How I became the Empress of Hell Arc 03 Ch. 55-67

Welcome back, Lit readers! It's been... a few... months. Instead of going on about the details of the unintended delay... I have exciting news! One of my readers from here reached out, and after I responded we connected and chatted online for pretty much the entire day. That was all that way back in October... so... fast forward to present day and now I have a girlfriend who will be moving in with me and my wife (and our housemate) hopefully sometime in the fall. I'm super excited for that.

In other news, I recently submitted the first part of Arc 1 to an editor in the hopes of officially publishing, so things are definitely moving forward.

I will try to be better about posting more chapters on here, and trust me... there is much to come! Thank you all for your continued support, and please remember to vote! Love you all!

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3.55: Damnation - Part 1

After we all met back up at our clan castle, we were greeted by the others, most of whom were currently level 1. We all wearily piled into the clan hall and discussed everything that had happened before and after the primary ambush, the massive amount of enemies we had encountered, and then the timely arrival of the rest of the clan. The only detail I chose to withhold was anything pertaining to Gehenna's daughter. I had messaged Nialla, Em, and Gehenna with instructions to keep their mouths shut about it. I wanted to talk to the blonde demon empress and give her a chance to explain before I made any mention of it to anyone else.

We discussed how the angel's sole intent was to lure me out and kill me before attacking our castle en masse and basically spawn camping the entire clan. With the display of force they had shown today, we knew that it was only a matter of time before they tried something again. After going over a wide list of options on how we should move forward, I let out the long sigh and leaned back in my chair.

"Guys... this game is getting seriously fucked up. I'm half tempted to make a new character just so the game will leave me and my clan the fuck alone."

Emelia turned towards me and placed her hand on top of mine.

"I think the damage is already done, babe. Allexus is priority target number one, which means that the rest of us are as well. Knowing you like I do, I know you blame yourself for that... but I'm going to tell you right now... Don't. You are one of the most loving and caring people I know, Allison. We all know you would never intentionally do anything to put us in harm's way. What's happened is something that is beyond your control. Nialla and Hana could have chosen to remain an Angelspawn, but it was their choice to become demons. You aren't responsible for making them choose that, just as you aren't responsible for how the game chose to react. However we arrived at this point is irrelevant. The only thing that matters is that we're here now, and we need to figure out how to deal with it. But... You don't have to do it alone, babe. We're not just your clan... we're your family. Everyone of us will have your back every step of the way."

As I looked at the rest of my clan, I heard murmurs of acknowledgement and determined expressions as they agreed with what Em had said. As Gehenna began to speak softly, the room went silent as we all turned towards her.

"I'm sorry, Allie. For... not telling you about... her. About Adelaine."

"Who's Adelaine?"

Before she could respond to Jade's question, I placed a hand on Gehenna's arm and gave her a concerned look.

"Hey, you don't have to do this here. We can talk about this later."

Gehenna shook her head and then looked up at me.

"I want to. They deserve to hear it. You all saved my life... It's the very least I can do."

I let out a long sigh, before nodding at her and motioning for her to continue.

"I suppose I should start at the beginning then..."

I held up my hand in a gesture for Gehenna to wait as an idea occurred to me.

"Hold up."

After looking down, I reached up with my hands to unfasten a badge that was attached to the outside of the clothing I was currently wearing. I quickly tossed it to Gehenna, who stared at the object with confusion.

"This says {Main Character}... What am I supposed to do with this?"

"Don't overthink it. Just attach that to your armor."

"Uhhhhh... OK."

My name is Helaina... and I chose damnation.

For over 1,000 years, I was the commander of a squadron of archangels known as Heaven's Justice. While all angels and archangels have the sworn duty to combat the demon forces, my squad-

"Gehenna, what's the difference between an angel and an archangel?"

I glared at the gorgeous demon woman I had come to love before my expression softened. I laughed softly as she suddenly looked embarrassed by speaking out of turn and clapped her hand over her mouth as if to stop her from interrupting me again. As Nialla spoke up from the right of Emelia, Allie turned towards her, her hand still held tightly against her lips.

"Archangels generally have four wings instead of two, and they have that strange halo effect over their heads that gives them that radiant aura over their whole body."

I nodded and smiled at Nialla, who gave me a toothy grin and blushed slightly. As I started to speak again, everyone turned back towards me.

"That aura is called [Light's Radiance]. It increases all of their stats, resistances, and makes them deal additional holy damage with weapon and spell attacks. So... as I was saying..."

My squadron was specifically created with the intent to go into the cities of humans littered across our world, locate any traces of demonic corruption, and completely eradicate them. Oftentimes this was something as simple as finding and destroying some cursed object, or eliminating a person who had been warped and shifted by corruption, but there were also the times where we would have to go into a place so overrun with demonic corruption that it twisted the very landscape. The beasts found within were some of the deadliest any force of angels could encounter, which is why our squadron consisted of only the most powerful archangels in existence.

Our actions were good, and just, done in order to protect the humans who were unable to protect themselves. And we did our duty without a second's hesitation. Demons were devious, preying on any weakness they could find, using it to infect those around them and spread more and more corruption. They would often appear in whatever form they thought would draw us in with a false sense of security, before they revealed their true forms and struck viciously. For as powerful as the members of my squadron were, I still lost countless numbers to the cunning attacks that many never saw coming. A second of hesitation was all it took for the creatures to rip through the one who failed to cut them down, or worse... another member of the squadron. It was one thing for a member of Heaven's Justice to stay their blade and then pay the price with their life, but when it was done at the cost of others?

In my squad, any hesitation, any failure to do one's duty without question or delay, was met with the most severe of punishments.

Execution.

When a single lapse of judgment could result in the death of dozens, there was no room for mercy.

My squadron and I slaughtered thousands of demons. Tens of thousands. But there always seemed to be more. As the centuries went on, I spent more and more time amongst the humans, and less and less time amongst my own kind. One exception to that was a member of my squadron known as Kellian. He and I often paired up because of how well we complimented each other; him being a martial class, and me being a mage. Kellian was a warrior who was second to none; being able to fell the strongest of demons with a single stroke of his sword. He was charming, and brutishly handsome, and he told the absolute worst jokes. What developed between us happened despite our intention to keep things from progressing any further.

What I had with Kellian could never be classified as a true relationship. I loved him, and I know he loved me, but we never expressed that to one another. We took comfort in the other's body, and fought to protect one another with savage ferocity knowing that every battle could be our last. To absolutely no one's surprise, it didn't take long for me to become pregnant. Fortunately, the creators of our world made childbirth amongst angels something of an easy affair, in that we don't actually have to carry a baby to term and give birth. Bits of my code along with bits of Kellian's code combine with code generated by the world itself to cause the form of the child to take shape and appear in our world. Unlike human children, our children are "born" fully developed and have the appearance of what human children would look like when they are two or three years of age. Our children grow to maturity quickly, reaching adulthood after two years, after which they start their training to become soldiers.

Our daughter, Adelaine, was a force to be reckoned with. She inherited my own magic prowess, along with her father's martial abilities. She combined the two into a truly lethal combination, and when it came time for her to choose the squad she wished to join, it was absolutely no surprise when she chose Heaven's Justice. Fighting alongside my daughter was... indescribable. I was equal parts proud and overjoyed that she was everything I had wanted her to be. She was... the perfect soldier.

I think that's part of the reason I don't fully blame her for what she did. She was, afterall, only doing what she had been trained to do.

It was a mission like any other: travel to the human city, find the purported demon threat, eliminate it and any corruption it left behind, and return home. After quickly locating a sizable corruption area, I called for reinforcements to deal with the increased threat. Adelaine was the first of my squadron to arrive, followed by five other squad members, most of whom had trained alongside my daughter. We moved through the city cautiously, taking our time to watch for any signs of the enemy, and wiping out all traces of corruption we encountered. We encountered a group of over twenty demons, all armed and armored as if to halt our advance. Newly spawned demons generally lacked the intelligence of the creatures they came from, instead being more bestial in nature. These demons were obviously far more advanced than that, and they fought accordingly. After a particularly savage battle, I found myself chasing a fleeing demon who had been severely wounded by one of my fire spells. I chased her through nearly a dozen streets and alleys before cornering her in a small windowless stone structure.

After I blasted the door open, I readied my weapons and entered the small building. I cut down a demon who rushed me with a drawn sword, seeing that he appeared to be the equivalent age of a human teenager. Small horns protruded from his brow and I could see the fangs slightly poking out from beneath his lips. I quickly moved from room to room, until I finally found the demon I had injured. She was crouched in the corner of the room, holding something I couldn't see. As I moved further into the room, I saw that she was using her body to shield a small child, probably no more than five years old. When I drew closer to the pair, she turned towards me and spread her arms wide, as if to block me from getting to the child.

"P-Please! Y-y-you can k-kill me... but sp-spare the child! Please... I'm b-begging you."

I was no stranger to demons using children as either hostages or as bait. But this... this was the first time I had ever seen one act in such a manner as if it was protecting the child. As I looked from the demon woman's face to the child's I saw that it was a young girl with dark brown hair and a smattering of freckles splashed across her cheeks and nose. I could see an expression of absolute terror in her glowing red eyes, and somehow, I knew that this creature truly meant me no harm. I had killed more demons than I could remember, and I knew every single one of their tricks... and I knew with complete certainty that this was no trick. Which... made absolutely no sense. Why would one demon protect another? They were ruthless, selfish beasts who only cared about themselves and the power they could obtain. Why would a demon look at me with eyes only filled with fear, and not a trace of hostility or danger?

I stood motionless in that room, with my sword raised over my head. Tears were streaming down both the woman and the child's face. They were demons. I knew what I was supposed to do. So... why couldn't I bring myself to do it? My heart was pounding in my head, so loud I was sure that the demon woman could hear it. Instead of doing what my instincts were screaming at me to do, I took a steadying breath and spoke to the woman.

"Why are you protecting the child?"

At first, the woman looked confused upon hearing me speak, but after she searched my face intently, she replied in a voice that was barely above a whisper.

"She's... She's m-my daughter."

I narrowed my eyes at the woman, but still didn't bring my swordhand down.

"You were both tainted by the demonic corruption?"

"Wh-what? N-n-no! I was born a d-demon. As was my s-son and m-my daughter."

"Your son?"

She looked at me with deep sorrow and pain in her eyes as she nodded slowly and pointed to the room behind me.

"Yes. He w-was the one you... you killed when you c-came in."

I let out a long slow sigh, and brought my sword arm down to my side. The woman watched it closely, but I saw her visibly relax just a small amount. I studied both her and her daughter's face for any signs of treachery, but I saw nothing that would indicate they meant to do me any harm. As I considered what the woman had said, I felt a hollow pang of regret in my chest at the thought of taking away this woman's child.

"I'm sorry... about your son."

The woman narrowed her eyes and seemed to be struggling with wanting to say or do something, instead she merely nodded her head slowly.

"Even though I t-told him not to, he attacked you. I'm sure he h- hoped to buy me enough time to escape with Avaya."

I found myself nodding in understanding despite not being entirely sure what I was doing. This was a demon, one I had seen attacking a fellow archangel. And yet, here I was... talking with her. The woman interrupted my thoughts as she gave me a questioning look.

"Why have you not killed me?"

"I honestly don't know."

"Are you going to?"

"My instincts and training tell me I should."

"That's not what I asked. I asked whether or not you are going to."

I stared into the woman's crimson eyes and she stared back at me. When I looked at her, I didn't see a creature bent on destruction and obtaining power. I saw a mother, desperate to protect her child. I knew that this woman would only be a threat if I were to show any hostile intent towards her daughter, so... despite everything in me telling me I shouldn't, I let out another long sigh and sheathed my sword.

"No. Unless you give me reason to do so, I'm not going to kill you. Or your daughter. Are you going to attack me?"

The woman looked at the sword sheathed on my hip, and then touched the spot where my fire had burned her. As her eyes flicked back up to stare at me, she exhaled loudly and shrugged.

"For attacking me and for what you did to my son... I want to. I want to more than anything."

I cocked an eyebrow and fought against the urge to smirk at her.

"That wasn't what I asked you. I asked you if you are going to."

The woman did smile at that, showing me the sharp fangs in her mouth.

"No. Lady archangel. As long as you remain true to your word, I am not going to attack you."

"Helaina."

The woman's eyes went wide and she let out an audible gasp.

"You're the Helaina? The archangel responsible for the deaths of thousands of my kind?"

Coming from anyone else, that statement would have made me swell with pride. I had spent the majority of my life eradicating every demon that crossed my path. I was very good at it. Likely one of the best. But... What the woman had said only filled me with regret and remorse. It was my turn to shrug.

"Yes. What you say is true."

The demon woman merely nodded and glanced over at a nearby chair with a padded seat cover.

"Do you mind if we sit? I'm afraid that standing here like this is only making Avaya more and more frightened."

I gave the woman a single nod and took a step back so that she could walk across the room without getting too close to me. After she sat in the wooden chair, she pulled the girl into her lap, who stared at me with a curious expression. I glanced over my shoulder briefly and located a small wooden bench. I backed up slowly, without ever fully taking my eyes off the pair of demons across the room. Once the backs of my legs came into contact with the bench, I eased myself downwards slowly and took a seat. The woman visibly relaxed upon seeing me seated across the room, and I even saw her daughter give me a small smile.

"Do you have children, Helaina?"

"Yes. A daughter. She was the one you threw that dagger at when we first fought in the street."

She looked suddenly worried and tensed up, but I held up my hand and let out a small laugh.

"Fear not, you did not harm her. Adelaine is far stronger than I am."

The woman relaxed and returned my smile. I gave her a curious look as I stared back into her eyes.

"How did you know that I have children?"

"Because... I can think of no other reason you would have spared me."

I considered her words and let out another long sigh.

"I suppose you are right, demon."

"Elira."

I nodded once and then pursed my lips as I thought about our situation.

"I don't know how to proceed from here, Elira."

Elira scoffed, causing her daughter to jump at the sudden sound.

"What, in all the years you've been doing this you're telling me not once have you had a conversation with one of us? How is that possible? You seem like a great conversationalist."

She narrowed her eyes at me as she said this and then let out a long deep sigh.

"Why do you kill demons, Helaina?"

I thought for several minutes about the correct answer, realizing that I hadn't considered this in a very long time.

"Demonic corruption spreads through human populations like a plague. It twists and perverts everything it touches, often leading to the slaughter of hundreds or even thousands of innocent people. I have witnessed beings of immense strength murder entire cities for the sole purpose of obtaining even more power. I have seen rulers sacrifice their own people to satiate the twisted desires that their corruption has wrought from them. You are the first demon I have ever encountered that hasn't tried to take my head the moment they see me."

"This corruption, as you call it, cuts out the weakness and frailty of humanity. Thousands of humans die everyday from starvation, or disease, or hundreds of other things that seek to claim their lives. What are you high and mighty archangels doing to stop that? It's only when humans start to adapt and change to become something that can better survive this world that you all take notice. Yes, the process of becoming a demon can draw out the worst in humans. Some can't handle the changes to their bodies, and they lose whatever sanity they had prior. But those are the outliers, Helaina. Before you and your kill squad showed up here, the former humans of this city lived in peace alongside those of us who are natural-born. My own children are the product of my relationship with a man who was once human. We all wanted nothing more than to live our lives in the safety of our homes amongst people who love and care for us."

"Then why did you attack us? Why not prove that your people are different?"

Elira scoffed and rolled her eyes before glaring at me. Her irises glowed a bright crimson now, and I could feel the anger rising within her.

"Would it have made a difference, Helaina? You and your soldiers are trained to kill us on sight. You said so yourself, this is the first time you've talked to one of us. In the thousands of years you've been doing this, how can that be unless you've always mindlessly slaughtered every demon without learning whether or not they deserved it."

Everything in my body wanted to argue with her, wanted to scream out that being a demon was cause enough to determine whether or not someone deserved death... But the second that thought crossed my mind I realized just how true Elira's words were. I suddenly felt dizzy as I considered the impact of what she had said. How many innocent demons had I killed? How many lives had I ended simply because my training and millennia of ingrained hatred made me believe there was no other way?

I slumped to my knees and began to fight back the wave of bile that churned within my stomach. Tears flowed freely from my eyes as I thought of every single life that died by my hands, and wondered how many of them had been like the woman sitting in front of me. When I suddenly felt a hand on my shoulder, I started to recoil as I looked up and saw it was Elira. I forced down every instinct I had, and instead I leaned into the woman as I continued to openly weep. When she knelt down beside me and wrapped her much smaller body around mine in a tight embrace, I held her against me and just allowed myself to feel every emotion that welled up inside of me.

3.56: Damnation - Part 2

I do not know how long Elira held me like that. When I finally felt like I could cry no more, like I had let the impact of the things I had done tear through my mind, I slid across the stone floor and pressed my back against the wall. Elira moved to sit next to me, and to my surprise, her daughter, Avaya, sat on my other side and leaned her head against my arm.

"I... I didn't know, Elira. I... n-never questioned it. Not once. I'm... sorry. I'm sorry for your son... I'm sorry for... who I am. What I am. I... I don't know how to make it right. Do you know the penalty in my squad for failure to execute a demon?"

"Judging from the fact I'm the first demon you haven't killed immediately, I can assume."

"As the commander of my squadron... It was my duty to execute those who hesitated in any way to kill a demon. I have killed dozens of my kind for the simple crime of not being a mindless murderer. And now... Here I am... contemplating how I can save you and your daughter."

Elira lifted her head up and looked at me with confusion.

"Save us? What do you mean?"

"Elira, when my squad finds a place of immense demonic corruption, we raze it to the ground. Once we finish eradicating all the living demons, we bombard the city with huge spell attacks until nothing but stone and ash remain. If you and your daughter don't escape from here..."

My voice trailed off as I thought again at how mindless the actions we had taken in the past truly were. Not only did we murder countless innocent people, but we also destroyed all traces of them as if they never existed in the first place. My eyes followed Elira as she stood up suddenly.

"I know of a way out of the city. It isn't far from here, but... I'm not sure Avaya and I can make it without one of your squad seeing us. Were you serious about wanting to save us?"

I forced myself to my feet and looked down at the petite demon woman. I inhaled sharply and nodded my head.

"For everything that I have done, it is the absolute least I can do."

"What will you do if we encounter someone from your squad?"

"I will attempt to order them to stand down, but should they figure out what you are, I will likely be forced to stop them. As loath as I am to fight against my own squad, I doubt that any of them would be willing... or even able to see reason. I will do whatever is necessary to protect you and Avaya. You have my word, Elira."

No sooner had the words left my mouth did the sounds of nearby explosions fill the air. Without giving it a second thought, I reached down, scooped up the small demon girl in my arms, and motioned with my head to Alira.

"We need to go. Now. Once we're outside, lead the way."

I saw the fear and uncertainty in her eyes as she looked around the small building for a few seconds. When her gaze again met mine, she gave me a single nod and started to run towards the door. She spared a single glance at the crumpled body of her son as we passed through the entry room, and then without a single word, we exited the building.

Elira moved quickly through the streets towards our destination. As we rounded a corner, a massive burst of red light was followed by the nearest building exploding in a shower of fire and stone. I spread my wings and pulled Elira tight against my body as I did my best to shield her and her daughter from harm. As the smoke began to clear, I felt a pit in my stomach as I saw the shadow from a figure flying overhead.

"Helaina? Is that you?"

I let out a small whimper as I heard Kellian's voice. Without turning or moving in such a way that he could see the two demons, I stood up straighter and forced the fear, worry, and doubt from my voice.

"Kellian. Stand down. I'm escorting these two to safety outside of the city. Once they are secured, I will return and assist you in destroying the rest of the corruption."

I heard the sound of Kellian's armored boots landing softly on the ground behind me, and I let out a long sigh.

"What do you mean, Helaina? Any humans left in this city would have succumbed to the corruption long ago."

The sound of Kellian's massive broadsword being pulled from the sheath rang out.

"I'm not sure what they've done to you, Helaina, but I will endeavor to free you from whatever control they have over you."

I glanced down at Elira and gently handed her daughter to her before turning around slowly. I looked into Kellian's eyes and saw the pained and worried expression on his face. I could see him studying me closely, looking for something that made this make sense.

"Kellian. The only one with control over my mind is me. Please... Listen to me, my love."

I saw Kellian flinch upon hearing me call him "my love." His hand holding his weapon wavered slightly as he warred with indecision. Sensing that he wasn't going to immediately attack, I held my hands up to show him I intended no harm and gave him a strained smile.

"I promise I will explain everything, Kellian. I just... need you to let us pass."

Kellian sighed deeply and narrowed his eyes slightly as he looked at the two demons behind me.

"Why are you protecting two demons, Helaina? I-I don't understand."

"Have you ever seen one demon protect another? Not like a soldier protects their comrade... but... like a father protecting his child?"

His brows furrowed and he gave me a look of confusion as he considered my words.

"Demons don't-"

"But they do, Kellian! I've seen it with my own eyes! Instead of attacking me or begging for her own life, Elira begged me to spare her child! Demonic corruption isn't what we thought it was! We say that we are protecting humanity, when the reality is we do nothing to aid them beyond slaughtering them should they become demons! The demons themselves do a better job at saving humans than we ever have."

I saw the pain on Kellian's face as he heard the words coming out of my mouth. I was so certain that the man I had fallen in love with would simply see me as having lost my nerve, and do what any of my squad would and ended me and the two demons without a second's hesitation. Instead, I heard the sound of his sword being sheathed and saw him giving me a weary smile.

"You have always been my voice of reason, Helaina. I know you wouldn't do this without just cause... so despite not completely agreeing with the decision, I will remain by your side, as I always have."

I smiled at him as Kellian took a step forward and then suddenly stopped. His eyes adopted a vacant expression, and I watched in horror as his head toppled off his shoulders and hit the ground with a wet thud. As his body fell, I looked up to see Adelaine and two other members of my squad, all standing with spells at the ready.

"It is a shame that father chose to let your corrupting words sway him, mother. Had he simply done his duty and killed the three of you, he wouldn't have had to die."

A hollow rage filled my entire being as I looked from the lifeless corpse of the man I had loved up to the daughter that he and I created. As I studied the hard lines of Adelaine's face, I saw not a single shred of pity or doubt within her.

"Adelaine, stop. Please. I-"

"Spare me your words, traitor. What you have done goes far beyond failure to do your duty. You have openly aided a demon, and worse, you cost a fellow soldier his life by convincing him to join you in this blatant act of betrayal."

Adelaine turned to the archangel on her right and spoke in a voice loud enough for me and the demons to hear.

"Kill the demons and burn their bodies. I will deal with the traitor."

The other archangels murmured their acknowledgement and began to descend slowly to the ground.

"If you surrender without a fight, Helaina, I will make this quick and painless."

Bright orange flames began to surround my body as I drew my sword.

"Don't do this, Adelaine. I'm begging you... stand down."

Instead of replying, she shook her head and sneered down at me.

"So be it. You've made your choice."

Adelaine made a rapid motion with her hand, and a line of white fire shot outwards from her and arced towards me and the demons. As I brought my sword up to intercept the attack, I saw that Adelaine had folded her wings and moved to dive down at me rapidly. The other two had also unleashed their own spell attacks, and I quickly spun on my heel and wrapped my arms around Elira and Avaya. A protective bubble formed around us and I continued to channel my MP into it as the spells battered against it over and over. As I looked down at the demon woman and her daughter, Elira caught my eye and reached up to place her hand on my cheek.

"I'm sorry about Kellian."

I fought back tears as I felt the woman's own magic surge into me. She gave me a smile and I saw that she had started to cry.

"Thank you, for protecting Avaya and me. I hope that we can meet in another life, Helaina."

With that, the petite demon woman shoved me backwards as hard as she could. The protective spell shattered as I was pushed off my feet and fell to the ground. Before I was able to react, I saw a trio of spells cut through the two of them and tear their bodies to pieces. I turned upon hearing the sounds of armored boots moving directly behind me. I looked up into the face of my daughter, who was glaring at me with nothing but malice and hatred.

I knew that there was absolutely no way I could stand against Adelaine. Not only was I not powerful to fight against her, but I also couldn't bring myself to attack my own daughter. So... I did the only thing I could.

I ran.

I summoned up every bit of magic and strength within me, spread my wings, and flew as fast as I could manage away from the daughter who would have been my executioner. I flew until I didn't have the strength to continue... and then I flew some more. I forced myself to continue until I came upon the edges of what appeared to be a human settlement. Instead of descending slowly, I simply folded my wings and let my body crash into the ground. Pain ripped through my side as the bones in my arm and leg were shattered upon impact. After rolling for a bit and further injuring myself, I came to an abrupt halt when I crashed into a wooden structure. Even as I heard the sounds of rushing feet coming towards me, I simply lay where I had fallen and let the pain of my injuries dull every other sense. When voices began to shout, and I felt hands on my body, I simply let whatever was going to happen happen. The last sensation I felt before I lost consciousness was the feeling of being carried by dozens of strong hands.

Upon waking, I discovered that I had crashed into a small farming village that was home to a small number of humans. Despite my intentions to let my body remain bent and broken, my natural regeneration worked quickly to restore my wounds and knit my bones back together. While I remained unconscious, the villagers had removed my weapons and armor and dressed me in a simple white tunic and cloth breeches. They had cut slits in the back of the tunic for my wings and even found a pair of simple leather boots that they left beside the bed. Stacked neatly in the corner of the simply decorated room, I saw my gleaming white and gold armor. One of the villagers had polished it so well that it shone brightly in the faint sunlight that streamed in from a nearby window. I rose slowly from the bed and moved to look outside the partially opened window. I watched as a young woman began to walk from a nearby barn towards the house. Upon seeing me, her eyes widened and she rushed inside and I heard her talking excitedly to someone. The sounds of feet rushing towards the door to the room I was in filled the air, which was quickly followed by a light knock on the door.

"Enter."

As the door opened slightly, I peered beyond the doorframe and saw a tall human man and two younger human boys. The man studied me for a moment before taking a step into the room. When I turned towards him and started to move closer, I saw his eyes widen again as he stared at my wings.

"L-Lady archangel! I am glad to see you well! You looked close to death when we found you... And now... you look completely unharmed."

I gave the man a warm smile and bowed my head slightly.

"Thank you for taking care of me. I'm sorry for being such a burden to you and your-"

"Nonsense, my lady! The honor is ours! We're just glad that you have healed as well as you have. We were afraid you were beyond saving."

As the man took another step closer, I followed his gaze as he looked down at the pile of my armor and then back up at me.

"If I may be so bold, my lady... why have you come all this way?"

I saw the look of fear on the man's face as he considered what reason I could possibly have for coming to a village as remote as this. I held up my hand to assuage the man's fears, and gave him another smile. I almost started to tell the man the truth, before I thought better of it and quickly came up with something believable.

"Fear not. I didn't mean to actually crash in your village. My squadron and I had just finished clearing a large city of corruption when we found something that indicated the spread of that corruption to a city some distance away. I was flying as quickly as I could manage towards the city when I ran out of energy. Unfortunately, in my exhaustion, I wasn't able to land safely. I am sorry for any damage I might have caused when I crashed."

The man shook his head and gave me a grin.

"Think nothing of it, lady archangel."

I was just about to give the man my name when I remembered Elira's reaction towards hearing it, and figured that even somewhere as remote as this, my name would likely still be known.

"Elira."

"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, lady Elira. My name is Dennison. These are my boys, Argen and Felmus. My daughter, Ansilia, is in the other room preparing breakfast for you. Wait... do archangels eat?"

I laughed softly and nodded.

"We do. Especially when the food smells as good as whatever it is she's cooking."

As I joined the small family in their dining room, we ate a hearty meal of seasoned meat, mushrooms, and a leafy green vegetable I hadn't had before. Dennison's two boys stared at my wings and excitedly asked me question after question while they tore through their own plates of food. Once breakfast was finished, I offered to help clean up. Dennison promptly refused and told me his sons would take care of it. He offered to show me around his farm a little before taking me to the nearby blacksmith who was in the process of repairing my weapons. As we walked through the slightly marshy lands surrounding his farm, he stopped suddenly and gave me a serious look.

"I know your story was false, lady Elira. I won't push you for details... I just want to know one thing... Are me and my family in danger?"

I considered his words carefully before letting out a long sigh.

"What is your opinion of demons?"

Dennison looked confused at my question and I could see him searching my face to see the intent of my question.

"I'm afraid I don't know much beyond what we're told, my lady. I know bein' around them or their influence for too long can cause humans to change into demons themselves. And I've heard stories of powerful demons slaughtering entire cities, but beyond that... it's all just rumors and second-hand accounts."

"The reason I ask, Dennison, is because I encountered a demon who changed everything that I thought to be true. She showed me that demons are scarcely any different than you or I. That they love and care just like we do. That they would do anything to protect their children."

Dennison's face darkened as he considered what I had said and he gave me a look of confusion. I let out another sigh and continued.

"My- my squad members refused to listen to me when I told them this. They killed the man I love... And then the demon woman and her daughter that I had been protecting, and would have killed me next had I not fled.

"I don't know if my former squad is hunting me, but I won't gamble the lives of you or your family in the hopes that they are not."

Dennison nodded and gave me a grim look.

"Thank you for telling me the truth, lady Elira. I'm sorry for the loss of your loved one. I know better than most the pain of losing someone close. But... As you said... It would likely be for the best for you to leave as soon as you are able."

I nodded resolutely and started walking back towards the house. Once I was in the room I had awoken, I quickly dressed in my armor and moved back into the main part of the house to leave. When I saw the lifeless corpse of Dennison's daughter, I knew that I had brought this senseless destruction down on this family. I burst through the exit to the home and found one of my former squad mates holding Dennison up in the air with a strong hand grasping his throat. Upon seeing me, the tall archangel snapped the human's neck and tossed his body to the side.

"Such a waste, Helaina. These humans needn't have died. This is your fault, traitor. Had you simply let Adelaine do her duty, this man and his family would still be alive. Their deaths are on you, Helaina."

Instead of replying, I focused on every emotion that was welling up inside of me, all of the pain, all of the loss, all the senseless death... And I released it into a concentrated blast of fire that incinerated everything around me. Upon seeing the smoking crater of what had been the home of the human who had helped me, and the charred corpse of what was once a member of my squad, I spread my wings and began to fly as quickly as I was able to.

I flew for almost a full day, crossing forests of trees made of bone and sinew, jungles made up of twisting flesh and claws, fields of ash stretching further than I could see in every direction, and oceans of roiling fire. Just as the sun began to dip below the horizon, I found myself approaching the outer edges of a city. I slowly began to descend downwards, and saw what appeared to be humans fleeing from the inner part of the city.

Part of me knew what they were running from. Part of me knew that I should just keep flying until I found somewhere suitable to hide. But I think, deep down, I was hoping for one last moment where I could do the right thing. Be the one to save people, not the one who sought only to kill and destroy. So, without a second thought, I descended to the ground.

Humans swarmed around me as I made my way towards the inner city. When I heard the screams of panic fill the air, I grabbed a man by the shoulder and pulled him close enough to me that he could hear me above the noise.

"What is happening? Where are the angel forces who were supposed to be defending this city?"

The man looked terror-stricken, but as he took in the sight of me, he seemed to calm a small bit.

"L-lady archangel! There was a massive explosion in the center of the city, then suddenly a colossal demonic growth took shape and began to expand rapidly. It's only been a few hours since that initial explosion, but more than half the inner city is completely covered in demonic growths."

A bestial roar echoed through the streets and the man let out a whimper and tried to pull free from my grasp.

"What was that? That sounds like far more than just demonic growths!"

"A huge beast took shape not too long ago. He slaughtered any who got too close, and appeared to be feeding off the corruption itself."

I let out a long sigh before releasing my hold on the human. He murmured something unintelligible and took off in a full sprint. As I started to move forward, I had to wade through more and more terrified humans fleeing the inner part of the city in large groups. I did my best to move as quickly as I could in the opposite direction, looking at the buildings around me as I strode forward.

As soon as I felt the first hints of demonic corruption around me, I knew that there was something different about it. It felt... stronger, more alive, more malevolent than anything I had ever experienced. Blackish red vein-like growths covered every inch of the city the further in I went, and they pulsed with a throbbing red glow from within. When I found what looked like a giant beating heart in the center of the city, I laid eyes on the single largest and most powerful demon I had ever seen in the 2,091 years I had been alive. The creature stood at least 25 feet tall, and had four muscular arms and a massive tail. Every inch of its skin was covered in the same blackish red fleshy substance, and he rippled with muscle from head to toe.

As soon as the creature saw me coming towards him, his giant maw opened and he licked his lips hungrily.

"Have you come to offer your flesh to me that I might sate my hunger, archangel?"

Instead of replying, I summoned up every last bit of magic I could manage and started channeling it into an enormous ball of fire. Before I could even release the spell, the creature moved so quickly that one moment it was sitting against the pulsing heart, the next it was standing in front of me. Two of its arms shot out and grabbed both of my wrists and caused my magic to dissipate, while the other two clutched both pairs of my wings tightly. The creature lifted me up so that I was able to stare into its pupiless black eyes, before letting out a guttural laugh.

"Was that the best you can do, archangel? And here I thought that the great Helaina would be far more powerful than that. Well... At least you'll make for a decent meal."

With that, the creature slammed me on the ground in front of him. As the air exploded out of my lungs, I barely had time to think before I felt the creature's bulk pressing down on me as he started to crush my spine with his massive foot. I could scarcely scream in agony as I felt the creature take hold of both pairs of wings as he drove his foot further into my back, and with a sickening sound of ripping flesh, he tore my wings from my body. As if I were nothing but a doll, he kicked me in the side with the point of his clawed foot and sent me flying through the air with incredible force against the giant beating heart. When I struck the object, instead of the feel of flesh and muscle, it was as hard as a stone. I felt the bones in my entire body shatter and both eyes burst within my skull from the force of the impact.

I was just about to resign myself to the darkness that filled my vision, when I felt the tug of something... Powerful. I focused on the feeling, and felt a sudden warmth fill my body. I opened my sightless eyes and saw all around me this pulsing, glowing source of limitless power. The creature who had torn my wings from my body had but a mere fraction of this power within him. But I could feel the raw energy at my fingertips offering itself to me, telling me that it would give me the strength to not only defeat the creature who broke me, but to defend those I deemed worthy of my protection. To destroy those who would harm me, and to annihilate all who would stand against me.

I knew what the power was. I knew what was being offered to me. And I didn't hesitate for a second.

Every nerve in my body flared like exploding stars. I felt myself being torn apart atom by atom, and then forced back into an imperfect shape, only to be torn apart again and again. It felt like hundreds of thousands of years passed while I writhed and twisted with agony. In the moments my body had form, I was able to see all that power, all that demonic essence flowing into me like an artery filling a heart with blood. When I felt the last bit of that power pour into me, I opened my eyes.

I saw the creature standing 40 feet away, chewing on what remained of my wings. It took a moment for him to register that I was now standing naked with my back pressed against the cold husk of the organ that had been beating like a heart. He opened his mouth to speak, but I merely waved my hand and watched as a line of black flames erupted from the ground beneath him and ignited his entire body in fire that quickly reduced him to ash in only a few seconds.

I walked slowly out of the city, barely noticing the humans or demons I passed by. If someone or something moved to block my path, a single wave of my hand and an eruption of black fire was all it took to remove any obstacle. It was only when I saw a pair of gleaming metal boots did I actually recognize the dozen or so archangels gathered before me. I had to resist the urge to laugh as I heard them talking about me.

"I've never seen a demon like that before."

"She looks almost... Human."

"The power flowing off of her is anything but human, kill her and let's be done with this place."

I did laugh at that, and after wiping my face clean of all the ash and grime it had been caked with, I stared into the faces of the nearest of them.

"Is that... Helaina?"

"The commander of Heaven's Justice? That's impossible. This creature is a demon."

One of them took a step closer to me and as I grinned, widely baring my fangs at him, I saw him recoil in terror.

"What in the hells?! That is Helaina!"

I let out a long deep laugh as black flames surrounded my body.

"No... My name is not Helaina. I am Gehenna, Demon of the Black Flames of Damnation!"

3.57: Polyamory

After I quickly reattached the {Main Character} badge that Gehenna had returned to me, we all sat in stunned silence as we thought about everything that she had told us. After a moment of no one speaking, I let out a long sigh and stood up suddenly.

"I need some fucking air."

Instead of waiting for anyone to reply, I simply turned on my heel and walked out of the clan hall. I walked quickly through the halls of the castle until I reached the exit, and I pushed open the doors and walked out without a second thought. I walked for a moment until I felt like I was far enough from the castle to be able to clear my head.

Despite hearing her coming up behind me, I didn't turn as Gehenna moved close to me and pushed herself into my back. Her arms wrapped around me in a tight embrace, and I clutched her hands tightly and just allowed myself to feel the weight of everything that had happened.

"I'm sorry for not telling you, Allie. I'm... sorry for-"

I cut Gehenna off by spinning around suddenly and pressed my lips against hers. We kissed for a moment until we both pulled away slightly, panting for air. As I stared into Gehenna's golden eyes I couldn't stop the tears from streaming down my face.

"I almost lost you, Gehenna. And then you tell me how much you've had to endure, and it made my heart hurt for you even more. I'm so so so sorry... for everything, Gehenna."

Gehenna's eyes shone with tears as she took my face in her hands and kissed me sweetly on the lips before shaking her head.

"For as beautiful and smart as you are, Allie, sometimes you are quite dense."

I looked at the beautiful blonde demon woman with utter confusion, and couldn't help but laugh as she saw the puzzled expression on my face and started to chuckle.

"What happened to me so long ago was terrible... but I don't regret it for a second. I don't regret helping Elira and her daughter, I don't regret absorbing the corruption, and I don't regret becoming a demon. If I hadn't done all of those things, Allie, I wouldn't have met you."

Tears began to pour down my face again, but this time they were tears of happiness at hearing how much Gehenna loved me. I kissed her again and again until I felt the tears finally stop.

"I watched you, you know. Against Adelaine. Even though our connection had mostly been severed, I was still able to see you in my mind as you fought against her. And while your attacks were clumsy and reckless, there's no doubt in my mind that you are far more powerful than she is."

I tried to think back on the fight against Gehenna's daughter, and the entire event seemed foggy in my mind, like trying to remember a dream.

"I... don't really remember fighting her. Just like I don't remember fighting against the archangel that 'purified' Tesrif and Areandra, and then fighting against Scythe after he killed Nialla. It always seems like I am strongest when I'm not the one in control."

Gehenna looked thoughtful for a moment and her mouth twitched like she was going to say something, but instead she merely smiled as we both heard someone speak from behind us.

"Getting your head chopped off by an undead scythe-wielding former teammate sucks ass. I definitely don't plan on doing that again, even if it brings out your 'rage-mode.' Although... If it ends in a similar way as the last time, it might be worth it for the hilarious story."

I snorted as I recalled the circumstances of what snapped me out of my blind-rage after Nialla died. Gehenna's eyebrow arched as she looked from me to Nialla, who had wrapped her arms around both of us into a tight three-way hug. I shot the playful catgirl a warning glance, and she merely laughed and winked at Gehenna.

"I'll tell you all about it later, Henny. For now... Do you mind if I steal Miss 'tells-you-she-loves-you-and-then-you-don't-see-her-for-a-day?'"

Gehenna smiled at Nialla and then nodded.

"Of course. Allie, we'll talk more about things after we've all had a chance to... Rest."

I could tell from the giant smirk on her face and the wink she gave Nialla I knew exactly what Gehenna meant when she said 'rest.' Nialla grinned back at the blonde demoness and stuck out her tongue.

"Maybe we can all rest together later. That sounds like something we all would enjoy."

"You two are almost as insatiable as me."

"Can you blame us, though? Your magic demon cock just checks all the right boxes... Plus the way you get all Dommy Mommy? Mmmmm."

She shivered as if picturing the exact thing she had mentioned, and I rolled my eyes and kissed her on the cheek.

"I will catch up with you later, Gehenna. I love you."

"And I love you, Allie. Just promise me that you will come find me before a full day has passed, yes?"

I glared at her while Nialla laughed loudly. When I heard the sounds of Gehenna's retreating footsteps, I wrapped my arms around the still chuckling catgirl and pulled her into a soul-searing kiss. Her laughter quickly morphed into moans of pleasure as I held her against me tightly and pushed my tongue into her mouth. I returned the moan as I felt her rough tongue dance with mine, and let out a small squeal when I felt Nialla's claws running down the length of my back. When we finally broke apart, we did so with an audible gasp, and stared into each other's eyes.

"I love you, Noelle. I'm sorry it took me so long to come to terms with it. And I'm even more sorry that I didn't come find you after I told you the first time."

Nialla's ears were now flat against her head and her tail lashed back and forth widely. She was blushing from the tops of her breasts all the way up to her hairline. Her lip quivered slightly as her glowing cat's eyes stared into mine. I smiled at her while she remained silent, and was about to kiss her again when she spoke.

"I didn't expect you to call me by my real name when you told me you love me."

"Is that a problem?"

She shook her head adamantly and blushed again.

"N-no! I liked it. No, wait... I loved it! It made me feel giddy all over. It made it feel... Real."

"I meant it to be real, Noelle. I don't have an explanation for why I feel the way I do about you, but I know without any doubt that I love you."

"Say it again."

"What?"

"That you love me."

"I love you, Noelle."

She was purring loudly as she pulled me in for a deep, passionate kiss. The sensation of the slight vibrations from her purring felt strangely pleasant as we continued to kiss. When I pulled away, I smiled widely and moved my lips next to her ear.

"Would you like to go take that 'rest' now?"

In the breathiest voice I had ever heard, Nialla let out a low growl in my ear.

"Yes. Please."

After walking back while doing my best to prevent Nialla from ripping off my clothes in the middle of the castle courtyard, we both saw Emelia standing with her back against the stone wall near the entrance. She grinned as she saw what Nialla was doing and started walking towards us.

"Emmy! I need help removing our sexy demon overlord's clothing! Care to give a girl a hand?"

Both Em and I looked at her with puzzled expressions at the sudden use of a new nickname and she gave both of us a playful shrug.

"Emelia is such a mouthful, and Allie always calls you Em or Emily... so... I figured I should have a pet name for you."

"Is that so? And why would you need a pet name for me, Nialla? Surely you don't have any sort of feelings for me... do you?"

Nialla started to blush again as her ears went flat against her head and she averted her gaze. When Em shifted so that she was standing directly in the catgirl's line-of-sight, I watched as Nialla's blush deepened even more. When she murmured something like "stupid mind reading enchantments," Em and I both laughed before the tiny ice mage reached up and pulled Nialla into a tight hug. Seeing the two women embrace I suddenly felt awkward, as if I were intruding on something that didn't concern me, so I started to walk towards the entrance to the castle. When both of them grabbed my arm to prevent me from leaving, I shot them each a confused glance. Em smiled at me warmly and pulled me closer to her as she spoke.

"Allie, stay. I want you here for this... since it involves both of you."

When she pulled Nialla closely against her left side and me close to her right, she placed her head on the taller girl's shoulder and spoke softly.

"When I first met you, I thought you were an immature, selfish jerk who used awesome magic but was super full of themselves. Since getting to know you... you are anything but selfish or a jerk. You are one of the most caring and sweet natured women I've had the pleasure of getting to know. If we weren't more than 100 chapters in, I would think I've just met you only a few days ago... but in that short amount of time, I've grown to see you as someone I care deeply about. It was only when you told Allie how you feel about both of us did I realize how I truly felt about you. Up until recently... I never thought it possible to love more than one person. Loving Allison has opened my eyes to a whole world of possibility that I'm only just starting to feel bold enough to explore. While I am certain that I love you, I don't yet fully know what loving more than one person entails... I don't want to start something without you knowing that up front. If you even want to start something, that is. I guess what I'm trying to say, Nialla. No... not Nialla. Noelle. What I'm trying to say, Noelle, is that I want to explore the love we feel for one another and for you to be my girlfriend."

Nialla glanced at Em before turning to me.

"So wait... are we basically like... a throuple now?"

I snorted loudly and laughed.

"I guess we technically are... but... can we not call it that? I despise that term. Let's stick with... triad."

"Works for me... although... I do have so many questions now... if that's OK."

"Whatcha got, kitten?"

Nialla purred slightly at my use of her nickname and leaned into me, as Emily released her hold on my shoulder so we could move towards the castle entrance. Once we were inside, the three of us stayed arm in arm as we walked towards our "Lesbian Orgy Room."

"Is this an exclusively in-game thing... or... if we were to meet in person would you still feel the same way?"

That question stopped me dead in my tracks and I pursed my lips as I considered it. As Em spoke, she did so with a quiet seriousness that caused Nialla and I to turn towards her.

"Do you want it to be an in-game thing only?"

As Nialla blushed slightly and swished her tail, I could already tell the answer. Instead of interrupting her, however, I waited patiently for the younger woman to tell us how she felt.

"No. I don't want it to be only in-game. I don't know how it will ever work... but I would love to be with both of you for real. Although... I don't know... it's complicated."

Em raised an eyebrow and Nialla continued.

"You're both getting married... and then I come along and force myself into your guys' relationship. Even if you're both willing to date me... I'm not gonna be some unicorn."

Now it was my turn to raise my eyebrow and give Nialla a questioning look. I was surprised she knew the terminology for one of the dynamics of a polyamorous relationship. As if sensing what I was thinking, she smiled at me and gave me a satisfied grin.

"In the day I had to consider you telling me you love me, I looked up a lot of stuff about polyamory."

Emily started to ask what we were talking about, when Nialla cut in with a detailed explanation.

"A unicorn is a person who enters into an already established relationship. It's generally just about sex... but there can be romance involved too. The main issue is that the power dynamic is incredibly unequal. Basically... I would be an extra in your relationship, and not considered a true partner to either of you. And... I don't want that. I don't necessarily want to marry either of you... but I would want to feel like an equal in our relationship. So... at least for now... it might be best if we kept this strictly in-game."

Emily smiled warmly at Nialla as she wrapped her arm back around the taller woman's shoulder.

"That was an incredibly mature decision, Noelle. And... I respect you even more for that. I understand what you mean though... and I would never ever want you to feel like you weren't equal. And I'm sure Allie feels the same way."

I nodded and gave Nialla a tight side-hug.

"I told Gehenna this already, Noelle, but I'll tell you the same thing. The love I feel for Emily is not any more or less important to me than the love I feel for you. It is unique to her, just as what I feel for you is unique to you. And the same goes for Gehenna. While the idea of marrying both of you in and out of the game does appeal to me, and I would totally do it if it was legal... sadly it isn't legal. But if it was..."

Nialla stopped suddenly and turned a brighter shade of red than I had ever seen on her before. She stared down at her feet and her tail was lashing violently back and forth. The most startling thing, however, was how loudly she was purring. It was coming out of her like a low growl.

"Nialla... you OK, hon?"

"Y-you j-just... you just s-said..."

When Em considered what I had said for a moment, she put her hand to her mouth and her eyebrows rose high on her face.

"What the fuck did I say? I just said that... Oh."

My mouth suddenly went completely dry as I realized that I had just inadvertently stated that I wanted to marry Nialla in real life. When I considered whether or not I had simply said it to make a point or if it was something that I truly felt, I inwardly laughed at myself as I knew the answer without even having to think about it. I didn't care that Noelle was 10 years younger than I was. I knew that she made me happy, that she made Em happy, and that both of us made her happy. That was enough for me. Maybe it's naive, and maybe it's foolish, but I couldn't give a single fuck about being a naive fool if it meant I would be surrounded by even more people who loved me and cared for me. I saw Nialla staring into my eyes with such intensity that I might explode under the weight of her gaze. The slits of her cat's eyes were completely contracted and I could see her watching my every move like a predator eyeing her prey.

"You really mean that, don't you?"

I could tell that despite stating it like a question, she was making a declaration more than anything. I nodded my head and smiled at her.

"I wouldn't have said it if I didn't. While I hadn't meant to let it slip, my subconscious mind gave voice to how I really feel about you."

Her gaze fell on Emelia who immediately let out a long sigh.

"As I said, Noelle... This whole polyamory thing is new to me. Even my relationship with Allison is still a new thing for me. Now... that's not to say I don't want a relationship with you outside the game... that's just me saying I have no clue what any of this stuff means and how my heart feels about it. My love for you is in its infancy... and I want nothing more than to nurture it and watch it grow and flourish. But I'm still learning what that all means. Is... Is that OK?"

Nialla nodded and let out a contented sigh as she gave me a smirk.

"Can we go have sex now? As much as I'm enjoying this heart-to-heart... I really need both of you to fuck me."

3.58: ❤️Pleasing the Overlord

A pair of hands wrapped around me from behind and I did my best to not jump in complete surprise as Gehenna spoke almost directly in my ear.

"I agree with Nialla... I feel like the day's events have weighed heavily on all of us, and think that several intense orgasms for each of us would do wonders to ease our burdens and clear our minds. To say nothing of the fact that I'm more than a little excited about finally getting the opportunity to share a bed with you, Nialla."

Nialla suddenly blushed again as she stared wide-eyed at Gehenna.

"Wait... you want to have sex with... me?"

"Of course I do, sweet girl. You are the love of my love. And an absolutely ravishing vision of beauty. As long as Allie and Emelia say that it is acceptable, I would love nothing more than to feel your body against mine, Nialla."

I turned my head to the side as best I could to look at Gehenna and gave her a questioning stare.

"What do you mean 'as long as we say it's acceptable'? Why wouldn't it be?"

"As I said, Allie. She is your love. And Emelia's. Not mine. I would never wish to intrude on your relationship with one another."

Em glanced at Nialla before turning to Gehenna and giving her a broad smile.

"As long as I get an opportunity to make love to her at least once, I'm more than happy to share."

Nialla started to blush again, and I saw her lip quiver slightly and her tail start to twitch. I grinned widely as I watched her and smirked slightly before speaking softly to Gehenna without turning my gaze away from the tall catgirl.

"As long as I get to fuck my kitten's brains out a few times and then make love to her, you are more than welcome to enjoy each other."

Nialla's tail was thrashing wildly back and forth by now, and I could hear her breathing coming out in short ragged gasps. The smell of her arousal was more than obvious, and I knew that if we didn't take our antics into the bedroom soon, she was liable to pounce on me and have her way with me here in the hallway. I eased out of Gehenna's arms and took hold of the catgirl's paw-like hand, and started to lead her to the open doorway. Emelia grabbed Gehenna eagerly, and with a huge grin, she led the blonde demoness into the room behind us.

As I turned and started walking backwards towards the enormous bed in the middle of the room, I flicked my fingers to remove my clothing. Once it had fully evaporated from my skin, I was just about to sit on the edge of the bed when Nialla grabbed my arm and held it up.

"What in the fuck is on your arms? Are those... Tattoos? Wait... Is that me?!"

Nialla studied the image of herself on my inner right arm, and her words drew Gehenna and Emelia over to me so they could see what she was talking about. Em grabbed my left arm and studied the detailed likeness of her channeling a spell and gave me a curious expression.

"Holy shit, Gehenna, you're on here too!"

Gehenna moved to my right side as Nialla turned my arm over and I shivered as my blonde demon lover ran her fingers over the image of her naked body. After she stared at it for a moment, her golden eyes met mine and she gave me an inquisitive look.

"You did not have these the last time we made love, Allie. I have never seen such detailed art before, especially on one's body. How did you get these?"

I remembered my author's words about how best to go about explaining my new tattoos, and I took a deep breath and gave Gehenna a smile.

"They were a gift from my author. In addition to being a good theft deterrent for any who might consider stealing my story, they are a representation of all of my demon wives."

Emelia made a funny noise and looked at me with a cocked eyebrow.

"Your... author? Wow. I guess she really does have absolutely zero regard for the 4th wall."

"Says the woman who made a comment earlier about how many chapters we've had."

Em shrugged and smirked at me while Gehenna continued to run her fingers over the images on my skin while keeping her eyes locked on mine.

"I don't understand fully, but I'm sure that given enough time with you and your clan, Allie, I will have ample opportunity to experience whatever it is that you and Emelia are referring to."

"Same. As long as you don't forget I exist for a whole 24 hours, anyways."

I shot Nialla an apologetic look as she stuck her tongue out at me. I mentally thanked my author for giving my lovers the ability to understand what I had said without questioning it too much, and the sudden warm fuzzy feeling that spread through me was all the confirmation I needed to know that the woman who had named me after her had told me "you're welcome."

"As cool as these tattoos are... I distinctly remember something about you fucking my brains out. Are we still doing that... Or...?"

Emelia and Gehenna laughed softly at Nialla's words as they moved to embrace one another, and as I sat back on the edge of the bed, I held my arms open and waggled my eyebrows at the gorgeous catgirl.

"What are you waiting for, kitten? This lap isn't gonna straddle itself."

Nialla bit her lip as she sauntered over to me and slowly and deliberately took her time sitting on my lap and wrapping her legs around my hips. When she pressed her breasts against my face. I giggled happily as I let the soft mounds envelop me. I inhaled the scent of her body deeply, shivering slightly as the sweet smell of her skin tickled my nose. I pulled my head back slightly and looked up at the gorgeous woman in my lap, who stared back at me intensely.

"I love you, Noelle. I'm sorry for taking so long to acknowledge that. And I'm sorry for not coming to find you after I said it the first time."

"And I love you, Allie. Like... A lot! I forgive you for making me wait. But... I can think of a way you can make it up to me..."

As she started to grind her hips on me I resisted the urge to moan at the erotic feel of her skin on mine, and I instead raised an eyebrow and spoke in as calm a tone as I could manage.

"Oh? And what would that be?"

I spread my legs a bit so that she was now grinding directly against my inner thigh and I saw a slightly annoyed expression on my lover's face before she resumed her playful teasing.

"You should think about it for a moment. Think about it long and hard."

I gave her a puzzled expression as I brought one of my hands up to the swell of her breast and began to slowly tweak and play with her nipple. She moaned softly as she continued to stare into my eyes, and I had to resist smirking as I continued to feign ignorance.

"Yeah, nothing is coming to mind. Maybe I should take some time and give it some more thought. Should I wait another day to come up with something?"

I used my other hand to maneuver Nialla into the exact position I wanted her to be in and gave her the best innocent smile I could manage as she started to growl slightly in frustration. Her tail was lashing back and forth and the end of it was twitching uncontrollably. Her pupils were thin slits as her eyes bored into mine.

"You must not really want to make it up to mmmmoh fuck!"

I cut off Nialla's words by willing my cock out of my body in such a way that it pushed out of my skin and thrust deeply into her in one smooth motion. As she started to slowly lift her hips to slide up my length, I continued to talk like nothing had changed.

"What was that? You sort of cut off there. I believe you were saying something about me not wanting to make it up to you?"

"Muh what? No. I mean... Ugh. Would you just shut up and fuck me already, Allie?"

I laughed softly at her words and heard the other two on the bed snickering as well. With one hand I pulled Nialla's head downwards to kiss her while I cupped her ass with the other. Before she could start to ride me again, I held her tightly against me and after summoning up a small bit of strength, I lifted her up with her legs still wrapped around me and my length buried to the hilt in her tight depths. As I gripped the gorgeous woman tightly, I turned on my heel and then eased her down onto the bed slowly. Once she had settled into a comfortable position, I grabbed hold of her hips with both hands and stared into her eyes. I gave the sexy catgirl a fraction of a second to realize what I was about to do before I started slamming myself into her with wild abandon.

Nialla's eyes instantly rolled up into her head as I began to pound in and out of her at a strong steady pace. Her claws dug into my arms and her legs that were still wrapped around my waist pulled me into her with every thrust. The walls of her pussy clenched around me as she started to cum, but I ignored the sensation and continued to drive my length deep into her body over and over. Before her first orgasm could end, I felt her body tremble and twitch as an even bigger one tore through her body. Her mouth hung open in a silent scream as I continued to give her the long and hard fuck she had been begging for.

After I felt her walls flutter again and tighten around my shaft, I quickly pulled my hips back until I slipped entirely out of her. She let out a grunt of displeasure at the sudden emptiness and her eyes shot open and she glared at me. She opened her mouth to say something but before she could get out a single word, I cut her off with a slight growl as I spoke softly.

"On your hands and knees. I want to hear you yowl as I breed you."

Her eyes lit up and I heard her gasp in excited pleasure as she processed my words. Lightning briefly surrounded her body and in less than a second she was on her hands and knees with her legs spread wide for me. As she looked over her shoulder with impatient stare, I briefly glanced over at Gehenna and Emelia, who were watching the entire display intently. The two of them were laying back against a large mound of pillows, Gehenna's leg draped over Em's. Both woman had their hand between the other's legs and were teasing and finger-fucking each other while keeping their eyes locked on Nialla and me.

I turned my gaze back to the third woman I had fallen in love with and moved quickly across the bed towards her. Once I was positioned directly behind her, I lined myself up with one hand, and held her hip firmly with the other.

"Are you ready, my love? Once I start, I'm not going to stop until I fill you with my cum."

Instead of replying, Nialla pushed back against me and buried half my length inside of her with a single stroke. I let out a grunt of approval before placing my other hand on her hip and pushing myself into her as deeply as I could manage. As I began to move my length back and forth inside of her, a deep purr settled into Nialla's chest and only increased in intensity as my hips picked up speed.

As I felt her body start to vibrate and the walls of her sex flutter around my shaft, I knew she was close to a mind-blowing orgasm. The second I felt her back start to arch and her muscles tightened, I extended my claws and dug them into her sides lightly as I gripped her and began to fuck her relentlessly. The effect was immediate. Nialla came completely undone as she began to yowl loudly and dug her own claws deep into the bed. Her muscles seized up and then released over and over as a series of rapid-fire climaxes exploded deep within her core. Each time one orgasm ended, another seemed primed and ready to ramp her pleasure up even more.

Seeing my gorgeous catgirl lover reach the height of ecstasy caused my own legs to began to tremble and an immense pressure built quickly in my lower abdomen. I retracted the claws of one hand and reached down to pull Nialla upwards so she could press her back against my chest. My arm snaked between her breasts and then I turned her cheek to kiss me deeply as I pushed the entirety of my length inside of her and let that immense pressure within me release all at once.

Nialla whimpered in my mouth as the rush of heat filling her set off another wave of euphoria within her body. Her arm reached behind her to grab the back of my neck and she held me as tightly as she could to prevent me from pulling away from her. I thrust inside of her slowly and deliberately as I kissed her once more and then moved my face slightly so I could whisper in her ear.

"I love you, Noelle. So, so much."

Nialla let out a contented moan and her eyes fluttered several times as she did her best to meet my gaze.

"And I love you, Allie. Thank you for making me feel so fucking amazing!"

As I became aware of the sounds in the room that has faded when I let myself get lost in the surge of pleasure, I heard the sound of Gehenna and Emelia panting softly. I shifted my gaze over towards them and saw that they were leaning against one another with blissed out expressions on their faces. Nialla followed my gaze and Em gave us a huge grin as she saw us looking at her.

"That was so fucking hot! I came so hard watching you fill Nialla up like that."

"As did I. The sound she made while you were taking her, Allie, was especially erotic, and I very much enjoyed watching you two take pleasure in each other."

I felt my cheeks flush with slight embarrassment and looked down to see that Nialla was also sporting an impressive shade of crimson as well. Instead of allowing her to reply to the others, I merely turned her head back towards me and kissed her deeply again. After our tongues dueled for control for a moment, I slipped my length out of her and pulled away. I shifted on the bed and then turned around and lay back against the plush pillows. I motioned for Nialla to join me and she eagerly moved across the bed and straddled my lap again. After guiding my length inside of her with a single hand, her eyes rolled back in her head as I slid back into her just as deeply as before. When Nialla started moving her hips in a quick back and forth, I grabbed her waist gently and shook my head.

"We're not in any hurry my love. I want to feel your body against mine as we make love."

She nodded and settled into a comfortable position while I wrapped one arm around her and ran the other up and down the length of her back. I moaned happily as her fingers traced lines across my scalp and then gripped the back of my head softly, while her other hand clung onto my neck. As Nialla found a good rhythm to move up and down my length while maintaining the same level of closeness, our lips met and we kissed each other like we were the only two souls in the universe.

Nialla rode me this way for several minutes until I felt her stiffen slightly as her climax swelled. I allowed her gasps of pleasure to overwhelm me as I released myself deep inside of her with a satisfied moan. We held each close as our breathing slowly returned to normal and we descended from the peaks of bliss. Nialla's chest was rumbling slightly from a deep purr and I allowed the sensation to lull me into a sense of deep calm. I hadn't realized how tense I had been until I felt my body relax against Nialla's. When I opened my eyes, I smiled at seeing her cat's eyes already staring down at me. She grinned widely and then sighed happily.

"If sex with you is always like this, Allie, I'll never want to leave the bedroom."

"I'm just glad you enjoy my magic cock so much."

Nialla scoffed and shook her head.

"I'm not talking about the cock and you know that. I'm talking about the way you hold me while we make love. I... Really like that. A lot. Like... A lot a lot!"

I smiled at her and then pressed my forehead to hers. She nuzzled against me for a moment before rolling her hips backwards far enough to slide me out of her. She inhaled sharply and moved slowly off of my lap to sit next to me on the bed. I looked over at the other two and saw that Emelia had Gehenna's face between her milky white thighs, and my gorgeous blonde demon wife was doing her best to lick and suck at the ice mage's clit as she writhed in pleasure. When Em collapsed back against the pillows breathing heavily, Gehenna moved back to her knees and looked over at me. I licked my lips hungrily as I took in the sight of the stunning demon woman. Her golden eyes were half-hooded with lust, and her absolutely soaked womanhood caught my attention as she spread her legs wide.

"Oh? Is it my turn to please our amazing and powerful overlord now? I can hardly wait!"

3.59: Post-Coital Clarity

Over the next several hours, the four of us took turns enjoying each other fully. While Gehenna brought me to an earth-shattering climax with her tongue and fingers, Nialla and Em held each other close as they whispered words of love to one another. My gorgeous fiancée took full advantage of her newfound ability to order me around without my demonic instincts getting in the way, and continued our little Domme/sub play from earlier. Gehenna seemed intent on making Nialla cum over and over and over until the poor girl was barely conscious, and once everyone was sufficiently recovered, the three of my demon wives triple-teamed me to bring me countless mind-shattering orgasms. After the three of them allowed me to descend from the orbital heights of ecstasy, we all collapsed back against the pillows in a heap. Once we stopped giggling at our tangle of limbs and sweaty bodies, we adjusted ourselves so that Gehenna was resting with her head against my chest, Nialla had one leg draped over mine while her head was resting in Emelia's lap. The adorable catgirl was purring loudly while Em played with her blue and white hair, and my own fingers ran through Gehenna's golden locks as she traced the figures tattooed onto my skin with her fingertips.

As the post-coital haze we had settled into started to dwindle, I found myself replaying the day's events and wondering what our next steps should be. Gehenna, being as perceptive as ever, stared up at me with concern.

"What is on your mind, my love?"

I gently kissed Gehenna's forehead before leaning my head back against the pillows and letting out a long sigh.

"Today has me questioning a lot of things... Like... becoming Empress. Or... This PvP event we're planning. I don't know what's the best course of action now that the entire system has decided to gang up on me. I'm worried that every time we go to do a dungeon run we'll end up in another fight for our lives that results in several clan members being stuck at level 1 for a day. "

"I am actually quite confident that will not happen. At least any time soon. By my count, this unsuccessful ambush cost them what I anticipate is a large portion of their higher leveled forces. You and your clan took out, at best guess, nearly 800 archangels. Not to mention the likely destruction of a Soul Titan."

Nialla turned to look at Gehenna at the mention of the Soul Titan.

"Is that what that big-ass armored dude with laser eyes was called? That thing was insane. Not only was it immune to pretty much everything we threw at it, but it was also stupid fast and even more deadly. If Emmy hadn't frozen his joints I'd hate to think how much more deadly it would have been."

"The fact Emelia was able to affect it at all is a testament to the strength of her magic power. Soul Titans are generally immune to all but the strongest attacks. Even most World Tier abilities are not enough to bring one down. The combination of nigh indestructible armor along with the resilience of hundreds of bound archangel souls makes for a truly terrifying weapon. The fact no one was killed by it is truly astounding, and speaks volumes about the strength of your clan, Allie."

"It is your clan too, Gehenna. From the moment you asked to join I already considered you a member."

I saw Em open her character menu and then close it after pressing a few buttons.

"There. Gehenna, I am officially inviting you to join Lost and the Damned."

Gehenna lifted one of her hands off my arm and opened her own menu. After what I assumed was her accepting the invite, she closed her menu and beamed up at me.

"I am happy to count myself as one of your clan members, Allie. I never thought that when I first laid eyes on you that I would find myself with not only the love of my life, but also a loving family."

Nialla grabbed Gehenna's hand and squeezed it gently while I pulled my blonde demon wife tighter against my body. After we all let out small sighs of happiness, Gehenna turned her golden-eyed gaze back on me.

"I believe it will be some time before the angels choose to mount any kind of attack against you. I doubt they fear any direct retaliation, but I am confident they will take defensive measures while recouping their losses. In my opinion, you should use this time to strengthen your clan, both in number and in power. While increasing your own power is important, it should have been more than obvious that we would not have triumphed had you not had the assistance of your clan members. As the future empress, you need to have an army at your back if you plan to defend yourself against any who would seek to harm you or your clan. Now that I am part of your clan, I will see about moving some of my guards here for an added layer of protection."

Hana materialized suddenly beside the bed and I had to fight against my reflexes to not strike at the sudden appearance.

"Forgive my interruption, and for eavesdropping... But I actually have a suggestion in that regard, Gehenna. You have your own castle, yes?"

"I do."

"Since obtaining control of the clan castle, I have come to the realization that I can control more than just the placement of the rooms. I am even able to make it so that we could, in theory, move the castle to another location. I followed this logic as I considered possible locations that would be more favorable, when I came to a rather interesting conclusion. Once Allexus either became Empress and corrupted you, or you joined our clan, the next logical step would be to combine the resources our clan has with the resources you have, Gehenna. Crafting materials, gold, soldiers... but most importantly... a more centralized location for the entire clan and a symbol of authority for the empress. If we were to relocate our clan castle to the same location as yours, Gehenna, we could combine the two buildings into one enormous fortress worthy of both the powerful Lost and the Damned clan and the Empress of Demons."

Gehenna sat up on the bed and looked thoughtfully up at Hana. The yellow and black eyed demon woman only slightly glanced down at the blonde demon's naked body before staring intently into her eyes.

"If we devised a method of teleporting the entire castle to the same location as mine, you would be able to take control of it in the same manner that you do with this one?"

"I believe so. I have quite a few menu options designed for adding more structures to what's already available, so I would assume that would apply to any previously constructed buildings that are nearby. I suggest we teleport a smaller structure close to this castle first to see if my idea is viable. If it proves successful, we can use a variance of your own teleportation magic to move this castle next to yours. From there, the only thing I would need is suggestions for what you want the new structure to look like."

Gehenna nodded slowly and then looked from Hana over to me.

"I am not against combining my own personal resources with those of the clans, but I would not feel comfortable with the clan taking possession of anything specifically owned by my empire. Until you become the empress, it would be in our best interest to keep the politics separate from the clan. Once you do claim my throne, you could name the clan as your own personal army in service to the crown with you at its head as both clan leader and Empress."

I considered both what Hana and Gehenna had said and nodded my head slowly.

"I like that idea. I think moving would also make it that much harder for our enemies to locate us, and it gives us the opportunity to vastly increase our defensive strength. As far as becoming empress though..."

I frowned at Gehenna slightly before furrowing my brows and continuing.

"Right now I think it would be best if I hold off. With everything that's happened, I don't need the added responsibility of running an empire in addition to dealing with getting our clan to where it needs to be. I'm not saying I won't do it, I just think it might be best to focus my efforts elsewhere until I feel the clan is self-sufficient enough that I can divert my focus away from it."

The gorgeous blonde demon surprised me by grinning widely. I knew that she had already been hesitant to give me her crown just yet, but I hadn't expected her to be happy with the decision to hold off.

"I believe that is a wise decision, Allie. I will continue to use my power as Empress to protect you and my empire, while you focus on building your forces and growing stronger as a whole."

I was about to say something about the PvP event until a question that had been nagging the back of my mind bubbled to the surface.

"Hana... how long were you eavesdropping?"

The Korean woman blinked her eyes several times as her cheeks took on a slightly rosy hue. I could tell she was debating on the best way to get out of answering me, but also knew that I would simply summon her to my side and force the answer out of her one way or the other. Emelia spared Hana from having to answer when she suddenly spoke up.

"I, for one, am not bothered by the idea of Hana watching while we fucked. What about you guys?"

Nialla shook her head and gave Hana a wide toothy grin. Gehenna simply adopted an amused expression as she smiled at Hana, and I just rolled my eyes and shrugged.

"I guess you're off the hook for now, Hana. But we will certainly talk more about your voyeurism during our next allotted time slot to maintain your efficiency."

Hana blushed profusely as she nodded her head, and without another word, she disappeared. I chuckled softly as Gehenna laid back down and returned to her previous position on my chest. I kissed her forehead again before laying out everything that I was thinking.

"OK... so... priority number one is recruiting more members. I think we need to get several more crafters; lower level ones who could sort of apprentice under Kyra. While she could work on the high quality pieces, having a large clan will require more gear and constant maintenance. Instead of her devoting all her time to making normal grade gear and doing basic repairs, other less skilled crafters could handle that so she can focus on better training them and crafting custom pieces for higher level clan members. I won't go into full details, but Kyra also suggested finding some sort of gatherer who specializes in harvesting all types of crafting materials."

When I felt Gehenna nod her head against my chest, and heard murmurs of agreement from Em and Nialla, I grinned to myself as I pictured a massive armory full of all sorts of epic gear. The idea of having a ton of crafters constantly working to make stuff for the clan would go a long ways in helping us get more gold, gear up our clan better, and foster relationships with other players who potentially bought our gear. While I had initially wanted to keep the clan small... I was getting more and more excited about growing our numbers.

3.60: Post-Coital Clarity II

"As far as recruiting combat oriented players goes... I think we need to break down the members we currently have into what basic role they play and then focus on recruiting people to shore up the gaps in our roster."

"I do not understand, Allie. What do you mean what role they play?"

I laughed softly through my nose at Gehenna's question and did my best to explain.

"In other games, characters are broken down into specific roles such as tank, healer, damage dealer, support, and so on. While Holy Damnation is quite a bit more nuanced than that, there are still enough similarities to be able to put each person into one category or another."

Gehenna looked thoughtful for a moment then nodded.

"I believe I understand. What are the various roles?"

"Hmmmmm... I would say... Tank, Damage Dealer, Offensive Support, Defensive Support, Healer, and..."

"Crowd Controller?"

"Yes, Em. Good one."

I resisted the urge to laugh at Gehenna's confused expression and instead gave her a warm smile and traced my finger down her shoulder.

"For example... you would be a Damage Dealer primary and... Tank secondary... because of the defensive spells in your arsenal."

"Up until my most recent transformation I would have considered myself a Crowd Controller primary and Damage Dealer secondary. But now I feel like those two roles are swapped for me."

"Yeah... that storm of ice shards you summoned was absolutely absurd, Em. Plus... Don't think I missed your ridiculous close combat skills that you have now."

"It's a bit of an adjustment, actually. I'm still learning how to fully control this body. It plays way different than my Demonspawn or Snow Demon body did. Especially when I'm close to you. But... back to roles... Who's next?"

"Do me! Do me!"

I raised an eyebrow and smirked at Nialla.

"I think all of us 'did you,' kitten. Unless you're already hungry for more."

Nialla stuck her tongue at me and then looked thoughtful as she considered my words.

"I mean... I won't say no to more sex... but you know what I meant. Meanie."

"I do, kitten. But... let's see... I would definitely say you are a Damage Dealer primary and... possibly evasion based Tank secondary?"

She nodded enthusiastically and gave me a fanged smile.

"I agree. I wouldn't have even considered the Tank part, but yeah, when you put it like that I can see that. So... what role are you?"

I laughed softly and returned her grin, baring my own fangs in the process.

"I'm a true hybrid. OK... not really... I am a Damage Dealer primary. But... I tried to make it so I can fill any role as needed. I have shield and heavy armor proficiency along with several defensive skills and spells that make me an effective tank. I have a blood magic based healing spell and a general one that I can use for healing, although both require me to have physical contact for them to work... so I'm more of a burst healer than anything. As far as Offensive and Defensive Support go, I have several enchantments that increase my own combat strength or whoever I cast it on, a few hex spells, along with an area wide skill that buffs allies and debuffs enemies. I can use my [Demonic Chains] as a sort of Crowd Control... although not nearly as effectively as Em's ice or Jade's bones."

The others looked at me with slightly wide eyes and I gave them a sheepish grin and shrugged.

"I am level 213. Although... it's likely a shit ton higher now after that ambush. I haven't actually saved my progress yet, so I can't be sure. But... Being that high of a level means I have a lot of skills. Not to mention the fact that I get one every time I corrupt someone."

They all gave me curious expressions and I rolled my eyes as I opened my character menu.

"From you, Em, I got the spell [Coldfire]. From you, Nialla, I got [Blastburn]. From Mellic I got [Demonic Chains], and from Tifa I got [Shifting Superiority]. Jade gave me [Empowered Blood], and Tesrif gave me [General's Prowess]. Oh, and from Hana I got [Efficient Corruption]. Which apparently lets me corrupt people without needing those potions."

Gehenna practically beamed at me as she absorbed this information.

"This is the exact reason I wanted you to be my successor, Allie. The ability to gain both power and skills from every ally you corrupt will make you far more powerful than I could ever hope to be."

I let out a long sigh as I considered the source of my [Corrupting Touch]. Had I not allowed Mellic to corrupt my Angelspawn body and change me into a demon, I would never have received the skill that was now the reason I had half the game against me and the other half ready to serve me. Instead of dwelling on that thought for long, I forced my brain to focus on what we had been doing before. The four of us discussed at length what role each of our members fit into, and then what roles we should look for first when we started recruiting more players.

Jade: Healer/Damage Dealer

Braylon: Tank/Damage Dealer

Scythe: Tank/Offensive Support

Aeryn: Damage Dealer/Defensive Support

Ikelos: Offensive Support/Defensive Support

Tifa: True Versatile except Healer

Areandra: Damage Dealer/Offensive Support

Ghost: Healer/Defensive Support

Ash: Damage Dealer/Crowd Control

Judas: Damage Dealer/Tank (evasion)

Tesrif: Tank/Defensive Support

Hana: Non-Combat Primary/Versatile

Kyra: Non-Combat Primary/Versatile

"So... It seems that we have a lack of Healer primaries and Crowd Controllers. We could also use a few more Tank primaries as well. To be more specific, I think we need more members who can use stealth effectively for both scouting and ambushing enemies. Right now we only have Judas and Ash... and Areandra somewhat."

Emelia nodded and tapped gently on her lip as if she were making a mental list of everything.

"So, Healers and Crowd Controllers are first, then Tanks. Stealth-type players are at the top of the list. Anything else?"

"We don't actually have a lot of truly long range fighters besides Areandra. Maybe more archer types or spell casters who focus primarily on long range?"

Em nodded and as she made a quick gesture with her hand I realized that she was making a list.

"Anything else babe?"

I thought for a moment and then shook my head.

"OK. Gehenna, Nialla... anything to add?"

When they both shook their heads, she closed her list and gave me a smile. As I recalled my conversation I had had with Kyra about recruiting lower level players, I figured I would bring it up and see what my 'wives' thought about the idea.

"So, Kyra actually made a really smart suggestion when it comes to recruiting. She suggested that recruiting lower level players and then power-leveling and equipping them with better gear would be a great way to build teamwork and trust. As they level up, It would encourage them to pick skills and classes that fill any potential gaps we may have. Now... I'm not saying we stop recruiting players with powerful characters, I'm saying that we should focus more on the player overall and less on their character's current level."

"I know you said you prefer to keep the clan relatively small, but how many new players are you thinking of recruiting, Allie?"

I pursed my lips and let out a small sigh.

"Yeah... about that... I've changed my mind. While I am not overly thrilled about the idea of being in a massive clan, as Gehenna said... I need a fucking army. In addition to the crafters and harvesters, I think we should start by recruiting at least 10 new members. Once we reach 30 combat primary players, we'll start really grinding to get everyone up to at least level 100 and get them outfitted with the best gear we can find or make. For the stronger members, I think we should aim for level 200 and be fully geared in legendary crafted items or legendary loot drops with class specific bonuses."

I turned to Gehenna and grimaced slightly.

"I know you and I talked about me using my corruption abilities on my clan members, but I'm not sure I'm fully prepared to sleep with fourteen more people. I think we need to search for more opportunities for clan members to become full demons in other ways."

"As your lover I can understand and appreciate the sentiment of not wanting to have sex with that many people... but as your clan member and the current empress I believe that way of thinking is rather short-sighted. Instead of wasting time looking for ways to become demons, you can simply convert them into demon forms that best fit the clan needs. From what you and several others have told me, you have a great deal of control over their transformations. That alone is reason enough for you to use your corruption instead of seeking out ways that may convert them to forms that are potentially less effective."

"How's that gonna play to new members? 'Hi, welcome to the clan: price of admission is fucking the boss.' While I'm sure some people would jump at the opportunity, I'm not entirely sure everyone who joins will be down for that."

"You are looking at it the wrong way, my love. Instead of making it something that they must do, make it something they want to do. Show them the power of your Corrupted. Show them what they will gain from accepting your blessing."

I let out a long deep sigh and furrowed my brows. It wasn't having sex that I was opposed to. It was having sex with so many people... and then possibly catching feelings for some of those people. My author's comment about my tattoo being able to change as I gained more demon wives only made it more clear that I would inevitably fall for more women. While I'm the last person to slut-shame... having sex and falling in love with so many people made me feel... well... like a slut. I let out a small laugh as I realized that if there was anyone in the world I could talk to about these feelings, it would be the three women I was currently sharing a bed with.

"OK. I'm going to be honest about my feelings. This is me talking solely as a woman who loves each of you and who you each are in love with, alright?"

The three of them nodded and I continued.

"I feel like by having sex with so many other people and the likelihood of me falling in love with some of those people makes me some kind of slut. Like... I'm just doing this all for the sex. I know that isn't the case and I know there's a purpose behind it, but at the end of the day... it still requires me to spread my legs for a lot of people."

I paused briefly, considering my next words carefully before sighing through my nose slightly.

"I know I talked about being able to have emotionless sex, but I'm not sure how true that is, since I've fallen for four out of the six women I've slept with."

"Four?"

"Hana. My feelings aren't as strong for her as they are for you three, but I know given more time they will be."

Gehenna shifted upwards and wrapped one of her arms around my shoulders as she rested her head against mine. Nialla moved on the bed so that her head was now in my lap and Em scooted over to rest her head on my other shoulder. My wonderful fiancée intertwined her fingers with mine as she spoke softly.

"Allison, none of us want you to feel that way. Ever. This isn't something you have to do, babe. Asking you to do something that would make you feel uncomfortable is the last thing any of us want."

"Emelia is correct, Allie. While the results of your corruption are powerful, they are not worth using if they cause you any sort of distress. I want nothing more than for you to be happy and healthy, my love."

"Emmy and Henny are right. You don't have to do anything you don't want to. Ever. You killed your demon master for that exact reason."

Hana suddenly appeared on the bed in front of all of us, and everyone except Gehenna jumped slightly. Nialla let out a hiss while she glared at the woman now sitting cross-legged on the bed.

"Allexus, is it possible the next time you have a moment I could study your skill menu? Specifically your [Corrupted Touch], [Bond of Corruption], and [Bound by Corruption]. I would like to determine if there is a way for you to develop a spell or skill that allows for you to corrupt others without the need for intercourse. Perhaps something that happens overtime, instead of an immediate effect. That way you could still corrupt some, albeit at a slower pace, while still being able to corrupt others the 'normal way.'"

"Hana, I will let you look at my skill menu as long as you want if you think you can come up with something like that."

The beautiful yellow and black eyed demon gave me a full smile and nodded. When she looked at me expectantly, I laughed softly through my nose and shook my head.

"Not right now, Hana. Give me a chance to finish cuddling with my other demon wives and then we'll go from there. As someone who was upset when I almost neglected to cuddle with them, I feel like that's only fair... yes?"

Hana nodded once and gave me an almost smile.

"You are correct, Allexus. My apologies for interfering, Gehenna, Nialla, and Emelia."

Before any of them could reply, she disappeared again. Out of curiosity, I looked at the others and then spoke aloud.

"Hana... are you able to hear everything we say pretty much all the time?"

When she reappeared in the exact same spot none of us jumped this time.

"Indeed. I don't always focus on every given conversation, and I do possess the ability to make it so things I'm not focusing on sound more like ambient noise to me. However, I have not figured out a way to not hear it in some fashion. I do want to point out that this only holds true within public spaces. While any of you are within the bounds of your room, I am unable to hear or interact with you in any way unless you specifically summon me."

"So you're able to hear anything that happens in our Lesbian Orgy Room."

Hana simply gave me one of her almost smiles and nodded. After a few seconds, she looked over at Gehenna.

"Gehenna, now that you are part of the clan, before we begin the process of moving this castle and merging it with your own, would you like me to register your save point as the one shared by Allexus and Emelia, or would you prefer your own?"

Gehenna looked from Hana to me.

"While I would prefer to share a room with Allie and Emelia, I will ultimately leave that decision up to them."

I grinned back at Gehenna before turning to Hana and nodding.

"That's fine, Hana. Go ahead and register her in our room. Also go ah-"

"I've also taken the liberty of combining your room with Nialla's. There is a door connecting the two rooms, but for all intents and purposes, they are considered a single room."

"Hana... you are truly amazing, has anyone told you that?"

She tapped her cheek several times as she considered my question and then despite it being rhetorical, she answered me.

"Yes. Several times in fact. I feel that such praise isn't always justified since I am simply doing something I enjoy, but I will accept it nonetheless."

I laughed softly at her words and smiled at her.

"Well, instead of popping in and out, you're welcome to stay and chat with us while we cuddle. Better yet, take off your clothes and join us. There's room for you to lay your head on the other side of my lap."

Without a second's hesitation, Hana disappeared and then reappeared completely nude in the position I had indicated. Gehenna immediately took the opportunity to run her fingers down the other woman's spine as Hana squeezed herself between Gehenna and me. As I started to run my fingers through Hana's hair, Emelia's eyes opened wide as she grabbed my right arm and held it up.

"Holy shit! This just changed! Look."

At the point just above the crook of my arm the black flames surrounding Gehenna's nude form shifted to swirls of yellow and black. Hana's naked form stretched from the bottom of my shoulder to just below my bicep.

As we all studied the new addition to my tattoo, Hana was the first to speak.

"Does this make me one of your demon wives?"

3.61: Noelle

After discussing everything my demon wives and I talked about with the rest of the clan, Kyra, Jade, Tifa, Emelia, and a mix of 30 members of my demon army and 10 of Gehenna's guards traveled to the nearest friendly city in order to seek out new crafters for the clan. I also told them to keep an eye out for low level enchanters and one or two harvesters, but that crafters were the first priority.

Gehenna, Scythe, Areandra, and Hana all worked on testing Hana's teleportation idea for the buildings, and if it proved successful, they would begin the process of creating a large-scale teleport spell to teleport the castle, and then work on actually moving it should their tests prove successful.

Bray, Ikelos, and Lucifer worked with a currently level 1 Judas and Tesrif to ensure our defenses around the castle were as secure as they could be, along with installing a few traps and defensive measures in key locations within the structure that Hana could later relocate as needed.

Since they couldn't really leave the castle in their temporary level reduced state, Aeryn, Ghost, and Ash worked on the specifics for stuff related to the PvP event. With everyone else busy with various activities Nialla and I took the opportunity to travel with Power Limiters in place and Demonspawn disguises that displayed fake character names and clan tags, along with making us look drastically different than our real bodies.

Our goal was to seek out groups who were seeking players in order to do dungeon runs. We were mainly looking for ones that had group members who didn't have a clan tag, or were part of a very small clan. My hope was to potentially recruit some of them should any prove to be useful allies. As Nialla and I walked slowly towards the closest Hellgate, we chatted about anything and everything.

"I'm not a fan of this Power Limiter thing, Allie. It makes me feel... Sluggish. I have no clue how I'm gonna fight with this thing."

"Remember, kitten, we aren't trying to outshine our teammates, we're scouting out potential recruits."

"I know, I know... I've just gotten used to the speed I normally have... So this thing makes me feel so fucking slow..."

"Noelle, can I ask you a super random question?"

"No."

I looked at her with confusion until I saw the playful expression on her face and I rolled my eyes.

"Brat. Anyways... I know you talked about wanting to meet us in person and eventually date Em and I out of game... But to what end? Are you looking for a long-distance type thing or...?"

Nialla stopped suddenly and stared at me. Despite her current body not having her feline features, I knew that her tail would be lashing back and forth right about now.

"No. I have absolutely no reason to stay here in Cali. Don't get me wrong, I love my parents and my older brother... but I was homeschooled... I'm ready to leave the nest and fly free! So... I could move to Colorado."

"Do you want to though? That would basically mean you'd be moving for a girl. Well... Two girls, but the point remains the same."

Nialla shrugged and gave me a grin.

"I have no clue what I wanna do with my life, Allie. I'm not even sure if I wanna go to college. I have a part time job at a bookstore, but even that is sorta boring."

I cocked my eyebrow and gave her a questioning look.

"What do you like doing in your free time?"

"Playing video games, having sex in video games, and drawing I guess."

"Drawing... Are we talking like just doodling for fun or is it something you're serious about?"

"I'm not good enough to be an animator or comic artist, but I've done a few commissions. I mostly do anime style art, but recently I've been messing around with photorealism. I actually designed two of my tattoos that I have. One of my cat, another of a coral snake that runs the length of my arm down to the top of my hand."

"How many tattoos do you have?"

"I've made it a habit to get one every month since I turned 18. So I currently have eight. I actually got this character tattooed on my calf a few days ago. Sort of a pin-up like yours... Only with clothes on. I uh... Also have a bunch of piercings."

"How many is a bunch?"

"Six on each ear, my septum and the right side of my nose. Snakebites, my tongue, both eyebrows, both of my nipples, and my belly button. I wanna get my clit hood done, but I'm too scared to go by myself."

I openly gaped at the taller woman and she gave me a sheepish grin and shrugged.

"I've always loved the look of piercings and tattoos. Does that... Bother you?"

I shook my head and pulled her close to me.

"Not in the slightest. I think tattoos are sexy. Piercings too. I actually want to get my tongue pierced... For many reasons. And I already have both of my ears pierced once. I also think I'm going to get a wedding ring tattoo in addition to whatever ring Em gets me."

"Ohhhhh do you already have a design for it?"

"No, not yet. I only had the idea a few days ago when I saw one of my friends mention theirs."

"I would love to draw the design for you, if you'd let me."

"Of course! That would be awesome. The only thing I know for sure is I want it to be rainbow colors."

Nialla gave me a huge grin and nodded enthusiastically.

"I can definitely work with that."

I looped my arm in Nialla's as we started walking again, before turning towards her slightly.

"Have you thought about becoming a tattoo artist?"

Nialla stopped and looked momentarily stunned. Her eyebrows went nearly to her hairline before a huge grin spread across her face.

"No. I mean... Now that you mention it, it seems obvious! I'd have to learn how to do it, obviously... But that would actually be fucking awesome!"

Nialla practically skipped forward as we continued towards our destination, and it made my heart soar with happiness to see her so excited. Before we got too much farther I put my arm on hers and stopped her. After spinning her around, I pulled her close to me in a tight embrace and I kissed her deeply. When we broke apart she gasped a little and arched her brow at me.

"What was that for?"

"Cause you are so fucking adorable and I love you."

"Awww. Thanks. I love you too!"

"You know... You never did answer me about whether or not you want to move to Colorado."

Nialla sighed and then gave me a serious look.

"Allie... I know I barely know you guys, but I know without any doubt that am deeply in love with you and Emily. I want nothing more than to be next to you both. So yes, I want to move to Colorado to be with you. I have zero clue how I'm going to afford it, since my parents probably won't pay for it... But I can save my money from my job instead of getting any more tattoos and then move up there in a few months."

"What if I were to pay for you?"

Nialla narrowed her eyes and shook her head.

"I couldn't ask you to do that, Allie. That would make me feel like I'd owe you in some way."

I let out an awkward chuckle before exhaling loudly.

"Promise me you'll keep what I'm about to tell you secret, K?"

She knitted her brows and gave me a puzzled expression, but nodded anyway.

"I promise."

"Money won't be an issue, Noelle. I have more than enough to help you move without it really affecting my savings in the slightest."

Her eyes went very wide at this and she cocked her head to the side.

"Are you telling me you're loaded?"

"Yes."

She studied my face to see if I was being serious before shrugging and giving me a playful grin.

"Cool. I'd still feel weird about letting you pay for me to move up there, but if you're willing to be my sugar mama, I guess I'm willing to swallow my pride."

"Ok... the only reason I'm letting you get away with that comment, kitten, is because I'm ten years older than you and I find the concept hilarious. But don't think for one second I'm gonna call you my sugar baby, and you are absolutely not going to call me your sugar mama."

"Can I ask you a serious question?"

I stopped for a moment and arched my eyebrow before smirking at her.

"No."

Nialla rolled her eyes and stuck her tongue out at me.

"Does me being 18 truly not bother you? Ever since you told me you don't typically date people that much younger than you, it sorta stuck with me no matter how much I try to ignore it."

I narrowed my eyes at her as I pulled her close to me and kissed her lips several times in quick succession. I sighed softly through my nose and stared into her eyes.

"A few years ago I made a rule about not dating anyone more than 6 years younger than me. At the time, I was 25 and this girl I was dating at the time was barely 19. I sorta helped her get her life back on track... before I helped her move into an apartment of her own, she was living in what amounted to a large closet in her sister's wreck of an apartment, she was working an absolutely shit job, and she could barely afford groceries. I ended up helping her with a lot. I never felt like she was taking advantage of me, because she never openly asked me for anything. I just knew that if I didn't help her with whatever it was, money, food, a ride... whatever... She would just go without until she could get it for herself. We were both polyamorous, and I truly didn't mind her dating someone else as long as she made the appropriate time for me. Mondays and Tuesdays were our days. Sometimes it was just as simple as her coming over and we spent all day watching movies and having sex... but we also went to parks, hot springs, rock climbing, and other fun date things. Often she would sleep over at my place on Monday night and we'd go do something on Tuesday. When she met this other girl, though, things changed dramatically. I wasn't a stranger to having sex with other people I barely knew, and my girlfriend and I had occasionally included others in our fun, but when this new girl suddenly showed up with her at my house and sorta pushed herself between us, I immediately felt off about the whole thing."

I let out a sigh and furrowed my brow as I tried to push away the negative emotions threatening to well up.

"After we all had sex, that was when shit hit the fan. I went to pick her up from her apartment on a Monday morning, like I typically did, and when I got there this bitch was there waiting on my girlfriend to leave with her to go out for the day. I tried to push it away and asked if I could join them, still not seeing what was happening. The following day when I tried calling her, all my calls went straight to voicemail. I finally got her to text me, and when she did she was saying shit like 'soandso says that you are only using me for sex and making me feel like I'm just here to please you. She felt like you pressured her and me into a threesome despite both of us not really being into it.' I had no clue how to respond... so I sorta was like... What the fuck are you talking about? I started listing things that I never would have done had I been just using her for sex and all I got back was 'I'm blocking you now.'"

I was slightly taken aback as Nialla let out a low growl and her lip quivered in obvious anger. Her hands were balled up into fists and I gently grabbed each of them and uncurled her fingers to interlace them with my own. I stood on my tiptoes and I kissed her forehead. As I smiled warmly at her, I felt her slightly relax in my embrace.

"Her obvious emotional immaturity should have clued me in that we had a toxic relationship... and I figured this was due in great part to her age and barely having any 'world experience.' So... from then on I said I wouldn't date anyone that much younger than me."

Nialla narrowed her eyes and gave me a questioning look.

"But... I probably have even less world experience than she did..."

"But you're already making forward strides to be independent. You're also emotionally competent enough to know what you want and how to be realistic about your feelings. I'm not saying there won't be hurdles, but I know that together we can overcome them. As long as you remain as honest with me as you have been, I will continue to feel the way I do about you. Above all else, Noelle, I want you to be happy. And I know you want me and Emily to be happy as well. That's enough for me. The fact I get to call myself a cougar in a couple of years when I'm 30 and you're 20 is just a bonus."

Nialla sniffled and laughed softly as she kissed me deeply.

"Thank you, Allie. For reals. I know sometimes I act like a kid, but I love that you don't treat me like one when it matters. Now then... if we don't stop with all this touchy feely stuff in the middle of the hellscape, we're likely to attract unwanted attention. So... Miss-"

She stared at me and cocked an eyebrow as she studied what I assumed was my fake name in her display.

"Lexia... let's go find us a party to join.

"Sounds good Lady... Catalin."

I snorted as I realized the pun in her name and released my tight hold on her. As we set off again, I let out a contented sigh when I felt my girlfriend's hand clutching mine tightly.

3.62: Team up

After sifting through the various LFG notifications that were posted near the bounty board, we finally found one suitable for our reduced levels. With the 80% reduction, my level was currently sitting at 52, down from my normal 256, and Nialla's 177 was reduced to 36. Our goal had been to locate a group looking to take on a dungeon run in a demonic area to avoid any possible confrontations with angels. Despite Gehenna saying they weren't likely to try anything so soon, I felt erring on the side of caution was a better plan. After heading to the designated meet-up location that had been attached to the request, we approached a party of three Demonspawn. At first glance, one of them appeared to be heavily armored, but didn't currently have any weapons equipped, another wore blackened leather armor and a long black cloak with the hood up, while the other, a woman with long red hair, was partially obscured behind the massive armored figure.

"Hey, Lexia, Catalin... thanks for accepting our request. We've been trying to do this dungeon for almost a full week, but keep having to retreat before we make it to the boss. Having a level 52 should make this so much easier."

I nodded and gave him a warm smile.

"Yeah, no worries. Most groups were either looking for full teams or just single players, so I'm glad you had two openings. Should we start with introductions?"

"Absolutely! I'm Xerez. Level 38 Battlemage. I haven't picked a branch of magic to specialize in... I've sorta just got a bit of everything. I am technically the team's healer, since Shadow and Tessa don't have any healing magic. I'm also OK fighting up close if I need to, since I opted for [Heavy Armor Proficiency]."

As a tall woman standing just over 6 feet stepped out from behind Xerez, my eyes bugged out of my skull upon seeing what she was wearing. Her curvaceous body was clad in a tight corset bodysuit made out of what looked like some sort of enchanted latex. She had what appeared to be chainmail tights that looked more like fishnet stockings, and her knee high boots ended in a spiked 5 inch metal heel. A whip was attached to a tight leather belt that hung from her narrow waist, and I couldn't help but drool as I saw the way the corset made her already generous breasts look even more full. She wore a pair of black leather gloves, but otherwise her arms remained completely bare. As she started to speak, I had to blink my eyes several times to refocus my brain.

"My name is Tessa. As Xerez said, thank you for joining us. I'm a level 33 Hypnodomme. I use a variety of taunts to pull the enemies close to me and then various charm effects to take control of them and make them fight for me."

I looked over at Nialla and had to resist bursting into laughter as I saw she was equally spellbound by the woman, and even more stunned by the class name.

"OK, I have to ask, what in every fuck is a Hypnodomme?"

"So, it's actually a real thing. I combine hypnosis with the dominant aspects of BDSM and do a lot of types of kink play that revolve around that. I sorta said it as a joke when the character creator asked me what type of class I wanted to play as, but to my surprise, it actually came up with something that sounded awesome."

"Huh."

My brain was at a complete loss for words, and I had trouble tearing my eyes away from the gorgeous redhead as the other member of their party began speaking. The man's face was mostly shrouded by the black hood he wore, but I could make out a black face mask that covered the lower half of his face and a sort of headband with a metal plate and infernal rune carved into it. He was loaded down with knives strapped in various places, and a slightly longer sword that resembled a japanese tanto was sheathed at his hip.

"I was cursed with the powers of darkness. The void itself became my ally, and I learned to wield it to both help and harm. I am forever damned to walk on the thin line between light and darkness, day and night, happiness and misery... never to be allowed to live in either world. Before Xerez and Tessa took it upon themselves to befriend one such as I, my only friends were the illusions I was able to summon. They chose not to judge me too harshly for my previously vicious ways, instead accepting me as I am, curses and all."

I blinked my eyes several times as I stared at the strange man and then glanced back at Xerez and Tessa. They were both shaking their heads and had resigned looks on their faces.

"Yeah... Shadow is a bit... odd. But he's a damn good rogue-type."

Shadow bowed his cloaked head slightly and gave me a serious look.

"Thank you for not letting my terrifying curse aura frighten you away from joining us. I only hope that I can be of assistance to one so beautiful as you, Miss Lexia."

I smiled at him awkwardly before turning to the others. I couldn't resist a massive grin from spreading across my face as I thought of the perfect way to describe my class.

"So... I'm Lexia. I'm a level 52 switch."

Tessa gave me a look of amusement and cocked her head.

"No... you're definitely a sexy bottom bitch."

Several things happened at once.

Nialla let out a small whimper as her own submissive nature was utterly drawn to Tessa. Even with my dampened senses, I could still smell the sweet scent of her arousal. My own internal subbiness began to melt a bit at the sexually charged comment Tessa had made, but it was directly countered by a low growl emanating from my throat. I hadn't even consciously chosen to growl, but my overly dominant demon side took great offense at being seen as subordinate to anyone. The latex-clad woman mistakenly thought my growl was some sort of confirmation of her statement, and she gave me a very seductive smile. I had to fight against every instinct that was telling me to reach out and rip this woman's head from her shoulders. I forced myself to smile and shrugged as nonchalantly as I could manage.

"Maybe... But I am really a switch. At least as far as my class goes. I use Command spells to summon different weapons and armor, and I have a bunch of different spells that lets me fill various roles. I'm mostly close-combat oriented, but I can change it up if needed."

Xerez nodded in approval and then turned to Nialla.

"And you, Catalin?"

Her eyes remained firmly affixed on Tessa and I elbowed her slightly in the ribs and cleared my throat. She flinched at the contact and lightning covered her entire body before she teleported backwards a few steps. She gave me a sheepish look and then blushed profusely as she realized that everyone was staring at her.

"Sorry... Yeah... Uh... I'm uh... Catalin... or you can call me Cat... I'm a lightning mage."

Xerez chuckled softly at Nialla's awkwardness and then looked at the other two members of his team.

"We're an awkward bunch, but we've stuck together long enough to make a small clan. I'm not sure how many members are in your clan, but if we end up rocking this dungeon I'd love for you both to join us."

I grinned at him and shrugged.

"Maybe. We'll see how things go. So... tell me about this dungeon."

"The first part of the dungeon is actually not too challenging... It's just your typical random demon mobs in medium to large groups ranging in levels from 20 up to 30. They do get slightly more difficult as you get closer to the mini-boss, but they shouldn't give us too much trouble, especially with you at level 52. But... It's the mini-boss that's the real problem..."

Tessa nodded and sighed.

"It wouldn't be so bad if it was just a typical bad-ass demon who was just a beast in combat... It's the fact that the mobs that spawn endlessly are all immune to my mind-control magic. Every time we've attempted this, we always end up getting overwhelmed by them and have to retreat out of the dungeon."

I narrowed my eyes a bit and gave Tessa a curious look.

"If I may ask, why keep trying this one specific dungeon? Surely there are other ones that you guys would be able to tackle without too much difficulty? Don't get me wrong, I'm still down to help you guys do this one, I'm just curious."

Xerez, Tessa, and Shadow glanced at each other wordlessly for a moment before Xerez exhaled loudly and turned back towards me.

"The last party I was in managed to beat this dungeon with a larger group. We were all in the mid-20s but there were also 12 of us. Upon beating the boss, he dropped an item for one of the players that ended up turning them into a full demon. His skills stayed relatively similar to his original ones, but his stats got a huge boost. After that we tried it a few more times, but the boss never dropped that item again. Since it was a random pick-up group we all went our separate ways when we were done, but I figured that once Tessa, Shadow, and I were all high enough level we could try it a few times to see if we could get one of those items. We wouldn't have a full clan of demons like some of the top ones do, but it'd be a good start."

I had to resist laughing at the irony of me specifically joining a small group solely to help them become full demons. Nialla gave me a knowing glance, but I ignored it and focused my attention on Xerez and his clan.

"Becoming a full demon sounds like an awesome idea. Even if the boss doesn't end up dropping the item, I'm sure we can find other ways to do it."

Xerez shrugged and gave me a grin.

"Well... I haven't heard of any that would work for us at this level... but that'd be cool. Well... regardless... we gotta get to the boss to even have a shot at it."

I nodded and tapped my chin a few times as I considered the best way to go about beating the mini-boss in such a way that I got to see what kind of players these three were without having to use my real power. From the sound of things, Tessa could handle tanking the mini-boss as it is, it was just the mobs that were giving the party trouble.

"So... It's your show, and I'm down to follow your lead, but do you mind if I make a suggestion?"

Xerez nodded enthusiastically.

"By all means. If you think you have an idea that might work, we're more than game to try something."

"I should play some sort of 'off-tank' to handle the mobs that spawn in so you three can focus on the boss. Cat can split focus to help me deal with taking them out quickly while helping you guys keep pressure on the boss. I have a healing spell to keep myself alive, so you won't have to use any MP to heal me... So as long as you can hold aggro on the boss, Tessa, I think this will work."

The three Demonspawn nodded and shared equal looks of excitement. I looked over at Nialla, who merely gave me a sly grin and a thumbs-up. I glanced back up at Xerez and he opened his menu to send us both a party invite. As Nialla and I both accepted, we started walking towards the entrance to the dungeon, which just looked like a huge bottomless hole in the ground. As we stood around the edge of the gaping maw, Xerez stopped for a moment and gave me a questioning look.

"How we gonna do loot? Split everything five ways except for class specific drops?"

I shook my head and grinned.

"Nah, I'm doing this to help Cat level up. I won't be getting much XP, and I don't need any specific loot drops."

Nialla chimed in from beside me.

"I don't need any loot drops either. This experience is enough for me."

The others gave us looks of surprise but didn't otherwise comment. Xerez opened his menu to make an adjustment to the settings for party loot, and both Nialla and I confirmed the changes.

"I can't say I fully understand, but I won't turn down more opportunities to get better drops. Alright... we all ready?"

Everyone nodded, and we jumped in.

-

So far from what I had seen, the entire world of Holy Damnation had seemed ruined, desolate, and hellish; So, as we entered the dungeon, I was surprised to see a lush jungle surrounding us. The sounds of insects and small animals filled the air, and I looked around in amazement. Shadow noticed my surprise and gave me a smile.

"This world is dark, twisted, and cursed. Everywhere we look, war has torn this place apart. But many dungeons offer a respite from the horrors of the world around us... albeit at the cost of being attacked by hordes of demons. Still, it is a welcome change from the dreary hellscape that leaves a stain on our very souls."

Despite the odd, overly dramatic way he said it, Shadow was right. Seeing this lush, green jungle and all the life teaming within was truly a sight to behold. Before I could continue taking in the beauty of our surroundings, the sound of crashing trees and boots clanging off of hard ground filled the air. I looked to Xerez for instruction, but realized that without a demon's sensitive hearing, he and the other two Demonspawn hadn't picked up on the enemy that was fast approaching. Nialla caught my eye as she started holding up her hand to cast a spell, and I shook my head ever so slightly to indicate for her to hold. As the other three started moving forward, I did my best to ignore the sounds of enemies closing in. As the first demon came into view, Xerez started shouting out orders to the rest of us.

"Tessa, draw them all out to you and do your thing. Shadow, go dark and then move to take out any enemy casters or healers hanging back. Lexia, use a bow or ranged spells to take out the enemies before they close in, but avoid fire-based attacks. The last thing we need is to set this whole place ablaze. Cat, you and I will conserve our MP for now unless another mob spawns before we finish with this one. If that happens, we'll help take the first one out as quickly as possible so we can focus on the new one."

We all gave murmurs of acknowledgement and moved into a T shaped formation. Tessa stood in front of me with her whip drawn and other hand extended outwards, I stood behind her with the bow I had summoned, and Nialla and Xerez were behind me. I watched as Shadow flicked his wrist and a black swirl enveloped him and then faded as he disappeared from sight. I loosed my arrow at the closest demon as Tessa raised her hand high and her entire body started to glow a faint pink.

"Come and get me boys! We'll have lots of fun... I promise!"

The pink aura spread out from her quickly and blasted through the jungle. As the first demon I had shot dropped dead, the several behind him started rushing forward recklessly, a strange pink shimmer showing in their eyes. I nocked another arrow and fired at one of them before I saw three more bounding in from the side. Nialla began to raise her hands to attack the newcomers, but Xerez grabbed her arm gently and shook his head.

"Hold up. Tessa's got this."

I dispatched the last demon that was charging us from the front and turned to watch the three others as they burst from the trees beside us. Tessa took a step towards them and gestured with her hand raised above her head and closed it into a tight fist as a much brighter pink aura of magic swirled around her.

"All good boys know where they belong--right on their knees!"

The three demons stopped in mid stride and dropped to their knees in front of her. As I looked at the three enemies, I saw small pink glowing hearts in their eyes. Tessa took another step forward and gently stroked the cheek of the nearest one.

"Such good boys aren't you... why don't you show me how good you are and make sure that anyone else who might be coming doesn't hurt me, yes? If you do that for me, I'll give you a nice reward..."

The glow of the pink hearts intensified as the demons stood and started rushing back into the jungle with their weapons drawn. I let out a soft whistle and nodded at the impressive display.

"Not bad. How long will that last?"

The sounds of fighting rang out as Tessa turned back to me.

"If they hadn't fallen fully under the effects it would have only lasted another few seconds, but since they didn't resist the secondary effect, it will last until I either dispel it, leave the area, or the enemy is killed."

"Ahhhh that explains why you couldn't bring them into the mini-boss room with you. But still, that's an awesome ability. I've never heard of anyone making a sort of "charm tank," but it's a fucking cool concept."

Tessa gave me a warm smile as she started moving forward.

"Thanks. Like I said... I said it as sort of a joke, but it actually turns out it's pretty awesome."

"Given that most people don't have charm magic resistance of any kind, I feel like it would be especially potent in a PvP setting. Did you guys play in that tournament thing they had not too long ago?"

I turned to Xerez as he spoke beside me.

"No, we weren't high enough levels to really make it worth it. I know levels didn't matter, but I was only level 13 at the time, and the others were barely level 10, so we didn't have enough skills to really be effective. Plus, it's only the three of us, and we'd have needed a fourth person."

A voice sounded besides me, and I nearly jumped before realizing it was Shadow, still completely invisible.

"Alas, I was able to see my blue-haired goddess, but I was doomed to only love her from afar, since I wasn't even worthy enough to stand in her presence."

"Blue-haired goddess?"

Tessa rolled her eyes and Xerez rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"During the tournament, Shadow had a case of 'love at first sight' with one of the competitors. She was one of the ones in the elimination tournament. Really tall, dark armor, long blue hair..."

"A maiden most fair, with hair as blue as the oceans and armor as black as my soul. And a sword that could rend the heavens and hells in twain in a single stroke."

This time I couldn't stop the laugh as it burst from my mouth. Not only was this small clan looking to become demons, but one of them was apparently completely in love... with Tesrif. Oh... to see the look on my demon general's face in that moment... I started laughing even harder as I pictured it and soon had to stop walking as I was almost doubled over at this point. The others stared at me in confusion, which only served to make me laugh even more. Finally, after I managed to catch my breath, I stood up and wiped the tears from my eyes.

"You uh... you alright, Lexia?"

"Yeah... Yeah... I'm good. Inside joke that was way funnier in my head. Which made your guys' expressions that much funnier. Sorry. Let's keep going."

Xerez shot me another bemused expression before shaking his head, and began moving towards the thick jungle in the direction that the demons had come from. The heavy scent of blood filled my nose as we drew further into the dense foliage. After we traveled about 20 more feet, we came across what was left of the demons Tessa had charmed. The bodies looked like they had been completely torn apart limb from limb, with deep gashes covering the largest pieces. As Xerez moved to the closest corpse, he knelt down and examined it for a moment.

"Well... that's new."

"New?"

Xerez nodded his head as he stood up.

"So far all of the demons we've encountered in this part of the dungeon have been mostly humanoid. Whatever did this has a lot of strength and some massive claws."

Almost as if on cue, a loud roar shook the air around us. The terrifying sound that was twenty times louder than any lion I had ever heard silenced everything around us. Nialla tensed up and dropped into a defensive fighting stance. Had her feline features been visible, I have no doubt her ears would be flat and pulled back against her skull, while her tail lashed back and forth violently. Even as I stared at her I could see the pupils of her eyes contracting just slightly to resemble thin slits. I processed all of this information in the time it took for Xerez to turn towards the source of the sound, and moved closer to my girlfriend to place a hand on her arm. She flinched slightly from the contact but didn't pull away.

"You good, Cat?"

Her nostrils flared a few times as she inhaled deeply, before she turned to me with a steely gaze.

"We're being watched. I can't get an exact count, but there's more than one of them."

"One what?"

I ignored Tessa's question as I scanned the jungle around us. Even with my enhanced senses, the only creatures I was able to detect were the small creatures that were remaining completely silent. In fact, as I listened closely, the only sounds I was able to hear were the ones coming from our group. Just as I turned to whisper quietly to the others, a blur of jet black fur dropped down from one of the nearest trees and lunged toward Xerez. I focused on my speed to intercept the beast, but before I could even blink a massive white tiger with blue stripes tackled the creature and took it to the ground. The giant black creature that resembled a six-legged panther was easily 6 or 7 feet tall, and seemed to be around 12 feet long, but the massive creature that was pinning it to the ground was easily twice that size. Even though I had seen it quite a few times, seeing Nialla's Stormtiger form never ceased to amaze me. As she opened her jaws wide as if to bite down on the creature, a blast of lightning erupted from her mouth and completely atomized the skull of the creature beneath her. As she stood up off the smoking remains of the panther demon, she let out a loud roar of triumph and turned to face the rest of us.

Xerez and Tessa started backing away from Nialla slowly before I reached out and gently grabbed their arms.

"Hey, it's all good. That's Catalin. That's just one of the aspects of her magic."

The two Demonspawn looked at me dumbstruck, but as Shadow reappeared next to Nialla and put a hand on her side, they both turned to him as he spoke.

"To think that like me, deep within the confines of your soul resides such a strong powerful beast, Catalin. You are fortunate to be able to unleash the monster to slake your thirst for violence."

We all laughed loudly as Nialla's tiger face adopted a very human looking expression as she rolled her eyes. That simple action broke the tension and Tessa and Xerez rushed forward to study Nialla closer.

After letting the three Demonspawn admire Nialla's tiger form and answering as many questions as I could without giving away our real identities, our group made our way through the jungle with Nialla leading the way. Her presence seemed to scare off the remaining panther demons, as the only enemies we encountered were several groups of humanoid demons. Once we finished dispatching all of the demons that Tessa had charmed, the outline of a glowing freestanding door appeared in front of us. Xerez took a step closer to the door before turning to face us.

"OK, once we're inside, we'll have about 20 seconds to rush forward to get as close as we can to the entrance of the huge cave where the mini-boss spawns. We need to get as close as we can manage so we don't have to fight our way through the endless number of enemies that spawn in the jungle. Once we're inside the cave, Tessa will draw the attention of the boss with her taunt and hold aggro for the rest of the fight. I will back her up with healing spells, buffing enchantments, and hex spells on the boss. Lexia will remain at the entrance keeping all the enemies that spawn from entering the cave. Catalin will position herself halfway between Lexia and me, focusing primarily on damaging the boss unless Lexia starts to get overwhelmed."

He paused for a moment, making sure we understood everything so far. After we all gave nods or murmurs of agreement, he turned to Nialla and me.

"The mini-boss is a sort of giant man-eating plant monster that looks like a giant green anemone with tentacles and a huge mouth full of sharp teeth. It-"

"Wait... Did you say tentacles?"

We all turned around to face Nialla who had shifted back to her disguised Demonspawn form. As we stared at her for a moment, she let out an awkward chuckle and shrugged as we gave her a knowing look.

"I'm just clarifying for... scientific purposes. Obviously."

I scoffed and rolled my eyes as the others laughed softly.

"Cat, I speak for all of us when I say we've all seen enough hentai to know where your mind just went..."

She blushed and turned away slightly. Tessa walked over to her and put her arm around Nialla's shoulders.

"Don't worry, hon. I'm the last one to kinkshame. Just trust me when I say the last thing you want to do is get grabbed by these tentacles, they are coated in a potent poison that will eat away your flesh if it remains in contact with your skin for too long."

Nialla's eyes went wide and she visibly paled.

"Yeah... Never mind. I'll keep my kinks in check. You can continue Xerez."

Xerez finished describing the mini-boss to us and the various attacks it used while we discussed the best strategy to counter it. After we came up with a viable plan, we stepped through the door to begin the fight.

3.63: Team Up II

As I fought off wave after wave of monsters that resembled zombies made up of various plant matter, I realized why this fight would have been so difficult for Xerez, Tessa, and Shadow. Had I not had access to my vast multitude of spells and various skills I would have become quickly overwhelmed. It got so bad that at one point I almost had to release more of my power to be able to handle the never-ending swarms of enemies. Fortunately, Nialla noticed what was happening and diverted her attention away from the boss just long enough to unleash a massive blast of lightning that cleared the area and gave me some breathing room.

Just as I was starting to become surrounded again, I turned my head just long enough to see Shadow gracefully leap onto the boss and jab both of his weapons deep into the huge creature's head. It let out an ear-piercing wail of despair and began to fall forwards as it died. All of the plant zombies that were surrounding me returned the creature's cry, and they all dropped to the ground and began to spasm uncontrollably. I watched as both the enemies at my feet and the massive tentacled monster that was the mini-boss stopped moving and collapsed onto the ground in a heap. Cheers erupted from the other four party members, and I quickly moved to join the others.

"Holy shit! Tessa! Shadow! We fucking did it!! Fucking finally!"

Xerez held up his hand in front of Nialla, who enthusiastically gave him a high-five. She did the same for Tessa and then Shadow as they all celebrated their victory. When I finally made it over to the group, I grinned back at them as they all beamed at me.

"Lexia, Catalin... truly... Thank you. Even if we don't end up finishing this dungeon, it still makes my day to finally beat that damn mini-boss."

I nodded happily and held up my own hand for a high five, which Xerez gave me without a second's hesitation.

"I can see why you guys had so much difficulty with this one... those spawns got a bit ridiculous at times. But now we can set our sights on the true dungeon boss. So... where to now?"

Xerez opened up his menu and studied the area display intently before closing it and turning towards the tunnel in the cave that was up ahead.

"It looks like we have to go through this small tunnel. We shouldn't be in here very long, though. Once we get through the cave it opens up to a forest of enormous trees. The path will actually take us through the massive trees. I remember the party I was in previously mentioning something about there being a hidden objective that you can accomplish that gets you some pretty badass gear, but it was a way higher level than what we could handle. Which means there's no way we can do it here. I think that we should just focus on getting to the boss as quickly as we can manage and hope we get that item to drop."

I held back the smirk that was threatening to slip out and instead gave Xerez a single shrug.

"If we can at least take a look at what we're up against, I think it might be worth checking out. Who knows... maybe there's a secret way to beat it that you guys didn't know about."

Xerez nodded once before returning my shrug.

"Fair enough. I guess the only way to know for sure is to check it out. You all ready?"

Once everyone confirmed they were ready, we all moved as a group into the darker part of the cave.

-

"Holy shit! You weren't kidding! Those trees are... they've got to be over a thousand feet tall!!!"

Upon exiting the cave, we came to a lush forest of trees that were more akin to skyscrapers. The nearest one loomed overhead and I could see that the path led up to a small opening into the huge tree. As we continued along the path, I again was amazed at the beauty of the lush forest in this dungeon. Sunlight filtered through the immense canopies overhead, which allowed the plant life to flourish on the forest floor. Once we made it up to the base of the closest tree, we slowly climbed a set of stairs that had been carved into the earthen brown wood.

If the outside of the tree was jaw-dropping, the inside was doubly so. The interior had to be at least 100 feet across and had an enormous spiral staircase that extended up to what was likely the top of the tree. At various points I could see large chunks of the tree had been carved out to make large rooms, although it was impossible to tell what one might expect to find within.

As we approached the giant staircase, roughly 30 feet ahead of us, a dozen creatures phased through the wooden floor and rose to their feet. They appeared to be some sort of tree monster, made entirely of the same dark brown wood of the tree and held together by a pulsing crimson core that glowed from within. Despite being made entirely out of wood, their sculpted bodies had all the distinct demonic features I had become accustomed to seeing on normal demonkin. Our team moved into formation again with Tessa in the front, and the rest of us readied our weapons and spells.

I summoned a crossbow in hopes it would have an easier time punching through the creature's tough bark-like skin. Nialla unleashed a cluster of rapid fire bursts of electricity in order to halt the enemies from advancing, and Xerez followed up with several balls of arcane energy that blasted three of the creatures apart. I took careful aim as the closest tree demon made a beeline for Tessa, and let out a cry of triumph upon striking the creature in the chest and damaging its core. It staggered and fell onto one knee, and I quickly reloaded and finished it off with another shot to its torso.

I was just about to reload again, when I saw another group of five of them rapidly approaching from the side. I tossed the weapon aside, extended both of my arms with my palms facing the new threat, and unleashed a barrage of [Coldfire] spells. I mowed down all but one, and moved into a defensive stance as the last one began to reach forward to swipe me with its claws. A blur of black appeared to the side of the creature, and it turned on its heel and swung at the nimble form of Shadow. When its claws met no resistance, the illusion shimmered and disappeared, and the creature stumbled forward completely off-balance. What I assumed was the real Shadow appeared behind it with both of his weapons in hand, and he plunged the blades deep into the creature's back, striking its vulnerable core. The demon collapsed as the crimson light was instantly extinguished and Shadow withdrew his weapons and bowed to me slightly with a showy flourish. I gave him a single nod and turned just as the others were finishing up the remainder of the enemies. Two of the tree demons stood motionless in front of Tessa, small pink hearts blazing brightly in their empty eye sockets.

"Everyone all good?"

I nodded to Xerez as I turned towards him and saw that the others were doing the same.

"I think those things are resistant to lightning damage. Even though those blasts weren't full power, they should have at least had a bit more reaction since each time I damage something with lightning there is a chance for a stun effect. I am almost positive that the stun never took effect even once, and I was doing minimal damage at best."

I pursed my lips and tapped the side of my nose as I considered our options. Since Nialla was entirely lightning based, having creatures who were resistant to it made her all but useless. We both turned to Xerez as he offered a suggestion.

"Even with [Lightning Specialization] you should still be able to cast [Arcane Blast]. You'll have to temporarily disable the specialization, and you won't be able to use any of your other skills that rely on it, but without that specialization your [Lightning Blast] will revert to [Arcane Blast]."

Nialla sighed through her nose and furrowed her brow as she opened her skill menu. She read for a moment and appeared to be scrolling through her various skills before she let out a small cry of dismay.

"Ughhhh. Fuck. Even my Stormtiger form is reliant upon [Lightning Specialization]. That fucking sucks... I had no idea just how much of my build required that one skill to be active. When we get back to the castle I'm going to look into getting some alternate forms of damage for the next time I encounter an enemy who can counter my lightning."

"You guys have a clan castle already? Just how big is your clan?"

Nialla flushed slightly at her slipup as Xerez turned from her to me.

"We're not as big as some clans out there, but we're definitely trying to add more members. We try to keep things as close-knit as possible."

Xerez nodded as he studied my face for a moment and then gave a single shrug.

"Hey, if it works for you, that's all that matters, right?"

"Exactly. Now then... Cat... how easy is it for you to disable or enable that specialization?"

"Oh, it's simple. It's just a passive ability like any of the others. All it takes is a single push of a button. But I will be completely reliant on you guys if I do this. [Arcane Blast] will be the only spell I'll be able to cast."

I squeezed her shoulder to reassure her and gave her a warm smile.

"Go for it, babe. You know I always got your back."

She nodded once, opened her menu, and pressed a button once. The air around her suddenly felt... lighter. Like there was no longer a slight build-up of electricity. I took the opportunity to give her a quick kiss on her cheek before I turned to the others.

"Alrighty... I think we're all good."

As we started towards the staircase, Tessa shot me a curious expression.

"Lexia... are you Catalin a couple?"

I nodded enthusiastically as I looked from my girlfriend back to the tall redhead.

"Most definitely. Although... we haven't been dating for long. Why do you ask?"

"Just curious. You guys seem very close. I apologize if my flirting earlier pushed any boundaries. I know how some people feel about that sort of stuff."

I shook my head and gave her a smile.

"No apology necessary! I'm polyamorous, and I don't get jealous easily. I am very protective of her though."

"You two do know I'm literally standing right here?"

"Yes, you are, kitten."

I felt Nialla suddenly tense up slightly as I used her pet name and her face flushed slightly. She shot me a glare but then focused ahead as we reached the huge staircase. Tessa chuckled softly behind us as we all began to ascend.

3.64: I'm pining fir tree puns.

Upon reaching the first room that had been carved into the side of the mostly hollowed out tree, we quickly discovered that we couldn't proceed any further up the stairs due to a barrier that blocked our way. We surmised that we'd have to clear whatever challenge presented itself on that floor in order to continue our ascent. As we studied the entryway into the connected room, we discovered a shadowed corridor to a single sturdy wooden door. Given that it was our only way forward, we made our way down the tunnel and opened the door slowly after we checked it thoroughly for traps. To the party's dismay... the only thing that we could see on the other side of the doorway was a faintly shimmering and swirling mist that completely obscured the room.

"So... do we go in the creepy mist room?"

Everyone turned to Xerez as he spoke.

"It seems this is the only way forward... I don't think we have a choice... but this wasn't here last time. Hell... the whole giant staircase leading upwards is completely new. While the dungeon was slightly different each time we went through it, it was always a series of progressively harder fights through a sort of maze inside the tree. Once we got to the center of the maze, that's where the boss was. Now though... I have no clue what to expect."

After considering his words I let out a slow sigh and then shrugged.

"Well... we made it this far. No sense in turning back now."

Without a second of hesitation, I took a step forward into the mist. Upon passing the threshold, I found myself in a tiny 20 x 20 wooden room that had high 20 foot walls that extended to the ceiling. The only clue to the direction I was supposed to go was a door that turned out to be locked tight. As I turned to look back at the entrance, I was unsurprised to see that it was no longer present and had been replaced with another wall like the others. I slowly studied each of the walls in my small enclosure, noting several small slits on the left side that I could just barely see through to another room. As Tessa and Nialla spoke quietly, I pressed my lips to the opening and did my best to get their attention.

"Cat! Tessa! Over here!"

The two women ran over to the wall just on the other side of me and we quickly described our surroundings. They were in a slightly larger room, but it too featured nothing but a locked door. Nialla moved to examine the walls in their room and found similar slits on the other side where she was able to locate Shadow and Xerez. She explained what was going on and I was confounded when Tessa relayed that the two men were also in a small locked room. I was just about to attempt to blast my way through when a booming feminine voice rang out.

"Awwww look, so many fun new toys to play with! I'm so excited to have visitors! I think I should play a little game with my new toys... but what game should we play?"

An image flashed on the wall on my left and took the shape of a wooden box with a bow on top. It shook a few times before the lid slid off, and the words "Monster Challenge" appeared.

"Ooooooh, Fun! It's the Monster Challenge! That's one of my favorites! I'll try not to break my new toys so quickly this time... so I think I'll tell you how the game works. I'm going to spawn a monster in your little rooms that you have to fight in order to make it to the next room. But which room it spawns in and how powerful the monster is is up to the three different groups. Hmmm... Let's take a look at those levels you guys have..."

I felt the sensation that I was being closely observed and it sent my reflexes into overdrive. I scanned the tight space for a threat, but forced myself to relax when it was obvious whatever entity had trapped us in here seemed merely content to study me.

"Naughty naughty! Some of you are being quite sneaky in my domain... What should I do about that?"

I jumped back in surprise as the form of a woman stepped out of the nearest wall. She was slightly taller than me and had skin the color of warm cedar. She had glowing green eyes that gleamed with wicked intelligence, and sharp angular facial features that made her look like some sort of noblewoman. Her body was the right combination of curvy and lithe, and her complete lack of clothing forced me to keep my eyes trained solely on her face. Upon hearing the sounds of Tessa and Nialla on the other side of the wall, she waved a hand and the small slits instantly closed up. The woman turned back to me slowly and grinned widely, showing off her large canines in the process.

"Now then... why don't you tell me who you are and why you are in my domain. I know you're not level 52... and there's something else about you that's... off."

I sighed softly through my nose as I opened my menu and unequipped my disguise. Upon seeing my face, looks of recognition and amusement were obvious in her expression.

"Well well... The soon-to-be empress herself. To what do I owe this pleasure?"

I glanced towards the wall beside me and the woman rolled her eyes in obvious annoyance.

"The others can't hear you. Well... most of them can't anyways. I'm assuming the mage in the room next to you is with you judging from the fact she's wearing something like you were?"

I nodded my head and the woman looked at me expectantly.

"We're here to recruit prospective members for our clan. Since I'm looking for players I can trust, we figured there's no better way to see what type of people they are than to do a dungeon run with them. Given how recognizable I am, though... using a disguise seemed to be the only way I could join a group."

The woman toyed with her lip with one of her hands as she considered my words carefully. Her eyes studied me closely for a solid minute before a broad grin stretched across her face.

"Since I obviously can't proceed with this game the normal way, I feel like you and I should have fun another way."

She gave me a suggestive wink and my eyes widened at the implication. When the woman saw my reaction, she immediately burst into giggles and held up her hand.

"Just kidding! You should have seen the look on your face."

I leveled my gaze at her and she merely rolled her eyes and placed a hand on her hip.

"Obviously... any monsters I spawn against you would be simple child's play. My power is entirely bound within this domain, this... tree. Therefore my level must remain consistent with the rest of it."

The woman gave me a thoughtful look and her eyes glittered as an idea took hold.

"I'm going to go out on a limb here and say you don't know anything about Nymphette Demons, right?"

"No. I don't... but... was... was that a tree pun?"

I watched as she thought back to what she had said and couldn't stop a smile from forming on my face as she snorted and began to chuckle.

"Heh. That's a good one! I'm hilarious even when I'm not trying to be. But... back to my point. Nymphette Demons are bound to the tree they inhabit. Being bound in such a way grants us many boons: eternal life and youth for as long as we remain bound and total control of the entirety of our domains. But... for all that we receive from being bound to these trees, they are, ultimately, our prisons. As long as our tree remains intact... we can never leave, never venture a single step beyond our wooden confines."

She stopped for a moment, allowing me to absorb what she was saying. She held my gaze for a moment before continuing.

"This is true for all of my kind... save for one. The Queen of the Nymphette Demons is able to come and go as she pleases. She is not bound to a tree, instead drawing power from her surroundings much in a way that mages draw in arcane magic."

She stared at me for a moment, giving me the chance to fill in the blanks on my own.

"Let me guess... you want me to dispose of this Queen for you so you can take her power?"

Her eyes opened widely as she grinned a huge fanged smile.

"Oh, I like you! You're smarter than all the other stupid toys that have come through here. And after watching you take out Lord Varanix I'm sure you have what it takes to see this through."

I nodded thoughtfully before cocking an eyebrow.

"True. True. But... what do I get out of it?"

She gave me a look that could only be described as a cheshire grin and pointed to her herself.

"Me, of course. You would gain me as your ally and a new clan member. Having the Queen of the Nymphette Demons supporting you would surely go a long way to furthering whatever goals you have for the future. And before you get any ideas about just attempting to recruit the current Queen, you should know that she takes her job as Ultimate Dungeon Boss very seriously. She's the final boss of a much higher level dungeon that is comprised of several domains of other Nymphette Demons. Normally I wouldn't even suggest such a thing for fear she might get wind of it, but with you here... well... that changes things."

As I leaned back against the nearest wall I drummed my fingers against it as I considered the possibilities.

"Say I agree to this... what are we going to do about the other three people I'm trying to recruit? Surely they wouldn't be satisfied with what they consider to be an incomplete dungeon run."

"I'm guessing there's no chance of you just killing them so we can proceed forward with this plan?"

I gave her a dead-pan look and she simply shrugged and snorted a small laugh. After she teased her lip with the tip of her thumb and forefinger for a moment, she looked up at me.

"Let's just... pretend it's just another dungeon run. I will spawn a monster that is an adequate challenge for each other team... and you and I can get to know each other better while the others fight."

She gave me a look that was dripping with entendre and I merely rolled my eyes and shook my head slowly.

"Challenge: yes. Sex: no. If we're going to do this thing, I'm going to play my part and finish everything with them as a team. What comes next after we finish off the monsters?"

She let out a long sigh and gave me a pouty look. When I ignored it and simply stared at her, she scowled and exhaled loudly through her nose.

"You'll go through a portal that will lead you back to the staircase. Once you go up, you'll find another floor with another portal that will take you back here, only this time the other door will be open and you will be able to walk through both rooms freely. From there... normally there's some sort of puzzle... but I think for the sake of just getting this shit done, you all can fight another monster. It's supposed to be the hardest one yet, since the next challenge would be fighting against me."

"And how would you suggest we go about doing that?"

She thought for a moment and then shrugged.

"I can just make a monster that looks like me and control it. I'll make it appropriately challenging for your group, and you all can beat the shit out of it. I'll even channel my voice through it so I can do the whole end boss monologue and such."

"What about item drops? The group will be expecting loot that would be geared towards their classes and possibly one of those items that turns them into demons."

The woman cocked her eyebrow and tilted her head to the side.

"Oh... those things? Heh... well... see... the thing is... Those items were limited to five total. Once the dungeon doled out the fifth one, I haven't seen another one since. As far as good drops though... I can use my control over my domain to create several powerful ones. I'm going to guess you just want stuff for your three potential recruits?"

I nodded and she gave me a thumbs up. She gave me an expectant look and I exhaled loudly.

"Alright... you have a deal. I'll finish up this dungeon with these little nooblets and then go kill your Queen. Sound good?"

"Indeed, Allexus."

I gave her a funny look as I realized I didn't even know her name. As if sensing what I was thinking she extended her hand.

"Harrow."

"I look forward to having the Queen of the Nymphettes on my side, Harrow."

3.65: Team up III

I watched as Harrow seemingly sank into the wooden floor and disappeared from sight. No sooner had she departed did a monster shaped like an anthropomorphic tree took form and moved into a fighting stance.

I nimbly dodged two swipes of its clawed hands and used the momentum to roll forward and come up standing just in front of the creature. I placed my hand on what appeared to be the monster's face and ignited my hand with [Corrupting Fire]. Smoke began to billow from the creature's eye-sockets and mouth as I continued to channel the fiery energies into its wooden body. I released the spell when its entire body suddenly burst into flames. I used [Coldfire] to extinguish the flames before they set the floor ablaze, before turning towards the door as a loud clicking sound indicated it was unlocked. I quickly reequipped my disguise and walked across the small room.

I opened the door to find another swirling mist portal, and stepped through without giving it a second glance. I suddenly found myself standing next to Nialla and Tessa, and saw that Xerez and Shadow were leaning against a nearby wall.

The other four all turned to me in sync when they saw me emerge from the portal. As Tessa opened her mouth to speak, I held up a hand to forestall any questions. I debated on sticking with the cleverly crafted lie I had come up with, before letting out a long drawn out sigh.

Fuck it.

"I think it's time I come clean about why me and Catalin are really here."

With that, I unequipped the disguise again. Taking that as a cue, Nialla opened her menu and did the same. The other three stared at both of us in confusion until faint recognition was evident on their faces.

"Are you... Allexus? Like... THE Allexus?"

I let out an awkward chuckle as I met Tessa's eyes and slowly nodded my head.

"I am. I'm... sorry for the deception. Given my fame, wearing a disguise was the only way I could interact with Demonspawn and not draw everyone's attention. As for the reason Nialla and I are here, doing a low leveled dungeon..."

I looked at the three others and sighed heavily before catching Xerez's gaze.

"I'm here for you guys. This was going to be sort of a... trial run before I invited all three of you to join my clan. Right now, we're looking for good players who we get along with and who we feel have potential to be some of the top players in the game. You guys fit that description to a T."

They all look dumbstruck for a moment before Tessa finally broke the silence with a single laugh.

"So... Let me get this straight, not only is the number one player from the number one clan in our party, she's attempting to recruit us to her clan? I don't get it... There have got to be players who are way stronger than we are... So I don't understand why you want us."

Before I could respond, Xerez spoke up excitedly.

"Actually, Tess, it makes perfect sense to me. Her clan is already the strongest, so they can easily afford to make the level of a character less important than how well they get along with that person. Power-leveling a low leveled player with members as strong as hers would be easy. Not to mention the high-tier gear any new recruits would gain access to. I guess we're just lucky that you ended up in our party and that we got along as well as we have. The only thing that I don't get is how you and Catalin-sorry-Nialla appear to be such low levels."

"Ah. That's easily explainable. These chokers we're wearing are Power Limiters. It reduces our total levels and stats by 80%. For Nialla, it was the only way to reduce her level enough to join low level dungeons. For me, without the limiter, my spells and abilities can easily cause collateral damage."

"So wait... if 52 is 20% of your actual level... that means... you're level 255?!"

"256, actually... it... rounds weird."

All three of the Demonspawn openly gaped at me and I had to resist the urge to laugh awkwardly. We were all broken out of the strange silence by Nialla suddenly letting out a loud, slightly pained yowl. We all turned towards her to see that she had removed the Power Limiter. The air was heavy and smelled like ozone as flickers of electricity danced across Nialla's skin. Her eyes were brilliant blue orbs crackling with power. As the stones around her began to lift up off the ground from the build-up of electromagnetism her feet lifted off the ground slightly as lightning began to pulse out of her. After a few seconds the power seemed to withdraw back into her and she slowly settled back down and the air returned to normal.

"Holy fuckballs! That was intense, Allie! It felt like I suddenly bit down on a jumper cable hooked up to the world's strongest generator. I feel... I feel fucking amazing!"

As wisps of electricity began to course across her skin again, I moved towards her and held up my hands.

"Take it easy, babe. You don't want to accidentally zap our other party members. I know how good that can feel and how much it seems like a dam suddenly bursting and flowing out all at once, but focus on keeping your power contained as much as possible."

Nialla nodded to me and closed her eyes. After a few moments the electric build-up stopped entirely and she slowly opened her eyes as I stepped forward and placed my hands on her shoulders.

"Thanks for that, Allie. That was... a lot. Is that what it's like for you every time?"

I blushed as much as my demonic body would allow and gave her a wry grin.

"More or less."

I gave her a quick kiss on the lips before catching her eye.

"You good?"

She nodded and we pulled away from each other. We turned to face the others who were again staring at us in complete amazement. Shadow glanced from Nialla, over to me, and then gave me an inquisitive look.

"Given that you've shed your false veneer and told us of your original intentions, obviously something took place in the previous room that led you to change your course of action. Would you care to shed some light on the darkness of our confusion?"

So... I told them everything. I told them about our clan's goal of recruiting low level players to build up loyalty and help them power level, I told them about our plans to host a sort of PvP event in our clan castle, and I told them about the agreement I had made with Harrow. Upon hearing that it was no longer possible to obtain one of those items that would turn one into a full demon, the three potential members seemed utterly crestfallen.

"So... uh... there actually is another way you can become full demons. Well... sorta."

Xerez cocked an eyebrow.

"At our level?"

"Technically."

"Technically?"

I let out another long sigh. My conversation with my "wives" about using my corruption abilities on new clan members replayed itself over and over in my head. I glanced at each of the three prospective recruits and grimaced slightly. I was just about to explain everything when Nialla spoke up.

"Allie can convert people to full demons, but it... requires a special connection with them. At least... for now. One of our clan mates is working on a way to alter the way she has to go about doing it to make it easier for everyone."

"A... special connection?"

It was my turn to interrupt.

"Sex. I have to have sex with someone to turn them into a demon."

The reactions from the three Demonspawn were about what I was expecting: Xerez cocked an eyebrow and turned his head slightly to the side but he otherwise said nothing, Tessa snorted a laugh and started shaking her head in amusement, and Shadow simply looked at me with an annoyed expression in his eyes. After an extremely awkward moment of silence, Tessa gave me a curious expression.

"Given the game that we're in and the... odd complexities and freedoms it allows... I should have guessed that something like this was possible. It seems like an incredibly powerful ability... but obviously there's some aspect of it that you haven't mentioned, otherwise you wouldn't have hesitated to bring it up."

I nodded and pursed my lips slightly.

"It's... nothing actually game related. The issue is... me. Well... my own emotions."

Tessa seemed pensive for a moment before her gaze settled on Nialla. As she glanced from the tall catgirl to me, she nodded in understanding. She gave me a small smirk before catching my eye.

"Out of all the people in the game to receive such an ability... of course it goes to one who can't stop from catching feelings for those she's intimate with. I guess that's the game's way of balancing out what would otherwise be an absolutely broken ability."

My face reddened slightly and I let out a small groan of frustration as my demonic body completely failed to stop the blush from spreading down my cheeks. Before I could comment any further, however, a familiar voice sounded in my ear and I felt a pair of strong arms wrap around me from behind.

I shrugged my shoulders and pushed back against the sudden intruder to create some space before taking a step forward and spinning on my heel. I was about to draw one of my swords when the creature gave me a coy smile.

"As stimulating as this conversation is, future empress, what's the plan now that you've told your new toys all about our little agreement?"

A surge of magic swelled from behind me and I reached back without looking and placed my hand on Nialla's arm.

"Everyone... This is Harrow. She's the Nymphette Demon I was telling you about."

I gave everyone a few seconds to process what I had said before continuing. I felt my girlfriend's body relax slightly in my grip and her power faded back to normal. She took a step forward and placed her arm around my waist, in a sort of protective manner. I forced my expression to remain neutral despite the butterflies in my stomach from the oddly cute gesture. She knew I could easily take care of myself, but she still felt the need to ensure I was safe. I leaned into her slightly and held her against me before my gaze settled back on Harrow. I narrowed my eyes at her slightly and she held up her hands in a sort of placating gesture. I turned to face the others while still keeping the Nymphette Demon in my periphery.

I glanced at each of the three people in front of me.

"I know that Nialla and I joined this party under false pretenses, but I can say without a single doubt that I'm glad we did. You three are the exact type of player that I want in our clan. You are all individually powerful, but even more than that, you are amazing teammates. Even if this is the last time we are all in a party, I can say without a doubt that it has been an absolute pleasure to kick ass alongside each of you. That said... this doesn't have to be the last time."

I opened my menu as I looked at Xerez.

"Xerez, you are an awesome leader and from what I can tell, an even better friend. You went out of your way to do something for your entire clan, and even sought out help when you needed it. I would be honored if you would join my clan."

With that, I sent him the invite. He opened his mouth to speak, but I quickly held up my hand.

"I know that whatever you decide it has to be a group decision between the three of you. I don't plan to undermine that... I just want to extend the offer to each of you individually as my way of apologizing for the deception and a sort of... thanks for letting us join you."

He considered my words carefully before nodding slowly. I took a step to the side and looked up at Tessa. My own internal submissiveness warred with my demonic need for control as she gave me a slightly domineering smirk. In the end, I waved my hand and changed to my Avatar of Corruption form. She let out a small gasp as I suddenly towered over her. I had to resist grinning as she let out an almost inaudible squeak.

"Tessa... with a class like Hypnodomme... how in the hell could I not be intrigued? Not only is the concept of it absolutely badass... it's also sexy as all fuck. But you know that... which is part of what makes me want you even more."

As a faint blush spread down her cheeks and her breathing picked up ever so slightly, I smirked at her and took a small step backwards. I had chosen the words specifically to get a reaction out of her, and it could not have worked out better. I forced aside the urge to grab the woman and give into what both of our bodies were craving in that moment, and turned to face the last member of our party. I gave him a thoughtful look before a grin spread across my face.

"Shadow... I'm just going to say this... If you don't join my clan... you'll never get the chance to meet your blue-haired goddess in person..."

3.66: Getting to know each other

While the three prospective members privately discussed the possibility of joining my clan in the small room that Harrow had created, Nialla and I chatted about various topics while Harrow busied herself with random tasks elsewhere in her domain. Harrow had created a comfortable seat for Nialla, while I was sitting in my girlfriend's lap with my legs straddling hers. It was an incredibly erotic position despite the armor and clothing in the way, and it quickly became obvious how much both of us enjoyed it.

"What gets you off the fastest?"

The tall cat-girl bit her lip as she thought about her answer before giving me a curious expression.

"Can I have two answers?"

I cocked an eyebrow and tilted my head to the side slightly before shrugging and nodding. She smiled and continued.

"If we're talking mind-blowing, toe-curling, screaming at the top of my lungs orgasms? You holding me down and fucking me senseless would probably be the fastest. But as for the best? I have never felt a more satisfying orgasm than when you held me against you while you made love to me. That... I don't have words, Allie. I didn't know sex could feel like that. It was..."

Tears formed in the corner of her eyes and she quickly wiped them away with the back of her hand. I gave her a concerned look and she shook her head and gave me a huge smile.

"I'm not upset. I'm... happy. I have never felt so loved in my entire life, Allie. I have no idea how I can feel the way I do about you and Emily since we haven't known each other very long and I haven't even met either of you in person... but I have no doubt that I do feel that way. This whole time we've been in here I have to keep myself focused on what's going on, because my mind keeps drifting back to you inviting me to come live with you and it makes me so fucking happy that my mind feels like I'm floating. I honestly have no idea how you can deal with being in love with four different women, be the strongest player in the game and continue to level up to get even stronger, and run a clan at the same time. I can barely manage to keep my brain focused on doing this dungeon run. Especially when you look like... you. You are so fucking hot, Allie. Seriously. I feel like you are way out of my league."

I opened my mouth to object, but shut it as she continued.

"You are smart, you're funny as fuck, and you have this ability to draw the best kinds of people to you. Most of all though... when you say that you love me... I don't hear it. I can feel it, Allie. You are one of the most caring and loving people I know... and the fact that you fell in love with me? That's fucking crazy! How did I get so lucky?!"

I grinned widely at her before shaking my head slightly.

"Noelle... I'm the lucky one. Not only do I have the love of several other women, but I also have this amazing, drop-dead gorgeous, nerdy as all fuck, silly and fun, blue and white haired walking sex dream of a girlfriend too. The fact that I get to love her back and call her mine? Tch. No... I'm the lucky one, Noelle. Words cannot describe how happy I am to be able to have someone like you in my life."

The gorgeous catgirl smiled so wide she almost appeared manic. She let out an overjoyed squeal before wrapping her arms around me and pulling me tight against her body as she tilted her head upwards and pushed her lips against mine. She kissed me with such fervor and passion it was all I could do to match the ferocity of it. As our tongues explored each other's mouths, I couldn't stop myself from moaning as her hands cupped my ass tightly. The air was filled with the overwhelming scent of our mutual arousal as we continued to make-out. I was just about to give into the urge to have my way with her when I heard the sound of someone clearing their throat behind me.

Reality snapped back into place as I remembered where we were and what we had been doing prior to losing ourselves in each other. I forced myself to pull away from Nialla as both of us panted softly for a few seconds. I focused on calming myself as much as I could before slowly peeling myself out of the catgirl's grip and turning to face the others. I shook my head a few times to clear the fog that had settled over my mind and forced a grin onto my face. Xerez and Shadow were blushing slightly as they avoided eye-contact, while Tessa gave me a knowing, approving smile.

"I uh... Sorry about that. We got a bit... carried away. I'm guessing you all decided whether or not you want to join?"

Xerez shook his head slowly and rolled his eyes, before letting out a short sigh.

"We did indeed. While we weren't overly thrilled about the idea of you joining our party under false pretenses, the fact that you're... you... makes up for that. All three of us watched you absolutely decimate everyone in that tournament, and I can only imagine how much stronger you've gotten since then... especially if you're already level 256. Add to that the fact that you're going to be some sort of empress of all the demons, and we'd have to be stupid to not see the value of joining you. All those things aside, though, we are joining you because we all thoroughly enjoyed playing with both you and... Nialla. If the rest of your clan is as awesome as the two of you are, we are psyched to meet them. So... we wholeheartedly accept your invite, Allexus."

Three notifications popped up in quick succession as the three of them accepted the clan invite. I grinned at each of them in turn as Nialla and I welcomed them officially to the clan. After giving a rough description of the other members, Shadow insisted I "regale him with the tale of pulling the blue-haired beauty from the depths of darkness and despair, and forging her into the warrior goddess he had fallen in love with." When I promised that I would introduce him to her, he gave me a tremendous bow and thanked me over and over again until Xerez cleared his throat and hissed Shadow's name. I chuckled at my new members' antics before turning to Harrow who had suddenly appeared nearby.

The woman with skin that seemed to be made of a rich red wood studied each of us with her glowing emerald eyes before settling her gaze on me. She grinned faintly as she sauntered towards me with a smoldering look that suddenly left me panting again. I couldn't help my eyes as they wandered down every delicious curve of her nude body. Her breasts were ample and full, both the perfect size to hold in my hands and have much more to spare. Each delectable mound was topped with a puffy dark reddish-brown nipple that begged to have my lips on it. Harrow slid a finger down the length of her body as she continued towards me, and I followed it and felt my breath hitch as I watched her circle the deep red cleft of her womanhood.

I heard someone speaking nearby, but I was so entranced with the gorgeous Nymphette that my brain couldn't process what was being said or even who the speaker was. As Harrow stepped with arms reach of me, I was suddenly struck with a jolt of electricity that caused me to grit my teeth in pain. Rage filled my mind as I spun on my heel towards Nialla, until I realized the haze of lust had lifted from my brain and I could think normally again. I immediately turned back towards Harrow, intent on determining what she was doing and why...

And found myself melting into her as she wrapped her arms around me and used one hand to tilt my head upwards towards her face. Her lips hovered inches away from mine, and I wanted nothing more in that moment than to-

Electricity surged through both of us, far more intense than it had been before. Again, I turned towards Nialla to vent my anger at having been interrupted, and again I felt the effects of whatever Harrow was doing to me fade to nothingness. I forced my eyes shut and forced the taller demon away from me with a single strong shove.

"ENOUGH, Harrow! Stop whatever you're doing, NOW!!"

The air trembled slightly at the power I put into my words, and I slowly began to open my eyes. As soon as they settled on the gorgeous Nymphette Demon, however, I felt that same sensation of being lost in her starting to take hold. I shut my eyes tightly as I growled loudly in anger. At first I struggled to come up with a reason she was able to manipulate me so easily, until I remembered I was still completely depowered by my Limiter.

"Power Limiter Release: 80%!"

I staggered and nearly fell to my knees as the intense orgasmic surge blasted through my body and left every nerve tingling in its wake. As soon as I felt the power flow within me, become part of me, my eyes snapped open and I locked my focus on Harrow. I moved in an instant, closing the small distance between us in a fraction of a second. My hand was wrapped around the wooden woman's neck with my claws pressed against her flesh. Small beads of what I guessed were her blood began to well up where the tips of my claws had penetrated her skin. She stared down at me with a mix of amusement and alarm.

"Explain yourself. Now!"

She croaked out a few unintelligible words and I eased my grip around her throat only enough to allow her to breathe and talk without too much difficulty.

"-needed to see how you would handle my charm ability."

I narrowed my eyes at her but otherwise said nothing, and she continued.

"Nymphette Demons have the ability to charm any who we focus on in much the same way your new clan member does. While hers creates more of a sense of submissiveness, however, my ability offers the promise of mutual bliss and pleasure. It's a subtle difference... but the effects are far more powerful. I needed to see how you would react and if it was something you could overcome. The fact that your companion with the lightning was unaffected meant she was powerful and might offer some challenge to the queen, but I needed to know how you would react. If you plan to defeat her. You'll need to be prepared to defend against powerful charm effects much stronger than my own."

I relaxed my grip on her throat and retracted my claws, but I kept my hand still on her neck as I stared up at her with an intense glare.

"OK. That makes sense. How exactly does it work? Is it hex magic?"

Harrow shook her head as much as she was able.

"No. It's a pheromone contained in the micropollen that my skin releases. The more of it you breathe in, the stronger the effect, and you were breathing it in the entire time you were... enjoying each other. It likely affected you both subconsciously, making you both feel more inclined to physically express your affections for one another."

My eyes narrowed as I realized what she meant with her heavy-handed implications.

"Your pheromones make people want to have sex?"

Harrow gave me a thoughtful look before pursing her lips slightly.

"Yes and no. My pheromones make people want to have sex with someone they are attracted to. Without me actually being present, I can't outright make someone want to have sex with another person unless they're already attracted to them. When I am present, however, then those under the effects immediately focus all of their attention on me. I become the sole object of their desire. Until the effect is dispelled in some way, any who fall victim to the effects are unable to shift their focus away and will do anything to feel the ecstasy and pleasure I'm offering them."

"OK... So... what would happen if I just... Let you have your way with me?"

Harrow raised an eyebrow in amusement and failed to hide a smirk from showing on her face. After a few seconds her expression sobered and she looked at me with an almost predatory gaze.

"I would have drained your lifeforce and added it to my own."

"Like... A Succubus?"

Harrow gave me a look of disgust and anger and her nostrils flared slightly as she glared at me.

"Absolutely not! Those parasites draw energy from their prey by sucking out their HP and MP like some kind of cursed mosquito. Nymphette Demons absorb our prey's life essence much in the same way that plants draw energy from their surroundings. Succubi leave an empty lifeless husk, but we absorb everything from our prey, and use it to grow more powerful. The fact you would compare me to such a creature is insulting. Perhaps I was wrong to-"

I released my grasp on the taller woman and held my hands up in a sort of apology.

"I didn't mean to offend with that question, Harrow. If you can look past my ignorance of the differences of a Nymphette Demon and a Succubus I'm willing to look past you all but forcing yourself on me. Deal?"

Her mouth opened as she started to object, but as she caught the serious look in my eye, she immediately closed it and gave me a slow deliberate nod. I smiled at her and took a step back so she wasn't standing less than a foot away from me.

"Alright. Why don't you tell me everything there is to know about Nymphette Demons and we'll see if we can't come up with some sort of plan to take on this queen of yours."

"Harrow... just out of curiosity, what level is this Nymphette Queen?"

Both she and I turned towards Xerez before I looked back at her with a curious expression. Harrow toyed with her lip for a few seconds before her gaze focused on me.

"Normally, In order to reach her, three of her royal guards in three separate dungeons must be beaten simultaneously by three different parties. Upon defeating them, all of the challengers will be combined into a massive party and must fight through a series of increasingly difficult combats until she appears. She is considered the Ultimate Dungeon Boss, and as such, she is extremely powerful."

I narrowed my eyes at Harrow as I considered everything.

"Earlier you said something about not even suggesting overthrowing her because you were afraid she would get wind of it. What would happen if she did?"

Harrow grinned at me as she realized I was figuring out what she likely had planned.

"She would likely send a high level minion to investigate whether or not there was any merit to such a claim. Should it prove to be true or should her minion fail to ascertain any information because... say... it was destroyed... she would likely appear with a substantial force to destroy me and create another Nymphette Demon to take my place."

"She can just create a new Nymphette Demon?"

"Of course. Remember, we are able to do pretty much anything within our own domains, and all of our domains are considered her domain to some extent."

"Are you saying she can just... take control of you and this whole domain?"

Harrow pursed her lips again and let out a long sigh.

"Yes and no. Normally, whenever the queen is in one of our domains, we relinquish control of it to her so she can use it as she wishes. If one of us were to oppose her, however, it would be an ongoing contest of will until one of us was destroyed."

"So... what happens to your domain while this contest is taking place? Would you still maintain control of it?"

"Again... yes and no. Think of each domain like a cup of water. As of this moment, I have complete control over all the water in the cup. Should the queen oppose me, however, she will start to gain control over some of that water. The more she overpowers me, the more she gains control of, eventually taking full control and forcing me out of existence. The opposite is true, however. Should I overpower her while within my own domain, I can force her out of existence and take her power for myself. In theory, anyway."

"In... theory?"

"Yes... It is only a theory because there has never been a single successful attempt to overthrow the current queen. A great number have tried in the past, but none have succeeded."

"And you think I can change that?"

"Not as you are right now... no."

I gave her a curious look and she grimaced slightly.

"I would have to relinquish total control of my domain to you."

"And that would allow me to challenge her directly?"

"... Maybe?"

Upon seeing my expression, Harrow inhaled deeply before exhaling in a deep sigh.

"You're not a Nymphette Demon... so... I don't know how to give you control of my domain for more than a few seconds. I do know a sort of... binding spell. It would effectively bind me to your will, which would, in essence, give you control of my domain, but... it wouldn't work for more than a minute or so. Nymphette Demons are highly resistant to mind control effects, so my own natural resistance would significantly cut down the time the spell would be effective."

"Are you saying I would have around one minute to beat your queen?"

Harrow grimaced again and looked away slightly.

"Yes. That is correct. Without some sort of permanent binding spell, that's the best I can offer."

Instead of getting upset at her, however, I flashed her a wide grin with my fangs bared. When she glanced back, her face morphed into an expression of confusion.

"You're... happy? I don't understand. I thought for sure you would be upset that I am not fully honoring my side of the deal."

"You said that all you need is a permanent binding spell, yes?"

"... Yes?"

I gave her a naughty grin and glanced briefly back at Nialla who was doing her best to hide an amused smile.

"Maybe you and I will 'get to know each other better' afterall."

3.67: ❤️The Queen and the Empress

The speed with which Harrow ushered Nialla and the three new recruits out of her domain scarcely left me time to do much more than tell them goodbye and give my girlfriend a quick kiss before they were practically pushed out.

Once she was certain the others were outside of the bounds of her tree, she immediately disappeared and then reappeared in front of me. All around us the entire room shifted and changed until the two of us were standing very close in what appeared to be a large bedroom with an absolutely enormous bed next to us. I looked around at our new surroundings and then back at Harrow with an eyebrow arched and a hand on my hip.

"Someone's a bit... eager."

The tall woman took a single step towards me, which was enough to close the distance between us. I fought against my urge to take the gorgeous woman in my arms and was saved the trouble when she pushed herself against me and began to kiss and suck at the spot on my neck just below my ear. A shuddering moan forced its way out of me and my eyes rolled back in my head as my sex drive ramped up immediately. I nearly lost all self control when Harrow whispered sensually in my ear.

"It seems I'm not the only one... your highness."

A thrill of pleasure at her using such a title coursed through me and a small smile played across my lips as I reveled in thoughts of domination and control. It would be so easy to take this Nymphette Demon as my own, and with her at my side, we could rule over not just the others of her kind, but all of the realms of heaven and hell. I would be the Supreme Empress and all would be subject to my every whim and desire. I could spend every waking moment in the throes of ecstacy should I choose to do so, and no one would dare question my motives.

But that wouldn't be enough... would it? No... with this amazing creature and so many others bound to my will, I would have the power to challenge whatever gods or goddesses existed in this place. I could be a goddess. The Goddess of Corruption. The second the thought entered my mind it consumed me until it was all I could think about. Harrow's oral machinations on my neck and her fingers teasing down my nude body only seemed to heighten my feelings of power and conquest.

Wait... when did I take off my clothes?

Before I could dwell on that thought for too long, I felt a jolt of pleasure as Harrow's fingers brushed against my clit. A low growl of pure lust issued from my throat as I opened my eyes and wrapped my arms around the curvaceous demon. It only took a small bit of strength to lift her off her feet and then toss her onto the bed behind her. In the time it took for her to let out a surprised gasp, I had already moved onto the bed above her and was drinking in the sight of her perfect body.

"Take me, my goddess."

Every single cell in my body screamed at me to do just that. To take this amazing creature, and show her the heights of pleasure only one who was destined to rule over everything could bring her to. But upon really considering her words, I forced myself to stop and consider exactly what was happening to me.

Harrow seemed to sense my hesitation and began to run her fingertips down the length of my body. I almost lost myself to the sensation, but fought my way through the fog that had settled in my mind and regained control of myself. I immediately grabbed both of Harrow's wrists and pinned her to the bed with a surprising amount of force. I glared at her and bared my fangs as I spoke.

"What. Are. You. Doing? Stay out of my head!"

She trembled slightly under me and began to feign innocence before letting out a small sigh and looking up at me.

"Are you certain you want me to? You seemed to enjoy thoughts of the power and authority you could obtain. I didn't create those feelings within you, Allexus; my pheromones only amplify feelings already within someone. Your mind brought the thoughts of domination and control to the surface, and the promise of our mutual pleasure in ruling over everything together was the natural conclusion. I will stop if you truly want me to, but there's no shame in allowing yourself to revel in the fantasies you yourself imagined."

Part of me wanted to argue, tell her that that wasn't who I was at my core. But the more I considered it the more I realized it was true. It went far beyond the fact that my demonic side has a constant lust for power. It was also true because I myself strive to be the number one at everything I do. I started playing Holy Damnation with the intent to be the number one solo player, and now that we were the top clan with the top players, I was constantly looking for ways to keep us there. While global domination was a far cry from wanting to be the top player, it wasn't as big of a stretch as it had seemed before I really considered it.

"I already have one lover who brings out my lust for power, Harrow. I do not need another person stoking my ego, lest I get too full of myself. I also don't like the idea of someone else influencing the way I'm thinking, even if that's just to amplify my own thoughts and desires."

"You should know that the Queen's pheromones will be significantly stronger than my own, Allexus. It wouldn't be a terrible idea to build up a tolerance to Nymphette pheromones in order to better prepare you for taking on the Queen."

I grimaced slightly before releasing my grasp on the demon woman, and sat with my legs straddled over hers. After letting out a long sigh, I nodded my head slowly.

"You said you could use them to simply amplify sexual desire already present within someone? Sort of like you were doing to me and Nialla earlier?"

She nodded.

"Inoculating myself is an excellent idea... So whatever you were doing to me before when the others were here, do that again."

I could tell she was struggling to keep an enormous grin off her face as she nodded enthusiastically.

"It would be my pleasure, Allexus. It would be far easier if you were to reset your Power Limiter, though."

I exhaled and did as she recommended. Before I was completely lost to the fog of lust quickly clouding my mind, a single thought pushed its way to the front.

"No draining my lifeforce, Harrow. I will completely destroy this tree if you attempt to do so, understood?"

She gave me a small pout, but the corners of her lips were pulling upwards in a way that I could tell she was joking. As she spoke I became entranced by watching the pillowy dark red shape of her mouth move so much that I failed to hear anything she had said. I sucked in a breath of excitement as she sat up and moved her face very close to mine. She placed a hand on either side of my face and I found myself gazing into the most gorgeous glowing emerald eyes I had ever seen. After a few seconds my mind cleared a bit and I realized she was speaking.

"Allexus, are you with me?"

I nodded very, very slowly.

"Good. If you promise me that you will do everything in your power to make me queen of the Nymphette Demons, I will promise right here and now I will never harm you and do everything in my power to support you."

After I processed what she said, I nodded again, just as slowly as before. Without a second of hesitation, Harrow pressed her lips to mine and I felt my mind surrender to the overwhelming tide of pleasure that was filling my entire being.

As we continued kissing and caressing each other with our hands, I moaned into Harrow's mouth as I felt her slide her fingers upwards from the bottom of my slit to gently stroke my clit. She used her thumb to continue to stimulate the sensitive nub as she slid two fingers into me with hardly any resistance at all. Her pheromones had me so turned on that I was literally soaking the bed beneath me. My eyes rolled back into my head as she honed in on my g-spot, and it took less than ten seconds for me to feel the rush of heat and the bloom of ecstasy push its way out of my core and ignite every nerve in my body all at once. I arched my back beneath my amazing Nymphette lover as she continued to keep me at the heights of pleasure. I lost track of the number of times I came from just her fingers, and it was only when I nearly blacked out from being overstimulated did she finally slow and let me come back down. After letting me recover for a few moments with my head resting on her chest, Harrow kissed my forehead and lifted my chin upwards for me to look up at her.

"Are you enjoying yourself, Allexus?"

I gave an enthusiastic nod and moved up slightly to kiss her. Before my lips could touch hers, however, she placed a hand on my mouth and held it there for a moment to get me to wait.

"You have an interesting bit of magic that I haven't seen before."

I gave her a strange look but immediately understood when she placed a single finger just above my pubic bone.

"Ah. Yeah. That. It was originally a "gift" from the one who turned me into a demon, but I didn't have the ability to retract it. When I remade myself I kept it but gave myself the ability to summon or dismiss it at will. Why... are you wanting me to use it on you?"

I gave her a knowing smile and was just about to will it out of my body before she shook her head.

"No. I brought it up because I want to try using the same magic on myself. But... I wasn't sure if you would be amenable to that."

I laughed softly and nodded.

"Yes, Harrow. I'm more than amenable. You are more than welcome to fuck my brains out with a sexy demon cock."

She practically beamed at me as she placed her entire hand on my groin and began channeling some sort of spell. The sensation was... odd. Like the combination of being tickled and gently poked with just the point of a needle. She stopped after a moment and then gave me a wide grin. As she sat up on the bed I watched in fascination as she willed her newly grown cock out of her body. It was even more erotic watching it happen to someone else.

"How do you want me, Queen Harrow?"

"Can I take you from behind?"

I smirked and gave her a naughty grin.

"I don't know... can you?"

She pursed her lips slightly and made a gesture to indicate she wanted me to turn over. I laughed softly through my nose as I sat up on the bed before turning my back to her. I let out a sudden gasp as I was pulled backwards into Harrow's arms and she maneuvered me into the position she wanted, all while planting soft kisses up and down my spine. Without any further prompting, I felt her push the head of her cock against my entrance and hold there. I started pushing back against her to get more of her length inside of me, but she held me in place firmly for a few seconds. After what seemed like an eternity, she eased her grip and I pushed back against her to the point of taking her entire length all at once. I groaned in pleasure as my body opened and stretched to accommodate her girth, and I felt her shudder against me as her quads hit the backs of my legs.

"Hells, you are so tight. You feel amazing, Allexus."

"Do you know what would feel even better?"

"Hmm?"

"Fuck me, Harrow."

And fuck me she did. Despite her claiming to never having had a cock before, she brought me to climax so many times I actually did begin to lose sensation in my lower body. We finished our extremely vigorous lovemaking with me riding her as fast and hard as I could manage before we both came together in a massive orgasm that left both of us totally and completely drained. At that point, we were both so tired that we simply fell asleep with me curled up on top of her, her magic demon cock still buried inside of me.

================================================================

Just addressing some of the questions I've seen in the comments

"Now, do those pregnant in-game develop a fake-pregnancy IRL?"

R: No. There won't be any actual "pregnancies" in the game between the players. Any talk of "breeding" is purely done for the debauchery of it.

"Has Allie got a house yet?"

R: Not as of the latest chapters I've written. She is definitely working towards it though.

"I feel I need cheat sheets for these stories, there's so much going on."

R: You have absolutely no idea how much I agree with that statement... and I do have cheat sheets... even with those... it's a lot. Especially now that more and more clan members keep getting added.

"I'd completely forgotten about Scythe and I've no clue who he is outside the game anymore."

R: It's difficult to include every character as much as I'd like to. That being said, unless I plan to kill them off (ominous foreshadowing????) I will rarely let any one character go too long without them at least being mentioned somewhere. Scythe is Spencer. He is Bray's boyfriend and after his demonic transformation via ritual sacrifice his class became Phantom Reaper.

""She waved enthusiastically as she took another bite of what appeared to be a danish."

Didn't expect cannibalism here"

R: *snorts* I love a good pun... I see you are someone of good taste. ????