"Hey, is that fly covered with boobs?"
"Quiet man!"
Striga, the red Beelzebub ignored the two men that were not-so-subtly checking her breast-covered back appendage as she kept wandering through the streets of Grandeur. Initially, after that latest incident with the Pocket Castle, she had planned to travel with her partners, but…
"No! We won't go to Happiness Village simply because they have dangos!"
"But I want dangos…"
"We never went there. We can still go to this village and visit another place afterward…"
"Fine! Side with her! I'll go somewhere else on my own!"
Barbarella had left in them in a huff. And then Media had chosen to stay in said village and didn't want to travel anywhere else. Striga hesitated between welcoming the tranquility brought by the absence of her partners and sinking in depression at her solitude. She settled with the plan to go to the theater and see a few shows by herself to free her mind from troubles. The absence of the perpetual chewing sound always created by Media eating as well as the grumbles from Barbarella would certainly be a welcome change. Maybe she would even be lucky enough to enjoy one of Saki's shows.
However, instead of the idol succubus, an unusual, unidentified monster was on the scene: It was a nine-tailed kitsune with long gray hair bound in a pony tail and nine pinkish, fluffy tails. She was wearing a black, extremely revealing black dress with a purple hem and a skirt that only covered her intimacy when she didn't move. Her scandalous outfit was completed by long black gloves and thigh-high boots that made her look like more a street worker than an idol.
Didn't Mephisto say something about searching for a kitsune courtesan? Whatever…
What surprised Striga, however, was how men and women alike were chanting her name, Dachanji, even as she was singing and dancing on the scene like a devil as an intense, electric music was filling the theater. She stopped for a brief second under an explosion of cheers and started talking in a sing-song voice.
"And now, the moment everyone was waiting for! Who will be the lucky chosen one for the duet? The winner is number n°130! Come on! Don't be shy! You need to loosen up, or you will lose up! Ready? Let's get started then!"
A relatively young man was brought on the scene, and Dachanji started dancing and singing at an impressive speed while the man had the biggest difficulties simply following the pace she imposed him. After he tripped, the kitsune started having her way with him in front of everyone as even more acclamations fused. Striga herself followed the show, but only distractedly. That monster was looking so happy… The Beelzebub envied her. She waited for the show to be over, and the kitsune bowed and left backstage under the deafening cheers of the public.
Striga herself made her way backstage. As a past participant, she was allowed in without question… Her first and only passage on the scene was still a moment of her life she wished to forget though. She easily found the kitsune who was currently carefully brushing her tails in front of a large mirror, and the latter instantly noticed the Beelzebub.
"Oh, it's you Striga, what can I do for you?"
"You know my name? This is the first time I see you…"
The kitsune giggled. "I remember the name of every re- artists that performed here. I read the past shows and wanted to perform myself!" She got up, and moved closer to Striga, almost shoving her breasts in the beelzebub's face. "So what does the legendary Dachanji can do for you ?"
"I…" Striga looked down, overwhelmed by the confidence naturally flowing from the kitsune, her head down in a mix of timidity and shame. "...Just want to be happy."
"Mmmh… It looks like you're only lacking a little in self-confidence… I suppose I could give you a small boost to see you enjoy the world. Let me see…" She raised the beelzebub's head and looked straight in her eyes. "You don't have a good image of yourself. Let me change that for you. I'm skilled in transformation."
The kitsune's eyes glowed briefly. "You're now a sexy succubus! Why don't you check yourself in this mirror?"
When Striga looked at herself, she gasped in shock: Her hood had apparently been replaced by shoulder-length hair, the remainder of her body now looked human, her wings were now made of leather, and her large appendage had been replaced by a leathery tail. She could no longer see the parts that made her a Beelzebub.
Dachanji, however, still could, and she smirked as the Beelzebub admired the new body the kitsune had suggested in her mind. The devious kitsune then added a small inebriation effect to her spell, in hope that it would guarantee interesting results.
"Wow… It's incredible! Thank you! But won't people no longer be able to recognize me?"
"Oh, don't worry, this'll be fine. Besides, no backsies! Now go seduce the man of your dream! I have some more work to do! Later!"
Dachanji twirled and disappeared in an explosion of sparkles, leaving Striga alone to ponder what she would do next. The Beelzebub giggled maniacally as she already imagined what she was going to do next, the men that she was going to leave breathless.
She left backstage proudly strutting around, showing off her body as she excessively swayed her hips while walking. Should she try looking for the hero? No, why would she stick with only one man… Right now, she felt that she was on top of the world, and could captivate a whole crowd by herself. If she showed herself to all those people in the theater, she was sure that she would captivate them.
The beelzebub made a beeline to the manager. As usual, the man was sitting at the bar, drinking his sorrow as he wallowed in self pity in front of the challenges related to managing the popular theater of Grandeur. She showed off her best smile and patted on his shoulder, startling him.
"Greetings! I wish to know when is the soonest I can perform! I want to show off my new assets to everyone!"
The man looked at her as one would look at an avalanche falling on an unsuspecting village, but he eventually gave up and shrugged. "We have a free spot in a quarter an hour… If you're ready by then, then you're good to go… Even if I'm surprised that you wanted to go on stage after last time… Not that it was the worst show compared to what some of the hero's other companions did…"
Striga giggled. "I am ready! The world will assist to the rise of a new succubus idol this day!"
The man kept nodding repeatedly even after Striga left him until gears finally clicked in his head.
"New succubus idol?"
It was too late, however, as Striga was already announced as the next show. The Beelzebub showed up in front of an eager crowd, and she danced for quite some time in front of them. She moved with a surprising grace, and as the manager observed her, a glasses-wearing blond noblewoman sat near him.
"I'm surprised to see one of the beelzebub perform tonight and do so well. Since we recruited them, they were always on the more reserved end of the spectrum."
The man nodded and took a sip of his drink, and almost spit on his interlocutor when he realized who he was talking to.
"Your majesty! I'm sorry for-"
"Don't say anything. I'm just a tourist on vacation, trying to forget the latest events that plagued the Noah region after they've been properly dealt with."
"Even so…"
She made a dismissive gesture. "I just want to appreciate the show."
The manager shut up, and the beelzebub eventually ended her dance under thunderous applause. As another show involving a harpy ballet started, Striga returned to the manager at the bar. The man approvingly nodded.
"That was one memorable performance you delivered! I wished all amateurs and even professionals would always give a show on the same level."
"Thanks you! You're too kind…"
"No, really, we had a succubus idol, then there was that kitsune idol, now we may even have an insect idol."
Striga froze up. "Insect idol? Wait…"
The Grand Noah Queen raised an eyebrow. "Is there a problem? You look unusually confused…"
The beelzebub checked herself, and she started panicking as the realization sunk in. "Wait… I thought Dachanji made me look like a succubus for the sake of the show! Which means… Oh, no…" She gulped loudly. "I made myself look ridiculous in front of everyone, didn't I?"
"What do you mean? I just told you, that performance was more than just fine! Don't worry about what people will tell, you were great!"
"Really, but…"
Even as the two humans looked at her with their eyebrow raised in surprise, she tried to remember what her benefactor had told her.
"It looks like you're just missing a little self-confidence."
"I see…" Striga started laughing, elated. "I should never have been ashamed by my appearance! I really just needed a little boost to come out of my shell and reach new summits! I really need to thank Dachanji!"
While the manager remained clearly just as confused as before, a frown had appeared on the face of the Grand Noah Queen.
"Mmh. I might try to find that Dachanji then… I think Mephisto wants to discuss with her."
"Tch! A wasted gift…""
A purple-haired kitsune sneered at the scene from afar. What should have been a good show of that insect trying to get it on with everyone had turned into a cutesy joke. No one would wallow into their lust today... Worse, that insect had given her name, and using a performance as an excuse to feed again would be out of the question for a time. That little queen was going to make sure of it. Well, she could still change of form, and save for Kazuya, nobody knew about them… She was glad to have submitted and not showed the full extent of her power back then: so many transformations were so many disguises, and she had no doubt that Mephisto was hunting her to make her pay for this little accident.
Now, it was time for Daji to look for a new playground...
Aiming for human lords was out of the question. The two men were a golem and a cyborg, and of the two women, one was a succubus while the other was way too close to this sexless yoma who certainly wanted to turn the kitsune in a carpet. Remained the heroes… And there was one that would make for a perfect prey. The man, Heinrich, was apparently an ancestor of the current hero Luka, and seemed as ingenious as a newborn while still being a skilled warrior. He would make for a fresh prey to savor, and she already imagined the face he would make as she would corrupt him with pleasure. The only issue was the disguised Demon Lord that always accompanied him, but the only thing larger than her intellect was her disproportionate appetite. Simply luring her away with food would undoubtedly work, or, barring that, she could focus on isolating Heinrich from her. And fortunately, she knew exactly where they were… That demon hadn't exactly been subtle about her desire to make a world food tour starting on Ilias Continent.
Daji grabbed a harpy feather. Even if the greater attunement to magic people had in this world made them more dangerous for her, she had to recognize that all those little readily accessible magic tools could easily pull anyone out of a pinch and made escaping possible pursuers quite easy.
She teleported away and ended in front of Midas Village: From what she knew, it was a small settlement known for its cattle and frequent slug invasions in the past. It didn't matter much to her, however, as right now, it was where she would find her next target.
She carefully hid herself and concealed her signature as she considered her options. That Demon Lord was quite shrewd, and the kitsune's more specific transformations would certainly get her discovered before she could put any plan into action. Instead, she transformed into what could be the single most unremarkable human man in that context: A traveler that had just been an old victim, as he had the misfortune to meet her on the road a day she had been hungrier than usual.
The disguised Daji entered the village just like any other person would. She made her way to the inn that was acting as a restaurant as well, and she noticed that a large part of the structure seemed to have only been built recently. She grimaced when she saw the sheer number of local people that actually were companions of the hero feasting in this room. While she couldn't see any of the members of her past alliance or even some of the more dangerous monsters that could blow her cover, they could still make for so many blocks between her and her target.
Noticing Heinrich remained easy, and ideas and strategies to get him away from the childish-acting, green-clad mage on his side were already fusing in her head. The most obvious one was simply letting nature take its course as he would definitively need to isolate himself sooner or later. It was insultingly mundane compared to her usual devious plans, but sating her lust with the young man was a priority, and her ego would take the backseat for today.
After a moment, her quarry excused himself and left his current company to isolate himself in a calmer place. As the man took care of his bladder, she transformed herself back and started weaving a minor cross-dimensional spell with mind-altering effects to trap him in a maze of her own. She enjoyed the sight of the surprised man as he lost his senses of directions, and not before long he started tiring himself as he was running through looping rooms. She'd just have to let him marinate in his panic before stepping in afterward.
"Why is it that foxes always use their snout to dig up in places they don't belong?"
Daji's expression tensed slightly, but when she turned to see the mage that had been accompanying Heinrich so close to her, she was showing off the fakest smile she could gather, and said mage showed her her own just fine.
"Alicetroemeria, is it? I'm glad to see you! I wanted to have an opportunity to discuss with a local Monster Lord!"
"Well, here I am!" Alicetroemeria exclaimed herself with her arms raised as if she was greeting a friend, even as she was readying a spell with her staff. "What do you want to talk about? I will make sure you get an answer fitting of someone of your caliber..."
Daji continued talking even as she raised a magic barrier. "Well, I wanted to know a bit more about leaders overall… The closest comparison I have back home is Hecate, and she's a shitty brat who let power go to her head… Seriously, the only reason she still has subordinates is because they fear her more than anything else!"
"Well, fear is quite a factor in loyalty… Let me show you why, you wanton whore who wanted to wheedle this well-wisher!"
"Mmh… Do you really want to put on such a display so close to your oh-so-precious Heinrich?"
Alicetroemeria interrupted her spell, and put her chin in her hand in an exaggerating expression of focus. Daji still kept her guard up, wary of her opponent's true intention.
"Maybe Mephisto should teach you instead. I'm only here to eat with Heinrich after all! Now if you would kindly free him, I will let you be on your merry way before that hag arrives…"
Daji's smile ever so slightly twitched, but she relented and disappeared before Heinrich could understand what happened to him. As she looked at the duo from afar, she groaned again.
"I really can't underestimate them… Those people are on a whole new level compared to my old playground. I guess I will just have to try harder then! Let's practice on some villagers first… I'm getting really hungry."
After a few more minutes, another man left the inn and Daji once again started weaving spells once again. At first, she thought that he was just a drunkard, as the smell of alcohol surrounded him and his beard was dirty with remainders of his party. However, he was radiating a certain power, and she guessed that even if he was not one of the Seven Heroes, he was still one of Luka's companions, and had consequently trained quite a lot to keep up with the hero. She once again crafted her labyrinth around him, and this time, the man collapsed in less than a minute.
"Perfect! Now… Huh?"
She suddenly felt a force call to her. Someone -or something- was forcibly trying to pull her away in a teleportation spell, and it wasn't a magic type she was used to deal with. Did that damn yoma have that many tricks in her bag? Or was it a revenge from that Monster Lord? She felt unable to move even as as her victim was lying down barely a few meters from her.
"Come on! At least let me get him first!"
The magic spell refused to listen to the kitsune, and, after a long struggle, she vanished in a rain of sparkles. A few minutes later, her victim woke up, still dazed by the aftereffect of Daji's spell. The man looked around in shock nervously, then checked his now empty bottle, still aghast.
"I'm never taking a single drop again!"