The Hero Became a Succubus! - Chapter 169

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Chapter 169

Kanae's companions looked to her for what to do next. For Kris to have deduced her identity as a succubus so confidently and quickly, would she even fall for any attempts at deception? They had a lead to Brimstone Refuge. Even if they were caught now, Kanae could just charm Kris. Should anything go wrong, they also had Eliza's teleportation pellet to escape.

"That's right," Kanae said, letting her succubus form come to the surface. "I'm actually a—"

"Thank the gods!" Kris exclaimed and grabbed Kanae's two hands.

Everyone watched on, stunned by the demon woman's reaction.

"You're not afraid of me?" Kanae asked.

"Afraid? Pfft— No! This is like coming across uncharted lands to explore. An opportunity of a lifetime. You being a succubus? This can't get any better. There are places in Suvius I can't reach because Viscount Bashaun has those passages sealed off. With a succubus, you can charm his people to let me pass. How about it? Can you help me?" Kris' passionate plea left Kanae speechless.

"Hold on, demon." Arenade grabbed Kris by the shoulder and turned her around. "How do we know you won't screw us over the second we step into Brimstone Refuge?"

"I have soooo much more to gain by helping you than the viscount. Please, I'm begging you! I have to see the Tortuga Forge no matter what!" she exclaimed desperately.

Tortuga Forge? Kanae searched the others for answers, but they all shrugged.

"What's there that you want to get to so badly?" Kanae asked.

Kris almost let her excitement get the better of her. She swallowed it to keep the secret for herself. Not interested in playing this game, Kanae placed a charm on the demon woman and forced her to answer.

"There's an… ancient forge… believed to have been used by dwarves… Somewhere deep inside is rumored to contain… a legendary compass that leads to whatever metal you're searching for," Kris explained.

"Dwarves?" Eliza and Arenade gasped at the same time.

"Come to think of it, I haven't seen any dwarves. Where are they all?" Kanae asked.

"Master, the dwarves have been extinct for tens of thousands of years now," Esta answered in a tone as though recalling from a textbook.

An entire race was gone just like that?

"One more question: do you have any intention of selling us out?" Kanae narrowed her gaze.

"Nope," Kris said simply.

Kanae traded glances with her traveling companions. Maybe they had Kris pegged wrong. This demon had one thing on her mind and nothing else. Exploring. That and whatever that compass was.

"I'm satisfied." Kanae ended the charm spell, letting Kris breathe a sigh of relief. "We can give you a hand, but we have a few things that need doing before then."

"Oh! What exactly are you guys up to?" Kris asked.

"That's for us to know. Not you," Esta warned her against any more questions.

Kanae nodded. "All you need to know is that we want to get to the city. You give us a few days to do what we need to do, and we'll bring you to the forge. How does that sound?"

"Blow up the city if you want, that's fine by me as long as I can go to the forge!" She extended a hand. They shook. Although it was their second handshake, this time felt more genuine and cordial.

Before setting off, Kanae took a dip in a 'lava river' to wash off all the cum and cast Human Form over herself. They threw a rope lead over the logaran to keep as food, gathered their belongings, and recommenced their journey to Brimstone Refuge.

"Dwarves, huh?" Arenade mumbled thoughtfully. "I wonder what Marrowyn thinks about us traipsing into his old stomping grounds."

"What do you know about the dwarves? Or how they went extinct?" Kanae whispered.

"Supreme One locked some of my knowledge away when he sent me down there. Just standard procedure so I'm not upsetting the power balance in this world. Marrowyn is a dwarf who became a demigod waaaay before my time. Their race were supposedly crazy good at inventing mechanical things, but I feel like…" She squeezed her eyes shut to think.

"What?"

"I feel like I'm forgetting something very important about Marrowyn and the dwarven race… Must be one of the memories that got locked. Probably not that important to us right now anyway."

They traveled for another day through treacherous terrain and fought countless monsters along the way. Despite Kanae taking interest in having sex with many of them, Eliza and Esta convinced her not to by reminding to stay on track. The logaran provided the group plenty of sustenance, while in turn only needing to eat petrified trees that Suvius was in no short supply of.

Eventually, when the group needed to cross a tract of narrow canyons, it was time to say goodbye to the logaran. I wouldn't follow them in because there were no trees to eat within. And if a logaran didn't want to move, no one could make it move.

A towering, spiked obsidian wall around Brimstone Refuge came into view when the party emerged from the canyons. Numerous demon guards dressed in black regalia, light cloth to withstand the blistering heat, stood underneath the giant statue of a herzulith wielding a sword in all four hands. Between the statue's legs was the gate entrance that led up into the city.

"Stop!" A guard halted them as they approached. "State your names and purpose for coming here."

"Kris, the explorer, at your service! These are my escorts I hired from Hellfire Badlands to protect me on the way here. We're seeking refuge within the city of blackened steel," Kris explained to the guards.

Their scrutinizing eyes set upon Kanae and Arenade, both of whom had thrown cloaks over themselves since they were the most notable.

"The badlands, eh? What's a dainty little elf like doing coming to a place like this?" one of them sized Arenade up to ask.

Everyone gulped. Kanae wanted to intervene until an exhausted Arenade expelled a long, drawn-out sigh.

"You're telling me… I would rather be anywhere else. I've never sweated so much that there's a river between my cheeks. All this dry heat is causing my beautiful skin to crack. Have you any idea what's going to take to get back to my divinely smooth and luscious skin again? DO YOU?" Arenade screamed, grabbing the guard by his collar.

"Uh, I… uh—"

"We've been walking for days! My feet are sore and full of blisters. My hair is all crusty from ashes. I've been eating dick cheese— COW DICK CHEESE NIGHT AND DAY! SO, YOU CAN LET ME IN OR I GO APESHIT, BECAUSE I'VE HAD IT UP TO HERE WITH THIS GOD-FORSAKEN PLACE!'"

Now, everyone's jaws dropped.

The guard wrenched away from Arenade, wiping the spit she had gotten on his face during the rant.

"By Charron's glaive, alright! They don't pay me enough to deal with this shit. Go on inside, but don't cause trouble. The Bashaunites aren't taking any chances," he said and signaled to the others to stand aside.

Kanae couldn't believe it. Arenade going full Earth-world Karen and throwing a tantrum got them through the gates.

"Well, I'm not going to complain about a good thing! Time to see for myself what a demon city looks like." Eliza walked ahead of them.

Arenade was panting, out of breath from letting her emotions get the better of her.

"There, there." Kanae patted her on the back. "We'll get you something nice inside."

Right through the gates, three paths laid ahead of them that presumably led to the same place. To either side, going up along the obsidian wall, was a ramp with a gentle incline. A wagon was just now moseying down from the left side, and they scooted away to let it pass. Before the party, however, was a grand staircase of stone and metal. They must have climbed a hundred steps before reaching the top.

"Welcome to Brimstone, ladies! The City of Blackened Steel and Minestra Va'doun's seat of power!" Kris threw her hands to the sprawling city within an enormous crater below, using the natural earthen barrier as part of the fortification which they were standing on.

Buildings were all made of black metal and shared the same spiked barricades on the rooftops. A citadel was suspended over the city by gargantuan chains staked into the side of the crater. Beneath it was a gaping hole.

"Geh. This is a volcano, isn't it?" Kanae asked.

"That it is! An active one, too!"

Suddenly, none of them wanted to be here anymore. And Minestra wanted to invite Kanae to live with her in this dangerous place…

They took an elevator down to the surface of the city. Immediately, barkers and merchants assailed them from all directions. Unlike the marketplaces in Lograin and Ehmvier where vendors set up on the streets, vendors here worked from their homes. Buildings on the first floor had their windows open with a protruding counter full of goods on display.

Demons were dressed in turbans and light, flowing robes. The more well-off had servants following them around with umbrellas to provide shade. Out in the open, a porky demon berated a human and two imps. The chain collars on their necks were a sign that they were slaves.

"I can't shake the feeling that we're being watched," Esta leaned in to whisper. "We shouldn't linger. Is there an inn that we can take shelter in?"

"Preferably a crowded place that we can blend into?" Kanae added.

"I know just the place!" Kris brought them to a tavern where beer didn't stop flowing and all manner of races gathered.

They were lucky to find an open table, which was just a slab of petrified wood on an empty keg, and the seats were also empty kegs.

"What will y'all be having?" a busty gaur tavern wench, whose messy hair covered her eyes, asked.

"Four of your worst, one of your finest. The finest goes to me," Arenade said, head on the table and sulking.

"Y'all have money?" she parted her hair to ask. "Cos ya don't look like yer from 'round here."

"First round's on me. I've got the zerkah!" Kris assured the distrustful woman with a jingle of her coin purse.

When the gaur left, Kanae took in the sight of how diverse this city was from just the tavern alone. Humans, elves, beastmen, goblins, ogres, and demons shared stories over drinks. No high elf in sight to preach about the Supreme One. Was this… heaven?

"Hey, I don't like that look on your face. What are you thinking?" Arenade squinted at Kanae.

"Nothing…"

"I don't mean to be the bearer of bad news, but I think we've encountered our first obstacle. I presume Zerkah is the name of Artaggon's currency? We have none of it. We also can't rely on Kris to pay for everything," Eliza informed the group.

"Ah, that's exactly why I brought you to this place in particular. It's something new that Lord Charron came up with called an adventurer's guild. The purpose is to bring strong people together who aren't interested in being part of the military to do their part in civil society. There's a quest board full of requests from slaying monsters to delivering milk to an old lady across the city," Kris explained.

They stared blankly at her.

"Heh. Always the unoriginal bozo," Arenade sneered.

"Anyway, I'm going to go pay for your drinks and head back out!" Kris rose from her seat.

"Wait, where are you going?" Kanae asked.

"City life isn't for me. Besides, I can tell whatever you guys are trying to do, you don't want me around. I'll come back later. Just don't renege on our deal!" She winked at Kanae and disappeared into the tavern's many patrons.

What a woman…

The gaur wench returned to their table with a handful of drinks. Arenade drowned her sorrows in the fine wine.

"Now that we're deep in demon territory, we can finally start. Our goal is to find out as much information as we can about the state of Artaggon. We have to go about it carefully," Kanae said.

"Grand Eye Analise would want to know several things." Eliza sniffed the beer, gagged, and pushed it away before continuing. "The whereabouts of Copper, because his infiltration of Artaggon should yield plenty of information. What Charron is doing to fight against the Queen-Mother's succubi forces. And what the Mistress of Love and Mistress of Debauchery's true intentions are for invading."

"The current leader of Suvius is Viscount Bashaun, isn't it? He sounds more like a political player than a military one. We should pay him a visit," Esta suggested.

If there was anyone who had a bird's eye view of what was going on, it would be someone in a political office. Speaking with him, no matter how risky it was, might be worth trying.

Until then…

"Eliza has the right idea. If we're going to stay here, even for a short while, we're going to need money. Let's split up and join other adventuring groups. That way, we'll earn zerkah and find out a little bit about the state of Suvius from the people living here," Kanae said.

"That's fine and all, but one among us might not be capable of splitting up." Eliza directed their attention to Arenade, who was sloshed beyond recognition.

"Holyshit… thish… thish wine has me… fuuucked up… hic! They put poishun in thish or shumthing?" Arenade swayed from side to side even while seated.

Kanae charmed Arenade and compelled her to cast Greater Detox on herself. She sobered right up and looked disappointed.

"Oh, come on!" she complained aloud.

They split up into two groups: Esta and Kanae, and Arenade and Eliza. The latter ventured into the city to speak with the locals. The former stayed at the tavern and consulted the quest board. Before Arenade left, Kanae made it explicitly clear to her to be on the lookout for bavarii wisps.

When Kanae got up to the quest board, it felt like Orturic all over again. Half the notices were monster-slaying and the other half were mining-related. But it was hard to tell if they paid poorly or not, since they were unfamiliar with Artaggon's currency. Interestingly enough, the locations were mostly concentrated within Brimstone Refuge.

"This quest describes monsters in the shape of rocks that are a menace to weary female adventurers. Is it just me, or is this oddly specific in all the wrong way?" Esta asked.

"I don't get it… Are there monsters roaming around the city?" Kanae wondered aloud.

"Not in the city. Underneath," a voice, smooth like whiskey, corrected her.

They turned around to find two women, an ashy-skinned demon with curly silver hair and dark elf with short chestnut brown hair, and a male ogre that was a mountain of muscle. All three were dressed in hardened leather and wielded martial weapons. The ogre was holding the chains to five demon and goblin slaves, each with rusty pickaxes in their hands.

"Though, I wouldn't expect newcomers to this city to know that." The demon sauntered past them and snatched a couple of the quest notices for herself.

"So… Is this the part where you invite us to your group, and we quest together?" Kanae asked.

"Of course— wait, what? No! As if we're interested in grouping with newcomers. Keep your mangy paws off those quests if you know what's good for you. If you're still hankering to go down there, I can't guarantee you'll be coming back up." She smirked.

"Is that a threat?" Esta asked, coming between them.

The ogre growled and stepped forward, but the dark elf waved him off.

"Maya, we don't got time to waste on these chumps. Let's get going already," the dark elf said.

The demon named Maya backed off. They left without so much as a look back, dragging their slaves along.

"Making friends went about as well as I expected in demon territory." Esta kept her eyes on them until they exited the building.

"We just got off on the wrong foot. It wouldn't hurt to accidentally run into them to try again," Kanae said.

They followed after the other party at a sizable distance. It wasn't hard to spot the giant ogre bumbling down the street. The odd, mixed-matched group reached the center of the city, right underneath the citadel. Heat from the lava pit was a lot more intense the closer they got.

Maya, the demon, paused and glanced over her shoulder. Kanae and Esta quickly dove into an alleyway. The crowds were much thinner here, and neither didn't want to be seen. After a few seconds, Kanae peeked out. Maya's group boarded an elevator that brought them down into the lava pit.

They raced out and carefully peered over the guardrail. The elevators were lowered up and down by chains attached to the bottom of the citadel. Maya and her party stopped at a platform half-way down to the pit and entered what looked to be a tunnel.

So, that was what they meant by 'underneath'.

The elevator returned to the surface and stopped at the platform.

"Ready, Esta?" Kanae asked.

The drakeling knight flexed both arms and nodded. They boarded the elevator to the bottom platform. An entire subterranean cavern awaited them. The same one Maya, her goons, and her slaves had entered. Inside, actual lava— not the false lava rivers like before— flowed like an ocean and filled from open channels in the ceiling, along the walls, and crevices in the ground.

"What a treacherous place to live," Esta muttered, watching her step as she moved.

"Please, Suvius… Don't pick today to erupt…" Kanae genuinely prayed to the Supreme One for the first time ever.

The deeper they went, the less lava there was. However, Kanae was getting tired. The heat was getting to her head, too. She needed to catch her breath and took a seat on a rock.

"I wish we brought a mage." Kanae sighed.

"Master, I don't mean to alarm you, but doesn't that look like the monsters in the quest notice?" Esta asked, her gaze swapping between Kanae and the rock she was sitting on.

"There's no way this is a monster. It hasn't even moved since the moment I—?!"

Something slid right into her pussy.

"I could be wrong. I just thought for sure… Master?" The drakeling cocked her head sideways at Kanae's shocked look.

"Y-Yeah. Nngh… I found it alright…" Kanae jolted when another sensation pushed against her ass. Whatever it was, the damn thing was trying its best to enter the other hole. "I… oh, god… it's so deep… I'm going to need some help getting up here…" She raised both hands to Esta, who grabbed and pulled.

"It's not budging? What's holding you down?"

"I don't— Ahhh… Mmm… F-Fuck… They're throbbing! Just pull harder!" Kanae ordered.

Esta put every ounce of strength into yanking Kanae off the rock. The sensation of thick rods coming out of Kanae's ass and pussy brought her to climax. Two phallic and veiny creatures protruding from the rock were drenched in her juices. Upon closer inspection, there were holes all over the stone from which they emerged from.

"Ah! The quest description makes sense now, Master!" Esta lit up like she had just learned something profound.

"Don't just admire them. Kill the thing already!" Kanae rolled her eyes, embarrassed that Esta would stare so hard at what was just inside her.

Instead of using the greatsword, the drakeling knight lifted the greatshield above her head and slammed it down on the rock. She shattered it into dozens of pieces. The strange worms that came out of it tried to burrow into the ground, but Esta breathed fire to kill them all.

"It's starting to feel like everything in Suvius is trying to find a way into me!" Kanae cried in distress.

"What's wrong, Master? I thought you liked it," Esta teased.

"I… Okay… Maybe I did." She shyly pushed her index fingers together.

The two continued into the cavernous, volcanic depths and destroyed any stone housing the worm monsters along the way.

After almost an hour of avoiding falling into lava, the sound of pickaxes repeatedly hitting rock echoed down to them.

"Dig faster or it's the lava with you lousy lot." Maya could be heard yelling farther in.

"I'm not going to pretend to be the epitome of good," Kanae began as she made herself known from the shadows, "but when it comes to slaves, you can't just work them to the bones."

The three whipped around with a start. The ogre drew his giant club, the demon her sword, and the dark elf her daggers.

"The hells! You followed us down here just to preach or something? Leeya, Rudy, gut those bastards and take their things!" Maya shouted.

Kanae put a hand on Esta's shoulder to activate Bond and said, "Put them in their place for them."

"With pleasure." Esta dropped her greatshield in favor of the greatsword, making quick work out of all three of them.

They laid on the ground and saw stars, bruised up from the beating Esta had given them. While they were unconscious, Kanae put a powerful charm on the ogre named Rudy. He snapped awake.

"Hello, new friend. Would you be so kind as to carry Leeya and Maya to this rock over here?" Kanae gestured to the hole-filled boulder.

Rudy did as ordered, carrying his companions and sitting them on the rock. He held them tightly in his strong hands, keeping the two still and upright.

"Nngh…" Maya awakened first and panicked. "Rudy? What's going on— aahh! What am I sitting on? S-Something's poking me… Stop it! Let me go!"

"Hey, you attacked us first. I just wanted to have a nice chat. Now, we're going to have to do it the hard way. All I did was convince your friend to give you a seat." Kanae flashed an impish smile.

"Is it the slaves you want? Fine. Take 'em. They're slow anyway, and I can get new ones from the viscount!" she exclaimed desperately.

"Slaves seemed to be a common sight in Brimstone. Why are you getting yours directly from the viscount?"

The demon looked at Kanae funny.

"You really are new here. Yeah, slaves ain't something new. These slaves, though? Viscount's having us put them to work for what they— aaahh!" Maya jerked hard, her face turning red and her body trembling. "Something… went inside me… C-Can you at least let me off this first?"

"What's going on… Oh, gods— I'm cumming! Aaaahhhh!" The other, the dark elf woman, finally came to consciousness in the middle of an orgasm.

The loud, wet noises of the worms penetrating their pussy was making the demon and goblin slaves nervous. Kanae leisurely watched the two of them be driven to a climax by the monsters. Since the ogre held them firmly to the stone, they had no other choice but to take it.

"It's punishment," one of the emaciated female demon slaves said.

"Punishment? What did you do?" Kanae turned to ask her.

"For apostasy… We abandoned the worship of the demon lord in favor of a new one. A religion called the Eminence of Sin," she answered with familiar fervor.

"Oh, no wonder— Wait… eh, huh? Eh? Did you just say Eminence of Sin?!"