"I read your records as a therapist. I have a new job for you."

"Thanks for the forewarning, I would have at least… made myself somewhat presentable before you entered. Weren't we done?"

"I have a new issue that requires your assistance. We had… unexpected troubles. Some people need your ear. You cannot refuse, but your participation will be rewarded."

"Alright if that's so much of a problem, I'll listen… Can I say that your local colleague is kind of an idiot?"

"Yes. Do not lose time preparing yourself. Here is a small vision of your reward."

"Just give me a minute, I'm feeling a little too good right now. I don't know what more you can give me right now but… is that a Torii gate? Very well, I accept. It's not like I have much of a choice anyway I suppose… What's the matter that needs to be dealt with?"

"As I said, we had unexpected trouble. Some people need an ear."

"Okay, that's ominous. Alright, I'm ready, let's go. Did you just flip Mochizuki Etsuko?"

"No. You're imagining things. Focus on your goal."

The setup for the new working place of the secretary was very basic. Two simple yet comfortable chairs and a table were placed on a large stone platform that seemed to drift in the infinite cosmos, with only a pillar at each corner and a large stone door at the other end being present otherwise. The secretary simply sat on one of them and prepared his notebook, indifferent to the impossible world around him. Even if he had taken the time to read the files he got, he knew he wasn't fully ready to deal with the world-wrecking insanity of the people he would meet in a few minutes.

Collaboration Scenario on New Game Plus… What am I getting into this time? The Six Ancestors look somewhat responsible compared to them. And their leader is…

Ah. Est Morn. Present in dimension RJ373827 as Mochizuki Etsuko.

Well, that already explains a lot of things.

Case n°1: Myusca

Race: Succubus.

Past history: premeditated murders through rape and energy drain: 1745 charges (confirmed)

He hadn't been sitting for more than a minute before the large door stone opened. The figure on the other side was a planturous girl dressed in a school uniform, with a short miniskirt and wool sweater that attracted attention to her forms much more than it hid them. Her long, well kept raven hair accentuated her curvy figures, and her downcast blue eyes barely accentuated her charms. The secretary checked the file again. If he didn't have the pictures, he would have been unable to tell she was the same flirty succubus who was thoroughly described in explicit details. The disguised monster remained at her entrance, her hands fidgeting together. The secretary gestured forward.

"Please take a seat."

The girl obliged. She timidly stepped forward, grabbed the chair and sat herself, looking down at her hands while she was still fidgeting. She was making herself as small as possible. The secretary tapped his papers to tidy them, and looked at her. He already had the information he was going to ask, but it was the best starting point for any conversation.

"Alright, what's your name?"

"Myusca." Her response was barely a whisper. The secretary tried to offer his most gentle smile and leaned forward.

"And what do you do in your life, miss Myusca?"

The girl visibly winced. Right now, she was impossible to approach. Even if he got to the bottom of this, it would take time for her wounds to heal.

Not that a lot of people would complain about it.

"It looks like you got it rough. Can you tell me what happened? Take your time. Start from the beginning."

A minute passed. The girl was gauging him. The secretary was still smiling as sincerely as he could. He needed her to open up to him. Visibly, her memories were enough to pull a tear out of her as she started talking in a trembling voice.

"It started… some time ago. I was playing on my console back then when-"

Eh. This game sucks. Sixty bucks of DLC for that? What a ripoff. The last guy didn't have half that in his wallet.

Myusca put down her controller and turned off her television. For as much as she enjoyed the creativity of humans, she was also regularly reminded that they used it first and foremost to make money at every turn. The succubus stretched and moaned. That day was getting boring, and she felt her innate hunger slowly rise.

Mmh… I wonder if I should get someone at the hotel? Vinum say that they're going to get suspicious if we keep eating there so often, but it's not like we can't just play with them or brainwash them afterward, right? Grandma's such a wet blanket, maybe I should move out… On the other hand, she's covering for me, and Nemea is skilled at finding the good stuff. Eh, maybe later.

"Mh?"

Myusca felt a vibration in the air. A slight magical buzz at the center of the room was attracting her attention. Magic wasn't frequently used in this world, and yet, this aura was indubitably the result of supernatural forces at work. Then the buzzing turned into a black vortex, making a mess of her bedroom. Before she could get some help, Nemea and Vinum entered the room. The small white-haired succubus was suspiciously eyeing her junior.

"Damn it, Myusca, what did you do again?"

"I swear, I didn't do anything this time! That thing appeared in my room just like that! I had just tidied everything up!"

"Ara… this is even beyond what we can do on our own. Maybe we need to take a look."

A purple-haired succubus wearing a leotard with a copious cleavage came out of the portal. She smiled at the trio in front of her.

"Greetings, fellow succubi. My name is Est Morn. May I interest you in joining me for a fun little adventure? I would like your support to expand the Land of Night in a new world."

Vinum frowned and shushed Myusca. "The Land of Night… I never read about that."

"It is a land of pure pleasure, where we can have sex with humans forever. I found a pretty little world that is in dire need of more fun. I'm sure that they would appreciate your presence."

"Very well. You have my curiosity. What type of world are we talking about? What will we have to do?"

"All you will have to do is to enjoy yourself to your heart's content. This is a world in turmoil, filled with legends and heroes that are standing proud but are secretly eager for a gentle touch."

"And now you have my attention." Vinum evilly smiled. "We'll follow you." Vinum turned toward Myusca and Nemea. "Prepare your weapons. If this world is as filled with heroes as she says, we will need them."

"Yes! Finally, some first-rate food!" Myusca happily jumped up and down. The trio readied their equipment and stepped through the portal. Once on the other side, they were greeted with the sight of a medieval village under a night sky, and a concerning feeling of loss of power.

"Hey, what's happening? I suddenly feel sluggish!"

Vinum frowned. "Magic in our world is quite different from theirs. It's incompatible. I hope that this Est Morn prepared her plan accordingly."

A grating voice echoed behind her. "And she did! Tadaaa! I'm the White Rabbit! Here's a book of job change that will grant you back your skills! You just have to touch it. It's how heroes get more powerful in this world. You better grab it before they arrive to balance the story out!"

Vinum glared at the rabbit clad in white that had appeared behind her. The strange monster held out a tome in front of her. The small succubus waited for a moment. The lagomorph pushed the book toward her.

"Stop waiting. You're going to touch it in any case."

"Nemea, hold Myusca back in case it is a trap." Vinum barely grazed the book. The succubus was surrounded by a halo of power for a short moment, and smiled to herself. "It's safe. Go for it." She turned toward the White Rabbit. "Whatever your goal is, you have our thanks."

"You're welcome! As far as I'm concerned, I just want to see if that story is going to be an insane repeat of the last time. You know what they say. Doing the same thing gets you the same result. But I'm here talking about it. Am I already making this different?"

"What?" Myusca raised an eyebrow. "You're confusing, what are you talking about?"

"Oh, sorry, I was talking to myself. I'm late, I'm going to get some mooks to fill the place as well. Toodle!"

The White Rabbit disappeared without a word. Myusca blankly stared at the spot.

"That was one weird rabbit?"

"Fox. It was a fox."

Myusca raised an eyebrow. "You might want to get your eyes checked grandma, I'm pretty sure that monster was a rabbit."

Vinum haughtily looked down at her junior. "One day Myusca, you will learn to see with more than just your eyes."

"Whatever." Myusca shrugged. She was just too happy to have recovered her full power, and she was ready to rampage. Her instinct instantly picked up on the presence of a male from their own world close by. Indeed, a young man was clumsily getting up behind them. When he saw the succubus lustfully look at him, he fully started sprinting away from her at full speed. Myusca jumped and wrapped herself around him, removing his clothes in a heartbeat before turning him into her meal in a cacophony of moans. Vinum disapprovingly shook her head.

"Damn it Myusca… you better share afterward. I want some heroes for myself."

"Sheesh, don't worry grandma, you'll get some! You heard that White Rabbit fox whatever! They're coming soon!"

"Mmh." Vinum looked down. Concerned. "I feel that she was hiding something dangerous."

"Oh come on, just relax! We have a whole village for us!" Myusca sadistically smiled, her aura flaring slightly. "How about we trap everyone by turning the place in a maze and let them marinate just like home? Only one exit to give them hope, and we catch them right as they think they're sage!"

"Mmh. That's surprisingly insightful of you." Vinum smiled. "Maybe those lessons I gave you are sticking. Let's get started. Nemea. Prepare the circle. You're the one with the biggest mana reserve."

"As you wish Vinum-sama."

The trio of succubi started their work when several green-skinned alraunes wearing their flower as skirts appeared. The alraunes looked confused around them. Vinum heard them mutter in a mix of disbelief. While she wasn't surprised by their shocked reaction, she was puzzled when a few of them were visibly going under déjà vu symptoms.

"Huh. Here again?"

"I-in hindsight, these were so many clues that something was wrong. We… I… I should have been careful. Maybe I should have even run away."

"Please don't blame yourself for that. You didn't know what would happen afterward."

"That damn fox did!" The succubus suddenly shouted, a few tears flying around as she got up, crying a mix of sadness and rage. "And she screwed us all! She used us as her toys! And, and…" Myusca started crying again, occasionally blowing her nose in tissues that weren't there a minute ago. The secretary let her do so before continuing.

"We're visibly reaching the crux of the problem. Please continue."

The succubus timidly looked up. "Do I have to?"

"Yes."

"…Well, we finished our work… We also met our allies, but it was clear that we wouldn't be able to rely on them. That succubus said we would be able to get back to the Château des Romances in case of problems. Then some of those plant monsters started partying, except for one who was more powerful and rushed deeper in the labyrinth, which was just fine with us. Then some beastial kitsunes appeared and got drunk as well, and someone dropped a few mechanical geisha dolls before saying screw this, I'm out of here. I had no idea why back then, but now, I understand. She knew what was waiting for us. And once all the setup was ready, I took a small break to discuss with Vinum…"

"Save for a few of those plant girls that left, we're doing fine. The people in this village are slowly waking up, confused." Myusca smiled like a cat. "Shall we get started?"

"Do us the honor yourself. I'll start having fun in my corner."

Myusca giggled like a school girl when Vinum and Nemea left. It was time to pickle the population of this town in despair to give them the most exquisite taste. Myusca slowly inhaled and projected her sweet voice in all the corners of her newly-created domain.

"Can everyone hear me~? You probably don't understand what's going on so suddenly, but... I'm going to explain it to you. I'll start with the conclusion..." Myusca's smile accentuated. "You are all going to become my food~."

She couldn't refrain from giggling. "But just this once, I'm going to give you a chance to survive. If you get out of there and escape from me... If you can do that, it's your win You won't be eaten by me~. In other words... This is a game with me against everyone If you want to survive, get out of there…"

She already imagined people marinating in fear and apprehension. "Haha... Well then, bye bye I'm rooting for you.~"

Myusca then casually started strutting through the twisted corridors that made for her new domain. A few of those plants and kitsunes were looking at her with a mix of fear and awe. She was torn between her appetite pushing her to feast on every men at once and her desire to let them marinate in fear to further enhance their taste.

How about one at a time? Let's start by the young man that owns this house… and he's in the presence of some heroes apparently! Mmmh, I'm sure that they'll all taste delicious.

Myusca teleported in a room where a trembling man was discussing with another man who looked like he could come from her world, a surprisingly feminine yet indubitably male monk, and one of those plant girls that had come earlier. The plant girl shouted in her direction and hid behind both men.

"It's Myusca! It's her! Kill her!"

"Wait." The modern man raised his hand. Myusca refrained from jumping him, intrigued, ignoring the other boy who slipped behind them. "Are you really responsible for trapping everyone here?"

"Yup~! And you're all going to become my meal."

The man frowned while the monk on his side cracked his knuckles. "Release everyone."

"Hmmm…" Myusca pretended to think the proposition over for a second even as she was inwardly mocking the man for thinking he had a chance to survive a fight. "Noope! In fact, I'm going to eat you right here, right now!"

A bullet grazed her face, letting a small burning trail of blood. The trio in front of her was now glaring at her. She now had a better feeling of their power levels. It was not a fight that she could win alone.

"Let. Everyone. Go."

In a reaction born of primordial fear, Myusca turned back in her succubus form. She didn't wait a second more before dashing away. She was half sprinting, half flying through the narrow maze she created with an impressive alacrity. To her horror, the monk boy had no difficulty keeping up with her and had the utmost look of determination on her face. She released a few arrows in his direction, but her attacks harmlessly dissipated against a barrier surrounding him.

This is unfair! Aren't boys supposed to protect the weaker sex? The nerve of that one! He already punched women in the face. Granted, even from here I can tell that they were power hungry bitches, but it's not a reason! Oh shit, he's getting closer!

"Abyss Heaven!"

A wave of pink energy surrounded the boy who stopped, entranced. Nemea appeared near Myusca, a concerned look in her face.

"Are you okay Myusca-chan? I felt the violence from here!"

"No! I'm not! He nearly hurt me!" Myusca glared at him. "I'll show him!"

"Ara… he will have to wait. His friends are getting too close already. We'll get help from Vinum-sama on the matter. But first, let's get away from them." Nemea teleported them in another house close-by, further down the maze they had carefully elaborated.

"There… it's okay Myusca-chan." Nemea focused on reassuring her trembling junior. "They will need several additional hours before they find us. Why don't you drain one or two men dry? You'll feel better afterward."

Myusca gulped and nodded. The succubus had been passably shaken by her encounter. When she jumped in, she had expected the idea of fighting heroes to be elating. Driving preys to despair was even better when they were acting all and mighty with some power to absorb afterward. Heroes were people that came, launched into cutesy tirades about the power of friendship, and then extended a hand to the villain to give him a chance at redemption. Then they fell in any trap the succubus laid either out of lust or a misplaced belief that they would repent These ones… probably used the power of friendship, but they were as cold and pragmatic as they could come. Her enjoyable appetites had been replaced by a knot in her stomach.

A hole exploded in the wall, making both succubi jump back in surprise. The head of one of those drunken bestial kitsunes poked through.

"Heeere's foxy! Hakunen's looking for youuu! Come out and plaaaaay!"

Myusca instinctively shot an arrow at full power toward the fox and screamed. Her opponent's head and the whole wall around got engulfed in an explosion. When the dust cleared, the monk boy was examining the fox who was only sitting on her ass, stunned. To her horror, the plant girl and Kazuya were staring at her.

"Abyss Heaven!"

The wave of pink heavenly energy summoned by Nemea swallowed the room. While the monk boy was once again stunned, his companions seemed unaffected. The demon hunter pointed a gun at each succubus while Lampas casted vines in their direction, slowing them down. By the time they managed to tear down the green barrage, both Nemea and Myusca had suffered several shots. Nemea healed the both of them as they ran. They teleported even further away, in a more isolated house where Vinum was patiently reading. The small succubus raised an eyebrow when her two partners arrived.

"What's wrong? I knew Myusca might have a few difficulties with a bunch of heroes, but you too?"

Nemea answered out of breath. "They're surprisingly tougher than we expected. We won't be too many of three to take care of them."

"Mmh." Vinum closed her book. "Very well. I shall see them by myself. Wait, what's that?" Vinum pointed at a vertical cut in a wall away from them. Another vertical cut appeared. Then a horizontal one. The cut wall felt forward, revealing one of those crafted dolls wielding a katana while muttering to herself.

"That seed-for-brain better not have done anything bad with my Kazuya, or I swear I will turn her into a salad soup." The doll cut another hole in the opposite and walked through the new opening, completely ignoring the succubi in her rampage. A minute later, Myusca found the courage to say what they were all thinking.

"That was weird."

"And she's going in the direction where the heroes are… let's avoid them for a while. This is not an opponent that we want to face."

"Ara… I'm not sure dolls can feel anything anyway. Let's find some fun elsewhere."

Myusca nodded. She didn't want to stay around either. There was no way everyone else in this world was as obscenely powerful as themselves, was it?

But still… we barely ate a few people… and none of them were tastier than the average man back home.

When the trio stepped out of the house, they saw three strange travelers staring at them: An unusual succubus with a schoolgirl uniform and a frilly cape, a boyish mage in a robe, and a curvy tanned oni wielding a large hammer. The latter frowned when her eyes met Nemea.

"I can't explain why, but I have the irrational desire to beat you down."

"Ara…" Nemea stepped back. Fighting against these new opponents was going to be unpleasant.

Vinum grinned. "Good. I needed to shake some rust. Show me what you can do!"

In the blink of an eye, Vinum charged the trio and was preparing an attack aimed straight at the oni's head. In a motion just as fast, the oni caught the smaller succubus with her war hammer, throwing her victim back where she came from. Vinum's body completely wrecked the house upon impact in a cacophony of crushed splinters.

"Vinum-sama!"

Sheesh, this world is insane! I'm starting to wonder if it was a good idea to come here!

The two remaining succubi got back in the house, keeping their eyes on these new wolves. Beyond the fear Myusca had felt when she was faced with the heroes, she was now concerned by the high density of people that seemed to want them dead. They quickly found a stunned but still conscious Vinum. The head of the small succubus was wobbling as she was trying to keep standing.

"That damn fox might have played us… we have to leave this village and have our fun elsewhere quickly."

"Ara… it's a shame. Those heroes looked cute. But I agree."

For once, Myusca herself agreed with her seniors. She never considered she would pass up an opportunity for a meal, but this one was too spicy to her taste. Vinum raised her hands to silence everyone when she heard some commotion.

Those damn heroes are not being heroic! They're wrecking everything in their path! Aren't they supposed to face the trials presented in front of them instead of breaking everything to get through them?!

Vinum grimaced. "I can say that the monk and the oni are definitively on good term… once they're together, we'll be done for. We have to teleport away now!"

"Wait… we don't have a fallback point! The Château des Romances isn't ready !"

"Damn it… don't tell me our other allies are that incompetent. That damn white-winged demon had told us it was a matter of hours!"

As they discussed, a feeling of dread seized Myusca. Just as they expected, all those heroes had indeed regrouped.

And they were after them.

Myusca gulped. They needed to leave now. However, their carefully crafted maze would need time to be properly dismantled, and now, they were the ones trapped inside. Vinum led them in a small side room and closed the door. The small succubus sounded surprisingly out of breath when she talked.

"Let's wait here. The heroes probably won't be smart enough to think we're here. Or they'll focus on saving people inside. We're only at risk if they decide to plunder the place, and they did not look like the kind that act like bandits."

Her two partners nodded. Myusca was fidgeting uncomfortably. This went in the exact opposite direction she had initially hoped. She just wanted to go home and suck dry some people, not hide like a poor man in distress.

Is this what people call karma? I only wanted to have some fun, where's the harm in that?!

Vinum herself was regularly fidgeting. Seeing her always reliable elder being shaken herself wasn't doing any good to her own state of mind. Nemea herself was leaning against the door

"Ara… I'm feeling some life around, but I can't see anything. Do you?"

Myusca grimaced and started looking around, expecting to see the room filled with cockroaches. They were in a medieval world after all, and the standards of hygiene and cleanliness weren't quite the same as back home. Somehow, the reality was worse.

The place was flooded with vines.

Nobody had time to react before the green tentacles sprang to life and pulled Nemea through the door, leaving Myusca and Vinum dumbfounded as the large succubus was pulled in the dark hallways, her scream gradually disappearing in the abyss. Then a shockwave rumbled through the structure, kicking dust down. The fate of the succubus was obvious. Myusca tried to throw herself in the direction the succubus disappeared, but Vinum held her back.

"Nemea!"

"It's too late for her Myusca. We couldn't beat them when we were three! Doing the same now that we're only two will be suicidal." Vinum frowned. "If only that Musette had been quicker, this would have been avoided!"

Vinum kept an eye out even as Myusca felt her heart beat faster and faster. They now had nowhere to hide if the heroes came back. And indeed, they reappeared like the nightmares they had become. The two men showed up, indifferent to the charms of the succubi. Then the two monsters that had appeared to reinforce them, the alraune looking particularly warily at them. They were quickly joined by the doll, and the trio that they had met at the entrance. The oni was lugging behind her the unconscious form of Nemea, dropping her without a care while staring at the two succubi. Myusca was completely aghast, unable to say a word as she was tightly holding onto Vinum's shoulder to the point of drawing blood. When she talked again, her voice was a trembling whisper.

"Get us out."

"I can't, the Château des Romances is still not here."

Kazuya sighed. "Why don't you spare everyone a headache. Just give up and join us."

It's a trap… it can only be a trap. I can't even imagine the horror they'll inflict on us if we surrender.

The plant girl talked. "I'm not enthusiastic about welcoming you either. But we all know how this will end. Trust me. The sooner you stop the better."

"Get us out." Myusca repeated herself, her voice an octave higher.

"I. Can't." Vinum's word came out through her gritted teeth.

"I don't think they're even listening… are you?"

The oni weighed her hammer in her hands with an impressive dexterity. "This kind of people remind me of yokais… if they're anything like home, then a beatdown is in order to get them to listen."

"I'm not fond of so much senseless violence master…"

"Then consider it sensed as it's the only way to knock sense into them." The oni looked up. "And now sense doesn't even sound like a word anymore…"

The eight people in front of Myusca started charging spells and devastating attacks. Myusca didn't find the courage to raise her own bow, instead only managing to duck behind Vinum.

"Get us out. Get us out. Get us out , get us out, get us out get us out get us out getusoutgetusoutGETUSOUT!"

"I- FINALLY!" A dark vortex swallowed the two succubi when Myusca felt all the energy released in their direction. They reappeared on a red carpet in the lobby of a large castle. As soon as they landed, Myusca's knees collapsed under her own weight and she ended on all four, dry-heaving while Vinum stepped away, furious.

"I'm going to tell that demon a word about leaving us hanging!"

"That sounds harsh indeed… and I imagine the words your… leader had for your ally didn't improve the situation."

Myusca looked down, her eyes fogging up again. "…They didn't have the time to talk."

"Ah. What happened exactly?"

The succubus in her human guise started crying again. At first, it was a small tremble that gradually worsened into hiccups.

"M-more heroes had been brought in the conflict by Musette… s-she thought that they could take them down, but it was obvious that she had no idea what she was doing." Myusca sniffled. "She… she thought we'd be able to hunt them all and that we had more power. But… but we didn't. We didn't…"

Myusca spent several minutes blubbering. The secretary-turned-therapist let her do it again, even as she pulled several more tissues from a box.

"We barely had time to recover when they arrived, and we thought that we would be able to take them from behind after they tired themselves fighting Fulbeua and Musette, but..."

Myusca and Vinum climbed the set of stairs leading to the throne room. Between that damn egomaniac succubus and those pseudo-angels, surely the heroes were now on their knees or at least seriously exhausted. If there was one moment where they would be able to take their revenge, it was now.

To their shock, the spectacle in front of them was the opposite of what they expected. The team that had torn their plans in Finoa apart had made easy work of their opponents. Fulbeua was lying on the throne in ecstasy while the three pseudo angels were lying in a corner in a heap. The heroes were focused on something behind the throne. The doll was looking frustrated.

"Isn't the portal supposed to be just behind?"

"I don't remember. It went differently last time."

"What? What are you two talking about again?"

"Nothing. Please ignore the walking tuft of grass. You look frustrated Kazuya, do you want to use my functions to relax?"

"Sorry Mukuro, but we need to stay sharp. There are still a lot of succubi around, and that Queen of Dreams is not done for yet."

Vinum whispered to Myusca. "This is a failure. Let's cut our losses and leave for now. We can't fight them head on. We'll have some fun elsewhere and we will come back once they cleared the place. At least, I don't think our allies will be able complain if we leave."

Myusca silently agreed. However, they had barely made two steps when they heard the voice of the oni.

"Is it me, or it smells like in Finoa?"

"RUN!"

The two succubi started dashing away at a maddening speed. All discretion was out of the window. They half flew, half dashed at the entrance only to get greeted by another curious group. A purple-haired boy was leading a clergywoman, a purple bundle of walking tentacles, and a trio of small angels led by an adult one. One of them pointed in their direction.

"Succubi! Protect me Eden!"

"Worry not Ilias! No harm shall befall you! Lucy, Mica, rally to me!"

The four angels swarmed the two succubi as the remainder of their group ran behind. Myusca could barely escape the first spear thrust and riposte that a comet fell on top of her. They were not at an advantage, and it would only get worse once the others joined in.

"Myusca. Go hide underground while I hold them back."

"What?!" Myusca nearly took a blow to the head. "I won't leave you behind! That world already claimed Nemea!"

Vinum grimaced in a mix of pain and anger as she parried another spear strike. "I have skills that even you don't know about. I'll be able to escape in the blink of an eye. But I can't do that and protect you at the same time! Now go!"

Myusca obliged, barely able to avoid one of the smaller angel that was laughing in an elated bloodlust. The echo was haunting her as she abandoned her leader. For all the little care she gave to Vinum's sermons, she was surprisingly worried for the immediate future of her mentor.

The succubus was terrified. Right now, she could only try hiding underground and hope that the heroes and their partners would rather focus on the throne room where the portal was theoretically located rather than search for her. Then she would leave for good once Vinum rejoined with her.

Myusca was lucid. Vinum wouldn't catch up with her. She had just put on a brave façade and sacrificed herself. The best she could do herself was run through those rocky hallways while hoping to escape the local heroes.

The succubus blinked and suddenly stopped. The geisha doll had suddenly spawned in the middle of the hallway and was glaring at her.

"You tried hurting Kazuya, didn't you?" She unsheathed a katana in a sharp metallic noise. "When you were an ally, we couldn't do anything to you. But now is the perfect time for a little payback."

What is she talking about? I've never seen any of them before, and now she tells me we were allies? That doesn't make sense! Nothing makes sense!

Myusca put as much powered as she could in her bow and unleashed an arrow toward the doll. The latter suddenly disappeared. Myusca blinked a few times to confirm that it wasn't just her mind playing tricks on her. In fact, she was now in a small isolated underground room.

Did she just teleport me?! How?! And Why?!

The succubus slowly stepped toward the exit. She held to the wall when she fell a shockwave shake to the castle. Then another quake kicked up dust from the ceiling. She hesitated to show up, but eventually slowly peeked around the corner. So far, the corridor was clear. She was alone. She could maybe escape through the entrance, but she was sure that they had now trapped the place. Maybe they even pretended that the succubi could escape before breaking them once and for all.

At least, that's why she always did when she wanted to play with someone herself. She had already noticed the parallel, but she didn't care at first. The feeling of entrapment was making her feel powerless. And yet… there was no way the people in this world knew of her past deeds and decided to copy her, was there?

"Couldn't you have stood still?"

Myusca felt a sharp pain in her back. That doll had somehow appeared behind her. The succubus failed to react in time and became entangled in a mass of black hair that she simply couldn't tear through. As she struggled, she noticed the priestess accompanying the group at the entrance wielding a large staff and glaring at her with an inhuman force.

"You attacked Finoa… you remind me of the Lilith Sisters… and I have the feeling that you'll suck dry Luka as soon as you have the opportunity. Don't move, I'm going to save myself a huge headache!"

The priestess raised her staff above her head. Realizing how dead she was, Myusca exploded in panic-stricken crying.

"I'm sorry! I don't know what I did this time, but I'm sorryyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!"

Sprotch.

The secretary remained still, even as the traumatic memory was enough to make Myusca retch everywhere, including on top of him. The succubus cleared her mouth with a bit of water.

"…sorry."

He kept smiling. "It's nothing... do you want to add anything else?"

The succubus shook her head negatively. She was still loudly gasping for air as she threatened to explode in another outburst of crying. The secretary leaned over and patted her on the shoulder.

"You can relax now, it's over, you won't have to deal with that abomination for a predictable amount of time. Now… what are you going to do?"

Myusca murmured. "I don't know."

"Let me correct myself then: what do you want to do now?"

The succubus just shrugged. A minute passed in silence. Eventually, she pathetically muttered again.

"I want to go home. But we're stuck here. The heroes broke the portal. We're stuck."

"It's a tragedy. The first thing you need to do is take some rest, as well as take a moment to take what happened in consideration. Talk with your friends about it, you'll feel better. I'll accompany you myself as much as you need. Remember that there are other people around for you. In the meantime, try finding an unrelated hobby to take your mind off what just happened."

"Thank you…"

"You're welcome. Take some time to relax. You deserved it."

The succubus got up and exited the space through the only door, leaving the secretary alone in this surreal space. The man scribbled a few more notes. That took more time than he expected. Luckily, she was the one who suffered the brunt of the troubles.

Probably because she was one of the biggest troubles in the first place.

Case n°2: Lyla

Race: White-winged demon (yoma subspecies)

Past history: Rape, assault, kidnapping, brainwashing and conspiracy against royalty in a bid for world domination.

A minute later, someone else entered. The newcomer looked like green-haired one winged-angel with a mechanical glove, and was wearing a leotard and sexy thigh-high white boots. That new monster was looking as downcast as the succubus, although given how she actively evaded his look, he could detect a large amount of self-loathing as well. He invited her to sit with a friendly smile. She awkwardly shuffled to the chair and sat herself.

"Alright, can you tell me your name?"

"Lyla."

"Alright, miss Lyla. Can you tell me what happened?"

"I hurt Bell. And I hurt Musette"

The secretary waited. He already knew Bell was her soulbound half. Both monsters shared a link on an existential level, and were loyal to Musette no matter her plans.

"Ah. I apologize. How did it happen exactly?"

"I had a moment of weakness."

More time passed. Lyla remained down in silence. It was beyond simple self-loathing. If she wouldn't have brought Bell in her death as well, then that angel would have killed herself.

Of course, going by her past history, most people would have seen that as a net gain.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Another minute passed before Lyla finally expressed herself.

Flanked by Bell, Lyla was following Musette through the portal that would lead them to another world. After their failure to take control of their own world because of that hero Lest, they welcomed the new opportunity. And that world was offering everything they wanted. They had their power back thanks to that kitsune turned White Rabbit, and they knew Lest was approaching with the shaman needed to bring the Château des Romance in this world. Musette was already drawing plans to betray their allies.

"Bell. Lyla. Please stop the hero from interfering. Or at least, slow him down enough so that I can brainwash the local queen before he arrives."

"Yes Musette."

The duo decided to wait near the only bridge that led to Grand Noah. It was far enough from the city to prevent interference, but close enough to see the hero come from any direction. And indeed, Lest and Tarsa appeared on the road, trivially discussing the strange world they had fallen in while the scantily dressed shaman occasionally hit on her companion. Bell and Lyla made themselves known to the duo, surprising them.

"Ara ara. If it isn't the cute hero and his companion."

Lest frowned and unsheathed his sword. "You! I knew since the beginning you were behind everything! Tell me where Musette is!"

"Oh? You think you can stand to us? Very well. Let us see how you hold out. En garde, little boy!"

Lyla attempted to strike Lest, but the hero parried her mechanical glove with enough power to nearly break her arm. She stepped back, holding her limb, and took a good look at the weapon the hero was holding. It was the Hateslayer. The weapon he had acquired when he was at his apex. He had already beaten them with it in the past. In the meantime, Bell was almost overwhelmed by Tarsa who was dancing around while screaming like a banshee, slashing repeatedly at the monster with a scythe that seemed to blink in her hands.

They're more dangerous than we thought… we have to retreat now and inform Musette!

"This is only a setback… we'll face you again and beat you down soon!"

Lyla shivered when Lest glared at them.

"Good. Tell her that I'm coming."

Bell and Lyla teleported back to Musette. Their leader would undoubtedly be done with brainwashing the Grand Noah queen for their next step. Instead, they arrived to the sound of a whip clacking in the air and Musette trying to keep her distance from the woman. While all the guards had already been brought to their knees, the queen was somehow holding her own against Musette.

How is it possible?! She's just one human!

The woman swore. "Damn it! I knew I would have been targeted! I should have asked Caesar and Arthur to accompany me!"

Bell and Lyla didn't wait before jumping at the rescue of their leader. Even at three against one, the queen stood strong and needed several punches to be brought down unconscious and be receptive to their brainwashing. Musette cleared a trail of her own blood from her face before getting to work.

"We have to hurry… that little hero and shaman are going to be there any time soon! This succubus shaman better be more receptive to our brainwashing than this queen!"

Bell and Lyla helped their superior correctly set up the scene. The queen also had to be quickly healed as well as visible bruises ran the risk of alarming anyone present. The trio executed their plan right in the nick of time, as the heroes entered the moment the brainwashed queen sat herself.

Lyla felt relieved when the next part went accordingly. The awakened, horny Tarsa had her way with a surprised Lest, taking him out of the picture. The trio decided to step in to mock the Almighty Swordsman accordingly.

"My, it seems that little hero still has a lot to learn about the adult world."

"Haaah…" Lest moaned pathetically before falling unconscious, Tarsa still frenetically feeding on him.

"Delivering the shaman wasn't that hard, was it? Bell, Lyla, bring them in the dungeon. The hero will find a good place in a cell, while the shaman should be brought to the very bottom to bring that damn Château des Romances.

It better be worth it. Maybe we can even have fun with Lest ourselves.

The two monsters approached Tarsa. Bell froze when the eyes of the succubus locked on her. They had made a huge mistake. Tarsa's succubus traits and powers were greater than they expected. Awakening succubus blood was always a risk, as "young" succubi often wallowed in their sex drive and the damage was only mitigated by their limited power, allowing people close-by to quickly knock them out before they sucked dry the whole town.

Tarsa however, had an incredible power. But she still had that unbridled sex drive.

In a single bound, the succubus wrapped herself against Bell and started lecherously licking her, rubbing herself all over the yoma and draining her.

"Argh! What in the bloody hell is she doing?!"

Bell started panicking as she unsuccessfully tried to pry away the sex-crazed succubus. Tarsa seemed to always slip around in her libidinous onslaught.

"Get her off! GET HER OFF!"

Bell frantically started to dash around the room, Tarsa still latched onto her. Lyla couldn't try removing the succubus without wounding her other half. Musette herself was looking aghast as Bell tried to remove her load by hitting the wall and various furniture. Unfortunately, the succubus wasn't a mere horny lapdog humping her leg, but an athletic and determined monster with the skills and dexterity to lock herself tightly around any prey. Those qualities they appreciated a few minutes earlier when it came to draining Lest were now major hindrances. When Bell slowed down, exhausted, Lyla and Musette attempted to physical pry Tarsa away, but the latter seemed to always slip again. Having a clear shot, Lyla resorted to punching the succubus in the head until the latter was unconscious. Bell was shivering when she was freed. Musette was glaring at the scene.

"Damn sex fiend… if it was only up to me, I would kill her! At least she accumulated a good quantity of energy to start summoning the Château des Romances. Go rest. I'll take care of any hero that will show up. We better not get behind schedule more than we already are."

Bell and Lyla obeyed. Their plans had succeeded, but they weren't happy. Just relieved at best. It hadn't gone half as smoothly as they thought it would. The mess in the throne room and Bell stumbling around were the proof of that unwanted challenge.

The information that damned fox gave us was faulty… we'll make her pay!

Bell fell silent. The secretary empathetically leaned forward.

"I understand that you feel awful about Bell getting drained, but you did help her as soon as you could. Don't beat yourself over it."

Lyla glared at the secretary.

"This was only the first part of it. If we knew what would happen afterward, we would have abandoned that damn Est to her own games."

The man conciliatorily raised his hands. "I apologize then. By all mean, please continue."

The next part of their plan started to run into issues. While the trio had expected Lest to be freed as heroes somehow always found ways to escape imprisonment against all odds, she hadn't expected Tarsa's companion to show up and infiltrate the prison the way he did. The man had simply broken in by destroying a wall, and further destroyed any floors that got in his way as he searched her. Luckily, Tarsa still had enough power to summon the Château des Romances, although in a weakened state. Musette herself had barely escaped with her life, and she doubted that the Nightmares summoned with the castle would be enough to hold back the heroes and Tarsa for long.

They barely had the time to rest when more heroes arrived. The new team made a beeline for Fulbeua, the Nightmare who was nominally the leader of the Château des Romances. Visibly, she wasn't moving from her throne. Musette and her goons decided to check on her, only to see Fulbeua being pleasured by a small succubus and a plant girl while everyone else was awkwardly shuffling around.

"Gnn… Musette, did you wish to join us as well? It seems they made quite the effort to learn how to please us."

Musette pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Fulbeua… you have the mission to defend the portal. Stop wallowing in pleasure like a cheap whore and start doing your job!"

A monk boy stepped back. "This is getting really awkward. Should we just leave them here? I've already seen enough conflicts between yokai to know it's not going to get better any time soon."

Us, anything like those horny foxes? What an impudent comparison!

Lyla frowned and swept Hakunen from his feet. Someone needed to be reminded of their place…

"Kneel in front of Musette, weakling! You will be our next step in the conquest of this world!"

Before she could enter a proper fighting stance, Lyla felt a firm pair of hands grab her ankles. Right afterward, she saw Bell's surprised expression approach at an incredible speed before their head hit each other. Then it happened again, and Bell was now trying to flee, terrified of her. She didn't have time to recover her mind before she got thrown straight in Musette with enough force to embed the both of them in the wall behind.

Even as her ears were now ringing and her head bobbling, Lyla was aghast. It hadn't been so much a battle as a sweeping, with her being used as a sweep. She could hear one of the heroes talk.

"Strange. They're not succubi. Are they actually with those Land of Night monsters?"

The plant girl stopped her handicraft. "I think so. They look interesting. Their appearance rings a bell, but I can't remember where I've already seen them."

"That's it. I don't remember what happened between then and here. Our great leader must have evacuated us to a safe place."

"Yes… in any case, you're not responsible for being used as a weapon against your other half. Only a fool would deny that no mistakes were made, but this one is not on you." The secretary looked at the monster in the eyes. "What happened to you is already hard enough to live as it is, you must not make it worse by blaming yourself for it. This is easier said than done, but you already have enough issues on your plate to add another one yourself."

Lyla glared at the secretary. "Do you even realize the weight of my actions? I hurt Bell. I hurt Musette. Do you really think they will forgive me?"

"Did you even talk to them since then?"

Lyla's silence was eloquent. The secretary sighed. "Try contacting them again. If they see you as guilty as you think you are, ask if there's a way you can make amends. Given your history together, I don't see any reason for them to refuse.

"Very well. I will talk to them this instant."

Lyla disappeared. The secretary examined the remaining files. He was halfway in, but the remaining ones were comparatively thinner.

Case n°3: Ogretooth

Race: Succubus

Past history: Assault, battery, rape, magical corruption

Compared to the others, the succubus showed up determined, glaring at the secretary who remained steady. Her leather armor which was highlighting as much as it was hiding her incredible curves was bouncing up and down with each step. She grabbed the chair and didn't so much move it than slam it before sitting on it.

"Alright, miss"

"Ogretooth. I don't know why I'm here and I don't care."

"You're only there because you need to be here. Can you tell me the last thing you remember?"

Somehow, Ogretooth was glaring at the secretary with even more intensity. The man wondered if her eyes weren't going to pop out. Eventually, she sighed and gave in.

"We were relaxing after failing to take over Komodo when that damn Queen of Dreams and the White Rabbit appeared in front of Mysteltainn… I zoned out a bit, but I got the gist of their conversation."

"So we fuck people until they fall unconscious, convert the women into more succubi, and fight heroes as they come?!" Ogretooth grinned. "Alright! That sounds like my kind of plan!"

"Good grief Ogretooth." A white-haired succubus in a black bodysuit repositioned her glasses. "If what that fox turned rabbit told us is right, we'll have to expect Novissa and Tarsa as well as local heroes. Let's stay cautious. I don't want you to meet a premature end because of your recklessness. It goes for you too Executioner."

"I got it Mysteltainn, no need to tell me!" A succubus in an armor adorned with skulls defensively raised her hands.

"Good. Then let's go."

The succubi quickly identified a first location for their plan. A rich village slightly isolated by mountains was making for a perfect target. There were a few monsters among the population, but while their power was nothing to scoff at, they were well below the Cursed Sword Sisters themselves. Between the effect of surprise and their power, most of their goals had been accomplished without a hitch. They were roaming the streets, enjoying their bounty when a young magus and his strange succubus companion appeared. Executioner was the first to see them, and gauging their power level had alarmed her enough to have her fetch her sisters.

"There's a hero and his companion coming! They look a bit young, but they mean trouble!"

Ogretooth stepped out to see the duo Executioner was talking about. They looked more like two children that skipped school than heroes on a quest to defend the world. Mysteltainn looked reserved as well.

"These two… don't come from this world. Just how many worlds did that Queen of Dreams pull people from?"

"Bah, who care?! That kid looks so sweet, he'll be my dessert!" Ogretooth grinned and approached Lauratt, enjoying his fearful reaction. The boy accumulated energy with a runic symbol glowing on his hand. Ogretooth stopped herself, an eyebrow raised.

"Hey kid, you're sure you have your thing under control?"

The succubus was suddenly blasted with a violent beam, her senses temporarily shutting off to protect themselves. When her faculties returned to her, she noticed that she was uncontrollably flying through the sky at a speed that she couldn't reach on her own. Kilometers of forests and mountains were passing under her at an extreme speed. She couldn't even reassume control of her trajectory before gradually getting closer to the ground, inch by inch. The best she could do was aiming for the ocean barely further away to lessen the impact. Ogretooth crashed in the blue depths like a meteor, the shock nearly knocking her unconscious. The succubus quickly got back to the surface, as much by swimming than by using her skills over the wind to kick the water around her. When she surfaced, she noticed a few sea monsters looking at her from afar, surprised.

"PISS OFF!"

The sea monsters scattered. Ogretooth let herself float for a moment. Getting punted across the continent so casually had made her furious, and she wanted to get her revenge. However, she knew in advance that Mysteltainn would prone for cautiousness.

At least, her sisters showed up barely a few minutes after her crashing.

"Hey, are you alright? That was quite the flight there!"

Ogretooth snapped back at Executioner. "Do I look fine to you?!"

"Good grief Ogretooth… we were just worried about you." Mysteltainn sighed. "Those heroes are more dangerous than we thought. Our goals were still successful, but I'm afraid for our plans now."

"Yeah, yeah, I got it, we have to be careful, if they show up before our plan is complete the next time we see one of them then we bail, you don't need to tell me."

"The heroes are one problem, but I'm more worried about the info that damn fox gave us. She's hiding something. I'm a bit worried that we're only be stepping stones in her own grand designs." Mysteltainn's glasses reflected the light, hiding her eyes. "If that's the case, we'll give her a lesson."

Ogretooth. "Now you're talking to me!"

"Good." Mysteltainn gestured to the coast. "Fortunately, we landed close to our next goal. Let's not lose any time."

Ogretooth slowly inhaled and exhaled, visibly furious. The secretary braced himself as he readied a question to which he already had the answer.

"How did the next step of your plan go?"

Ogretooth got up and slammed her fist on the table.

"We were ambushed again! Two different heroes were waiting for us in Izumo Village and kicked the crap out of us! Mysteltainn barely managed to turn the women in succubi before we escaped! That damn bitch must have tipped them off! How else would they have found us?!"

The tone of the secretary remained even. "By tracking any succubi that don't share the local aura, long-range telepathic communication from an escapee, ley lines tracing in case your attacks followed any pattern, or even simply waiting around and teleporting at the last moment. The two last ones are easy to do for a decent magus.

Ogretooth stared at the mage with a frown. Then she sat herself with her arms crossed, pouting.

"One of the two was a powerful magus?"

"She was a fragment of a Demon Lord if I got it right."

"Ow. What happened next?"

"Mysteltainn decided that we had to regroup with the others at the Château des Romances. It was her single worst fucking idea."

A new wave shook the Château des Romances. Executioner gasped in shock as dust fell from the ceiling. When they realized that their other allies got scattered and beaten, the Cursed Sword Sisters had tried escaping the place, but several groups of heroes were now scouring any floor above ground, blocking every possible exits.

Mysteltainn sighed and repositioned her glasses. "I apologize, this is not what I had in mind when I envisioned an enjoyable time together. I didn't expect every hero to be on par with us. Even their allies are proving troublesome."

"Don't blame yourself sis! You said it yourself, that damn fox tricked us!"

"Yeah, I admit I want to execute her myself."

Several more waves shook the basement, gaining in power with each quakes.

"Hey! Are those heroes searching for a portal, or are they destroying the place?!"

"The castle isn't going to fall apart that easily, and we've been told that the local hero had sugar and rainbows in his head, ready to welcome everyone in his ranks. He wouldn't tear apart a castle that can contain potential allies without asking them to join first."

Executioner timidly nodded as the castle was now almost rocking. "Yeah… the heroes maybe… but didn't that fox also say something about some other unsavory local individuals?"

Mysteltainn shrugged. "I'm pretty sure a hero would keep them at bay."

"Didn't you just say that he would recruit anyone?"

The eldest of the Cursed Sword Sisters went wide-eyed.

"Let's get out and surrender NOW!"

It was too late. The ceiling completely collapsed, burying the three succubi under several tons of rubble in a deafening sound of stone crumbling and shattering. Ogretooth couldn't feel her body. She could only hear the faintest discussion over the sound of her ears ringing.

"Lucifina! You let your desire for destruction lead you astray again! We were ordered to find the portal, not destroy the castle! Now Luka won't be happy because we won't be able to recruit the girls inside!"

"Sowwyyyyy…"

"It's alright. They were only succubi. Ilias will forgive you."

"…"

"…"

The secretary took a few notes and put down his pen. He thoroughly massaged his face before moving to another question he needed to ask but for which he already knew the answer.

"How do you feel about what happened?"

Ogretooth got up and slammed the table with her fist again. "Why do you even fucking ask?! I'm fucking furious! I want to fuck those angels up, I want to tear the throat of that fucking fox out, and I want to fuck those heroes until they beg me to empty their balls until they fucking die!"

"In that case, I should advise you first to carefully take time to plan your revenge. The fucking will have to wait."

Ogretooth huffed. "You sound just like Mysteltainn. That ended well for us, didn't it?"

"If anything, I would say the opposite." The secretary joined his hands together, his elbows resting on the desk. "You were propelled in a world with unreliable allies, bad intelligence, no real idea of what you were going to face, as well as no backups plans, no fallbacks locations… those would have been so many safeguards that could have actual helped you in your case and prevented that disaster."

The succubus kept glaring at the secretary. Eventually, her shoulders slumped in defeat. "Fine I guess. I'll have a word with Mysteltainn to see what our next move is going to be."

"Please do. You can only benefit from all of this."

Ogretooth turned tail and left without a single more word. The secretary checked the next file. Almost done…

Case n°4: Daimyokai

Race: human (Doubt: Yokai?)

Past history: Murder, brainwashing, incitation to war, attempt at destroying a populated region in aim of a financial reward.

In a move he was now familiar with, a green-haired girl wearing a scandalous white robe that exposed almost everything entered. Her short green hair was attached in a short pony tail, and her purple eyes were definitively filled with an inhuman greed. The yokai hunter was only looking mildly disappointed and surprised.

"Have a seat."

Daimyokai defensively raised her staff. "What's in it for me?"

The secretary raised a confused eyebrow. Daimyokai continued.

"Why would I want to do that? If it's not yokai-slaying, then I'm not interested. Unless it pays well. And if it's killing those damn yokais, I better get paid as well! I'm in high demand!"

"Ah. I see. You're one of those people." The secretary sighed and pushed the file away before joining his hands under an enigmatic smile. "It's not about what's in it for you if you take the seat, it's about what in it for you if you don't take the seat. Given the nature of my task and the stake at hands, I will be forced to take measures that would universally be considered drastic at best." He leaned forward. "I would personally hate myself to resort to that, but if you force my hand…"

"Okay, okay, I'll take a seat! There's no need for that!" Daimyokai almost tripped over her robe as she rushed to the chair. The secretary leaned back and stretched.

"Good, because I hate waiting. Now, can you tell me what happened to you?"

"Or what? This time, I know your tricks are backed up by nothing!"

Daimyokai suddenly froze in existential dread. She felt that she was worse than nothing. She questioned whether she was existing herself.

The secretary shook his head.

"I think you might have pushed her a tad too far."

Reaper's voice answered. "I barely entered her acknowledgment field."

"That was still too much. Seriously, just look at her! A minute ago she was just a bit confused, and now she's about to crap herself!"

"Oh." The hooded figure looked at Daimyokai's face. "Let me fix that."

The sound of a clock being rewound rang. Daimyokai returned to an acceptable state missing any existential crisis.

"Or what? This time, I know your tricks are backed by nothing!"

"I'm here to help you learn from your mistakes to accomplish your goals and move forward. You can keep on going like you currently are and remain something of a mid-rank wanderer in this world, or you can get to the next level and not run with your tail between your legs again."

Daimyokai pondered her answer. It looked too good to be true.

"You're the first to hesitate. The members of the Alliance of the Queen of Dreams didn't." The secretary tilted his head and grimaced. "Maybe they should have, but that's another issue."

"Hey! I have nothing to do with that alliance of demented nymphomaniacs! In fact, I was facing them as well! I helped those two heroes fight in Izumo Village, I accompanied them in the Château des Romances when they ransacked the damn place, I even paid with my pride when the Queen of Dreams rose up and got empowered!" Daimyokai punctuated her tirade by dramatically getting up.

"So everything went alright then?"

"Yes!" she meekly looked down. "…mostly. I somehow had some great equipment with me when I arrived, and I learned I could get a full identical set. Even if it was the same, I wanted it."

"Was it because you thought it would help you find the source of your unwanted teleportation or was it just to sell it?"

Daimyokai tried to answer, but interrupted herself and looked down. The secretary took notes.

"Selling it is then… please don't do that face, there's not that much more harm between forcibly acquiring some equipment because you need it and getting it just for money. Just tell me what happened, I'll see what I can do for you."

"I… really carefully returned to Yamatai. I knew they were after my head, but it was the place where the equipment was enshrined."

Daimyokai was carefully hidden under several talismans when she entered the hidden room near the fox shrine. She had spent a lot of time gathering information on the whereabouts of this supposedly sacred equipment. It was supposedly stored in a pocket dimension in the room of the Fox Goddess, the latter of whom was currently missing. Daimyokai grimaced. Not only were those humans accepting monsters, but they wereworshipping them as well. They were undoubtedly desperate if they did that.

She focused back on the issue at hand. She wanted to steal that equipment. Even if she had the same, there was no harm in getting it again for a little extra cash, right? Good intents didn't pay for a good meal.

After some careful fiddling, she entered the pocket dimension. The place itself was a large one-room cavern with the equipment placed on a mannequin. There was surprisingly little defenses considering the supposed power of those garments. Daimyokai frowned when she approached her bounty.

"Wait… is this really the legendary equipment, or is it just a bunch of replicas?"

She examined the clothes and was quickly disappointed. It was just cheap fabric and metal. The yokai hunter examined the remainder of the room. There was nothing else to see.

Damn it… it looks like the tip was wrong… bah! I can still plunder the rest of the shrine.

Daimyokai left the room. The owner of this place hadn't left much to plunder. Only a few animals were sleeping and playing around. She turned her mind toward the warehouse. A young grey-haired kitsune playing with one of the foxes was staring at her.

"Hey! Mistress Tamamo don't want humans in there. Kyia?!"

Daimyokai threw a salvo of talismans at the girl and paralyzed her. She shook her head in disgust. She wouldn't let a stupid monster tell her what to do. She grabbed one of the stone laying around and aimed for her head.

Then she felt the weight of a mountain fall on her and collapsed in agony, some of her bones crunching in an horrific sound. Right afterward, a cold but childish voice echoed in her ear.

"When Nanabi sent me that tip about an upcoming theft that she received from a plant girl from another world herself, I didn't know what to do, but I still decided to take a look just in case. And I'm glad I did." A pair of glowing green gems filled Daimyokai's field of vision. "If you had stuck to your theft, I would have let you go. If you had only paralyzed my trainee I would have made sure Nanabi pranked you back. But what you tried to do…" Her staff was pried out of her hand. "That requires a memorable punishment."

Daimyokai was turned on her stomach, her behind slightly more elevated. The intention of her tormentor finally falling down on her, she started panicking.

"Hey, wait, wait, wait, I'm sorry, I SAID I'M SO-"

"I don't remember feeling anything. Someone teleported me here before her attack I guess."

"It's a way to see it…" The secretary grimaced. "I'm not going to sugarcoat it. You're in a new world. Try learning the customs and who the major players are before rushing in, or you will meet a way, way worse end."

"I only want people to stop living with those damn monsters! What's the bad in that?!"

"The fact that you're targeting the wrong monsters in the first place. I'm pretty sure nobody would have said anything if you stuck to your goal of targeting Musette instead of bullying some local villagers."

"They're still monsters."

"Yes, but if you can't differentiate between the horny rampaging succubus and the kitsune soldier that helps the villagers, the latter will turn an eye away when the former comes for your head." The secretary sighed. This was ironically harder than the other ones so far. "Or join one of the human-led faction as a monster hunter and respect their orders. They'll appreciate it since you're apparently a legend where you come from."

"…yes, it should be fine I guess."

"Try to make it so."

Daimyokai got up and left. At least, his day was over. Or so he thought. What he thought to be a doorstopper was actually an extremely thick file. Slightly apprehensive, the secretary opened the record.

Case n°5 : Daji

Race: Huli Jung (association: kitsune. Races available through transformation: beast, slime, alraune, human, lamia [recorded but unconfirmed])

Past history: Rape, corruption, brainwashing, conspiracy to destroy nation, mass murder through soul absorption, impersonation of military and civilian officials, absorption and impersonation of a class X arbiter, unauthorized repeated multi-dimensional travelling including multiple class three cross-world contact (incidents RJ209839, RJ323291, RJ201109), theft of pornographic media.

He quickly flipped through the pages and whistled. Her record track was beating several of the Six Ancestors. Combined.

Daji finally appeared, proudly strutting onward to highlight her assets that a short purple furry dress and black thigh-high boots only further accentuated. Exceptionally, the kitsune was accompanied by Reaper. The avatar of death was unusually expressive, glaring at the fox as if challenging her to act up.

"Hello there! I hope you're here to give me a good time!" The kitsune sat herself while leaning back and her legs spread, shamelessly exposing herself to an uninterested audience. The secretary leaned back and glanced at Reaper.

"Normally, I'd ask to be alone since confidentiality between patient and therapist is a huge deal, but I think an exception is needed here."

Reaper nodded in agreement.

"Aww, come on, I don't mind a good threesome, but I'm sure you'd enjoy getting close and personal alone with me!"

"In another time, another life, probably. Right now however, I need you to tell me everything you did in your involvement in that recent string of events that has plagued the world."

"Why would I bother telling you?" Daji glanced at Reaper. "In fact, you underestimate the powers I gained when I absorbed your dear colleague. Nothing is binding me here. See you both never again!"

Daji disappeared in the blink of an eye. The avatar of death announced matter-of-factly.

"She will be back in exactly six minutes. This is the perfect opportunity to talk about your examinations so far."

The secretary passed his hands over his face and sighed. "…Is this the only time I will see them?"

"Likely so."

"It was barely enough to start a connection, there's not a chance one of them will put in application what I told them. What's the end goal already?"

"To have them join the party of the hero. He will provide them the safety and coordination that they need all while keeping an eye on them."

The secretary grimaced. "I won't lie. I might have an idea, but I still don't guarantee that they will listen."

"You did manage to reach out to the Dark Goddess herself in your past assignment."

"I succeeded because she had asked for an adviser herself in the first place. However, if you guarantee me that I won't ever see them again, I have an idea that might do just fine."

"You have a complete free range as long as the result can be considered a major improvement in the wanted direction."

"Good." The secretary tapped his fingers on the desk and looked up. A small purple dot was now visible far above them. Neither of them bothered looking up. The man pointed at the chair.

"Shouldn't we…"

"No."

The secretary just shrugged. Daji landed rear first on the chair, blasting the unfortunate wooden furniture apart with her ample posterior. The towering kitsune got up and slapped her tails clear from debris, creating interesting vibrations all over her body. She groaned and glared at the secretary, then at the Grim Reaper.

"Alright, I guess you cornered me… you're free to exercise every one of your abject desires on me."

"In that case, start by answering that question. Did you know what was going to happen?"

Daji grinned, her arms crossed in front of her chest. "I suppose that in a certain way, I had guessed that this little plan of theirs was destined to failure and simply acted appropriately."

The secretary stared at the kitsune. Beyond the obvious lie, there was still a refusal to cooperate that completely blocked any chance of progress.

"Your allies want your head. I've seen enough people like you to know that you think you will bounce easily with a little legwork, but I can assure you it will be complicated enough to require some help."

Daji sneered. "I always have someone willing to kill me. Do you really think I will concern myself because a few more joined them?"

An audible metallic unsheathing echoed through the void. Daji turned white and reflexively brought her hands to her throat. The secretary contemptuously glanced at Reaper who looked unusually fascinated with the blade of her scythe.

"Mmh? My apologies. I was wondering if The Blade That Never Dulls Until The End might need a sharpening."

The secretary shook his head. Reaper pulled another chair from under her cloak and offered it to Daji who seated herself. The secretary coldly smiled.

"Let's start with the beginning. How did it go last time?"

When Daji talked, her voice had lost both its haughtiness and its lasciviousness. "I was the first monster Est pulled through that mess of dimensions after incapacitating the White Rabbit. It would even be more accurate to say that the spell attracted my attention and I jumped in the opportunity. I then took over the existence of the White Rabbit, although in this case it was akin to taking command of a computer terminal without reaching the server itself since it's inaccessible altogether… at least in theory. The full explanation is a bit more complicated than that."

"And we'll do without. Also lady Reaper, if you would please stop glaring at Daji with your Demon Eyes… I think she got the message for now."

"Again, my apologies."

The secretary crossed his legs over his desk. "Please continue."

"Est wanted me to appear in front of the heroes and guide them to challenge her. I wasn't thrilled and said that I might just try to steal them for myself. She said without an ounce of irony that I was welcome to try if I wanted. I did pretty much that with an attempt to entrap them. When that failed, I challenged them directly. When that failed as well, I left and let them take Est down. Then they chased after me when I went to Yamatai to stop me once and for all. When they beat me again, I consented to join them and tone done my quest for hedonism enough to not impede their own work as they defended the world."

The secretary reassumed a more professional posture, correctly sitting on his chair. "That was more synthetic than usual. When you saw that spell appeared, you remembered everything and decided to jump in again for another round with the heroes. Am I correct?"

Daji grimaced. Reaper's grip on her scythe tightened.

"I… might even have had a hand in restarting it."

The secretary frowned and asked Reaper. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't Luka the only one allowed to access those requests to return to critical points in time?"

"This. Is. Correct."

"Ah." The secretary went wide-eyed and stared at Daji. "You ate Luka."

"Hey!" Daji defensively raised his hands. "He should have known what he was getting into when he decided to request the company of a demon known as the Ruinous Courtesan!"

"It was after you joined him as well? With friends like these, I wonder how he thinks he can save the world." The secretary turned toward Reaper. "You really want her to join him again? She'll just do the same once more."

Reaper nodded.

"Besides, it was an accident! It was during the festival, I was drunk at the time, he looked so tasty, I just couldn't help myself."

"I'll just say that you choose to deliberately imbibe yourself and failed to remain rational enough afterward, ergo the responsibility still squarely falls onto you." The secretary took a deep breath. "You were still drunk when you decided that you could give that adventure a second try, weren't you?"

"Yes, but I instantly sobered up when I realized I had restarted." Daji grimaced. For the first time, the demon looked slightly apologetic, although it was obvious that she was more concerned with how she herself suffered from her own poor judgment. "At the time, I considered that my ability as a demon to remember what happened in the past timeline would give me a major advantage. Then when I got teleported back, I remembered that this point was moot, and, more importantly… that I wasn't the only demon involved in this story." She looked down and muttered to herself. "And then I realized that there were also a few other people who remembered a few things that they shouldn't have as well."

"Ah. I can see how this was going to be a problem."

"And then I noticed that the heroes were all at their apex. I might have decided to change my plans a few times on the flight."

"Okay... this is going to be interesting, isn't it?"

Daji shook her head as she appeared in the deepest point of the Land of Night near Est. Her memories of last time still fresh, she grinned inwardly, silently thanking her second chance to get the heroes.

She only distractedly worked out the same plan as last time with Est while planning her own moves. This time, she would make sure her own plans came to fruition and only do the minimal for Est's own work. She still delivered information about the heroes to any other group the Queen of Dreams pulled in this world, but she remained as obtuse as possible for anything else.

First, let's deliver those doll plans to that Kagetsumugi… I already have good knowledge of this world, and I'm sure I can bargain a more materially interesting reward.

Daji teleported in front of the Puppeteer's tower. The ominous tower was standing tall in a dusty wasteland as uncomely as it could be. She knocked on the door only to get answered by an amazonian woman with a monkey tail.

"Hey, are you lost or something? You want to get away quickly, trust me on this one."

Daji respectfully bowed. "Greetings, I come to bear an offer of trade that will interest the master of this place. I bring schematics and designs for dolls from another world."

The woman looked at Daji as if the kitsune had fallen on her head. "Stay here. I'll see if Kagetsumugi wants whatever you're selling."

Daji's keen hearing followed the monster even as the latter was discussing with someone deep in the tower. "Yeah, that fox got some dolls from another world if I got it right… you're telling me I can welcome Daji inside, it's all good. Wait, I'm not sure her name is Daji, I didn't even ask her, I'll be back in a minute."

Daji revised her plans and dropped the schematics before teleporting out of sight, only leaving behind a ward to hear anything that could concern her. The Amazonian girl looked around in surprise, but grabbed the plans anyway before turning back inside.

"Yeah, she left, don't know why, don't know what you intend to do with their plans… build a few more dolls and let them sort themselves out? …I have no idea what you're talking about. Okay, I'll stop asking questions for now, I promise."

Daji started gnawing on her thumb. Her plan was not off to a good start.

I didn't consider that anybody else had a ripple-proof memory as well! Crap! Lampas and Mukuro will certainly warn Kazuya as soon as they see him as wll! I can't even take the risk to appear in front of him! He'll naturally get to the Château des Romances at least, but my plan from last time certainly won't work again. I won't even bother setting up the surprise closet… altough maybe if I do it in the room of that small demon lord? No. She may be already aware as well.

I still have other groups of heroes to see. Let's check on that little magus first. What if I just grab them for myself before anyone else does?

Daji reassumed the appearance of the White Rabbit. A quick examination of Lady's Village informed her that the heroes had thoroughly trounced the Cursed Sword Sisters. Forcefully grabbing the heroes away would be more complicated if they already were at their apex. Brute force was not an option now.

Daji prepared herself. Magatsu had joined the two heroes. They were as confused about their appearance in this world as last time. They were vulnerable. She popped up from the ground right in front of them, surprising them.

"Feeling lost? Don't worry! The White Rabbit is here to guide you!"

"Woah! A strange monster appeared!"

The small succubus girl suspiciously glanced at her. "Mmmh… she somehow looks familiar. Don't you agree Lauratt?"

The magus was frowning. He closed his fist, and put his finger at his throat before crossing it. During the process, Daji noticed the large amount of energy he was accumulating. If his last attack had sent Ogretooth flying, this one would nuke her entirely.

"Oh crap! It's not a good time! Toodles!"

Daji disappeared as quickly as she arrived. Another step of her plan had fallen apart. She had expected that the foreknowledge of the events would lead her to a nonstop orgy involving her and the Seven Heroes. Or at least, to get in better terms with them. Instead, the best she could do was get somewhere the heroes would ignore and enjoy herself for as long as she could before they caught her.

She decided to travel to the Ilias Continent altogether. The place was far away from Est's scheming. The more dangerous heroes would be too busy defending the affected regions as they were magnetically attracted by troubles. She would be safe here.

Screw the original plan, I'm sure I can party all I want here. Hell, I'll probably have more fun than if I stuck with Est and her cohorts. No overly-complicated ploys. No fear of being backstabbed by those lunatics. Only me and thousands of people that have no idea how hard they're about to be fucked.

Daji teleported herself to Iliasburg under the guise of a random human woman. Even if in all likelihood, nobody here would be able to identify her signature appearance, she still wanted to keep the element of surprise. And besides, she knew that she would attract unwanted attention. No, it was better to limit her exposure to the people that she would immediately have her fun with. The town itself was the perfect place for her games. It had suffered no recent attacks, but was rich enough to be worthy of her attention.

A strong scent attracted her attention. She frowned. Did Luka make a stop in Iliasburg for a reason before starting to chase after them? She quickly relaxed when she noticed that it was Heinrich. The hero's great-grandfather was present here after some dimensional shenanigans. Somehow, he always struck Daji as even more candid than his descendant. As the man walked around the city, she tried to linger close by to find out why he was here, sometimes changing her appearance to reduce the odds of getting caught. Fortunately, he was only here to investigate the place himself and reassure people with his presence. For everyone, the problem was in the far away northern part of Sentora, there was nothing to be concerned with, and seeing that Luka was friend with that legend and had sent said legend here just in case was more than enough to reassure the few people that were afraid.

Daji already drew a plan in her mind. The man would need to get some sleep sooner or later, and he would be perfectly vulnerable then. Even better, he was sleeping in one of the top rooms of the Sutherland Inn out of the gratitude from the locals. She would enjoy that comfort as well. A fine meal was even tastier when consumed in a fine place…

She assumed the appearance of a common maid and got on the highest floor of the in without anyone even glancing at her. Daji waited for the nightfall before silently entering the room of the hero. His scent was now titillating her nostrils, and she returned to her curvaceous self, eagerly licking her lips. Still without making a noise, she approached his sleeping form, but decided to remain at a distance. A fast strike would be preferred. She leaped on the bed in a single bound and completely wrapped limbs and tails around her target to prevent any struggling.

Daji's senses quickly picked up on a danger, but it was already too late. She barely had the time to read what was inscribed on the head of the doll put in the bed where the hero should have been.

The foolish foul fox fails.

Very funny.

The kitsune was teleported to a large square room. Before she could do anything, the ceiling fell at a supernatural speed. Daji casted reinforcement spell after reinforcement spell over her body, bracing herself for the impact. The shock was painful, and the kitsune gritted her teeth as she used an impressive amount of energy for a surprisingly heavy weight. She slowly breathed in and out, focusing on setting up counterspells to escape this dimension. Once she was ready, she allowed herself to gloat.

"Pathetic! You'll need something more elaborate than a big rock to end me! Others have tried, and all have failed!"

The large rock started glowing as if the amalgamate of minerals took of offense. It's only then that Daji noticed it wasn't just a big rock, it was big, magic, elemental rock ready to explode. With a teddy bear drawn on it.

"Fuck."

"…And that's how I ended here."

"That was anticlimactic."

"I agree in all senses of the word. You have no idea how frustrated I am down there."

The secretary sighed. "That was too much information, thank you very much. On the plus side, you seem to do quite fine. Then again, you're the kind to easily bounce off from your failures." He sharply breathed. "On the minus side, it means it's probably not the first time you suffered that level of inconvenience, and the fact that it happened again means you learned nothing from it." He raised a hand to interrupt the diatribe he knew would come. "Or more exactly, that you will care for it as little as you cared for the random citizenry of Iliasburg."

"Are you really thinking you know me? I've been alive for-"

"Millenia, saw empire rise and crumble by your hands, fucked emperors and demigods after they beheaded their whole harem on your wish, slew monsters straight from the darkest abyss, saw worlds that I wouldn't believe could possibly exist and drank their ambrosia while being orally pleasured by a hero who promised to kill you bare minutes earlier until their very soul was sworn to you. How much did I get wrong or miss?"

Daji repeatedly blinked. She was completely stumped. The secretary continued. "You probably know who already gave me that speech." He quizzically looked at Reaper. "Does she? Or is it the wrong time? Honestly, I'm having difficulty keeping track with all those reboots and whatnot."

"She did meet Tamamo No Mae once in the past."

"Good enough then. I was worried for a minute. Back to you." The secretary turned toward Daji. "I've read that demons like you can't break their promise, so next time, promise everyone to not only support Luka, but also to not hinder him again."

"It was an honest mistake made on the heat of the moment."

"Then geas yourself to not do that again. It shouldn't be that hard given your magical power."

"I promise I will."

"Perfect then. We'll call on you for a minute."

"Very well. I will leave you two have some private time together. Don't keep me waiting too much, and please knock before entering!"

Daji left, excessively swaying her hips in the process. The secretary slowly breathed out once the door was closed.

"Please tell me you would have corrected me if the promise I asked her to make had obvious loopholes."

"There weren't. It should be vast enough to cover the biggest issues."

"Perfect. Alright, I suppose that simply looping back that accident is a non-option."

"It isn't indeed."

"Which means that we'll have to put that group back together." The secretary checked his papers. "Fortunately, if your information for the upcoming events is right, a two-steps plan should be enough. Just to make sure however… I have a free pass for everything, and I won't ever see them again?"

"Yes. As long as the result is satisfying enough to resume the restoration of the desired status quo. Namely having them join back Luka."

"It might add a bit of charge to your job however. I'd say two… maybe three monsters will come to visit you at least once."

"…It is an acceptable cost."

"Very well… in that case, we can bring everyone in right now. Let's rip off that band aid hard."

The secretary looked at the quintet getting back in the "office". Myusca, Lyla and Ogretooth looked ready to rip out Daji's throat while Daimyokai looked concerned by the very real possibility of dying in the crossfire. The kitsune herself was looking passably apologetic. Only Reaper's natural aura was preventing (or more likely delaying) an explosion of violence.

"Alright, I'll keep it short and simple." The secretary leaned back. "Daji, the information you shared with your allies would have been flawless if it had been delivered another time. While the change of conditions that led to the unfortunate chain of events that claimed your allies is partly born from your hand, you cannot be blamed for the extreme level of adaptation and violence the heroes displayed."

Ogretooth was livid. "What?! You're really going to apologize for that bitch?!"

The secretary ignored her outburst. "So I ask of you to promise in front everyone right now that you will not harm them, and freely put your skills at their disposition. Your very nature makes that statement binding, doesn't it?"

Daji smirked. "Very well. I promise to not harm you and support everyone in the quest to defend the world with my very best skills."

"Great. Ogretooth, Myusca and Lyla, you heard her, she won't be able to harm you from now on. You now have… two minutes to beat down Daji and express all your grief."

"Wait, what?"

The three monsters didn't lose a millisecond before jumping in and hitting the kitsune with everything they got in a ball of violence while the latter could only desperately use spells to heal herself and reinforce her body. The sheer number of profanities emanating from the fight even disturbed Reaper and Daimyokai ever so slightly. The yokai hunter in particular was looking disappointed.

"Hey, why am I not allowed to jump in?"

"Because contrary to everyone else who ended here, you're not affiliated to the Land of Night." The secretary slowly exhaled and muttered to himself. "I'm also pretty certain that you didn't join them not because of their goal, but because of their nature. If the races had been reversed, you would have been in the place of Est Morn."

"What? What you're saying doesn't make sense."

"Would you have led a campaign to capture yokais and partied like there's no tomorrow with your fellow humans afterward?"

"Yes!"

"That was my point. Also, time's over."

Surprisingly, the three monsters stopped their assault on Daji as quickly as they started. The kitsune wobbled a bit before getting up. She quickly healed herself, returning to her elegant lewdness only matched by the burning hatred her eyes carried to the secretary.

"Alright, now is the time to say my final piece in all of this. The recent set of circumstances forced you through a chain of traumatic events. You have been unfortunate enough to suffer from this to an even greater degrees than your friends and partners. This is something that most people don't have to experiment in their lives, and that I do not wish it on them. With that said…"

The secretary carefully enjoyed their current expression.

"You each fully and completely deserve everything that have happened to you. And yes, I include you, Daimyokai." Reaper felt the air being sucked from the room. "For starter, you merely suffered what you yourself enjoyed inflicting on your past victims. You fell from the top of the respective food chains that you had established in a plunge so cataclysmic it would be hilarious for everyone that know or suffered from your past deeds. Of course, that wouldn't have happened if you took basic precautions once it was clear that things were not going according to plan. Instead, you preferred trying to push your luck, and only duly ripped what you sowed."

The monsters were all completely aghast. It was obvious nobody had ever talked to them like that, and certainly not a mere human who could be considered at best a paper-pusher. The secretary pointed at Ogretooth. "Mysteltainn told you to hold back. You still recklessly pushed forward. Your final fall was half bad luck, and half your own responsibility for not thinking about how the heroes were going to deal with you."

He pointed at Lyla. "You never took one moment to tell Musette to reconsider her plan. You treated heroes with the same haughtiness that you treat peasants. Bad call, they could strike back. And they did. Hard."

He pointed at Myusca. "A little bit of kudos to you, since you're the one who actually did notice the parallel between what you suffered and what you did in the past. But I suppose you'll still try to trap people again at the first opportunity, so…" He pointed at Reaper. "She's bound to see you a few more times. The only thing that would have made your death more hilariously ironic was if you were fed to your own pet afterward."

The secretary leaned back on his chair and looked down on Daimyokai. "I don't know what to tell you. Being greedy is one thing. Being spiteful enough to attack a child when it's obvious you've already been played is just a new level of dumb. Although judging by your record, that didn't stop you before. As for you…"

He turned toward Daji and sighed. "You're a walking calamity trying to fuck the world in all ways possible, and will always find something to copulate with like a horny fox in puberty. And after reading those files, I think you've been too clever by half recently. They said wisdom comes with age, but in your case, you passed that peak long ago and you reached the point where everyone is looking at you failing with a tear of pity at the corner of the eye as they wonder how you keep surviving each day while stumbling around."

"Are you. Calling me. A senile hag?"

"You're the one who said that not me. But don't worry, the result is the same for everyone." The secretary smiled. "You couldn't take what you have been dishing out for your past years, and it showed. My only regret is that no one else is here to see you in that sorry state right now. They would be laughing and singing the victory of karma." He turned toward Reaper. "Is it too late to bring some of them here? …I'll take your silence as a yes."

He turned back toward his patients. The five of them were now collectively fuming. "Oh, yes, I know, in any other context I would just be another victim to be tossed into a ditch after being used in a way you see fit. Except this time, I am going to be the one who goes free while you have to deal with all those marvelous things waiting for you and suffer under the leadership of a hero that you loath so much. You're all monsters that abused those that you consider weaker than you, but today, a human is tearing in you, with you anything unable to do anything about it. It hurts doesn't it? You're all free to go now. Shoo."

They were now absolutely radiating with raw hatred for him. Reaper led them away. The door closed once and for all, leaving behind Reaper and the secretary. The man got up from his chair and stretched while Reaper approached him.

"I did not imagine you for the kind that would exploit your position. I thought that you would have been more sympathetic."

"I'm actually very sympathetic to what happened. I was only playing a role." The secretary slowly breathed in and out. "Or at least, I was mostly pretending. Being nice here would have been useless. I needed them to turn their trauma in raw hatred that they'll be able to properly focus and discard. And for that, they needed something concrete to focus on. Now, you only have to make sure that they're the ones accompanying Luka for that revivified Cassandra fiasco, and deal with the aftermath."

"She will indeed be the outlet to their rage… did you rile them for the purpose of getting her to suffer? It looks like you wanted to return that karma as you call it, and she's known to be at least equal to them in cruelty, after all."

"Then that makes her the most deserving, isn't it?" He smirked. "I would lie if I said I wasn't enjoying messing with all of them for the sake of karma, but I sincerely think that this is the best way for everyone to move on and work for the hero."

"Do you really think they will be able to do good? They're unrepentant dangers at best."

"If you didn't think so yourself, you would have beheaded Daji, wouldn't you? I already gave my piece of mind about her, but the reality is that she has the power to back up her scheming, and if she didn't spend so much time screwing around, then she would be Luka's ace in the sleeves. She's that powerful, and the hero needs any help he can get. You know it as well."

"Touché. Let us see the results of your therapy."

The secretary and Reaper observed the Pocket Castle. Gradually, the monsters from the Land of Night joined the hero after getting defeated, his patients included. It was obvious they were furious and not quite cooperative, but the hero decided that they could wait.

Then just as Reaper had informed him, Cassandra regained her power by draining a monster and escaped to the Toxic Swamp. Luka decided to take Ilias and Sonya to accompany him, as well as, to the surprise of a lot of people, the five monsters the secretary had treated. Then they followed Cassandra to the swamp, and a fight quickly broke out, pitting the party against her.

The secretary winced. He had expected a brutal slaughter, but even he was slightly appalled by the sheer display of violence poured on the rebel monster. Luka and his companions were just as shocked as the group unleashed all their rage and hatred in the form of powerful and personal strikes. Fortunately, Cassandra would still heal, and the five monsters had bonded with each other and expressed more willingness to help the hero again. His work was successful.

"Well, that was it. There's just a thing that surprised me though…" The secretary tapped his hand on his chin, lost in thoughts.

"Here's your payment. Do not worry about it, you did more than enough." She handed a small replica of a Torii gate.

"My apologies, but aren't those reboots supposed to go through you to happen? How did she bypass that? Aren't you worried about that?"

Reaper showed an unusual impatience. "Do not worry. I already eliminated that problem. Please content yourself with your reward."

"My apologies again then. If you dealt with it, I'll just leave you. Good luck with the rest!" The secretary left through the large door.

When she was alone once again, Reaper closed her eyes and fiddled with her scythe for a moment, looking in the air.

It was time to get back to her duty as the administrator of the underworld. Yes. She had other work to do.

Last Timeline

Reaper was looking at the Yamatai Night Festival with a surprising melancholy. Heroes, angels and monsters were happily mingling together. The hero was currently accompanied by Sonya. Last time, it had been Ilias, another time Alice, and even Alma Elma once. They were happily enjoying the various games and foods across the place, discussing their latest adventures while the priestess repeatedly displayed attraction to a hero that pretended to remain oblivious. She had taken care of Luka enough time to know that he often saw her as a stick in the mud, getting in the way of his relationships with monsters by appearing at inopportune moments. Still, the priestess often minded him and had refrained him more than once from making the wrong choice. She was making the utmost efforts to handle the antics happening within the walls of the Pocket Castle, and she was doing a good job all things considered.

Their current relation reminded her of her past history with the White Rabbit. While Reaper sometimes wondered if the strange monster was taking her duty seriously, she was forced to acknowledge that she had done a remarkable job until her existence was forcibly ended in a new crisis.

Reaper frowned. Right after that, the current avatar of her friend got impersonated and corrupted by a dangerous nuisance of a nine-tailed fox. Now that Luka and Kazuya had beaten her, the risk she represented was… acceptable.

It changed little for her as she came to miss the White Rabbit. Reaper's own role as the avatar of death had so far left her indifferent to building relations. Everything and everyone was born, lived and died no matter how hard they tried to escape or cheat the last of these. However, after spending so much time with her, she had become accustomed to those antics and her company as a whole. Seeing Luka mingle around reminded her of her own loneliness, even as the hero was caught in an argument between the priestess, an angel and that damn kitsune (or huli jung, whatever the difference was) about sharing earthly pleasures.

Reaper sighed. It wasn't that she wasn't interested in those. It was that she had neither the time to consider them nor the company to actually share them with. Her only actions that could remotely be associated was when she returned the soul of the hero to oblivion after she defeated him when he challenged her, which hadn't happened recently. The argument felt more awkward to look at than anything, and she decided to move on to observe the world at large, missing on the vision of Luka and Daji isolating themselves in a corner to drink. The hero ended up disappearing in the tails of the kitsune who took his appearance while Reaper herself was busying herself with her work, her mind wandering in a mix of boredom, indifference and a slight touch of envy that she didn't want to acknowledge.

Then "Luka" appeared before her. The hero looked exhausted and was slightly wobbling around, but she didn't mind. He was just busy celebrating a well-earned victory. His mischievous smile and the smell of monster pheromones surrounding him testified of that.

"I want to restart the invasion of the Land of Night. I have great plans for that."

Reaper was too indifferent to care. Her task at large obligated her to answer his call anyway.

"Any guest character you have recruited will be removed from your party. Now, do you want to reset the Collaboration Scenario?"

Luka nodded.

"The collaboration scenario has been reset. Off with you-"

Reaper blinked. Luka shimmered and suddenly disappeared without warning. She spent a few minutes clearing her eyes. Seized by a doubt, the avatar of death checked the Pocket Castle. The Daji-controlled White Rabbit wasn't there yet. She should have been.

Instead, the kitsune was staring at Est near a black vortex, confused by how she landed here. Then a horrible grin appeared on her face. Reaper slapped her own face. For the very first time since her incarnation, her neutral mask turned in a grimace of horror.

"Fuck. Oooooh, fuck. At least nobody saw that..."

That "short story" ended up being a bit longer than I originally thought.

Yes, sometimes bad guys need therapy.

In case you want to see more insanity, feel free to join the Monster Girl Quest Fanfiction discord server

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