The Main Continent. That was the name for the lands that dwelled a majority of the human and monster race of this world. To a few scholarly types, the name Gondwana would be a more apt and pleasing title. Yet to the common folk and those with superiority complexes, the Main Continent was the more pleasing of the two names. It was the center of the biggest conflict in human history. While the wars in the Mist Continent were much more regular, the ones on the Main Continent had a more meaningful feel to them.
For this land was home of the Demon Lord. The being who had turned the monsters into what they were now. No longer did they seek out humans to devour. To rip and tear them apart. To feast on their innards and drink their blood. No. The Demon Lord was a succubus. A succubus who loved humanity for that is why she granted the monsters a new form.
Now they were beings of lust. Their forms take on more pleasing and feminine ones. A race of all women that wanted nothing more than to find a husband and start a family of their own. It sounds benign, but not everyone thought so. For almost a thousand years, even after the Demon Lord's change, war still rages over the land. It was nowhere near as fierce as it was before. Many people had come to like or at least tolerate the new 'monsters', now known as mamono.
The Order, however, did not. The Order. The greatest bastion of humanity. Where most of the species resided in the world. It held on to the hate for monsters and the Demon Lord. In no way, shape, or form would they submit or care to coexist with monsters. To them they were still the evil beasts of old and would stop at nothing until they were all dead.
The mamono were not all innocent. For there lived an Extremist faction growing among them. It started out small but it had continued to grow until now it was a force onto itself. It clashed with the Order, speared on by one of the Demon Lord's own children: Druella. Fourth born of her name. For under her command, the extremists lived out their own pleasure. They needled the Order, continuing the war to this very day. Neither side would back down lest they fear destruction entirely.
For nearly a thousand years, the Order and the Mamono have gone back and forth. No one being the clear winner at the end. There were of course hold out nations and provinces that sided with neither or were friendly to both but supported no campaigns. Even they were feeling the strain of this war starting to break them.
They would of course get no outside help. The Mist Continent was locked in a three way war the likes of which matched or surpassed the conflict in the Main Continent. Zipangu had its own internal strife with some warlords seeking to claim the island nation for themselves. Small nations like Dragonia kept to themselves, caring little about the outside world except when it came to profit.
No one could break this perpetual state of the world. Yet today, there could be a way. For something had happened that should not have been possible. Not without divine intervention or the Demon Lord finally regaining her god like powers. Neither of which were possible at this time. No, what happened was the birth of a dragon.
Within the outskirts of a daemonrealm, far away from the prying eyes of any normal human or mamono, there laid a small fortress. On the outside, no one would notice anything special about it. It was just one of many numerous abandoned castles that dotted the planet. Whether it had been abandoned in an ancient war or had been taken over by the mamono and they had just left sometime afterwards, no one knew. So any passerby wouldn't give it much thought.
This was exactly why it was chosen as a place of operations. On top of it being a secluded area and out of the people's eyesight, it could be easily fortified. Not just physically, but magically as well. The place was surrounded by dozens of magical charms and spells that encased the place in an invisible barrier. No one could get in and out without the say so of the Witches who made this place their temporary home.
Witches. Followers of the Sabbath. The religious order in the ranks of the mamono that proclaimed that youthful appearances were best. It was better to be small then to be big. That was what they believed in and what they practiced. All of the Witches in the fortress could have been considered 'children' if you just looked at them. They laughed and sometimes even played like them but they were more than that. Only a fool would consider them just 'children' for long. Not after seeing their strength in magic and knowledge they carried.
The world of the mamono was not one you could look at and understand. Just like how the fortress itself was more than meets the eyes. Stuff like this is how the mamono have survived for this long despite their hatred for war and death. Hiding and waiting out opponents with sneaky tricks or just knocking someone out. The Witches went with the former rather than the latter.
They of course knew ways to make up for that. Aside from Witches, inside the fort were a group of mercenaries. Naturally mamono hated violence but they had ways around this. They would kill when it came to defending their mates and children. As well, incubi had no such limitation as they could fight to their hearts content. However, there was a third option. There were plenty of regular humans who would fight for the mamono. Both men and women, in fact. They did it sometimes out of duty seeing as how their nations were anti-Order. Other times they simply did it for the coin. Most of the ones inside the fortress were the latter.
They shined their blades. They tugged on their bowstrings. All of them bored but cared not about it. They were getting paid anyways. They knew mamono were loaded. Easy money given that mamono had their own forms of currency or just used bartering. Which meant a lot of valuables went unused. Mercenaries loved them for that. So when they weren't being bought by the rich and wealthy people of the Order, or neutrals, mamono were their top clients.
That didn't mean they always got along. Mercenaries were people of the coin. They had fought both humans and mamono on a number of occasions. Most preferred fighting mamono. Much less chance of death that way. That and dealing with mamono was usually much more pleasant.
Of course, the leader of this mercenary band was having a bit of a spat with one of his clients. He was rather well built with heavy armor over most of his body, although he went without a helmet. His white hair splayed out from his head as he glared at the being next to him.
The mamono to his right was exceedingly beautiful. While that was the norm for mamono, she was different. She wore a strange black 'nun's' outfit with some purple highlights. It exposed some of her chest and thighs to the world, which some men eagerly drank up the sight of. A tail with a spade at the end swished back and forth. Chains covered it as did some on her ankles and arms. Her long grayish hair spewed down to her hips. She smiled at the mercenary captain, which usually would have driven a man to pure lust and ravaged her if she had been willing.
The mercenary captain didn't. He kept scowling, "Well you can see we're all fine and dandy."
"How wonderful," the woman, a Dark Priest, said with a charming smile. Her voice was melodic and the people around her couldn't help but blush upon hearing her speak. "It does my heart good to know that the great men and women that protect our lands have everything in order."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah." The mercenary captain said, "Everything's right in the world. So we're done right?"
The mercenary captain did his best not to shiver under the gaze of the Dark Priest. Dark Priests were the mouthpieces of their main deity, the Fallen God. A god who wished to drown the world in pleasure. Sure mamono were highly active sexwise, but the Fallen God took that a step further beyond. Nothing but pleasure mattered to them. To some that would be great, but the mercenary captain couldn't help but feel unnerved by them. The Dark Priests gaze was loving but their was a sickness in those eyes he could not avoid. HIs men couldn't see it since they were too enamored. Even the ladies were affected to a degree. All of that pissed him off but he dared not push it too far.
"My, my," the Dark Priest giggled, causing shivers to travel down his spine. "So eager to have me leave? How very rude. After all the riches I gave to you and your benefactor. I would appreciate a nicer attitude out of you."
"Let's just say I've had bad encounters with your faith before, lady." The mercenary captain snorted, "So I appreciate you coming to check up on us, but I can assure you, everything's good here. Aint heard of anyone coming around these parts for ages so the spells are holding up."
"Such a stressful life you live," the Dark Priest pouted, which he tried his best to ignore how it made him feel. "Living day to day by the sword. I appreciate you helping a mamono in need but you should really look out for yourself more."
"I do that just fine," he said.
"I'm sure you do," her smile returned. She turned to face him fully. Her tail twitched behind her like a cat would when they found something they wanted to play with. "You truly are a fine man. The faith of the Fallen would give you immensely if you join. I can assure you that we are extremely generous to our followers."
The mercenary captain shifted. His hands twitching. He wouldn't look at his swords. That would tip her off but she could see how tensed he was. She knew the effect she was having on everyone there. His mercs were useless right now with her charm in place. He made a note to hire more resistant goons next time. He started to sweat as she walked slowly closer to him.
"We could talk about this… privately~" She purred, which almost made him drop to his knees. She wasn't even using her full charm strength, yet it was pushing his limits.
Suddenly, a magical wall of see through purple magic appeared between them. The pair of people blinked in surprise. The Dark Priest pouted in failure while the merc let out a sigh of relief.
"That is MY man," a young female voice said. On a broom sat a Witch, one of the petite mamono. She was almost indistinguishable from a normal human. Her clothes were bright purple and typical of her witch kind, down to her pointy hat. Her belly was distended, showing her pregnancy. "I would prefer if you didn't get so close to him."
"I was only offering him and you a world of pleasure," the Dark Priest said, "It is not in the nature of us mamono to take another's husband."
"Yes, but I wouldn't appreciate a husband with NOTHING but sex on his mind." The Witch ground her teeth with a glare, "I appreciate you helping us find this place but scram."
"And what would your proprietor think if you treated one of her financial aids this way?" The Dark Priest said.
"I'll tell her that you were rude," the Witch said, "Oh she'll kick my ass but I'd rather that happen then go with you."
The Dark Priest giggled and bowed her head, "I concede to you that. Oh well. There are always other that will follow the faith. Still, I hate to leave you on this note but I must depart. You will not see me again as I'm quite satisfied with the layout of the place."
The pair watched them leave and sighed.
"Thanks, hun." The Merc captain said with a smile. He walked over and kissed her belly, causing her to giggle. "Though let's not have you kicked around while you have a passenger on board."
"Oh I know," the Witch said with a smile, "I know our boss is a bitch, but even she wouldn't do that."
"Just wait until our daughter's born to do it," he quipped and kissed her belly again. Thankfully her witch's broom made it easy for him to do it since he didn't have to kneel down. "Still though, couldn't your boss have done all of this on her own?"
"She tried," the Witch sighed, "It's hard to do something this big without tipping off the other powers. The Demon Lord included, bless her soul. That's why we're so understaffed right now."
It was quite typical for the Demon Lord to be treated with respect when invoking her or her name. The creator of their race, all mamono instinctively looked up to her. That being said, some still worked in the shadows in spite and sometimes against her. Creator she may be, but some had the ambitions of their own. Like their boss for example.
"Well if your boss makes this work," the merc chuckled, "We'll be blessing her soul from now on."
The Witch snorted, "Like Helheim I will, but still." She sighed, "I think I'm going to bed. This baby is taking a lot out of me."
"I'll join you," the merc captain said before leading his little wife away.
Unfortunately for them, not far off laid a camp. A little over a hundred soldiers mulled about in it, thankful that no mamono had spotted them yet. They flew the colors of Lescatie, the crowning jewel of the Order territories. Marked as one of the Order, they had employed a few spells to keep out demon corruption and detection. That didn't mean they were not on edge. Mamono were tricky. There were always ways around their spells, as had been proven in past campaigns. Still, they still could do their job and so far it had held up. If something failed, they were close enough to their lands to escape.
Inside the largest tent sat an elderly soldier. He was looking at the map and stroking his white beard. He glanced upwards as someone walked inside. He, like many in the Order, were in awe whenever they saw a Hero. Gifted by the Chief God herself, they radiated massive amounts of power. The one before him was no different and made him want to sink to his knees in reverence.
She was stunningly beautiful as heroes tend to be. Her long golden hair was tied into a single ponytail. Her white and golden armor covered her body except her head which was bare. Her blue eyes bore him no ill will but made him shiver at the thought of ever getting on her bad side. The large broadsword on her side helped with that.
"You called for me?" She asked.
He nodded, "I may be your commander, but you are still a Hero. All information and plans of attack are to go through you."
She nodded, "Yes, but you have been in more engagements than I have. Surely you don't need to tell you how when to attack."
"Dawn, I say." He sighed, "And most of those were in small skirmishes with other human nations. Only faced mamono a couple of times before. Tricky bastards they are. You've faced them more then I have."
She gave him a sad smile, "Yes, I have and I shall continue to do so as long as the Chief God wills it."
"Good," the commander said, "We'll need you to lead the frontal assault at the break of dawn. Your magic and skill should break whatever spells they have. No doubt they'll use strong mamono to counter you. After that, we'll sweep in with the rest to clear out the castle and whatever plot they've got cooked up."
"I can see you haven't fought mamono before," the Hero said. She pointed to the map at the castle's whereabouts, "If they wanted to defend this place, they won't stock it up with just powerful mamono. We're more likely to face a small contingent of human mercenaries."
The commander frowned, "Heretics, you say."
"No," she said, "They care not for ideology. They only want the coin of whoever pays them. I've had to cut down a number of them who had fought for mamono benefactors."
"Well if it's killing our fellow man," the commander snorted, "I've had my fair share of experience in that regard. I was worried we might face some Minotaur or something."
"We can't rule out that they will appear," she said, "But our reports said that we should only have to worry about Witches."
He stared up at her face, noting how it seemed like she was biting a sour lemon. "You don't trust the report?"
"I've learned that mamono aren't always easy to predict," she said, "It's almost never that easy. It's why I asked you to give me more men to command."
"I've noticed you like to use men more than ladies in your campaigns when mamono are involved," the commander noted, "Not saying I disagree with the notion but I fail to see why."
"Men take longer to turn," she simply stated, "It's harder to make pushes into mamono territory when a good portion of your force turns into horny devils."
"And-"
"Don't start," she narrowed her eyes, causing him to shut up instantly. "I am a Hero. I have enough energy in me to make a Dark Mage weep in jealousy. That is before I lop her head off."
He gulped as he felt a bit of her energy leaking out. It was enough to blow up the entire tent and that was only a small fraction of her power, "Duly… noted."
"That being said," she stopped emitting as much energy, "The ladies you brought are exceptional. They will serve us well. I was just nervous when you brought me just twenty to make this attack."
"I'm glad you talked me out of it," he wiped away the sweat on his brow.
"Now," the Hero said. She smiled, "I think a dawn strike as planned is still in order. I'll take fifteen with me. The rest I want you to split into two teams. One here," she tapped on the map, "The other here," She tapped elsewhere.
He looked at the map and nodded, "Reasonable. I think we'll go with that."
The Hero bowed her head, "I'm glad to serve you, my lord."
She turned to leave. He sighed in relief. He could never handle dealing with Heroes. They were too powerful and arrogant for his tastes. Eliza Fullmoon was her name. One of the strongest in the region, if not the strongest. He could believe that now after seeing her. He shuddered to think of how her little girl would turn out. Sasha, he thought her name was. Well either way, the attack tomorrow would certainly go off without a hitch. The scouts were right on the money this time.
Outside of the camp, the Dark Priest pressed herself against a tree. Dai was her name once when she was a simple succubus. Only other priests knew of it. She giggled as she looked at all the people inside. Licking her lips, she spoke to herself, "Oh how I would love to bring you into our fold but not today."
A part of her was sad that so many would die tomorrow, but her god had given her a mission. Who was she to deny her god's will? Surely she would never do such a thing. That was blasphemy. Why ever would she sway from the path her oh glorious god gave her. Death was abhorrent to a mamono but the gods knew better.
If a Dark Mage wanted to play at being the Demon Lord, then she would have to face the reality of her choice. That path was made out of blood. Unlike other mamono, those of the Fallen faith did not revere the Demon Lord. She was just a pawn for the sake of love and did not fully see the Fallen God's full path. Perhaps a new Demon Lord would be chosen. The Dark Priest hoped it was Druella. She seemed like such a fine young Lilim. A being worthy of her god's light. Perhaps this Dark Mage could prove useful as well but she was to pay tomorrow. The Dark Priest did not know why but the Fallen held strong to their god. Second guessing was not in their nature.
So she was content to know that the messengers she had hypnotized had done their jobs. No doubt they would 'stumble' into the open arms of a lover soon thanks to her. All in the day's work of a Dark Priest. Dai unfolded her wings and took off into the night, unseen.
She would not watch the battle. Mamono hated killing. She would leave that to the humans. That was what they did best after all.
Hello everyone. I'm glad you lot decided to stop by and check out my story. I've been itching to try my hand at Monster Girl Encyclopedia. I bought both books last year and I really enjoyed the setting. It's just so interesting that I can't help but want to use it. I will do my best to give the world its dues and explore it as best as I can. Since I love the setting, there will be a lot to explore. I want to show off all the sides to this conflict.
As well, a part of this was made due to there not being enough good Monster Girl Encyclopedia stories. I hope to change that or at least entertain people while I'm writing. This story will remain rated T until I feel the rating needs to go up. Until next time, I hope you a all do well and have a good year.
