22th day of the month of the Green Elf (February) 10:17 PM

  "How long is it until we get there?”

  Almodea asked as she sat relaxed in the carriage, watching her mother and Hirashi, who were in front of her.

  At that moment, they were on their way to the Imperial Capital for some errands, as well as to establish relationships with some of the most important nobles, such as the Great Eight, who surpassed the crown in at least one aspect, be it wealth or military might. Talia was with them, but she was sleeping quietly in a corner, while C scratched her head like she was a puppy.

  Besides them, there were three other women with reddish skin and black eyes, equipped with both wings and horns, dressed in rather revealing white dresses, similar to wedding bridesmaids. The name of that species was Succubus Bride— a type of demon that could be summoned, often for carnal pleasure.

  However, Almodea treated them more like playmates than sex slaves. In theory, the carriage couldn't physically accommodate six people, especially with two of them being well over two meters tall, but thanks to a device created by Shockwave, the carriage was twice as large inside as it was outside.

  "For the capital about a few days- we'll stop in one of the towns a little further on."

  C replied, smiling mischievously at her daughter.

  “For your goal, however...We have to wait for the friends of our dear Tod to accidentally ambush us.”

  The woman laughed lightly at her own words; she found something comical in it all.

  "I hope he does it quickly! The last few days have been a bit slow, even for Alcina..."

  Almodea snorted, alluding to the rather boring missions she and her father had been on in the weeks since the cemetery incident. She and the Succubus Brides had teleported onto the carriage with a very specific objective: capture the gang members who would attack them. She was allowed to kill, but only those who proved incapable of using magic or Battle Arts.

  That was precisely the reason they were traveling on wheels in the first place. Besides being an excellent cover and a chance to show off their wealth, thus attracting the attention of the nobles, it would also be an effective way to find humans useful to their purposes. Those wouldn't be short of bandits to hunt, and it didn't matter if they had families or loved ones to provide for—if they had to have scruples, they would always be left with nothing at the end.

  "I have a couple of questions for you, Almodea. If I may..."

  Hirashi asked, breaking the falling silence in the carriage. Her tone was cold but reverent, as if she were addressing someone important.

  "Sure, just ask!"

  Almodea's answer was obviously very casual, with a tone more suited to a conversation between sisters.

  "Thank you. The first one concerns the mess at the cemetery; what does the public opinion think?"

  “Hmm…From what I understand, Dad told the guards that a sorcerer wanted to turn the city of Arel into an army of undead to create a kingdom or something.”

  Almodea shrugged, as if she didn't really care about those things.

  "The lack of bodies of those responsible made it easier to make the mayor believe whatever we wanted. No one would doubt a hero, right?"

  The girl admitted the last part with an amused tone, as if she loved the idea of such high-level manipulation of the facts with little effort.

  "My second question is a little more private..."

  "Tell me! I have no secrets with my sister!"

  That statement was all too true. Almodea had zero privacy with Hirashi—she would tell her everything she thought without filtering it, which made discussions about intimate matters very strange. Hirashi was not a shy girl, but the intimate sphere wasn’t something she used to think about often.

  "It has to do with- "

  The giant woman paused, not out of embarrassment, but more out of confusion. She wasn't sure how to ask the next question, especially since no one had brought up the topic until then.

  Hirashi shifted her emotionless gaze straight to Almodea and the three succubi standing beside her: one was stroking her ponytail, handling the demoness’s long red hair with surgical care, as if it were a treasure. Another was massaging her left wing, and the last had grabbed her right arm and was cuddling it with a toothy grin.

  Every woman she meets falls on her feet.

  Almodea was an inhuman beauty, and Hirashi couldn't deny it—even though she was a superhuman beauty herself. When she walked the streets in her human disguise, a lot of heads turned, among both men and women.

  However, her beauty was of a different nature. Hirashi embodied the image of a strong and capable woman, perfect in everything she did; so attractive and intimidating that no one could deny her anything.

  Almodea, on the other hand, represented a more feminine beauty, with modest breasts and curves bordering on perfection, not to mention that her face alone would have made any man fall at her feet. The same was true with women—as soon as the three succubi saw her, they were immediately infatuated by her beauty.

  "Well...Um...Look, I'll be honest, okay? I know you're the harem type, but I didn't think you'd actually start a harem so quickly."

  "Huh? Harem? No! It's not a Harem!"

  "And are the three of them necessary?"

  "Yes!"

  Almodea crossed her arms, puffing out her cheeks slightly.

  “Dad summoned these for me as a gift for my battle against Desmond!”

  "I have a different question: Why succubi?"

  C asked, chuckling.

  "Because I chose them! Plus, they're Succubus Brides! They're perfect for being my friends!"

  It wasn't entirely true; summoning the three succubi had actually been an experiment. Summoning demons might had advantages over using undead, as the former were more intelligent and versatile, but their loyalty wasn't guaranteed, which is why Almodeus hadn't yet summoned any native demons from that world through a ritual.

  It was thanks to those three succubi that they learned various things about the infernal beings of that world. First, the Lesser Demons didn't have their own names and couldn't remain in the human world for too long without one.

  Furthermore, it seemed that not all demons sought power. For example, as soon as they saw Almodeus, the succubi immediately asked to leave, utterly terrified, completely ignoring of the thought of a reward. They had tried summoning other demons from the hell of that world, but most refused the call, despite the power offered. The three succubi had accepted only because they would be put in the service of Almodea, with whom they immediately fell over hells for.

  It had been entirely by chance that the three had agreed. Almodea hadn't even tried summoning anyone, assuming she'd get the same result as her father. Another thing they'd learned about the demons of that world was that they could offer various payments for a summoning—it didn't have to be just energy, but also corpses or magical objects. However, they had not experimented with that; there had not been the means or the time to do so.

  “Wouldn’t have been better, I don’t know…Hellhounds or other strong demons?”

  Hirashi asked, looking at it logically, even though she knew the answer that was coming.

  “It was hard to summon these three, and they're also cute! I think they're good friends for me! That's the important thing!”

  Almodea puffed out her cheeks even more. She didn't like being criticized for her tastes, especially by someone who know them as well as Hirashi.

  “Lady Almodea, calm down. Everything is fine! We are happy to serve you; you are much better than our previous masters!”

  “True! You're amazing! You don't just use us for sex and you don't beat us! Those things you call anime are fun to watch! And the pop-corn? Delicius!”

  “Yeah! They're incredibly cool! I love it when people are naked in the bathroom scenes- it turns me on!”

  Seeing their mistress's mild irritation, the succubi pressed against her, increasing the pace of their tasks in an attempt to please her. They truly enjoyed spending time with Almodea, and for the first time in their lives, they were happy. They didn't necessarily want a romantic or sexual relationship, just the joy of serving her. This was the extent of their loyalty to the girl who had made their lives better.

  “This is…Relaxing.”

  "Pfff...!"

  C couldn't hold back her laughter any longer. The scene before her was the maximum comedy. What had begun as a sister argument between Hirashi and Almodea—the former being the mature one and the latter the childish one—had escalated into a situation where her daughter was being pampered by her new friends.

  "You're adorable! I could stay here watching you all day!"

  "Doesn't it bother you?"

  "Not at all, Hirashi! I know my daughter and her tastes- questionable of course, but... Can I tell her something? She's not doing anything wrong and she's not hurting anyone. Besides, if it makes her happy, that's fine by me!"

  "You're a good mother..."

  Hirashi commented, nodding. She admired how C was so permissive with her daughter's preferences, despite being the strict parent between her and Almodeus. She then shifted her gaze to her sister, who was still a little irritated from the previous interaction.

  I think she took it bad...

  Hirashi sighed and lowered her head, apologizing.

  "Look, I wasn't criticizing you, Almodea. I was just curious. Forgive me if it seemed otherwise."

  Almodea's cheeks deflated as she nodded. The girl knew she was just being immature right now; she couldn't be that way with Hirashi when she was doing everything she could not to offend her. She decided to shrug and put on a happy smile.

  "Don't worry, I'm not offended! You're right, actually...I love the idea of having a harem, but I'd hate to put it into practice."

  That admission raised eyebrows in both Hirashi and C. Almodea not wanting a harem? Really? Did she not want to be surrounded by women who only wanted to please her?

  It doesn't make sense...

  Hirashi herself couldn't understand why Almodea had responded that way- it wasn't like her at all.

  "Really? And why?"

  "Because how can you tell your partner? I mean...A serious relationship is complicated and I want a serious thing with my partner- not a one-night stand! I would only have a harem if all the people in it agreed to it!"

  "That's…very mature of you. I admit, I'm surprised."

  Hirashi was genuinely astonished by her sister's explanation. She knew Almodea wasn't immature 100% of the time, but such reasoning was still rare for someone like her sister. The girl might have moments where she reasoned like a true adult, but those were still situations that needed to be marked down and remembered for life.

  "Yes! I have a heart too! It's made of dark ink like my body, but-"

  "Now that I think about it...Girls, do you have anyone you like?"

  C's question caused silence to fall in the carriage. It was a classic mother question, and she began to chuckle when she saw the other two girls pondering about it. They weren't embarrassed, but weren’t happy to answer such a strange and casual question either.

  "I do not..."

  "Same as Hirashi. In the old world, I was hoping to find someone at school, but I ended up here before I even started."

  C smiled at the two and rubbed her hands together like a mother preparing a ready response. Although honest, their answers masked their true feelings under a veneer of indifference. They were more interested in finding someone than they'd care to admit- she was sure of that about Almodea. As for Hirashi, C had her doubts. Not even she could understand what that gigantic mountain was thinking at times.

  "Okay, I accept this answer! I have another question! You - “

  "Hm?"

  Almodea raised an eyebrow when she heard the carriage stop abruptly and interrupted her mother mid-sentence with TV-series timing – just before the fateful question.

  "Hey! Get your ass out! Hurry up! "

  A man shouted, banging on the carriage door, which was locked from the inside.

  "Oh...We've arrived at our first destination I see!"

  C commented, laughing to herself. Tod had finally led them to the bandits who would be their prey.

  "You're right, Mom! What do you say? Should we give them a warm welcome?"

  Almodea replied, smiling innocently- as her three succubi pulled away from her and sat with their hands on their thighs, awaiting orders.

  "Sure, darling. Have fun, my little one."

  “Finally-"

  The daughter's smile grew wider and more mischievous, as she tried to hold back her laughter so as not to be heard by those outside.

  "-Let's have some fun!"

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Todelius Rotmayer had always been an unlucky man in his life.

  Born into a family of poor peasants in one of the minor fiefdoms of the Nexia Empire, he had always lived in poverty with his grumpy parents and two younger sisters, the only people to whom he had truly bonded and who, as they grew up, became his only source of happiness in that cruel world.

  At the age of sixteen, he was conscripted into the Imperial army and sent to fight the Kingdom of Ashen. When he returned from one of his many military conscriptions, he discovered- to his horror- that his sisters had been sold into slavery by their parents to a nobleman, to avoid starvation. The news shocked him so much that he ran away from home that very day. He disowned his parents and began to wander from town to town in search of works to survive.

  During his wanderings, he joined the assault division of an organization known as Dark Calling, which hired him into its ranks as a brigand and fake coachman. The job paid well, much better than being a simple farmer- but even so- he missed his beloved sisters. For this reason, he continued working as a fake coachman for over ten years. It was undoubtedly a job that paid enough to live in luxury, not to mention that being able to abuse the merchandise —both for his own sexual pleasures and as a personal revenge against the nobility who had taken his beloved little sisters from him—was a feeling that made Tod smile every time.

  However, Todelius secretly hoped to meet his beloved sisters again one day, and to be able to take them away with him.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Now, Todelius Rotmayer —or simply Tod—stood before yet another carriage he had sent to feed his colleagues. About thirty men had emerged from the nearby woods, surrounding the wagon, clad in dirty armor and tattered clothes, armed with dull-bladed swords and axes.

  "Get out! Get your ass moving!"

  One of the men near the carriage shouted, as Tod watched, smiling. Everything was going according to plan.

  "Hey, guys! Do you think I can give that redhead a whack before I take her to the lair?"

  Stolen novel; please report.

  He asked with his shrill, perverse voice.

  "No! The orders are to take them to the base and demand a ransom, but that only applies to the noblewoman. You can do whatever you want with her bodyguard..."

  One of the men next to him replied, adjusting his helmet to better cover his face. Despite having done this trick dozens and dozens of times, some still felt unsure, despite their numerical advantage.

  It was natural for the less daring to be hesitant. According to Tod's account, the carriage's mistress was guarded by a huge woman, with biceps as big as tree trunks and a height that made each of them feel dwarfed. There were many of them, but if the guard had been on the level of an adventurer of Emerald or Diamond rank, their numbers wouldn't have made that much difference.

  Adventurers, even low-ranking ones, were vastly stronger than common folk. It was a difference that couldn't be explained by simple training. It was theorized that it was due to a spontaneous evolution of the human body, occurring as a result of the stimuli it received. It wasn't a confirmed theory, but it wasn't far-fetched either: if monsters could evolve, why shouldn't humans?

  Diamond-rank adventurers were rare, but they could single-handedly eliminate a small army. Within Dark Calling, there were individuals with strength comparable to first-rate adventurers- the representatives of the security division: the Dark Heroes. Ten men considered as powerful as the aforementioned Diamond-rank adventurers. This was also one of the main reasons why no one had yet succeeded in eliminating the organization that was ruling the Empire from behind the scenes.

  "Come on, please! Just one hit! There's no fun with the guard! Muscular women are not my type!"

  "Listen...shut up, okay?"

  "But I brought them here to you-"

  "You did your job, now shut up! Take the guard or nothing!"

  The man ordered him, ending the discussion in a harsh, authoritative tone, ignoring Tod's requests.

  "Exactly! Take the guard! It doesn't matter if she's a little bigger than normal! She's still a woman!"

  Another added, also quite annoyed by the coachman's complaints- who would have responded in kind, if everyone's attention had not been attracted by the opening of the carriage door and the exit of a red-haired woman, of unimaginable beauty by the standards to which those brigands were accustomed.

  Even Tod had been stunned the first time he saw Lady Charlotte in person. The woman didn't have exaggerated curves, but elegant ones that managed to attract the attention of anyone who observed her: the combination of that beautiful gaze, her crimson hair, and her mature body had completely silenced all the men present. Even the most stoic ones had closed their mouths, opening them only to let out a surprised “ohhh."

  "Wow! Tod wasn't kidding! You're very talented for a blue blood from another country!"

  Commented the man who had been banging on the carriage door. Now there was only infatuation in his tone, and saliva on his mouth, which he could barely contain.

  "You are very kind..."

  The woman replied, smiling slightly. That action alone made the men in front of her drool even more. Many would have even gladly forgotten their mission if she had offered to do them some favors.

  The man in front of C was no exception. However, he somehow resisted the urge and began to move his hand closer to the woman's breast.

  "No, you're the nice one! You're so beautiful and curvy! If you behave well, no one will harm you, darling!"

  The man's smile disappeared when he noticed that his hand had not reached its intended destination, and instead was lying on the ground along with part of the wrist.

  "W-What?! M-My hand!!?"

  The bandit brought his other arm to the wound, trying to quell the spray of blood pouring from his torn wrist. Confusion spread; all the men slowly began to emerge from their infatuation, completely shocked by the event. C, however, smiled at the incident, as if it were a normal occurrence.

  "You must excuse us, but my little girl doesn't like her mommy being touched without permission by filthy hands like yours."

  Suddenly, something much taller rose up behind C. It was a woman like the previous one, but much more developed and less human. The new figure said nothing and opened her mouth-making it four times its normal opening- then bit down on the head of the man with the missing hand, severing it in less than a second. The head was spat out shortly after, landing in front of the rest of the gang. Some badits suddenly vomited seeing the head, deformed by the jaws of that mysterious monster, rolling towards them.

  -It shouldn't have gone this way, not even close!

  "Disgusting..."

  Almodea commented, as she returned her mouth to its original size. She wiped away the blood that had remained on her lips, then spread her wings and assumed the stance of a dragon defending its treasure. In that case, was her mother.

  "W-What?!"

  "Oh, no!"

  "Back! Everyone back!"

  The men began to retreat in fear, weapons in hand. Their previous infatuation, and the resulting happiness, had given way to total fear.

  "A Dragonoid! Fuck!"

  One of the soldiers commented, drawing his sword, an action that all the others copied except Tod, who instead tried to flee.

  "Mhmm...They're not that fun, but they'll do well as punching bag. Can you girls help me?"

  At that call, three succubi leaped from the carriage and charged at the men with disarming fury. Even though the women were dressed only in white and their attendants were equipped with weapons and armor, the clash could not be called as such: it was a one-sided massacre.

  The succubi proved themselves swift and brutal. They pounced on their targets like hungry vultures and killed them mercilessly, leaving no time to react. The men's armor was of no use, as the demons' claws pierced them like butter. The swords might have done something, if managed to reached the targets but that was impossible, given the three women's disarming speed—an ironic twist, considering they were wearing high heels that should have slowed them down.

  Almodea was no exception, charging into the fray like a wild beast, tearing apart everything in her path. While armor was of little use against the succubi, it was barely noticeable against Almodea. A few swords managed to strike her, but shattered against the slender frame of the girl, as if they had struck dragon scales.

  A Dragonoid? If only they knew...

  C thought as she watched her daughter carry out the slaughter. Almodea might indeed give the impression of being in part dragon, given the wings she would extend from her back on command, but it was nothing more than a bluff. The explanation for those parts was worthy of her daughter's playful nature: Almodea had always been a dragon lover and, being able to modify her body to a certain extent, she often took on a draconic form, or even just her wings for movement or her tail to use as a weapon.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Shit! Shit! Shit!

  As the bandits' numbers were thinned out, Tod took to the run, hoping to lose his trail in the nearby woods.

  Why did it end like this?!!

  He kept repeating it in his mind, racing like a running champ. Tod wanted to vomit as he heard the screams of his comrades being torn to pieces.

  What did I do wrong? What?! What?!!!!!

  He couldn't find an answer to those questions. It was simply the way the world worked; the strong crushed the weak. Tod couldn't complain; he himself would have done what he wanted if he were the strong one. But was it really right for someone who was strong to go that far? The four women could have chased them away without killing them; what did they gain by killing them all?

  They're beasts... No, actually...They're monsters!

  Calling those things that were slaughtering his companions beasts would be an insult to every animal on the planet. A beast hunted out of necessity, not for pleasure. That latter thing was done by monsters, beings who reveled in the pain of others.

  I have to run! I have to live!

  Tod was obviously armed, but only with a small knife that was easily concealed in his pants pocket. How could he compete against creatures that could bite off a human head with a stupid knife? Simple, he couldn't.

  Tod began to wonder what he'd done to those monsters. He didn't remember attacking or harming them—could it all be the fault of the carriage owner? Had she discovered that he betrayed her? How? When? Was she the one commanding those monstrous beasts?

  Speaking of them, who the hell were they? How had they gotten on the carriage without him noticing? Where had the woman on guard gone? Was it all a cover?

  -Suddenly, his desperate flight was stopped by something colossal that appeared before him.

  "W-What?!"

  Tod found himself facing a gigantic woman, covered in a black jacket and with a gaze as dull as an extinct bonfire. He tried to defend himself with the meager knife, but it broke as soon as it came into contact with the creature in front of him.

  -Now he was really in deep shit.

  "I advise you not to try to be clever..."

  The giantess spoke. Tod recognized that voice. It was identical to Lady Charlotte's bodyguard, the woman who had hired him. If he had been struck by the former's beauty, the latter's size had been what make he shiver from fear: he had never known a woman so large and powerful. Tod had felt inferior when they first met, and now he felt even more inferior after that same woman had revealed her true form, somehow managing to become even larger and more intimidating than before.

  "Y-You are...?"

  The woman raised her right hand and put a finger on her own lips, then pointed with her left hand behind Tod.

  "Shut up, someone wants to talk to you..."

  Tod whirled around and saw Lady Charlotte approaching. The woman's incredible, inhuman beauty, even in her original form, managed to lower—albeit slightly—Tod's heartbeat.

  "L-Lady Charlotte! I-I can explain everything to you! You see, I... My sisters... They forced me! I-"

  "Don't worry, it's not necessary."

  This time, too, the man was interrupted before he could finish speaking. The woman's calm, reassuring voice calmed him further, making him forget the massacre Tod had witnessed moments earlier.

  "You've been a good coachman, dear Tod. I think you deserve a reward."

  C raised her hands and held them out to the man, as if inviting him to dance. Tod swallowed a couple of times and smiled, his earlier fear slowly giving way to infatuation. He took a few steps forward to take the woman's hands. He immediately noticed that she was slightly different than before: her skin was grayer, and her brown eyes had a reddish rim. She looked more demonic, but he didn't care—he wanted her for himself, all to himself.

  "There, good boy..."

  Tod grabbed C's hands and let the woman guide him. She began to lean closer, as if she wanted to kiss him. She stopped a few inches from his nose and smiled, then began breathing heavily, flooding his face with her breath, further infatuating him.

  "If my husband were here, he'd make you scream in terror. I'm not as skilled as he is, but I know how to make a man scream."

  The woman's words were unexpectedly harsh, lacking the warm, seductive tone they'd had before. Now they were cold and icy, like Tod's hands, which had recently begun to freeze and smoke.

  "Huh? What!"

  The man shook off his infatuation and released the woman's hands, but it was too late; the ice began to creep up his body, starting right from his appendages. Tod began to cry out in pain, not only from the ice slowly covering his body, but also from the feeling of his skin burning beneath it, with smoke billowing from the cold layer.

  "Burns, huh? I control both fire and ice."

  C began to explain, smiling wickedly.

  “It may not be a great power, but I can fuse the two to create True Ice- ice as cold as snow and as hot as lava! Right now, I'm not only covering your body with cold frost, but I'm also burning your skin with it. At the same time, the exposed skin tissue burns even more as it comes into contact with the low temperature of my ice: I'm essentially burning you in two different ways at once! Ingenious, huh?”

  "Please! Stop! Please! Please! I'm sorry!"

  Tod's pleas were of no avail. C simply watched as the ice surrounded him. Within minutes, he lost the ability to move his limbs, and soon after, only his head remained free from the icy torment.

  "Please! Spare me! Spare me! Aurora, Ramena....Forgive m—"

  Tod final words were the names of his beloved sisters. His pleas were silenced by the ice, which first blocked his mouth, then his nose, and finally his eyes, effectively transforming him into a sculpture. A true work of art: icy despair.

  “Normally, I would have taken his soul before killing him-”

  C muttered, bringing a hand over her mouth, as if to hide herlaughter.

  "But we've had that since he signed the employment contract. He should have read the fine print."

  She immediately turned to Hirashi and winked at her.

  "All that's left is to claim it! Hirashi...Can I borrow your muscles, please?"

  The pale woman nodded and, without waiting for confirmation, clenched her right hand and swung it toward Tod's sculpture. Her powerful punch shattered it into a thousand pieces. The force of the impact was so devastating that several nearby trees fell to the ground, uprooted by the shockwave of Hirashi's fist alone.

  "Well done! 100/10! As soon as we get to town I'll make you something to eat as a reward!"

  C began to applaud, while Hirashi returned to a composed position and nodded, smiling slightly at the compliments and reward announced by the other woman.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  After a few minutes, there were no more bandits. Dozens and dozens of corpses lay on the ground, slaughtered without the slightest respect for the deceased. The soil was covered in blood and guts, causing C 's shoes to make a strange noise as she walked around the area.

  In fact, only one man had survived, but he was being interrogated by the Succubus Brides.

  "Damn! None of them knew how to use magic or the Battle Arts. What a shame!"

  Almodea sighed as she returned to her normal form, the claws on her right hand and the dragon wings disappearing.

  "It will be for another time, my child..."

  Her mother answered, smiling.

  "Lady Almodea!"

  One of the succubi approached her, holding the last man by the throat.

  "Yes? What's up, Daniela?"

  "This man says there's a bandit base nearby, similar to the one you raided a few days ago. However, this one seems to house a certain El Kaiser, a human capable of using the Battle Arts."

  "Are you sure he's telling the truth?"

  Almodea crossed her arms, slightly doubtful after the recent battle. From what she'd heard, the bandits they'd just faced were considered strong too, but their definition of strength probably differed slightly from that of the world they lived in now.

  "Yes, my mistress. I used Charm to extract the information from him."

  Almodea dropped her arms to her sides, then leaned toward the man, staring straight into his eyes, her own glowing with a blood-red light. She was using a level 5 spell called Charm Eye, which allowed the target to have less resistance. It was a sort of superior version of Charm, which was only a level 3 spell.

  "Is it true, human? Is there a man that strong?"

  "Yes! The man's name is El Kaiser. It is said that he is the equal of the great Captain Gareth Stronghold, and that he has only lost once in his entire career, to the Captain himself. I have seen him defeat numerous enemies with a single blow of his sword!"

  "As good as Gareth Stronghold, huh?"

  Almodea knew that name well—it was the man she and her father had met in Anna's village a few weeks earlier. The name had stuck with her because Almodeus had shown interest in the human, and also because the Captain shared the name of one of the playing cards the demoness collected.

  "I heard about him myself while I was undercover. He's considered one of the strongest warriors in the entire Empire, if not the strongest..."

  Hirashi commented, crossing her arms and looking at the human, as if to assess whether he was telling the truth or not.

  "His reputation promises well, then!"

  Almodea laughed happily and clapped her hands. If the information was correct, then the mission hadn't been a complete failure after all. But now another question arose: what use would they make of the human they'd just captured? Killing him would have been the most logical thing to do, but...

  I know what to do with this sack of meat.

  ...Almodea had a different plan.

  "Girls! How about trying out the power-ups Daddy gave you?"

  She asked with a sneer, receiving a positive response from the succubi, who descended on the man like vultures. They began draining his blood, replacing it with demonic one, even tearing off chunks of his flesh.

  "What are they doing to him?"

  C asked, unsure whether the succubi were eating the man or dismembering him. She only knew that, judging by the screams, the process must have been extremely painful.

  "To prevent my servants from dying easily, Dad gave my succubi extra abilities! Not only did he make them more durable and with regenerative skills, but now they can turn humans into Half- Demons! Basically, mindless, lesser demons who only obey me!"

  "Ohhh, interesting!"

  After the transformation was complete, the man looked more dead than alive. He had two horns on his forehead and wings on his back. His skin had turned gray, and his eyes were white and pupilless. He had become stronger, rising to level 21—nothing great, but significantly better than his level 4 as a human.

  "Good, Half-Demon! Now fly up and show us the way!"

  The new demon nodded and spread his wings, slowly starting to move towards the area his mistress wanted.

  "My daughter, I think we should separate here. Please! Don't cause any trouble, okay?"

  C said, hugging Almodea. She hugged her back and snorted, feigning irritation.

  "Okay! Okay! It's not like I'm always causing trouble, you know? Hirashi isn't the only one who knows how to hold back..."

  With that, Almodea turned to her servants and summoned her dragon wings once again, spreading them in all their grandeur and majesty. It was clear she loved showing them off, as if it were something she had earned.

  "Ready to go, girls?"

  "Yes, Lady Almodea!"

  The three succubi responded in unison, opening their own wings: these were different from their mistress's. They were smaller and thinner, similar to a bat's.

  "Then let's go!"

  With that, Almodea took flight, closely followed by the three succubi.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  "They grow so fast. It seemed like just yesterday she turned into a Kraken while I was bathing her!"

  Comment C, wiping away a tear of joy that was falling down her cheek. After Almodea and her subordinates disappeared into the sky, she turned to the carriage, now driverless. They would have to explain Tod's disappearance to the authorities, if they had asked. It was not a problem: no one would care about a man like him.

  Now there was another, far less important, predicament: who would drive the carriage? C didn't know how, and Hirashi was too big to sit in the driver's seat. Perhaps she would have to have someone else transform into a Half-Demon, but she hadn't thought of that.

  "You know, Hirashi...I think we'll have to call someone from the tower."

  "It's not necessary."

  Hirashi raised her hand to an empty spot and created a black circle. Dark energy erupted from the circle, revealing a woman in snow-white armor, with long black hair and dark eyes. She was a truly superhuman beauty, with perfect features and a height of six feet, accentuated by her high-heeled boots. What was most striking, besides her aforementioned beauty, were her inhuman features, such as the two curved horns on her forehead or the black feathered wings sprouting from her back.

  "You also summon Esoterica like your mother?"

  In the old world, the Esoterica were the personal servants created by Nikusa, the Queen of Chaos and Hirashi's mother. They were similar to the Valkyries, only infinitely stronger and more resilient. The Esoterica served Nikusa tirelessly, viewing her as an absolute Queen and an invincible Goddess, so much so that they created their own cult where they venerated her: the "Cult of the Supreme Queen."

  Naturally, this blind loyalty and unwavering adulation naturally extended to her offspring: Hirashi. However, unlike her mother, Hirashi had always found the Esoterica's extreme adoration for her quite embarrassing, to the point of feeling uncomfortable in their presence, as they mistook—and always did—every little gesture of hers as something entirely different.

  If she were to unfortunately yawn in their presence, the Esoterica would bombard her with questions about what was wrong and how they could help, or even immediately take action, preparing her coffee to keep her awake or herbal teas to help her sleep.

  It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that Hirashi's unemotional nature had led many Esoterica to believe they had failed her and, consequently, to ask to offer their lives as a path to forgiveness. Fortunately, none had ever committed suicide, but the years had made Hirashi more cautious around these fanatical creatures her mother had created.

  For these reasons, she had never directly summoned an Esoterica herself, but the situation had made her want to experiment. Perhaps the servants she sired would be less fanatical, since Hirashi didn't want to be worshiped as a Goddess, nor did she see herself as such.

  "Yeah, it's easy enough. You just need to know how to control chaos to generate one. I'll call this girl...Yor."

  The Esoterica immediately bowed to Hirashi, then raised her head toward the woman with a proud look, not so much for herself, but more for the opportunity to serve her new mistress. It was clear that she, too, would be a damned fanatic.

  Despite this, Yor would have been a valuable asset to their cover. Besides being an additional layer of protection for C, the Esoterica remained a level 100 creature, capable of using Void Magic. Esoterica were highly versatile when created, like characters in a video game. In that case, Yor was designed to specialize in defending one or more targets, maintaining good mobility and attack power. It was a sort of mini-tank.

  "It is an honor for me to be named, Queen Hirashi..."

  "You can only call me Hirashi, or Lady Hirashi if you really want. I'm not worthy of being called Queen..."

  "Certainly! Lady Hirashi, then! Forgive me first, how can I make amends? Do you want me to—"

  “No.“

  The pale woman immediately interrupted, knowing where the conversation was going. She had had too many like that and that absolute devotion made her more tired than eight straight hours of training, that she could do without breaking a sweat.

  "Stop the record. You just have to drive the carriage. Let's not start this story again, please."

  "C-Certainly! Forgive me, Lady Hirashi!"

  "And stop apologizing when you've done nothing. Look, if I'm dissatisfied with your services, I'll tell you, okay? And don't apologize every two minutes..."

  "Of course, Lady Hirashi! I didn't mean to bully you! I'm asking—"

  Yor stopped, realizing that she was repeating her previous mistake and immediately corrected herself.

  "-I ask...Um...To be able to get on the carriage! Yes..."

  "Granted."

  The armored woman climbed into the carriage and took the reins of the horses, awaiting future orders. She seemed genuinely happy to be able to serve her new mistress. Hirashi, on the other hand, was rubbing her eyes. She was already tired of being waited on hand and foot—it wasn't for her.

  Me a Queen? That would be a bad joke.

  She didn't care about that title, but she respected it since that was what her mother used.

  "Now I understand why you never mention them; how do you not go crazy?"

  C commented, quite shocked and amused by the interaction. She hadn't expected such devotion; it reminded her of some of the A.L. Bots.

  "I don't know...maybe I have a strong mind?"

  The woman replied as she climbed into the carriage, closely followed by C, who sat down and laughed amusedly.

  “You know the saying, right? A strong body equals a strong mind! And your body is the strongest I know, so your mind will be just as powerful!”

  C patted the other woman's arm a few times as the carriage began to move, driven by Yor.

  "No one but your mother could have created such beings. They're perfect for her vanity, eh eh!"

  "Yes, exactly like that..."

  At the thought of her mother, a faint smile spread across Hirashi's face. He knew she was missing for now, and she wasn't sure if she was in that world with them. However, she was 100% certain of one thing: no matter what reality Nikusa was in, it wasn't her who was in danger, but the very universe that hosted her.