathing into her ear.
"Then why are you doing this?" she asked, reaching around behind herself for his penis.
"Because I want to," he said, turning her halfway around so he could kiss her, mouth to mouth.
"I need to get you off again before we get dressed, then?"
He paused, trying to decide whether they should go again and risk being late or hold it for tonight. He then sighed and kissed her one last time before letting go and stepping away. "Yeah, we shouldn't hold everyone up. Let's go ahead and get ready."
They cleaned themselves off and got dressed, then met with the others in the mess hall.
...
Lilith, having milked Lucas three times already since waking up, cumming twice herself, was lying on her back, enjoying his thrusting as he pounded away at her, getting ready to shoot his fourth load for this morning. When he blew it, she came, her vaginal contractions helping to suck out every last drop. Once they caught their breath, he pulled out and got out of bed. She used her hand to hold her lower lips closed as she got up, then said, "I have four loads of your semen in my pussy. It feels incredible. I wish we had time to do it again, or maybe even two more times..."
Lucas found himself sharing her wish, but he didn't say it. He simply shrugged and said, "The Grandmaster wanted to talk with us about your plans. We don't want to miss breakfast, so we should get going so we can eat before we discuss everything."
She sighed and said, "I know. If I can get The Order on my side, it'll make everything a lot easier." She grinned and said, "Hey, watch..." When he turned to face her, she let go of her vagina and "pushed" a little, causing the large amount of his semen to squirt and gush out of her. Seeing that his eyes were transfixed on her crotch, she smiled and said, "Look at all that cum... Do you think I'm pregnant yet?"
Lucas swallowed nervously, then took a deep breath and said, "Clean us up so we can get dressed, okay?" It was obvious that he was struggling to stay focused after her "show".
She shrugged and said, "Fine, then. We'll resume trying tonight."
She cleaned them both off and they got dressed, then they went to the mess hall.
...
After a hearty breakfast, during which the two couples received many congratulations on their marriages, they went to the Grandmaster's office. The four of them sat down with him and Lilith explained her plan in detail. The Grandmaster listened closely and carefully as she lined everything out. When she was done, he sighed in a depressed manner and said, "I understand where you're coming from. I really do. But I must object to this."
"Why?"
"Because of several things. First of all, I like the sound of you making all monsters sapient, and making them no longer kill and eat us, and I also like the sound of you making them more 'human' in appearance, which would definitely help with them being accepted by society, but having to get rid of male monsters?"
"Like I said, if we want it to happen in any kind of timely manner, we have to make humans and monsters dependent upon one another. If human males are the males of the species and monsters are the females, then whether they like it or not, they'll need each other to breed. After humans and monsters are 'unified' into a single 'race', I'll bring back male monsters and human females. It'll be a temporary necessary evil for the sake of the greater good."
The Grandmaster nodded and said, "I understand, but I still object to it. Forcing everyone like that; it just rubs me the wrong way. It is equivalent to the actions of a tyrant."
"If those zealots weren't in the process of taking over The Order, I'd ask that you help me by spreading the word. Your 'love thy neighbor' policy could then be extended to include monsters once I've changed them. Unfortunately, as it stands, with over half of The Order 'lost', and considering the fears of the common person, which are currently justified, you attempting to help me as such right now would be a waste of everyone's time and effort. It might even cause the uninformed to turn away from The Order, or worse, turn toward the ever-growing corrupted part."
The Grandmaster's anger could be seen in his eyes as he growled, "Damn them! If not for them, with their twisting of the Chief God's words and their dirtying of The Order, we could actually do something!" He huffed, trying to calm himself, then continued, "Anyway, you said at one point that all men would be incubi."
"Yes. If you look at my husband, you'll see that he looks no different. His magic is stronger, he has more stamina, he won't physically age anymore, and he'll live a lot longer."
"There are always downsides to everything. And why does Zeraine have wings?"
"Right now, the effects of demonic energy are random. The most common result is that the person goes insane, being reduced to a murderous animal with no sense or rationality. They often become cannibals, as well. Only a lucky few actually become incubi. When they do, they might grow horns, wings, a tail, some combination of them, all of them, or nothing. I plan to use Lucas and his transformation as a 'standard', thus causing all men to not grow anything extra when they turn. They'll be indistinguishable from humans."
"That still doesn't tell me what the downsides are, aside from some individuals possibly finding the extended lifespan to be a bad thing."
"Some might find the increased lust and greater desire for sex to be a bad thing. Aside from that, I don't see any downsides."
"So they would be strongly tempted to live a 'less virtuous' life, indulging in lewdness?"
"If they're of strong enough will, they should be able to control themselves, much like Zeraine and my husband do."
"And what about their humanity?"
"Technically, they'd still be human. They'd just live longer, not physically age past a certain point, and magic would come easier due to the greater amount of spirit energy they'd have available."
"And the women? You said you wanted to 'monsterize' all human women, correct?"
"Yes, I did. I know it's not a very good proposal, but I see it as necessary. As I said before, if human men are the males of the species and monsters are the females, they'll be forced to accept one another or die out. Since only the most stubborn or idiotic would choose to die out, they'll eventually learn to tolerate each other enough to live side by side while minimizing problems. After that, they'll learn to accept each other, and eventually, the hatred will fade from existence. Once that happens, I'll bring back human females and male monsters, thus allowing both genders to exist, allowing everyone to choose whoever they wanted as their significant other. The ability to transform into monsters will still be available, since I'm sure that, despite all men being incubi at that point, some will want the appearance or abilities of certain monsters, such as a man wanting to breathe fire like a dragon."
"Now, 'all men being incubi at that point', that means...?"
"It means that all 'human men' would be born as incubi. Due to being born as incubi, they'd be more able to control their lust. Once they reach their prime, they'd stop physically aging, allowing them to feel young and energetic their whole lives. Surely you at your age understand how great that would be, don't you?"
The Grandmaster paused and sighed. "Yes, I do. I'm an old man, not the man I used to be, as evidenced by my waning grip on The Order. I hate being old, and the advantages of being an incubus sound very tempting. I'm still not comfortable with the idea, though, because I still feel as though I'd be losing my humanity at worst, or becoming depraved at best. I don't want to drown in lewdness and debauchery, giving up who I am, for power or longevity."
Lucas asked, "What about lowering the lust level?"
Lilith shrugged. "I don't know if that would be possible. To be honest, because I haven't laid eyes on the Divine Mandate, I don't know what I can and can't change. I can only make educated guesses. I'm certain that, once I have the power, I can add or erase as needed, though."
The Grandmaster rubbed his temples. "If only The Order weren't in decline... We could help work toward a much better method and solution! ...I can see I have no choice. I don't approve of the proposed methods, but what other workable options are there? It leaves a bad taste in my mouth, but I'll help you as much as I can. Maybe you'll succeed and make up for your necessary evils later on. I can only hope. I doubt I will be around to see it, anyway. Thank you, young succubus, for this discussion."
Lilith nodded. "Thank you, Grandmaster, for listening to me and my radical plans. I think we can both agree that, regardless of my plan for the coexistence of humans and monsters, the current Demon Lord must be stopped, and that is where your help will be most needed. Advocating peace between humans and monsters can come after that."
The Grandmaster bid them good night as they left, heading back to their rooms. Once in Lucas's room, he and Lilith stripped in preparation for their nightly session. As they did, he said, "I'm surprised you didn't mention anything about the stuff you told me and the others."
"What? Oh, you mean the truth about the Chief God. I'm sure you realize that the quickest way to make someone attack you, aside from insulting someone close to them, such as their mother, is to challenge their faith. Had I mentioned any of that, I'm sure he would have kicked us all out, or at the very least, refused to listen to my plans. As is, he intends to help us as much as he can. I seriously doubt he would had I said anything about that stuff. Now, enough about my plans..." She finished stripping, tossing her panties across the room. "Fuck me until we both pass out!"
The two of them made love, going at it very vigorously for a total of eight rounds before falling asleep in each other's arms. In the guest quarters, Zeraine and Amarantha somewhat similarly went for two rounds before falling asleep, both of them quite satisfied.
The next morning, after their "morning sex", Amarantha got back on top of Zeraine and started nuzzling him, rubbing her face on his neck and collar while smiling big and occasionally giggling. "What's gotten into you all of a sudden?" he asked, obviously partly confused, partly surprised.
She stopped long enough to look him in the eye as she traced shapes on his chest with her finger and asked, "You know what that ring on your finger means to me?" After seeing Zeraine's dumbfounded expression, she said, "It means you're mine. All mine. Every last part of you."
"Doesn't it also mean that we're husband and wife, and that we belong to each other? What about-"
She stole a kiss and interrupted, saying, "Yes, of course it means that, too, but remember that I am a dragon. You, my mate, are my greatest treasure. You're everything to me. Aside from what it means for humans, it means that you completely and totally belong to me. ...Of course, the ring on my finger means the same thing. I am yours in every way that you are mine. Like you said, we belong to each other, but now it's official."
"I don't want anyone but you, if that's what you're worried about."
"It's not, but that's good to hear. ...How about we make a little deal?"
"A deal? About what?"
"Once you've successfully fucked me in my true form, you won't think about any pussy but mine. How about it?" She waited for him to respond, which he did, with a very confused expression. She burst out laughing and said, "I was just fucking with you. Come on, let's get dressed." She patted him on the chest and got off.
"Ammie..." he said in an annoyed tone as he rolled his eyes and sat up. He then stood up and, right after she grabbed her panties but before she could put them on, he hugged her from behind and kissed her on the side of her neck.
She dropped her panties and savored his embrace, then smiled mischievously and said, "Be careful, Zeraine. Showing me attention like this might make me serious about what I said. Dragons are possessive, you know."
"That's fine," he said, licking her ear. "Like I said, I love you, Ammie."
She moaned as he gently rubbed her body. "Zeraine, stop... We don't have time for another round."
"I know." He nibbled on her earlobe while breathing into her ear.
"Then why are you doing this?" she asked, reaching around behind herself for his penis.
"Because I want to," he said, turning her halfway around so he could kiss her, mouth to mouth.
"I need to get you off again before we get dressed, then?"
He paused, trying to decide whether they should go again and risk being late or hold it for tonight. He then sighed and kissed her one last time before letting go and stepping away. "Yeah, we shouldn't hold everyone up. Let's go ahead and get ready."
They cleaned themselves off and got dressed, then met with the others in the mess hall.
...
Lilith, having milked Lucas three times already since waking up, cumming twice herself, was lying on her back, enjoying his thrusting as he pounded away at her, getting ready to shoot his fourth load for this morning. When he blew it, she came, her vaginal contractions helping to suck out every last drop. Once they caught their breath, he pulled out and got out of bed. She used her hand to hold her lower lips closed as she got up, then said, "I have four loads of your semen in my pussy. It feels incredible. I wish we had time to do it again, or maybe even two more times..."
Lucas found himself sharing her wish, but he didn't say it. He simply shrugged and said, "The Grandmaster wanted to talk with us about your plans. We don't want to miss breakfast, so we should get going so we can eat before we discuss everything."
She sighed and said, "I know. If I can get The Order on my side, it'll make everything a lot easier." She grinned and said, "Hey, watch..." When he turned to face her, she let go of her vagina and "pushed" a little, causing the large amount of his semen to squirt and gush out of her. Seeing that his eyes were transfixed on her crotch, she smiled and said, "Look at all that cum... Do you think I'm pregnant yet?"
Lucas swallowed nervously, then took a deep breath and said, "Clean us up so we can get dressed, okay?" It was obvious that he was struggling to stay focused after her "show".
She shrugged and said, "Fine, then. We'll resume trying tonight."
She cleaned them both off and they got dressed, then they went to the mess hall.
...
After a hearty breakfast, during which the two couples received many congratulations on their marriages, they went to the Grandmaster's office. The four of them sat down with him and Lilith explained her plan in detail. The Grandmaster listened closely and carefully as she lined everything out. When she was done, he sighed in a depressed manner and said, "I understand where you're coming from. I really do. But I must object to this."
"Why?"
"Because of several things. First of all, I like the sound of you making all monsters sapient, and making them no longer kill and eat us, and I also like the sound of you making them more 'human' in appearance, which would definitely help with them being accepted by society, but having to get rid of male monsters?"
"Like I said, if we want it to happen in any kind of timely manner, we have to make humans and monsters dependent upon one another. If human males are the males of the species and monsters are the females, then whether they like it or not, they'll need each other to breed. After humans and monsters are 'unified' into a single 'race', I'll bring back male monsters and human females. It'll be a temporary necessary evil for the sake of the greater good."
The Grandmaster nodded and said, "I understand, but I still object to it. Forcing everyone like that; it just rubs me the wrong way. It is equivalent to the actions of a tyrant."
"If those zealots weren't in the process of taking over The Order, I'd ask that you help me by spreading the word. Your 'love thy neighbor' policy could then be extended to include monsters once I've changed them. Unfortunately, as it stands, with over half of The Order 'lost', and considering the fears of the common person, which are currently justified, you attempting to help me as such right now would be a waste of everyone's time and effort. It might even cause the uninformed to turn away from The Order, or worse, turn toward the ever-growing corrupted part."
The Grandmaster's anger could be seen in his eyes as he growled, "Damn them! If not for them, with their twisting of the Chief God's words and their dirtying of The Order, we could actually do something!" He huffed, trying to calm himself, then continued, "Anyway, you said at one point that all men would be incubi."
"Yes. If you look at my husband, you'll see that he looks no different. His magic is stronger, he has more stamina, he won't physically age anymore, and he'll live a lot longer."
"There are always downsides to everything. And why does Zeraine have wings?"
"Right now, the effects of demonic energy are random. The most common result is that the person goes insane, being reduced to a murderous animal with no sense or rationality. They often become cannibals, as well. Only a lucky few actually become incubi. When they do, they might grow horns, wings, a tail, some combination of them, all of them, or nothing. I plan to use Lucas and his transformation as a 'standard', thus causing all men to not grow anything extra when they turn. They'll be indistinguishable from humans."
"That still doesn't tell me what the downsides are, aside from some individuals possibly finding the extended lifespan to be a bad thing."
"Some might find the increased lust and greater desire for sex to be a bad thing. Aside from that, I don't see any downsides."
"So they would be strongly tempted to live a 'less virtuous' life, indulging in lewdness?"
"If they're of strong enough will, they should be able to control themselves, much like Zeraine and my husband do."
"And what about their humanity?"
"Technically, they'd still be human. They'd just live longer, not physically age past a certain point, and magic would come easier due to the greater amount of spirit energy they'd have available."
"And the women? You said you wanted to 'monsterize' all human women, correct?"
"Yes, I did. I know it's not a very good proposal, but I see it as necessary. As I said before, if human men are the males of the species and monsters are the females, they'll be forced to accept one another or die out. Since only the most stubborn or idiotic would choose to die out, they'll eventually learn to tolerate each other enough to live side by side while minimizing problems. After that, they'll learn to accept each other, and eventually, the hatred will fade from existence. Once that happens, I'll bring back human females and male monsters, thus allowing both genders to exist, allowing everyone to choose whoever they wanted as their significant other. The ability to transform into monsters will still be available, since I'm sure that, despite all men being incubi at that point, some will want the appearance or abilities of certain monsters, such as a man wanting to breathe fire like a dragon."
"Now, 'all men being incubi at that point', that means...?"
"It means that all 'human men' would be born as incubi. Due to being born as incubi, they'd be more able to control their lust. Once they reach their prime, they'd stop physically aging, allowing them to feel young and energetic their whole lives. Surely you at your age understand how great that would be, don't you?"
The Grandmaster paused and sighed. "Yes, I do. I'm an old man, not the man I used to be, as evidenced by my waning grip on The Order. I hate being old, and the advantages of being an incubus sound very tempting. I'm still not comfortable with the idea, though, because I still feel as though I'd be losing my humanity at worst, or becoming depraved at best. I don't want to drown in lewdness and debauchery, giving up who I am, for power or longevity."
Lucas asked, "What about lowering the lust level?"
Lilith shrugged. "I don't know if that would be possible. To be honest, because I haven't laid eyes on the Divine Mandate, I don't know what I can and can't change. I can only make educated guesses. I'm certain that, once I have the power, I can add or erase as needed, though."
The Grandmaster rubbed his temples. "If only The Order weren't in decline... We could help work toward a much better method and solution! ...I can see I have no choice. I don't approve of the proposed methods, but what other workable options are there? It leaves a bad taste in my mouth, but I'll help you as much as I can. Maybe you'll succeed and make up for your necessary evils later on. I can only hope. I doubt I will be around to see it, anyway. Thank you, young succubus, for this discussion."
Lilith nodded. "Thank you, Grandmaster, for listening to me and my radical plans. I think we can both agree that, regardless of my plan for the coexistence of humans and monsters, the current Demon Lord must be stopped, and that is where your help will be most needed. Advocating peace between humans and monsters can come after that."
The Grandmaster bid them good night as they left, heading back to their rooms. Once in Lucas's room, he and Lilith stripped in preparation for their nightly session. As they did, he said, "I'm surprised you didn't mention anything about the stuff you told me and the others."
"What? Oh, you mean the truth about the Chief God. I'm sure you realize that the quickest way to make someone attack you, aside from insulting someone close to them, such as their mother, is to challenge their faith. Had I mentioned any of that, I'm sure he would have kicked us all out, or at the very least, refused to listen to my plans. As is, he intends to help us as much as he can. I seriously doubt he would had I said anything about that stuff. Now, enough about my plans..." She finished stripping, tossing her panties across the room. "Fuck me until we both pass out!"
The two of them made love, going at it very vigorously for a total of eight rounds before falling asleep in each other's arms. In the guest quarters, Zeraine and Amarantha somewhat similarly went for two rounds before falling asleep, both of them quite satisfied.
Chapter 148
Spoiler: show
After the four of them woke up, the respective couples making love again, and after they ate breakfast, they gathered their things, said their goodbyes, and left, heading back to Westcreek. On the way, Lilith contacted Sol. "Hey, guys. How did it go?"
"Well, it went well enough. Lucas and I are married now, and Zeraine and Amarantha are a couple, too. That fucking angel, Uriel, interrupted my wedding and dumped some bullshit on Lucas, telling him that he was selected to receive the Divine Blessing but that was now being reconsidered because he became an incubus. Stupid fucks... We did what we had to! And-"
Lucas interrupted, saying, "Honey, calm down. I'm glad you're this concerned about me, but there's no point in getting pissed off about that right now."
She looked at him with a part-pleading, part-objecting expression and said, "But what about the stress it's sure to put you under!?"
He smiled at her and said, "As long as you're with me, I can handle it."
She blushed, then turned back to the crystal. "We should be there in another hour or so. Can you teleport us back to Pale Pass?"
"So you can go visit those wind elementalist Elves? Sure," Sol replied. "Any plans on what you'll do after that?"
"Not at the moment."
Lilith suggested, "We could try and sneak into the edges of the Demon Realm. If we did, we could visit Priscilla and her sister, and we might even be able to stop by the small village I was exiled to. Otherwise, we could look at finding a Demon Realm blacksmith so we could get Zeraine some new armor that fits properly, allowing for his wings."
"Good idea," Zeraine commented, glancing down at his worn, dented armor.
Sol said, "Well, it's looking like it'll be another slow day, so I guess I'll be 'having fun' with Vicky and Hilda until you get here. See you then!"
They severed the connection and Lilith put away her crystal. She, Lucas, Zeraine, and Amarantha continued walking, eventually arriving in Westcreek. When they got to Sol's shop, they immediately noticed that he had cast the polymorph spell on Hilda, and from what they knew about him, they guessed he had cast it on Victoria, too. They saw Hilda on her hands and knees on the floor, wiping up a wet spot with a towel. They saw Sol standing nearby, about to wipe his face with a towel of his own. Zeraine said, "Hey. What, you spill something? Something blow up on you?"
Hilda growled and kept wiping, apparently not pleased with the joke. Sol turned to face the party and that's when they saw that the liquid on his face had a yellow tint. He wiped his face and said, "Everything's fine. Are you ready?"
Now that they could see his front side, they saw that the wetness had soaked his shirt a bit, too.
Zeraine asked, "Seriously, what happened?" pointing at Sol's shirt.
Sol sighed and said, "Let's just say that Vicky warned me and I didn't listen."
Amarantha could tell what the liquid was by its smell. She was the only one that could smell it, though. She started to ask, "So what, you-"
Sol let out a half-grunt, half-huff of agitation and said, "You really want to know? Fine. Hilda was restraining Vicky for me because we thought it'd be fun if I ate her out while Hilda held her. She complained about having to go, but I didn't listen. I kept licking, and when she came, she suffered a little orgasm-induced incontinence. As I'm sure you saw, she pissed on my face and shirt."
Hilda stood up, having finished wiping up the urine puddle, and added, "He doesn't like watersports, so he got out of the way as fast as he could, but she still got him pretty good. I let her go when I saw it start, but she fell to her knees and 'finished' in that spot, which I just wiped up."
Sol nodded and said, "And because I don't think she'd like being hugged while I'm soaked with her piss, I didn't do anything."
"That's when she got up and ran out of the room and into the basement," Hilda added.
Zeraine and Amarantha facepalmed and shook their heads. Lucas cringed in disgust, and Lilith sighed and said, "Is she alright? I'm sure she's very embarrassed over it."
Sol shrugged and said, "She'll probably want to be alone for a while. I'm sure she's ashamed of herself for this, even though it was my fault. Regardless..." Sol surrounded himself with a globe of water, thoroughly washing himself, soaking his clothes in the process. While he did so, Hilda held her towel in the water globe, washing it, too. He then manipulated the water so that it swept across the spot on the floor where Victoria's accident happened, then he made the water globe evaporate. Immediately afterwards, he channeled and released a burst of fire energy, drying his clothes, hair, and the two towels.
Zeraine asked, "Sol, if you were going to clean everything up with magic from the start, why did you use the towel? Also, why did you make Hilda wipe the floor?"
Sol scoffed and replied, "Could you concentrate enough to cast the spells I just did while your face is covered in urine? No? I can't either. Now..." He adjusted his glasses and asked, "You want teleportation to Pale Pass?"
Lilith nodded and said, "Yes, but I'd rather see this little 'incident' taken care of before we leave."
"It'll be fine. We just need to let her settle down and get over it."
Lilith looked at Lucas with a questioning look, and knowing what she was thinking of asking, he said, "Yeah, we'll wait until Sol patches things up with Vicky."
Lilith smiled and said, "Now then..." She turned around, about to ask Sol if he would go talk to Victoria while she watched while invisible, but then asked, "Where's Hilda?"
As if on cue, they heard Victoria's voice as she got closer. She was obviously protesting. "No, Hilda! Stop it!"
"Shut up, Vicky! Just hug him or whatever. He's not mad."
"B-but..."
"But what? ...Oh." A few seconds later, Hilda came out of the basement. "She, um... She needs clean clothes. You taught her how to clean herself with magic, right?"
Sol nodded. "I suppose it'd be best if you got her clothes for her, Hilda."
"Right." Hilda went upstairs, then returned a minute or so later, carrying a clean set of clothes for Victoria, and went back into the basement. A few minutes later, she and Victoria entered the room, her pushing Victoria from behind to make sure she didn't run again. The party saw that Sol had indeed cast the polymorph spell on Victoria, too.
There was a very awkward silence as the completely red-faced Victoria stood there shyly, looking at the floor. Sol walked over to her and wrapped her in a hug. She returned the hug and asked, "You're not mad?"
"Of course not. I don't like watersports, so obviously I didn't enjoy it, but I'm not mad at you. If anything, you should be mad at me. You told me you had to go, but I kept licking and fingering."
"I'm sorry..."
"For what? Not being able to hold it? Don't be. It's my fault that you pissed on me, so stop worrying over it." He pulled back just enough to reach her lips with his, kissing her lovingly.
Hilda suddenly remembered something and looked at Lilith, who was watching Sol and Victoria with a warm, almost motherly smile. She walked over and said, "Well, you beat The Four Horsemen, so how about teaching us that spell?"
Lilith paused in confusion for a moment as she searched her memories, then asked, "You mean Heretic?"
Hilda nodded. "Yeah, the one that restrains people with tentacles."
Lilith smiled lewdly and said, "Sure thing."
When Sol and Victoria were done with their hug and kiss, which helped Victoria's face return to its normal color at some point, Lilith called them over and taught them the spell. She instructed them on both methods of bringing forth the tentacles; the fast way, which involved damaging the ground or floor of wherever they were as the tentacles rose out, and the slow way, which involved first "conjuring" a "floor" for them to come out of, then actually bringing them out.
Once the lesson was done, Hilda looked over at Victoria and smiled mischievously. Victoria saw and backed away a little. "I don't like that look in your eyes, Hilda."
Hilda smiled bigger. "Heretic!"
Similar to when Lilith used it on Lucas at Amarantha's house, the floor became covered in a mix of black and purple, and tentacles rose out of the darkness. They lashed out, grabbing and restraining Victoria before she could do anything. "What the hell are you doing, Hilda!?" she asked, scared and angry at this sudden turn of events.
Still smiling, Hilda slowly approached her and asked, "Are you watching, Sol?"
He nodded and said, "Yeah, but what are you about to do?"
Rather than answer him, she decided to show him by grabbing Victoria by her waist with one hand and the back of her head with the other and aggressively kissing her for several seconds. Victoria closed her eyes and squirmed helplessly, trying in vain to stop Hilda. When Hilda finally broke the kiss off, she glared at her with tears in her eyes. Hilda glanced at the others, then leaned in and said, "Don't be like that. Didn't you enjoy it? Sol certainly did."
Victoria glanced over at Sol, who was standing there, staring with an amazed look, his eyes full of lust. She frowned and said, "Let me go."
Hilda grinned at her and almost sneeringly said, "Sol is watching and enjoying this. I'm not done with you, yet." She then kissed Victoria again, sticking her tongue into her mouth while feeling her body up, making sure to rub and squeeze her ass, the base of her tail, and her breasts. Hilda broke the kiss off and said, "You know, I might enjoy playing with your boobs more than I enjoy playing with my own..."
Victoria squirmed some more as Hilda started sliding her shirt up. "Sol! Make her stop!" she begged.
Sol snapped out of his trance and said, "Hilda, that's enough. Vicky's not ready to go all the way with you yet, so don't force her."
"Aww..." Hilda groaned. "I was hoping to at least suck her tits while you watched."
Sol wiped away a little drool and said, "The erotic kissing was enough for now."
Hilda dismissed the tentacles, cancelling the spell and allowing Victoria to fix her shirt.
Sol gave Victoria a comforting hug, and Hilda apologized to her, joining in the hug. Meanwhile, Lilith caught herself reaching for her crotch, paused, and quickly took her hand off. She could feel herself getting wet from what she just witnessed, but she didn't want to suddenly start masturbating, partly because she knew Lucas wouldn't like her doing so in front of others. She held back, hoping she could get him to agree to a quickie after they returned to Pale Pass. Everyone else was turned on to some degree, as well. Amarantha was getting a bit red-faced, Zeraine was imagining doing something similar to Amarantha, and Lucas was getting hard.
Lucas was the first to recover, shaking his head and asking, "Well, we made sure they made up, so should we get going?"
Lilith cleared her throat and said, "Yeah, we probably should. Sol, can you teleport us now?"
"Sure thing. Hang on a second..." He let go of his girls and went to his scrying orb, then brought up the image of the area of Pale Pass and picked a clear spot, then he opened a portal. "Everything's clear, there are no enemies, and the weather's fine. You're good to go."
The party stepped through the portal, returning to Pale Pass.
"Well, it went well enough. Lucas and I are married now, and Zeraine and Amarantha are a couple, too. That fucking angel, Uriel, interrupted my wedding and dumped some bullshit on Lucas, telling him that he was selected to receive the Divine Blessing but that was now being reconsidered because he became an incubus. Stupid fucks... We did what we had to! And-"
Lucas interrupted, saying, "Honey, calm down. I'm glad you're this concerned about me, but there's no point in getting pissed off about that right now."
She looked at him with a part-pleading, part-objecting expression and said, "But what about the stress it's sure to put you under!?"
He smiled at her and said, "As long as you're with me, I can handle it."
She blushed, then turned back to the crystal. "We should be there in another hour or so. Can you teleport us back to Pale Pass?"
"So you can go visit those wind elementalist Elves? Sure," Sol replied. "Any plans on what you'll do after that?"
"Not at the moment."
Lilith suggested, "We could try and sneak into the edges of the Demon Realm. If we did, we could visit Priscilla and her sister, and we might even be able to stop by the small village I was exiled to. Otherwise, we could look at finding a Demon Realm blacksmith so we could get Zeraine some new armor that fits properly, allowing for his wings."
"Good idea," Zeraine commented, glancing down at his worn, dented armor.
Sol said, "Well, it's looking like it'll be another slow day, so I guess I'll be 'having fun' with Vicky and Hilda until you get here. See you then!"
They severed the connection and Lilith put away her crystal. She, Lucas, Zeraine, and Amarantha continued walking, eventually arriving in Westcreek. When they got to Sol's shop, they immediately noticed that he had cast the polymorph spell on Hilda, and from what they knew about him, they guessed he had cast it on Victoria, too. They saw Hilda on her hands and knees on the floor, wiping up a wet spot with a towel. They saw Sol standing nearby, about to wipe his face with a towel of his own. Zeraine said, "Hey. What, you spill something? Something blow up on you?"
Hilda growled and kept wiping, apparently not pleased with the joke. Sol turned to face the party and that's when they saw that the liquid on his face had a yellow tint. He wiped his face and said, "Everything's fine. Are you ready?"
Now that they could see his front side, they saw that the wetness had soaked his shirt a bit, too.
Zeraine asked, "Seriously, what happened?" pointing at Sol's shirt.
Sol sighed and said, "Let's just say that Vicky warned me and I didn't listen."
Amarantha could tell what the liquid was by its smell. She was the only one that could smell it, though. She started to ask, "So what, you-"
Sol let out a half-grunt, half-huff of agitation and said, "You really want to know? Fine. Hilda was restraining Vicky for me because we thought it'd be fun if I ate her out while Hilda held her. She complained about having to go, but I didn't listen. I kept licking, and when she came, she suffered a little orgasm-induced incontinence. As I'm sure you saw, she pissed on my face and shirt."
Hilda stood up, having finished wiping up the urine puddle, and added, "He doesn't like watersports, so he got out of the way as fast as he could, but she still got him pretty good. I let her go when I saw it start, but she fell to her knees and 'finished' in that spot, which I just wiped up."
Sol nodded and said, "And because I don't think she'd like being hugged while I'm soaked with her piss, I didn't do anything."
"That's when she got up and ran out of the room and into the basement," Hilda added.
Zeraine and Amarantha facepalmed and shook their heads. Lucas cringed in disgust, and Lilith sighed and said, "Is she alright? I'm sure she's very embarrassed over it."
Sol shrugged and said, "She'll probably want to be alone for a while. I'm sure she's ashamed of herself for this, even though it was my fault. Regardless..." Sol surrounded himself with a globe of water, thoroughly washing himself, soaking his clothes in the process. While he did so, Hilda held her towel in the water globe, washing it, too. He then manipulated the water so that it swept across the spot on the floor where Victoria's accident happened, then he made the water globe evaporate. Immediately afterwards, he channeled and released a burst of fire energy, drying his clothes, hair, and the two towels.
Zeraine asked, "Sol, if you were going to clean everything up with magic from the start, why did you use the towel? Also, why did you make Hilda wipe the floor?"
Sol scoffed and replied, "Could you concentrate enough to cast the spells I just did while your face is covered in urine? No? I can't either. Now..." He adjusted his glasses and asked, "You want teleportation to Pale Pass?"
Lilith nodded and said, "Yes, but I'd rather see this little 'incident' taken care of before we leave."
"It'll be fine. We just need to let her settle down and get over it."
Lilith looked at Lucas with a questioning look, and knowing what she was thinking of asking, he said, "Yeah, we'll wait until Sol patches things up with Vicky."
Lilith smiled and said, "Now then..." She turned around, about to ask Sol if he would go talk to Victoria while she watched while invisible, but then asked, "Where's Hilda?"
As if on cue, they heard Victoria's voice as she got closer. She was obviously protesting. "No, Hilda! Stop it!"
"Shut up, Vicky! Just hug him or whatever. He's not mad."
"B-but..."
"But what? ...Oh." A few seconds later, Hilda came out of the basement. "She, um... She needs clean clothes. You taught her how to clean herself with magic, right?"
Sol nodded. "I suppose it'd be best if you got her clothes for her, Hilda."
"Right." Hilda went upstairs, then returned a minute or so later, carrying a clean set of clothes for Victoria, and went back into the basement. A few minutes later, she and Victoria entered the room, her pushing Victoria from behind to make sure she didn't run again. The party saw that Sol had indeed cast the polymorph spell on Victoria, too.
There was a very awkward silence as the completely red-faced Victoria stood there shyly, looking at the floor. Sol walked over to her and wrapped her in a hug. She returned the hug and asked, "You're not mad?"
"Of course not. I don't like watersports, so obviously I didn't enjoy it, but I'm not mad at you. If anything, you should be mad at me. You told me you had to go, but I kept licking and fingering."
"I'm sorry..."
"For what? Not being able to hold it? Don't be. It's my fault that you pissed on me, so stop worrying over it." He pulled back just enough to reach her lips with his, kissing her lovingly.
Hilda suddenly remembered something and looked at Lilith, who was watching Sol and Victoria with a warm, almost motherly smile. She walked over and said, "Well, you beat The Four Horsemen, so how about teaching us that spell?"
Lilith paused in confusion for a moment as she searched her memories, then asked, "You mean Heretic?"
Hilda nodded. "Yeah, the one that restrains people with tentacles."
Lilith smiled lewdly and said, "Sure thing."
When Sol and Victoria were done with their hug and kiss, which helped Victoria's face return to its normal color at some point, Lilith called them over and taught them the spell. She instructed them on both methods of bringing forth the tentacles; the fast way, which involved damaging the ground or floor of wherever they were as the tentacles rose out, and the slow way, which involved first "conjuring" a "floor" for them to come out of, then actually bringing them out.
Once the lesson was done, Hilda looked over at Victoria and smiled mischievously. Victoria saw and backed away a little. "I don't like that look in your eyes, Hilda."
Hilda smiled bigger. "Heretic!"
Similar to when Lilith used it on Lucas at Amarantha's house, the floor became covered in a mix of black and purple, and tentacles rose out of the darkness. They lashed out, grabbing and restraining Victoria before she could do anything. "What the hell are you doing, Hilda!?" she asked, scared and angry at this sudden turn of events.
Still smiling, Hilda slowly approached her and asked, "Are you watching, Sol?"
He nodded and said, "Yeah, but what are you about to do?"
Rather than answer him, she decided to show him by grabbing Victoria by her waist with one hand and the back of her head with the other and aggressively kissing her for several seconds. Victoria closed her eyes and squirmed helplessly, trying in vain to stop Hilda. When Hilda finally broke the kiss off, she glared at her with tears in her eyes. Hilda glanced at the others, then leaned in and said, "Don't be like that. Didn't you enjoy it? Sol certainly did."
Victoria glanced over at Sol, who was standing there, staring with an amazed look, his eyes full of lust. She frowned and said, "Let me go."
Hilda grinned at her and almost sneeringly said, "Sol is watching and enjoying this. I'm not done with you, yet." She then kissed Victoria again, sticking her tongue into her mouth while feeling her body up, making sure to rub and squeeze her ass, the base of her tail, and her breasts. Hilda broke the kiss off and said, "You know, I might enjoy playing with your boobs more than I enjoy playing with my own..."
Victoria squirmed some more as Hilda started sliding her shirt up. "Sol! Make her stop!" she begged.
Sol snapped out of his trance and said, "Hilda, that's enough. Vicky's not ready to go all the way with you yet, so don't force her."
"Aww..." Hilda groaned. "I was hoping to at least suck her tits while you watched."
Sol wiped away a little drool and said, "The erotic kissing was enough for now."
Hilda dismissed the tentacles, cancelling the spell and allowing Victoria to fix her shirt.
Sol gave Victoria a comforting hug, and Hilda apologized to her, joining in the hug. Meanwhile, Lilith caught herself reaching for her crotch, paused, and quickly took her hand off. She could feel herself getting wet from what she just witnessed, but she didn't want to suddenly start masturbating, partly because she knew Lucas wouldn't like her doing so in front of others. She held back, hoping she could get him to agree to a quickie after they returned to Pale Pass. Everyone else was turned on to some degree, as well. Amarantha was getting a bit red-faced, Zeraine was imagining doing something similar to Amarantha, and Lucas was getting hard.
Lucas was the first to recover, shaking his head and asking, "Well, we made sure they made up, so should we get going?"
Lilith cleared her throat and said, "Yeah, we probably should. Sol, can you teleport us now?"
"Sure thing. Hang on a second..." He let go of his girls and went to his scrying orb, then brought up the image of the area of Pale Pass and picked a clear spot, then he opened a portal. "Everything's clear, there are no enemies, and the weather's fine. You're good to go."
The party stepped through the portal, returning to Pale Pass.
Chapter 149
Spoiler: show
Upon arriving, Lucas took out the map and studied it for several seconds. "Well, it looks like Pale Pass runs north-northeast, so we'll have to head that way. Once we're out of the pass, it'll be a somewhat northeast trek to the Elf village, but it'd take us through a large bit of the forest, and that could prove dangerous. Our other option is to follow the road, which goes northwest, curving around a bit and eventually going east-northeast to Greymarch. After that, it continues on to Rendmark, with the Elf village being somewhere in between. If we took that way, it'd take us longer to get there, but we could stop for rest, supplies, or whatever at Greymarch, and we wouldn't have to go through nearly as much of the forest to get to the village."
Lilith said, "Let's take the road. There'd probably be less problems on that route."
Zeraine and Amarantha agreed, nodding their heads at Lilith's decision. Lucas put the map away and said, "The road it is, then."
The four of them headed out of Pale Pass and followed the road, which offered a fairly pleasant view of the forest's trees, which lined both sides of the road, as they headed for Greymarch. When noon came, they stopped for lunch, making a small camp not far from the road. After they ate, Lilith began looking quite antsy. Lucas noticed that she was fidgeting and repeatedly glancing at him. "Are you alright?"
She nodded and asked, "If we continue at our current rate, when should we get there?"
"Sometime in the afternoon, I'd guess. Why?"
"After seeing Hilda do that to Vicky, I'm horny, and I want you to fuck me. Do we have time for a couple of rounds?"
Lucas paused for a moment, remembering the incident from a few hours ago, then, feeling himself getting hard again, he looked at Zeraine and Amarantha and asked, "Are you guys alright with us taking a little while longer before we continue?"
Zeraine nodded and said, "It's fine, kid, I understand. I kind of need a little 'relief', myself."
Amarantha, slightly aroused, said, "Zeraine and I will go find a suitable place, so you can either stay here and do your stuff, or we can pack our things beforehand, split up, 'take care of business', and regroup afterward."
Lilith looked at Lucas and said, "I'm fine with either choice."
Lucas glanced at the road, confirming that they could be easily seen from it, and said, "We'll pack up first. I'd rather not do it where someone can watch."
Having agreed on it, the four of them packed up and got ready to leave, then the couples split up and went deeper into the forest. Lucas and Lilith found a suitable spot where they couldn't be seen from the road and she pulled up her dress, pulled down her panties, and leaned up against a tree, sticking her ass out at him and shaking it slightly. Without a word, he slipped his pants down enough to let his throbbing erection out and put it in, finding no difficulty in doing so, as she was very wet already. They hastily had sex, each of them cumming twice, both of his shots being creampies, just as she wanted.
...
Meanwhile, Zeraine and Amarantha wandered around until they found an open-enough area. She suspected he intended to try again at having her while she was in her true form, and found herself proven right when they found such an area. Zeraine hesitantly asked, "Ammie? Uh, can we try again?"
She rolled her eyes and said, "Of course we can." She then reverted to her dragon form and laid down on her side, her belly facing him. "Don't take too long, okay? This is embarrassing."
"No problem, Ammie." He disrobed and walked to the base of her tail, found her vagina again, and touched it, which provoked a shiver.
She looked around over her shoulder at him and said, "Zeraine, didn't I just ask you not to take too long?"
"I had to find it. I'm not totally familiar with your body when you're in this form, after all."
"That's probably because I haven't spent very much time in it... Anyway, just hurry up, okay?"
"Right. Drash Gan!" Zeraine cast Drash Gan, creating a stone pillar under his feet big enough for him to stand on, and slowly raised it up until he was at the right height. He then got an idea and smirked, then knelt down and spread her vagina, taking a close look at it.
He was looking to see if she had a clitoris in this form and she knew that. "Damn it, Zeraine! Just put it in!" she scolded, getting impatient.
"If I do that, the only one that'll feel good from this is me, and that's not fair to you. Where's your clit, or do you have one in this form?"
"Yes, I have one, but don't worry about it."
"Where is it?"
"I said don't worry about it! Now hurry!" she demanded, laying her head back down as she waited.
"Alright, alright. Let's see..." He got another idea and decided to see if he could fit his hand inside.
She was fairly moist already, so his hand slid in easily. When she realized he was up to his elbow in her vagina, she looked at him and glared. "What are you doing!?"
He grinned sheepishly and said, "Trying to please you."
"You'll please me by getting this over with!"
He sighed and stood up, then lined his penis up and stuck it in. Because her vagina in this form was designed for accepting a male dragon, Zeraine found it to be a very loose fit. It still felt good, though, so he knew he'd be able to get off from this. He leaned his body against hers and began moving his hips. She reacted to every thrust, though not nearly as intensely as she did normally when in her human form. He eventually came, blowing his load inside her. After taking a few seconds to catch his breath, he asked, "Will anything happen after this?"
"You mean 'will I get pregnant from you cumming in me when I'm in my true form?' and no, I won't. Just like with my human form, no matter how many times you fill me with your seed, you won't knock me up. The princess will fix that, though..."
He pulled out, made the stone pillar sink back into the ground, and started to get dressed. As she rolled to her feet, he smirked at her and asked, "How many kids do you want to have, Ammie?"
She froze, looking at him with wide eyes. "You're not fazed in the least by what we just did, and not only that, you're asking me something like that?"
"Well, this is what you really are. We've made love so many times in your human form, and we've done it in your 'future true form', so why not your real, current true form? Anyway, yeah, I'm asking."
She sighed, figuring that if he was fine with what they just did, then she was, too. "Well, I want at least two."
Zeraine smiled and said, "Done. ...Well, once the princess does her thing, anyway."
She transformed back to her human form and smiled back, looking forward to settling down with him. She expected to simply stand there and wait for Zeraine to get dressed so they could rejoin the others, but after putting his pants and boots back on, he walked over to her and wrapped her in a hug, then gave her a passionate kiss. When he broke the kiss off, she asked, "Zeraine?"
He grinned and said, "Ammie, I was the only one who came. That's not fair to you." He then slid his hand down the front of her pants, undid her belt, and slipped his hand into her panties. He rubbed her lower lips slowly and gently. "I'm not going to be satisfied unless you cum, too."
She shivered and moaned from his touch, then said, "Then let's just do it in my human form from now on, okay?"
He nodded. "And once the princess is done with her plan, we'll do it in your true form, because-" She suddenly wrapped her arms around his chest and pulled him into a ravenous kiss. She then began squirming around in place, moving her hips as if trying to enhance the feeling of his rubbing. He took it as the cue to rub a little more vigorously. Seconds later, she broke the kiss off, gasping for breath, panting heavily. Zeraine took the opportunity to ask, "What was that about, Ammie?" Before she could answer, he felt something seeping out of her and asked, "Is that my cum?"
She exhaled, her breath hot. Her face was red and her eyes were hazy from arousal. She said, "I was trying to hold back so we could do it 'for real' tonight, but when you touched me, that went right out the window. And yes, that's your semen seeping out of my pussy. You came inside a little bit ago, remember? What did you think was going to happen to it when I transformed back?"
He shrugged and said, "I don't know." He then sealed her lips with his and entwined his tongue with hers, rubbing and fingering her flower with great skill, causing her knees to give out and her to fall against him. A few minutes of intense kissing and vigorous rubbing later, she came, soaking her panties with her female juices as she failed to hold her voice in, crying out quite loudly. Zeraine gently went to the ground with her, sitting down and holding her in his lap, stroking her head and running his fingers through her hair affectionately.
She relaxed, not bothering to fix her belt as she enjoyed the moment. She rubbed her head against his bare chest and cooed, then said, "I love you, Zeraine."
"I love you, too, Ammie." He was fairly satisfied, as was she. He wondered if they should go back, but before he could suggest it to her, they heard a twig snap. They both quickly looked to see what was there.
...
Lilith was still leaning against the tree as Lucas held her, spooning her, still inside her. She hesitated for a moment, then said, "Hey, um, Lucas?"
"Yeah?"
"I'm sorry for slowing us down like this."
He scoffed. "What's this all of a sudden?"
"Well, I think Zeraine and Amarantha could have held it until tonight, once we've rented rooms at the inn in Greymarch."
Lucas pulled out of her and said, "Don't worry about it, honey. You saw that they were glad to have the break. Speaking of which, I don't know if they're done yet, but shouldn't we go back?"
"We probably should."
As they adjusted their clothing, they heard rustling. They looked to see what was making the noise and saw that it was a bear.
Lilith said, "Let's take the road. There'd probably be less problems on that route."
Zeraine and Amarantha agreed, nodding their heads at Lilith's decision. Lucas put the map away and said, "The road it is, then."
The four of them headed out of Pale Pass and followed the road, which offered a fairly pleasant view of the forest's trees, which lined both sides of the road, as they headed for Greymarch. When noon came, they stopped for lunch, making a small camp not far from the road. After they ate, Lilith began looking quite antsy. Lucas noticed that she was fidgeting and repeatedly glancing at him. "Are you alright?"
She nodded and asked, "If we continue at our current rate, when should we get there?"
"Sometime in the afternoon, I'd guess. Why?"
"After seeing Hilda do that to Vicky, I'm horny, and I want you to fuck me. Do we have time for a couple of rounds?"
Lucas paused for a moment, remembering the incident from a few hours ago, then, feeling himself getting hard again, he looked at Zeraine and Amarantha and asked, "Are you guys alright with us taking a little while longer before we continue?"
Zeraine nodded and said, "It's fine, kid, I understand. I kind of need a little 'relief', myself."
Amarantha, slightly aroused, said, "Zeraine and I will go find a suitable place, so you can either stay here and do your stuff, or we can pack our things beforehand, split up, 'take care of business', and regroup afterward."
Lilith looked at Lucas and said, "I'm fine with either choice."
Lucas glanced at the road, confirming that they could be easily seen from it, and said, "We'll pack up first. I'd rather not do it where someone can watch."
Having agreed on it, the four of them packed up and got ready to leave, then the couples split up and went deeper into the forest. Lucas and Lilith found a suitable spot where they couldn't be seen from the road and she pulled up her dress, pulled down her panties, and leaned up against a tree, sticking her ass out at him and shaking it slightly. Without a word, he slipped his pants down enough to let his throbbing erection out and put it in, finding no difficulty in doing so, as she was very wet already. They hastily had sex, each of them cumming twice, both of his shots being creampies, just as she wanted.
...
Meanwhile, Zeraine and Amarantha wandered around until they found an open-enough area. She suspected he intended to try again at having her while she was in her true form, and found herself proven right when they found such an area. Zeraine hesitantly asked, "Ammie? Uh, can we try again?"
She rolled her eyes and said, "Of course we can." She then reverted to her dragon form and laid down on her side, her belly facing him. "Don't take too long, okay? This is embarrassing."
"No problem, Ammie." He disrobed and walked to the base of her tail, found her vagina again, and touched it, which provoked a shiver.
She looked around over her shoulder at him and said, "Zeraine, didn't I just ask you not to take too long?"
"I had to find it. I'm not totally familiar with your body when you're in this form, after all."
"That's probably because I haven't spent very much time in it... Anyway, just hurry up, okay?"
"Right. Drash Gan!" Zeraine cast Drash Gan, creating a stone pillar under his feet big enough for him to stand on, and slowly raised it up until he was at the right height. He then got an idea and smirked, then knelt down and spread her vagina, taking a close look at it.
He was looking to see if she had a clitoris in this form and she knew that. "Damn it, Zeraine! Just put it in!" she scolded, getting impatient.
"If I do that, the only one that'll feel good from this is me, and that's not fair to you. Where's your clit, or do you have one in this form?"
"Yes, I have one, but don't worry about it."
"Where is it?"
"I said don't worry about it! Now hurry!" she demanded, laying her head back down as she waited.
"Alright, alright. Let's see..." He got another idea and decided to see if he could fit his hand inside.
She was fairly moist already, so his hand slid in easily. When she realized he was up to his elbow in her vagina, she looked at him and glared. "What are you doing!?"
He grinned sheepishly and said, "Trying to please you."
"You'll please me by getting this over with!"
He sighed and stood up, then lined his penis up and stuck it in. Because her vagina in this form was designed for accepting a male dragon, Zeraine found it to be a very loose fit. It still felt good, though, so he knew he'd be able to get off from this. He leaned his body against hers and began moving his hips. She reacted to every thrust, though not nearly as intensely as she did normally when in her human form. He eventually came, blowing his load inside her. After taking a few seconds to catch his breath, he asked, "Will anything happen after this?"
"You mean 'will I get pregnant from you cumming in me when I'm in my true form?' and no, I won't. Just like with my human form, no matter how many times you fill me with your seed, you won't knock me up. The princess will fix that, though..."
He pulled out, made the stone pillar sink back into the ground, and started to get dressed. As she rolled to her feet, he smirked at her and asked, "How many kids do you want to have, Ammie?"
She froze, looking at him with wide eyes. "You're not fazed in the least by what we just did, and not only that, you're asking me something like that?"
"Well, this is what you really are. We've made love so many times in your human form, and we've done it in your 'future true form', so why not your real, current true form? Anyway, yeah, I'm asking."
She sighed, figuring that if he was fine with what they just did, then she was, too. "Well, I want at least two."
Zeraine smiled and said, "Done. ...Well, once the princess does her thing, anyway."
She transformed back to her human form and smiled back, looking forward to settling down with him. She expected to simply stand there and wait for Zeraine to get dressed so they could rejoin the others, but after putting his pants and boots back on, he walked over to her and wrapped her in a hug, then gave her a passionate kiss. When he broke the kiss off, she asked, "Zeraine?"
He grinned and said, "Ammie, I was the only one who came. That's not fair to you." He then slid his hand down the front of her pants, undid her belt, and slipped his hand into her panties. He rubbed her lower lips slowly and gently. "I'm not going to be satisfied unless you cum, too."
She shivered and moaned from his touch, then said, "Then let's just do it in my human form from now on, okay?"
He nodded. "And once the princess is done with her plan, we'll do it in your true form, because-" She suddenly wrapped her arms around his chest and pulled him into a ravenous kiss. She then began squirming around in place, moving her hips as if trying to enhance the feeling of his rubbing. He took it as the cue to rub a little more vigorously. Seconds later, she broke the kiss off, gasping for breath, panting heavily. Zeraine took the opportunity to ask, "What was that about, Ammie?" Before she could answer, he felt something seeping out of her and asked, "Is that my cum?"
She exhaled, her breath hot. Her face was red and her eyes were hazy from arousal. She said, "I was trying to hold back so we could do it 'for real' tonight, but when you touched me, that went right out the window. And yes, that's your semen seeping out of my pussy. You came inside a little bit ago, remember? What did you think was going to happen to it when I transformed back?"
He shrugged and said, "I don't know." He then sealed her lips with his and entwined his tongue with hers, rubbing and fingering her flower with great skill, causing her knees to give out and her to fall against him. A few minutes of intense kissing and vigorous rubbing later, she came, soaking her panties with her female juices as she failed to hold her voice in, crying out quite loudly. Zeraine gently went to the ground with her, sitting down and holding her in his lap, stroking her head and running his fingers through her hair affectionately.
She relaxed, not bothering to fix her belt as she enjoyed the moment. She rubbed her head against his bare chest and cooed, then said, "I love you, Zeraine."
"I love you, too, Ammie." He was fairly satisfied, as was she. He wondered if they should go back, but before he could suggest it to her, they heard a twig snap. They both quickly looked to see what was there.
...
Lilith was still leaning against the tree as Lucas held her, spooning her, still inside her. She hesitated for a moment, then said, "Hey, um, Lucas?"
"Yeah?"
"I'm sorry for slowing us down like this."
He scoffed. "What's this all of a sudden?"
"Well, I think Zeraine and Amarantha could have held it until tonight, once we've rented rooms at the inn in Greymarch."
Lucas pulled out of her and said, "Don't worry about it, honey. You saw that they were glad to have the break. Speaking of which, I don't know if they're done yet, but shouldn't we go back?"
"We probably should."
As they adjusted their clothing, they heard rustling. They looked to see what was making the noise and saw that it was a bear.
Chapter 150
Spoiler: show
Lucas used Telekinesis to grab his sword and shield while Lilith did the same to retrieve her staff. She paused a moment as he stepped in between her and the bear and checked to see if the wind was blowing. She frowned as she realized that it was blowing right in the direction the bear came from. She said, "Okay, I guess it smelled us having sex and came to investigate. The wind would have blown the scent and pheromones right to him, after all."
He said, "If it were a black bear, we'd be fine because they're not usually aggressive, but this one looks like a grizzly."
They watched as it wandered around, sniffing the air and glancing at them. Lilith said, "This is something you learned from your companions in The Order?"
"Yeah. One of our archers was an expert on wildlife. Anyway, any ideas?"
"Maybe try Axii and command it to go away?"
"That would be easiest, wouldn't it?" He waited until his view of the bear was unobstructed and hit his shield with the handle of his sword to get its attention. When it looked at him, he used the Axii Sign and successfully enthralled it. In a stern voice, he ordered it to leave, which it obediently did, acting almost as if it were inebriated due to the Sign's influence.
Once it was gone, Lilith patted him on the back and said, "I'm guessing 'crisis averted'?"
"Yeah. Grizzlies are no joke. They're very aggressive and territorial, and they're incredibly strong, too. Unless you can fight it off with weapons or magic, the best thing to do when one gets after you is play dead, but I don't think that would have worked this time..."
"Let me guess, because we had sex it would have tried to maul me anyway to keep me from giving birth to any competition, right?"
"Yeah. With that taken care of, let's find the others."
"You could try and contact them with those amulets."
"The ones we got for uniting that chapter of The Order and the nearby Elf village?"
"Yes."
Lucas took out his amulet and looked at it, then asked Lilith to show him how to use it.
...
When Zeraine and Amarantha saw what broke the twig, she froze as her face started turning red. Zeraine cleared his throat and asked awkwardly, "Can I help you?"
The culprit was a man, armed with a bow, wearing a suit of leather armor. He was with two other similarly dressed men, one of them with a crossbow and the other with a spear. The couple could tell by looking at their ears that they were human. The man, somewhat sharing the awkwardness, said, "We're looking for a grizzly bear that killed one of our citizens. I'd ask if you've seen it, but..."
Amarantha, her eyes getting a little watery, asked in a voice filled with shame, "How much did you see!?"
The man hesitantly said, "Everything from you falling against him to now."
She hid her face, pressing it against Zeraine's chest. She thought, "They saw me! Damn it! Why!? Why did they have to be here!?"
Zeraine patted her on the back of her head and whispered, "At least they didn't see the stuff earlier with you in your dragon form." She weakly hit him as he said, "A grizzly bear? Is it a man-eater?"
The man nodded. "It partially ate the person, so yes. I don't suppose you've seen it?" Zeraine shook his head and the man continued, "Doing such things in the forest is dangerous. You might attract something like our grizzly, or some other animal that could hurt you." The man then squinted at Zeraine and asked, "Are those wings?"
Before Zeraine could react, he heard Lucas's voice coming from his pocket, saying, "Hey, are you guys done? We're heading back." He looked down at his pocket with a confused expression, then remembered the amulet and took it out.
He answered, "Yeah, we're done. We've got three guys here that look like they might be Greymarch guards-"
The man with the bow interrupted and said, "We are."
"...Okay, they are Greymarch guards. Anyway, they say they're looking for a man-eating grizzly bear. Should we help them?" Zeraine asked.
Lucas paused for a moment, then said, "Wait, a grizzly bear? I just drove one off!"
The man with the bow excitedly shouted, "That might be our target! Where are you? Which way did it go?"
Zeraine, unsure if Lucas could hear the man, asked, "Where are you now? Which way did the bear go?"
...
Lilith huffed. "So we might have just driven off a grizzly bear that's being hunted for something?"
Lucas asked, "Lilith, can you do anything to let them know where we are?"
She nodded. "Sure. Watch this." She channeled some energy into her staff, stood it straight up on end, made sure there were no leaves or branches in the way, and released the energy, causing a fireball to launch from her staff straight up into the air.
Lucas asked, "Can you see the fireball?"
Zeraine's voice from the amulet said, "Yeah. We'll be heading there in a few minutes."
Lucas and Lilith both grumbled. She said, "I guess we should have killed it."
Lucas nodded.
...
Amarantha was still distraught over having been seen by people that weren't Zeraine when she came, but she got up when he asked her to. He quickly got dressed and suited up in his armor and joined the men as they ran toward Lilith's fireball's origin. On the way, Zeraine said, "To answer your earlier question, yes, these are wings, and they're real. I'm an incubus."
The men looked at him suspiciously, but kept silent as they prioritized hunting the grizzly. When they arrived, they saw Lucas and Lilith, and noticed that they were both agitated. The men saw that Lilith was a succubus, for she was still in her true form, as she had been for so long now. They also saw that Lucas wore The Order's insignia. The man with the bow said, "A man from The Order with a succubus, and his two friends, one a winged man in plate mail and the other a woman with very long black hair... Are you four the ones who beat The Four Horsemen?"
Lucas nodded. "Yes, we are. You said the grizzly was a man-eater? Let's find it quickly. It went this way."
Lucas started to lead the way, but the man with the crossbow got in front of him and began looking at the ground for tracks. He led the group for several minutes until they found the bear. When they got close enough to see, the man with the spear said, "That's the bear. See the scars on its snout?"
Lilith said, "Lucas, kill it."
"Yes, dear." He stepped forward, his sword still in its sheath. He channeled a bit of energy, then thrust out his right hand. "Drash Gan!"
Six stone pillars burst from the ground, impaling the bear, it apparently never taking note of the party. The guard with the spear inspected the grizzly and confirmed that it was both dead, and that it was the bear they were after. The one with the bow said, "Thank you, knight. Would you like to come with us to Greymarch?"
Lucas slung his shield on his back and said, "That's where we were headed, actually. We stopped for lunch, then I had to, uh, 'tend to' my wife, and you know the rest."
The seven of them left the forest together, taking the same path the guards had on their way in, chatting all the way to Greymarch.
He said, "If it were a black bear, we'd be fine because they're not usually aggressive, but this one looks like a grizzly."
They watched as it wandered around, sniffing the air and glancing at them. Lilith said, "This is something you learned from your companions in The Order?"
"Yeah. One of our archers was an expert on wildlife. Anyway, any ideas?"
"Maybe try Axii and command it to go away?"
"That would be easiest, wouldn't it?" He waited until his view of the bear was unobstructed and hit his shield with the handle of his sword to get its attention. When it looked at him, he used the Axii Sign and successfully enthralled it. In a stern voice, he ordered it to leave, which it obediently did, acting almost as if it were inebriated due to the Sign's influence.
Once it was gone, Lilith patted him on the back and said, "I'm guessing 'crisis averted'?"
"Yeah. Grizzlies are no joke. They're very aggressive and territorial, and they're incredibly strong, too. Unless you can fight it off with weapons or magic, the best thing to do when one gets after you is play dead, but I don't think that would have worked this time..."
"Let me guess, because we had sex it would have tried to maul me anyway to keep me from giving birth to any competition, right?"
"Yeah. With that taken care of, let's find the others."
"You could try and contact them with those amulets."
"The ones we got for uniting that chapter of The Order and the nearby Elf village?"
"Yes."
Lucas took out his amulet and looked at it, then asked Lilith to show him how to use it.
...
When Zeraine and Amarantha saw what broke the twig, she froze as her face started turning red. Zeraine cleared his throat and asked awkwardly, "Can I help you?"
The culprit was a man, armed with a bow, wearing a suit of leather armor. He was with two other similarly dressed men, one of them with a crossbow and the other with a spear. The couple could tell by looking at their ears that they were human. The man, somewhat sharing the awkwardness, said, "We're looking for a grizzly bear that killed one of our citizens. I'd ask if you've seen it, but..."
Amarantha, her eyes getting a little watery, asked in a voice filled with shame, "How much did you see!?"
The man hesitantly said, "Everything from you falling against him to now."
She hid her face, pressing it against Zeraine's chest. She thought, "They saw me! Damn it! Why!? Why did they have to be here!?"
Zeraine patted her on the back of her head and whispered, "At least they didn't see the stuff earlier with you in your dragon form." She weakly hit him as he said, "A grizzly bear? Is it a man-eater?"
The man nodded. "It partially ate the person, so yes. I don't suppose you've seen it?" Zeraine shook his head and the man continued, "Doing such things in the forest is dangerous. You might attract something like our grizzly, or some other animal that could hurt you." The man then squinted at Zeraine and asked, "Are those wings?"
Before Zeraine could react, he heard Lucas's voice coming from his pocket, saying, "Hey, are you guys done? We're heading back." He looked down at his pocket with a confused expression, then remembered the amulet and took it out.
He answered, "Yeah, we're done. We've got three guys here that look like they might be Greymarch guards-"
The man with the bow interrupted and said, "We are."
"...Okay, they are Greymarch guards. Anyway, they say they're looking for a man-eating grizzly bear. Should we help them?" Zeraine asked.
Lucas paused for a moment, then said, "Wait, a grizzly bear? I just drove one off!"
The man with the bow excitedly shouted, "That might be our target! Where are you? Which way did it go?"
Zeraine, unsure if Lucas could hear the man, asked, "Where are you now? Which way did the bear go?"
...
Lilith huffed. "So we might have just driven off a grizzly bear that's being hunted for something?"
Lucas asked, "Lilith, can you do anything to let them know where we are?"
She nodded. "Sure. Watch this." She channeled some energy into her staff, stood it straight up on end, made sure there were no leaves or branches in the way, and released the energy, causing a fireball to launch from her staff straight up into the air.
Lucas asked, "Can you see the fireball?"
Zeraine's voice from the amulet said, "Yeah. We'll be heading there in a few minutes."
Lucas and Lilith both grumbled. She said, "I guess we should have killed it."
Lucas nodded.
...
Amarantha was still distraught over having been seen by people that weren't Zeraine when she came, but she got up when he asked her to. He quickly got dressed and suited up in his armor and joined the men as they ran toward Lilith's fireball's origin. On the way, Zeraine said, "To answer your earlier question, yes, these are wings, and they're real. I'm an incubus."
The men looked at him suspiciously, but kept silent as they prioritized hunting the grizzly. When they arrived, they saw Lucas and Lilith, and noticed that they were both agitated. The men saw that Lilith was a succubus, for she was still in her true form, as she had been for so long now. They also saw that Lucas wore The Order's insignia. The man with the bow said, "A man from The Order with a succubus, and his two friends, one a winged man in plate mail and the other a woman with very long black hair... Are you four the ones who beat The Four Horsemen?"
Lucas nodded. "Yes, we are. You said the grizzly was a man-eater? Let's find it quickly. It went this way."
Lucas started to lead the way, but the man with the crossbow got in front of him and began looking at the ground for tracks. He led the group for several minutes until they found the bear. When they got close enough to see, the man with the spear said, "That's the bear. See the scars on its snout?"
Lilith said, "Lucas, kill it."
"Yes, dear." He stepped forward, his sword still in its sheath. He channeled a bit of energy, then thrust out his right hand. "Drash Gan!"
Six stone pillars burst from the ground, impaling the bear, it apparently never taking note of the party. The guard with the spear inspected the grizzly and confirmed that it was both dead, and that it was the bear they were after. The one with the bow said, "Thank you, knight. Would you like to come with us to Greymarch?"
Lucas slung his shield on his back and said, "That's where we were headed, actually. We stopped for lunch, then I had to, uh, 'tend to' my wife, and you know the rest."
The seven of them left the forest together, taking the same path the guards had on their way in, chatting all the way to Greymarch.
Chapter 151
Spoiler: show
Upon arriving, the guards happily announced the identity of the party and the four of them were met with appreciative looks, grateful comments, and congratulatory gestures. Before the guards returned to their posts, Lilith asked them and found out that the city had a somewhat small library. After the guards left, Lucas asked, "Looking for more spells?"
She nodded. "I know there are more grand-scale spells out there, and I want to learn them. There might also be different versions of the spells I already know, said versions being better in some way. After you rent our rooms at the inn, do you want to study with me?"
Lucas thought for a second, remembering what he saw in some of the tomes she looked at back in The Order's library at their main headquarters. He was somewhat daunted by his memory of the complicated equations and formulas, but he felt that it'd be best to learn it as soon as possible, so he nodded. The two of them split up, Lucas heading for the inn and Lilith for the library.
Zeraine and Amarantha stood there together, watching the others walk away. Once she was sure they were out of earshot, Amarantha grabbed Zeraine by slipping her hands into the armholes of his cuirass. She squeezed almost hard enough to bend the metal while looking into his eyes with an expression that was more pleading than glaring, though it was still an angry one. She spoke in a low, quiet voice, making sure only he could hear as she shook him, saying, "Zeraine... We are never, ever having sex outside again, got it!?"
He sighed sorrowfully and said, "I'm sorry, Ammie, but I can't control whether or not we're seen, and I really wanted to do that. I promise that from now on, we'll only do it when we stay at inns."
She let go and sighed, closing her eyes and facepalming. "Wait, you'll need me more often than that... Okay, only at inns, unless we're out traveling in which case we'll only do it at night in our sleeping bag after making sure nobody is around, okay?"
He nodded. "Okay. I guess we'll spend our evening at the inn until dinner, and then we'll go to bed after that. Does that sound good to you, Ammie?"
She nodded and the two of them went to the inn, passing Lucas as he headed for the library.
...
While renting their rooms, Lucas found that the inn also served meals, which effectively took care of the night's and next morning's meals. He passed Zeraine and Amarantha as he went to join Lilith at the library.
...
As Lilith looked through the library's books, she found only a few books on magic. She found a table and started to study them, but found herself getting distracted by the ring on her finger. As she looked at it and smiled, the librarian, a human woman with shoulder-length, wavy black hair, brown eyes, and glasses, who looked to be in her forties but was fairly attractive, sat down with her. "You're the succubus that everyone's talking about, right?"
Lilith looked up from her book and said, "If you mean 'the wife of the Order knight who, fighting alongside his friends, beat The Four Horsemen', then yes, I am. My name is Lilith."
The librarian shook her hand. "I am Marianne. It's nice to meet you, Lilith."
"Likewise."
"You're a mage, right? I'm sorry, but this library doesn't have much in the way of magic books."
"Yeah, I noticed. Still, there might be something interesting here."
"I've got a question..." Marianne started, hesitantly.
"What is it?"
"Well, you're a succubus, so you can turn other women into succubi, too, right?"
Lilith stopped herself from cringing and replied, "Yes, but it takes dozens of lesbian sex sessions to transfer enough demonic energy into the woman to turn her."
"I see... And I guess you'll only be in town tonight, right?"
"That's right. You were wondering if I'd be willing to transform you, weren't you?"
"Yes."
"And you seem fine with the 'lesbian sex' requirement."
"Yes."
"And I suppose you were wanting me to do it, if possible, right?"
"Yes, but if you're busy..."
Lilith shook her head. "I know a few fellow succubi that would be willing, so if you want, I could ask them to turn you. Surely you know the risks involved and what will happen afterward, right?"
Marianne nodded. "I've heard many stories about transformations gone wrong. My best bet is to have a succubus do it, right?"
Lilith paused for a moment, then asked, "How about this; you wait on becoming a succubus until I take the throne and make a few changes. Once I've done that, it'll be perfectly safe and a successful transformation will be guaranteed. What do you think?"
"I suppose that sounds better than risking it now..."
"Why do you want to become a succubus, anyway?"
"I don't want my looks to fade, and living longer sounds like a good thing. I'm already sleeping with many of the unmarried men in this city, so satisfying the new urges shouldn't be difficult."
"I see. Well, you'll definitely get what you want."
"So I just have to wait? For how long?"
"Probably a few more months."
"That's good. Thanks for the talk, Lilith."
"No problem, Marianne."
Marianne went back to her desk at about the same time Lucas walked in. He waved at Lilith and approached her. "Did you find anything?"
She shook her head. "Not yet. Now that you're here, I might be able to focus, though."
"What do you mean?"
She blushed and smiled. "I couldn't stop staring at my ring."
He chuckled and sat down, then the two of them started looking through the books. Only on the last one did Lilith find anything useful, patting him on the shoulder and pointing at the page as he asked, "What is it?"
"This is a variant of Voy Vot. It's got the same name, but the incantation is a little different. ...I think I like this one better. 'Seek and destroy' sounds better to me." After memorizing the spell, she closed the book and said, "You know, on the way here, while we were chatting, I got an idea."
"I'm listening."
"If grizzly bears are so dangerous, why don't I turn them into monsters, thus turn them into monster girls when it happens? If I did that, they'd be beautiful women with bear-like parts, and rather than maul and kill people, they'd have sex with them."
"It sounds good in theory. I can't think of any problems with it right now."
Lilith put the books back and took a walk around the city with Lucas, discussing various aspects of her plan, working out details, and finalizing her decisions on the new forms of certain monsters. When it came time, they returned to the inn and ate dinner, then retired to their rooms for the night. As they got into bed and got ready for her to mount him, she said, "You know that librarian? She's pretty naughty."
"How do you mean?"
Lilith giggled and said, "She wants to become a succubus."
"And?"
"She admitted she sleeps around with lots of men in this city. I don't know, but she might want to turn not only to keep her looks, but to keep her sex-friends, too."
"I don't see how that concerns me."
She frowned. "Then how about the fact that she was originally aiming to have me turn her?"
Lucas was stunned for a full three seconds. A very surprised, weak "What?" was all he could manage.
"Yes, that older woman, a good-looking librarian, wanted me to turn her into a succubus, even after I told her it involved lesbian sex. She agreed to wait after I reminded her of the risks and told her that it'll have no risk soon, but the biggest deterrent was when she learned that it would take dozens of sessions, thus I couldn't do it overnight. What do you think about that?"
Lucas shook his head. "I don't know. I'd rather not think of it."
"You know I wouldn't do something like that without you being there, right? Of course, I wouldn't let her have you, either..."
"Let's just focus on sex, okay?" he asked, not wanting to hear any more about it.
Lilith laughed. "Sure thing."
They went for four rounds before falling asleep, their lower bodies wet with their mixed sexual fluids.
...
Similarly, Zeraine and Amarantha went for two rounds. Before they fell asleep, she said, "Zeraine? Promise me we won't have sex where we risk being seen again, okay?"
"I promise, Ammie."
...
The next morning, both couples went for two rounds, then ate breakfast and set out, looking to enter the forest at the midpoint between Greymarch and Rendmark. As they traveled, they decided to fend off the boredom by contacting Sol.
She nodded. "I know there are more grand-scale spells out there, and I want to learn them. There might also be different versions of the spells I already know, said versions being better in some way. After you rent our rooms at the inn, do you want to study with me?"
Lucas thought for a second, remembering what he saw in some of the tomes she looked at back in The Order's library at their main headquarters. He was somewhat daunted by his memory of the complicated equations and formulas, but he felt that it'd be best to learn it as soon as possible, so he nodded. The two of them split up, Lucas heading for the inn and Lilith for the library.
Zeraine and Amarantha stood there together, watching the others walk away. Once she was sure they were out of earshot, Amarantha grabbed Zeraine by slipping her hands into the armholes of his cuirass. She squeezed almost hard enough to bend the metal while looking into his eyes with an expression that was more pleading than glaring, though it was still an angry one. She spoke in a low, quiet voice, making sure only he could hear as she shook him, saying, "Zeraine... We are never, ever having sex outside again, got it!?"
He sighed sorrowfully and said, "I'm sorry, Ammie, but I can't control whether or not we're seen, and I really wanted to do that. I promise that from now on, we'll only do it when we stay at inns."
She let go and sighed, closing her eyes and facepalming. "Wait, you'll need me more often than that... Okay, only at inns, unless we're out traveling in which case we'll only do it at night in our sleeping bag after making sure nobody is around, okay?"
He nodded. "Okay. I guess we'll spend our evening at the inn until dinner, and then we'll go to bed after that. Does that sound good to you, Ammie?"
She nodded and the two of them went to the inn, passing Lucas as he headed for the library.
...
While renting their rooms, Lucas found that the inn also served meals, which effectively took care of the night's and next morning's meals. He passed Zeraine and Amarantha as he went to join Lilith at the library.
...
As Lilith looked through the library's books, she found only a few books on magic. She found a table and started to study them, but found herself getting distracted by the ring on her finger. As she looked at it and smiled, the librarian, a human woman with shoulder-length, wavy black hair, brown eyes, and glasses, who looked to be in her forties but was fairly attractive, sat down with her. "You're the succubus that everyone's talking about, right?"
Lilith looked up from her book and said, "If you mean 'the wife of the Order knight who, fighting alongside his friends, beat The Four Horsemen', then yes, I am. My name is Lilith."
The librarian shook her hand. "I am Marianne. It's nice to meet you, Lilith."
"Likewise."
"You're a mage, right? I'm sorry, but this library doesn't have much in the way of magic books."
"Yeah, I noticed. Still, there might be something interesting here."
"I've got a question..." Marianne started, hesitantly.
"What is it?"
"Well, you're a succubus, so you can turn other women into succubi, too, right?"
Lilith stopped herself from cringing and replied, "Yes, but it takes dozens of lesbian sex sessions to transfer enough demonic energy into the woman to turn her."
"I see... And I guess you'll only be in town tonight, right?"
"That's right. You were wondering if I'd be willing to transform you, weren't you?"
"Yes."
"And you seem fine with the 'lesbian sex' requirement."
"Yes."
"And I suppose you were wanting me to do it, if possible, right?"
"Yes, but if you're busy..."
Lilith shook her head. "I know a few fellow succubi that would be willing, so if you want, I could ask them to turn you. Surely you know the risks involved and what will happen afterward, right?"
Marianne nodded. "I've heard many stories about transformations gone wrong. My best bet is to have a succubus do it, right?"
Lilith paused for a moment, then asked, "How about this; you wait on becoming a succubus until I take the throne and make a few changes. Once I've done that, it'll be perfectly safe and a successful transformation will be guaranteed. What do you think?"
"I suppose that sounds better than risking it now..."
"Why do you want to become a succubus, anyway?"
"I don't want my looks to fade, and living longer sounds like a good thing. I'm already sleeping with many of the unmarried men in this city, so satisfying the new urges shouldn't be difficult."
"I see. Well, you'll definitely get what you want."
"So I just have to wait? For how long?"
"Probably a few more months."
"That's good. Thanks for the talk, Lilith."
"No problem, Marianne."
Marianne went back to her desk at about the same time Lucas walked in. He waved at Lilith and approached her. "Did you find anything?"
She shook her head. "Not yet. Now that you're here, I might be able to focus, though."
"What do you mean?"
She blushed and smiled. "I couldn't stop staring at my ring."
He chuckled and sat down, then the two of them started looking through the books. Only on the last one did Lilith find anything useful, patting him on the shoulder and pointing at the page as he asked, "What is it?"
"This is a variant of Voy Vot. It's got the same name, but the incantation is a little different. ...I think I like this one better. 'Seek and destroy' sounds better to me." After memorizing the spell, she closed the book and said, "You know, on the way here, while we were chatting, I got an idea."
"I'm listening."
"If grizzly bears are so dangerous, why don't I turn them into monsters, thus turn them into monster girls when it happens? If I did that, they'd be beautiful women with bear-like parts, and rather than maul and kill people, they'd have sex with them."
"It sounds good in theory. I can't think of any problems with it right now."
Lilith put the books back and took a walk around the city with Lucas, discussing various aspects of her plan, working out details, and finalizing her decisions on the new forms of certain monsters. When it came time, they returned to the inn and ate dinner, then retired to their rooms for the night. As they got into bed and got ready for her to mount him, she said, "You know that librarian? She's pretty naughty."
"How do you mean?"
Lilith giggled and said, "She wants to become a succubus."
"And?"
"She admitted she sleeps around with lots of men in this city. I don't know, but she might want to turn not only to keep her looks, but to keep her sex-friends, too."
"I don't see how that concerns me."
She frowned. "Then how about the fact that she was originally aiming to have me turn her?"
Lucas was stunned for a full three seconds. A very surprised, weak "What?" was all he could manage.
"Yes, that older woman, a good-looking librarian, wanted me to turn her into a succubus, even after I told her it involved lesbian sex. She agreed to wait after I reminded her of the risks and told her that it'll have no risk soon, but the biggest deterrent was when she learned that it would take dozens of sessions, thus I couldn't do it overnight. What do you think about that?"
Lucas shook his head. "I don't know. I'd rather not think of it."
"You know I wouldn't do something like that without you being there, right? Of course, I wouldn't let her have you, either..."
"Let's just focus on sex, okay?" he asked, not wanting to hear any more about it.
Lilith laughed. "Sure thing."
They went for four rounds before falling asleep, their lower bodies wet with their mixed sexual fluids.
...
Similarly, Zeraine and Amarantha went for two rounds. Before they fell asleep, she said, "Zeraine? Promise me we won't have sex where we risk being seen again, okay?"
"I promise, Ammie."
...
The next morning, both couples went for two rounds, then ate breakfast and set out, looking to enter the forest at the midpoint between Greymarch and Rendmark. As they traveled, they decided to fend off the boredom by contacting Sol.
Chapter 152
Spoiler: show
Upon answering, Sol's voice and tone made it very obvious that he was distracted. His breathing was heavy, too, so the party suspected he was aroused, though Lilith was certain he was. After Sol's greeting, Zeraine asked, "Have Vicky and Hilda made up?"
"Huh? Oh, uh, well... I don't know."
Lilith asked, "What has you so distracted?"
He cleared his throat and said, "Well, I guess you could say Vicky is getting back at Hilda right now for yesterday. She used Heretic to restrain Hilda, one tentacle for each arm and leg, and another for her tail, to hold it up out of the way. She also has one wrapped around Hilda's waist. It kind of helps to keep from hurting her with the weight distribution thing, but I know Vicky mostly did it to hold her still. Anyway, she's whipping Hilda with one of the tentacles, slapping her across the ass with it."
Lilith grinned and asked, "Did you use the polymorph spells on them beforehand?"
"Yes, and every time Vicky hits Hilda's ass with the tentacle, it causes her boobs to bounce, which is turning me on like crazy." He paused for a moment, then exhaled sharply, making obvious his discomfort. "Man, this is hard to watch..."
Amarantha asked, "I'm guessing it's not because Hilda's being whipped and you don't want her hurt, right?"
"Right. You see, I don't know if Vicky noticed or not, but it looks like Hilda's quite a masochist. You can tell by the look on her face and the sound of her cries that she's enjoying this. ...That is, if the wet spots that go from her crotch down her pants along her inner thighs and all the way down to her ankles don't make it obvious enough." As he said the last part, Sol was almost panting, his building lust now blatantly obvious. He took a couple of breaths and added, "Also, I know what Hilda looks like when she's cumming, and I've seen it at least twice so far, which means she's cumming from being whipped. I wonder, would she enjoy it more if we pulled her pants down, thus causing Vicky to whip her naked ass?"
Lilith's face was flushed with arousal, and when Lucas saw it, he rolled his eyes and shook his head. Amarantha scolded, "You shouldn't do things like that during your business hours."
"We're in the basement," Sol countered. "Nobody comes down here but me and my employees."
"I guess nobody will see, but what about the moans?"
Sol laughed and said, "Well, Ammie, your dear little brother is, as you already know, a shameless pervert, as is one of his employees. Vicky's also a pervert, but she's shy about it. Anyway, Hilda and I don't care if people hear her moaning. Vicky might be embarrassed about other people hearing her whipping Hilda, but whatever. ...Damn it, I'm going to have to join in soon. I can't just keep watching this without fucking one of them. ...Or both of them."
Amarantha facepalmed. "I'm glad you're not really my brother."
"Don't be like that, sis. Anyway, you might want to know that The Four Horsemen apparently decided to stop by on their way to the desert. Just as Levi promised she would, she introduced her fist to my face, which hurt like hell and bounced me off the wall, and stirred up my girls, but I healed myself and she left. I think the four of them wanted to remind everyone that they're on our side now, and they might have gone off to meet with the Grandmaster before continuing."
Lucas thought for a second and said, "Your projection and the news that spread after the battle worked well for making us known, but them visiting in person reinforces the facts... I hope they stay safe until we need them."
"We all do. Your battle is going to be a tough one, though I might be able to make quite a bit of money from it..."
"How's that, Sol?" Lucas asked, suspicious of his intentions.
"Simple. Before the battle starts, I'll sell my potions to everyone who will buy them, thus helping our side while making money. And no, I'm not going to pull the chickenshit stunt of playing the 'supply and demand' card, charging more for them at that time. ...Okay, if you want to talk some more, it'll have to wait a while because I can't take this anymore. Seeing this- this amazing scene, I... Damn it, I need relief! Vicky?"
The crystal dimmed in Lilith's hand. She couldn't help but imagine what was happening on Sol's end and blushed. She then looked Lucas in the eye and smiled hungrily. He could tell she was incredibly horny. He looked at Zeraine and Amarantha apologetically and said, "Sorry, guys. It looks like she needs it again."
Lilith said, "Damn right I do! After hearing what they're doing, how can I possibly hold it? I need you to fuck me, Lucas. I need it. I don't care if you do me right here in front of Zeraine and Ammie or take me into the forest, just fuck me!" To emphasize her point, she grabbed him and pressed her crotch against his thigh.
Zeraine's and Amarantha's faces were starting to turn red. They looked at each other and shrugged, then Zeraine said, "Go ahead, kid. Do what you need to."
Lucas was about to thank him, but Lilith let out a frustrated growl, said, "Damn it!" and shoved him down. "Take me right here!"
Lucas objected, saying, "Honey, we can't have sex in the middle of the road. Hold it until we get out of sight."
"I don't care who sees; let 'em watch!"
Zeraine said, "You should at least get off the road. Getting hit by a passing carriage while you're trying to fuck wouldn't be fun at all."
Lilith glanced up at Zeraine and, acknowledging that he was right, grabbed Lucas and began rolling with him until they were off the road, ending with her on top of him again. Lucas shook his head to recover from what she just did, then frowned and said, "I don't like how you're acting right now."
She scoffed and roughly grabbed his head, forced him to expose his neck, and gave him a hickey. "Then spank me. Otherwise, fuck me, or spank me while you fuck me. Hurry!"
Lucas thought, "Damn it, I know she got aroused from Sol and them... If only he hadn't talked about that!" He then sat up, pushing Lilith off him, causing her to give him a part-confused, part-angry glare. After adjusting himself, he grabbed her, pulled her close, and laid her across his lap. "You want a spanking? Fine."
Zeraine and Amarantha started to turn away, with him saying, "Uh, we'll just-"
Lilith cut him off, shouting, "No! Both of you stay and watch!"
They, and Lucas for that matter, paused in surprised confusion. Amarantha asked, "Don't you want some privacy?"
Lilith wiggled her ass, silently demanding that Lucas slap it, and said, "You watched us when he raped me after his transformation, and we watched you during Zeraine's transformation. Worrying about not watching each other now would be stupid, so watch me! Watch him spank me! Watch him fuck me!" Lucas gave her a light swat on the ass, to which she said, "That was just a pat! Slap my ass like you mean it!" He hit her again, this time much harder. "That's it! Harder!" He spanked her harder, causing her to cry out. "Yes! Do it again!" He spanked her a few more times, with her obviously enjoying it. At one point, she made him stop long enough for her to lift her dress up and pull her panties down, allowing him to slap her bare ass, which she enjoyed even more, made evident by the amount of her love juice that was spreading all over her thighs. Soon, she got her fill of being spanked by her husband and jumped up, then shoved him down again and began frantically undoing his pants, desperate to get his penis out. Once it was, she quickly engulfed him in her warm, wet depths and rode him very vigorously, both of them cumming very hard, all while Zeraine and Amarantha watched, the two of them unable to look away.
As she lay on top of him, both of them catching their breath, Lucas asked, "What was this all about, anyway?"
She gave him a gentle kiss and said, "I'm sorry. I wanted to try having you spank me, and I was too horny to ask nicely."
"Why did you make them watch?"
"I was curious to see if it'd feel better with them watching."
"Did it?"
"I couldn't tell." She looked up at Zeraine and Amarantha and asked, "Did you enjoy the show? How about next I suck him off and make him cum on my face?"
Lucas frowned. "Lilith!"
"Yes, dear?" she answered, smiling at him.
"We don't have time to keep doing this. We need to get moving. Any other sex you need will have to wait until tonight."
She sighed and said, "I know." She then kissed him and got up, got an idea, and squeezed the creampie out into her hands, then drank it while the others watched. After licking every last drop of Lucas's semen off her hands, she pulled her panties back up and fixed her dress. Once back on the road, she wrapped her arms around Lucas's right arm, pressing her breasts against it, and said, "Thanks for satisfying me like that. I love you so much."
Lucas scoffed. "I love you, too, but I know you're not satisfied."
She smiled and said, "You satisfied my desire to be spanked. ...For now."
He rolled his eyes and moved his arm so that it was around her waist as they continued walking.
Behind them, Zeraine and Amarantha walked side-by-side, both of them aroused and uncomfortable after Lilith's display. She leaned in and whispered, "Zeraine, how do you feel about her display?"
Zeraine replied, "Well, it was a nice show. She sure can get horny at times, though...
Amarantha said, "Personally, I disapprove of the lewdness she showed."
Zeraine shrugged and said, "I kind of agree with you. She should only show that side of herself to the kid. Also, I didn't mind watching, but she shouldn't make it a habit."
Just then, Lilith groaned a little and said, "My ass hurts..."
Lucas said, "You wanted it."
She smiled at him and said, "I know, and you gave it to me, so thanks, dear."
He rolled his eyes again, shaking his head, too, as they walked.
"Huh? Oh, uh, well... I don't know."
Lilith asked, "What has you so distracted?"
He cleared his throat and said, "Well, I guess you could say Vicky is getting back at Hilda right now for yesterday. She used Heretic to restrain Hilda, one tentacle for each arm and leg, and another for her tail, to hold it up out of the way. She also has one wrapped around Hilda's waist. It kind of helps to keep from hurting her with the weight distribution thing, but I know Vicky mostly did it to hold her still. Anyway, she's whipping Hilda with one of the tentacles, slapping her across the ass with it."
Lilith grinned and asked, "Did you use the polymorph spells on them beforehand?"
"Yes, and every time Vicky hits Hilda's ass with the tentacle, it causes her boobs to bounce, which is turning me on like crazy." He paused for a moment, then exhaled sharply, making obvious his discomfort. "Man, this is hard to watch..."
Amarantha asked, "I'm guessing it's not because Hilda's being whipped and you don't want her hurt, right?"
"Right. You see, I don't know if Vicky noticed or not, but it looks like Hilda's quite a masochist. You can tell by the look on her face and the sound of her cries that she's enjoying this. ...That is, if the wet spots that go from her crotch down her pants along her inner thighs and all the way down to her ankles don't make it obvious enough." As he said the last part, Sol was almost panting, his building lust now blatantly obvious. He took a couple of breaths and added, "Also, I know what Hilda looks like when she's cumming, and I've seen it at least twice so far, which means she's cumming from being whipped. I wonder, would she enjoy it more if we pulled her pants down, thus causing Vicky to whip her naked ass?"
Lilith's face was flushed with arousal, and when Lucas saw it, he rolled his eyes and shook his head. Amarantha scolded, "You shouldn't do things like that during your business hours."
"We're in the basement," Sol countered. "Nobody comes down here but me and my employees."
"I guess nobody will see, but what about the moans?"
Sol laughed and said, "Well, Ammie, your dear little brother is, as you already know, a shameless pervert, as is one of his employees. Vicky's also a pervert, but she's shy about it. Anyway, Hilda and I don't care if people hear her moaning. Vicky might be embarrassed about other people hearing her whipping Hilda, but whatever. ...Damn it, I'm going to have to join in soon. I can't just keep watching this without fucking one of them. ...Or both of them."
Amarantha facepalmed. "I'm glad you're not really my brother."
"Don't be like that, sis. Anyway, you might want to know that The Four Horsemen apparently decided to stop by on their way to the desert. Just as Levi promised she would, she introduced her fist to my face, which hurt like hell and bounced me off the wall, and stirred up my girls, but I healed myself and she left. I think the four of them wanted to remind everyone that they're on our side now, and they might have gone off to meet with the Grandmaster before continuing."
Lucas thought for a second and said, "Your projection and the news that spread after the battle worked well for making us known, but them visiting in person reinforces the facts... I hope they stay safe until we need them."
"We all do. Your battle is going to be a tough one, though I might be able to make quite a bit of money from it..."
"How's that, Sol?" Lucas asked, suspicious of his intentions.
"Simple. Before the battle starts, I'll sell my potions to everyone who will buy them, thus helping our side while making money. And no, I'm not going to pull the chickenshit stunt of playing the 'supply and demand' card, charging more for them at that time. ...Okay, if you want to talk some more, it'll have to wait a while because I can't take this anymore. Seeing this- this amazing scene, I... Damn it, I need relief! Vicky?"
The crystal dimmed in Lilith's hand. She couldn't help but imagine what was happening on Sol's end and blushed. She then looked Lucas in the eye and smiled hungrily. He could tell she was incredibly horny. He looked at Zeraine and Amarantha apologetically and said, "Sorry, guys. It looks like she needs it again."
Lilith said, "Damn right I do! After hearing what they're doing, how can I possibly hold it? I need you to fuck me, Lucas. I need it. I don't care if you do me right here in front of Zeraine and Ammie or take me into the forest, just fuck me!" To emphasize her point, she grabbed him and pressed her crotch against his thigh.
Zeraine's and Amarantha's faces were starting to turn red. They looked at each other and shrugged, then Zeraine said, "Go ahead, kid. Do what you need to."
Lucas was about to thank him, but Lilith let out a frustrated growl, said, "Damn it!" and shoved him down. "Take me right here!"
Lucas objected, saying, "Honey, we can't have sex in the middle of the road. Hold it until we get out of sight."
"I don't care who sees; let 'em watch!"
Zeraine said, "You should at least get off the road. Getting hit by a passing carriage while you're trying to fuck wouldn't be fun at all."
Lilith glanced up at Zeraine and, acknowledging that he was right, grabbed Lucas and began rolling with him until they were off the road, ending with her on top of him again. Lucas shook his head to recover from what she just did, then frowned and said, "I don't like how you're acting right now."
She scoffed and roughly grabbed his head, forced him to expose his neck, and gave him a hickey. "Then spank me. Otherwise, fuck me, or spank me while you fuck me. Hurry!"
Lucas thought, "Damn it, I know she got aroused from Sol and them... If only he hadn't talked about that!" He then sat up, pushing Lilith off him, causing her to give him a part-confused, part-angry glare. After adjusting himself, he grabbed her, pulled her close, and laid her across his lap. "You want a spanking? Fine."
Zeraine and Amarantha started to turn away, with him saying, "Uh, we'll just-"
Lilith cut him off, shouting, "No! Both of you stay and watch!"
They, and Lucas for that matter, paused in surprised confusion. Amarantha asked, "Don't you want some privacy?"
Lilith wiggled her ass, silently demanding that Lucas slap it, and said, "You watched us when he raped me after his transformation, and we watched you during Zeraine's transformation. Worrying about not watching each other now would be stupid, so watch me! Watch him spank me! Watch him fuck me!" Lucas gave her a light swat on the ass, to which she said, "That was just a pat! Slap my ass like you mean it!" He hit her again, this time much harder. "That's it! Harder!" He spanked her harder, causing her to cry out. "Yes! Do it again!" He spanked her a few more times, with her obviously enjoying it. At one point, she made him stop long enough for her to lift her dress up and pull her panties down, allowing him to slap her bare ass, which she enjoyed even more, made evident by the amount of her love juice that was spreading all over her thighs. Soon, she got her fill of being spanked by her husband and jumped up, then shoved him down again and began frantically undoing his pants, desperate to get his penis out. Once it was, she quickly engulfed him in her warm, wet depths and rode him very vigorously, both of them cumming very hard, all while Zeraine and Amarantha watched, the two of them unable to look away.
As she lay on top of him, both of them catching their breath, Lucas asked, "What was this all about, anyway?"
She gave him a gentle kiss and said, "I'm sorry. I wanted to try having you spank me, and I was too horny to ask nicely."
"Why did you make them watch?"
"I was curious to see if it'd feel better with them watching."
"Did it?"
"I couldn't tell." She looked up at Zeraine and Amarantha and asked, "Did you enjoy the show? How about next I suck him off and make him cum on my face?"
Lucas frowned. "Lilith!"
"Yes, dear?" she answered, smiling at him.
"We don't have time to keep doing this. We need to get moving. Any other sex you need will have to wait until tonight."
She sighed and said, "I know." She then kissed him and got up, got an idea, and squeezed the creampie out into her hands, then drank it while the others watched. After licking every last drop of Lucas's semen off her hands, she pulled her panties back up and fixed her dress. Once back on the road, she wrapped her arms around Lucas's right arm, pressing her breasts against it, and said, "Thanks for satisfying me like that. I love you so much."
Lucas scoffed. "I love you, too, but I know you're not satisfied."
She smiled and said, "You satisfied my desire to be spanked. ...For now."
He rolled his eyes and moved his arm so that it was around her waist as they continued walking.
Behind them, Zeraine and Amarantha walked side-by-side, both of them aroused and uncomfortable after Lilith's display. She leaned in and whispered, "Zeraine, how do you feel about her display?"
Zeraine replied, "Well, it was a nice show. She sure can get horny at times, though...
Amarantha said, "Personally, I disapprove of the lewdness she showed."
Zeraine shrugged and said, "I kind of agree with you. She should only show that side of herself to the kid. Also, I didn't mind watching, but she shouldn't make it a habit."
Just then, Lilith groaned a little and said, "My ass hurts..."
Lucas said, "You wanted it."
She smiled at him and said, "I know, and you gave it to me, so thanks, dear."
He rolled his eyes again, shaking his head, too, as they walked.
Chapter 153
Spoiler: show
After reaching the half-way point of the path and entering the forest, Lilith gave Lucas a lewd smile and said, "You know, I think I like getting spanked."
He rolled his eyes again, having done so at least twenty times by now just from remembering their wild session a little bit ago. In a monotone voice, he said, "You don't say..." In a normal tone, he asked, "So bondage with whipping or spanking turns you on this much?"
"Yeah. What, you don't like it?" she asked, starting to sound offended.
"Well, the way you acted kind of disturbed me."
"I'm sorry, but I'm a succubus. I'm a lot more horny than any human woman, and if you love me, you'll just have to deal with it. ...Didn't we have a little talk like this before?"
"Yeah, I think we did. Anyway, what do you mean, 'deal with it'? I don't want you doing that again. I don't like being watched, either. I know you're a bit... uh-"
"Just say that I'm a shameless pervert already."
"...That aside, can you control yourself from now on? I don't want to see my beloved wife acting like that again, okay?"
She sighed and said, "Well, I'm not exactly 'pure as driven snow', you know? Still, I'll do my best to behave since you asked so nicely. If Sol recounts kinky stuff again, though, don't expect me to stop him, since I like hearing about such things, and don't expect me to be able to hold back, either."
"Why?"
"I can't help it! When I hear about stuff like what he was watching, I get horny. Also, I've wanted to try having you spank me for a long time, but I never found the opportunity."
"Never found the opportunity? Couldn't you have asked during one of our many nights at inns?"
"At those times, making you blow your load was more important."
"Is that the real reason?"
"...Okay, fine. It's mostly because I forgot. I wanted to ride your dick so bad I couldn't remember to ask for a spanking. Happy?"
Lucas wanted to facepalm, but he held back. "Will you be fine until tonight?"
"As long as nothing else ignites my lust, yes. Otherwise, I'll need a good fucking from you again, or I'll have to masturbate. Obviously, I prefer your dick to my fingers."
"Yeah..." He looked around and spotted what he thought was a hut of some kind. He let go of Lilith and walked toward it, leading everyone right into the Elven village.
As Lucas looked around, confirming that they had reached the village, which consisted of various sizes of huts made of wood, one Elf approached them and said, "Welcome to our village, travelers. May I help you?"
The polite welcome stunned the party for a moment, none of them expecting to be welcomed, let alone politely into an Elven village. Lucas recovered and said, "I'm looking for two individuals. Wind elementalists, to be specific."
The Elf nodded and asked, "And what would your business with them be?"
"We spoke to an old man in the swamps far to the east, looking for elementalists to aid us. He was the best water elementalist in the world, but he's too old to assist us. His disciple, Margaret, has agreed to do so, however. The old man told us that the world's greatest wind elementalist was an Elf, but he's dead. He told us to seek out his children, though, saying that they were very powerful themselves."
The Elf nodded again and asked, "And what would you have them do?"
"We are gathering as much support as we can for our inevitable battle against the Demon Lord. We would have them agree to help us, practice until that day, and help us in the battle."
The Elf smiled. "Well, I am one of those whom you seek. I am Brellin."
"I'm Lucas, knight of The Order."
"Come, let's find my sister so we can discuss this." Brellin led the party to a hut that was somewhat "detached" from the rest of the village, sitting outside what some would consider its boundary. He then led them around behind it, where his sister was practicing using her powers by blowing leaves into the air, and then hitting certain individual leaves as they fell. "Sister?"
She turned around and saw the party, then said, "Greetings. I am Laenafil. What brings you here?"
Seeing them side-by-side, the party noticed that they looked very similar to one another, indicating they were twins. They both had long blonde hair, Laenafil's coming down to the middle of her back while Brellin's only came down to his shoulders. Brellin was, as is typical of male Elves, fairly feminine in appearance. Laenafil was beautiful, too, and one of the first things the part noticed about her was her large breasts. They must have been D-cup, for they were very large and bouncy. Amarantha caught Zeraine staring at them and stealthily elbowed him in the side, which hurt despite his armor due to her tremendous strength. He had a hard time not glancing back to them due to how Laenafil's tunic had a "cleavage window", though, which annoyed her. Her annoyance only added to her suffering, for her arousal hadn't completely faded. Zeraine was having to try to deal with his arousal, too, which hadn't subsided much, either, and the fresh bruise didn't help his suffering any. Other than the "cleavage window" in Laenafil's shirt, their clothes were rather plain, being a few shades of green, but human-made. That showed that they had established trading with Greymarch, Rendmark, or both.
Lucas and Lilith began discussing the plans with them, telling them their intentions. Afterwards, Brellin said, "I agree that the Demon Lord should be done away with, for everyone's sakes. We will help you."
Zeraine couldn't hold his curiosity anymore and asked, "So, uh, what's with the welcome you gave us?"
Brellin smirked. "What, you mean us not immediately aiming bows at you, threatening harm should you attack us, or being arrogant about our 'Elven superiority'? We've learned that, at least in this area, such an attitude causes unneeded problems. Besides, had you attacked, you may have gotten one or two of us, but the rest of the village would have swarmed you, showering you with arrows from all directions. Such an act would have been both stupid and suicidal. If you're referring to your appearances, such as your wings and the fact that you're traveling with a succubus who doesn't hide what she is, we don't discriminate. That only causes the aforementioned unneeded problems."
The party was impressed by Brellin's reasoning and practicality, which was obviously different from what most Elven villages displayed. Zeraine then asked, "Hey, uh, you wouldn't happen to have anyone here that can help me learn to use these wings, would you?"
Brellin shook his head. "I'm afraid only another incubus who was formerly human can help you with that, and he'd obviously have to have wings of his own, of course. So, what do you intend to do?"
Lucas shrugged and said, "Well, as you might have seen, Zeraine needs new armor, and the Demon Realm, specifically the 'outskirts' of it, would be the best place to find it. For that goal, we'll have to risk entering the Demon Realm after passing through Rendmark. Since we're halfway there, it'd be best to simply go in that direction, but..." He looked at the sun as it hung low in the sky. "Traveling at night is dangerous and it's almost sunset."
Brellin nodded knowingly. "You may stay with us tonight. We have room for you, and we're okay with you taking care of your... 'needs', as long as you don't make a mess."
Lilith smiled and said, "Thank you. You're very generous."
Brellin shook his head. "No, thank you. You're the only ones crazy enough to declare war on the Demon Lord himself, and you're not doing it for your own personal gain. Disposing of him would do the whole world, humans, Elves, Dwarves, and monsters, a lot of good, to say the least. Allowing you to spend the night in relative comfort is the least we can do."
Lucas shrugged again and said, "Still, thanks for your hospitality."
He and Brellin shook hands, then he shook Laenafil's hand, with Lilith, Zeraine, and Amarantha, in that order, doing the same, shaking hands with both Elves, Brellin first. The twins then led the party inside and showed them where they'd be sleeping, which was on one side of a divider. Lucas saw that they were apparently going to be sleeping in Brellin's bed and asked, "Where are you going to sleep?"
Brellin said, "I'll share my sister's bed."
Lilith paused for a moment, then hesitantly asked, "You're not going to..."
Laenafil shook her head, obviously offended, knowing what Lilith was about to ask. "No. We of this village don't commit incest."
"Oh. Sorry." Lilith didn't like incest, but because of how and what she was, she couldn't help but make that assumption.
Once the couples were ready for bed, they shared an awkward moment of silence as they looked at each other. Zeraine and Amarantha both wanted it, but she was, as always, reluctant to make love to Zeraine in front of others. Lucas didn't like doing it in front of others, either, but he knew Lilith needed it, and truth be told, he wanted to do it, too. Zeraine sighed and got out their sleeping bag, deciding that he'd sleep on the floor with Amarantha, leaving the bed to Lucas and Lilith. After setting it up, Zeraine and Amarantha crawled in. She complained, "Not only are the kid and the princess watching, but those Elves could hear us, too! Had 'that' not happened, I might have been able to hold off until tomorrow night, but..."
Lilith stood on her knees at the edge of the bed, still in her underwear. "We're right here, you know. And yes, I made you watch, and that got you too horny to not do it tonight, and you'd rather not because of us and our hosts being able to watch or hear, but you can't hold back. I know that's my fault, so I'm sorry. Still, you should just do it. If you're careful and quiet enough, you can do it so that nobody but maybe us can hear. We've watched and heard you do it before, too, so you should be a little more comfortable with doing it around us."
Zeraine patted Amarantha on the shoulder and said, "At least we're not outside."
She frowned at him and said, "That's not funny, Zeraine."
Lilith shrugged and shook her head. "Whatever. You don't have to worry about me watching because I'll be too busy with milking Lucas. Lucas will be too busy emptying his balls into me, so he won't watch, either. I expect that, with what these Elves have displayed so far, they won't try to peep, so don't worry about it."
Amarantha huffed and said, "Easy for you to say. You don't care if you're seen. I do."
Lucas slid over next to Lilith and hugged her from behind. "Guys, can we stop the bickering and get to bed?"
The women stopped arguing in favor of getting intimate with their men, and that they did. Zeraine and Amarantha made love incredibly slowly and passionately, only doing it once, their session lasting almost as long as the others'. Fortunately for the Elves, Lucas decided to lay their beach blanket over Brellin's bed before he and Lilith got started. The two of them went for six consecutive times, their session lasting three hours.
The next morning, both couples awoke to what sounded like a dog, viciously growling and barking, mixed with the village's Elves shouting. They realized that their usual "morning fun" would have to be called off, and this greatly angered Lilith. She was very used to making love to Lucas in the mornings, greatly enjoying and deeply cherishing every last second she could spend having sex with him. Of course, most of the anger came from the fact that her "routine" of having sex with her husband every morning was broken. In other words, she was pissed because something was cockblocking her.
The four of them quickly got dressed to try and see what was happening, Zeraine, Amarantha, and Lucas not having time to fully suit up in their armor, though Amarantha still put on her chainmail cuirass for the sake of preventing her breasts from slipping out of her shirt, or more specifically, the hole Levi cut in it.
He rolled his eyes again, having done so at least twenty times by now just from remembering their wild session a little bit ago. In a monotone voice, he said, "You don't say..." In a normal tone, he asked, "So bondage with whipping or spanking turns you on this much?"
"Yeah. What, you don't like it?" she asked, starting to sound offended.
"Well, the way you acted kind of disturbed me."
"I'm sorry, but I'm a succubus. I'm a lot more horny than any human woman, and if you love me, you'll just have to deal with it. ...Didn't we have a little talk like this before?"
"Yeah, I think we did. Anyway, what do you mean, 'deal with it'? I don't want you doing that again. I don't like being watched, either. I know you're a bit... uh-"
"Just say that I'm a shameless pervert already."
"...That aside, can you control yourself from now on? I don't want to see my beloved wife acting like that again, okay?"
She sighed and said, "Well, I'm not exactly 'pure as driven snow', you know? Still, I'll do my best to behave since you asked so nicely. If Sol recounts kinky stuff again, though, don't expect me to stop him, since I like hearing about such things, and don't expect me to be able to hold back, either."
"Why?"
"I can't help it! When I hear about stuff like what he was watching, I get horny. Also, I've wanted to try having you spank me for a long time, but I never found the opportunity."
"Never found the opportunity? Couldn't you have asked during one of our many nights at inns?"
"At those times, making you blow your load was more important."
"Is that the real reason?"
"...Okay, fine. It's mostly because I forgot. I wanted to ride your dick so bad I couldn't remember to ask for a spanking. Happy?"
Lucas wanted to facepalm, but he held back. "Will you be fine until tonight?"
"As long as nothing else ignites my lust, yes. Otherwise, I'll need a good fucking from you again, or I'll have to masturbate. Obviously, I prefer your dick to my fingers."
"Yeah..." He looked around and spotted what he thought was a hut of some kind. He let go of Lilith and walked toward it, leading everyone right into the Elven village.
As Lucas looked around, confirming that they had reached the village, which consisted of various sizes of huts made of wood, one Elf approached them and said, "Welcome to our village, travelers. May I help you?"
The polite welcome stunned the party for a moment, none of them expecting to be welcomed, let alone politely into an Elven village. Lucas recovered and said, "I'm looking for two individuals. Wind elementalists, to be specific."
The Elf nodded and asked, "And what would your business with them be?"
"We spoke to an old man in the swamps far to the east, looking for elementalists to aid us. He was the best water elementalist in the world, but he's too old to assist us. His disciple, Margaret, has agreed to do so, however. The old man told us that the world's greatest wind elementalist was an Elf, but he's dead. He told us to seek out his children, though, saying that they were very powerful themselves."
The Elf nodded again and asked, "And what would you have them do?"
"We are gathering as much support as we can for our inevitable battle against the Demon Lord. We would have them agree to help us, practice until that day, and help us in the battle."
The Elf smiled. "Well, I am one of those whom you seek. I am Brellin."
"I'm Lucas, knight of The Order."
"Come, let's find my sister so we can discuss this." Brellin led the party to a hut that was somewhat "detached" from the rest of the village, sitting outside what some would consider its boundary. He then led them around behind it, where his sister was practicing using her powers by blowing leaves into the air, and then hitting certain individual leaves as they fell. "Sister?"
She turned around and saw the party, then said, "Greetings. I am Laenafil. What brings you here?"
Seeing them side-by-side, the party noticed that they looked very similar to one another, indicating they were twins. They both had long blonde hair, Laenafil's coming down to the middle of her back while Brellin's only came down to his shoulders. Brellin was, as is typical of male Elves, fairly feminine in appearance. Laenafil was beautiful, too, and one of the first things the part noticed about her was her large breasts. They must have been D-cup, for they were very large and bouncy. Amarantha caught Zeraine staring at them and stealthily elbowed him in the side, which hurt despite his armor due to her tremendous strength. He had a hard time not glancing back to them due to how Laenafil's tunic had a "cleavage window", though, which annoyed her. Her annoyance only added to her suffering, for her arousal hadn't completely faded. Zeraine was having to try to deal with his arousal, too, which hadn't subsided much, either, and the fresh bruise didn't help his suffering any. Other than the "cleavage window" in Laenafil's shirt, their clothes were rather plain, being a few shades of green, but human-made. That showed that they had established trading with Greymarch, Rendmark, or both.
Lucas and Lilith began discussing the plans with them, telling them their intentions. Afterwards, Brellin said, "I agree that the Demon Lord should be done away with, for everyone's sakes. We will help you."
Zeraine couldn't hold his curiosity anymore and asked, "So, uh, what's with the welcome you gave us?"
Brellin smirked. "What, you mean us not immediately aiming bows at you, threatening harm should you attack us, or being arrogant about our 'Elven superiority'? We've learned that, at least in this area, such an attitude causes unneeded problems. Besides, had you attacked, you may have gotten one or two of us, but the rest of the village would have swarmed you, showering you with arrows from all directions. Such an act would have been both stupid and suicidal. If you're referring to your appearances, such as your wings and the fact that you're traveling with a succubus who doesn't hide what she is, we don't discriminate. That only causes the aforementioned unneeded problems."
The party was impressed by Brellin's reasoning and practicality, which was obviously different from what most Elven villages displayed. Zeraine then asked, "Hey, uh, you wouldn't happen to have anyone here that can help me learn to use these wings, would you?"
Brellin shook his head. "I'm afraid only another incubus who was formerly human can help you with that, and he'd obviously have to have wings of his own, of course. So, what do you intend to do?"
Lucas shrugged and said, "Well, as you might have seen, Zeraine needs new armor, and the Demon Realm, specifically the 'outskirts' of it, would be the best place to find it. For that goal, we'll have to risk entering the Demon Realm after passing through Rendmark. Since we're halfway there, it'd be best to simply go in that direction, but..." He looked at the sun as it hung low in the sky. "Traveling at night is dangerous and it's almost sunset."
Brellin nodded knowingly. "You may stay with us tonight. We have room for you, and we're okay with you taking care of your... 'needs', as long as you don't make a mess."
Lilith smiled and said, "Thank you. You're very generous."
Brellin shook his head. "No, thank you. You're the only ones crazy enough to declare war on the Demon Lord himself, and you're not doing it for your own personal gain. Disposing of him would do the whole world, humans, Elves, Dwarves, and monsters, a lot of good, to say the least. Allowing you to spend the night in relative comfort is the least we can do."
Lucas shrugged again and said, "Still, thanks for your hospitality."
He and Brellin shook hands, then he shook Laenafil's hand, with Lilith, Zeraine, and Amarantha, in that order, doing the same, shaking hands with both Elves, Brellin first. The twins then led the party inside and showed them where they'd be sleeping, which was on one side of a divider. Lucas saw that they were apparently going to be sleeping in Brellin's bed and asked, "Where are you going to sleep?"
Brellin said, "I'll share my sister's bed."
Lilith paused for a moment, then hesitantly asked, "You're not going to..."
Laenafil shook her head, obviously offended, knowing what Lilith was about to ask. "No. We of this village don't commit incest."
"Oh. Sorry." Lilith didn't like incest, but because of how and what she was, she couldn't help but make that assumption.
Once the couples were ready for bed, they shared an awkward moment of silence as they looked at each other. Zeraine and Amarantha both wanted it, but she was, as always, reluctant to make love to Zeraine in front of others. Lucas didn't like doing it in front of others, either, but he knew Lilith needed it, and truth be told, he wanted to do it, too. Zeraine sighed and got out their sleeping bag, deciding that he'd sleep on the floor with Amarantha, leaving the bed to Lucas and Lilith. After setting it up, Zeraine and Amarantha crawled in. She complained, "Not only are the kid and the princess watching, but those Elves could hear us, too! Had 'that' not happened, I might have been able to hold off until tomorrow night, but..."
Lilith stood on her knees at the edge of the bed, still in her underwear. "We're right here, you know. And yes, I made you watch, and that got you too horny to not do it tonight, and you'd rather not because of us and our hosts being able to watch or hear, but you can't hold back. I know that's my fault, so I'm sorry. Still, you should just do it. If you're careful and quiet enough, you can do it so that nobody but maybe us can hear. We've watched and heard you do it before, too, so you should be a little more comfortable with doing it around us."
Zeraine patted Amarantha on the shoulder and said, "At least we're not outside."
She frowned at him and said, "That's not funny, Zeraine."
Lilith shrugged and shook her head. "Whatever. You don't have to worry about me watching because I'll be too busy with milking Lucas. Lucas will be too busy emptying his balls into me, so he won't watch, either. I expect that, with what these Elves have displayed so far, they won't try to peep, so don't worry about it."
Amarantha huffed and said, "Easy for you to say. You don't care if you're seen. I do."
Lucas slid over next to Lilith and hugged her from behind. "Guys, can we stop the bickering and get to bed?"
The women stopped arguing in favor of getting intimate with their men, and that they did. Zeraine and Amarantha made love incredibly slowly and passionately, only doing it once, their session lasting almost as long as the others'. Fortunately for the Elves, Lucas decided to lay their beach blanket over Brellin's bed before he and Lilith got started. The two of them went for six consecutive times, their session lasting three hours.
The next morning, both couples awoke to what sounded like a dog, viciously growling and barking, mixed with the village's Elves shouting. They realized that their usual "morning fun" would have to be called off, and this greatly angered Lilith. She was very used to making love to Lucas in the mornings, greatly enjoying and deeply cherishing every last second she could spend having sex with him. Of course, most of the anger came from the fact that her "routine" of having sex with her husband every morning was broken. In other words, she was pissed because something was cockblocking her.
The four of them quickly got dressed to try and see what was happening, Zeraine, Amarantha, and Lucas not having time to fully suit up in their armor, though Amarantha still put on her chainmail cuirass for the sake of preventing her breasts from slipping out of her shirt, or more specifically, the hole Levi cut in it.
Chapter 154
Spoiler: show
When the four of them stepped out of the hut, they saw groups of Elves running from a wolf. The wolf seemed to be chasing anything that came near, not focusing on any one group. It also seemed to be salivating in large amounts. Zeraine and Lucas were just about to charge in, but Lilith stopped them, shouting, "Wait!" while grabbing Lucas by the shoulder. When they turned to look at her with agitated expressions, obviously not pleased at her holding them back from saving the Elves, she said, "Kill it from a distance. Don't get close."
Lucas and Zeraine nodded and ran in, seeing that the wolf had tackled an Elf and was sinking its teeth into his arm. Lucas prepared to cast Anselm, then shouted at the wolf, getting its attention, causing it to release the Elf and charge at him and Zeraine. Brellin and Laenafil helped them by using their powers as wind elementalists to blast the wolf with two simultaneous powerful bursts of wind, stopping it in its tracks. Lucas then unleashed Anselm, nailing the wolf with four light-arrows, and Zeraine finished it off with a well-aimed Ice Bolt to its head. Lilith then approached the wolf, which was now obviously dead. She squatted down and examined the wolf carefully, then made everyone back off as she cremated it with Dyo. She then looked around and asked, "Who all was bitten?"
The male Elf that the men just saved stepped forward, clutching his bloody arm. "I saw one child, a young girl, get attacked. Her father tried to pull it off her and it bit him, too. I don't think anyone else was bitten."
Lucas asked, "Why? It obviously wasn't a werewolf."
"I know, but it had rabies," Lilith replied.
Zeraine asked, "Would our potions and scrolls for curing diseases work on that?"
"Yes. Get them out and let's round up everyone who was attacked," Lilith said, turning to face the Elven twins. "Has this happened before?"
Brellin nodded. "Sometimes rabid animals come near and my sister and I dispose of them. Normally it isn't a big deal because we're awake when it happens and we can handle it before anyone is attacked. It's strange, though... There seems to have been an increase in the number of rabid animals lately."
Lilith asked, "Do they seem to come from any particular direction?"
Laenafil pointed in a general southern direction, into the forest, and said, "They mostly come from that way."
Lilith pondered this for a moment, then said, "I'd guess that means there's either the beginnings of a rabies pandemic in the forest, or there's some bastard out there spreading it around for some idiotic reason."
Lucas crossed his arms and said, "Well, we can't just let this go, right? I say we investigate. Maybe we can stop the disease somehow, and if it's because of someone infecting the animals, we'll kill them."
Lilith nodded. "My thoughts exactly."
Zeraine said, "Rabies is some bad shit. Letting it spread would be both bad and cowardly, and we're not either of those."
Amarantha shook her head. "I've heard about what happens to an animal when they get rabies. The suffering, the slow, miserable death... It's hell on them."
Lilith said, "It's hell on anything or anyone, be it animal, human, Elf, whatever. So we're unanimous?"
The others nodded. The four of them then checked everyone in the village and found that only the young female Elf, her father, and the one who told the party of them were attacked. Using three of their Cure Disease scrolls, they made sure that the Elves weren't left infected. Once that was done, they returned to the twins' hut and suited up. After breakfast, the four of them made the twins stay in the village while they went off into the forest. They kept alert as they searched for anything that might relate to this incident.
After hours of wandering, they found a cave with another rabid wolf outside. Lilith stepped out and cast Venjend, blasting a gaping hole through the wolf, killing it instantly. Before they entered the cave, Amarantha asked, "Let me guess; if it turns out to be someone infecting these animals, they're doing it because they thought using rabid animals as underlings was a good idea, right?"
Lilith shrugged and said, "It could be that, sure. It could also be a number of other things, so let's stop speculating and focus on finding out the truth."
Once inside the cave, they found two more rabid wolves, which Zeraine and Amarantha easily dispatched, Zeraine with Drash Gan and Amarantha with Tankad. Judging by their slow movements, Lilith estimated that these wolves were near death to begin with. She pointed out how much difficulty they seemed to have with moving their hind legs, as well as how aggressive they were, concluding that they were somewhere between the second and third stages of infection and only had a few days left to live. She then said, "Sure, there might be a chance of curing them with our scrolls, but that would be dangerous and impractical, and would expose us to unnecessary risk and possible injury, maybe even leading us to have to use even more scrolls and potions on ourselves... Also, this long after infection, there's no guarantee that it'd work, and the damage will have been done. It just wouldn't be worth it. Mercy killing them is the best we can do."
All four of them looked at the dead wolves sorrowfully, sad that the animals had gone through such suffering. They then looked around the cave and found one passageway leading deeper in. They followed it for about 30 feet until it opened into a large room, in which there were several empty cages, a makeshift operating table with a wolf on it, and a man standing at another table that had a set of alchemy equipment laid out on it. He seemed to be mixing a few liquids together. The party got closer and saw that he had short black hair and was wearing a white robe. As they quietly closed the distance, they heard him mumbling, cursing and scoffing as he talked to himself about how the Elves in the village were putting up a farcical appearance and how he'd expose them. Lucas stepped forward and said, "Excuse us, but are you the one responsible for the rabid wolves?"
His question startled the man, causing him to drop a glass container which shattered on the stone floor. "Shit!" He turned around to face the party and said, "I don't know who you are, but yes. You see, all Elves are stuck up bastards that think they're better than everyone else because they're Elves. I plan to expose them by sending these forest creatures to attack them."
Lilith raised an eyebrow and asked, "How will sending rabid wolves after them expose any hidden racism? Also, how do you actually infect the wolves, make the virus advance to the second stage, and send them after the Elves without being bitten or otherwise being infected?"
The man gave her a look of contempt, which changed to one of arrogant superiority when he heard her second question. "Simple. I sedate the wolves, inject them with the virus, keep them in those cages until they're ready, then sedate them again and carry them out to a close enough spot and leave them. When they wake up, they do the job of attacking those accursed Elves well enough."
Lilith noted that he ignored her first question, but didn't ask again. Instead, she asked, "That wolf on the table... It's sedated, right?"
"Yes, of course. It's of no use to me dead unless it has already attacked that village, after all."
"Is it infected?"
"Not yet." The man held up a syringe and smiled. "It will soon, though."
Lucas quickly cast Anselm, sending out two light-arrows, one to knock the syringe out of the man's hand and the other to hit him in the face, sending him staggering backwards. Amarantha rushed in with a growling yell, grabbed the man, and threw him to the rest of the party. Lilith restrained him with Heretic and began interrogating him. "Let me guess, in order to initially capture them you set out some drugged food. To sedate them when needed, you drug their food again. You subject these animals to incredibly cruel treatment, intentionally infecting them with rabies, and 'coax' them into attacking innocent people, including women and children, all for some fucking retarded goal that doesn't make any sense at all, you worthless bastard!" As she spoke, her tone became more and more angry, sounding more accusing than inquiring.
The man laughed and said, "They're just animals! There are plenty more where those came from, so don't get all worked up over it. And you fools obviously can't understand my goals, so release me this instant!"
Lilith nodded at Amarantha, who had just returned to Zeraine's side, and she nodded back. She then stepped out in front of the man and gave him an uppercut to the jaw, hitting him so hard that his jaw broke and most of his teeth cracked, causing him to cry out in pain. Zeraine then stepped up and slugged the man in the gut, coldly saying, "Suffer like those wolves did. Suffer like the Elves have. Suffer and die, you sick fuck." The punch knocked the wind out of him, leaving him gasping for air.
Lilith said, "As much as I'd like us to take turns hitting him until we eventually beat him to death, breaking every bone in his body as we do, I don't want to spend too long here, so how about this?" She grinned and focused, then cast her spell. "Seek and destroy! Voy Vot!"
The man couldn't do anything but gurgle as his various bodily fluids boiled, making him die a fairly slow and incredibly painful death. After taking a few moments to calm down, Zeraine said, "That guy was obviously off his rocker. What could make someone get this fucked up?"
Lilith shook her head and approached the sedated wolf on the operating table. "I don't know, nor do I care. He's dead, and that's what's important. Now, we need to destroy any and all samples of the virus, his lab... Hell, we might as well bring down the whole cave after we incinerate everything inside. I guess we should cremate the dead wolves outside, first, then destroy his little 'lab'." She confirmed that it had not been infected, then looked around at everything, thinking about taking anything that might be useful, but finding nothing.
The four of them got to work, Amarantha taking the sedated wolf outside, Zeraine and Lucas gathering the corpses of the rabid wolves from outside and the first room of the cave and piling them up along with the body of the man responsible for everything. Lilith then cremated the bodies and got Lucas to help her destroy everything in the lab with repeated casts of Explosion and Damned. Once that was done and all four of them were outside, she cast Megadeath, causing the cave to collapse. They then returned to the Elven village, noting that it was after lunch when they got back. Brellin asked what happened and they recounted the events. He shook his head in disbelief and said, "Why would that man do and think such things?"
Amarantha replied, "It doesn't really matter, now, does it? He was clearly crazy, but he's dead now."
"I suppose you're right... Anyway, are you four hungry? Laenafil and I have already eaten, but we wouldn't mind treating you to lunch after what you've just done. How about it?"
Lucas nodded and said, "We could use a meal after all that casting."
Brellin led them back to his hut and he and his sister got started making lunch for the party.
Lucas and Zeraine nodded and ran in, seeing that the wolf had tackled an Elf and was sinking its teeth into his arm. Lucas prepared to cast Anselm, then shouted at the wolf, getting its attention, causing it to release the Elf and charge at him and Zeraine. Brellin and Laenafil helped them by using their powers as wind elementalists to blast the wolf with two simultaneous powerful bursts of wind, stopping it in its tracks. Lucas then unleashed Anselm, nailing the wolf with four light-arrows, and Zeraine finished it off with a well-aimed Ice Bolt to its head. Lilith then approached the wolf, which was now obviously dead. She squatted down and examined the wolf carefully, then made everyone back off as she cremated it with Dyo. She then looked around and asked, "Who all was bitten?"
The male Elf that the men just saved stepped forward, clutching his bloody arm. "I saw one child, a young girl, get attacked. Her father tried to pull it off her and it bit him, too. I don't think anyone else was bitten."
Lucas asked, "Why? It obviously wasn't a werewolf."
"I know, but it had rabies," Lilith replied.
Zeraine asked, "Would our potions and scrolls for curing diseases work on that?"
"Yes. Get them out and let's round up everyone who was attacked," Lilith said, turning to face the Elven twins. "Has this happened before?"
Brellin nodded. "Sometimes rabid animals come near and my sister and I dispose of them. Normally it isn't a big deal because we're awake when it happens and we can handle it before anyone is attacked. It's strange, though... There seems to have been an increase in the number of rabid animals lately."
Lilith asked, "Do they seem to come from any particular direction?"
Laenafil pointed in a general southern direction, into the forest, and said, "They mostly come from that way."
Lilith pondered this for a moment, then said, "I'd guess that means there's either the beginnings of a rabies pandemic in the forest, or there's some bastard out there spreading it around for some idiotic reason."
Lucas crossed his arms and said, "Well, we can't just let this go, right? I say we investigate. Maybe we can stop the disease somehow, and if it's because of someone infecting the animals, we'll kill them."
Lilith nodded. "My thoughts exactly."
Zeraine said, "Rabies is some bad shit. Letting it spread would be both bad and cowardly, and we're not either of those."
Amarantha shook her head. "I've heard about what happens to an animal when they get rabies. The suffering, the slow, miserable death... It's hell on them."
Lilith said, "It's hell on anything or anyone, be it animal, human, Elf, whatever. So we're unanimous?"
The others nodded. The four of them then checked everyone in the village and found that only the young female Elf, her father, and the one who told the party of them were attacked. Using three of their Cure Disease scrolls, they made sure that the Elves weren't left infected. Once that was done, they returned to the twins' hut and suited up. After breakfast, the four of them made the twins stay in the village while they went off into the forest. They kept alert as they searched for anything that might relate to this incident.
After hours of wandering, they found a cave with another rabid wolf outside. Lilith stepped out and cast Venjend, blasting a gaping hole through the wolf, killing it instantly. Before they entered the cave, Amarantha asked, "Let me guess; if it turns out to be someone infecting these animals, they're doing it because they thought using rabid animals as underlings was a good idea, right?"
Lilith shrugged and said, "It could be that, sure. It could also be a number of other things, so let's stop speculating and focus on finding out the truth."
Once inside the cave, they found two more rabid wolves, which Zeraine and Amarantha easily dispatched, Zeraine with Drash Gan and Amarantha with Tankad. Judging by their slow movements, Lilith estimated that these wolves were near death to begin with. She pointed out how much difficulty they seemed to have with moving their hind legs, as well as how aggressive they were, concluding that they were somewhere between the second and third stages of infection and only had a few days left to live. She then said, "Sure, there might be a chance of curing them with our scrolls, but that would be dangerous and impractical, and would expose us to unnecessary risk and possible injury, maybe even leading us to have to use even more scrolls and potions on ourselves... Also, this long after infection, there's no guarantee that it'd work, and the damage will have been done. It just wouldn't be worth it. Mercy killing them is the best we can do."
All four of them looked at the dead wolves sorrowfully, sad that the animals had gone through such suffering. They then looked around the cave and found one passageway leading deeper in. They followed it for about 30 feet until it opened into a large room, in which there were several empty cages, a makeshift operating table with a wolf on it, and a man standing at another table that had a set of alchemy equipment laid out on it. He seemed to be mixing a few liquids together. The party got closer and saw that he had short black hair and was wearing a white robe. As they quietly closed the distance, they heard him mumbling, cursing and scoffing as he talked to himself about how the Elves in the village were putting up a farcical appearance and how he'd expose them. Lucas stepped forward and said, "Excuse us, but are you the one responsible for the rabid wolves?"
His question startled the man, causing him to drop a glass container which shattered on the stone floor. "Shit!" He turned around to face the party and said, "I don't know who you are, but yes. You see, all Elves are stuck up bastards that think they're better than everyone else because they're Elves. I plan to expose them by sending these forest creatures to attack them."
Lilith raised an eyebrow and asked, "How will sending rabid wolves after them expose any hidden racism? Also, how do you actually infect the wolves, make the virus advance to the second stage, and send them after the Elves without being bitten or otherwise being infected?"
The man gave her a look of contempt, which changed to one of arrogant superiority when he heard her second question. "Simple. I sedate the wolves, inject them with the virus, keep them in those cages until they're ready, then sedate them again and carry them out to a close enough spot and leave them. When they wake up, they do the job of attacking those accursed Elves well enough."
Lilith noted that he ignored her first question, but didn't ask again. Instead, she asked, "That wolf on the table... It's sedated, right?"
"Yes, of course. It's of no use to me dead unless it has already attacked that village, after all."
"Is it infected?"
"Not yet." The man held up a syringe and smiled. "It will soon, though."
Lucas quickly cast Anselm, sending out two light-arrows, one to knock the syringe out of the man's hand and the other to hit him in the face, sending him staggering backwards. Amarantha rushed in with a growling yell, grabbed the man, and threw him to the rest of the party. Lilith restrained him with Heretic and began interrogating him. "Let me guess, in order to initially capture them you set out some drugged food. To sedate them when needed, you drug their food again. You subject these animals to incredibly cruel treatment, intentionally infecting them with rabies, and 'coax' them into attacking innocent people, including women and children, all for some fucking retarded goal that doesn't make any sense at all, you worthless bastard!" As she spoke, her tone became more and more angry, sounding more accusing than inquiring.
The man laughed and said, "They're just animals! There are plenty more where those came from, so don't get all worked up over it. And you fools obviously can't understand my goals, so release me this instant!"
Lilith nodded at Amarantha, who had just returned to Zeraine's side, and she nodded back. She then stepped out in front of the man and gave him an uppercut to the jaw, hitting him so hard that his jaw broke and most of his teeth cracked, causing him to cry out in pain. Zeraine then stepped up and slugged the man in the gut, coldly saying, "Suffer like those wolves did. Suffer like the Elves have. Suffer and die, you sick fuck." The punch knocked the wind out of him, leaving him gasping for air.
Lilith said, "As much as I'd like us to take turns hitting him until we eventually beat him to death, breaking every bone in his body as we do, I don't want to spend too long here, so how about this?" She grinned and focused, then cast her spell. "Seek and destroy! Voy Vot!"
The man couldn't do anything but gurgle as his various bodily fluids boiled, making him die a fairly slow and incredibly painful death. After taking a few moments to calm down, Zeraine said, "That guy was obviously off his rocker. What could make someone get this fucked up?"
Lilith shook her head and approached the sedated wolf on the operating table. "I don't know, nor do I care. He's dead, and that's what's important. Now, we need to destroy any and all samples of the virus, his lab... Hell, we might as well bring down the whole cave after we incinerate everything inside. I guess we should cremate the dead wolves outside, first, then destroy his little 'lab'." She confirmed that it had not been infected, then looked around at everything, thinking about taking anything that might be useful, but finding nothing.
The four of them got to work, Amarantha taking the sedated wolf outside, Zeraine and Lucas gathering the corpses of the rabid wolves from outside and the first room of the cave and piling them up along with the body of the man responsible for everything. Lilith then cremated the bodies and got Lucas to help her destroy everything in the lab with repeated casts of Explosion and Damned. Once that was done and all four of them were outside, she cast Megadeath, causing the cave to collapse. They then returned to the Elven village, noting that it was after lunch when they got back. Brellin asked what happened and they recounted the events. He shook his head in disbelief and said, "Why would that man do and think such things?"
Amarantha replied, "It doesn't really matter, now, does it? He was clearly crazy, but he's dead now."
"I suppose you're right... Anyway, are you four hungry? Laenafil and I have already eaten, but we wouldn't mind treating you to lunch after what you've just done. How about it?"
Lucas nodded and said, "We could use a meal after all that casting."
Brellin led them back to his hut and he and his sister got started making lunch for the party.
Chapter 155
Spoiler: show
As the four ate, the meal consisting of fresh vegetables, fruits, and well-cooked venison, Lilith asked, "Tell me about these attacks. How long have they been happening?"
Laenafil paused in thought for a moment, then said, "About two weeks."
"What did you do when you were attacked?"
"Do you mean how we reacted to the sudden appearance of a rabid animal or how we handled any injuries?"
"Both."
Laenafil shrugged and said, "Well, like anyone probably would, we tried to run for our homes to get inside and away from the danger. When that didn't work, we fought and killed the animal, then cared for the injured by thoroughly washing and scrubbing their wounds with alcohol while either Brellin or I flew to Greymarch by way of our elementalist powers to buy something to cure it before it became untreatable. On one of my visits, I was asked why my brother and I were suddenly making so many trips to buy things for curing diseases, and when I explained our situation, the shopkeeper told me that there was an Order fort outside Rendmark and that the healer's services might be cheaper. ...That was sometime after the first four or five days, by the way. Anyway, from then on, we started getting The Order's help. The healer at the fort usually enchanted scrolls for us to use, but there were a few times when he himself came out to personally heal the wounded. He thought it suspicious and said he'd try to get an investigation going, but I guess he either never found anything or he never got started. From the sound of things, however, you handled that problem for us, so we shouldn't have to worry anymore."
Lucas finished swallowing a piece of what tasted like an apple and asked, "These Order knights at the fort, are they 'normal' or 'corrupt'?"
Brellin shrugged and shook his head. "I'm not really sure what you mean."
"Over half of The Order has been taken over by fools who defame it with everything they do. They are excessively zealous, twisting our policies to make them support their goals of wiping out everything that isn't human. Those are who I mean by 'corrupt'. The 'normal' ones are like me and the Grandmaster; kind, caring, helpful, tolerant..." Lucas's hatred and bitterness were readily apparent in his voice.
Brellin nodded and said, "I see. Well, I'd guess they were 'normal' since they didn't try to kill me or my sister on sight, but there's also the possibility that they helped us out of a desire to look good to the public... It's so hard to tell these days."
Lilith finished eating her food, wiped her hands, and patted Lucas on the shoulder. "Let me see our map." He handed her their map, still in the middle of chewing a mouthful of food. She unfolded it and looked, noting the proximity of Rendmark to the Demon Realm's border and frowning.
Zeraine, he and Amarantha already having finished their meals, asked, "What is it?"
Lilith folded the map back up and handed it to Lucas, then said, "Nothing. It's just that we'll be visiting the Demon Realm soon, and as we get closer, we'll start feeling the effects of the demonic energy."
Lucas finished the last bite of his food and asked, "And what will those effects be? What should we expect?"
Lilith sighed and said, "Well, since the Demon Realm was pretty much intended to be the 'polar opposite' of the 'normal' part of the world, you should expect... 'strangeness'."
"And what do you mean by that?"
"I'll probably be hornier than normal. You, Zeraine, and Ammie will probably be more easily aroused. We'll all probably feel more aggressive, short-tempered, uncomfortable, and violent. I expect you three to, without realizing it unless you're paying close attention to what you're doing, be more brutal to any enemies we encounter." When Lilith saw Lucas frown, she said, "Let me guess, the biggest contributor to your frown is the part about me being hornier."
Lucas shook his head and said, "No. I'm not exactly thrilled by the thought of you acting like you did yesterday, but I'm more concerned with the part about us being more violent. Why and how?"
Brellin and Laenafil were listening intently, both of them blushing a bit for obvious reasons, but chose to stay silent for now. Lilith answered, "As things are right now, and as they have been since the beginning of the 'system', demonic energy reflects the personality of whoever the current Demon Lord is. This one is almost an exaggeration of everything that is 'decent' or 'good' flipped upside down. Like I pretty much told you already, he is evil to the core. All races suffer under him. He's apparently hell-bent on mocking and insulting everything about the 'normal' world he can, which is why demonic energy makes you a violent, sex-crazed, cannibalistic animal in most cases. I understand that humans see cannibalism as disgusting and feel that it should never be done. I agree. I don't like excessive violence, and I know humans don't. Despite what people might think, succubi aren't sex-crazed. We just like it a lot, and it was what we were created to do. Our entire purpose for existing is to have sex. Despite those facts, we can live lives that humans could consider 'normal', much to the chagrin of various 'parties'. Just look at me. Due to your request, I've tried to practice moderation. If we could, I'd see to it that we did it at least one-and-a-half times as much as we do now, preferably twice as much. ...Anyway, we're traveling around, trying to save the world, and I, a succubus, can actually do things other than fuck. While I don't exactly agree with what seems to be the 'normal' amount of sex couples should have as believed by most people, I do believe that what demonic energy usually does to someone is too much."
Laenafil said, "That's sad."
Lilith gave her a confused look and asked, "What is?"
"That succubi only exist to have sex."
Lilith smiled and said, "Well, like I said, we can still have 'normal' lives, and I can't complain too much about it since sex feels really good." She leaned up against Lucas, hugging his arm and asked, "Right, Lucas?"
He smirked, scoffed, and said, "Yes, honey," still thinking about her behavior from the previous day.
Lilith gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and continued hugging his arm as she said, "One thing I'm kind of worried about, though, is the fact that even though I lived in the Demon Realm or its outskirts for most of my life, I've been 'outside' for quite a while now. I know I had built up a resistance to the effects of the demonic energy due to being constantly exposed to it for so long, but now that I've been away from it for so long, how bad will it be when I come back to it? Am I going to have sudden urges to blow up, impale, freeze, or electrocute people for no reason?" She tightened her hug on Lucas's arm and continued, "I'm sure that if Lucas is with me, I can handle it, but..."
"'What if you hurt me?' right?" he asked. When she nodded, he scoffed and said, "Don't worry. I'm familiar with your temper by now, so I know what to do."
She grabbed his cheek and pulled, causing him to grunt in pain. "I'm being serious! Magic is powerful, and we've already had one 'close call'! I don't-"
He silenced her with a kiss, her letting go of his cheek as he turned his head and leaned in, then said, "We'll be fine. I'm sure of it."
Lilith let go of Lucas's arm and said, "We should probably get going. We need to go to that Order fort and see if they're sensible, see if they'll help us when the time comes, and I'd like to ask that healer about the investigation he promised to do."
Brellin and Laenafil walked with the party, intending to escort them out of the village, but as if on cue, when they reached the middle of the village, Lilith's crystal began humming. She took it out and established the connection, asking, "Yes?"
His voice loud and cheerful, Sol greeted them, saying, "Hey, hey, hey! Guess what."
Amarantha asked, "What's got you so happy? Did the laws of reality suddenly fall apart for an instant, causing Vicky, Hilda, or both of them to get pregnant?"
Sol laughed and said, "That would be nice, but they'll have my kids eventually anyway, so whatever. While not as nice as that, I think you'll find that this is almost as good. You ready? Okay, here's some really good news for you. ...I finally found a Bag of Holding! I've got it right here in my hand, and it's yours for 500. That price is, of course, after your discounts for various nice things you've done for me. Are you ready to buy it? Or do I need to hold on to it for a while?"
Lucas said, "Hey, that's great! We can afford it, so yeah, we'll buy it."
"Then I'll be there in a few-" A portal suddenly opened and Sol stepped through, smiling big. "-seconds." He presented the Bag of Holding and said, "Man, these things are hard to find when you need them! Anyway, show me the money and it's yours."
Lucas counted out the gold and paid him while Lilith took the Bag and rearranged her satchel, putting it inside and storing some of her things in it to make room for it. After the transaction was complete, Lucas and Lilith stepped aside, him saying, "Excuse us for a moment." Now that Lilith had her own Bag of Holding, Lucas no longer needed to carry her share of their supplies in his, so the two spent the next couple of minutes sorting everything out.
As they did, Sol introduced himself to Brellin and Laenafil, asking if they would be interested in becoming direct-buy customers. After a bit of talking about prices, they agreed, more than happy to get quality potions and scrolls at a lower cost than what they had dealt with up to now. Laenafil wished the party well and began speaking to the other Elves to see what everyone needed or wanted. Sol followed behind her, trying to get an idea of what he'd have to bring to sell. Brellin left with the party as soon as Lucas and Lilith finished sorting out their supplies. Once at the north edge of the village, he said, "Good luck to you."
They gave him an acknowledging nod and left, looking to get back to the road and follow it east to Rendmark before visiting The Order's local fort.
Laenafil paused in thought for a moment, then said, "About two weeks."
"What did you do when you were attacked?"
"Do you mean how we reacted to the sudden appearance of a rabid animal or how we handled any injuries?"
"Both."
Laenafil shrugged and said, "Well, like anyone probably would, we tried to run for our homes to get inside and away from the danger. When that didn't work, we fought and killed the animal, then cared for the injured by thoroughly washing and scrubbing their wounds with alcohol while either Brellin or I flew to Greymarch by way of our elementalist powers to buy something to cure it before it became untreatable. On one of my visits, I was asked why my brother and I were suddenly making so many trips to buy things for curing diseases, and when I explained our situation, the shopkeeper told me that there was an Order fort outside Rendmark and that the healer's services might be cheaper. ...That was sometime after the first four or five days, by the way. Anyway, from then on, we started getting The Order's help. The healer at the fort usually enchanted scrolls for us to use, but there were a few times when he himself came out to personally heal the wounded. He thought it suspicious and said he'd try to get an investigation going, but I guess he either never found anything or he never got started. From the sound of things, however, you handled that problem for us, so we shouldn't have to worry anymore."
Lucas finished swallowing a piece of what tasted like an apple and asked, "These Order knights at the fort, are they 'normal' or 'corrupt'?"
Brellin shrugged and shook his head. "I'm not really sure what you mean."
"Over half of The Order has been taken over by fools who defame it with everything they do. They are excessively zealous, twisting our policies to make them support their goals of wiping out everything that isn't human. Those are who I mean by 'corrupt'. The 'normal' ones are like me and the Grandmaster; kind, caring, helpful, tolerant..." Lucas's hatred and bitterness were readily apparent in his voice.
Brellin nodded and said, "I see. Well, I'd guess they were 'normal' since they didn't try to kill me or my sister on sight, but there's also the possibility that they helped us out of a desire to look good to the public... It's so hard to tell these days."
Lilith finished eating her food, wiped her hands, and patted Lucas on the shoulder. "Let me see our map." He handed her their map, still in the middle of chewing a mouthful of food. She unfolded it and looked, noting the proximity of Rendmark to the Demon Realm's border and frowning.
Zeraine, he and Amarantha already having finished their meals, asked, "What is it?"
Lilith folded the map back up and handed it to Lucas, then said, "Nothing. It's just that we'll be visiting the Demon Realm soon, and as we get closer, we'll start feeling the effects of the demonic energy."
Lucas finished the last bite of his food and asked, "And what will those effects be? What should we expect?"
Lilith sighed and said, "Well, since the Demon Realm was pretty much intended to be the 'polar opposite' of the 'normal' part of the world, you should expect... 'strangeness'."
"And what do you mean by that?"
"I'll probably be hornier than normal. You, Zeraine, and Ammie will probably be more easily aroused. We'll all probably feel more aggressive, short-tempered, uncomfortable, and violent. I expect you three to, without realizing it unless you're paying close attention to what you're doing, be more brutal to any enemies we encounter." When Lilith saw Lucas frown, she said, "Let me guess, the biggest contributor to your frown is the part about me being hornier."
Lucas shook his head and said, "No. I'm not exactly thrilled by the thought of you acting like you did yesterday, but I'm more concerned with the part about us being more violent. Why and how?"
Brellin and Laenafil were listening intently, both of them blushing a bit for obvious reasons, but chose to stay silent for now. Lilith answered, "As things are right now, and as they have been since the beginning of the 'system', demonic energy reflects the personality of whoever the current Demon Lord is. This one is almost an exaggeration of everything that is 'decent' or 'good' flipped upside down. Like I pretty much told you already, he is evil to the core. All races suffer under him. He's apparently hell-bent on mocking and insulting everything about the 'normal' world he can, which is why demonic energy makes you a violent, sex-crazed, cannibalistic animal in most cases. I understand that humans see cannibalism as disgusting and feel that it should never be done. I agree. I don't like excessive violence, and I know humans don't. Despite what people might think, succubi aren't sex-crazed. We just like it a lot, and it was what we were created to do. Our entire purpose for existing is to have sex. Despite those facts, we can live lives that humans could consider 'normal', much to the chagrin of various 'parties'. Just look at me. Due to your request, I've tried to practice moderation. If we could, I'd see to it that we did it at least one-and-a-half times as much as we do now, preferably twice as much. ...Anyway, we're traveling around, trying to save the world, and I, a succubus, can actually do things other than fuck. While I don't exactly agree with what seems to be the 'normal' amount of sex couples should have as believed by most people, I do believe that what demonic energy usually does to someone is too much."
Laenafil said, "That's sad."
Lilith gave her a confused look and asked, "What is?"
"That succubi only exist to have sex."
Lilith smiled and said, "Well, like I said, we can still have 'normal' lives, and I can't complain too much about it since sex feels really good." She leaned up against Lucas, hugging his arm and asked, "Right, Lucas?"
He smirked, scoffed, and said, "Yes, honey," still thinking about her behavior from the previous day.
Lilith gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and continued hugging his arm as she said, "One thing I'm kind of worried about, though, is the fact that even though I lived in the Demon Realm or its outskirts for most of my life, I've been 'outside' for quite a while now. I know I had built up a resistance to the effects of the demonic energy due to being constantly exposed to it for so long, but now that I've been away from it for so long, how bad will it be when I come back to it? Am I going to have sudden urges to blow up, impale, freeze, or electrocute people for no reason?" She tightened her hug on Lucas's arm and continued, "I'm sure that if Lucas is with me, I can handle it, but..."
"'What if you hurt me?' right?" he asked. When she nodded, he scoffed and said, "Don't worry. I'm familiar with your temper by now, so I know what to do."
She grabbed his cheek and pulled, causing him to grunt in pain. "I'm being serious! Magic is powerful, and we've already had one 'close call'! I don't-"
He silenced her with a kiss, her letting go of his cheek as he turned his head and leaned in, then said, "We'll be fine. I'm sure of it."
Lilith let go of Lucas's arm and said, "We should probably get going. We need to go to that Order fort and see if they're sensible, see if they'll help us when the time comes, and I'd like to ask that healer about the investigation he promised to do."
Brellin and Laenafil walked with the party, intending to escort them out of the village, but as if on cue, when they reached the middle of the village, Lilith's crystal began humming. She took it out and established the connection, asking, "Yes?"
His voice loud and cheerful, Sol greeted them, saying, "Hey, hey, hey! Guess what."
Amarantha asked, "What's got you so happy? Did the laws of reality suddenly fall apart for an instant, causing Vicky, Hilda, or both of them to get pregnant?"
Sol laughed and said, "That would be nice, but they'll have my kids eventually anyway, so whatever. While not as nice as that, I think you'll find that this is almost as good. You ready? Okay, here's some really good news for you. ...I finally found a Bag of Holding! I've got it right here in my hand, and it's yours for 500. That price is, of course, after your discounts for various nice things you've done for me. Are you ready to buy it? Or do I need to hold on to it for a while?"
Lucas said, "Hey, that's great! We can afford it, so yeah, we'll buy it."
"Then I'll be there in a few-" A portal suddenly opened and Sol stepped through, smiling big. "-seconds." He presented the Bag of Holding and said, "Man, these things are hard to find when you need them! Anyway, show me the money and it's yours."
Lucas counted out the gold and paid him while Lilith took the Bag and rearranged her satchel, putting it inside and storing some of her things in it to make room for it. After the transaction was complete, Lucas and Lilith stepped aside, him saying, "Excuse us for a moment." Now that Lilith had her own Bag of Holding, Lucas no longer needed to carry her share of their supplies in his, so the two spent the next couple of minutes sorting everything out.
As they did, Sol introduced himself to Brellin and Laenafil, asking if they would be interested in becoming direct-buy customers. After a bit of talking about prices, they agreed, more than happy to get quality potions and scrolls at a lower cost than what they had dealt with up to now. Laenafil wished the party well and began speaking to the other Elves to see what everyone needed or wanted. Sol followed behind her, trying to get an idea of what he'd have to bring to sell. Brellin left with the party as soon as Lucas and Lilith finished sorting out their supplies. Once at the north edge of the village, he said, "Good luck to you."
They gave him an acknowledging nod and left, looking to get back to the road and follow it east to Rendmark before visiting The Order's local fort.
Chapter 156
Spoiler: show
The party's trip to Rendmark from the Elven village was uneventful, aside from them taking a short break so Lilith could get a little "dessert" from Lucas in the form of her sucking him off three times in quick succession, drinking every drop and rubbing herself to orgasm whenever him filling her mouth failed to get her off. It was close to sundown by the time they arrived, and they wanted to head for the inn as soon as possible, Zeraine and Amarantha to get directions to the Order fort and Lilith to "get to it" early with Lucas to make up for not being able to make love that morning.
As they looked around, they noticed that the city wasn't particularly "splendid". The wall that encircled the city had many holes in it, most of the stone had large cracks in it, and the gate between the two watchtowers that the party entered through was badly damaged. Anyone could see that it couldn't completely close in its condition. There were also remnants of houses, most likely burnt down in the raids the city suffered. "War-torn" might have been a good way of describing it.
Before they could spot the inn, however, a woman ran up to them, grabbing Lucas, who was out front, by his over-armor shirt and pleading hysterically, "Please! Have you seen my Sven!? Where is he? What happened to him? Tell me!"
Aside from noticing that she had short, neck-length blond hair, brown eyes, and that her milky-white dress had many splotches of mud on it, they sensed that something was "off" about her. Lucas said, "Calm down, miss. Who is he and what does he look like?"
She let go with one hand, grabbed her hatchet, and tried to swing at him, yelling, "Tell me where he is!"
Lucas caught her by the wrist, kneed her in the gut, then twisted her arm and smacked the hatchet out of her hand. He then shoved her away, causing her to fall on her back. The party then heard a shout and saw a guard running toward them. When the guard got to them, Lilith said, "She attacked him."
The guard said, "I know. I saw," as he kicked the hatchet away. By this time, the woman was back on her feet and ready to attack again. She tried to rush the guard, but he caught her, put his arms around her waist, picked her up, and threw her down to the ground, then rolled her over and pinned her down. A few more guards showed up and helped to restrain her so they could bind her wrists. The additional guards carried her away, struggling against her thrashing. The first guard sighed with fatigue and depression and said, "Another one..."
Lucas asked, "What do you mean, 'another one'?"
"That's the second time today someone has lost it, making it the fourth time this week. Earlier it was the blacksmith's son trying to carve symbols into himself with an unfinished sword, before that was one of our own city guards who went crazy, trying to stab people with his spear, yelling something about 'human shish kebab'..."
Lucas gave a sympathetic frown and said, "You've had it rough. What was that all about, anyway? Who is Sven?"
The guard took off his helmet and rubbed his temples, revealing he had green eyes and a shaved head. "That was Helga. Sven was her husband, and the best veterinarian we've ever had. He kept our guard dogs fit and healthy, our horses in top condition, and thanks to him, no rat could escape our city's cats. Not after he treated them. ...The cats, that is. Anyway, he went missing a few weeks ago and Helga's been worried sick. I guess that opened her up for the corruption, though, and you saw what happened."
Something struck a chord with the party and they looked at each other, sharing a cringe of dread. Lucas asked, "Was he about in his thirties, with short black hair and green eyes?"
The guard looked surprised and said, "Yes. Have you seen him?"
Lucas told the guard about their visit to the Elven village, neglecting to go into detail on how they handled the incident, instead simply telling him that they killed him before he could infect another animal.
The guard shook his head. "Well, at least we can close that case. Actually, that's two cases; Sven's disappearance and the Elves' rabid animal problem. The Order's healer will want to hear about this. Chief God knows he's got a lot on his plate..." He looked at Lucas, then at Lilith, Zeraine, and Amarantha. "I take it you four are the ones we were supposed to be watching for? That armor of yours is The Order's, and you have a man with wings, as well as a white-haired succubus with you. The lady with the really long hair must be your dragon, right?"
Amarantha narrowed her eyes at the guard, offended by his last sentence, while Lucas asked, "How would you know about that and why would you be watching for us?"
The guard scoffed and said, "Your Grandmaster sent a message to the local Order fort asking that they, as well as we of the city guard, help you with whatever we can. If he actually knew what we had to deal with, he'd know that his request is ridiculous. We're overworked as it is, helping The Order fend off attacks on the city, trying to help rebuild the city's defenses, all while investigating, or trying to, murder cases, suicides, and missing persons cases."
Lucas held his hand up and said, "Calm down. We definitely don't want to add to your burdens. Now, where's the inn? We need to rent our rooms for tonight, then we need to eat and get to bed so we can get up bright and early to visit the fort. Speaking of which, how do we get there?"
The guard paused a moment to collect his thoughts, then said, "You entered through the west gate, so... Okay, for your information we have three gates, the west one that you came through, the east one that leads directly toward the Demon Realm, and the south one that leads to the short walk to the Order fort. The fort itself is hidden by the trees, but it's not that far away and the path is somewhat obvious. As for the inn, you're too late for the complimentary dinner, so you'll have to eat at the restaurant next door. Their prices are pretty good, so you shouldn't have to worry about that. The inn is this way."
The guard put his helmet back on and led the party to an intersection near the south gate, pointing out the inn and the restaurant. He then said, "By the way, when you go to the fort, the man you want to find is Brynjolf Heavenly-Hand. He's the healer, and he'll be glad to learn he has two less things to worry about."
Lilith said, "Sven, Helga, Brynjolf... There seem to be a lot of northerners here."
The guard nodded and said, "No Northman would shy away from a good battle, even if he or she isn't actually fighting. Holding back the Demon Lord's forces is a great task, and many Northmen gladly volunteer for the job, knowing how important it is. Even knowing what the corruption does, we still frequently have new Northmen show up looking to help us fight. I'd wager half the city is Northmen now. I'm one, too, actually. Tor Broken-Shield's the name."
"Well, it's a bit late, but..." Lucas started. "I'm Lucas, The Order's chosen champion."
Following suit, Lilith introduced herself. "I'm Lilith. I'm his wife and a powerful mage."
Next, Zeraine said, "I'm Zeraine. I'm a spellsword, and as you can see by my wings, I'm an incubus, recently turned. The kid is, too, by the way."
Finally, Amarantha said, "I'm Amarantha. I'm a silver dragon, and Zeraine's wife."
Tor let out a weak laugh and said, "Yeah, the introductions were a bit late. Good to meet you, heroes. I have to get back to my post now, so good night. Maybe we'll meet again later for a drink?"
Lucas shrugged. "Sounds good. See you."
Tor left, leaving the party to secure their rooms for the night, eat at the restaurant, and retire for the night. As usual, the two couples got intimate before going to sleep, Zeraine and Amarantha going for three rounds before going to sleep. Lilith wanted to make up for the lack of morning sex, so as soon as she locked the door behind them, she stripped, helped Lucas strip, shoved him down on the bed, mounted him, and rode him passionately, nonstop, for 14 rounds, their session lasting for about six hours, before the two of them fell asleep, quite satisfied.
...
The next morning, the four of them cleaned up, got dressed, ate breakfast, and left, exiting via the south gate. On the way, Lilith noticed runes carved and drawn in various places on the wall and the ground near the wall, as well as on the walls of a few buildings. She made a mental note of it but didn't comment on it as the party went into the forest, following the "path" of tromped-down grass and weeds. They soon reached the fort and were let in with no hassle. Once inside, they were met by a few curious knights who asked them about various things pertaining to their adventure thus far. After taking the time to answer their questions, they asked for Brynjolf and were led to the infirmary.
In the infirmary, they saw several people with varying severities of injuries on the beds, noticing that only two beds out of the twenty or so were unoccupied. There was a man in priest's garb tending to the wounded. There was also a table with many scrolls piled on it, another table with bandages, disinfectant, and other medical supplies, and a desk piled with papers of various kinds. Lucas asked, "Are you Brynjolf?"
The man, without missing a step while moving to the next patient, looked at them and said, "Yes, I am Brynjolf Heavenly-Hand, son of Hroki Iron-Fist. If you need a little healing, use one of the scrolls on that table over there. If you've got life-threatening injuries, which I seriously doubt by looking at you, I'll get to you when I can. If it's a missing person case, I'm not the guy you talk to. If it's about a disease, I'll handle it as soon as I can. If it's about a rabid animal, I've got Cure Disease scrolls in the storage room. I think that takes care of everything, so unless it's very important, you should be able to see that I'm a little too busy to chat right now."
Lucas said, "Actually, we wanted to let you know that we found Sven and took care of the rabid animal problem."
Brynjolf paused for a moment and asked, "And who are you, again?" taking a moment to scratch his light brown stubble.
As they looked around, they noticed that the city wasn't particularly "splendid". The wall that encircled the city had many holes in it, most of the stone had large cracks in it, and the gate between the two watchtowers that the party entered through was badly damaged. Anyone could see that it couldn't completely close in its condition. There were also remnants of houses, most likely burnt down in the raids the city suffered. "War-torn" might have been a good way of describing it.
Before they could spot the inn, however, a woman ran up to them, grabbing Lucas, who was out front, by his over-armor shirt and pleading hysterically, "Please! Have you seen my Sven!? Where is he? What happened to him? Tell me!"
Aside from noticing that she had short, neck-length blond hair, brown eyes, and that her milky-white dress had many splotches of mud on it, they sensed that something was "off" about her. Lucas said, "Calm down, miss. Who is he and what does he look like?"
She let go with one hand, grabbed her hatchet, and tried to swing at him, yelling, "Tell me where he is!"
Lucas caught her by the wrist, kneed her in the gut, then twisted her arm and smacked the hatchet out of her hand. He then shoved her away, causing her to fall on her back. The party then heard a shout and saw a guard running toward them. When the guard got to them, Lilith said, "She attacked him."
The guard said, "I know. I saw," as he kicked the hatchet away. By this time, the woman was back on her feet and ready to attack again. She tried to rush the guard, but he caught her, put his arms around her waist, picked her up, and threw her down to the ground, then rolled her over and pinned her down. A few more guards showed up and helped to restrain her so they could bind her wrists. The additional guards carried her away, struggling against her thrashing. The first guard sighed with fatigue and depression and said, "Another one..."
Lucas asked, "What do you mean, 'another one'?"
"That's the second time today someone has lost it, making it the fourth time this week. Earlier it was the blacksmith's son trying to carve symbols into himself with an unfinished sword, before that was one of our own city guards who went crazy, trying to stab people with his spear, yelling something about 'human shish kebab'..."
Lucas gave a sympathetic frown and said, "You've had it rough. What was that all about, anyway? Who is Sven?"
The guard took off his helmet and rubbed his temples, revealing he had green eyes and a shaved head. "That was Helga. Sven was her husband, and the best veterinarian we've ever had. He kept our guard dogs fit and healthy, our horses in top condition, and thanks to him, no rat could escape our city's cats. Not after he treated them. ...The cats, that is. Anyway, he went missing a few weeks ago and Helga's been worried sick. I guess that opened her up for the corruption, though, and you saw what happened."
Something struck a chord with the party and they looked at each other, sharing a cringe of dread. Lucas asked, "Was he about in his thirties, with short black hair and green eyes?"
The guard looked surprised and said, "Yes. Have you seen him?"
Lucas told the guard about their visit to the Elven village, neglecting to go into detail on how they handled the incident, instead simply telling him that they killed him before he could infect another animal.
The guard shook his head. "Well, at least we can close that case. Actually, that's two cases; Sven's disappearance and the Elves' rabid animal problem. The Order's healer will want to hear about this. Chief God knows he's got a lot on his plate..." He looked at Lucas, then at Lilith, Zeraine, and Amarantha. "I take it you four are the ones we were supposed to be watching for? That armor of yours is The Order's, and you have a man with wings, as well as a white-haired succubus with you. The lady with the really long hair must be your dragon, right?"
Amarantha narrowed her eyes at the guard, offended by his last sentence, while Lucas asked, "How would you know about that and why would you be watching for us?"
The guard scoffed and said, "Your Grandmaster sent a message to the local Order fort asking that they, as well as we of the city guard, help you with whatever we can. If he actually knew what we had to deal with, he'd know that his request is ridiculous. We're overworked as it is, helping The Order fend off attacks on the city, trying to help rebuild the city's defenses, all while investigating, or trying to, murder cases, suicides, and missing persons cases."
Lucas held his hand up and said, "Calm down. We definitely don't want to add to your burdens. Now, where's the inn? We need to rent our rooms for tonight, then we need to eat and get to bed so we can get up bright and early to visit the fort. Speaking of which, how do we get there?"
The guard paused a moment to collect his thoughts, then said, "You entered through the west gate, so... Okay, for your information we have three gates, the west one that you came through, the east one that leads directly toward the Demon Realm, and the south one that leads to the short walk to the Order fort. The fort itself is hidden by the trees, but it's not that far away and the path is somewhat obvious. As for the inn, you're too late for the complimentary dinner, so you'll have to eat at the restaurant next door. Their prices are pretty good, so you shouldn't have to worry about that. The inn is this way."
The guard put his helmet back on and led the party to an intersection near the south gate, pointing out the inn and the restaurant. He then said, "By the way, when you go to the fort, the man you want to find is Brynjolf Heavenly-Hand. He's the healer, and he'll be glad to learn he has two less things to worry about."
Lilith said, "Sven, Helga, Brynjolf... There seem to be a lot of northerners here."
The guard nodded and said, "No Northman would shy away from a good battle, even if he or she isn't actually fighting. Holding back the Demon Lord's forces is a great task, and many Northmen gladly volunteer for the job, knowing how important it is. Even knowing what the corruption does, we still frequently have new Northmen show up looking to help us fight. I'd wager half the city is Northmen now. I'm one, too, actually. Tor Broken-Shield's the name."
"Well, it's a bit late, but..." Lucas started. "I'm Lucas, The Order's chosen champion."
Following suit, Lilith introduced herself. "I'm Lilith. I'm his wife and a powerful mage."
Next, Zeraine said, "I'm Zeraine. I'm a spellsword, and as you can see by my wings, I'm an incubus, recently turned. The kid is, too, by the way."
Finally, Amarantha said, "I'm Amarantha. I'm a silver dragon, and Zeraine's wife."
Tor let out a weak laugh and said, "Yeah, the introductions were a bit late. Good to meet you, heroes. I have to get back to my post now, so good night. Maybe we'll meet again later for a drink?"
Lucas shrugged. "Sounds good. See you."
Tor left, leaving the party to secure their rooms for the night, eat at the restaurant, and retire for the night. As usual, the two couples got intimate before going to sleep, Zeraine and Amarantha going for three rounds before going to sleep. Lilith wanted to make up for the lack of morning sex, so as soon as she locked the door behind them, she stripped, helped Lucas strip, shoved him down on the bed, mounted him, and rode him passionately, nonstop, for 14 rounds, their session lasting for about six hours, before the two of them fell asleep, quite satisfied.
...
The next morning, the four of them cleaned up, got dressed, ate breakfast, and left, exiting via the south gate. On the way, Lilith noticed runes carved and drawn in various places on the wall and the ground near the wall, as well as on the walls of a few buildings. She made a mental note of it but didn't comment on it as the party went into the forest, following the "path" of tromped-down grass and weeds. They soon reached the fort and were let in with no hassle. Once inside, they were met by a few curious knights who asked them about various things pertaining to their adventure thus far. After taking the time to answer their questions, they asked for Brynjolf and were led to the infirmary.
In the infirmary, they saw several people with varying severities of injuries on the beds, noticing that only two beds out of the twenty or so were unoccupied. There was a man in priest's garb tending to the wounded. There was also a table with many scrolls piled on it, another table with bandages, disinfectant, and other medical supplies, and a desk piled with papers of various kinds. Lucas asked, "Are you Brynjolf?"
The man, without missing a step while moving to the next patient, looked at them and said, "Yes, I am Brynjolf Heavenly-Hand, son of Hroki Iron-Fist. If you need a little healing, use one of the scrolls on that table over there. If you've got life-threatening injuries, which I seriously doubt by looking at you, I'll get to you when I can. If it's a missing person case, I'm not the guy you talk to. If it's about a disease, I'll handle it as soon as I can. If it's about a rabid animal, I've got Cure Disease scrolls in the storage room. I think that takes care of everything, so unless it's very important, you should be able to see that I'm a little too busy to chat right now."
Lucas said, "Actually, we wanted to let you know that we found Sven and took care of the rabid animal problem."
Brynjolf paused for a moment and asked, "And who are you, again?" taking a moment to scratch his light brown stubble.
Chapter 157
Spoiler: show
After introducing themselves to Brynjolf, he asked for details about the two cases. Lucas, without revealing exactly how they took care of Sven, told Brynjolf in detail of their experience with him and his rabid wolves. After the explanation, during which Brynjolf was still going from patient to patient casting healing spells, he sighed and sat at the desk. "In his letter, the Grandmaster told us that you four were going to 'save us all'. I'll admit that defeating The Four Horsemen makes you more powerful than all of us combined, but I'm certain the Demon Lord's army is more powerful than they were. As far as I know, dragons are more powerful than Dullahan, and the bastard has hundreds."
Lilith said, "Last I knew, the dragons in his army were mostly reds and blacks, with several whites. Has that changed or do you know?"
Brynjolf shook his head. "When I'm leading people to shelter from a dragon's fire, I don't stop to gawk and see what color it is. I only glance to see which way it's looking so I know if I have to stop and erect a barrier."
Lilith nodded and said, "If it's fire, it's probably a red dragon. Whites breathe frost, just like silvers do, and blacks breathe acid. As for dealing with that, it won't be just us four when that time comes."
"I know. You'll have lots of people from various town and city guard squads to help you, as well as some 'good' monsters. Not to sound negative or anything, but do you really think that'll be enough?"
Lucas nodded and said, "I'd rather we didn't divulge all of our information on who and what we'll have helping us, but it'll have to be enough. If we fail... if we lose that battle, humankind is done for. We can't lose because we can't afford to."
Brynjolf nodded acceptingly and said, "Well, I'm not going to hold any hope just yet. Surely you'll forgive me for that, considering where I live and work, yes?"
Lucas nodded. "We understand. Now, since you guys seem to have your hands full with lots of problems, missing people, battles, murders, assaults, and other stuff, how about we help you out a bit?"
Brynjolf chuckled and said, "A bit? Sure, go ahead. We need all the help we can get, honestly. I'm sure someone has already told you how it takes pretty much everyone to man the fort and city walls, and care for the sick and wounded, leaving pretty much nobody to do any investigations that lead to anywhere outside the city walls. The Demon Realm is, of course, completely out of the question. I've heard about the occasional human that willingly sides with the Demon Lord and gets protection from the corruption bestowed upon them by him, but they're all scumbags. From what I've heard, normally when a human goes into the Demon Realm, they die quickly and painfully, or they go what I call 'feral'. Considering that you four are two incubi, a demon, and a dragon, you should be able to at least find the probably-half-eaten bodies of most of the missing people. You guys are immune to demonic energy now, right?"
Lilith shook her head and said, "Not exactly. There's no danger of us going 'feral' or crazy or anything, but we'll still be affected. It'll probably make us uncomfortable and irritable, causing us to have much shorter tempers, thus we're more likely to have outbursts of violent anger, but other than that and the high possibility of being more easily aroused, it won't be much of a problem. By the way, I saw some runes on the walls of the city. Would those happen to be for protection against demonic energy and its corruption?"
"Aye. One of the mages here developed those runes, and they work very well if you have enough of them, but the city's walls being more and more damaged every day tends to destroy the runes, weakening the defense, and they don't seem to work nearly as well when they're put on the ground as opposed to the walls. Anyway, they help, but they still don't remove the danger."
Lucas sighed and said, "Well, I suppose we should look at helping out with those problems of yours. Who do we talk to about it?"
Brynjolf got up and said, "That would be Sylgja, our secretary. She'll tell you what she can if you need details. It'd be wise to inform her of your deeds in the Elven village so she can mark those cases as closed." He resumed healing the patents in turn as he continued, "I know you'll probably want to get paid for your time and effort, but know that due to the costs of constantly attempting to repair the city, we won't be able to pay you much. We might be able to help you in other ways, such as providing detailed local maps, a free place to sleep, new clothes, weapon and armor repair... But don't expect us to-"
Suddenly, the door flew open and two city guards rushed in carrying Tor on a stretcher. As Brynjolf instructed, they put him on one of the available beds and left, returning to their posts. Tor had been wounded fairly badly. He had several deep cuts, a few puncture wounds, a couple of bite marks, his left forearm was broken, and part of his right bicep was cut, "peeled" down, exposing the bone underneath. He was barely conscious. Brynjolf looked at Lilith and asked, "Can you help me heal him?"
She nodded. "I'm not sure about the cuts or his right arm, but I can handle the other stuff."
"Good. Quickly, now."
The two of them worked together, both casting their healing spells on Tor, trying more to keep him alive than to heal him. Lucas helped by using two Scrolls of Healing on him. In the end, after drinking a Mana Potion, Lilith successfully helped Brynjolf heal Tor. Brynjolf sighed with relief and said, "He'll need to rest, of course. I'm a good healer and I'm very talented at it, but I'm not the best. If I were, the beds would be empty."
Lucas nodded, then looked to Tor and asked, "What happened?"
Tor coughed and said, "It was Talen. He and his Lizardmen attacked the city without warning then ran back into the northern forest."
Noticing that Tor knew the name of the attacker, and that he sounded fairly upset, Lucas asked, "Why would he do that?"
Brynjolf sighed. "I guess the demonic energy finally got to him and his tribe. They used to help us, acting sort of like scouts, with us jumping to their aid when needed. Talen was Tor's best friend, and the chief of the tribe." He looked at Tor and asked, "Let me guess, you saw him approaching and thought it was another warning, and that you'd be fighting side-by-side again, driving back the Demon Lord's forces, but then he jumped you?"
Tor nodded. "They didn't start attacking until they were inside the city. There was no way we could have known this would happen."
Lucas asked, "Did they get anyone else?"
"Yeah. Two others, and they kidnapped the general goods store owner's daughter. She's only 8 years old. Save her if she still lives, please."
Brynjolf looked at the heroes and said, "Well, there's your first task. Remember that they aren't themselves anymore, and that they'd never do this willingly." He patted Tor on the shoulder and said, "Rest, lad. They'll take care of it."
The party ran out of the fort and back to the city, asked one of the guards where the Lizardmen went, and ran to their camp. As they entered the clearing where the Lizardman camp was set up, they saw remains that were just barely recognizable as those of a young human. The body was mutilated and partially eaten, as evidenced by the blood on and around the mouths of the Lizardmen, and the pieces of raw flesh in their hands. Upon seeing the party, they dropped their food and hissed at them, then ran to grab their weapons. Lucas shouted, "Quick, everyone attack!"
He drew his sword and raised his shield, which he smartly strapped to his arm on the way there. Zeraine brought out his claymore, Amarantha prepared her hammer and positioned herself to defend Lilith, and Lilith herself began focusing her power into an ice spell. As Lucas and Zeraine charged forward, ready to slay as many Lizardmen as they could before they could grab their weapons, Lilith finished her spellcasting, setting down four Ice Traps around her and Amarantha. She then prepared to cast Ice Spike at anything that might try to hit Lucas in the back. Similarly, Amarantha rested her hammer on her shoulder and readied a Tankad spell in case anything went for Zeraine's back.
As the men charged, they noticed that there were about 15 Lizardmen in total. Due to the speed and suddenness of their attack and the unpreparedness of the now-"feral" Lizardmen, Lucas and Zeraine each managed to kill two enemies before the rest retrieved their weapons. Once they did, though, they began an attempt to swarm the men, but Lilith and Amarantha unleashed their spells, thinning the mini-horde by another three, reducing their numbers to eight. Upon seeing the source of the ice missiles, another three charged the women, who first backed up, allowing the four Ice Traps to detonate, taking out the first two. Amarantha finished off the third with a mighty blow from her hammer, caving in the poor creature's chest. Lucas and Zeraine easily took care of the final five, Zeraine parrying and countering two of them, killing them with one well-placed strike each, while Lucas cast Explosion, crippling one and wounding another as he blocked the third's one-handed axe with his shield, slapping it aside and stabbing the enemy through the chest. Not stopping to gloat, act cool, or otherwise waste time and endanger himself, Lucas charged at the wounded one and, after ducking under its backhand swing, slashed its knees, severing the tendons, then paused long enough to allow it to fall to its knees before slashing back across with a backhand swing, this one aimed a bit higher than the one aimed at the knees, slashing open its throat, killing it. He finished off the crippled one by planting his sword in its chest as it writhed on the ground, ending its misery.
The party didn't care to examine the tents made of animal hides, nor did they try to loot the camp for money or other valuables. None of them felt good about having to do this, but they knew that once one was "lost" as these Lizardmen were, there was no saving them. They silently but quickly returned to the Order fort.
Lilith said, "Last I knew, the dragons in his army were mostly reds and blacks, with several whites. Has that changed or do you know?"
Brynjolf shook his head. "When I'm leading people to shelter from a dragon's fire, I don't stop to gawk and see what color it is. I only glance to see which way it's looking so I know if I have to stop and erect a barrier."
Lilith nodded and said, "If it's fire, it's probably a red dragon. Whites breathe frost, just like silvers do, and blacks breathe acid. As for dealing with that, it won't be just us four when that time comes."
"I know. You'll have lots of people from various town and city guard squads to help you, as well as some 'good' monsters. Not to sound negative or anything, but do you really think that'll be enough?"
Lucas nodded and said, "I'd rather we didn't divulge all of our information on who and what we'll have helping us, but it'll have to be enough. If we fail... if we lose that battle, humankind is done for. We can't lose because we can't afford to."
Brynjolf nodded acceptingly and said, "Well, I'm not going to hold any hope just yet. Surely you'll forgive me for that, considering where I live and work, yes?"
Lucas nodded. "We understand. Now, since you guys seem to have your hands full with lots of problems, missing people, battles, murders, assaults, and other stuff, how about we help you out a bit?"
Brynjolf chuckled and said, "A bit? Sure, go ahead. We need all the help we can get, honestly. I'm sure someone has already told you how it takes pretty much everyone to man the fort and city walls, and care for the sick and wounded, leaving pretty much nobody to do any investigations that lead to anywhere outside the city walls. The Demon Realm is, of course, completely out of the question. I've heard about the occasional human that willingly sides with the Demon Lord and gets protection from the corruption bestowed upon them by him, but they're all scumbags. From what I've heard, normally when a human goes into the Demon Realm, they die quickly and painfully, or they go what I call 'feral'. Considering that you four are two incubi, a demon, and a dragon, you should be able to at least find the probably-half-eaten bodies of most of the missing people. You guys are immune to demonic energy now, right?"
Lilith shook her head and said, "Not exactly. There's no danger of us going 'feral' or crazy or anything, but we'll still be affected. It'll probably make us uncomfortable and irritable, causing us to have much shorter tempers, thus we're more likely to have outbursts of violent anger, but other than that and the high possibility of being more easily aroused, it won't be much of a problem. By the way, I saw some runes on the walls of the city. Would those happen to be for protection against demonic energy and its corruption?"
"Aye. One of the mages here developed those runes, and they work very well if you have enough of them, but the city's walls being more and more damaged every day tends to destroy the runes, weakening the defense, and they don't seem to work nearly as well when they're put on the ground as opposed to the walls. Anyway, they help, but they still don't remove the danger."
Lucas sighed and said, "Well, I suppose we should look at helping out with those problems of yours. Who do we talk to about it?"
Brynjolf got up and said, "That would be Sylgja, our secretary. She'll tell you what she can if you need details. It'd be wise to inform her of your deeds in the Elven village so she can mark those cases as closed." He resumed healing the patents in turn as he continued, "I know you'll probably want to get paid for your time and effort, but know that due to the costs of constantly attempting to repair the city, we won't be able to pay you much. We might be able to help you in other ways, such as providing detailed local maps, a free place to sleep, new clothes, weapon and armor repair... But don't expect us to-"
Suddenly, the door flew open and two city guards rushed in carrying Tor on a stretcher. As Brynjolf instructed, they put him on one of the available beds and left, returning to their posts. Tor had been wounded fairly badly. He had several deep cuts, a few puncture wounds, a couple of bite marks, his left forearm was broken, and part of his right bicep was cut, "peeled" down, exposing the bone underneath. He was barely conscious. Brynjolf looked at Lilith and asked, "Can you help me heal him?"
She nodded. "I'm not sure about the cuts or his right arm, but I can handle the other stuff."
"Good. Quickly, now."
The two of them worked together, both casting their healing spells on Tor, trying more to keep him alive than to heal him. Lucas helped by using two Scrolls of Healing on him. In the end, after drinking a Mana Potion, Lilith successfully helped Brynjolf heal Tor. Brynjolf sighed with relief and said, "He'll need to rest, of course. I'm a good healer and I'm very talented at it, but I'm not the best. If I were, the beds would be empty."
Lucas nodded, then looked to Tor and asked, "What happened?"
Tor coughed and said, "It was Talen. He and his Lizardmen attacked the city without warning then ran back into the northern forest."
Noticing that Tor knew the name of the attacker, and that he sounded fairly upset, Lucas asked, "Why would he do that?"
Brynjolf sighed. "I guess the demonic energy finally got to him and his tribe. They used to help us, acting sort of like scouts, with us jumping to their aid when needed. Talen was Tor's best friend, and the chief of the tribe." He looked at Tor and asked, "Let me guess, you saw him approaching and thought it was another warning, and that you'd be fighting side-by-side again, driving back the Demon Lord's forces, but then he jumped you?"
Tor nodded. "They didn't start attacking until they were inside the city. There was no way we could have known this would happen."
Lucas asked, "Did they get anyone else?"
"Yeah. Two others, and they kidnapped the general goods store owner's daughter. She's only 8 years old. Save her if she still lives, please."
Brynjolf looked at the heroes and said, "Well, there's your first task. Remember that they aren't themselves anymore, and that they'd never do this willingly." He patted Tor on the shoulder and said, "Rest, lad. They'll take care of it."
The party ran out of the fort and back to the city, asked one of the guards where the Lizardmen went, and ran to their camp. As they entered the clearing where the Lizardman camp was set up, they saw remains that were just barely recognizable as those of a young human. The body was mutilated and partially eaten, as evidenced by the blood on and around the mouths of the Lizardmen, and the pieces of raw flesh in their hands. Upon seeing the party, they dropped their food and hissed at them, then ran to grab their weapons. Lucas shouted, "Quick, everyone attack!"
He drew his sword and raised his shield, which he smartly strapped to his arm on the way there. Zeraine brought out his claymore, Amarantha prepared her hammer and positioned herself to defend Lilith, and Lilith herself began focusing her power into an ice spell. As Lucas and Zeraine charged forward, ready to slay as many Lizardmen as they could before they could grab their weapons, Lilith finished her spellcasting, setting down four Ice Traps around her and Amarantha. She then prepared to cast Ice Spike at anything that might try to hit Lucas in the back. Similarly, Amarantha rested her hammer on her shoulder and readied a Tankad spell in case anything went for Zeraine's back.
As the men charged, they noticed that there were about 15 Lizardmen in total. Due to the speed and suddenness of their attack and the unpreparedness of the now-"feral" Lizardmen, Lucas and Zeraine each managed to kill two enemies before the rest retrieved their weapons. Once they did, though, they began an attempt to swarm the men, but Lilith and Amarantha unleashed their spells, thinning the mini-horde by another three, reducing their numbers to eight. Upon seeing the source of the ice missiles, another three charged the women, who first backed up, allowing the four Ice Traps to detonate, taking out the first two. Amarantha finished off the third with a mighty blow from her hammer, caving in the poor creature's chest. Lucas and Zeraine easily took care of the final five, Zeraine parrying and countering two of them, killing them with one well-placed strike each, while Lucas cast Explosion, crippling one and wounding another as he blocked the third's one-handed axe with his shield, slapping it aside and stabbing the enemy through the chest. Not stopping to gloat, act cool, or otherwise waste time and endanger himself, Lucas charged at the wounded one and, after ducking under its backhand swing, slashed its knees, severing the tendons, then paused long enough to allow it to fall to its knees before slashing back across with a backhand swing, this one aimed a bit higher than the one aimed at the knees, slashing open its throat, killing it. He finished off the crippled one by planting his sword in its chest as it writhed on the ground, ending its misery.
The party didn't care to examine the tents made of animal hides, nor did they try to loot the camp for money or other valuables. None of them felt good about having to do this, but they knew that once one was "lost" as these Lizardmen were, there was no saving them. They silently but quickly returned to the Order fort.
Chapter 158
Spoiler: show
Upon returning, the four of them went straight to Brynjolf and Tor to report their "success". None of them felt proud about what they had done, and none of them felt very good about it being their only choice. Having silently mulled over it the whole way back, their sorrow gave way to anger and determination. Each of them vowed in their mind that the Demon Lord was going to pay for this, as well as everything else he had done.
Zeraine and Amarantha decided to go see Sylgja to tell her about the Elven village, and see what they might be able to do around the area. Lilith wanted to help Brynjolf with his patients, so she convinced Lucas to stay with her and help her. Expecting Lucas to understand immediately, she said, "I can help heal most of these people, but not yet."
Unfortunately, Lucas didn't understand right away, as evidenced by him asking, "Why not?"
With a part-embarrassed, part-impatient tone, she answered, "Because... I understand that we didn't have time to do so this morning, but I didn't have my 'breakfast'."
Lucas paused for a few seconds, staring blankly before realizing what she was talking about. "Oh... Right," he mumbled, his face reddening slightly.
She nodded in a slightly haughty manner and said, "This had better not become a habit."
Lucas cleared his throat and asked, "Uh, Brynjolf, is there a place where she and I can, uh, 'take care of something' so she can help out?"
Brynjolf, who had just finished checking Tor's bandages, scoffed and said, "Yes, there is. Doing it here would disturb the patients, so I'd suggest the barracks. Everyone should be up and awake right now, so it should be empty."
Lilith asked how to get there, and once Brynjolf gave her the directions, she almost literally dragged Lucas away, much to Brynjolf's amusement. He continued tending to the patients while he waited for the help she promised.
...
Sylgja, as Zeraine observed, was quite a looker. Blond hair, blue eyes, fuller than normal lips that gave her a slight pouting look, and glasses, the small rectangular lenses of which gave the impression that she was an intellectual... She was definitely a head-turner. Despite wearing a robe, her breasts' size could be seen. He figured she was about as big as Amarantha, maybe a little smaller. When Amarantha caught him "appraising" Sylgja, she frowned at him. He managed to respond with an apologetic smile right before Sylgja finished what she was doing, which was apparently some kind of calculation for a budget or something similar, and asked, "Can I help you?"
They told her about the Elven village incident and what happened with Talen. "That's terrible. Tor and Talen were best friends since they were kids, you know? To lose him like that... Was there anything else?"
Zeraine shrugged and said, "Brynjolf told us we might be able to help with some of the missing person cases."
Sylgja adjusted her glasses and said, "Whenever someone goes missing, we tend to chalk them up as dead. I won't stop you from investigating, but keep in mind that if you do, you're mostly going to be wasting your time. If you're lucky, you'll find half-eaten remains with some kind of item or items nearby that could be used to identify the body, but with monsters and scavenging animals out there, I wouldn't bet on it."
Amarantha sighed and said, "We can't afford to waste our time, energy, and resources, so I guess we can't do anything in regards to that."
Zeraine added, "Not to mention that we'd be risking our lives searching for bodies that have probably been eaten, destroyed, or otherwise rendered unidentifiable if we can even luck out and find them in the first place." He then turned to Sylgja and asked, "What about maps? Do you have any detailed maps of the area, possibly going as far out as the demon realm border?"
Sylgja shook her head apologetically. "I'm sorry. Cartographers can't exactly work in this area. Those that were brave enough to try ended up dead."
"Damn." Zeraine tried to think of other questions that Sylgja might be able to answer, but couldn't come up with anything. He sighed and said, "Well, Ammie, let's see what they have for stuff like clothes and supplies. At the very least, maybe we can get you a new shirt or two."
As they left, Sylgja said, "I'm sorry I couldn't be of more help."
...
A while later, after Lilith had sucked Lucas off three times in a row, the two of them returned to the infirmary. With her energy greatly restored, Lilith was able to help Brynjolf fully heal about half of the patients. He huffed in surprise, though the couple could hear a little relief in his voice, too, and said, "Thanks for the help, little lady. You wouldn't mind sticking around to help me with the rest of them, would you?"
She shrugged, smiled, and said, "Well, if you can teach me any better healing spells, that would be good and enable me to better help you, though I always welcome more excuses to have sex with my husband."
Lucas fidgeted uncomfortably as Brynjolf laughed and said, "As I'd expect from a succubus. Well, girl, if feeding off him allows you to help me with the rest of these men and women like you did with the first ones, then I recommend you get to it, though I'm afraid that I can't teach you anything. We use the same spells, I noticed, and they're the most powerful ones I know."
Lilith sighed, obviously disappointed, but quickly recovered and eyed Lucas with an amorous leer and a hungry grin. He sighed and started for the barracks again, her following him eagerly until she saw someone out of the corner of her eye. It was a man with blond hair that came down to his shoulders, a very androgynous face, golden eyes, black pants, and a purple robe that, for some unknown reason, showed off his very well-defined abs. Upon seeing him, Lilith stopped in her tracks, looking at him with a surprised and confused expression. As soon as Lucas heard the footsteps next to him stop, he stopped, looked back at Lilith and asked, "What is it?" as he followed her gaze. When he saw the man, he asked, "Who is that? Do you know him?"
Lilith said, "That looks like the Arch-Mage of Miskatonic University. ...But what's he doing here?"
"'Arch-Mage'?" Lucas asked.
Lilith grabbed him by the wrist and pulled him along as she approached. The man was talking with an Order priest, and after looking nearby, he was accompanied by two other mages, neither of them taking off their hoods. When they got closer, Lucas got a better look at the man and thought that were it not for the belly-baring robe, the muscles, and the masculine voice, it might be easy to mistake him for a woman. Once close enough, and after he was finished speaking with the priest, Lilith asked, "Arch-Mage Crowley?"
The man's eyes widened in surprise for a second, then he turned to face Lilith and smiled. "What an unexpected surprise. You were a good student, Lilith. It was a bit depressing that you had to drop out because you couldn't afford to pay your tuition after you were exiled, though you seem to have moved up in the world since then."
She smiled, nodded, and hugged Lucas's arm. "Yep! I even got married."
"I know. Congratulations," he said, smiling bigger. "We heard about your recent exploits, such as your marriage and your battle with The Four Horsemen. Back to what I was saying earlier, though... When you couldn't continue to pay your tuition and dropped out, it made me think about things. It's a terrible thing to let talent such as yours go to waste, and it's always saddening to see diligent students like you stop their education because they can't afford it, so I started a tuition assistance program."
"Really? I wouldn't be able to re-enroll until quite a while after I take the throne, and I'd be dragging Lucas with me if I did, but that sounds good."
"It is. The tuition assistance program I started basically offers opportunities for students to practice their magic via practical application while earning money to pay, or help pay, for their tuition."
"I'm guessing it went over very well, then?"
"Yes. Many people were quite happy to have a way to pay for their schooling while squeezing in some practice, and some people joined because, thanks to the program, they were able to actually afford it."
"Were it like that back when I was enrolled, I'd have been able to graduate, and my goals would have been easier to achieve, though I might not have met Lucas... Anyway, what brings you here?"
The Arch-Mage's expression went serious as he said, "We received a letter from here asking for assistance in blocking demonic energy. As you know, Miskatonic is deep within the demon realm, not too far from the Demon Lord's castle. We're a neutral place, however, with many powerful mages to ensure that nobody tries to lord over us. Unfortunately for us, many of the Demon Lord's mages studied at our university, thus he has hundreds of powerful mages at his disposal, as well as hundreds of dragons. Were he to attack us, we wouldn't stand a chance. Our agreement with him is that we continue teaching his troops and in return he leaves us alone, allows us to exist, and mostly ignores us. Because of that, we can repel the demonic energy in the area with a powerful barrier that covers the entire campus, said barrier being maintained by several of our strongest mages. We also have an agreement with Vinheim Dragon School that takes into consideration our location and the difficulty that humans of all non-Demon Lord affiliations would have in traveling here. Said agreement basically states that they'll teleport students and would-be students of ours to us as long as we share discoveries with them and help them with whatever they want when they ask."
Lilith looked a bit surprised as she listened to the Arch-Mage and his divulging of details that she hadn't known about. "I thought the Demon Lord left you alone because there were enough powerful mages at the school to equate any attack on you to suicide."
"I wish that were the case."
"Well that sucks... So, what does all of that have to do with why you're here?"
"Well, I needed to set a little context for your husband so he'd understand, too. Because of our location and proximity to the Demon Lord and his caste, we need our barrier to block out demonic energy so our human students don't suffer... 'misfortune'. The letter we received talked about a semi-successful attempt at creating runes to block demonic energy, said runes not needing maintenance by mages to function. Obviously, this would be a great thing, but it sounds like it needs a great deal of refinement. I'm here to find out about these runes, acquire a copy of the creator's notes, take it back to Miskatonic, and try to improve them. If we can refine and improve the runes, we could use them at the school, and help to spread their use through the parts of the world that the demon realm is affecting, effectively creating little 'bubbles' for towns, cities, villages, and other types of settlements in which humans and sapient monsters that aren't evil or affiliated with the Demon Lord could live in peace with no risk of suffering what currently happens to those that aren't demons or dragons."
Lucas decided that it was a good time to chime in, saying, "Well, since trade is important, you'd also have to protect the roads with those runes so merchants could safely travel them as far as being unaffected by demonic energy goes. They'd still be at fairly high risk of being attacked, though."
"True, but still, being able to repel demonic energy without the use of a barrier that must be constantly maintained is a monumental accomplishment in and of itself, and it has plenty of applications that we can use it for right now to make things a little better for everyone. ...Your name is Lucas, correct?"
"Yes. I'm the lucky man who married the next Demon Lord, and with everyone's help, including mine, she'll make demonic energy a lot less of a problem. I suppose that after things have stabilized, my wife and I will be enrolling, which means we should get acquainted, right?"
Lilith nodded and the Arch-Mage extended his hand and said, "Then allow me to formally introduce myself. I am Master Crowley, Arch-Mage of Miskatonic University. It's a pleasure to meet you, future king."
"Likewise," Lucas replied as he shook Master Crowley's hand.
Zeraine and Amarantha decided to go see Sylgja to tell her about the Elven village, and see what they might be able to do around the area. Lilith wanted to help Brynjolf with his patients, so she convinced Lucas to stay with her and help her. Expecting Lucas to understand immediately, she said, "I can help heal most of these people, but not yet."
Unfortunately, Lucas didn't understand right away, as evidenced by him asking, "Why not?"
With a part-embarrassed, part-impatient tone, she answered, "Because... I understand that we didn't have time to do so this morning, but I didn't have my 'breakfast'."
Lucas paused for a few seconds, staring blankly before realizing what she was talking about. "Oh... Right," he mumbled, his face reddening slightly.
She nodded in a slightly haughty manner and said, "This had better not become a habit."
Lucas cleared his throat and asked, "Uh, Brynjolf, is there a place where she and I can, uh, 'take care of something' so she can help out?"
Brynjolf, who had just finished checking Tor's bandages, scoffed and said, "Yes, there is. Doing it here would disturb the patients, so I'd suggest the barracks. Everyone should be up and awake right now, so it should be empty."
Lilith asked how to get there, and once Brynjolf gave her the directions, she almost literally dragged Lucas away, much to Brynjolf's amusement. He continued tending to the patients while he waited for the help she promised.
...
Sylgja, as Zeraine observed, was quite a looker. Blond hair, blue eyes, fuller than normal lips that gave her a slight pouting look, and glasses, the small rectangular lenses of which gave the impression that she was an intellectual... She was definitely a head-turner. Despite wearing a robe, her breasts' size could be seen. He figured she was about as big as Amarantha, maybe a little smaller. When Amarantha caught him "appraising" Sylgja, she frowned at him. He managed to respond with an apologetic smile right before Sylgja finished what she was doing, which was apparently some kind of calculation for a budget or something similar, and asked, "Can I help you?"
They told her about the Elven village incident and what happened with Talen. "That's terrible. Tor and Talen were best friends since they were kids, you know? To lose him like that... Was there anything else?"
Zeraine shrugged and said, "Brynjolf told us we might be able to help with some of the missing person cases."
Sylgja adjusted her glasses and said, "Whenever someone goes missing, we tend to chalk them up as dead. I won't stop you from investigating, but keep in mind that if you do, you're mostly going to be wasting your time. If you're lucky, you'll find half-eaten remains with some kind of item or items nearby that could be used to identify the body, but with monsters and scavenging animals out there, I wouldn't bet on it."
Amarantha sighed and said, "We can't afford to waste our time, energy, and resources, so I guess we can't do anything in regards to that."
Zeraine added, "Not to mention that we'd be risking our lives searching for bodies that have probably been eaten, destroyed, or otherwise rendered unidentifiable if we can even luck out and find them in the first place." He then turned to Sylgja and asked, "What about maps? Do you have any detailed maps of the area, possibly going as far out as the demon realm border?"
Sylgja shook her head apologetically. "I'm sorry. Cartographers can't exactly work in this area. Those that were brave enough to try ended up dead."
"Damn." Zeraine tried to think of other questions that Sylgja might be able to answer, but couldn't come up with anything. He sighed and said, "Well, Ammie, let's see what they have for stuff like clothes and supplies. At the very least, maybe we can get you a new shirt or two."
As they left, Sylgja said, "I'm sorry I couldn't be of more help."
...
A while later, after Lilith had sucked Lucas off three times in a row, the two of them returned to the infirmary. With her energy greatly restored, Lilith was able to help Brynjolf fully heal about half of the patients. He huffed in surprise, though the couple could hear a little relief in his voice, too, and said, "Thanks for the help, little lady. You wouldn't mind sticking around to help me with the rest of them, would you?"
She shrugged, smiled, and said, "Well, if you can teach me any better healing spells, that would be good and enable me to better help you, though I always welcome more excuses to have sex with my husband."
Lucas fidgeted uncomfortably as Brynjolf laughed and said, "As I'd expect from a succubus. Well, girl, if feeding off him allows you to help me with the rest of these men and women like you did with the first ones, then I recommend you get to it, though I'm afraid that I can't teach you anything. We use the same spells, I noticed, and they're the most powerful ones I know."
Lilith sighed, obviously disappointed, but quickly recovered and eyed Lucas with an amorous leer and a hungry grin. He sighed and started for the barracks again, her following him eagerly until she saw someone out of the corner of her eye. It was a man with blond hair that came down to his shoulders, a very androgynous face, golden eyes, black pants, and a purple robe that, for some unknown reason, showed off his very well-defined abs. Upon seeing him, Lilith stopped in her tracks, looking at him with a surprised and confused expression. As soon as Lucas heard the footsteps next to him stop, he stopped, looked back at Lilith and asked, "What is it?" as he followed her gaze. When he saw the man, he asked, "Who is that? Do you know him?"
Lilith said, "That looks like the Arch-Mage of Miskatonic University. ...But what's he doing here?"
"'Arch-Mage'?" Lucas asked.
Lilith grabbed him by the wrist and pulled him along as she approached. The man was talking with an Order priest, and after looking nearby, he was accompanied by two other mages, neither of them taking off their hoods. When they got closer, Lucas got a better look at the man and thought that were it not for the belly-baring robe, the muscles, and the masculine voice, it might be easy to mistake him for a woman. Once close enough, and after he was finished speaking with the priest, Lilith asked, "Arch-Mage Crowley?"
The man's eyes widened in surprise for a second, then he turned to face Lilith and smiled. "What an unexpected surprise. You were a good student, Lilith. It was a bit depressing that you had to drop out because you couldn't afford to pay your tuition after you were exiled, though you seem to have moved up in the world since then."
She smiled, nodded, and hugged Lucas's arm. "Yep! I even got married."
"I know. Congratulations," he said, smiling bigger. "We heard about your recent exploits, such as your marriage and your battle with The Four Horsemen. Back to what I was saying earlier, though... When you couldn't continue to pay your tuition and dropped out, it made me think about things. It's a terrible thing to let talent such as yours go to waste, and it's always saddening to see diligent students like you stop their education because they can't afford it, so I started a tuition assistance program."
"Really? I wouldn't be able to re-enroll until quite a while after I take the throne, and I'd be dragging Lucas with me if I did, but that sounds good."
"It is. The tuition assistance program I started basically offers opportunities for students to practice their magic via practical application while earning money to pay, or help pay, for their tuition."
"I'm guessing it went over very well, then?"
"Yes. Many people were quite happy to have a way to pay for their schooling while squeezing in some practice, and some people joined because, thanks to the program, they were able to actually afford it."
"Were it like that back when I was enrolled, I'd have been able to graduate, and my goals would have been easier to achieve, though I might not have met Lucas... Anyway, what brings you here?"
The Arch-Mage's expression went serious as he said, "We received a letter from here asking for assistance in blocking demonic energy. As you know, Miskatonic is deep within the demon realm, not too far from the Demon Lord's castle. We're a neutral place, however, with many powerful mages to ensure that nobody tries to lord over us. Unfortunately for us, many of the Demon Lord's mages studied at our university, thus he has hundreds of powerful mages at his disposal, as well as hundreds of dragons. Were he to attack us, we wouldn't stand a chance. Our agreement with him is that we continue teaching his troops and in return he leaves us alone, allows us to exist, and mostly ignores us. Because of that, we can repel the demonic energy in the area with a powerful barrier that covers the entire campus, said barrier being maintained by several of our strongest mages. We also have an agreement with Vinheim Dragon School that takes into consideration our location and the difficulty that humans of all non-Demon Lord affiliations would have in traveling here. Said agreement basically states that they'll teleport students and would-be students of ours to us as long as we share discoveries with them and help them with whatever they want when they ask."
Lilith looked a bit surprised as she listened to the Arch-Mage and his divulging of details that she hadn't known about. "I thought the Demon Lord left you alone because there were enough powerful mages at the school to equate any attack on you to suicide."
"I wish that were the case."
"Well that sucks... So, what does all of that have to do with why you're here?"
"Well, I needed to set a little context for your husband so he'd understand, too. Because of our location and proximity to the Demon Lord and his caste, we need our barrier to block out demonic energy so our human students don't suffer... 'misfortune'. The letter we received talked about a semi-successful attempt at creating runes to block demonic energy, said runes not needing maintenance by mages to function. Obviously, this would be a great thing, but it sounds like it needs a great deal of refinement. I'm here to find out about these runes, acquire a copy of the creator's notes, take it back to Miskatonic, and try to improve them. If we can refine and improve the runes, we could use them at the school, and help to spread their use through the parts of the world that the demon realm is affecting, effectively creating little 'bubbles' for towns, cities, villages, and other types of settlements in which humans and sapient monsters that aren't evil or affiliated with the Demon Lord could live in peace with no risk of suffering what currently happens to those that aren't demons or dragons."
Lucas decided that it was a good time to chime in, saying, "Well, since trade is important, you'd also have to protect the roads with those runes so merchants could safely travel them as far as being unaffected by demonic energy goes. They'd still be at fairly high risk of being attacked, though."
"True, but still, being able to repel demonic energy without the use of a barrier that must be constantly maintained is a monumental accomplishment in and of itself, and it has plenty of applications that we can use it for right now to make things a little better for everyone. ...Your name is Lucas, correct?"
"Yes. I'm the lucky man who married the next Demon Lord, and with everyone's help, including mine, she'll make demonic energy a lot less of a problem. I suppose that after things have stabilized, my wife and I will be enrolling, which means we should get acquainted, right?"
Lilith nodded and the Arch-Mage extended his hand and said, "Then allow me to formally introduce myself. I am Master Crowley, Arch-Mage of Miskatonic University. It's a pleasure to meet you, future king."
"Likewise," Lucas replied as he shook Master Crowley's hand.
Chapter 159
Spoiler: show
Having gotten Amarantha a new, rather dull-looking tunic, the sleeves of which came down to her elbows, with the shirt itself coming down to her waist, the color a solid sky blue, she and Zeraine went back to the infirmary to find the others. Upon arriving, they only saw Brynjolf, and noticed that about half the patients were gone. Seeing their confused expressions, he said, "Your friends went off for 'round two'. The little lady wanted to help, but she needed to 'recharge' first, so she dragged her hubby off for a little fun. They came back and we made short work of healing the first half, but then she needed to do it again. They're probably still at it, if you, or they, for that matter, don't mind walking in on them. They were using the barracks for 'that'."
Zeraine and Amarantha followed Brynjolf's directions to the barracks, but were surprised to find Lilith and Lucas talking with a young man, his hair blond, his eyes gold, his robe, a bit revealing in the front, purple, and his pants black. They approached as Lucas shook his hand. Zeraine waved and said, "Yo. Who's this?"
The three of them turned to face the couple and the man introduced himself. "I am Master Crowley, Arch-Mage of Miskatonic University. You two must be Zeraine and Amarantha, the incubus-silver dragon couple. It's a pleasure to meet you."
Zeraine shook his hand, as did Amarantha. He asked, "What brings the Arch-Mage of Miskatonic out here?" Master Crowley gave him a brief explanation about the runes, essentially telling him a shorter version of what he told Lilith minutes ago. Zeraine let out an impressed whistle at the idea. "That'll be damn useful right now if you get it working right, and it might even come in handy after the princess takes the throne."
Lilith frowned and asked, "Why and how?"
Zeraine shrugged and said, "Well, being horny is definitely better than having violent or cannibalistic urges, but it can still be a pain in the ass at times. It could distract someone enough to interfere with self-improvement, such as sword practice or magical study."
Master Crowley nodded and added, "And judging by what he just said, you plan to greatly lessen the severity of demonic corruption, yes?"
Lilith nodded and said, "Yes. Right now it's too much of a negative thing to be allowed to exist. I highly doubt I could remove it, so changing it into something a lot less harmful is the best alternative."
"And with you being a succubus, the natural choice is turning it into what is essentially an aphrodisiac." The Arch-Mage thought for a few seconds, then said, "We'd still need the final version of the runes. Having all of our students horny all of the time would interfere with them being able to study and practice, and with the staff and faculty suffering the same, teaching would be difficult. We currently don't have any problems with students 'getting together' as long as they stay within reason, but if we did nothing against your modified version of the corruption, it'd cause too many problems."
Lilith frowned in disappointment, though she understood what he was getting at, knowing from personal experience that thoughts and fantasies of romance and sex can distract one from their arcane studies very easily, and that studying while masturbating was pretty much impossible. Now knowing what sex was like, she knew studying during it would be impossible as well.
Master Crowley looked around and said, "This has been a pleasant experience, but as much as I'd like to talk some more, I don't have the time. Lilith, if you and your friends are ever in the area, stop by Miskatonic. I'd like to hear the details of your plans for what you're going to do after the throne is yours."
He and the two other hooded men with him left. Zeraine then asked, "So, did you two do what you needed yet?"
"Huh?" Lilith asked, turning to face him. "Oh, you mean my feeding and restoring of my energy. No, we haven't. We were headed that way, but then I saw the Arch-Mage. Lucas? We should hurry."
Lucas nodded and followed her back to the barracks, leaving Zeraine and Amarantha by themselves. The two of them found a bench and sat down to plan a little. When Zeraine asked what she thought they should do next, she answered, "Well, weren't we planning on trying to sneak into the Demon Realm so we could find you some new armor?"
"Yeah, but remember the danger. I know it's quite the gamble, with us having a lot to gain like a new suit of armor for me, possibly new armor for you and the others, too, and even some 'dissenters' to join us against the Demon Lord, but we'd be going into our enemy's domain, onto his home turf. We'd be close enough that he might be able to send a large force after us, and even though you're a silver dragon and the rest of us are pretty strong, we'd be no match for what he has at his command."
Amarantha shrugged. "Still, it's probably our best option. We don't have a lot of money left, and it looks like we won't get much from here, but maybe we can find 'decent' monsters in the Demon Realm with reasonable jobs that pay. That, or luck out and stumble across an evil dragon's lair, find it asleep, kill it before it wakes up, and take its hoard."
Zeraine scoffed and said, "As if we have that kind of luck. Anyway, I guess we'll stick to the plan, then."
...
When Lilith finished swallowing Lucas's fifth load of the day, his second so far in this session, he asked, "Aren't you getting kind of needy 'down there'?"
She took her mouth off his penis, making sure it didn't stop touching her face for even an instant, and said, "As you may have noticed, I've been fingering myself the whole time, both in this session and our previous one, and even though I cum plenty often from playing with myself while I suck your cock, my fingers are nowhere near a sufficient substitute for it, so yes, I want it so bad I can't stand it. Unfortunately, we can't afford to take the time to actually fuck because I'm pretty sure neither of us wants to hurry during it, and that's what we'd have to do to get done in time to recharge my energy without keeping Brynjolf waiting for too long. I expect you to fuck the hell out of me tonight, though. You have to make up for not giving me any this morning, and I'm aching to feel your dick hitting my cervix again. Also, if you can, I'd like for you to cum in me until my belly is visibly swollen, but I don't think we have the time to go enough rounds for that, and I don't think I could squeeze hard enough long enough to keep your seed from leaking out." She paused and glanced at his dick, then smiled, licked it, and said, "Throbbing already? I'd tell you to go ahead and give me a facial, but I can't exactly walk around this fort with your wonderful semen all over my face, now can I? Besides, it'd be a waste. You need to put it in my pussy or ass, or let me drink it, to have it do me any good. Now, cum in my mouth again and I'll suck down every last tasty drop."
She took him back into her mouth and went at him vigorously for another two rounds. When they were done, he, still panting, asked, "Are you good for now?"
She smiled happily and said, "Honestly, I want to go for another round or two. ...Or three. But we don't have time. Also, like I said a little bit ago, my pussy is starving for your cock, so that's where I need it next. You're an incubus, so you should be up to the task after we eat dinner."
Lucas himself wanted to do it again, and he definitely wanted to put it in her pussy, but he also knew and understood that they didn't have time. Though he didn't want to admit it, that disappointed him. He was also a little fatigued from having shot seven times today, so eating dinner before going at it again sounded like a good idea. He silently admitted to himself that had she not more or less demanded that they have sex tonight, he would have asked, even insisted, that they did. He thought, "Maybe I'll surprise her with that somehow..."
Nothing of any significance was said for the rest of the day. Lilith helped Brynjolf heal the other half of the patients in the infirmary and he thanked her, noting that it was the first time in a long time that it had been empty. All he could do was give her verbal thanks, however, for he didn't know any spells that she didn't, money wasn't an option, and the fort needed the scrolls they had for themselves and any "ordinary" visitors seeking healing or disease curing. Once the four of them were done eating dinner, however, they sat down together for a short while. Amarantha asked, "Should we go ahead and head into the Demon Realm tomorrow? We can't make much money here, and Zeraine does need new armor."
Lucas thought for a second and said, "Well, I guess we should. We've pretty much done all we can here. Staying any longer would probably just be a burden on them, and we might end up getting in the way."
Lilith nodded and said, "I agree. Aside from getting Zeraine a new and proper suit of armor, we'll also be able to recruit some monsters to our cause. I know for sure there are plenty that'd fight against him if someone with the power, numbers, or both came along and asked them to join. On top of that, we might be able to get Master Crowley and Miskatonic University to support us somehow. Also, if possible, I'd like to see how my parents are doing."
Zeraine said, "So it's decided, then. Tomorrow morning, we leave for the Demon Realm."
Having agreed on their plan, the couples went back to town and stayed at the inn again, this time for free. Lucas and Lilith went at it for seven rounds, while Zeraine and Amarantha did it for three. Neither couple noticed that they were a bit more aggressive about it than normal, though.
Zeraine and Amarantha followed Brynjolf's directions to the barracks, but were surprised to find Lilith and Lucas talking with a young man, his hair blond, his eyes gold, his robe, a bit revealing in the front, purple, and his pants black. They approached as Lucas shook his hand. Zeraine waved and said, "Yo. Who's this?"
The three of them turned to face the couple and the man introduced himself. "I am Master Crowley, Arch-Mage of Miskatonic University. You two must be Zeraine and Amarantha, the incubus-silver dragon couple. It's a pleasure to meet you."
Zeraine shook his hand, as did Amarantha. He asked, "What brings the Arch-Mage of Miskatonic out here?" Master Crowley gave him a brief explanation about the runes, essentially telling him a shorter version of what he told Lilith minutes ago. Zeraine let out an impressed whistle at the idea. "That'll be damn useful right now if you get it working right, and it might even come in handy after the princess takes the throne."
Lilith frowned and asked, "Why and how?"
Zeraine shrugged and said, "Well, being horny is definitely better than having violent or cannibalistic urges, but it can still be a pain in the ass at times. It could distract someone enough to interfere with self-improvement, such as sword practice or magical study."
Master Crowley nodded and added, "And judging by what he just said, you plan to greatly lessen the severity of demonic corruption, yes?"
Lilith nodded and said, "Yes. Right now it's too much of a negative thing to be allowed to exist. I highly doubt I could remove it, so changing it into something a lot less harmful is the best alternative."
"And with you being a succubus, the natural choice is turning it into what is essentially an aphrodisiac." The Arch-Mage thought for a few seconds, then said, "We'd still need the final version of the runes. Having all of our students horny all of the time would interfere with them being able to study and practice, and with the staff and faculty suffering the same, teaching would be difficult. We currently don't have any problems with students 'getting together' as long as they stay within reason, but if we did nothing against your modified version of the corruption, it'd cause too many problems."
Lilith frowned in disappointment, though she understood what he was getting at, knowing from personal experience that thoughts and fantasies of romance and sex can distract one from their arcane studies very easily, and that studying while masturbating was pretty much impossible. Now knowing what sex was like, she knew studying during it would be impossible as well.
Master Crowley looked around and said, "This has been a pleasant experience, but as much as I'd like to talk some more, I don't have the time. Lilith, if you and your friends are ever in the area, stop by Miskatonic. I'd like to hear the details of your plans for what you're going to do after the throne is yours."
He and the two other hooded men with him left. Zeraine then asked, "So, did you two do what you needed yet?"
"Huh?" Lilith asked, turning to face him. "Oh, you mean my feeding and restoring of my energy. No, we haven't. We were headed that way, but then I saw the Arch-Mage. Lucas? We should hurry."
Lucas nodded and followed her back to the barracks, leaving Zeraine and Amarantha by themselves. The two of them found a bench and sat down to plan a little. When Zeraine asked what she thought they should do next, she answered, "Well, weren't we planning on trying to sneak into the Demon Realm so we could find you some new armor?"
"Yeah, but remember the danger. I know it's quite the gamble, with us having a lot to gain like a new suit of armor for me, possibly new armor for you and the others, too, and even some 'dissenters' to join us against the Demon Lord, but we'd be going into our enemy's domain, onto his home turf. We'd be close enough that he might be able to send a large force after us, and even though you're a silver dragon and the rest of us are pretty strong, we'd be no match for what he has at his command."
Amarantha shrugged. "Still, it's probably our best option. We don't have a lot of money left, and it looks like we won't get much from here, but maybe we can find 'decent' monsters in the Demon Realm with reasonable jobs that pay. That, or luck out and stumble across an evil dragon's lair, find it asleep, kill it before it wakes up, and take its hoard."
Zeraine scoffed and said, "As if we have that kind of luck. Anyway, I guess we'll stick to the plan, then."
...
When Lilith finished swallowing Lucas's fifth load of the day, his second so far in this session, he asked, "Aren't you getting kind of needy 'down there'?"
She took her mouth off his penis, making sure it didn't stop touching her face for even an instant, and said, "As you may have noticed, I've been fingering myself the whole time, both in this session and our previous one, and even though I cum plenty often from playing with myself while I suck your cock, my fingers are nowhere near a sufficient substitute for it, so yes, I want it so bad I can't stand it. Unfortunately, we can't afford to take the time to actually fuck because I'm pretty sure neither of us wants to hurry during it, and that's what we'd have to do to get done in time to recharge my energy without keeping Brynjolf waiting for too long. I expect you to fuck the hell out of me tonight, though. You have to make up for not giving me any this morning, and I'm aching to feel your dick hitting my cervix again. Also, if you can, I'd like for you to cum in me until my belly is visibly swollen, but I don't think we have the time to go enough rounds for that, and I don't think I could squeeze hard enough long enough to keep your seed from leaking out." She paused and glanced at his dick, then smiled, licked it, and said, "Throbbing already? I'd tell you to go ahead and give me a facial, but I can't exactly walk around this fort with your wonderful semen all over my face, now can I? Besides, it'd be a waste. You need to put it in my pussy or ass, or let me drink it, to have it do me any good. Now, cum in my mouth again and I'll suck down every last tasty drop."
She took him back into her mouth and went at him vigorously for another two rounds. When they were done, he, still panting, asked, "Are you good for now?"
She smiled happily and said, "Honestly, I want to go for another round or two. ...Or three. But we don't have time. Also, like I said a little bit ago, my pussy is starving for your cock, so that's where I need it next. You're an incubus, so you should be up to the task after we eat dinner."
Lucas himself wanted to do it again, and he definitely wanted to put it in her pussy, but he also knew and understood that they didn't have time. Though he didn't want to admit it, that disappointed him. He was also a little fatigued from having shot seven times today, so eating dinner before going at it again sounded like a good idea. He silently admitted to himself that had she not more or less demanded that they have sex tonight, he would have asked, even insisted, that they did. He thought, "Maybe I'll surprise her with that somehow..."
Nothing of any significance was said for the rest of the day. Lilith helped Brynjolf heal the other half of the patients in the infirmary and he thanked her, noting that it was the first time in a long time that it had been empty. All he could do was give her verbal thanks, however, for he didn't know any spells that she didn't, money wasn't an option, and the fort needed the scrolls they had for themselves and any "ordinary" visitors seeking healing or disease curing. Once the four of them were done eating dinner, however, they sat down together for a short while. Amarantha asked, "Should we go ahead and head into the Demon Realm tomorrow? We can't make much money here, and Zeraine does need new armor."
Lucas thought for a second and said, "Well, I guess we should. We've pretty much done all we can here. Staying any longer would probably just be a burden on them, and we might end up getting in the way."
Lilith nodded and said, "I agree. Aside from getting Zeraine a new and proper suit of armor, we'll also be able to recruit some monsters to our cause. I know for sure there are plenty that'd fight against him if someone with the power, numbers, or both came along and asked them to join. On top of that, we might be able to get Master Crowley and Miskatonic University to support us somehow. Also, if possible, I'd like to see how my parents are doing."
Zeraine said, "So it's decided, then. Tomorrow morning, we leave for the Demon Realm."
Having agreed on their plan, the couples went back to town and stayed at the inn again, this time for free. Lucas and Lilith went at it for seven rounds, while Zeraine and Amarantha did it for three. Neither couple noticed that they were a bit more aggressive about it than normal, though.
Chapter 160
Spoiler: show
Moaning as her husband filled her womb for the second time this morning, Lilith collapsed on top of Lucas and began kissing him passionately as she waited for his ejaculation to end so she could start moving again. She sat up, but just as she was about to raise up to start moving her hips again, she stopped and looked down at herself; first at her arms and hands, then at her body. Concerned over this unexpected and unusual behavior, Lucas asked, "Is everything okay?"
Lilith looked at him with an expression of serious shock and said, "I feel it."
Now confused, Lucas asked, "What is it? What do you feel?"
She composed herself and said, "My skin is tingling."
"And that means?"
"It means there's enough demonic energy in the air nearby to cause my skin to tingle. What that means is that the Demon Realm has spread again. It's engulfed the city and the fort, and now we're inside it. We're just at the very edge, but we're still in it. We'll have to be careful and make doubly sure not to let it get to us. ...Damn it, I so badly want a third creampie right now I can't stand it, but we need to check on Zeraine and Ammie. You think your cock can wait until later for round three?"
Lucas smirked and said, "Looks like I don't have a choice, do I? And just so you know, I want to go again, too."
She smiled at him, gave him a deep, loving kiss, then reluctantly got off and let him get up. As they cleaned off and got dressed, she teasingly said, "It sounds like you're becoming more honest with your feelings."
He rolled his eyes and said, "Don't start. I understand the importance of the situation, and I agree that we do need to check on our friends. We should probably warn everyone, too."
She nodded and said, "Let's go."
...
Just starting into their second round of sex this morning, Amarantha was even more aggressive than last night, though she didn't realize it. Zeraine didn't notice either until she started giving him some rather painful hickeys, biting him on the neck and shoulder a little too hard when she did, though not hard enough to draw blood. After about the seventh love bite, Zeraine complained, "Ow! Ammie, that hurts!"
He couldn't tell if she was listening or not because she just kept licking his neck in between bites before roughly smashing her lips against his and forcefully jamming her tongue into his mouth, wrapping it around his and trying as hard as she could to "pull" his tongue into her mouth. When he tried to pat her on the back or butt to get her attention, she shook her hips harder and pressed her breasts against his chest hard enough to nearly flatten them out.
Worried she might hurt herself like this, he decided to take the lead, rolling over to get on top of her. When he did, she held him tighter and kissed him even more vigorously. He tried to grab her by the shoulders to break the kiss and push her down onto the bed, but as soon as he touched her shoulder with one hand, she grabbed it and moved it to her breast, making him move his fingers in a kneading motion, basically telling him to play with her tits. He did so, rubbing her breast until she settled down a little, then he took the opportunity to pry her off and pin her down on the bed. Even if she hadn't had her legs wrapped tightly around his waist, preventing him from pulling out, he would have kept it in. "What's wrong with you, Ammie? You're never this rough."
Panting heavily, she recovered herself some and said, "I'm sorry, Zeraine. It's just that..."
"What?"
"For some reason, if I'm not thinking of destroying things or hurting people, I'm thinking about having sex with you."
"And you're trying to drive off the violent thoughts by indulging in me?"
She nodded and said, "That, and I just can't seem to get enough this morning. The second round was enough for me last night, but we went three times because you wanted to go again and I wasn't about to say no, but this morning? Somehow I already know that the second time won't be enough, nor will the third." She started grinding her hips in desperation and begged, "Please, keep going."
"Alright, but are you really okay? Do you feel any different?"
She let out a pleading moan, obviously wanting him to thrust harder as she bucked her hips against him. "I'm so horny I can't think straight. Please, Zeraine, do something."
He winced as she dug her fingernails into his back in desperation, but he sped up, trying to relieve her. Just then, right after he got a good pace going, there was a knock at the door. Without stopping, Zeraine called out, "Who is it?"
On the other side of the door, Lucas answered, "It's us. Can we come in?"
Zeraine looked at Amarantha and noticed that she was still aching for him, so he said, "Not unless you can unlock the door. I'm kind of busy."
A few seconds later, Lilith opened the door and walked in, followed by Lucas. She grinned and asked, "So, dear, what do you think about the new incantation for my unlocking spell?"
Lucas shrugged and said, "It's better than the old one, I think."
Zeraine slowed his thrusting, which caused Amarantha to notice the others. Her face went red and she began looking back and forth between him and them. While she tried to decide what to do, Zeraine said, "Hey. Ammie's been kind of strange this morning. Do you-"
Amarantha interrupted him with a growl of primal lust as she rolled them over, causing the sheet to fall off and completely expose them both. Zeraine tried to grab her, but she pinned his arms down. "Ammie, they're watching!" he warned.
She shook her head and slammed her hips down on him harder, tears dripping from her eyes onto his face and chest. "I can't stop!" The shame and pleasure were both apparent on her face. She didn't like being watched, but she couldn't stop herself. She was moaning in pleasure and sobbing in shame at the same time, humiliated over being watched once again as she had sex with Zeraine, her inability to stop only making it worse. She very quickly achieved orgasm, spasming violently as she came, crying throughout.
Lilith sighed and said, "Lucas, lock the door. Zeraine, now would be a good time to give her a quick hug, then play with her clit as roughly as you can while you fuck her and blow your load in her."
Zeraine stared at her with his eyes wide and mouth open slightly. "You sure?"
"Trust me."
Lucas, having locked the door, asked, "Why are we staying in here if they're going to do it again?"
Lilith kissed him and said, "If Zeraine needs help comforting Amarantha, we'll help. I know I'm going to need you again at some point, so having you right next to me makes getting that third creampie easier."
After Zeraine rolled Amarantha and himself over, getting on top of her once again as she started grinding her hips again, he said, "Look, this may sound selfish, but I don't care. Nobody but me touches Ammie."
Lilith asked, "Not even if it's me?"
"Huh?" he asked, apparently not thinking the same as her.
"What if I kissed and groped her while you fucked her in an effort to comfort her? And what if Lucas fucked me during that?"
Zeraine stumbled over his words, looking for an answer, but quickly had to turn his attention to Amarantha, so he said, "I don't know," and started moving his hips.
Lucas said, "Um, honey? To be honest, I wouldn't really be comfortable with you doing someone other than me, even if it's a woman."
Lilith smiled warmly at him and said, "I'm glad to hear that, but we're talking about the woman being Ammie, and it being just this once. What if it's unavoidable? Me having lesbian sex with that one Dark Elf was unavoidable..."
Lucas frowned and said, "Well, Ammie's our friend, so if it comes to that and she needs it, then what else can we do? And why'd you bring up that Dark Elf?"
Lilith shrugged. "To remind you that I've had girls before, though this time wouldn't be because you and them would be killed if I didn't... Anyway, I won't be butting in, nor will I be touching Zeraine, and I'm sure he knows better than to try to touch me, so let's see how this turns out."
Zeraine adjusted his position so he could thrust while tending to Amarantha's clitoris. As he pounded away at her pussy, he gradually got more and more rough with her clit, first rubbing it hard, then pinching and squeezing it, then pulling on it, then adding in the occasional twisting. Due to this "attack" on her womanhood, Amarantha could do nothing but lie there and let Zeraine have his way with her, which is exactly what she wanted. She came several times, her body going limp after a few orgasms and merely twitching and spasming for the rest of the session, though Zeraine didn't stop his rough treatment of her clit. He finally came inside her and slowly slid down to lie on top of her, a little tired from the exertion, noticing that she had passed out as his head came to a rest next to hers.
During that time, Lilith said, "Lucas, pay attention to what he's doing to her clit. I want you to do that to me someday soon." Several seconds after that, she could no longer stand it. She lifted her dress up, pulled her panties down, and said, "Lucas, give me that creampie."
He made no effort to hide his own arousal as he brought out his manhood and put it in, fucking her from behind until they both came a few minutes after Zeraine did. Lilith pulled her panties up, sighing blissfully as she felt the fabric touch her freshly fucked lower lips. She then smiled at Lucas and said, "Looks like I don't have to do anything to her after all. Still, we need to get moving."
Lucas nodded, having already put away his penis. He took out their map and asked, "So where should we go?"
She looked down at his crotch and said, "I was going to clean you off with my mouth..." as she got next to him. "I think we should head here, to Lavender Fields," she said, pointing at the map. "Don't let the name fool you, though. It's not pretty."
"Why's that?" Lucas asked as he put away the map.
"You'll see when we get there. We need to warn the knights and guards, if they're still sane."
As they were about to walk out of the room, Zeraine said, "Wait! What about us? And what about this? Are we to expect more incidents like this?"
Lilith nodded and said, "It caught her, and me, for that matter, off guard. If you brace yourselves for it, it'll lessen the impact, but you'll still be horny as hell and short-tempered. I guess you should expect her, and probably yourself, to be insatiable, and be prepared in case she becomes overwhelmed with lust and shoves you down. And by the way, I can tell from memory and by feeling it now that the Demon Lord's 'aura' is stronger than before. Had it still been as strong as it was when I left, right before I met you guys, then I think Ammie would have been able to control herself. When she wakes up, tell her it's not her fault. Oh, and you might want to do something about those teeth marks on your neck."
She and Lucas then left to see about warning everyone, leaving Zeraine to watch over Amarantha.
Lilith looked at him with an expression of serious shock and said, "I feel it."
Now confused, Lucas asked, "What is it? What do you feel?"
She composed herself and said, "My skin is tingling."
"And that means?"
"It means there's enough demonic energy in the air nearby to cause my skin to tingle. What that means is that the Demon Realm has spread again. It's engulfed the city and the fort, and now we're inside it. We're just at the very edge, but we're still in it. We'll have to be careful and make doubly sure not to let it get to us. ...Damn it, I so badly want a third creampie right now I can't stand it, but we need to check on Zeraine and Ammie. You think your cock can wait until later for round three?"
Lucas smirked and said, "Looks like I don't have a choice, do I? And just so you know, I want to go again, too."
She smiled at him, gave him a deep, loving kiss, then reluctantly got off and let him get up. As they cleaned off and got dressed, she teasingly said, "It sounds like you're becoming more honest with your feelings."
He rolled his eyes and said, "Don't start. I understand the importance of the situation, and I agree that we do need to check on our friends. We should probably warn everyone, too."
She nodded and said, "Let's go."
...
Just starting into their second round of sex this morning, Amarantha was even more aggressive than last night, though she didn't realize it. Zeraine didn't notice either until she started giving him some rather painful hickeys, biting him on the neck and shoulder a little too hard when she did, though not hard enough to draw blood. After about the seventh love bite, Zeraine complained, "Ow! Ammie, that hurts!"
He couldn't tell if she was listening or not because she just kept licking his neck in between bites before roughly smashing her lips against his and forcefully jamming her tongue into his mouth, wrapping it around his and trying as hard as she could to "pull" his tongue into her mouth. When he tried to pat her on the back or butt to get her attention, she shook her hips harder and pressed her breasts against his chest hard enough to nearly flatten them out.
Worried she might hurt herself like this, he decided to take the lead, rolling over to get on top of her. When he did, she held him tighter and kissed him even more vigorously. He tried to grab her by the shoulders to break the kiss and push her down onto the bed, but as soon as he touched her shoulder with one hand, she grabbed it and moved it to her breast, making him move his fingers in a kneading motion, basically telling him to play with her tits. He did so, rubbing her breast until she settled down a little, then he took the opportunity to pry her off and pin her down on the bed. Even if she hadn't had her legs wrapped tightly around his waist, preventing him from pulling out, he would have kept it in. "What's wrong with you, Ammie? You're never this rough."
Panting heavily, she recovered herself some and said, "I'm sorry, Zeraine. It's just that..."
"What?"
"For some reason, if I'm not thinking of destroying things or hurting people, I'm thinking about having sex with you."
"And you're trying to drive off the violent thoughts by indulging in me?"
She nodded and said, "That, and I just can't seem to get enough this morning. The second round was enough for me last night, but we went three times because you wanted to go again and I wasn't about to say no, but this morning? Somehow I already know that the second time won't be enough, nor will the third." She started grinding her hips in desperation and begged, "Please, keep going."
"Alright, but are you really okay? Do you feel any different?"
She let out a pleading moan, obviously wanting him to thrust harder as she bucked her hips against him. "I'm so horny I can't think straight. Please, Zeraine, do something."
He winced as she dug her fingernails into his back in desperation, but he sped up, trying to relieve her. Just then, right after he got a good pace going, there was a knock at the door. Without stopping, Zeraine called out, "Who is it?"
On the other side of the door, Lucas answered, "It's us. Can we come in?"
Zeraine looked at Amarantha and noticed that she was still aching for him, so he said, "Not unless you can unlock the door. I'm kind of busy."
A few seconds later, Lilith opened the door and walked in, followed by Lucas. She grinned and asked, "So, dear, what do you think about the new incantation for my unlocking spell?"
Lucas shrugged and said, "It's better than the old one, I think."
Zeraine slowed his thrusting, which caused Amarantha to notice the others. Her face went red and she began looking back and forth between him and them. While she tried to decide what to do, Zeraine said, "Hey. Ammie's been kind of strange this morning. Do you-"
Amarantha interrupted him with a growl of primal lust as she rolled them over, causing the sheet to fall off and completely expose them both. Zeraine tried to grab her, but she pinned his arms down. "Ammie, they're watching!" he warned.
She shook her head and slammed her hips down on him harder, tears dripping from her eyes onto his face and chest. "I can't stop!" The shame and pleasure were both apparent on her face. She didn't like being watched, but she couldn't stop herself. She was moaning in pleasure and sobbing in shame at the same time, humiliated over being watched once again as she had sex with Zeraine, her inability to stop only making it worse. She very quickly achieved orgasm, spasming violently as she came, crying throughout.
Lilith sighed and said, "Lucas, lock the door. Zeraine, now would be a good time to give her a quick hug, then play with her clit as roughly as you can while you fuck her and blow your load in her."
Zeraine stared at her with his eyes wide and mouth open slightly. "You sure?"
"Trust me."
Lucas, having locked the door, asked, "Why are we staying in here if they're going to do it again?"
Lilith kissed him and said, "If Zeraine needs help comforting Amarantha, we'll help. I know I'm going to need you again at some point, so having you right next to me makes getting that third creampie easier."
After Zeraine rolled Amarantha and himself over, getting on top of her once again as she started grinding her hips again, he said, "Look, this may sound selfish, but I don't care. Nobody but me touches Ammie."
Lilith asked, "Not even if it's me?"
"Huh?" he asked, apparently not thinking the same as her.
"What if I kissed and groped her while you fucked her in an effort to comfort her? And what if Lucas fucked me during that?"
Zeraine stumbled over his words, looking for an answer, but quickly had to turn his attention to Amarantha, so he said, "I don't know," and started moving his hips.
Lucas said, "Um, honey? To be honest, I wouldn't really be comfortable with you doing someone other than me, even if it's a woman."
Lilith smiled warmly at him and said, "I'm glad to hear that, but we're talking about the woman being Ammie, and it being just this once. What if it's unavoidable? Me having lesbian sex with that one Dark Elf was unavoidable..."
Lucas frowned and said, "Well, Ammie's our friend, so if it comes to that and she needs it, then what else can we do? And why'd you bring up that Dark Elf?"
Lilith shrugged. "To remind you that I've had girls before, though this time wouldn't be because you and them would be killed if I didn't... Anyway, I won't be butting in, nor will I be touching Zeraine, and I'm sure he knows better than to try to touch me, so let's see how this turns out."
Zeraine adjusted his position so he could thrust while tending to Amarantha's clitoris. As he pounded away at her pussy, he gradually got more and more rough with her clit, first rubbing it hard, then pinching and squeezing it, then pulling on it, then adding in the occasional twisting. Due to this "attack" on her womanhood, Amarantha could do nothing but lie there and let Zeraine have his way with her, which is exactly what she wanted. She came several times, her body going limp after a few orgasms and merely twitching and spasming for the rest of the session, though Zeraine didn't stop his rough treatment of her clit. He finally came inside her and slowly slid down to lie on top of her, a little tired from the exertion, noticing that she had passed out as his head came to a rest next to hers.
During that time, Lilith said, "Lucas, pay attention to what he's doing to her clit. I want you to do that to me someday soon." Several seconds after that, she could no longer stand it. She lifted her dress up, pulled her panties down, and said, "Lucas, give me that creampie."
He made no effort to hide his own arousal as he brought out his manhood and put it in, fucking her from behind until they both came a few minutes after Zeraine did. Lilith pulled her panties up, sighing blissfully as she felt the fabric touch her freshly fucked lower lips. She then smiled at Lucas and said, "Looks like I don't have to do anything to her after all. Still, we need to get moving."
Lucas nodded, having already put away his penis. He took out their map and asked, "So where should we go?"
She looked down at his crotch and said, "I was going to clean you off with my mouth..." as she got next to him. "I think we should head here, to Lavender Fields," she said, pointing at the map. "Don't let the name fool you, though. It's not pretty."
"Why's that?" Lucas asked as he put away the map.
"You'll see when we get there. We need to warn the knights and guards, if they're still sane."
As they were about to walk out of the room, Zeraine said, "Wait! What about us? And what about this? Are we to expect more incidents like this?"
Lilith nodded and said, "It caught her, and me, for that matter, off guard. If you brace yourselves for it, it'll lessen the impact, but you'll still be horny as hell and short-tempered. I guess you should expect her, and probably yourself, to be insatiable, and be prepared in case she becomes overwhelmed with lust and shoves you down. And by the way, I can tell from memory and by feeling it now that the Demon Lord's 'aura' is stronger than before. Had it still been as strong as it was when I left, right before I met you guys, then I think Ammie would have been able to control herself. When she wakes up, tell her it's not her fault. Oh, and you might want to do something about those teeth marks on your neck."
She and Lucas then left to see about warning everyone, leaving Zeraine to watch over Amarantha.
Chapter 161
Spoiler: show
Lucas and Lilith spotted a guard and asked if there had been an increase in violence, rape, or anything else unusual lately, specifically as of yesterday. When the guard told them that nothing out of the ordinary had happened, at least not so far, they felt a little relief, but still urged the guard to go spread the word. As he told the other guards, the couple returned to the Order fort and told Brynjolf, who proceeded to spread the word around the fort. When Lilith asked where Master Crowley was, one of the knights told her that he had already left the evening before, shortly after their group had returned to town. Having warned everyone about the impending danger, the two of them decided to check on Zeraine and Amarantha, and see about leaving.
...
Meanwhile, Zeraine watched over Amarantha as she slept. He sighed many times throughout, thinking about how much she was going to suffer in the Demon Realm, getting angrier by the minute as his hatred for the Demon Lord built. He quickly realized that he was at risk of losing his temper because of the Demon Lord's "aura" and gathered himself, shaking his head clear. He quickly glanced over at Amarantha when he heard her stir, then, remembering the teeth marks on his neck and her tendency to panic whenever he was injured in the slightest, he quickly healed himself with the Fast Healing spell.
She opened her eyes, saw him, and sat up, then looked down at her crotch, seeing his semen on it and seeping out of it. The realization that she had been seen having sex again came to her along with the memories of a little while ago. She remembered being a little too rough with Zeraine, her words, and how she only rode him more vigorously when their friends started watching. She covered her quickly reddening face with her hands and mumbled, "Gods damn it..."
Zeraine patted her on the shoulder, then said, "Ammie, I think you were out cold when the princess told us, but the Demon Lord's 'aura' is a lot stronger now than it was the last time we set foot in the Demon Realm, and since it has spread to engulf this city, it hit us. The, uh, 'incident' earlier wasn't your fault."
"I still hurt you. I know you've healed it already, but-"
"You mean when you bit me? Sure, you left teeth marks, but I forgive you. Nothing really bad happened, so it's fine. ...Kind of like that time you scratched me up really bad with your fingernails. Remember?"
She nodded in shame. "Anything else?"
"Well, we're to expect to be short tempered and really horny. I'm to expect you to be overcome with lust and shove me down to have your way with me, and to expect it to happen often, I think."
"Does she really think my lust will overcome my pride?" Amarantha asked, trying to be defiant despite what happened.
Zeraine shrugged and said, "Look, Ammie, if you need it, my answer is always 'yes'. If you're talking about doing it in private, then... Well, your need for me was greater than your desire for privacy, so something like this might happen again, and they might watch us again, or someone else might see. We can't really do much about that."
"And that's supposed to make me feel better about getting so horny that I ride you while others watch as if I were some sort of exhibitionist?" she asked, pouting.
He sighed, then gently pulled her hands away from her face and pushed her back down onto the bed as he got on top of her. "Maybe you could try to stop worrying about what others might think and only focus on me and my view of you? I know who and how you really are. Isn't that what really matters, that the one you love knows the true you?"
Her face stayed red, but she began breathing more heavily and squirming a little. "I'm a dragon, Zeraine. I'm no less proud than any other dragon, and it's extremely embarrassing to me for others to know about our 'intimate moments'. ...You might want to get off," she said, rubbing her thighs together.
"What's wrong?" he asked, obviously concerned. After a short pause and a glance at her lower body, however, he smirked. "Horny again?"
Her eyes quickly got watery as she nodded. "I'm sorry."
Seeing that she was about to cry, he wrapped her in a hug, kissed her, and said, "There's nothing to apologize for. I want it, too, so I'm putting it in now, okay?"
The two proceeded to have sex again, starting off gentle and loving, but quickly becoming intense, passionate, and vigorous. By the end they were holding each other tightly and slamming their crotches together as hard as they could, with Amarantha completely ignoring how sore her clit was after the previous session and Zeraine's brutalizing of it because she was too horny to care about the pain. After their mutual orgasm, Zeraine rolled over, pulling her along so that her back was to the door as they laid on their sides. He covered her with the sheet and they held each other silently until the others returned.
When they did, Lilith led the way, entering the room before Lucas, saying, "We're back. Is Ammie up?"
Amarantha didn't reply, instead burying her face in Zeraine's muscular chest. He answered for her. "Yeah, she's up. Is there some kind of way for us to manage this?"
"Sex," Lilith replied flatly.
"That's it?" Zeraine asked, obviously disappointed that Lilith didn't have a better solution.
She nodded and said, "Yes. The best way to manage this is to have sex as soon as we get horny. By staying sexually satisfied, we should be able to stave off the worst of it. If we let it build up, there's a chance that it might end unfavorably when 'relief time' comes. Remember Lucas's transformation and what he did to me?"
Lucas cringed and mumbled, "I did not need to be reminded of that right now."
Lilith continued, "I'm not saying it'd get quite that bad, but it could come close, and personally, though I like it rough from time to time, I don't want it that rough, and I actually prefer gentle, passionate sex."
Lucas cleared his throat and said, "We'd better get moving. Zeraine, Ammie, get dressed so we can head out."
He and Lilith left the room to allow them to clean up and get dressed. While they waited outside, Lilith glanced at Lucas's crotch and said, "You've got a boner again. Want me to take care of it?"
He blushed a little and said, "I'd be lying if I said 'no', but we don't have time. I wish we did, but we don't."
She smiled and surprised him with a quick peck on the cheek. Before he could say anything about the kiss, Zeraine and Amarantha came out, dressed and ready to leave. Amarantha was obviously uncomfortable, and she was holding Zeraine's hand, possibly for emotional support. Neither Lilith nor Lucas said anything about it, however.
When they reached the east gate, Tor was waiting for them. He greeted them and said, "I thank you for warning us. At least we now know the probable cause of anything strange that might happen."
Lilith asked, "You're not going to evacuate the city?"
Tor shook his head. "It wouldn't do much good. Besides, we have to show the Demon Lord that we're not afraid of him. We'll stand and fight to the last man."
"The corruption will probably take you all before any monsters of his get here. Are you really sure about your choice?"
"Yes. Out on the road, trying to escort the citizens, it'd be incredibly dangerous, and with the spreading of the Demon Realm, we'd be unlikely to make it very far before more of us succumb to the corruption, and some of us who have been 'tainted' might still go mad even after getting out. Also, every little bit helps. If we can hold out until he attacks, then we can go down fighting and take as many of his forces with us as we can."
Everyone present knew that the Demon Lord would be a fool to not take advantage of the situation and attack while the corruption wreaks havoc, so none of them bothered asking what made Tor so sure he'd attack. Instead, Lucas said, "Good luck, friend. May the gods grant you the strength to make a difference."
Tor nodded and said, "And good luck to you, too."
The four of them left for Lavender Fields, stopping frequently for the respective couples to have sex when they needed to.
...
On the third day of the five-day journey, all four of them, Lilith and Amarantha especially, felt something strange. Lilith was the first to speak up, asking, "Did you guys feel that?"
Amarantha was the first to reply, saying, "Yeah. It's weird, I still badly want to ride Zeraine again, and I also get urges to destroy things, but..."
Lilith smirked and said, "It feels like it has lessened, right? Like the urges and lust are less intense, or like you can control it more easily, right?"
"Yeah."
"If I had to guess, the Demon Lord realized that in order for the monsters to perform their 'duties' of slaughtering humans, they needed to be able to resist his corruption to some extent, and because he apparently couldn't just make his own monsters resistant to it, he had to make all monsters resistant to it, which means we benefit from it, too." Lilith looked Amarantha in the eye and said, "Rejoice, Ammie. You probably won't need to ravage Zeraine as much now in order to think straight."
Amarantha blushed and said, "I don't ravage him! I might get a bit carried away at times, but I don't go that far!"
Lilith shrugged and said, "Whatever. Still, I suggest we keep having frequent sex. Every time Lucas and I fuck, we both get a little bit more powerful. If you and Zeraine were to start transferring your demonic energy into him as you make love, like you did when you were trying to transform him into an incubus, it'd make him stronger, too. And before you suggest it or accuse me of it or whatever, yes, it makes for a very convenient excuse for me to have more sex with Lucas."
Lucas, his face red, said, "Let's keep moving. We don't want to stay in one place for too long, and we can now probably wait until nighttime to get our 'relief'."
...
On the fifth day, having cut through a few wooded areas to make up for time lost to frequent stops for sex, they checked their map and compared their current location with Lilith's memory of Lavender Fields' location. She said, "This should be the final patch of woods we have to go through. On the other side, there should be a tavern, and from there, we should be able to follow the road north to Lavender Fields."
Suddenly, they heard a roar. When they looked up, they saw a very large figure fly past above them, above the treetops, heading in the same direction as they were. Amarantha gritted her teeth and growled, "A red dragon!"
...
Meanwhile, Zeraine watched over Amarantha as she slept. He sighed many times throughout, thinking about how much she was going to suffer in the Demon Realm, getting angrier by the minute as his hatred for the Demon Lord built. He quickly realized that he was at risk of losing his temper because of the Demon Lord's "aura" and gathered himself, shaking his head clear. He quickly glanced over at Amarantha when he heard her stir, then, remembering the teeth marks on his neck and her tendency to panic whenever he was injured in the slightest, he quickly healed himself with the Fast Healing spell.
She opened her eyes, saw him, and sat up, then looked down at her crotch, seeing his semen on it and seeping out of it. The realization that she had been seen having sex again came to her along with the memories of a little while ago. She remembered being a little too rough with Zeraine, her words, and how she only rode him more vigorously when their friends started watching. She covered her quickly reddening face with her hands and mumbled, "Gods damn it..."
Zeraine patted her on the shoulder, then said, "Ammie, I think you were out cold when the princess told us, but the Demon Lord's 'aura' is a lot stronger now than it was the last time we set foot in the Demon Realm, and since it has spread to engulf this city, it hit us. The, uh, 'incident' earlier wasn't your fault."
"I still hurt you. I know you've healed it already, but-"
"You mean when you bit me? Sure, you left teeth marks, but I forgive you. Nothing really bad happened, so it's fine. ...Kind of like that time you scratched me up really bad with your fingernails. Remember?"
She nodded in shame. "Anything else?"
"Well, we're to expect to be short tempered and really horny. I'm to expect you to be overcome with lust and shove me down to have your way with me, and to expect it to happen often, I think."
"Does she really think my lust will overcome my pride?" Amarantha asked, trying to be defiant despite what happened.
Zeraine shrugged and said, "Look, Ammie, if you need it, my answer is always 'yes'. If you're talking about doing it in private, then... Well, your need for me was greater than your desire for privacy, so something like this might happen again, and they might watch us again, or someone else might see. We can't really do much about that."
"And that's supposed to make me feel better about getting so horny that I ride you while others watch as if I were some sort of exhibitionist?" she asked, pouting.
He sighed, then gently pulled her hands away from her face and pushed her back down onto the bed as he got on top of her. "Maybe you could try to stop worrying about what others might think and only focus on me and my view of you? I know who and how you really are. Isn't that what really matters, that the one you love knows the true you?"
Her face stayed red, but she began breathing more heavily and squirming a little. "I'm a dragon, Zeraine. I'm no less proud than any other dragon, and it's extremely embarrassing to me for others to know about our 'intimate moments'. ...You might want to get off," she said, rubbing her thighs together.
"What's wrong?" he asked, obviously concerned. After a short pause and a glance at her lower body, however, he smirked. "Horny again?"
Her eyes quickly got watery as she nodded. "I'm sorry."
Seeing that she was about to cry, he wrapped her in a hug, kissed her, and said, "There's nothing to apologize for. I want it, too, so I'm putting it in now, okay?"
The two proceeded to have sex again, starting off gentle and loving, but quickly becoming intense, passionate, and vigorous. By the end they were holding each other tightly and slamming their crotches together as hard as they could, with Amarantha completely ignoring how sore her clit was after the previous session and Zeraine's brutalizing of it because she was too horny to care about the pain. After their mutual orgasm, Zeraine rolled over, pulling her along so that her back was to the door as they laid on their sides. He covered her with the sheet and they held each other silently until the others returned.
When they did, Lilith led the way, entering the room before Lucas, saying, "We're back. Is Ammie up?"
Amarantha didn't reply, instead burying her face in Zeraine's muscular chest. He answered for her. "Yeah, she's up. Is there some kind of way for us to manage this?"
"Sex," Lilith replied flatly.
"That's it?" Zeraine asked, obviously disappointed that Lilith didn't have a better solution.
She nodded and said, "Yes. The best way to manage this is to have sex as soon as we get horny. By staying sexually satisfied, we should be able to stave off the worst of it. If we let it build up, there's a chance that it might end unfavorably when 'relief time' comes. Remember Lucas's transformation and what he did to me?"
Lucas cringed and mumbled, "I did not need to be reminded of that right now."
Lilith continued, "I'm not saying it'd get quite that bad, but it could come close, and personally, though I like it rough from time to time, I don't want it that rough, and I actually prefer gentle, passionate sex."
Lucas cleared his throat and said, "We'd better get moving. Zeraine, Ammie, get dressed so we can head out."
He and Lilith left the room to allow them to clean up and get dressed. While they waited outside, Lilith glanced at Lucas's crotch and said, "You've got a boner again. Want me to take care of it?"
He blushed a little and said, "I'd be lying if I said 'no', but we don't have time. I wish we did, but we don't."
She smiled and surprised him with a quick peck on the cheek. Before he could say anything about the kiss, Zeraine and Amarantha came out, dressed and ready to leave. Amarantha was obviously uncomfortable, and she was holding Zeraine's hand, possibly for emotional support. Neither Lilith nor Lucas said anything about it, however.
When they reached the east gate, Tor was waiting for them. He greeted them and said, "I thank you for warning us. At least we now know the probable cause of anything strange that might happen."
Lilith asked, "You're not going to evacuate the city?"
Tor shook his head. "It wouldn't do much good. Besides, we have to show the Demon Lord that we're not afraid of him. We'll stand and fight to the last man."
"The corruption will probably take you all before any monsters of his get here. Are you really sure about your choice?"
"Yes. Out on the road, trying to escort the citizens, it'd be incredibly dangerous, and with the spreading of the Demon Realm, we'd be unlikely to make it very far before more of us succumb to the corruption, and some of us who have been 'tainted' might still go mad even after getting out. Also, every little bit helps. If we can hold out until he attacks, then we can go down fighting and take as many of his forces with us as we can."
Everyone present knew that the Demon Lord would be a fool to not take advantage of the situation and attack while the corruption wreaks havoc, so none of them bothered asking what made Tor so sure he'd attack. Instead, Lucas said, "Good luck, friend. May the gods grant you the strength to make a difference."
Tor nodded and said, "And good luck to you, too."
The four of them left for Lavender Fields, stopping frequently for the respective couples to have sex when they needed to.
...
On the third day of the five-day journey, all four of them, Lilith and Amarantha especially, felt something strange. Lilith was the first to speak up, asking, "Did you guys feel that?"
Amarantha was the first to reply, saying, "Yeah. It's weird, I still badly want to ride Zeraine again, and I also get urges to destroy things, but..."
Lilith smirked and said, "It feels like it has lessened, right? Like the urges and lust are less intense, or like you can control it more easily, right?"
"Yeah."
"If I had to guess, the Demon Lord realized that in order for the monsters to perform their 'duties' of slaughtering humans, they needed to be able to resist his corruption to some extent, and because he apparently couldn't just make his own monsters resistant to it, he had to make all monsters resistant to it, which means we benefit from it, too." Lilith looked Amarantha in the eye and said, "Rejoice, Ammie. You probably won't need to ravage Zeraine as much now in order to think straight."
Amarantha blushed and said, "I don't ravage him! I might get a bit carried away at times, but I don't go that far!"
Lilith shrugged and said, "Whatever. Still, I suggest we keep having frequent sex. Every time Lucas and I fuck, we both get a little bit more powerful. If you and Zeraine were to start transferring your demonic energy into him as you make love, like you did when you were trying to transform him into an incubus, it'd make him stronger, too. And before you suggest it or accuse me of it or whatever, yes, it makes for a very convenient excuse for me to have more sex with Lucas."
Lucas, his face red, said, "Let's keep moving. We don't want to stay in one place for too long, and we can now probably wait until nighttime to get our 'relief'."
...
On the fifth day, having cut through a few wooded areas to make up for time lost to frequent stops for sex, they checked their map and compared their current location with Lilith's memory of Lavender Fields' location. She said, "This should be the final patch of woods we have to go through. On the other side, there should be a tavern, and from there, we should be able to follow the road north to Lavender Fields."
Suddenly, they heard a roar. When they looked up, they saw a very large figure fly past above them, above the treetops, heading in the same direction as they were. Amarantha gritted her teeth and growled, "A red dragon!"
Chapter 162
Spoiler: show
As the party ran through the last patch of woods to try and see where the red dragon went, they heard a loud thud. They figured it was the dragon landing, probably being loud on purpose. By the time they reached the road, the dragon was nowhere to be seen. The tavern, however, was right where Lilith said it was. Hoping that nobody would recognize them, Lilith switched to her human disguise form for the first time in a long while and the four of them started to approach the establishment. As they did, the window in the top half of the door shattered via a man flying through it head-first, landing on the broken glass a short distance from the door. Coupled with his groan, they heard a woman shout, "Next time I'll blast the flesh off your bones, you stupid fuck!"
They looked at each other, then at the man. Lucas approached him and asked, "Are you alright? What was that about?"
The man, who looked very much like the stereotypical bandit, with his mohawk, scruffy beard, visible scars, leather outfit, multiple daggers, and a few missing teeth, slowly got up, trying to shake off what had just happened. He had a few minor cuts from the glass on the top of his head and on his face, but he was otherwise fine as far as they could see. He tried to act tough by simply dusting himself off, though he was a little off balance, most likely from his head hitting the glass. Before leaving he said, "You four might want to just move on. Mist's in a bad mood, though I don't think the bitch has ever been in a good one... Anyway, just leave and don't let her see you. You might actually get away."
The four of them looked at each other, silently debating whether they should heed his advice. In the end, however, they decided that they needed to stop for a while, eat, and rest a bit, so they entered. They all knew that the red dragon from earlier most likely switched to its human form and was inside already. Considering what they had just encountered with the bandit, they figured it was a she, and that the bandit was talking about her, and that it was she who threw him through the window.
Once inside, they looked around, seeing that while it was largely empty, the occupants were mostly shady-looking monsters, most of them orcs or goblins, with a few humans scattered throughout. The bartender, a Dark Elf, finished wiping out a glass mug and looked them over before saying, "Good afternoon, travelers. What can I get you?"
After ordering a meal, they sat down at one of the empty tables, waiting for the bartender to finish serving them their drinks. They didn't want to discuss very much where others could hear, which is why they picked a table that was about as far as possible from everyone else. Once he left to resume waiting for other drinks to be ordered, the party began chatting quietly. Lilith was first, asking, "Well, what about the red dragon from earlier?"
Amarantha, obviously agitated at the mere idea that a red dragon was nearby, asked, "What about it?"
Lucas interrupted, asking, "Ammie, you seem a bit angry. Why?"
She scoffed and said, "Silvers tend to hate reds, and the feeling is mutual. All too often we end up fighting over territory, not to mention the fact that they're pretty much all a bunch of haughty, destructive assholes that delight in wanton destruction, sometimes for the sake of instilling terror in everyone around, other times just for fun. Fortunately for us, however, we tend to kick their asses."
Lilith cleared her throat and said, "We talked before about how we need all the help we can get. I think we should try to recruit it."
Amarantha glared at her in silent protest, but Zeraine said, "I agree. The more dragons we have on our side, the more capable of fighting the Demon Lord's dragons we are."
Lucas nodded in agreement, then added, "When that day comes, we might not have to fight any dragons ourselves, but our army would definitely appreciate the extra help in keeping any and all aerial strafing runs to a minimum."
Amarantha sighed and said, "I'll have to agree as well. As much as I hate the idea of having to work with reds, we need the help, and you guys have good points. I'm sure we're also all thinking that this 'Mist' woman is the red, right? I suppose we'll look for her after we eat?"
Lilith nodded. "Yes, resting a bit before we pursue something as dangerous as a red dragon would be best, and it sounds like that woman, 'Mist', is indeed the dragon. I'm almost certain it was her that threw that man through the window, too."
A few minutes later, the bartender brought them their meals. After they ate, they decided to start asking around about Mist, but before any of them could get up out of their chairs, a woman with bright red hair that came down just past her shoulders walked out of a backroom. She had traces of blood on her hands and a little spattered on her face. They saw that her eyes were red, almost the same tint as her hair. Looking at her overall, she was quite tall. Zeraine mumbled, "She's taller than me..." From what they could see of her body, which was covered from the waist down with chainmail leggings, but had only what was basically a leather bikini top to hide her breasts, she was fairly athletic in her build. Intimately familiar with Amarantha's human form's body, he compared the two, noting that this woman's muscles were a bit bigger and more defined than Amarantha's, but didn't take away from her beauty in the least. Her breasts were also bigger than Amarantha's, and her hips were noticeably wider, too. When Amarantha saw Zeraine looking at the woman like that, she gave him a scolding glare, to which he gave an apologetic grin.
When the bartender saw her, he asked, "Hey, Mist? Can you do me a favor?"
She huffed, smirked, and answered, "Depends on the favor."
He sighed and asked, "Could you please not get blood everywhere in my tavern? It's such a pain to clean up. Why can't you beat up those thugs outside? Also, can you stop throwing people through the door's window? Replacing the glass is costly."
She shrugged and said, "Well, I suppose I could drag them outside before I beat the shit out of them. As for the window, it's their own fault if I throw them through it. If they would just be smart enough to not piss me off, it wouldn't happen."
He rubbed his temples and said, "It doesn't help matters that you've been a bit more irritable than normal lately. Is it because of that stuff that happened somewhat recently?"
"You mean the Demon Lord cranking up the lust-instilling part of his 'corruption aura'? That 'genius' idea that left me debilitatingly aroused until my anger and maternal instincts overpowered it, allowing me to just barely save my wyrmlings from that jackass paladin despite needing to masturbate so badly that I almost switched to this form in the middle of the fight so I could try to fight while fingering myself? In other words, the incident that almost got my babies killed because I was almost too fucking horny to move?" she said, getting increasingly angry as she continued. "Yes, I am fucking pissed at that dumb-fuck son-of-a-bitch's fucking idiotic move. By doing that, he, however indirectly, put my wyrmlings at risk, and nobody, I mean nobody puts my kids in danger. Nobody!"
Throughout her rant, the party looked around and noticed some of the patrons looking at her fearfully, others sympathetically. They now knew without a doubt that she was the red dragon, and after hearing her rant, they realized they had a pretty good chance of recruiting her. They decided to wait until she calmed down before attempting to approach her, however.
The bartender said, "That was a pretty rough time for all of us. Sure, it hit the women harder than the men, but we all suffered. I think we all sympathize with your feelings, but the Demon Lord is just too strong and cruel for us to do anything."
Mist spat a small burst of fire from her mouth and said, "The only reason I haven't killed that motherfucker is because me being gone would endanger my kids."
"You mean because not even you can handle him, and you don't want your children to end up without a mother, right?" he asked, receiving a death-glare in return.
Mist then noticed the party, and after huffing and dismissively turning away from the bartender, she approached and haughtily asked, "Who the fuck are you four and what are you doing in my territory? Oh, and you can drop your disguise, little succubus. I can see right through it. The silver can stay in human form, though, because transforming would destroy my tavern."
Lilith was stunned for a moment, but managed to recover herself and ask, "How can you see through it?"
Amarantha quickly added, "Yeah, and how can you tell I'm a silver dragon? And what do you mean 'your tavern'?"
Mist laughed and said, "I'm a red dragon. I can see things for what they really are, and I can tell when someone is a dragon in human form."
Amarantha asked, "Shouldn't I also be able to?"
"If you can't, it's probably because you're not old enough yet. Don't worry, though. If you'd like, I can flush your head of all that bullshit you've learned so far and teach you what it really means to be a dragon."
"Thanks for the offer, but no. I'd rather not deal with a horrendously overinflated ego right now."
Mist and Amarantha glared at each other, each trying to stare the other down. Lucas interrupted by saying, "Judging by your rant earlier, you're not on good terms with the Demon Lord."
Without breaking the glaring match, Mist arrogantly said, "What was your first clue?"
"Is there a place where the five of us can talk privately?" he asked.
Still glaring at Amarantha, Mist said, "No way in hell are you leading me off to some secluded place."
Lilith said, "If you're worried we're trying to trick you so we can kill you and take whatever treasure you have, then stop. We'd be the first ones to jump to your defense in such a situation."
"Really? Why would you and what makes you think I'd need help in the first place?"
Lucas looked at Lilith, she nodded at him, and he said, "You seem to be quite the devoted mother. You want what's best for your kids, do you not?"
"Well, duh, fool."
He frowned and continued, "Would you agree that you, your kids, and the rest of the world, for that matter, would be better off without the current Demon Lord?"
She sneered and said, "Of course it would, dumbass! Especially after that stunt he pulled recently. He wants my loyalty? Fuck him. I'm a red dragon, I answer to no one. He wants my loyalty now, after that shit? Definitely fuck him. Nobody fucks with me, especially not like that, and definitely especially not when it endangers my kids! ...What, are you saying you're going to kill him? Ha! I could wipe the four of you out without breaking a sweat, and if you couldn't beat me, there's no way you could beat him."
Lilith said, "Look, I'll be honest. We need all the help we can get. That means we need your help, too. Lucas and I may be getting a little stronger and more powerful every night, but the two of us can't handle an entire army, nor can the four of us. Not yet, anyway. That's why we're building an army to fight his. While our armies fight, the four of us will attack him directly. We'd like your help in fighting against his dragons."
Mist crossed her arms, pushing her breasts up in the process, and said, "Well, I hate the fucking bastard, especially after the paladin thing, so if you want to get rid of him, I won't stop you. If he thinks I'll abandon my pride as a red dragon and let him boss me around, he can go fuck himself. I'm not like those shameful, pathetic excuses for dragons that have sided with him. Fuck them, too, for that matter."
Before she could continue, Lucas quickly said, "Look, we understand that you don't like him, and we appreciate that you won't hinder us, but will you help us?"
Mist thought for a second and said, "Well, I suppose my warriors could aid you in that war of yours. Every little bit helps, after all. If want my direct help, though, you'll have to do something for me."
"And that would be?"
She smirked and said, "Well, I'm still worked up over that incident and the Demon Lord's bullshit. I need a little relief, if you know what I mean, but it'll have to be sufficient or I'll kill the person."
Lilith smirked back and, full of confidence, said, "If it's sexual relief, I'm a succubus. I can provide that, easily."
Lucas frowned at Lilith's offer to do so, but it softened for a moment when Mist shook her head and said, "It has to be a male. Your man's an incubus, correct? How about I have him?"
Lilith quickly stood up and said, "Hell no!"
Amarantha grabbed onto Zeraine and said, "Don't even think about it. Zeraine belongs to me."
Mist raised an eyebrow in irritation and asked, "You know my terms. They won't change. Do you want my help or not? If so, what will you do?"
Zeraine asked, "What about Sol? I mean, I know Vicky and Hilda won't like it, but they understood when Priscilla needed to feed, and they'll probably understand this time, too, right?"
Amarantha growled in frustration and said, "I'd rather not do that to them, but I don't think Cedric could handle it, and there's nobody else, unless Mist is willing to try a certain vampire..."
"I'm not. I don't care who it is, I hate vampires. Even if he could satisfy me, I'd still kill him, and that's assuming I'd even let him do anything, which I wouldn't."
Lilith sighed and said, "I'll call him," as she took out the crystal.
They looked at each other, then at the man. Lucas approached him and asked, "Are you alright? What was that about?"
The man, who looked very much like the stereotypical bandit, with his mohawk, scruffy beard, visible scars, leather outfit, multiple daggers, and a few missing teeth, slowly got up, trying to shake off what had just happened. He had a few minor cuts from the glass on the top of his head and on his face, but he was otherwise fine as far as they could see. He tried to act tough by simply dusting himself off, though he was a little off balance, most likely from his head hitting the glass. Before leaving he said, "You four might want to just move on. Mist's in a bad mood, though I don't think the bitch has ever been in a good one... Anyway, just leave and don't let her see you. You might actually get away."
The four of them looked at each other, silently debating whether they should heed his advice. In the end, however, they decided that they needed to stop for a while, eat, and rest a bit, so they entered. They all knew that the red dragon from earlier most likely switched to its human form and was inside already. Considering what they had just encountered with the bandit, they figured it was a she, and that the bandit was talking about her, and that it was she who threw him through the window.
Once inside, they looked around, seeing that while it was largely empty, the occupants were mostly shady-looking monsters, most of them orcs or goblins, with a few humans scattered throughout. The bartender, a Dark Elf, finished wiping out a glass mug and looked them over before saying, "Good afternoon, travelers. What can I get you?"
After ordering a meal, they sat down at one of the empty tables, waiting for the bartender to finish serving them their drinks. They didn't want to discuss very much where others could hear, which is why they picked a table that was about as far as possible from everyone else. Once he left to resume waiting for other drinks to be ordered, the party began chatting quietly. Lilith was first, asking, "Well, what about the red dragon from earlier?"
Amarantha, obviously agitated at the mere idea that a red dragon was nearby, asked, "What about it?"
Lucas interrupted, asking, "Ammie, you seem a bit angry. Why?"
She scoffed and said, "Silvers tend to hate reds, and the feeling is mutual. All too often we end up fighting over territory, not to mention the fact that they're pretty much all a bunch of haughty, destructive assholes that delight in wanton destruction, sometimes for the sake of instilling terror in everyone around, other times just for fun. Fortunately for us, however, we tend to kick their asses."
Lilith cleared her throat and said, "We talked before about how we need all the help we can get. I think we should try to recruit it."
Amarantha glared at her in silent protest, but Zeraine said, "I agree. The more dragons we have on our side, the more capable of fighting the Demon Lord's dragons we are."
Lucas nodded in agreement, then added, "When that day comes, we might not have to fight any dragons ourselves, but our army would definitely appreciate the extra help in keeping any and all aerial strafing runs to a minimum."
Amarantha sighed and said, "I'll have to agree as well. As much as I hate the idea of having to work with reds, we need the help, and you guys have good points. I'm sure we're also all thinking that this 'Mist' woman is the red, right? I suppose we'll look for her after we eat?"
Lilith nodded. "Yes, resting a bit before we pursue something as dangerous as a red dragon would be best, and it sounds like that woman, 'Mist', is indeed the dragon. I'm almost certain it was her that threw that man through the window, too."
A few minutes later, the bartender brought them their meals. After they ate, they decided to start asking around about Mist, but before any of them could get up out of their chairs, a woman with bright red hair that came down just past her shoulders walked out of a backroom. She had traces of blood on her hands and a little spattered on her face. They saw that her eyes were red, almost the same tint as her hair. Looking at her overall, she was quite tall. Zeraine mumbled, "She's taller than me..." From what they could see of her body, which was covered from the waist down with chainmail leggings, but had only what was basically a leather bikini top to hide her breasts, she was fairly athletic in her build. Intimately familiar with Amarantha's human form's body, he compared the two, noting that this woman's muscles were a bit bigger and more defined than Amarantha's, but didn't take away from her beauty in the least. Her breasts were also bigger than Amarantha's, and her hips were noticeably wider, too. When Amarantha saw Zeraine looking at the woman like that, she gave him a scolding glare, to which he gave an apologetic grin.
When the bartender saw her, he asked, "Hey, Mist? Can you do me a favor?"
She huffed, smirked, and answered, "Depends on the favor."
He sighed and asked, "Could you please not get blood everywhere in my tavern? It's such a pain to clean up. Why can't you beat up those thugs outside? Also, can you stop throwing people through the door's window? Replacing the glass is costly."
She shrugged and said, "Well, I suppose I could drag them outside before I beat the shit out of them. As for the window, it's their own fault if I throw them through it. If they would just be smart enough to not piss me off, it wouldn't happen."
He rubbed his temples and said, "It doesn't help matters that you've been a bit more irritable than normal lately. Is it because of that stuff that happened somewhat recently?"
"You mean the Demon Lord cranking up the lust-instilling part of his 'corruption aura'? That 'genius' idea that left me debilitatingly aroused until my anger and maternal instincts overpowered it, allowing me to just barely save my wyrmlings from that jackass paladin despite needing to masturbate so badly that I almost switched to this form in the middle of the fight so I could try to fight while fingering myself? In other words, the incident that almost got my babies killed because I was almost too fucking horny to move?" she said, getting increasingly angry as she continued. "Yes, I am fucking pissed at that dumb-fuck son-of-a-bitch's fucking idiotic move. By doing that, he, however indirectly, put my wyrmlings at risk, and nobody, I mean nobody puts my kids in danger. Nobody!"
Throughout her rant, the party looked around and noticed some of the patrons looking at her fearfully, others sympathetically. They now knew without a doubt that she was the red dragon, and after hearing her rant, they realized they had a pretty good chance of recruiting her. They decided to wait until she calmed down before attempting to approach her, however.
The bartender said, "That was a pretty rough time for all of us. Sure, it hit the women harder than the men, but we all suffered. I think we all sympathize with your feelings, but the Demon Lord is just too strong and cruel for us to do anything."
Mist spat a small burst of fire from her mouth and said, "The only reason I haven't killed that motherfucker is because me being gone would endanger my kids."
"You mean because not even you can handle him, and you don't want your children to end up without a mother, right?" he asked, receiving a death-glare in return.
Mist then noticed the party, and after huffing and dismissively turning away from the bartender, she approached and haughtily asked, "Who the fuck are you four and what are you doing in my territory? Oh, and you can drop your disguise, little succubus. I can see right through it. The silver can stay in human form, though, because transforming would destroy my tavern."
Lilith was stunned for a moment, but managed to recover herself and ask, "How can you see through it?"
Amarantha quickly added, "Yeah, and how can you tell I'm a silver dragon? And what do you mean 'your tavern'?"
Mist laughed and said, "I'm a red dragon. I can see things for what they really are, and I can tell when someone is a dragon in human form."
Amarantha asked, "Shouldn't I also be able to?"
"If you can't, it's probably because you're not old enough yet. Don't worry, though. If you'd like, I can flush your head of all that bullshit you've learned so far and teach you what it really means to be a dragon."
"Thanks for the offer, but no. I'd rather not deal with a horrendously overinflated ego right now."
Mist and Amarantha glared at each other, each trying to stare the other down. Lucas interrupted by saying, "Judging by your rant earlier, you're not on good terms with the Demon Lord."
Without breaking the glaring match, Mist arrogantly said, "What was your first clue?"
"Is there a place where the five of us can talk privately?" he asked.
Still glaring at Amarantha, Mist said, "No way in hell are you leading me off to some secluded place."
Lilith said, "If you're worried we're trying to trick you so we can kill you and take whatever treasure you have, then stop. We'd be the first ones to jump to your defense in such a situation."
"Really? Why would you and what makes you think I'd need help in the first place?"
Lucas looked at Lilith, she nodded at him, and he said, "You seem to be quite the devoted mother. You want what's best for your kids, do you not?"
"Well, duh, fool."
He frowned and continued, "Would you agree that you, your kids, and the rest of the world, for that matter, would be better off without the current Demon Lord?"
She sneered and said, "Of course it would, dumbass! Especially after that stunt he pulled recently. He wants my loyalty? Fuck him. I'm a red dragon, I answer to no one. He wants my loyalty now, after that shit? Definitely fuck him. Nobody fucks with me, especially not like that, and definitely especially not when it endangers my kids! ...What, are you saying you're going to kill him? Ha! I could wipe the four of you out without breaking a sweat, and if you couldn't beat me, there's no way you could beat him."
Lilith said, "Look, I'll be honest. We need all the help we can get. That means we need your help, too. Lucas and I may be getting a little stronger and more powerful every night, but the two of us can't handle an entire army, nor can the four of us. Not yet, anyway. That's why we're building an army to fight his. While our armies fight, the four of us will attack him directly. We'd like your help in fighting against his dragons."
Mist crossed her arms, pushing her breasts up in the process, and said, "Well, I hate the fucking bastard, especially after the paladin thing, so if you want to get rid of him, I won't stop you. If he thinks I'll abandon my pride as a red dragon and let him boss me around, he can go fuck himself. I'm not like those shameful, pathetic excuses for dragons that have sided with him. Fuck them, too, for that matter."
Before she could continue, Lucas quickly said, "Look, we understand that you don't like him, and we appreciate that you won't hinder us, but will you help us?"
Mist thought for a second and said, "Well, I suppose my warriors could aid you in that war of yours. Every little bit helps, after all. If want my direct help, though, you'll have to do something for me."
"And that would be?"
She smirked and said, "Well, I'm still worked up over that incident and the Demon Lord's bullshit. I need a little relief, if you know what I mean, but it'll have to be sufficient or I'll kill the person."
Lilith smirked back and, full of confidence, said, "If it's sexual relief, I'm a succubus. I can provide that, easily."
Lucas frowned at Lilith's offer to do so, but it softened for a moment when Mist shook her head and said, "It has to be a male. Your man's an incubus, correct? How about I have him?"
Lilith quickly stood up and said, "Hell no!"
Amarantha grabbed onto Zeraine and said, "Don't even think about it. Zeraine belongs to me."
Mist raised an eyebrow in irritation and asked, "You know my terms. They won't change. Do you want my help or not? If so, what will you do?"
Zeraine asked, "What about Sol? I mean, I know Vicky and Hilda won't like it, but they understood when Priscilla needed to feed, and they'll probably understand this time, too, right?"
Amarantha growled in frustration and said, "I'd rather not do that to them, but I don't think Cedric could handle it, and there's nobody else, unless Mist is willing to try a certain vampire..."
"I'm not. I don't care who it is, I hate vampires. Even if he could satisfy me, I'd still kill him, and that's assuming I'd even let him do anything, which I wouldn't."
Lilith sighed and said, "I'll call him," as she took out the crystal.
Chapter 163
Spoiler: show
When Sol answered, Lilith asked, "How's it going?"
He sighed and said, "Alright, I guess. I had some decent business this morning, but now it looks like there won't be any more customers today. I'm pretty bored, so I'm considering closing up shop for today so I can spend time with Vicky and Hilda. Other than that, I'm good."
Lilith hesitantly said, "Well, we need your help. You should probably go ahead and close up for the day and then come see us."
Sounding interested, he asked, "What, you need potions? Scrolls? Enchanted items?"
"No. We need your help with someone, and it'd probably be best if you brought Vicky and Hilda."
"Hmm... So you're near Lavender Fields, huh? It's a shame they ruined it. I'll be right there."
After the crystal dimmed, Lilith put it away. As she did, Lucas asked, "What did he mean?"
"You know the flower, lavender? Well, the place was named after the huge fields of those flowers they used to have. The Demon Lord had them burned down and the land scorched and salted, just for his own amusement. He dictated that the name will stay the same to serve as a reminder of his power and authority."
Lucas looked at Mist and asked, "Were you the one that did it?"
Mist scowled at him and answered, "No, moron. Look, I may be a red dragon, but I do appreciate beauty, and I liked the scenery back then. It was my predecessor, the previous owner of my lair, that did it. I don't know if he was under the Demon Lord's mind control or if he did it of his own will, but if I had to guess, I'd say it was the former. I don't really care either way, and you shouldn't either because I killed him."
"Was he also a red dragon?" Lucas asked.
Mist nodded and said, "Yep. The fool was younger than me, but aside from that, I didn't know much about him. I didn't care to, either. Any dragon that falls in with the Demon Lord, be it through mind control or by their own choice, has abandoned their draconic pride and doesn't deserve to live."
"And I suppose you believe that dragons are naturally superior to all other beings, and that they're throwing away that superiority by submitting to someone else or allowing someone to have authority over them, be they dragon or not, right?" asked Sol, who had arrived unnoticed with Victoria and Hilda in tow.
Mist smirked arrogantly and said, "Exactly. And don't mistake this for some Elf-like bullshit. Those tree-huggers are just pretenders. We dragons are the real deal."
Sol scoffed and gave a somewhat admiring smirk, and then said, "She's certainly feisty." He looked at Lilith and asked, "So, you called me for...?"
"Well, um..." she said, glancing at Mist, who let out an authoritative snort.
"She called you here because they want my help, but can't meet my conditions themselves," she said, grinning superiorly.
"And those conditions would be?" Sol asked, crossing his arms while his lovers looked back and forth between Sol, Mist, and the others.
Mist's grin faded a bit as she said, "Maybe we should give you a little context, first. Have your little lizard lovers acted abnormally lately?"
"No. Why?"
"Then I guess it's the demonic energy's effects. You see..."
She went on to tell him what had happened, with the party confirming and adding to her story at times. After hearing it all, Sol asked, "So that's the context. Sounds like it was pretty bad. I guess we weren't affected because we're so far away from him and the Demon Realm. Anyway, what are your conditions?"
She put her hands on her hips, smirked, and stuck her chest out a bit, then said, "After the bastard's bullshit, I need a little 'relief', and I refuse to help your cause myself if I have to relieve myself, and though the succubus was willing to do it, I refused because it has to be a male. From the sound of things, they could only either have one of the men cheat on their partners, send a vampire to his death, or have you take care of it."
As Sol pondered this, Zeraine asked, "What about Cedric?"
Sol snickered, which turned into muffled laughter, and said, "With his personality? The two of them would be at each other's throats, and then she'd probably kill him. And I assume the vampire you're talking about is Viktor. I'm guessing she hates vampires because of how proud and stuck up they tend to be, and Viktor's no exception, so rather than discuss that further, I guess we should return to the situation at hand. You want me to have sex with her so she'll help us in the final battle, correct?"
Mist said, "Not just sex, little incubus. You have to relieve and satisfy me. If you fail, I'll kill you, take care of it myself, and the only help your friends will get out of me will be some warriors to help their army. Sure, you could refuse to even try, which would ensure your safety and allow you to go home with your lizards with no worries, but your friends will still only get some warriors."
"In other words, 'no risk, no reward'?"
"That's right. If you need time to talk it over, I'll wait. Just don't make me wait for too long, alright?"
Sol sighed and said, "Okay, you four and I need to talk," pointing at the party. He walked out of the tavern and they followed him, as did Victoria and Hilda. Once outside, he crossed his arms and frowned at them. "Look, I get that none of you want to be unfaithful to your respective partners, even in a situation like this. I get that you need all the help you can get. I understand that you- that we, can't forego this opportunity, I really do. But damn it, I don't like having to be unfaithful to my lovers, either! Priscilla was acceptable because she compromised on simply blowing me for my cum, and that ended in her having to sit on her knees in front of me with her mouth open while Vicky and Hilda tended to me, ending in me putting the head in at the last second and filling her mouth. In other words, there was no penetration. In this situation, you're asking me to go all the way with someone who isn't Vicky or Hilda. You understand what I'm getting at, right?"
Victoria closed her eyes, sighed, and said, "Sol, let me say this right now. I really, really hate the thought of sharing you, and Hilda only gets a pass because it's mutual love between you two, like it is between you and me, and I like her enough to be willing to share you with her, you know, because we're friends, but this? I hate to admit it, but they're right. We need the help, and if me sharing you with that bitch once will get it, then that's what we'll have to do. I don't like it at all, I wish there was another way, and I'd rather bite my own tail off than share you with her, but it must be done. I'm going to be in the room, though."
Hilda nodded in agreement and said, "Yeah, I feel the same as her. I'm pissed about this, but I can't really do anything about it. I'm going to be there, too. I can't let her hurt you, you know?"
Amarantha stepped forward and said, "Look Sol, I'm sorry. If I thought we could do it without her, I'd be hell-bent on you not doing this, but..."
"I know, Ammie. I know."
"Just in case this is the last time..." Amarantha hugged Sol and continued, "You're like a brother to me, Sol. Good luck."
Sol started laughing and said, "Thanks, sis, but I don't need luck for this." He gently broke her embrace and continued, "All I have to do is give her a good fucking. Being that I'm an incubus, and after some of the sexual feats I pulled off with these two," he said, gesturing at Victoria and Hilda, "I think I can handle her, no problem."
Amarantha's expression changed from worry to confidence. She then smiled and slapped him on the back hard enough to knock him forward a few steps before saying, "Right. See if you can fuck her into submission and make her eat those words, okay?"
"You mean those about not abandoning her pride and submitting to anyone? I'll see what I can do," he said, grinning confidently.
Amarantha paused for a moment and said, "Hey, I was just joking! Sol!?"
He gave her a thumbs-up and walked back into the tavern, everyone following him, some of them nervous, others in a panic or near-panic. He strode right up to Mist, stood right in front of her, their height difference very apparent, and said, "Challenge accepted."
She smirked and said, "You sound confident."
"I'm an incubus, a natural master of sex. What makes you think I can't satisfy you?"
"No other male has, and I've been with many."
"Really? 'Many', huh? A bit promiscuous for a proud red dragon, isn't it?"
"Watch your mouth, little boy!" she snapped. "Piss me off and I'll kill you where you stand. Now then, are you really so stupid as to think a dragon would go without sex for over 400 years?"
"Don't call me 'little boy', you she-ogre."
"What did you call me!?"
"So you're over 400 years old?"
"Yes. What of it?"
"Want to be a bit more specific?"
"Over 450 years old, and that's as specific as you'll get, you cheeky little bastard."
"And no male has ever satisfied you? Not even once?"
"What's with these sudden questions? Like I said, nobody has. Ever. Not my first, nor the second, the one who sired my wyrmlings; none of them. If you can, I'll be very impressed."
"Alright then, you hot-headed MILF, let's get to it."
"What was that?"
"MILF. It's an acronym that stands for 'Mother I'd Like to Fuck'."
Mist paused for a moment, then smirked, apparently regaining her cool. "You know, most people would have cowered in fear by now. You didn't. You even admitted to wanting me. I must say you've got balls, little man."
"Yeah, and I'll show them to you as soon as we get your sexy giantess ass naked," he said, giving her a challenging grin.
She frowned and said, "I'm a dragon, you fool. Stop calling me 'she-ogre' and 'giantess' unless you want to die."
He scoffed and said, "If you did that, you'd be missing out on having a more-than-able, very willing man that has offered himself to you."
She huffed and grabbed him by the back of his head, then shoved his face into her ample cleavage. "Don't make the mistake of thinking that I'm in a bind for partners. I can have anyone I want. I just find it to be less of a headache if they're willing. And don't forget that this is part of my terms. If you prove to be too much of a pain in the ass, I can cancel my offer."
She let out a little gasp of surprise when Sol grabbed her breasts and squeezed, slipping away from her grip and using Telekinesis to readjust his glasses as he pulled his face out of her cleavage. "And don't underestimate me! By insinuating that I, an incubus, can't please you, you're selling me short!" he shouted as he yanked her top off, exposing her large breasts. He grabbed them again and began tweaking her pink nipples as he asked, "Have you ever had an incubus before?"
She was stunned for a second, but recovered as soon as he grabbed her bare breasts and glared down at him. "I've had wardrobe malfunctions before, so don't think that you've gotten the upper hand, you bold little bastard. And no, I've never had an incubus. So what? How old are you, anyway?" she asked, putting her hands on his waist.
He smirked arrogantly and said, "In my 90s, and that's as specific as you'll get, you big-breasted bully." He then lightly pinched one nipple as he slid his other hand down her toned belly toward her pants, forcing her to stifle a moan.
As soon as his fingers slipped past the waist of her pants, she grabbed him by the wrist, pulled his hand back away from her lower half, and growled through gritted teeth, "You ballsy little brat!" She then slapped his other hand away from her boobs, picked him up, and began carrying him up the nearby stairs, growling, "I'll teach you not to fuck with me."
He teasingly said, "I thought fucking was exactly what we were going to do. Was I wrong?"
"Shut up!" she yelled as carried him off to one of the rooms upstairs. Victoria grabbed Mist's discarded top and she, along with Hilda, followed the two of them.
"Don't break the bed!" the bartender called out after them.
Lilith asked, "Is he going to be alright?"
Amarantha facepalmed and said, "That idiot! What possessed him to say and do that?"
Just then, an orc, one of the tavern patrons, approached Amarantha and said, "My condolences, ma'am."
"For what?" she asked.
"After that exchange, he may have signed his own death warrant. I'd chalk him up as dead."
The bartender then called out, "Place your bets."
Amaranth asked, "And what exactly is everyone betting on?"
The orc replied, "How long he lives and how well he does."
"Nobody's betting on him succeeding and living?"
"You can, but you'd likely be throwing your money away."
As the orc walked over to place his bet, Amarantha looked at the others, obviously angry. "You guys want to make some money?"
Lucas asked, "You mean by betting?"
Amarantha nodded. "Seeing everyone count him as dead, not even considering that he might succeed, pisses me off. I want to put 200 coins on him 'winning'."
Zeraine smiled and said, "If you have faith in him, then I will, too. Go ahead, I say."
Lilith took out a pouch, counted out 200 coins, put them in it, and handed it to Amarantha. "Do it."
She took the pouch, nodded, and walked over to the bar, placed the pouch on it, and said, "200 coins says he'll pull it off."
Some snickering was heard among the other patrons, then the bartender asked, "Are you sure you want to place this bet? If you lose, you won't get the money back, and if you can't afford to pay up in full, in this case 200 coins to each person who placed the winning bet, the debt could be nasty."
She looked around at the other patrons, seeing that there were about 10, then said, "Okay, how about just 100, then?"
"Okay, then." The bartender accepted the bet and the other patrons grinned, confident that she'd lose. He then said as he marked down the bet, "Remember, what you bet is what you pay to the winner or winners. If you lose, you'll owe 100 coins to each winner. If you win, you'll get what each loser bet. There's a couple thousand here right now, and since you're the only one betting that he'll live, you'd get the whole thing if you won, minus 10%, which goes to me, the one keeping the books. If those that bet he won't last long enough for her win, you'd owe each of them 100 gold, and everyone else who placed losing bets would owe what they bet to each winner, as well."
"Fine," she said. "Tell me, does everyone always bet when she gets a new partner?"
The bartender nodded and said, "Yes, we bet on each incident, usually as to how well the man will perform. Nobody has ever bet on one succeeding before."
"You realize that's betting against them to varying degrees?"
"Yes, but so far, none have been able to perform. It's the safest bet."
Amarantha, still frowning, huffed defiantly and began waiting for the results.
He sighed and said, "Alright, I guess. I had some decent business this morning, but now it looks like there won't be any more customers today. I'm pretty bored, so I'm considering closing up shop for today so I can spend time with Vicky and Hilda. Other than that, I'm good."
Lilith hesitantly said, "Well, we need your help. You should probably go ahead and close up for the day and then come see us."
Sounding interested, he asked, "What, you need potions? Scrolls? Enchanted items?"
"No. We need your help with someone, and it'd probably be best if you brought Vicky and Hilda."
"Hmm... So you're near Lavender Fields, huh? It's a shame they ruined it. I'll be right there."
After the crystal dimmed, Lilith put it away. As she did, Lucas asked, "What did he mean?"
"You know the flower, lavender? Well, the place was named after the huge fields of those flowers they used to have. The Demon Lord had them burned down and the land scorched and salted, just for his own amusement. He dictated that the name will stay the same to serve as a reminder of his power and authority."
Lucas looked at Mist and asked, "Were you the one that did it?"
Mist scowled at him and answered, "No, moron. Look, I may be a red dragon, but I do appreciate beauty, and I liked the scenery back then. It was my predecessor, the previous owner of my lair, that did it. I don't know if he was under the Demon Lord's mind control or if he did it of his own will, but if I had to guess, I'd say it was the former. I don't really care either way, and you shouldn't either because I killed him."
"Was he also a red dragon?" Lucas asked.
Mist nodded and said, "Yep. The fool was younger than me, but aside from that, I didn't know much about him. I didn't care to, either. Any dragon that falls in with the Demon Lord, be it through mind control or by their own choice, has abandoned their draconic pride and doesn't deserve to live."
"And I suppose you believe that dragons are naturally superior to all other beings, and that they're throwing away that superiority by submitting to someone else or allowing someone to have authority over them, be they dragon or not, right?" asked Sol, who had arrived unnoticed with Victoria and Hilda in tow.
Mist smirked arrogantly and said, "Exactly. And don't mistake this for some Elf-like bullshit. Those tree-huggers are just pretenders. We dragons are the real deal."
Sol scoffed and gave a somewhat admiring smirk, and then said, "She's certainly feisty." He looked at Lilith and asked, "So, you called me for...?"
"Well, um..." she said, glancing at Mist, who let out an authoritative snort.
"She called you here because they want my help, but can't meet my conditions themselves," she said, grinning superiorly.
"And those conditions would be?" Sol asked, crossing his arms while his lovers looked back and forth between Sol, Mist, and the others.
Mist's grin faded a bit as she said, "Maybe we should give you a little context, first. Have your little lizard lovers acted abnormally lately?"
"No. Why?"
"Then I guess it's the demonic energy's effects. You see..."
She went on to tell him what had happened, with the party confirming and adding to her story at times. After hearing it all, Sol asked, "So that's the context. Sounds like it was pretty bad. I guess we weren't affected because we're so far away from him and the Demon Realm. Anyway, what are your conditions?"
She put her hands on her hips, smirked, and stuck her chest out a bit, then said, "After the bastard's bullshit, I need a little 'relief', and I refuse to help your cause myself if I have to relieve myself, and though the succubus was willing to do it, I refused because it has to be a male. From the sound of things, they could only either have one of the men cheat on their partners, send a vampire to his death, or have you take care of it."
As Sol pondered this, Zeraine asked, "What about Cedric?"
Sol snickered, which turned into muffled laughter, and said, "With his personality? The two of them would be at each other's throats, and then she'd probably kill him. And I assume the vampire you're talking about is Viktor. I'm guessing she hates vampires because of how proud and stuck up they tend to be, and Viktor's no exception, so rather than discuss that further, I guess we should return to the situation at hand. You want me to have sex with her so she'll help us in the final battle, correct?"
Mist said, "Not just sex, little incubus. You have to relieve and satisfy me. If you fail, I'll kill you, take care of it myself, and the only help your friends will get out of me will be some warriors to help their army. Sure, you could refuse to even try, which would ensure your safety and allow you to go home with your lizards with no worries, but your friends will still only get some warriors."
"In other words, 'no risk, no reward'?"
"That's right. If you need time to talk it over, I'll wait. Just don't make me wait for too long, alright?"
Sol sighed and said, "Okay, you four and I need to talk," pointing at the party. He walked out of the tavern and they followed him, as did Victoria and Hilda. Once outside, he crossed his arms and frowned at them. "Look, I get that none of you want to be unfaithful to your respective partners, even in a situation like this. I get that you need all the help you can get. I understand that you- that we, can't forego this opportunity, I really do. But damn it, I don't like having to be unfaithful to my lovers, either! Priscilla was acceptable because she compromised on simply blowing me for my cum, and that ended in her having to sit on her knees in front of me with her mouth open while Vicky and Hilda tended to me, ending in me putting the head in at the last second and filling her mouth. In other words, there was no penetration. In this situation, you're asking me to go all the way with someone who isn't Vicky or Hilda. You understand what I'm getting at, right?"
Victoria closed her eyes, sighed, and said, "Sol, let me say this right now. I really, really hate the thought of sharing you, and Hilda only gets a pass because it's mutual love between you two, like it is between you and me, and I like her enough to be willing to share you with her, you know, because we're friends, but this? I hate to admit it, but they're right. We need the help, and if me sharing you with that bitch once will get it, then that's what we'll have to do. I don't like it at all, I wish there was another way, and I'd rather bite my own tail off than share you with her, but it must be done. I'm going to be in the room, though."
Hilda nodded in agreement and said, "Yeah, I feel the same as her. I'm pissed about this, but I can't really do anything about it. I'm going to be there, too. I can't let her hurt you, you know?"
Amarantha stepped forward and said, "Look Sol, I'm sorry. If I thought we could do it without her, I'd be hell-bent on you not doing this, but..."
"I know, Ammie. I know."
"Just in case this is the last time..." Amarantha hugged Sol and continued, "You're like a brother to me, Sol. Good luck."
Sol started laughing and said, "Thanks, sis, but I don't need luck for this." He gently broke her embrace and continued, "All I have to do is give her a good fucking. Being that I'm an incubus, and after some of the sexual feats I pulled off with these two," he said, gesturing at Victoria and Hilda, "I think I can handle her, no problem."
Amarantha's expression changed from worry to confidence. She then smiled and slapped him on the back hard enough to knock him forward a few steps before saying, "Right. See if you can fuck her into submission and make her eat those words, okay?"
"You mean those about not abandoning her pride and submitting to anyone? I'll see what I can do," he said, grinning confidently.
Amarantha paused for a moment and said, "Hey, I was just joking! Sol!?"
He gave her a thumbs-up and walked back into the tavern, everyone following him, some of them nervous, others in a panic or near-panic. He strode right up to Mist, stood right in front of her, their height difference very apparent, and said, "Challenge accepted."
She smirked and said, "You sound confident."
"I'm an incubus, a natural master of sex. What makes you think I can't satisfy you?"
"No other male has, and I've been with many."
"Really? 'Many', huh? A bit promiscuous for a proud red dragon, isn't it?"
"Watch your mouth, little boy!" she snapped. "Piss me off and I'll kill you where you stand. Now then, are you really so stupid as to think a dragon would go without sex for over 400 years?"
"Don't call me 'little boy', you she-ogre."
"What did you call me!?"
"So you're over 400 years old?"
"Yes. What of it?"
"Want to be a bit more specific?"
"Over 450 years old, and that's as specific as you'll get, you cheeky little bastard."
"And no male has ever satisfied you? Not even once?"
"What's with these sudden questions? Like I said, nobody has. Ever. Not my first, nor the second, the one who sired my wyrmlings; none of them. If you can, I'll be very impressed."
"Alright then, you hot-headed MILF, let's get to it."
"What was that?"
"MILF. It's an acronym that stands for 'Mother I'd Like to Fuck'."
Mist paused for a moment, then smirked, apparently regaining her cool. "You know, most people would have cowered in fear by now. You didn't. You even admitted to wanting me. I must say you've got balls, little man."
"Yeah, and I'll show them to you as soon as we get your sexy giantess ass naked," he said, giving her a challenging grin.
She frowned and said, "I'm a dragon, you fool. Stop calling me 'she-ogre' and 'giantess' unless you want to die."
He scoffed and said, "If you did that, you'd be missing out on having a more-than-able, very willing man that has offered himself to you."
She huffed and grabbed him by the back of his head, then shoved his face into her ample cleavage. "Don't make the mistake of thinking that I'm in a bind for partners. I can have anyone I want. I just find it to be less of a headache if they're willing. And don't forget that this is part of my terms. If you prove to be too much of a pain in the ass, I can cancel my offer."
She let out a little gasp of surprise when Sol grabbed her breasts and squeezed, slipping away from her grip and using Telekinesis to readjust his glasses as he pulled his face out of her cleavage. "And don't underestimate me! By insinuating that I, an incubus, can't please you, you're selling me short!" he shouted as he yanked her top off, exposing her large breasts. He grabbed them again and began tweaking her pink nipples as he asked, "Have you ever had an incubus before?"
She was stunned for a second, but recovered as soon as he grabbed her bare breasts and glared down at him. "I've had wardrobe malfunctions before, so don't think that you've gotten the upper hand, you bold little bastard. And no, I've never had an incubus. So what? How old are you, anyway?" she asked, putting her hands on his waist.
He smirked arrogantly and said, "In my 90s, and that's as specific as you'll get, you big-breasted bully." He then lightly pinched one nipple as he slid his other hand down her toned belly toward her pants, forcing her to stifle a moan.
As soon as his fingers slipped past the waist of her pants, she grabbed him by the wrist, pulled his hand back away from her lower half, and growled through gritted teeth, "You ballsy little brat!" She then slapped his other hand away from her boobs, picked him up, and began carrying him up the nearby stairs, growling, "I'll teach you not to fuck with me."
He teasingly said, "I thought fucking was exactly what we were going to do. Was I wrong?"
"Shut up!" she yelled as carried him off to one of the rooms upstairs. Victoria grabbed Mist's discarded top and she, along with Hilda, followed the two of them.
"Don't break the bed!" the bartender called out after them.
Lilith asked, "Is he going to be alright?"
Amarantha facepalmed and said, "That idiot! What possessed him to say and do that?"
Just then, an orc, one of the tavern patrons, approached Amarantha and said, "My condolences, ma'am."
"For what?" she asked.
"After that exchange, he may have signed his own death warrant. I'd chalk him up as dead."
The bartender then called out, "Place your bets."
Amaranth asked, "And what exactly is everyone betting on?"
The orc replied, "How long he lives and how well he does."
"Nobody's betting on him succeeding and living?"
"You can, but you'd likely be throwing your money away."
As the orc walked over to place his bet, Amarantha looked at the others, obviously angry. "You guys want to make some money?"
Lucas asked, "You mean by betting?"
Amarantha nodded. "Seeing everyone count him as dead, not even considering that he might succeed, pisses me off. I want to put 200 coins on him 'winning'."
Zeraine smiled and said, "If you have faith in him, then I will, too. Go ahead, I say."
Lilith took out a pouch, counted out 200 coins, put them in it, and handed it to Amarantha. "Do it."
She took the pouch, nodded, and walked over to the bar, placed the pouch on it, and said, "200 coins says he'll pull it off."
Some snickering was heard among the other patrons, then the bartender asked, "Are you sure you want to place this bet? If you lose, you won't get the money back, and if you can't afford to pay up in full, in this case 200 coins to each person who placed the winning bet, the debt could be nasty."
She looked around at the other patrons, seeing that there were about 10, then said, "Okay, how about just 100, then?"
"Okay, then." The bartender accepted the bet and the other patrons grinned, confident that she'd lose. He then said as he marked down the bet, "Remember, what you bet is what you pay to the winner or winners. If you lose, you'll owe 100 coins to each winner. If you win, you'll get what each loser bet. There's a couple thousand here right now, and since you're the only one betting that he'll live, you'd get the whole thing if you won, minus 10%, which goes to me, the one keeping the books. If those that bet he won't last long enough for her win, you'd owe each of them 100 gold, and everyone else who placed losing bets would owe what they bet to each winner, as well."
"Fine," she said. "Tell me, does everyone always bet when she gets a new partner?"
The bartender nodded and said, "Yes, we bet on each incident, usually as to how well the man will perform. Nobody has ever bet on one succeeding before."
"You realize that's betting against them to varying degrees?"
"Yes, but so far, none have been able to perform. It's the safest bet."
Amarantha, still frowning, huffed defiantly and began waiting for the results.
Chapter 164
Spoiler: show
About two hours later, everyone heard one of the doors upstairs slam open. The bartender sighed and mumbled, "Did she put another hole in the wall?"
Next, they heard Sol shout, "Hey! S-stop! Goddamn it, I'm not a sack of wheat!"
At first, Amarantha wanted to grin smugly at everyone, seeing as how Sol was still alive, but his complaint confused her, and everyone else in the tavern, for that matter. They all watched the stairs intently, waiting. Soon, Mist came down, carrying Sol under her arm while Victoria and Hilda followed. Mist was beaming, but Sol and his lovers looked angry, or at least very disgruntled. Sol tried to look up at her, but his view of her face was obscured by her big breasts, which were now covered again by her top. "Put me down, damn it!"
Without changing her expression or even glancing down at him, she replied, "Not gonna happen."
As he growled in frustration, Lilith asked, "What, exactly, did happen?"
"If you want me to recount what all he did, forget it. I honestly can't even remember about half of it, anyway. I was too busy enjoying it to focus on what he was doing. If you're wondering about this," she said, slightly hefting Sol, causing him to grunt from the sudden pressure to his body, "I'm keeping him."
Everyone in the tavern was dumbfounded, except for Sol, Victoria, and Hilda, who were visibly upset, to say the least. Amarantha got up and approached, a worried expression on her face. "Wait, what do you mean by that?"
Mist held back from laughing and said, "He's the first male to ever satisfy me. There's no fucking way I'm letting him get away. I'm keeping his lizards, too."
"You're not going to kill him?" Amarantha asked, sounding a bit relieved.
"Kill him?" Mist echoed. "No fucking way! He's too valuable. Don't worry, I won't let any harm come to him or his lizards. I couldn't afford to, you see."
"You!" Sol shouted, pointing at Lilith. "Get started on making this up to me!"
Lilith recoiled in surprise and asked, "What do you mean?"
"Polymorph spell! What will she look like after your plan?"
Mist was obviously curious about what they meant, but she stayed silent for the moment. Lilith nodded, understanding. "Ah, I get it. Since you're hers now, you at least want the ability to see her 'final form' and stuff. I'll do that as soon as I get a good look at her true form."
Unable to hold back any longer, Mist asked, "What are you talking about?"
Lilith smiled and said, "You'll see. Just show me your true form so I can make the spell."
Now driven by curiosity, Mist headed outside, still carrying Sol under her arm. Victoria and Hilda followed, both of them silently fuming. Amarantha smiled big and turned to the bartender and other patrons. "Looks like I win the bet."
The bartender chuckled and said, "That you do, miss."
"Missus," Amarantha corrected, showing the wedding ring.
"Oh. Well, you win, so here's your money..." He gathered up the money, counted it, did his calculations, and gave her the winnings. "Congratulations. Your friend sure is something. Mist has never taken such a liking to anyone as far as I know. I don't know if that's a good or bad thing, though... Anyway, good luck."
"Thanks." She returned to the others and proudly presented the bag of gold. "How much do we have now?"
After adding it up, Lilith said, "We now have 3,217 gold. Great move, Ammie."
"Somehow I knew he could do it."
Lucas led the party out of the tavern as Lilith said, "You know, if you think about it, he was almost guaranteed to succeed on the sex part, so that's no surprise. Him still living after acting like he did? That's the shocker. Either he must have done really well, or there's something else we don't know about."
Still holding Sol under her arm, Mist asked, "You wanted to see my true form?"
Lilith nodded and said, "I know that means you'll have to put him down, but yes."
"It's not like I can escape, anyway," Sol grumbled.
Mist grinned proudly, set Sol down, ruffled his hair, which made him growl in irritation, then walked several steps away. "You ready for this?" she asked haughtily. Her body became enveloped in light, then her form changed. As soon as she finished reverting and the light faded, she spread her massive wings and roared, rearing up on her hind legs in the process while letting loose a huge blast of flame from her mouth that reached at least 50 feet into the air. She dropped back down to all fours with a ground-shaking stomp, then snorted and asked, "Well?"
Her massive form, bigger than Amarantha's true form, and her sinister appearance, typical of red dragons, was quite daunting, but the party knew they had nothing to fear, at least for the moment. Lilith smirked and said, "Yep, I can already imagine it. Give me a few minutes and I'll have it ready."
Having fixed his hair, Sol suddenly found himself right in front of Mist's snout as she gave him a toothy smile. Unlike most people, who would have cowered at the sight, Sol stood there, frowning and unflinching as her hot breath washed over him. "What?" he asked, obviously perturbed. "Your breath stinks."
She furrowed her brows. "I'll choose to ignore that comment. So what's the deal? What's this polymorph spell supposed to do?"
Sol crossed his arms and said, "Sulfur stinks, your breath smells of sulfur, therefore your breath stinks. It's not an insult; it's a statement of fact. How you choose to take it is not my concern. As for the polymorph spell, I'll demonstrate. Vicky? Hilda?"
They stepped forward, both of them still upset. Sol cast the polymorph spells on them, and Mist looked them over. "So the spell is supposed to make me look about like that? Half-human, half-dragon?" Sol nodded, to which she raised back up and said, "How about we go to my lair, first? I've got a nice mirror there and I want to see what I'll look like. It's this way."
Without waiting for anyone to agree, she turned to walk away, then quickly turned back and snatched Sol up in her mouth, much to his shock and displeasure, and that of Victoria and Hilda. Victoria and Hilda were unable to form the proper sentences necessary for protesting, and the party was stunned with surprise. Once Mist had raised her head back up, Sol groaned and mumbled, "Ugh! Sticky saliva and bad breath..." which provoked a laugh from Mist. He then yelled, "This isn't funny!" which provoked another laugh.
The party snapped out of it and followed, as did Sol's employees. Mist walked along, almost prancing as she led them to her lair, a humongous underground cavern, the entrance to which was in the side of a hill near a giant patch of woods. Once inside the main chamber, Mist set him down as gently as she could, which amounted to her bringing her head down to the ground and dropping him on it. Keeping an eye on him, she called out, "Mommy's home!" After a few seconds, she cocked her head to the side and said, "Huh. I guess they're still hunting." She then faced Amarantha and Lilith and said, "Return to your true forms." They looked at each other, then back to her, and she said, "My home, my rules. True forms, now."
As Lilith cancelled her disguise spell and Amarantha reverted to her true form, Sol groaned. "Fucking gross," he mumbled as he washed himself off with Waterspout.
As he dried himself off via Flame Cloak, Mist said, "You didn't complain earlier when you were sucking up every drop of my saliva you could while probing my mouth with your tongue."
"That's different! I don't mind you licking my body, leaving a trail of saliva due to increased salivation as a result of sexual arousal, I don't mind us swapping spit when we kiss, and I don't mind drinking your saliva after you pull your tongue out of my mouth. That's all when you're in your human form, of course. What I do mind is you doing what you just did, putting me in your mouth and soaking me in your drool!"
She snorted and said, "Stop complaining. You got to fuck a dragon, and said dragon will be occasionally fucking you from now on. Be glad you have such a privilege." She turned to Amarantha, who was now in her true form, and grinned, obviously enjoying looking down on the smaller silver dragon. "You've still got some growing to do, little silver. And you're definitely still too young to have True Sight, or the ability to sense other dragons, which I think is derived from it." She looked at Lilith and said, "Now what's this polymorph spell about?"
Lilith said, "I've almost got it finished. We'll show you when it's done."
Mist looked disappointed, but before she could comment, Lucas raised his hand and said, "I have a few questions." She looked at him quizzically and nodded, so he asked, "Is it true that dragons eat some of the treasure they collect?"
Mist raised an eyebrow, cocking her head to the side as she reared back, then she started laughing. "What idiot thought that up? You humans and your ridiculous stories, I swear... No, we don't."
"What about the stories of red dragons eating virgin women?"
Mist closed her eyes and sighed. "Well, we reds are primarily meat-eaters, and though it pains me to admit it, not all of us are wise. Some, mostly the younger ones, hear about those stories and try to reenact them to make themselves that much more intimidating or fearsome. We wiser reds stick to wildlife, unless we prefer human food, then we use our human forms to blend in and barter for it, because we realize that trouble is bad for us, and trying to raid a village, town, or city for such food only causes problems for us. In other words, yes, the less intelligent, younger reds do, but most of us don't. For the record, I've never eaten humans or Elves before nor do I intend to."
"How did you deal with that paladin you were talking about earlier?"
"I bit him in half at the waist and threw the top half into the forest for the scavengers, then picked up the bottom half and threw it into the forest in a different direction. The bastard deserved worse, but I couldn't enact the proper punishment at the time, so I had to settle for that."
"You said your kids were still out hunting? How long does it usually take?"
Mist grinned proudly and said, "My babies are strong and smart, and rightly so, considering that I'm their mother. They stick together when they go out, and the three of them together can handle anything in the forest. Sure, when some self-righteous fool comes along claiming to be doing 'the Chief God's work' or some other stupid shit involving the killing of dragons, I have to step in, but such things are very rare. My instincts as a mother would alert me to something like that, anyway, and the alarms aren't going off, so I know my kids are safe."
Just then, everyone heard some noise coming from the entrance of the cavern and Mist charged off to look. When everyone caught up, they saw three baby red dragons, each of them about the size of a large dog or small horse, and the carcass of a deer. Mist was nuzzling them lovingly, smiling as they nuzzled her back, except for the one that decided to stand proudly atop the deer. It simply stood there with its nose in the air and eyes closed. Undoubtedly, it was the one that scored the killing blow. When Mist was done nuzzling the other two, she turned her attention to the third and nuzzled it, too, and it made a noise reminiscent of a purring sound in response. When she was done nuzzling her children, Mist said, "Okay, little ones, take your meal to the dining chamber. Good job. You've made mommy proud." As the wyrmlings dragged the dead deer away to a deeper chamber in the cavern, she looked at the party, smiling big, and said, "Aren't they precious?"
Amarantha couldn't help but stare as she watched them drag the dead deer away. When Lilith announced that she was finished with the polymorph spell, Amarantha approached Mist and asked, "Before we see about that, can I talk to you in private for a minute?"
Mist led her into a side chamber and asked, "What is it?"
"Um... What's it like, being a mother?" she hesitantly asked.
After a slight pause, Mist shook her head slightly and said, "It's a bit hard to describe. Why?"
"Well, I want to know what it's like. I plan to be one someday, you know."
"Hmm... I'd have to say I like it. My kids make me so proud I can't begin to tell you in words. Seeing them succeed in things like hunting for food and stuff, watching them grow up... It's wonderful."
"What was it like when you laid the eggs?"
"It hurt a little. The eggs were about 4 feet long and 2 feet wide, after all. Watching them hatch was exhilarating, though."
"I see..."
"The pain is well worth it. Once you have kids of your own, you'll understand. When do you intend to find a mate?"
"I already have one."
"Haven't you had sex? Or are you already carrying?"
"Of course we have! It's just, well, right now I can't have kids with him no matter how many times we do it."
"Ah, so then the incubus you were clinging to in the tavern was your mate. I get it. ...What do you mean 'right now'?"
Amarantha smiled and said, "Lilith intends to take the throne, and when she does, she's going to make things better for us. You know the polymorph spell she was working on for you? It'll let you experience your future 'true form' right now. She's already made one for me, as well as those you saw for Victoria and Hilda."
"Wait, so the 'draconic humanoid' thing is going to be my true form? What about this one?" Mist asked, looking down at herself.
"You'll still be able to transform into it, it just won't be your 'default' form."
"Oh. Okay... Good, I suppose. I guess I should go see what it's about, then."
The two of them returned to the main chamber.
Next, they heard Sol shout, "Hey! S-stop! Goddamn it, I'm not a sack of wheat!"
At first, Amarantha wanted to grin smugly at everyone, seeing as how Sol was still alive, but his complaint confused her, and everyone else in the tavern, for that matter. They all watched the stairs intently, waiting. Soon, Mist came down, carrying Sol under her arm while Victoria and Hilda followed. Mist was beaming, but Sol and his lovers looked angry, or at least very disgruntled. Sol tried to look up at her, but his view of her face was obscured by her big breasts, which were now covered again by her top. "Put me down, damn it!"
Without changing her expression or even glancing down at him, she replied, "Not gonna happen."
As he growled in frustration, Lilith asked, "What, exactly, did happen?"
"If you want me to recount what all he did, forget it. I honestly can't even remember about half of it, anyway. I was too busy enjoying it to focus on what he was doing. If you're wondering about this," she said, slightly hefting Sol, causing him to grunt from the sudden pressure to his body, "I'm keeping him."
Everyone in the tavern was dumbfounded, except for Sol, Victoria, and Hilda, who were visibly upset, to say the least. Amarantha got up and approached, a worried expression on her face. "Wait, what do you mean by that?"
Mist held back from laughing and said, "He's the first male to ever satisfy me. There's no fucking way I'm letting him get away. I'm keeping his lizards, too."
"You're not going to kill him?" Amarantha asked, sounding a bit relieved.
"Kill him?" Mist echoed. "No fucking way! He's too valuable. Don't worry, I won't let any harm come to him or his lizards. I couldn't afford to, you see."
"You!" Sol shouted, pointing at Lilith. "Get started on making this up to me!"
Lilith recoiled in surprise and asked, "What do you mean?"
"Polymorph spell! What will she look like after your plan?"
Mist was obviously curious about what they meant, but she stayed silent for the moment. Lilith nodded, understanding. "Ah, I get it. Since you're hers now, you at least want the ability to see her 'final form' and stuff. I'll do that as soon as I get a good look at her true form."
Unable to hold back any longer, Mist asked, "What are you talking about?"
Lilith smiled and said, "You'll see. Just show me your true form so I can make the spell."
Now driven by curiosity, Mist headed outside, still carrying Sol under her arm. Victoria and Hilda followed, both of them silently fuming. Amarantha smiled big and turned to the bartender and other patrons. "Looks like I win the bet."
The bartender chuckled and said, "That you do, miss."
"Missus," Amarantha corrected, showing the wedding ring.
"Oh. Well, you win, so here's your money..." He gathered up the money, counted it, did his calculations, and gave her the winnings. "Congratulations. Your friend sure is something. Mist has never taken such a liking to anyone as far as I know. I don't know if that's a good or bad thing, though... Anyway, good luck."
"Thanks." She returned to the others and proudly presented the bag of gold. "How much do we have now?"
After adding it up, Lilith said, "We now have 3,217 gold. Great move, Ammie."
"Somehow I knew he could do it."
Lucas led the party out of the tavern as Lilith said, "You know, if you think about it, he was almost guaranteed to succeed on the sex part, so that's no surprise. Him still living after acting like he did? That's the shocker. Either he must have done really well, or there's something else we don't know about."
Still holding Sol under her arm, Mist asked, "You wanted to see my true form?"
Lilith nodded and said, "I know that means you'll have to put him down, but yes."
"It's not like I can escape, anyway," Sol grumbled.
Mist grinned proudly, set Sol down, ruffled his hair, which made him growl in irritation, then walked several steps away. "You ready for this?" she asked haughtily. Her body became enveloped in light, then her form changed. As soon as she finished reverting and the light faded, she spread her massive wings and roared, rearing up on her hind legs in the process while letting loose a huge blast of flame from her mouth that reached at least 50 feet into the air. She dropped back down to all fours with a ground-shaking stomp, then snorted and asked, "Well?"
Her massive form, bigger than Amarantha's true form, and her sinister appearance, typical of red dragons, was quite daunting, but the party knew they had nothing to fear, at least for the moment. Lilith smirked and said, "Yep, I can already imagine it. Give me a few minutes and I'll have it ready."
Having fixed his hair, Sol suddenly found himself right in front of Mist's snout as she gave him a toothy smile. Unlike most people, who would have cowered at the sight, Sol stood there, frowning and unflinching as her hot breath washed over him. "What?" he asked, obviously perturbed. "Your breath stinks."
She furrowed her brows. "I'll choose to ignore that comment. So what's the deal? What's this polymorph spell supposed to do?"
Sol crossed his arms and said, "Sulfur stinks, your breath smells of sulfur, therefore your breath stinks. It's not an insult; it's a statement of fact. How you choose to take it is not my concern. As for the polymorph spell, I'll demonstrate. Vicky? Hilda?"
They stepped forward, both of them still upset. Sol cast the polymorph spells on them, and Mist looked them over. "So the spell is supposed to make me look about like that? Half-human, half-dragon?" Sol nodded, to which she raised back up and said, "How about we go to my lair, first? I've got a nice mirror there and I want to see what I'll look like. It's this way."
Without waiting for anyone to agree, she turned to walk away, then quickly turned back and snatched Sol up in her mouth, much to his shock and displeasure, and that of Victoria and Hilda. Victoria and Hilda were unable to form the proper sentences necessary for protesting, and the party was stunned with surprise. Once Mist had raised her head back up, Sol groaned and mumbled, "Ugh! Sticky saliva and bad breath..." which provoked a laugh from Mist. He then yelled, "This isn't funny!" which provoked another laugh.
The party snapped out of it and followed, as did Sol's employees. Mist walked along, almost prancing as she led them to her lair, a humongous underground cavern, the entrance to which was in the side of a hill near a giant patch of woods. Once inside the main chamber, Mist set him down as gently as she could, which amounted to her bringing her head down to the ground and dropping him on it. Keeping an eye on him, she called out, "Mommy's home!" After a few seconds, she cocked her head to the side and said, "Huh. I guess they're still hunting." She then faced Amarantha and Lilith and said, "Return to your true forms." They looked at each other, then back to her, and she said, "My home, my rules. True forms, now."
As Lilith cancelled her disguise spell and Amarantha reverted to her true form, Sol groaned. "Fucking gross," he mumbled as he washed himself off with Waterspout.
As he dried himself off via Flame Cloak, Mist said, "You didn't complain earlier when you were sucking up every drop of my saliva you could while probing my mouth with your tongue."
"That's different! I don't mind you licking my body, leaving a trail of saliva due to increased salivation as a result of sexual arousal, I don't mind us swapping spit when we kiss, and I don't mind drinking your saliva after you pull your tongue out of my mouth. That's all when you're in your human form, of course. What I do mind is you doing what you just did, putting me in your mouth and soaking me in your drool!"
She snorted and said, "Stop complaining. You got to fuck a dragon, and said dragon will be occasionally fucking you from now on. Be glad you have such a privilege." She turned to Amarantha, who was now in her true form, and grinned, obviously enjoying looking down on the smaller silver dragon. "You've still got some growing to do, little silver. And you're definitely still too young to have True Sight, or the ability to sense other dragons, which I think is derived from it." She looked at Lilith and said, "Now what's this polymorph spell about?"
Lilith said, "I've almost got it finished. We'll show you when it's done."
Mist looked disappointed, but before she could comment, Lucas raised his hand and said, "I have a few questions." She looked at him quizzically and nodded, so he asked, "Is it true that dragons eat some of the treasure they collect?"
Mist raised an eyebrow, cocking her head to the side as she reared back, then she started laughing. "What idiot thought that up? You humans and your ridiculous stories, I swear... No, we don't."
"What about the stories of red dragons eating virgin women?"
Mist closed her eyes and sighed. "Well, we reds are primarily meat-eaters, and though it pains me to admit it, not all of us are wise. Some, mostly the younger ones, hear about those stories and try to reenact them to make themselves that much more intimidating or fearsome. We wiser reds stick to wildlife, unless we prefer human food, then we use our human forms to blend in and barter for it, because we realize that trouble is bad for us, and trying to raid a village, town, or city for such food only causes problems for us. In other words, yes, the less intelligent, younger reds do, but most of us don't. For the record, I've never eaten humans or Elves before nor do I intend to."
"How did you deal with that paladin you were talking about earlier?"
"I bit him in half at the waist and threw the top half into the forest for the scavengers, then picked up the bottom half and threw it into the forest in a different direction. The bastard deserved worse, but I couldn't enact the proper punishment at the time, so I had to settle for that."
"You said your kids were still out hunting? How long does it usually take?"
Mist grinned proudly and said, "My babies are strong and smart, and rightly so, considering that I'm their mother. They stick together when they go out, and the three of them together can handle anything in the forest. Sure, when some self-righteous fool comes along claiming to be doing 'the Chief God's work' or some other stupid shit involving the killing of dragons, I have to step in, but such things are very rare. My instincts as a mother would alert me to something like that, anyway, and the alarms aren't going off, so I know my kids are safe."
Just then, everyone heard some noise coming from the entrance of the cavern and Mist charged off to look. When everyone caught up, they saw three baby red dragons, each of them about the size of a large dog or small horse, and the carcass of a deer. Mist was nuzzling them lovingly, smiling as they nuzzled her back, except for the one that decided to stand proudly atop the deer. It simply stood there with its nose in the air and eyes closed. Undoubtedly, it was the one that scored the killing blow. When Mist was done nuzzling the other two, she turned her attention to the third and nuzzled it, too, and it made a noise reminiscent of a purring sound in response. When she was done nuzzling her children, Mist said, "Okay, little ones, take your meal to the dining chamber. Good job. You've made mommy proud." As the wyrmlings dragged the dead deer away to a deeper chamber in the cavern, she looked at the party, smiling big, and said, "Aren't they precious?"
Amarantha couldn't help but stare as she watched them drag the dead deer away. When Lilith announced that she was finished with the polymorph spell, Amarantha approached Mist and asked, "Before we see about that, can I talk to you in private for a minute?"
Mist led her into a side chamber and asked, "What is it?"
"Um... What's it like, being a mother?" she hesitantly asked.
After a slight pause, Mist shook her head slightly and said, "It's a bit hard to describe. Why?"
"Well, I want to know what it's like. I plan to be one someday, you know."
"Hmm... I'd have to say I like it. My kids make me so proud I can't begin to tell you in words. Seeing them succeed in things like hunting for food and stuff, watching them grow up... It's wonderful."
"What was it like when you laid the eggs?"
"It hurt a little. The eggs were about 4 feet long and 2 feet wide, after all. Watching them hatch was exhilarating, though."
"I see..."
"The pain is well worth it. Once you have kids of your own, you'll understand. When do you intend to find a mate?"
"I already have one."
"Haven't you had sex? Or are you already carrying?"
"Of course we have! It's just, well, right now I can't have kids with him no matter how many times we do it."
"Ah, so then the incubus you were clinging to in the tavern was your mate. I get it. ...What do you mean 'right now'?"
Amarantha smiled and said, "Lilith intends to take the throne, and when she does, she's going to make things better for us. You know the polymorph spell she was working on for you? It'll let you experience your future 'true form' right now. She's already made one for me, as well as those you saw for Victoria and Hilda."
"Wait, so the 'draconic humanoid' thing is going to be my true form? What about this one?" Mist asked, looking down at herself.
"You'll still be able to transform into it, it just won't be your 'default' form."
"Oh. Okay... Good, I suppose. I guess I should go see what it's about, then."
The two of them returned to the main chamber.
Chapter 165
Spoiler: show
After Mist and Amarantha left, Lilith sighed impatiently, but then decided to take the opportunity to ask Sol, "So how did this happen?"
"What, you mean her wanting to 'keep me'? Well, I figured that since my life was on the line and all, and that you guys needed her help that bad, I had better go all out on her, so I did. I was as gentle, passionate, and loving with her as I normally am with Vicky and Hilda, and I did it like that because I wanted to give her as much pleasure as possible to ensure my success and survival. Seeing that she's over 450 years old, she undoubtedly already knew what an orgasm was and what it felt like, but she obviously had never experienced a really good one. I'd almost be willing to bet that this was the first time she's ever had a squirting orgasm, as well as multiple orgasms."
Lilith smiled lewdly and glanced over at Lucas before saying, "You made her feel both in the same session? Maybe I should get you to teach Lucas a few things."
Sol ignored her and continued, "She and I went at it for a little over an hour. I managed to time it so that I finished when she did, giving her a healthy dose of my seed as she passed out. Because it was the 'right' and 'gentlemanly' thing to do, I laid there with her until she woke up. I don't know exactly where I fucked up, but something I did, possibly my performance, caused her to decide to 'keep' me, and that undoubtedly means that I'm now her sex toy. Her property. And that pisses me off! It's bad enough that I'm being treated like an object, but she's treating Vicky and Hilda in the same way! And you've seen how annoying she is with that bullshit from earlier! Carrying me in her mouth and laughing at me and my complaints... That haughty bitch!"
Zeraine, with a sympathetic look on his face, said, "It kind of sounds like you hate her."
Sol exhaled sharply and said, "Well, I kind of do. If she were more tolerable, I might not have as much to complain about and I might not feel so negatively toward her, but all things considered, I think I'm justified. I guess I'll have to wait a while to see just how much of a pain in the ass she'll be, because we haven't even mentioned anything about letting me continue running my business yet, and I'm sure she'll want me at her beck and call."
Lilith asked, "Well, you could give her a crystal like you gave us, right? Wouldn't that allow you to keep living your normal life, away from her until she calls you to service her?"
"I don't know if she'd accept that, but I hope she will. I don't want to have to move in with her, and I'd like to spend as much time away from her as possible because with her personality, I honestly can't stand her."
Having caught the last bit of his comment, Mist laughed proudly as she returned, saying, "Too bad, because you're stuck with me. I own you and your girls now, so all three of you are mine from now on, and considering that you're an incubus, you've got at least another hundred or so years to go, right?"
Sol crossed his arms and looked away from her defiantly. Before anything else could happen, especially anything that might not end well, Lilith asked, "Are you ready for the polymorph spell, Mist?"
"Sure, let's see it."
Lilith proceeded to cast the spell, and after a bright flash of light, Mist was standing there in what would be her future true form. She looked down at her scaly arms and legs, examined her claws, felt of her horns and her horn-like ear-frills, looked at and felt of her tail, which even looked powerful, and spread her massive wings, which were somewhat bat-like, though they still mostly resembled her wings from her dragon form, except they were obviously smaller, proportionate to her current body and frame. She was still wearing the same clothes she was earlier in her human form, since they didn't hinder any of her new form's body parts.
After looking herself over and experimenting with her wings and tail, she said, "Interesting... How do I look?"
Sol glanced at her and answered first, saying, "Like your human form, but with some of your dragon form's parts added or replacing others."
She frowned and raised an eyebrow at him, then tried walking, finding it to be quite easy, as she headed for another chamber of her lair. Apparently not satisfied with her speed, she tried flapping her wings to take flight and successfully lifted off, though her flight was clumsy. After a few minutes, she flew back, her flight still clumsy. "Well, I guess he was right. I like it, though."
"Then I'll teach it to both of you right now." Lilith taught both of them the spell for Mist's new form, then asked, "And with this you promise to help us?"
Mist smiled and put her arm around Sol, pulling him into the side of her boob, then said, "After giving me such a great present? It'd make me look bad if I went back on my word. By the way, a little advice... As you may know, dragons are very proud and egotistical. If you want one to help you, you might be able to convince them by appealing to that pride and ego, possibly by suggesting that their name will be remembered for all time as one who helped bring an end to the current Demon Lord. ...What exactly are your plans, anyway?"
Everyone sat down in a somewhat circular formation, except Amarantha, who was still in her true form. She laid down behind the party, allowing Zeraine to lean against her head. Mist kept Sol in her grip, his head pressed against her sizable chest and her tail draped around his waist. When Victoria and Hilda glared jealously, she invited them to cling to him if they wanted, which they did. As the party could tell, Sol wasn't sure if he should be happy or pissed. Rather than comment on it, they remained silent as Lilith explained everything in detail.
After hearing it all, Mist thought about everything for a while, then asked, "Why not just transform all the monsters, leave the birthing alone, and let everything work itself out?"
Lilith sighed and said, "I had considered that, but with what The Order is turning into, and considering their grip on the world, I don't think it'd work out. Humans and monsters would probably remain separate for the most part; content to breed among their own species. Peaceful coexistence wouldn't happen because nobody, or at least not enough beings from both sides, would be willing to take the first steps, and because it'd be a voluntary choice, those who did would be alienated, ostracized by both societies. If they got together partly because of the mutual need to propagate their species, which would be one and the same, then-"
"You figure they might not like it at first, but they'll come to accept and later like it if they don't want to go extinct, right?" Mist interrupted.
"Yeah. I don't like the thought of having to do that, but it's the best way I can think of."
Sol asked, "And how will it change this barbaric woman's attitude?" poking Mist's breast with his finger.
She looked down at him and asked, "You got a problem?"
He frowned and said, "Yes, I do. You're treating me like an object and I don't like it. I especially don't like that you're also treating Vicky and Hilda the same way. How about treating us like people, you know, like with respect?"
Mist huffed and said, "You're not dragons, so no. The best I'll treat you three is as pets."
Sol then looked at Lilith and asked, "You said that human women will be able to become almost any monster, depending on certain things, right? Why must human men be limited to becoming incubi? You could make the male monsters as horny as the females and/or capable of satisfying them, couldn't you?"
"If I did that, it might not go over so well. Human men would end up becoming something that didn't resemble human men closely enough for the majority's tastes, and then they'd claim that I was trying to wipe out humanity rather than improve it."
"And what about those that might actually want to become male monsters?"
Lilith paused for a second, then asked, "Are you saying you'd like to become a male dragon, Sol?"
"I certainly wouldn't mind it, especially if I kept my bedroom abilities. It'd make Mist treat me better, and because I'd be a male of her species, which would make her listen to me, I'd be able to get her to treat Vicky and Hilda better, too."
Mist looked down at him in shock. "You do realize that your head is currently pressed against my tits and that I heard every word of what you just said, right?"
"I know. That's why I said it."
"You're awfully bold."
Lilith interrupted with an awkwardly said, "Guys, cool it." She recomposed herself and continued, "I might make it possible for men to become something other than incubi if they so wish, thus allowing you to become a male dragon, Sol, but 'incubus' will have to be the 'default', and like I said earlier, I'm not even sure if I can do all of this. I honestly don't have any idea how much authority the Demon Lord's title holds over such things. I really and truly want to unite humans and monsters, or at least bring about peaceful coexistence, because the old system has to go, don't you agree? I won't know what all I'll be able to do until after I've taken the throne, but I promise I'll do everything I can to make it better for everyone. Humans and monsters have all suffered enough, and I feel it's time for something better. Do you agree?"
Mist nodded. "Hey, if it'll stop idiots from trying to play 'dragon slayer' with me and my kids, and allow my kids to have a good life, then I'm all for it. I can't stand the thought that my babies might be used by the current Demon Lord or anyone else for the sake of doing unsavory or disgusting things, making them do stuff they don't want to do because they're not powerful enough to resist the bastard, possibly even leading to them getting killed... Fuck that. Hell, had you told me about all this first, I probably would have agreed to help you then."
Everyone was stunned upon hearing that Sol becoming her "toy" might not have been necessary. Naturally, Sol, Victoria, and Hilda got visibly angry. Mist then smiled happily and began rubbing the tip of her tail around on Sol's face and said, "But I'm glad things worked out like they did. I got to feel something incredible because of it, and I got three new 'treasures'."
Amarantha hesitantly added, "And we made a good bit of gold on that bet..."
"I'm still someone's 'property'," Sol complained.
"How about a little deal?" Mist asked. "The less you complain, the less I'll monopolize you as punishment. If you behave, you'll get to spend plenty of time with your lizards while still occasionally tending to me. If you keep complaining and acting up, I'll hog you, and you won't get your fill of them, nor will they get their fill of you."
"Nice little double entendre, there. I guess I can try, assuming you're not overly demanding or abusive."
Amarantha asked, "Can I return to my human form? It's a bit more... 'convenient'."
"Sure, go ahead," Mist said, still rubbing Sol's face with her tail.
Amarantha switched to her human form, then looked toward the cave entrance. "It's gotten late. We should probably get back to the tavern and get rooms for the night."
Mist said, "Before that, I want to know a few more details. This here is supposed to be my true form after you've become the new Demon Lord, and I'll retain the ability to return to my current true form, right? And from what you said, it'll be possible to get knocked up by non-dragons, right? How will that go?"
Lilith smiled and asked, "Already planning on having Sol's kids?"
Mist blushed and shouted, "No way! I just realize that by using him for sexual relief, I'll eventually get pregnant by him after you've taken the throne and I'm curious about how different it'll be then."
"That kind of does mean that you're planning for it, actually," Sol commented. "And it seems you're fine with getting knocked up by your 'toy'."
"Shut up. I'll still be birthing red dragons, so don't get cocky. Now, how different will it be, succubus?"
"My name is Lilith, and it'll be about like a human's pregnancy, I think. For example, you'll have to breastfeed your children."
"I see... So I'll lactate? I guess I'll still lay eggs?"
"I think so, yes."
"Good to know. How long is this polymorph spell supposed to last?"
"24 hours. It might be a good idea to 'try it out' tonight."
Mist smirked, nodding. "I guess I'll come see you tomorrow morning before you leave. Thanks for the presents."
The party left, giving her partly forced, partly awkward smiles. They returned to the tavern and rented rooms for the night without incident.
"What, you mean her wanting to 'keep me'? Well, I figured that since my life was on the line and all, and that you guys needed her help that bad, I had better go all out on her, so I did. I was as gentle, passionate, and loving with her as I normally am with Vicky and Hilda, and I did it like that because I wanted to give her as much pleasure as possible to ensure my success and survival. Seeing that she's over 450 years old, she undoubtedly already knew what an orgasm was and what it felt like, but she obviously had never experienced a really good one. I'd almost be willing to bet that this was the first time she's ever had a squirting orgasm, as well as multiple orgasms."
Lilith smiled lewdly and glanced over at Lucas before saying, "You made her feel both in the same session? Maybe I should get you to teach Lucas a few things."
Sol ignored her and continued, "She and I went at it for a little over an hour. I managed to time it so that I finished when she did, giving her a healthy dose of my seed as she passed out. Because it was the 'right' and 'gentlemanly' thing to do, I laid there with her until she woke up. I don't know exactly where I fucked up, but something I did, possibly my performance, caused her to decide to 'keep' me, and that undoubtedly means that I'm now her sex toy. Her property. And that pisses me off! It's bad enough that I'm being treated like an object, but she's treating Vicky and Hilda in the same way! And you've seen how annoying she is with that bullshit from earlier! Carrying me in her mouth and laughing at me and my complaints... That haughty bitch!"
Zeraine, with a sympathetic look on his face, said, "It kind of sounds like you hate her."
Sol exhaled sharply and said, "Well, I kind of do. If she were more tolerable, I might not have as much to complain about and I might not feel so negatively toward her, but all things considered, I think I'm justified. I guess I'll have to wait a while to see just how much of a pain in the ass she'll be, because we haven't even mentioned anything about letting me continue running my business yet, and I'm sure she'll want me at her beck and call."
Lilith asked, "Well, you could give her a crystal like you gave us, right? Wouldn't that allow you to keep living your normal life, away from her until she calls you to service her?"
"I don't know if she'd accept that, but I hope she will. I don't want to have to move in with her, and I'd like to spend as much time away from her as possible because with her personality, I honestly can't stand her."
Having caught the last bit of his comment, Mist laughed proudly as she returned, saying, "Too bad, because you're stuck with me. I own you and your girls now, so all three of you are mine from now on, and considering that you're an incubus, you've got at least another hundred or so years to go, right?"
Sol crossed his arms and looked away from her defiantly. Before anything else could happen, especially anything that might not end well, Lilith asked, "Are you ready for the polymorph spell, Mist?"
"Sure, let's see it."
Lilith proceeded to cast the spell, and after a bright flash of light, Mist was standing there in what would be her future true form. She looked down at her scaly arms and legs, examined her claws, felt of her horns and her horn-like ear-frills, looked at and felt of her tail, which even looked powerful, and spread her massive wings, which were somewhat bat-like, though they still mostly resembled her wings from her dragon form, except they were obviously smaller, proportionate to her current body and frame. She was still wearing the same clothes she was earlier in her human form, since they didn't hinder any of her new form's body parts.
After looking herself over and experimenting with her wings and tail, she said, "Interesting... How do I look?"
Sol glanced at her and answered first, saying, "Like your human form, but with some of your dragon form's parts added or replacing others."
She frowned and raised an eyebrow at him, then tried walking, finding it to be quite easy, as she headed for another chamber of her lair. Apparently not satisfied with her speed, she tried flapping her wings to take flight and successfully lifted off, though her flight was clumsy. After a few minutes, she flew back, her flight still clumsy. "Well, I guess he was right. I like it, though."
"Then I'll teach it to both of you right now." Lilith taught both of them the spell for Mist's new form, then asked, "And with this you promise to help us?"
Mist smiled and put her arm around Sol, pulling him into the side of her boob, then said, "After giving me such a great present? It'd make me look bad if I went back on my word. By the way, a little advice... As you may know, dragons are very proud and egotistical. If you want one to help you, you might be able to convince them by appealing to that pride and ego, possibly by suggesting that their name will be remembered for all time as one who helped bring an end to the current Demon Lord. ...What exactly are your plans, anyway?"
Everyone sat down in a somewhat circular formation, except Amarantha, who was still in her true form. She laid down behind the party, allowing Zeraine to lean against her head. Mist kept Sol in her grip, his head pressed against her sizable chest and her tail draped around his waist. When Victoria and Hilda glared jealously, she invited them to cling to him if they wanted, which they did. As the party could tell, Sol wasn't sure if he should be happy or pissed. Rather than comment on it, they remained silent as Lilith explained everything in detail.
After hearing it all, Mist thought about everything for a while, then asked, "Why not just transform all the monsters, leave the birthing alone, and let everything work itself out?"
Lilith sighed and said, "I had considered that, but with what The Order is turning into, and considering their grip on the world, I don't think it'd work out. Humans and monsters would probably remain separate for the most part; content to breed among their own species. Peaceful coexistence wouldn't happen because nobody, or at least not enough beings from both sides, would be willing to take the first steps, and because it'd be a voluntary choice, those who did would be alienated, ostracized by both societies. If they got together partly because of the mutual need to propagate their species, which would be one and the same, then-"
"You figure they might not like it at first, but they'll come to accept and later like it if they don't want to go extinct, right?" Mist interrupted.
"Yeah. I don't like the thought of having to do that, but it's the best way I can think of."
Sol asked, "And how will it change this barbaric woman's attitude?" poking Mist's breast with his finger.
She looked down at him and asked, "You got a problem?"
He frowned and said, "Yes, I do. You're treating me like an object and I don't like it. I especially don't like that you're also treating Vicky and Hilda the same way. How about treating us like people, you know, like with respect?"
Mist huffed and said, "You're not dragons, so no. The best I'll treat you three is as pets."
Sol then looked at Lilith and asked, "You said that human women will be able to become almost any monster, depending on certain things, right? Why must human men be limited to becoming incubi? You could make the male monsters as horny as the females and/or capable of satisfying them, couldn't you?"
"If I did that, it might not go over so well. Human men would end up becoming something that didn't resemble human men closely enough for the majority's tastes, and then they'd claim that I was trying to wipe out humanity rather than improve it."
"And what about those that might actually want to become male monsters?"
Lilith paused for a second, then asked, "Are you saying you'd like to become a male dragon, Sol?"
"I certainly wouldn't mind it, especially if I kept my bedroom abilities. It'd make Mist treat me better, and because I'd be a male of her species, which would make her listen to me, I'd be able to get her to treat Vicky and Hilda better, too."
Mist looked down at him in shock. "You do realize that your head is currently pressed against my tits and that I heard every word of what you just said, right?"
"I know. That's why I said it."
"You're awfully bold."
Lilith interrupted with an awkwardly said, "Guys, cool it." She recomposed herself and continued, "I might make it possible for men to become something other than incubi if they so wish, thus allowing you to become a male dragon, Sol, but 'incubus' will have to be the 'default', and like I said earlier, I'm not even sure if I can do all of this. I honestly don't have any idea how much authority the Demon Lord's title holds over such things. I really and truly want to unite humans and monsters, or at least bring about peaceful coexistence, because the old system has to go, don't you agree? I won't know what all I'll be able to do until after I've taken the throne, but I promise I'll do everything I can to make it better for everyone. Humans and monsters have all suffered enough, and I feel it's time for something better. Do you agree?"
Mist nodded. "Hey, if it'll stop idiots from trying to play 'dragon slayer' with me and my kids, and allow my kids to have a good life, then I'm all for it. I can't stand the thought that my babies might be used by the current Demon Lord or anyone else for the sake of doing unsavory or disgusting things, making them do stuff they don't want to do because they're not powerful enough to resist the bastard, possibly even leading to them getting killed... Fuck that. Hell, had you told me about all this first, I probably would have agreed to help you then."
Everyone was stunned upon hearing that Sol becoming her "toy" might not have been necessary. Naturally, Sol, Victoria, and Hilda got visibly angry. Mist then smiled happily and began rubbing the tip of her tail around on Sol's face and said, "But I'm glad things worked out like they did. I got to feel something incredible because of it, and I got three new 'treasures'."
Amarantha hesitantly added, "And we made a good bit of gold on that bet..."
"I'm still someone's 'property'," Sol complained.
"How about a little deal?" Mist asked. "The less you complain, the less I'll monopolize you as punishment. If you behave, you'll get to spend plenty of time with your lizards while still occasionally tending to me. If you keep complaining and acting up, I'll hog you, and you won't get your fill of them, nor will they get their fill of you."
"Nice little double entendre, there. I guess I can try, assuming you're not overly demanding or abusive."
Amarantha asked, "Can I return to my human form? It's a bit more... 'convenient'."
"Sure, go ahead," Mist said, still rubbing Sol's face with her tail.
Amarantha switched to her human form, then looked toward the cave entrance. "It's gotten late. We should probably get back to the tavern and get rooms for the night."
Mist said, "Before that, I want to know a few more details. This here is supposed to be my true form after you've become the new Demon Lord, and I'll retain the ability to return to my current true form, right? And from what you said, it'll be possible to get knocked up by non-dragons, right? How will that go?"
Lilith smiled and asked, "Already planning on having Sol's kids?"
Mist blushed and shouted, "No way! I just realize that by using him for sexual relief, I'll eventually get pregnant by him after you've taken the throne and I'm curious about how different it'll be then."
"That kind of does mean that you're planning for it, actually," Sol commented. "And it seems you're fine with getting knocked up by your 'toy'."
"Shut up. I'll still be birthing red dragons, so don't get cocky. Now, how different will it be, succubus?"
"My name is Lilith, and it'll be about like a human's pregnancy, I think. For example, you'll have to breastfeed your children."
"I see... So I'll lactate? I guess I'll still lay eggs?"
"I think so, yes."
"Good to know. How long is this polymorph spell supposed to last?"
"24 hours. It might be a good idea to 'try it out' tonight."
Mist smirked, nodding. "I guess I'll come see you tomorrow morning before you leave. Thanks for the presents."
The party left, giving her partly forced, partly awkward smiles. They returned to the tavern and rented rooms for the night without incident.
Chapter 166
Spoiler: show
The next morning, after three rounds of passionate lovemaking and the necessary cleanup, Lilith, still naked and not yet bothering to get dressed, asked, "Lucas, do you remember how Mist reacted yesterday when I implied that she might be looking forward to having kids with Sol?"
"Yeah, what about it?" he replied, putting his boots on.
"I think she likes him, or at least is fond of him to some degree. He did give her the best fuck she's ever had, after all, and sometimes that's what starts it."
Lucas scoffed and said, "Aren't red dragons notorious for being extremely selfish? And you heard her say that she considers them to be pets, even if Sol also serves as an 'outlet' of sorts for her needs or desires or whatever."
"She also called them treasures and presents, too. Even if she only considers him to be her favorite sex toy, that's still some degree of fondness."
He finished getting dressed, suited up in his armor, and said, "I think that's the wrong kind of fondness, though. If she only 'likes' him because she enjoys having sex with him, well, I just don't think that's very healthy. Anyway, get dressed. We can't have you walking around naked, you know."
She smiled at him and lazily put her panties and bra on, then walked over to him and put her arms around his neck, gazing into his eyes as she said, "Once this battle is over and I've become the new Demon Lord, and once I've made those changes, I expect to be able to spend all day naked, in bed, with you. Would you be willing to indulge me?"
Despite his reddening face, Lucas nodded and said, "I think you would have earned it. Now get dressed."
She gave him a quick kiss, then let go and put her dress on. As she gathered the rest of her things, she said, "How about a little wager?"
Lucas rolled his eyes and said, "Come on, we're not going to start gambling just because Ammie won that bet yesterday."
"That's not my intention, dear. How about this; I'll bet you that Mist actually does feel something for Sol, and you'll bet that she doesn't. If I win, you have to give me an extra three rounds of sex tonight, and of course you'll be cumming in my pussy. If you win, then tonight you get to choose whether or not we fuck, how much we do, and how we do it. Deal?"
He snickered and said, "Lilith, you already know we're going to have sex, regardless of who wins or if we even make the bet at all."
She grinned and replied, "Yeah, but it wouldn't hurt to have a little more. Also, neither of us would really lose anything if we lost the bet. If I lost, I'd only have to contend with not getting enough from you, or not getting any at all, depending on if you choose to do it or not and how much you want if you do, and if you lost, you'd only have to fuck me a bit more, so why not?"
He shrugged and said, "Alright, fine. I'll take your bet. You don't have to worry about not getting any from me, because I know you need to feed."
"Uh huh. And what are the other reasons?" she asked, smugly smirking.
"You're my wife, I love you, and I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to have sex with you, so like I said, you don't have to worry about doing without. Now, let's get going. I'm very surprised that we didn't encounter any problems pertaining to my armor and its Order insignia."
"Well, in the outlying areas of the Demon Realm, like here, you might find that there are plenty of monsters that aren't exactly loyal to the Demon Lord."
He shrugged and led the way downstairs, meeting and exchanging morning pleasantries with Zeraine and Amarantha along the way. Once downstairs, they saw that Mist was waiting for them, still in her polymorphed form. Strangely enough, it seemed Sol wasn't with her. She waved at them and asked, "Hey, what happens when this spell runs out?"
Lilith replied, "You turn back into your true form. I'd recommend that you be outside or in your lair when that happens. So what'd you do with Sol?"
"If you're looking for 'details' forget it. Otherwise, he and I talked a bit, and understanding that he had money to make, I let him take his girls back to his house after having him agree to give me some way of contacting him." She took out a crystal like the ones the party had and showed it. "This little thing allows me to call him whenever I want."
As the five of them sat down and ordered breakfast, Lilith looked around and saw that the tavern was almost empty. There were a few orcs that were well out of earshot, but aside from them, there wasn't anyone to hear, seeing as how the bartender had just went into the back of the tavern. She leaned in and looked at Mist, and then smiling suggestively, she asked, "You know, after your reaction yesterday to my question, I couldn't help but wonder; do you like Sol?"
Mist recoiled in surprise and tried to dodge the question, asking, "Where the hell is this coming from all of a sudden? Don't you have someplace you need to go to or something you need to do? Why not talk about that?" as her face started gradually turning red.
Lilith's smile got bigger as she prodded, "Come on. Your interest in getting pregnant by him for starters, coupled with how you treat him, especially how you haven't killed him or even hurt him after some of the things he said to you... It leads me to believe that there's a bit more to it than 'you really like his cock'. Don't worry, you can tell us."
This time it was Mist who looked around to make sure nobody could hear. "Fine, then. Since it seems you won't shut up until I tell you... Look, I'm no slut, okay? If you even think I am, I'll beat the living shit out of you. Now, I know that he was my first incubus, and I know that him being one may have had something to do with it, but it was the first time I've ever actually had sex that I can honestly say I enjoyed. He was really good. That's part of why I chose to keep him; so I could experience that again. Finally finding a good partner after over 450 years of life, at least 400 of those years being ones in which I was physically mature enough for mating, is something to consider, you know? That said, great sex isn't the only reason. I find him fairly interesting, too. Where others would cower at the sight of me or my displays of power, he stands fearless and unflinching. He doesn't back down when I try to tower over him or dominate him. He instead stands up to me, and I find that curious. He's got plenty to lose by dying, and when you consider that I'm a red dragon and could easily kill him if I wanted to, I find it strange and interesting that he'd still take the risk, showing no fear at all. Why isn't he afraid of me? And you saw how bold he is, yanking my top off yesterday and fondling my breasts in front of everyone. Had I not been 'in need' and surprised by his action, I probably would have put him through a wall."
"So then, to be blunt," Lilith started. "You are a bit of a bully, as is typical with red dragons, and you like a guy that has the balls to stand up to you without backing down at any point, therefore you like him. And I suppose his sexual prowess goes without saying."
"Pretty much."
"Is he the first to ever stand up to you?"
"From what I remember, yes."
"So you like him, then?"
"I don't know. If nothing else, I'd say he's growing on me. I can't deny that I find him and his boldness cute."
"Does it turn you on when he stands up to you?"
"I think so."
"Why not tell him all this?"
"No way in hell! He is NOT to know!" Mist growled, leaning in with a partly fearful, partly threatening expression as her tail violently thrashed around behind her.
"It sounds like you're afraid that him finding out would cause you to lose your 'ownership' of him or something. Could it be that you think that admitting to him that you like him would put him above you in some way?"
Mist shrugged as she sat back in her chair. "I don't know what it is, but that might be part of it. Why are you so concerned about it?"
Lilith smirked and said, "Well, first of all he is like a brother to Amarantha, so we don't want anything bad to happen to him because that would upset her."
"Greatly," Amarantha added.
"Second, potions have been quite useful to us, and he's an alchemist that sells them. We have a way to contact him at any time, almost anywhere, and buy them from him. We'd rather not have to contend with different prices everywhere and new merchants that we'll only meet once who may or may not be willing to do us a favor when we need it. Third, he's our friend. If he's 'stuck with you' from now on, it'd be nice to know how well you'll treat him. We don't want him to be miserable while he's in your care. If you have a thing for him, and especially if you like or love him, I think it'd be best to just tell him. He might soften up towards you, or at least complain less. His lovers might also accept you a bit more readily, too. So how about it? Will you tell him?"
Mist shook her head. "I'm not even sure of my own feelings yet. There's no way I could tell him something like that, especially at this point. I'll admit that I think I like him, but I'm not sure. We'll see. If it turns out that I do, then how about I tell him after you've claimed the throne and made this be my true form?" she said, gesturing at her polymorphed body. "Until then, I'm not telling him a fucking thing, and I'll kill anyone who leaks it."
Lilith shrugged. "Fair enough, I suppose. You will treat him good, right?"
"I'll call on him when I want, expect him to show up in a timely manner, and occasionally bring his lovers so I can watch him perform before my turn, but if he isn't too much of a pain in my ass, and if he doesn't endanger my children, the worst he should have to worry about is me getting a little rough with him when he's really 'doing well'."
"Like when Ammie clawed the hell out of Zeraine's back that time?" Lilith asked, grinning.
"Hey!" Amarantha protested, her face turning red from embarrassment as Zeraine smiled awkwardly.
"I don't know what you're talking about, but I mean stuff like squeezing him too tightly or digging my nails in hard enough to draw blood in the heat of the moment."
Lilith nodded. "And when I'm the Demon Lord you won't have to worry about that, either. Your demonic energy will protect him from that."
Lucas asked, "So I guess everything is settled?"
Mist nodded. "I'm not doing anything until after you four have succeeded. Until then, Sol and his lovers are my pets."
Glad that it wasn't as bad as it could be, Lucas said, "Then on to business. I'm pretty surprised that the Order insignia on my armor didn't stir anything up."
Mist grinned smugly and said, "Nobody here is loyal to the Demon Lord. Sure, an Order knight wandering around might arouse suspicion and be cause for concern depending on how he acts and what he does, but if he attacks anyone here for no reason, he won't live long. If he doesn't, then if he doesn't stay long enough to be 'corrupted' we won't tell anyone. Still, if you're going to head deeper into the Demon Realm, then you'll definitely want to get rid of that armor."
Zeraine said, "You've probably noticed, but I need new armor that allows for my wings. Also, you seemed to take to yours quite easily in your new form. Could you give me a few pointers on how to fly with mine?"
"There's a Dwarven settlement to the northeast, outside my territory, still in the outer bit of the Demon Realm. They've got their little village built underground in the mithril mines, and they're reputed to make some good stuff. If you need armor, I'd suggest paying them a visit. As for you and your wings..." Mist said, standing up while looking at Zeraine. "Get up." Once he did, she pointed at a few areas on his body and said, "These muscles do most of the work for flapping in my current form, and our wings are positioned similarly so it should work the same for you."
Now having an idea of what to do, Zeraine tried to flap his wings. This time, unlike previous attempts, he actually succeeded in moving them at will, though their movements were awkward and slow. Still, it was progress, and the others congratulated him and thanked Mist. Their food finally came, served to them by the bartender. After the meal the party left the tavern, bidding farewell to Mist. She waved and said, "Maybe the next time you visit my kids will be old enough to talk, huh? Good luck."
"Yeah, what about it?" he replied, putting his boots on.
"I think she likes him, or at least is fond of him to some degree. He did give her the best fuck she's ever had, after all, and sometimes that's what starts it."
Lucas scoffed and said, "Aren't red dragons notorious for being extremely selfish? And you heard her say that she considers them to be pets, even if Sol also serves as an 'outlet' of sorts for her needs or desires or whatever."
"She also called them treasures and presents, too. Even if she only considers him to be her favorite sex toy, that's still some degree of fondness."
He finished getting dressed, suited up in his armor, and said, "I think that's the wrong kind of fondness, though. If she only 'likes' him because she enjoys having sex with him, well, I just don't think that's very healthy. Anyway, get dressed. We can't have you walking around naked, you know."
She smiled at him and lazily put her panties and bra on, then walked over to him and put her arms around his neck, gazing into his eyes as she said, "Once this battle is over and I've become the new Demon Lord, and once I've made those changes, I expect to be able to spend all day naked, in bed, with you. Would you be willing to indulge me?"
Despite his reddening face, Lucas nodded and said, "I think you would have earned it. Now get dressed."
She gave him a quick kiss, then let go and put her dress on. As she gathered the rest of her things, she said, "How about a little wager?"
Lucas rolled his eyes and said, "Come on, we're not going to start gambling just because Ammie won that bet yesterday."
"That's not my intention, dear. How about this; I'll bet you that Mist actually does feel something for Sol, and you'll bet that she doesn't. If I win, you have to give me an extra three rounds of sex tonight, and of course you'll be cumming in my pussy. If you win, then tonight you get to choose whether or not we fuck, how much we do, and how we do it. Deal?"
He snickered and said, "Lilith, you already know we're going to have sex, regardless of who wins or if we even make the bet at all."
She grinned and replied, "Yeah, but it wouldn't hurt to have a little more. Also, neither of us would really lose anything if we lost the bet. If I lost, I'd only have to contend with not getting enough from you, or not getting any at all, depending on if you choose to do it or not and how much you want if you do, and if you lost, you'd only have to fuck me a bit more, so why not?"
He shrugged and said, "Alright, fine. I'll take your bet. You don't have to worry about not getting any from me, because I know you need to feed."
"Uh huh. And what are the other reasons?" she asked, smugly smirking.
"You're my wife, I love you, and I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to have sex with you, so like I said, you don't have to worry about doing without. Now, let's get going. I'm very surprised that we didn't encounter any problems pertaining to my armor and its Order insignia."
"Well, in the outlying areas of the Demon Realm, like here, you might find that there are plenty of monsters that aren't exactly loyal to the Demon Lord."
He shrugged and led the way downstairs, meeting and exchanging morning pleasantries with Zeraine and Amarantha along the way. Once downstairs, they saw that Mist was waiting for them, still in her polymorphed form. Strangely enough, it seemed Sol wasn't with her. She waved at them and asked, "Hey, what happens when this spell runs out?"
Lilith replied, "You turn back into your true form. I'd recommend that you be outside or in your lair when that happens. So what'd you do with Sol?"
"If you're looking for 'details' forget it. Otherwise, he and I talked a bit, and understanding that he had money to make, I let him take his girls back to his house after having him agree to give me some way of contacting him." She took out a crystal like the ones the party had and showed it. "This little thing allows me to call him whenever I want."
As the five of them sat down and ordered breakfast, Lilith looked around and saw that the tavern was almost empty. There were a few orcs that were well out of earshot, but aside from them, there wasn't anyone to hear, seeing as how the bartender had just went into the back of the tavern. She leaned in and looked at Mist, and then smiling suggestively, she asked, "You know, after your reaction yesterday to my question, I couldn't help but wonder; do you like Sol?"
Mist recoiled in surprise and tried to dodge the question, asking, "Where the hell is this coming from all of a sudden? Don't you have someplace you need to go to or something you need to do? Why not talk about that?" as her face started gradually turning red.
Lilith's smile got bigger as she prodded, "Come on. Your interest in getting pregnant by him for starters, coupled with how you treat him, especially how you haven't killed him or even hurt him after some of the things he said to you... It leads me to believe that there's a bit more to it than 'you really like his cock'. Don't worry, you can tell us."
This time it was Mist who looked around to make sure nobody could hear. "Fine, then. Since it seems you won't shut up until I tell you... Look, I'm no slut, okay? If you even think I am, I'll beat the living shit out of you. Now, I know that he was my first incubus, and I know that him being one may have had something to do with it, but it was the first time I've ever actually had sex that I can honestly say I enjoyed. He was really good. That's part of why I chose to keep him; so I could experience that again. Finally finding a good partner after over 450 years of life, at least 400 of those years being ones in which I was physically mature enough for mating, is something to consider, you know? That said, great sex isn't the only reason. I find him fairly interesting, too. Where others would cower at the sight of me or my displays of power, he stands fearless and unflinching. He doesn't back down when I try to tower over him or dominate him. He instead stands up to me, and I find that curious. He's got plenty to lose by dying, and when you consider that I'm a red dragon and could easily kill him if I wanted to, I find it strange and interesting that he'd still take the risk, showing no fear at all. Why isn't he afraid of me? And you saw how bold he is, yanking my top off yesterday and fondling my breasts in front of everyone. Had I not been 'in need' and surprised by his action, I probably would have put him through a wall."
"So then, to be blunt," Lilith started. "You are a bit of a bully, as is typical with red dragons, and you like a guy that has the balls to stand up to you without backing down at any point, therefore you like him. And I suppose his sexual prowess goes without saying."
"Pretty much."
"Is he the first to ever stand up to you?"
"From what I remember, yes."
"So you like him, then?"
"I don't know. If nothing else, I'd say he's growing on me. I can't deny that I find him and his boldness cute."
"Does it turn you on when he stands up to you?"
"I think so."
"Why not tell him all this?"
"No way in hell! He is NOT to know!" Mist growled, leaning in with a partly fearful, partly threatening expression as her tail violently thrashed around behind her.
"It sounds like you're afraid that him finding out would cause you to lose your 'ownership' of him or something. Could it be that you think that admitting to him that you like him would put him above you in some way?"
Mist shrugged as she sat back in her chair. "I don't know what it is, but that might be part of it. Why are you so concerned about it?"
Lilith smirked and said, "Well, first of all he is like a brother to Amarantha, so we don't want anything bad to happen to him because that would upset her."
"Greatly," Amarantha added.
"Second, potions have been quite useful to us, and he's an alchemist that sells them. We have a way to contact him at any time, almost anywhere, and buy them from him. We'd rather not have to contend with different prices everywhere and new merchants that we'll only meet once who may or may not be willing to do us a favor when we need it. Third, he's our friend. If he's 'stuck with you' from now on, it'd be nice to know how well you'll treat him. We don't want him to be miserable while he's in your care. If you have a thing for him, and especially if you like or love him, I think it'd be best to just tell him. He might soften up towards you, or at least complain less. His lovers might also accept you a bit more readily, too. So how about it? Will you tell him?"
Mist shook her head. "I'm not even sure of my own feelings yet. There's no way I could tell him something like that, especially at this point. I'll admit that I think I like him, but I'm not sure. We'll see. If it turns out that I do, then how about I tell him after you've claimed the throne and made this be my true form?" she said, gesturing at her polymorphed body. "Until then, I'm not telling him a fucking thing, and I'll kill anyone who leaks it."
Lilith shrugged. "Fair enough, I suppose. You will treat him good, right?"
"I'll call on him when I want, expect him to show up in a timely manner, and occasionally bring his lovers so I can watch him perform before my turn, but if he isn't too much of a pain in my ass, and if he doesn't endanger my children, the worst he should have to worry about is me getting a little rough with him when he's really 'doing well'."
"Like when Ammie clawed the hell out of Zeraine's back that time?" Lilith asked, grinning.
"Hey!" Amarantha protested, her face turning red from embarrassment as Zeraine smiled awkwardly.
"I don't know what you're talking about, but I mean stuff like squeezing him too tightly or digging my nails in hard enough to draw blood in the heat of the moment."
Lilith nodded. "And when I'm the Demon Lord you won't have to worry about that, either. Your demonic energy will protect him from that."
Lucas asked, "So I guess everything is settled?"
Mist nodded. "I'm not doing anything until after you four have succeeded. Until then, Sol and his lovers are my pets."
Glad that it wasn't as bad as it could be, Lucas said, "Then on to business. I'm pretty surprised that the Order insignia on my armor didn't stir anything up."
Mist grinned smugly and said, "Nobody here is loyal to the Demon Lord. Sure, an Order knight wandering around might arouse suspicion and be cause for concern depending on how he acts and what he does, but if he attacks anyone here for no reason, he won't live long. If he doesn't, then if he doesn't stay long enough to be 'corrupted' we won't tell anyone. Still, if you're going to head deeper into the Demon Realm, then you'll definitely want to get rid of that armor."
Zeraine said, "You've probably noticed, but I need new armor that allows for my wings. Also, you seemed to take to yours quite easily in your new form. Could you give me a few pointers on how to fly with mine?"
"There's a Dwarven settlement to the northeast, outside my territory, still in the outer bit of the Demon Realm. They've got their little village built underground in the mithril mines, and they're reputed to make some good stuff. If you need armor, I'd suggest paying them a visit. As for you and your wings..." Mist said, standing up while looking at Zeraine. "Get up." Once he did, she pointed at a few areas on his body and said, "These muscles do most of the work for flapping in my current form, and our wings are positioned similarly so it should work the same for you."
Now having an idea of what to do, Zeraine tried to flap his wings. This time, unlike previous attempts, he actually succeeded in moving them at will, though their movements were awkward and slow. Still, it was progress, and the others congratulated him and thanked Mist. Their food finally came, served to them by the bartender. After the meal the party left the tavern, bidding farewell to Mist. She waved and said, "Maybe the next time you visit my kids will be old enough to talk, huh? Good luck."
Chapter 167
Spoiler: show
Having walked for a couple of hours, the party finally reached the edge of Mist's territory, indicated by multiple signs, each within sight of at least two others, that said, "This land belongs to Mist, the great and powerful red dragon. You trespass, steal, or poach, you fucking die."
The party couldn't help but find the signs funny after having met Mist and personally seen how she is. They pressed on, traveling northeast for a full day before finding the Dwarven settlement. The settlement itself, surprisingly, was made similar to most human villages, meaning beings of "normal" height could easily come and go without having to hunker or crouch. It had houses for the Dwarves, also built in "human dimensions", as well as a general trader, a tavern, an inn, and several blacksmiths and forges.
Upon mentioning their interest in buying Dwarf-made suits of mithril armor, the party found the Dwarves to be quite hospitable. The leader of the village, Ludwig, helped measure Lucas and Zeraine in order to fit them for their custom made mithril armor. Fortunately for them, the Dwarves already had mithril chainmail undercoats available, thus they only needed to be properly adjusted to fit. They had to forge the plate mail for Zeraine, however, which would take two days. Ludwig was quite happy, partly because they were paying customers, to provide free room and board while they waited.
During most of their time in the settlement, Zeraine practiced with both his sword and his wings, with Amarantha preferring to spend time with him, sparring with him and giving him a loving and intimate massage to soothe his sore muscles after his rather dedicated attempts at learning to fly. In the meantime, Lucas and Lilith talked with Ludwig and the other Dwarves, chatting about various things, including their opinion of the current Demon Lord and how they'd feel about their wives becoming "succubized".
"Bwahahaha!" he started, laughing heartily. "You're askin' us if we'd like our women to look feminine, not have beards, not be as ugly as men, and 'put out' more? Of course we would, ye silly lass! I tell, ya, there's nothing quite like comin' home after a hard day of minin' or smithin', or both, and layin' with a good lookin' woman. Findin' a good lookin' Dwarf woman is next to impossible. Sure, some other Dwarves like beards on their women, but why do you think most of us like to lay with human woman? Hell, some of us would even settle for an Elf! An Elf, for fuck's sake! It's sayin' somethin' when we'd prefer to screw one of those prissy, stuck-up, knife-eared bitches over one of our own, isn't it? Oh, and you asked about the Demon Lord. To hell with him; he's a bastard. If not for him, we'd still be outside of his lands, but with that spreadin' corruption shit, we're now in it! I suppose we Dwarves are damn hardy and all, but it's probably only a matter of time before we fall victim to it like humans do."
Lilith nodded, quite glad to know that the Dwarves, or at least the majority of the male ones, would welcome this change, and asked, "How about supporting us, then? We plan to take him out, and I'm sure you'll agree that the world will be a better place without him."
"No shit, lass. As you probably know, we Dwarves love a good fight, and if it's to kick the ass of someone like that bastard, all the better! Still, we alone won't be enough. Do you have anyone else to help you?"
Lilith and Lucas went on to explain over the rest of the two days their plans, past deeds, and current allies to Ludwig and the other Dwarves in charge. Once they were done, Ludwig closed his eyes and smiled. "Lass, 'tis a righteous cause you have! I agree that the world's bad off right now and we need something done now to relieve us all. We can worry about the other details after that, when we're not worried about dyin' at the hands of an evil cocksucker. We're with you! Still, I'm surprised old Mist agreed to help you. As hotheaded and stubborn as she is, I just can't see how you did it."
The couple forced a smile and Lucas said, "Well, we kind of gave her a present. I'd prefer we not discuss that further." Despite being curious about how Ludwig knew Mist, Lucas feared that they might have to divulge details on how they got Mist to agree to help if he were to ask, so he let it go.
After a short pause, Ludwig shrugged and said, "Okay, then. Anyway, your armor should be ready tomorrow. ...By the way, your winged friend; does he really not know how to use those wings?"
Lucas nodded. "He hasn't been an incubus for all that long. Neither have I, for that matter. Up until recently, he didn't know how to move them at will. Now he knows, but he's got to practice so he can actually fly with them. I'm pretty sure he'll have it figured out soon."
"Ah, I see. Well, good night, heroes. Be ready to experience the greatness of Dwarven-made custom fit armor! Oh, and it's good you decided to change your armor, lad. Your friend's case was understandable, what with the badly damaged armor, the jury-rigged modification for his wings and whatnot, but you? Your armor's fine. However, you'll find that wearin' the symbol of your Order will get you in trouble real quick as you get farther into the Demon Realm. Goin' incognito with an unremarkable suit of armor is a much better choice, though this one won't be enchanted, so you'll have to do without until you can get it enchanted with a similar effect, if you're plannin' to go that route, that is."
The couples returned to their rooms and prepared for their "nightly rituals". As Lilith and Lucas stripped each other, she smiled and said, "Things are going great, aren't they? We're gaining allies for the battle, just about everyone we talk to is on board with my plan, or at least they prefer it over what we have now despite disagreeing with parts of it..."
Lucas nodded. "Yeah, the people are well aware of how bad things are right now, and they want something different. They'll take anything that's even a little bit better than what we have now. We just have to make sure to deliver on our promises, right?"
"Yes, but I don't know how hard that might end up being. The Demon Lord is no pushover, and nobody but him currently knows how the 'job' works. Right now I can only hope that we can actually do it."
Seeing where this was going, Lucas tried to lighten the mood by smiling and saying, "Let's focus on our victories and successes, okay? It's a good thing the Dwarves are like stereotypical human sailors, isn't it?"
Lilith snickered and replied, "Yes, it is. Now, then... I'm on top tonight."
...
The next morning, the party got ready to leave, but instead of suiting up, the men went to receive their new armor. Zeraine had traded in his old armor, seeing as how it was almost scrap at this point and the Dwarves might be able to make use of what was left. Lucas kept his armor, putting it in his Bag of Holding. His reasons for keeping it included the fact that it was given to him by the Grandmaster and that he may have to return it someday, as well as the sentimental value of it being the armor he had been wearing up to now, and that not only may the enchantment prove useful again later, but it would probably also be more suitable to wear it in the final battle. Being led by "The Order's champion" would probably motivate the army more than it would if they were led by "some really skilled and powerful incubus".
After being suited up in their new armor and having the final adjustments made, the two were asked their opinions. Lucas looked at his armor with an amazed expression and said, "It's really light; almost like it's not even there! Are you sure this'll hold up?"
Ludwig scoffed. "Of course it will, ye daft lad! We've been workin' mithril since before you were born! We know what we're doin'."
Zeraine smirked and said, "This is really nice. It's almost like I'm wearing medium-class armor or something. This is plate mail, yet it feels as light as chainmail. With armor this light, I'll be faster and more agile, which means I'll be even more dangerous to the enemy, plus, once I've learned to fly, my wings should have no problem getting me airborne. Imagine me flying through the air with my claymore, great sword, or spear, cutting down aerial enemies or making flyby attacks on grounded enemies, all without having to use levitation! I mean, sure, my stamina might be a concern, but I'd be able to save my spirit energy for offensive spells."
Ludwig smiled proudly and said, "Glad you like it, young man. Now, then, you four need to be goin', right? Got the world to save and stuff, don't you? Good luck on that. Come let us know when it's time to kick ass and we'll be there."
"Will do," Lucas said. He turned to Lilith and asked, "Well, how do I look?"
She smirked and said, "Irresistible."
Trying to hide his blush, Lucas said, "Save that for later."
Zeraine looked at Amarantha and asked, "Ammie?"
She nodded and said, "You look great."
The four of them left the Dwarven village, trying to decide on where to go next. Lucas asked, "How about we try and visit Miskatonic University?"
Amarantha asked, "Are you sure we want to go to someplace that's that close to the Demon Lord's castle?"
Lilith chimed in, saying, "It might be worth it. The boys have their armor now, and we might be able to get someone there to enchant it, if they want. Also, I could possibly learn some new spells, and there may even be someone there willing to give us information on the Demon Lord's castle, its defenses, his troop strength... I say we do it."
Zeraine shrugged and said, "You're the leader, kid. I have to admit, it does sound worth it, but we'll have to be careful."
Amarantha simply shrugged and accepted it. With the party in agreement, they set out for Miskatonic University.
The party couldn't help but find the signs funny after having met Mist and personally seen how she is. They pressed on, traveling northeast for a full day before finding the Dwarven settlement. The settlement itself, surprisingly, was made similar to most human villages, meaning beings of "normal" height could easily come and go without having to hunker or crouch. It had houses for the Dwarves, also built in "human dimensions", as well as a general trader, a tavern, an inn, and several blacksmiths and forges.
Upon mentioning their interest in buying Dwarf-made suits of mithril armor, the party found the Dwarves to be quite hospitable. The leader of the village, Ludwig, helped measure Lucas and Zeraine in order to fit them for their custom made mithril armor. Fortunately for them, the Dwarves already had mithril chainmail undercoats available, thus they only needed to be properly adjusted to fit. They had to forge the plate mail for Zeraine, however, which would take two days. Ludwig was quite happy, partly because they were paying customers, to provide free room and board while they waited.
During most of their time in the settlement, Zeraine practiced with both his sword and his wings, with Amarantha preferring to spend time with him, sparring with him and giving him a loving and intimate massage to soothe his sore muscles after his rather dedicated attempts at learning to fly. In the meantime, Lucas and Lilith talked with Ludwig and the other Dwarves, chatting about various things, including their opinion of the current Demon Lord and how they'd feel about their wives becoming "succubized".
"Bwahahaha!" he started, laughing heartily. "You're askin' us if we'd like our women to look feminine, not have beards, not be as ugly as men, and 'put out' more? Of course we would, ye silly lass! I tell, ya, there's nothing quite like comin' home after a hard day of minin' or smithin', or both, and layin' with a good lookin' woman. Findin' a good lookin' Dwarf woman is next to impossible. Sure, some other Dwarves like beards on their women, but why do you think most of us like to lay with human woman? Hell, some of us would even settle for an Elf! An Elf, for fuck's sake! It's sayin' somethin' when we'd prefer to screw one of those prissy, stuck-up, knife-eared bitches over one of our own, isn't it? Oh, and you asked about the Demon Lord. To hell with him; he's a bastard. If not for him, we'd still be outside of his lands, but with that spreadin' corruption shit, we're now in it! I suppose we Dwarves are damn hardy and all, but it's probably only a matter of time before we fall victim to it like humans do."
Lilith nodded, quite glad to know that the Dwarves, or at least the majority of the male ones, would welcome this change, and asked, "How about supporting us, then? We plan to take him out, and I'm sure you'll agree that the world will be a better place without him."
"No shit, lass. As you probably know, we Dwarves love a good fight, and if it's to kick the ass of someone like that bastard, all the better! Still, we alone won't be enough. Do you have anyone else to help you?"
Lilith and Lucas went on to explain over the rest of the two days their plans, past deeds, and current allies to Ludwig and the other Dwarves in charge. Once they were done, Ludwig closed his eyes and smiled. "Lass, 'tis a righteous cause you have! I agree that the world's bad off right now and we need something done now to relieve us all. We can worry about the other details after that, when we're not worried about dyin' at the hands of an evil cocksucker. We're with you! Still, I'm surprised old Mist agreed to help you. As hotheaded and stubborn as she is, I just can't see how you did it."
The couple forced a smile and Lucas said, "Well, we kind of gave her a present. I'd prefer we not discuss that further." Despite being curious about how Ludwig knew Mist, Lucas feared that they might have to divulge details on how they got Mist to agree to help if he were to ask, so he let it go.
After a short pause, Ludwig shrugged and said, "Okay, then. Anyway, your armor should be ready tomorrow. ...By the way, your winged friend; does he really not know how to use those wings?"
Lucas nodded. "He hasn't been an incubus for all that long. Neither have I, for that matter. Up until recently, he didn't know how to move them at will. Now he knows, but he's got to practice so he can actually fly with them. I'm pretty sure he'll have it figured out soon."
"Ah, I see. Well, good night, heroes. Be ready to experience the greatness of Dwarven-made custom fit armor! Oh, and it's good you decided to change your armor, lad. Your friend's case was understandable, what with the badly damaged armor, the jury-rigged modification for his wings and whatnot, but you? Your armor's fine. However, you'll find that wearin' the symbol of your Order will get you in trouble real quick as you get farther into the Demon Realm. Goin' incognito with an unremarkable suit of armor is a much better choice, though this one won't be enchanted, so you'll have to do without until you can get it enchanted with a similar effect, if you're plannin' to go that route, that is."
The couples returned to their rooms and prepared for their "nightly rituals". As Lilith and Lucas stripped each other, she smiled and said, "Things are going great, aren't they? We're gaining allies for the battle, just about everyone we talk to is on board with my plan, or at least they prefer it over what we have now despite disagreeing with parts of it..."
Lucas nodded. "Yeah, the people are well aware of how bad things are right now, and they want something different. They'll take anything that's even a little bit better than what we have now. We just have to make sure to deliver on our promises, right?"
"Yes, but I don't know how hard that might end up being. The Demon Lord is no pushover, and nobody but him currently knows how the 'job' works. Right now I can only hope that we can actually do it."
Seeing where this was going, Lucas tried to lighten the mood by smiling and saying, "Let's focus on our victories and successes, okay? It's a good thing the Dwarves are like stereotypical human sailors, isn't it?"
Lilith snickered and replied, "Yes, it is. Now, then... I'm on top tonight."
...
The next morning, the party got ready to leave, but instead of suiting up, the men went to receive their new armor. Zeraine had traded in his old armor, seeing as how it was almost scrap at this point and the Dwarves might be able to make use of what was left. Lucas kept his armor, putting it in his Bag of Holding. His reasons for keeping it included the fact that it was given to him by the Grandmaster and that he may have to return it someday, as well as the sentimental value of it being the armor he had been wearing up to now, and that not only may the enchantment prove useful again later, but it would probably also be more suitable to wear it in the final battle. Being led by "The Order's champion" would probably motivate the army more than it would if they were led by "some really skilled and powerful incubus".
After being suited up in their new armor and having the final adjustments made, the two were asked their opinions. Lucas looked at his armor with an amazed expression and said, "It's really light; almost like it's not even there! Are you sure this'll hold up?"
Ludwig scoffed. "Of course it will, ye daft lad! We've been workin' mithril since before you were born! We know what we're doin'."
Zeraine smirked and said, "This is really nice. It's almost like I'm wearing medium-class armor or something. This is plate mail, yet it feels as light as chainmail. With armor this light, I'll be faster and more agile, which means I'll be even more dangerous to the enemy, plus, once I've learned to fly, my wings should have no problem getting me airborne. Imagine me flying through the air with my claymore, great sword, or spear, cutting down aerial enemies or making flyby attacks on grounded enemies, all without having to use levitation! I mean, sure, my stamina might be a concern, but I'd be able to save my spirit energy for offensive spells."
Ludwig smiled proudly and said, "Glad you like it, young man. Now, then, you four need to be goin', right? Got the world to save and stuff, don't you? Good luck on that. Come let us know when it's time to kick ass and we'll be there."
"Will do," Lucas said. He turned to Lilith and asked, "Well, how do I look?"
She smirked and said, "Irresistible."
Trying to hide his blush, Lucas said, "Save that for later."
Zeraine looked at Amarantha and asked, "Ammie?"
She nodded and said, "You look great."
The four of them left the Dwarven village, trying to decide on where to go next. Lucas asked, "How about we try and visit Miskatonic University?"
Amarantha asked, "Are you sure we want to go to someplace that's that close to the Demon Lord's castle?"
Lilith chimed in, saying, "It might be worth it. The boys have their armor now, and we might be able to get someone there to enchant it, if they want. Also, I could possibly learn some new spells, and there may even be someone there willing to give us information on the Demon Lord's castle, its defenses, his troop strength... I say we do it."
Zeraine shrugged and said, "You're the leader, kid. I have to admit, it does sound worth it, but we'll have to be careful."
Amarantha simply shrugged and accepted it. With the party in agreement, they set out for Miskatonic University.
that must have bean LOTS of work to move that giant thing (like moving a 1,000 year old Dryad) BUT I'm glad to see it's all here 
.
So yeah, incest will still be possible and it will still happen, just as it does with humans.
