AN: Here it is, my new fanfic focusing on the conquest of Lescatie. I'll start by noting that this has two different versions, one with sex scenes and one without. This is the latter. You can find the full version on Questionable Questing under the same name.

It's quite different from most of my fanfics in that it isn't historical but is about a "present-day" event that's described extensively in canon. I keep consulting the wiki whenever I'm writing this fanfic, and even put together a document with all of the relevant character profiles to reduce the amount of wiki searching needed.

But I'll still diverge from canon a lot when it suits my purposes. The story of this fanfic will mostly be original outside of the general "Druella conquers Lescatie", partly because this will be very thematically different, and partly because canon doesn't really have a clear story (the character profiles describe events that are mostly unconnected with each other). The characterisation will be as accurate to canon as I can make it, with some exceptions like Druella.

Also, this'll be shorter than most of my fanfics (though not as short as Dark Genesis). It shouldn't exceed 20 chapters.

Finally, I'll warn that this chapter and the next have descriptions of sexual assault. It's not too graphic, but please keep it in mind.

Morning arrived. Even with her eyes closed, Druella could sense the change in the atmosphere.

Nnn… I wish I could just stay like this forever…

Druella felt the warmth of her husband's, Baniti's, arms around her. A sensation that could make any monster, even a lilim, never want to leave their bed. But of course, that wasn't actually feasible for anyone… save devotees of the Fallen God.

After a few minutes, Druella was able to work up enough energy to move. She gently lifted Baniti's arms away and slipped out of bed, making sure to leave her husband covered by the blanket. Her bare feet landed on the soft purple carpet that covered the floor. Then she stretched her arms, legs, wings and tail out as much as possible.

Ah… almost nothing beats a good stretch in the morning after a fun night.

Druella walked over to where her clothes had been messily discarded the previous night, and she began dressing herself.

Druella's usual attire consisted of many pieces of black fabric with red trim that revealed almost as much as they concealed: a simplified leotard, shoulder-guards, bridal gauntlets, deep purple stockings, high-heeled shoes and a cover that slipped over the end of her tail. Large red gemstones resembling eyes adorned the shoulders, forearms, thighs, ankles and tail-cover of this attire, and were also attached to her horns and the main joints of her wings. Finally, she had a pair of ruby earrings dangling from her long pointed ears.

Hmm… all perfect.

Once everything was on, Druella used a nearby mirror to examine herself. She picked up a silver comb and used it to bring some locks of white hair into their proper place.

While doing her personal grooming, Druella heard the bed creak, followed by an unfairly adorable yawn.

"Did I wake you?" Druella said without turning around. "Sorry about that."

"No, I just… woke up on my own."

Deciding she was decent enough, Druella walked back to the bed and gave a quick kiss to Baniti. The dark-skinned man was a scholar she'd met eight years ago on a trip to the Ataraca Desert. Back then, Druella would sleep with any unattached person who caught her eye and then leave them before long. But when she'd met Baniti in a remote desert outpost, she felt a spark of something different. After various adventures together, she'd brought him back to Royal Makai and the two of them had gotten married.

Baniti sat up in bed. The sight of his bare chest nearly made Druella push him down again, and it took a herculean effort on her part to resist.

"I'll be alright, Druella," Baniti replied. "Though I'd like to… lie down for a little longer. You can do as you please."

Druella nodded and left the bedroom. She walked down a corridor, her movement causing small crystals in the ceiling to automatically light up with a soft blue radiance. Then she passed through the second door on the left.

On the other side of the door was a well-furnished kitchen, equipped with all the latest food-preparation technology.

Druella picked up an orange ceramic jug and brought it towards a brass tap to fill with water. As soon as the water began filling the jug, it bubbled and hissed as it warmed.

Leaving the water to boil, Druella went towards a bench with two fruit bowls lying on top of it. One bowl held intoxication fruits, prisoner fruits and other things meant to eat before sex. The other bowl held more normal fruits such as apples, bananas and oranges. Right now, Druella just wanted something that tasted good, so she took one of the bananas, peeled it and began eating.

A soft click from the jug announced that the water was now boiling. Druella took out two cups, placed a Zipangan tea bag in each, then poured boiling water from the jug into the cups. She waited three minutes, then removed the tea bags, dropped them into a bin with an automatically opening lid, and finally took a sip of tea.

Hmm… the taste isn't quite as good as usual. We might need to buy a new box of tea bags.

Druella sat down. She finished her banana and was halfway through her tea when Baniti staggered into the room. He wasn't the kind of person who was active in the morning, so Druella took on the duty of preparing breakfast on days when they were both at home. In return, he took on the duty of preparing dinner on those same days.

Strictly speaking, neither of them needed to have breakfast at all, or dinner, provided they spent their nights together as wife and husband. But eating normal food was important for the mental health of any monster-human couple, reminding them that there were other pleasures in life.

Baniti took one of the apples and his cup of tea, then sat down next to Druella. "Thank you," he said. "Did you have any particular plans in mind for today, Druella?"

With clearer thoughts now that she had food and drink in her, Druella considered this for a few moments. Then she replied, "Well, I've been hearing many stories about Lescatie lately, some of them quite horrific. I'd like to go there and see the truth for myself."

"A-Are you sure?" Baniti asked, his eyes fearful. "I mean, I know better than most how powerful you are, Druella, but to go to the Order's most fortified city…"

"I'll make sure to disguise myself like usual," Druella elaborated. "You can relax, Baniti, I won't do anything reckless. I swear that on my love for you and for the rest of my family. I'll never do anything that would keep me from returning home."

Baniti relaxed a little. "Then… if that's what you think is necessary. But please make sure not to do anything except observe Lescatie. You might be a lilim, but—"

"—But I'm still not invincible," Druella finished. She held one of her husband's hands to reassure him. "I know that. But thank you."

-ooo-

After finishing breakfast, Druella left the house. Baniti stayed behind to work on his research into the history of the previous Demon Lords. Many couples liked to spend most of their time together, but Druella and her husband were exceptions.

A few people wondered if we would even stay together at first, when I'm a lot more outgoing than he is… but in the end, we proved them wrong.

Druella spread her wings and began flying over the city of Renais. This was the capital of the greatest Demon Realm in the world, Royal Makai.

The sky was currently filled with dense clouds that completely obscured the sun. At night, these clouds would disappear to reveal a blood-red moon. Both phenomena were considered terrifying in much of the world, but Druella had grown up in Royal Makai. She found its unique sky to be comforting, as if she was wrapped up securely in a blanket.

Below was a landscape of wondrous beauty: multi-storey apartments constructed from basalt and marble and painted with ornate murals, towers of glimmering metal that reached proudly towards the sky, gardens and parks with purple-leaved vegetation, crystal statues of legendary figures, fountains with endless currents of fresh water, magical lights in every colour of the rainbow… it was a sight that Druella still appreciated, even in her seventy-third year of life.

There were many people here, approximately three-quarters monsters, one-fifth incubi and the rest a mix of humans, dwarves and elves. That last demographic was always a surprise to first-time visitors, since Royal Makai was indisputably the heart of monster power. But there would always be humans who didn't want to become a monster or incubus, for various reasons, and their choice was respected here.

Another stereotype about Royal Makai was true, however: monsters of every kind could be seen here, with mighty dragons and baphomets mingling with commonplace slimes and orcs. Many wore clothing that would be considered scandalous in some countries, with a few races such as slimes wearing nothing at all. But they were simply chatting, shopping, playing and otherwise behaving as people elsewhere did.

Some of these people noticed Druella and waved to her. The lilim briefly considered landing to mingle with them for a little while, but decided against it.

It's a long way to Lescatie, and I want to have as much time as possible there.

So Druella began flying towards the south, faster than a flying bird, faster than an arrow. The city of Renais was quickly replaced by lush purple plains and forest, and lakes and rivers that appeared black in the dim light. In less than a minute, that landscape and the overcast sky both gave way to sunlit plains of green. She'd left Royal Makai altogether.

-ooo-

Half an hour later, Druella crossed a river that marked the northern border of Royal Makai. She slowed her flight, cast an invisibility spell on herself and suppressed her aura of demonic energy. These actions were interlinked: if Druella continued to fly at high speed, she wouldn't be able to conceal herself.

Druella saw villages below her, scattered amongst the wilderness. These would be considered within the bounds of the Theocracy of Lescatie, even if they lacked the strong armies and sturdy defences most associated with the nation.

What is life like for them, I wonder?

After a quick check to confirm there were no heroes or other powerful beings present, Druella landed quietly on a roof in one of these villages. Still maintaining her invisibility, she scanned her surroundings.

This was a simple farming village with a population of four or five hundred, judging from the number of buildings. Said buildings were constructed from wood and thatch, and looked like they wouldn't even stand up to a rough storm. There was a stone wall around the village… it was chest-high and, judging from the number of cracks, hadn't been maintained properly for decades.

Lescatie is famous for being impenetrable to monsters, but do those in the city not care about these outlying villages? Druella wondered. If even a few monsters attacked, this village would fall in an instant.

Then there were the villagers themselves. Most of the adults were currently in the fields, using scythes and wicker baskets to harvest their crops. Some fixed up damage to buildings using hammers, nails and scrap wood. Others were cooking food in cast-iron pots or washing clothes in basins of water. The children scattered feed for flocks of chickens to eat. All had the lean physiques of those without much food… but they kept working regardless.

They're doing so much using just normal human strength… and not a single spell.

Druella had travelled around the world for decades and experienced many cultures. She knew that most didn't live as luxuriously as those in Royal Makai. But this… this standard of living was what she expected to see in history books, not in reality.

After fifteen minutes, Druella decided to move on. There was only so much she could learn from staying in one place. She leaped off the roof and spread her wings once more.

Over the course of the next hour, Druella examined three more villages. Conditions improved somewhat as she went deeper into Lescatie, but not by much. She still couldn't see any examples of magic use.

It would only take a little effort to improve their lives greatly… summoned undines to make their wells produce clean water, occasional visits from a healer or apothecary to keep the people healthy, basic sharpening and reinforcing enchantments on their tools… Is even that too much to do?

Or do the rulers of Lescatie just not care about their people?

There's only one way to find out.

-ooo-

After ten more minutes of stealthy flight, Druella spotted a large city in the distance. It was surrounded by high walls and dotted with flags, the latter showing a golden crucifix with white feathers on a blue background. And that wasn't all. To the north of the city was a lake, and on the shores of this lake was a magnificent castle surrounded by smaller buildings.

The larger city could only be the capital of Lescatie, which was also called "Lescatie". The smaller city by the lake had to be Castle City Salvarision. Even Druella, who'd never stepped foot in Lescatie until today, knew of their names.

Since she was close to her destination, Druella descended into a grove of trees and touched down on soft ground.

Alright. I didn't encounter any heroes until now, but that definitely won't be true once I'm past those walls.

With just a thought, Druella caused her shadow to extend upwards from the ground, forming a dark mass equal to her own height. It then withdrew, revealing a full-length mirror, a small pile of clothing, a travelling pack and a magic staff. These were supplies that Druella normally stored away using spatial magic.

Then she began altering her appearance. First, she withdrew her horns, wings and tail. Next, she turned her white hair brown and messed it up a little, gave her eyes white scleras and green irises, shortened her ears and rounded the tips, added a smattering of freckles to one side of her face, and made her numerous tattoos fade away. Finally, she put on a dull blue dress and brown travelling cloak over her existing clothes, removed her jewellery, placed a coin purse into a pocket of the dress, and replaced her high-heeled shoes with leather boots.

While she'd done this many times before, Druella still felt a bit stifled in this human disguise. Her succubus organs felt as if they were bound up tightly by rope, and her skin itched from the additional clothing.

But I have to bear with it. I made a promise that I would be discreet.

Druella picked up the travelling pack and the magic staff, the latter being a simple rod of elder wood as long as her own arm. She didn't need the staff to wield magic effectively—in fact, a staff like this would explode if she tried using her full power—but it was necessary to appear like a normal human. Few humans travelled on their own without a weapon of some sort, and those that did tended to attract attention.

Her preparations complete, Druella left the grove and approached the nearest gate to the city of Lescatie.

As she got closer, Druella sensed numerous defensive enchantments protecting the city. There were hundreds upon hundreds of them, ranging from barriers to block attacks to alarms that would trigger if enemies breached the walls. They were expertly woven into a single synergistic mass. If Druella tried besieging the city with all her might… she could possibly make a breach in one wall, but then she'd be too exhausted to handle the city's defenders. And even if she had an army behind her, unless that army included her parents, they'd suffer high casualties trying to take the city.

No, any forceful approach is out of the question. So I'll need to test how easy… or difficult… it is to sneak in.

Druella arrived at the gate. It was a huge opening in the city wall, big enough that five ogres could have walked in side-by-side without feeling cramped. There was a portcullis, and it was reinforced by multiple layers of enchantments, but it was currently raised to allow free traffic.

Four guards were visible at the gate: two standing just outside, two just behind it in the tunnel leading through the wall into the city. They were well-equipped with plate armour, spears and backup daggers, all made from steel that showed no signs of rust or grime.

Unless they're very good at hiding their real capabilities, I could escape from them if they realised who I am. Hopefully it doesn't come to that.

When Druella was about ten paces away, one of the guards called out, "Stop there, please. What is your business in Lescatie?"

"I'm Druella, a travelling scholar from Welsple," Druella replied smoothly. "I'd like to enter Lescatie in order to study the local culture and history."

"Do you have any identification?" another guard asked. "Sorry for any inconvenience, but we have to make sure that no monster infiltrators step foot in our city."

But them being able to enter the villages is fine? Druella was tempted to ask, but she refrained. Instead, she pulled out a sheet of blue paper from her travelling pack and handed it to the second guard. This was proof of a Degree in History from the Saint Welsple Academy. It wasn't even a forgery; Druella had, in the past, gone to that academy in disguise and earned the degree with a single year of hard work.

After examining the paper for a dozen seconds, the guard handed it back and nodded. "Everything seems to be in order. Welcome to Lescatie, Miss Druella."

Druella walked past the guards. She was still a little tense, wondering if this was merely an act and the guards would attack her from behind. But she reached the end of the tunnel without incident.

…I'm inside. One of the most anti-monster cities in the world, and I, a lilim, managed to walk inside.

It was true that lilims were better at hiding their true natures than most monsters, as part of their general prowess in all fields. But judging from the security procedures that Druella had just witnessed, quite a few monsters would be able to sneak in if they tried.

It's true that Mother and Father snuck in, long ago, but… wasn't Lescatie supposed to have grown more secure since then?

This requires further investigation.

Druella looked around even as she continued walking forward. She saw stables, inns, barracks—the usual for the outskirts of a city. There were more people in this major road alone than in any of the villages she'd just visited.

Minute after minute passed as Druella moved deeper into Lescatie. She began seeing shops and houses, but there still seemed to be a barracks on each street, as well as numerous churches—a reminder that Lescatie was a militant theocracy.

Soon, Druella realised what was missing from Lescatie: entertainment. Every other city she'd been to had musicians performing in the streets, travelling duellists putting on mock fights, fools juggling all manner of objects, at least one theatre for major shows… Even Order cities were no exception. But after twenty minutes of being in Lescatie, Druella hadn't seen or heard of anything like this.

It seems they're completely focused on fighting my kind, and supporting those who fight. But don't they ever want to relax, to simply enjoy themselves? Do they think that being so dour and strict will help them fight monsters?

Druella glanced to the side, at a man and woman who were laughing about a joke involving three sheep.

Well, they're not incapable of enjoying themselves. But still, they're so disciplined that there's no room for any dedicated entertainment. If I had to grow up in a place like this, I would have run away at the first opportunity.

Now, more than ever before, Druella was grateful for her upbringing. She'd been allowed to travel the world as she pleased, have fun as she pleased and marry as she pleased, all while being taught how to understand people, rule fairly and defend herself in a fight.

On that note… how do the local humans approach romance?

Since she was now fairly confident she wouldn't be discovered, Druella began reaching out with her mind. As she made telepathic contact with surrounding people, she heard flashes of their thoughts.

"Hmm, that ache in my belly's not going away… Should I see a healer? But the only good one nearby is old Nancy, and she's expensive…"

"Where'd I put that key? I know I didn't drop it, so I must've just forgotten where I put it… I need to find it soon, before Gina yells at me."

"That street rat hasn't come by lately… Good. A whore like her isn't good enough for my Samuel."

That last one drew Druella's attention, so she continued listening telepathically to the middle-aged woman who'd said it. She had a good picture of the situation after a few minutes. The woman was a wealthy merchant and her son Samuel had recently been meeting with a female orphan from the slums. This sort of pairing was considered disgraceful, so Samuel's mother had recently hired some guards to keep the orphan away. And Samuel was now apparently sulking as a result.

…It's not an unusual situation, Druella thought. Still, it irks me that they aren't allowed to be together.

Druella continued onwards. Her path took her through the wealthier part of Lescatie. This was filled with two- and three-story mansions: built from fine stone, painted in vibrant shades of white, gold and blue, and accompanied by well-maintained gardens. Even from the outside, Druella could tell that these were filled with luxury. But she also noticed something else.

Servants were visible through the windows of the mansions, busy carrying out cleaning and washing and cooking and various other tasks… all without casting a spell or using any magic tools. And while it was difficult to determine from outside, there seemed to be several times as many servants here as would be in monster-owned mansions of comparable size.

Even the wealthy make their servants work this hard!? Is this what the supposed best of Lescatie is like?

Of course, this wasn't the first time that Druella had seen servants doing manual labour. But she'd always heard Lescatie being described with awe and respect, from humans and monsters alike. She'd… expected more than this.

Still, Druella kept walking. She also reached out with her mind again.

"Hmm… those eclairs last night didn't quite agree with me. I need to have a word with the chef."

"The weather is pleasant today… I think I'll go out for a stroll."

"Sarah is looking despondent again… Well, it shouldn't last long. She'll forget that up-jumped commoner soon enough when she starts seeing men of proper breeding."

Druella stopped in her tracks, unable to suppress the disgust at what she'd just heard. It seemed that restrictions on romance were quite common in Lescatie. But she soon forced herself to resume moving. She couldn't afford to reveal her identity.

"We must make sure everything is in order. Hero Wilmarina will be coming soon, and we must make a good impression…"

That was a name Druella recognised. Wilmarina Noscrim was quite possibly the most famous hero in Lescatie, being the heiress of a major noble family and a master of both the sword and ice magic. There were probably people as far off as the Mist Continent who'd heard of her. Druella hoped to see her at least once.

Then Druella heard more thoughts that caused her to stop.

"Yes… Yes, scream for me!" "Ah… just… I just need to hold out a little longer…"

Druella was no stranger to rough and dominating sex. Because of that, she was well aware that this was nothing of the sort.

Completely forgetting about the need for discretion, Druella hurried towards the mansion these thoughts were coming from. There were guards at the outer gates and a butler at the door, but a few nudges with mental magic convinced them she was an honoured guest who shouldn't be disturbed.

Within the mansion, Druella passed by several maids in the same manner. Practically flying through the opulent corridors, she arrived at a bedroom and threw open the door.

Inside was a handsome-looking nobleman and a comparatively plain-looking woman on a bed. Both were unclothed and the latter had several bruises on her body.

"Who in blazes are you!?" the nobleman shouted, getting to his feet.

Druella slammed the door shut behind her and grasped the nobleman by the throat using one hand. She slammed him against a wall.

"Gah!" the nobleman cried painfully. "I-I'm Alain of House Goldedge! Y-You'll never—gurk—get away with this!"

"Unfortunately, Alain, everyone outside this room believe you're simply having a pleasant conversation with a guest," Druella hissed. "No one can help you now."

Sorry, Baniti. Just this once, I have to break that promise.

AN: This was a great example of how you can write more than you originally planned. I originally planned to have all of Druella's first trip to Lescatie in one chapter, but kept writing and writing until I had to split it into two chapters.

The final subplot wasn't in my original plans at all, but it offered an interesting place to end the chapter on.

The next chapter should come in less than a week's time.