As soon as he spoke his words of acceptance, a great wind howled through the cave, as if a sudden storm had come to the calm night. The gust only lasted a second and then the woman said,

"Great. You can call me... Beta."

Her voice, still with the consistency of honey, echoed in his dazed mind. Arcus began to wonder what sort of strange name Beta was, but then she reached down and began to unbuckle his belt with experienced ease. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he realized that his magical alarms and wards laid earlier that night had been triggered. He paid these thoughts no heed.

Part of his secret mission involved behaving like a regular traveling merchant. Naturally, he had to dress like one. He wore a well weathered brown leather vest with a baggy burlap shirt beneath, intended to hide his trained body. His trousers were composed of a similar material and were held up around his muscled waist by a leather belt.

It was this belt that was being infiltrated. Without breaking eye contact, it was deftly unclasped and finally his pants and undergarment fell to the floor. She had not taken her eyes off of him the entire time but now the woman who called herself Beta glanced down briefly.

"Oh my."

Her eyes met his once again and her unnatural smile stretched ever so wider.

"Let the fun begin. Close your eyes."

Arcus, consumed by his lust, obeyed without pause. With his eyes closed, he focused on his other senses: His pulsing pleasure accompanied by her soft hands and the occasional crackle of the fire filled his mind.

"Very good" was all she said and he imagined her smile again, which admittedly got him even more excited.

Her hands left him and just as Arcus was about to muse "come back", he heard a soft sound as if Beta had quietly blown on his ears. This sound was followed by a new sensation that engulfed his groin. It was a little uncomfortable, but still pleasant and he had no doubt this Beta mistress had all sorts of novel ways for him to experience pain and pleasure in tandem.

The temptation to learn the secret for this new, powerful sensation was too strong and Arcus opened his eyes.

The first thing he saw was the molten gold of her eyes, no longer the dull yellow of before. Her smile was still the same, pulled taut to nearly to her ears and her seductive beauty once again made him breathless.

"Oh, you poor thing."

Her voice was louder now and was noticeably higher pitched than before as if she was delivering the punch line to a joke. The change in intonation did little to hide her amusement.

"What are you-" Arcus could not finish his question, not because of surprise, but he was physically unable to speak any more. Worry washed over him. His whole body felt like stone and his eyes sluggishly took in the rest of his surroundings.

Red. A thick arterial red. His groin was a puddle of slowly expanding red. Slung over Beta's back was what looked like a massive axe, though the entire circumference of its circular face was a blade. The same arterial red of his groin laced one side of its blades, dripping.

Understanding dawned on Arcus. The understanding of what she had just done.

"Wuh bes" was all he could muster as his tongue felt like it was made of iron. She cocked her head to one side, feigning curiosity.

"I can't understand you" she giggled and teardrops of blood flicked off her massive bear trap-like weapon as it shuddered with each laugh.

Despite the mass of red pooling at his waist, Arcus felt no pain. In fact, his whole body felt numb. He wanted to strike her but his arms would not obey him. He tried to speak again but his mouth would not move in the slightest. The bitch must have used some sort of paralyzing magic while he was vulnerable.

"Ah, maybe it was a little too potent. Your turn, Solution." Beta called back to the entrance of the cave.

Arcus heard footsteps, but his vision began to darken and he felt dreadfully lightheaded. In the moments before he lost consciousness, Arcus Mesa the Pathfinder realized that even his breathing muscles had been paralyzed. The world spiraled into black.

He shuddered awake. Soft sunlight shone into the cave signifying that morning had arrived. Arcus immediately sprang to his feet, and drew his dagger, eager to make the red haired demon pay.

He was alone in the cave. The fire that had burned so eagerly the night before was a pile of dry ash now. His mind felt foggy and his fingertips still felt numb. What was going on? Arcus moved his gaze downward. He was fully dressed in his trousers, the belt was in place and most importantly, there was no blood. After a quick confirmation with his hand, Arcus concluded that he was intact.

「Greater detection」 He cast the spell that he had mastered many years ago. There was no evidence of invisible intruders.

He stumbled out of the cave with his dagger in hand, almost falling over like a drunkard. His legs were heavy, and his balance felt off. After confirming once again that there was no one watching him, he surveyed the surroundings.

It was a gorgeous sunny morning. His wagon was exactly where he left it, but his horse was nowhere to be seen. He slowly moved to the back of the wagon, blade at the ready. The wagon was full of goods. Nothing had been taken or even touched.

Taking a deep breath, Arcus slouched against the wheel of the wagon and took a moment to collect his thoughts. Was it a dream? Or rather, a dream turned nightmare? It felt so real: from the feel of her hands to the whisper of that axe as it took his manhood.

He drew his blade to the palm of his adjacent hand and a small line of blood appeared, accompanied by some pain. At least he knew this was real.

Even if it was a dream, his horse was still gone... Adrix the merchant would not be able to pedal goods without it. He could use a Summon Mount scroll, but the steed would be far too majestic for a simple traveling merchant to own.

It could not have been a dream. His horse would still be here if it had been. Breaking the bond between a high level ranger such as himself and his steed was no easy task. There was something powerful at play.

Two options.

First, last night's events were real. But why was he whole? Had he been injured and paralyzed, only to be healed by magic? To what end would that serve this Beta woman? Could someone with the power to bypass his detection, paralyze him and then heal him so thoroughly even exist?

The second option was much more believable. He had been assailed by long range magic to induce hallucinations. He had heard rumors of such illusion spells hailing from the distant lands of the East. That would explain how the woman had snuck up on him: she was only a thought generated in his head. It also explained why the woman knew his true name and his darkest pleasures. The entire nightmare of an illusion, Arcus shuddered recalling it, may have been to scare him off and prevent him from completing his reconnaissance mission. In this case, the enemy was a coward who did not want to face him head on.

In either scenario, it was clear he had been identified as a target. His identity was compromised. The only thing to do would be to return to his home city and report what had happened. Whoever had targeted him possessed immense power.

Arcus made up his mind. He was a long way from home, but he carried a special item for such emergency occasions.

After once again confirming he was alone, Arcus went back into the cave and withdrew a scroll from his inventory. He noticed that his fingertips seemed to burn for a moment when he first grasped the corners of the scroll. Whatever cursed magic that had been used on him still lingered.

「Teleportation: Return」

The world swirled.

Two miles away, Lupusregina Beta deactivated her seventh tier invisibility magic. With the soft morning sunlight radiating across her, she wiped the back of her hand against her mouth. Despite the giant weapon slung on her back, the maid stood perfectly balanced on a tree branch amidst emerald green leaves. She had the same sadistic smile as the night prior. In her hands was a gigantic key, nearly the size of a halberd. It had no color. In fact, it was pitch black, as if it swallowed any light that came near. It looked surreal in the hands of a beautiful maid like Lupusregina.

「Message」

"Ainz-sama, the World Class item has worked as intended."

"Excellent. Report when the mission is complete." came the reply.

Nimbly, Lupus leapt off the tree and landed gracefully on the ground some 40 feet below. The body of a horse lay there in a pool of dark blood; its neck had been savagely torn apart.