The trio of heroes accompanied by the scholar carefully approached the city of Saloon, as the place seemed unusually lively. As they got closer, they could see tents as well as other temporary wooden and cloth building installed around while a few elated screams echoed from the city itself.
"Aaaaah, so this is probably a day of oath-taking!" Veran exclaimed himself in elation. He continued in front of the interrogative looks of the hero, basking in their attention. "Once every few years, the lord of Sabasa visits the different settlement in a grand parade to show the power of Sabasa. The settlements reaffirm their loyalty to the kingdom in exchange for its protection. It's true that between the recent events and the rumor surrounding the princess had for a time, the ceremony had been put on stand-by…" He scratched his chin, lost in thoughts. "Still, with the recent crisis, people will definitively enjoy being reassured. Did you know that the tradition was started during the Great Monster War? It was done by the second king…"
The three heroes slightly increased their pace: None of them wanted to deal with the ramblings of the scholar anymore after what had been an already exhausting day. Novissa's pleading look made it clear that the hero just wanted to get some rest after the crossing of the desert. Even if the inn was probably full, he would get some sleep, even if it meant lying on the ground.
As the party was finally entering the city, they could see a large crowd cheering in the street. The trio of hero recognized Sara, the blond princess of Sabasa who had supported them during the crisis involving the Château des Romances. In particular, Lars remembered that she was a skilled swordsman, although her reputation apparently used to be sulfurous… And even after he had repeatedly asked around, nobody had explained him why yet.
She was currently giving a speech about how the might of the kingdom of Sabasa had carried through those recent crisis and that its strength came from its inhabitants, all while surrounded by her ministers as well as by several monsters that were acting as security. As he examined her, Lars tried once again to understand where her unusual reputation came from, and didn't find any reason in her behavior: She moved and talked with a dignity that had nothing to envy to any other lord he knew of, which nicely completed her natural charisma. While her clothes looked refined and she respected proper decorum, she also seemed close enough to her people to have a genuine bond with them, which was impressive considering her young age.
Once Sara was done with her speech, she descended from the platform and was joined by her unnecessary escort: The people around her were completely devoted, an attack on the royal was unthinkable. She smiled briefly when she saw the trio of heroes, and Lars didn't know why, but he felt a chill run down his spine when his eyes locked with hers. She made her way to them, and bowed respectfully in front of the group.
"Greetings, heroes. I realized we've never properly thanked you for helping the world against the Alliance of the Queen of Dreams back in Grand Noah. May I make it up by inviting you to my table this evening?"
Before any of the heroes could even consider her proposition, Veran answered excitedly.
"Gladly, your highness!"
"Very well. In that case, please join me under my tent in an hour. I'm sure I will appreciate your company."
Sara turned tail, followed once again by her ministers and her bodyguards. Still dumbfounded by this sudden invitation, Lars checked on Lauratt and Novissa to notice that they all had the same expression. The only one who wasn't stumped by the situation was the scholar.
"We'll eat with the princess of Sabasa tonight! We're incredibly lucky, I've never even dreamt of being able to talk to her, and even less for a whole dinner! I'll be able to tell her so much…"
As the man once again went on rambling for way longer than necessary, Lars looked at the princess as the latter was walking amongst the crowd. While everybody was naturally talking to her, he hadn't felt quite as comfortable as he expected. Something in her behavior had been ticking him off.
The red-haired hero shrugged it off. He would see how the remainder of this evening would go, and, should it come to the worst, he wouldn't be alone.
"…And it is the accumulation of earth energy created by the Earth Spirit that makes the magical stones harvested in this place remarkable. I assure you, with those in the arsenal of Sabasa, even those vampires would have been blown away in a heartbeat by our sheer might! And if we consider…"
A few hours later, the heroes and the scholars had gathered with Sara and her ministers around a table that was covered with a gargantuan meal, while a band played a traditional air. Simultaneously magical stones located in each corner of the tent kept the ambiant air just warm enough. The heroes thoroughly enjoyed the victuals presented in front of them after the harrowing crossing of the desert, and even allowed themselves to relax in the informal ambiance. This context was slightly marred by the presence of Veran: The scholar simply couldn't stop talking. He seemed to be unable to run out of subject of conversation. While everybody initially listened to him, Lars noticed that most of the ministers and the princess herself were only loosely lending an ear to his words, distractedly nodding while pretending to care with an art that people in high society had to learn to master. His interest was only piqued when the subject of their next goal was brought up by a minister who had inconspicuously raised their voice.
"It's like we said, the Administrator Tower was always filled with traps and unusual monsters, but there were more recent signs of an unusual activity. It's not that we don't want people to take a look by themselves, it's just that we want to make sure that the issue doesn't come from a monster that could go berserk and be a threat to Saloon should a visitor be unable to handle her properly."
"And this is why I recruited these heroes to accompany me! No matter how strong the monster, I'm sure they'll be able to take her down without breaking a sweat! Surely her highness had heard of their prowess as they dealt with the terrible Château des Choses…"
"It is the Château des Romances, and…" The princess looked at the trio of heroes, slightly embarrassed. She didn't just know, she had been part of one of the team that assaulted the fortress in a grueling marathon with the heroes themselves against a numberless horde of monsters, apoptosis, and Nightmares. However, she was still afraid that her gig as an adventuring swordsman could be seen as shameful, and she preferred to offer a half-response.
"Yes… I've heard about it."
The remainder of the meal continued without incident, and the scholar even fell silent as they reached the dessert which consisted in an ice cream rumored to be made from the snow of the continent of the same name. At the same time, the sun started setting on the horizon while the insides of the tent were illuminated by magical crystals. Lars relaxed and only distractedly listened to the various trivial conversations around him, while a few ministers started leaving to return to their own tent for a night of sleep.
Eventually, only the heroes, the royal commander, and the princess remained. Once she was sure they were alone, Sara allowed herself to relax and dropped all formality.
"I didn't say anything yet in that regard, but thank you for your help with the Administrator Tower issue. I didn't say anything for the sake of appearance, but I'm almost certain that the monster who's responsible for the trouble is one of the residents of the Pocket Castle. We tried investigating the place once, but even before we reached it we were blocked by a large number of magical traps, and I simply don't have the time or the resources at hand to try again. If you would kindly not say a word to anyone after dealing with whoever fortified themselves there, I'll be extremely grateful."
The three heroes awkwardly looked at each other in silence before nodding. The princess of Sabasa took a break before continuing, and that shivering sensation returned in the spine of Lars.
"I have additional matters to discuss with Lars if you don't mind. You are probably all tired and need some rest in any case."
Novissa briskly stepped out of the tent with a determined look, soon followed by Lauratt who threw one last glance at Lars who nodded back, and right afterward the royal commander left the duo alone. The hero steadied himself as the princess herself was making sure not a single soul was listening.
"I don't know if you've heard about it, but I have a succubus problem."
Aaand here was the issue. Lars had no doubt that Est didn't stick to Grand Noah for her meals, or maybe it was one of her other subordinate who made the life of the locals a nightmare.
"Most of the time, it is not a real issue, but I have difficulties controlling it with the current festivities."
Lars nodded in agreement. They could easily hide amongst the stronger disorder and exploit the mess to feed.
Sara slowly walked toward the veil behind which her bed was located. "This night, in particular… I don't think I'd be able to spend it without someone like you by my side, and of all the heroes you seem to be the one most experienced with succubi."
The hero shrugged. He couldn't really tell by himself. Both Lauratt and Novissa seemed to have dealt with a lot of those as well. Sara sat on the border of her bed.
"So if you would kindly give me company for tonight…"
Lars solemnly nodded.
"Good. In that case…"
Sara removed her dress, and her hair turned purple while unusual tattoos appeared all over her body. Thick horns appeared on each side of her head, while black and red wings and a spade-tipped tails sprouted from her back.
"It will be a fun night!"
In the blink of an eye, the transformed princess threw herself at Lars who unsheathed his sword and hit her in the temple, making her crumple like a potato sack. As the silence fell and the recent succession of even started sinking in, Lars felt incredibly stupid for failing to notice that she had been talking about herself this whole time. He remained standing over the unconscious princess with his sword in hand for an awkwardly long moment before deciding to examine her: she was still breathing, and the gash on her head had already healed. The hero decided to tuck her in and leave her alone afterward. As cowardly as the choice did look, any other possibilities would have been even more awkward. Once he was sure she would be completely fine, Lars left the tent with an eager step.
However, the moment he stepped out, he almost rammed into one of the guard. The man froze in place and stared at the hero in surprise while Lars himself barely managed to keep his composure as he started sweating in fear.
"Huh, you're still able to stand? I guess you're used to worse with that Queen of Dream…"
Lauratt was surprised to see Lars ready to leave at the very first hour of dawn, as he expected that his fellow companion would definitively sleep in after spending the night with the local princess. However, it was clear that the hero wanted to move on as fast as possible, and neither Lauratt nor Novissa tried to nudge their friend on the matter.
The group made their way through the wasteland north of Sabasa in silence, as even Veran kept to himself to the great relief of his companions. Maybe it was because the man was apprehensive about what they would find in the tower, but the heroes were too happy with the silence to ask him.
After a few hours of trekking around a large noxious marsh that surrounded what looked like a gaping hole in reality, the group finally arrived in sight of the infamous Administrator Tower. Even from afar, the structure made Lauratt uncomfortable as something in its presence was off. It was as if the tower itself wasn't supposed to exist there. He closed his eyes and let his magical senses run wild to better analyze the tower and instantly tensed: the place counted several anomalous, alchemical monsters wandering around, but he also recognized the lustful aura of a pack of succubi. It wasn't a large group, but they could still represent a threat, and, more importantly, there was an-all-too familiar barrier surrounding what was apparently a large section of the underground within the tower. With a short series of gestures, the young man warned his partners of the possible fight ahead of them. His two partners resigned themselves while Veran started looking around worriedly.
"Is there a problem? Should we get more help?"
Novissa made an exasperated, dismissive gesture and resumed walking toward the tower while accompanied by his two partners. Veran waited for a bit in confusion before returning by the side of the heroes. As Lauratt got closer, he could identify two scantily-clad succubi discussing at the entrance of the tower. One of the two sex fiend was wriggling while making ridiculous expressions, while the other was leaning against the entrance with her arms crossed with a jaded look on her face.
"She's so cuuuuuute! She looks like a little doll, I want to play with her!"
"We still didn't manage to break her barrier though… And I'm getting a bit bored myself, so if we still don't manage to do any progress by this evening, I'm leaving."
"Awww… Don't be like that! Why don't we ask for some help from Witch?! I'm sure she would be able to do something!"
"She's currently busy, and I don't feel like doing the whole back and forth… Wait, wasn't that boy the one she took under her wing recently?"
Lauratt froze when the succubus turned toward her while his two companions readied their sword reflexively and Veran pathetically hid himself behind them. The succubus raised her hands in an attempt to disarm any conflict.
"Relax, we won't do anything to you… Unless you ask yourself, that is…" She licked her lips sensuously before chuckling, but she dropped any seductive mannerism as the heroes kept their weapons up.
"Sorry, I'll cut it out now… I guess you're here because you heard that a powerful monster living in the tower was threatening the locals or something like that… In reality, she's locked herself in the basement of this tower, behind one powerful barrier, and I don't think she moved since then… We considered asking for Witch to help us but…" The succubus looked at Lauratt again. "I do remember that you were under her tutelage for a time, so maybe you will be able to help us? We won't bother you and let you do whatever you want in the tower in exchange."
Lauratt nodded in agreement, and his two partners sheathed their own weapons back.
"Great, let's go then."
As they progressed inside the tower, Veran timidly raised his hand as he remembered his own goal.
"Emh…I'll take some samples around while you're working if you don't mind."
"Whatever."
Veran nodded. "Thank you. I won't disturb anyone…"
The man scurried in a storage room on the side while the remainder of the group progressed in silence, examining the tower all the while: If from outside, the tower looked grim with its fortress-like appearance, its lack of window as well as the visible damage its faded stones had taken, the inside was worse: the narrow hallways were impregnated with an aura of emptiness that made the heroes periodically shiver. When they eventually reached the basement, the place looked just as dark: the heroes could see several disaffected holding cells lining up the wall and filled with broken, web-covered furniture. The only sign of life was the small pack of succubi cooing in the hallway, entirely blocking its end.
"Come oooon! Let us in! We only want to play with you!"
A young but authority-filled voice answered.
"NO!"
Lauratt closed his eyes as he recognized the voice of Gilgorn. Of course, the yoma would have gone into hiding to avoid nightmares and succubi… Her pride had already taken quite a few hits from the sex fiends in part because of him, and when she had joined the Pocket Castle she had the misfortune of remaining the center of attention of several other monsters who had found the small demon lord cute and her extreme weakness to pleasure endearing… Since then, she had always moved around the castle with extreme prudence to remain unmolested. In that regard, she was the exact opposite of Fulbeua who wanted to show off to the world at every opportunity and took everything happening to her as a further proof of her greatness.
And apparently, Gilgorn's power wasn't enough to scare away the succubi who were currently attempting to seduce her to make her drop her guard.
"You're so cuuuuute! We will take good care of you, we promise!"
"And I don't want anything to do with you. Leave me alone!"
"We wooon't… This barrier won't hold forever, you knoooow?"
Lauratt heard Gilgorn scoff before exclaiming herself in an assured voice. "This is a barrier of reality! Nothing can traverse it, not even those damn Nightmares! It will hold even after this world has fallen! Now go away you nuisances!"
The succubus that accompanied the heroes tapped on the shoulder of one of her companions, and after a short moment the succubi separated themselves, allowing Gilgorn and the heroes to see each other. The purple, young-looking yoma completely lost her composure when she saw Lauratt.
"Noooo! Get away you and your damn rune! Please don't break this barrier!"
The succubus that had accompanied them grinned. "So it looks like that you can take care of her barrier indeed…"
"Kkh… I messed up..." Gilgorn teared up while Lauratt started sweating under the attention of everyone present.
"Now how about you break this silly wall?" The succubus teasingly swayed her hips while lecherously licking her lips. "We'll make it more than worth your while… Of course, the offer includes your whole group, and even that silly scholar of yours if he desires…"
Lauratt, Lars and Novissa simultaneously shook their head negatively: They had all come here to escape the attention of their partners, it was certainly not to mingle with the local succubi.
The succubus shrugged, but her smile didn't leave her face. "Shame. In that case, I'll suppose we'll have fun with you instead, unless this barrier happens to collapse…"
The succubi blocked the exit while threateningly getting closer and closer to the heroes. Lauratt looked behind him to see Gilgorn whimper and sniffle pathetically. She even curled up each time his eyes locked with hers. He turned around and saw Novissa and Lars with their hands on the hilt of their sword, ready to defend themselves against the grinning succubi that kept slowlt advancing toward them. Lost in thoughts, he checked the back of his hand where the Rune of Rage gifted by Fulbeua could destroy the theoretically unbreakable barrier put on by Gilgorn and get them out of this mess. On the other hand… He felt sorry for her. She had been a victim as much as them, if not even more when they landed in this world. She did deserve at least some measure of tranquility.
Lauratt readied his staff and pointed in at the group of succubi while his companions finally unsheathed their own weapons. The succubus at the head of the group grinned.
"Well, I don't mind as long as I see someone's face contort in pleasure as they beg for more... Get them!"
An avalanche of magic rocks caught the succubi as they lunged toward the party. As they stumbled through Lauratt's magical assault, they were unable to brace themselves against the two swordsmen who hit them head-on. Novissa knocked two of the sex fiends into the wall with a horizontal strike while Lars pushed away another one with a fiery blade. As the remaining succubi managed to recover from the original assault, one of them threw herself at Lars while another attempted to take down Novissa with a sweeping kick. The red-haired hero simply tossed the demon behind him against the barrier while Novissa held still and kicked back his opponent into the ground. Only one succubus was remaining, and she desperately casted wind spells after wind spells in a fruitless attempt to slow the heroes down while moving back further and further. Eventually, she completely gave up and ran away in a hurry.
"I'm sorry! I never wanted to get involved in this! I'm sorry! I'll leave you alone, I swear!"
The heroes remained in the hallway amongst the unconscious succubi. The fight had barely been a skirmish that lasted a small minute, and yet Lauratt felt incredibly tired. He turned again toward Gilgorn, who was still shaking sporadically and talking in a trembling voice.
"Thank you… I…" She gulped nervously, slowly breathed in and out, and started talking again in a more assured voice. "Thank you. I know that you're here for those magical stones. Take them away, I don't need them. Now, leave this place alone."
She handed down a large bag that contained a number of unusual looking crystals, and Lauratt had no doubt that it was what the scholar that was accompanying them wanted. The trio of heroes left the basement of the tower in silence and crossed the first floor without issue until they reached the intersection where the scholar had left them. The storage room that he was seen entering was now devoid of any presence. As they started checking the room, Lauratt pointed at one of the clay pot and made a warning sign: A monster was residing in this one, and the item should only be approached with utmost caution. His two partners agreed and examined the remainder of the room, but after a few additional fruitless minutes of research, they shrugged and left the place.
As they reached the exit of the tower, they assisted to the awkward spectacle of Veran half-wallowed against a wall, trying to put his pants back while groaning. The scholarly man instantly froze with his trousers midway.
"S-sorry… When I saw this succubus running away while screaming a panic, I followed her because I thought something horrible had happened to you and was coming for me next… But she recovered once we were outside, one thing led to another, and…"
The heroes turned away to let the man have the decency to dress up himself again. Veran struggled a bit longer before being fully clothed again, and he sighed in exasperation when he unsteadily got up.
"Ok… I'm ready. Let's go back to Saloon. Or we can go to Sabasa directly, whatever…"
Lars gestured that he was definitively not interested in returning to Saloon, surprising both of his companions. Lauratt nodded, traced a few runes in the air, and, in the blink of an eye, the party was back at the entrance of the large desert city of Sabasa. They all sat themselves at the tavern and asked the waitress for a round of drinks, relieved that this adventure was finally over.
A particularly dour Veran placed a large pouch of gold in front of the party before crossing his arms in front of him. The heroes looked at each other, puzzled by his apparent change of behavior. The man sighed and got up, clearly angry.
"Right, thank you for your help, sorry for taking your precious time, I have more work to do!"
The man aggressively muttered something about heroes thinking themselves about everyone, which surprised the trio of heroes. Was it something they said?
Eventually, they shrugged it off and shared equally their well-earned reward. They could even get to rest a few more days without any interruption.
As Lauratt leaned back on his chair, the young man's mind wandered toward the recent days: While the monsters he faced in this world were more aggressive than the ones he fought before, they were still ultimately first and foremost interested in getting into their pants. And as skilled warriors, they were apparently a lot more appetizing than the common villager, making even reasonable or friendlier monsters attack them… Were all the other heroes in this world dealing with the same ordeals?
Back in her small temporarily lair, Gilgorn was relieved, and even glad of her current situation: She was now alone again, able to study the place without interruption such as being hit on by a bunch of demented nymphomaniacs. The succubi had left the place once it was clear that they wouldn't be able to get their hands on the small Demon Lord. She returned to the workbench she had installed in a cell, close to one of the numerous clay pots that were present in the basement. She examined the parchment that was laid down in front of her as the fruit of her work.
"So this place had been transported from another world because of the impact left by the cross-world contact made by the hero and his allies when they visited it. However, the world itself had been destroyed afterward by a terminal apoptosis… The situation can be compared to the minor infestation in the Château des Romances after the bombardment as the place itself comes from another dimension."
Even as she was lost in her monologue, Gilgorn failed to notice the slight trembling that seemed to have taken hold of the pot by her side. She dramatically turned around and frowned.
"The destruction of its point of origin makes further analysis impossible, using this as a standing point to travel between dimension and return to our own will be extremely unlikely either. And even if it was, the probability that it would lead to not exactly our home dimension, but one that would be very close and where we would still exist would create considerable issue: How would the world react to the presence of two of me? How would the other Gilgorn react?"
A feminine figure covered in honey slowly emerged from the pot. She smiled when she saw the Demon Lord, and slowly started extending tentacles toward her while the latter started perambulating.
"Now I can only theorize that an encounter with another copy of myself would, in all likeliness, lead to a cataclysmic fight. However, if I was to successfully convince her that we could work together to combine our power against those degenerated Nightmares… Maybe I can try bringing one here, and- Eh?"
Gilgorn noticed too late the tentacles that wrapped like lewd snakes around her upper body before bringing her in the honey pot. The monster then wrapped more tentacles around her legs while the small Monster Lord shivered.
"Hyiaaaa! No! No!"
The monster gently hugged Gilgorn. "Shhh, it's okay, I only want some warmth. You're too cute to be harmed…"
"Let me ouououououout…"
The monster tightened her embrace around a Gilgorn that kept shaking in a mix of disgust and pleasure.
"No. As I said, you're too cute to be left alone."
Gilgorn whined pathetically before managing to articulate a proposition.
"Waaaait… What if I learn you about the art of Mhinmahxin so that you fully exploit your power? I can teach you how to take down gods!"
The monster stopped her assault and started pondering the offer of the small Demon Lord. On the one hand, she wasn't that much interested in power, preferring to take it easy and enjoy tranquility instead of entering the competition powerful monsters imposed to each other. On the other hand… If it meant even the hero was unable to resist her… She could enjoy it.
"Deal!"