The Hero Became a Succubus, and the Only Way to Level is to… What?!
Chapter 385 – Cragtoise Crossing

Life on Odika's edirashem was like living in the lap of luxury. The residence he gave them put their previous accommodations to utter shame. It had a bathhouse and sauna room downstairs powered by magic, similar to Dreizel's Bathhouse Wonderland but without the illusions. Kanae and Claudia bathed in cool water within a large marble tub, the first of 'cold' anything since coming to Savir. Flickering wax candles emitted a sweet floral scent, and they could just fall right to sleep…

KNOCK. KNOCK. KNOCK!

"Will you two hurry up? It's my turn! Do I have to go in there and drag you out?" Petyr shouted from the other side of the door.

"You can come in and join us instead!" Claudia replied invitingly.

"I'd rather drown you," she said.

"I'm starting to prune anyway. Get up, Claudia. I don't want to get drowned by an angry high elf." Kanae rose from the bath, dried herself off with a towel, and threw on one of the silken robes hanging near the door.

They emerged from the bathhouse to an impatient Petyr, foot restlessly tapping the polished floorboard. Claudia stuck a tongue out at her, but she ignored the succubus and slipped inside before slamming the door.

"I think Petty's starting to hate me. She doesn't punch me like she used to." Claudia pouted.

"Stop calling me 'Petty'!" Petyr growled from inside.

"I'm pretty sure Petyr stopped punching you for a very different reason. You know, because you tend to get off to that?" Kanae rolled her eyes.

The mansion had a couple of bedchambers. Petyr occupied the largest one which likely belonged to the exiled nobleman who owned this place. But that didn't mean the guest chambers were any less lavish. Edina also had a room to herself, because no one wanted to be around a bunch of undead minions and Corpsestitched abominations. Kris and Renya bunked together in another room. That left the three succubi to the last one, situated on the front corner of the manor and overlooking the busy avenue of the forewagon.

Kanae opened the window, letting in the arid air to dry them down. She peered outside. From here, she couldn't see the edges of the wagon. Too many buildings and people. Anyone could easily mistake the block as a city on the surface of the earth, rather than on a moving vehicle.

"I feel like we haven't stopped to rest in a while." Claudia sighed.

"You're telling me." Kanae turned around to find the succubus lying face-up in the round bed. "I wanted to go back home months ago. How are you and Alicia holding up? It can't be easy fighting your own sisters."

She sat up and smirked. "Heh. You'd think so. But we'd fuck as much as we fight. Obviously, it's a little more personal this time around. Alicia and I can't wait to send Jhene and Elaine back to Mother all beaten up. Still… If it were up to me, I wish we didn't have to fight each other…"

Kanae moved to comfort Claudia until someone knocked on the front door.

"Kanae, can you get that? I'm kinda busy!" Edina shouted from the adjacent room.

"Where's Renya and Kris?" Kanae poked her head into the hallway.

"They went out to buy shit, I dunno!" The squirreling sounded like she couldn't be bothered, and Petyr was downstairs in the bath.

Left with no choice, Kanae descended from the second floor and opted against getting dressed. She kept her silk robe on, eager to give whoever was at the door a little tease. As soon as Kanae opened the door, she came faced with the chiseled abs of a minotaur bigger than the door frame. He lowered his head into view, but his horns were still out of sight.

"Edirashok Odika sends his courtesy. These are for you," the minotaur said in a deep voice and stepped aside to show her a cart of food, wine, and a display case full of jewelry. "I am Forewagon Conductor Durok. If there is anything else you need, do not hesitate to seek me out."

"It's a pleasure to meet your cock— I mean, Durok!" Kanae blushed bright red and absentmindedly twirled a lock of her long black. "Oh, screw it." She drew closer, resting a hand on his broad chest and the other stroking his inner thigh. "There is something I need from you, big guy."

Durok looked taken aback, but his surprise only lasted briefly. Kanae felt the outline of the massive cock twitch behind his leather pants. Her pussy dripped in anticipation to see it unleashed. He reached out and cupped her face with thick fingers. She seductively sucked on the thumb he had hooked into her mouth.

"Who's visiting?" Petyr asked.

Kanae and Durok snapped away.

"I should go." Durok cleared his throat and hurried off.

"Damn it." Kanae pushed the cart he had left behind in. "Th-That was the forewagon conductor! He brought us some gifts from Odika."

Petyr picked up a bottle of Avanessi whiskey and headed back upstairs to her room. Kanae quietly threw a tantrum, having been left high and dry. She licked her lips, shuddering from the taste Durok had left behind. At least she knew he was interested.

As the days passed, Kanae eagerly waited for Odika's invitation to his palace. She wanted the chance to sneak off with the minotaur hunk. But the invitation still hadn't come. Maybe she should have asked Alicia to Magical Stealth her in. The rogue succubus checked in from time to time to report that nothing suspicious had been found. Yet.

According to Alicia's reports, Odika and Rasheena spoke very little to each other in the palace. She suspected they must be communicating by code or another way. Unless they were onto her, there shouldn't have been a need to.

The farther west they went, the less dry the atmosphere became. Moisture filled the air to create a muggy atmosphere. Sand dunes dwindled to specks of sand blowing across a savanna. Tall yellow grass swayed at the mercy of arid winds, hiding lurking predators wary of the enormous caravan. The edirashem even swapped out the treads for wheels more appropriate for the change in terrain.

Unfortunately, it was too much to hope for a smooth journey. Kanae and Edina were browsing magical trinkets in the forewagon bazaar when the edirashem grinded to a halt. The entire wagon jostled. Some people stumbled over. Edina face-planted into Kanae's breasts.

"Cragtoise crossing! Cragtoise crossing!" a crier shouted from the crow's nest of the forewagon.

"What's going on?" Kanae asked the elven shopkeeper.

"Looks like we're shit out of luck, toots. Cragtoise are burrowing tortoise dire beasts. They migrate from the coast to inner Savir around this time to lay eggs. The 'shem can't cross until they cross first. We probably woulda made it past if it wasn't for that stop at Spineridge," he explained.

Kanae and Edina exchanged glances. They flew high and past the shade of the canopy to get a better look. The forewagon had stopped in front of giant, slow-moving boulders— No, not boulders. Those were shells. Countless cragtoise stretching out of sight from either directions mosied on at a snail's pace. They were way too large for the edirashem's large-sized wagons to pass over, and doing so might result in a lot of damage.

Figures inhabited the cavernous shells. Small, red-faced primate creatures with olive fur climbed about inside, hitching a free ride.

"What if we just killed the damn things?" Edina suggested.

"We can't just go around killing everything." Kanae sighed.

They returned to the manor for now, but found Rasheena waiting outside in the courtyard. The hell hound glanced up and beckoned to them.

"Kanae, Edina! Perfect timing!" Rasheena waved.

"There's cragtoise blocking the way. Is that going to be a problem?" Kanae asked.

"I was just about to request that you take care of that! We got unlucky and couldn't beat their migration path. As a succubus, you have the means to force them to let us pass. Just don't hurt them. Those creatures are a vital part of Savir's ecosystem. Be careful though. Mesmerobos are a race of chimps that live symbiotically with cragtoise and are very protective of them. Their tails can cast hypnotic magic to ward off would-be hunters," she explained.

That wasn't a problem. Kanae had just the means to counter it. She gathered Petyr and Claudia to help, but the former refused to leave the mansion after already taking a bath.

They soared off the forewagon and descended to the cragtoise parade. The sun beat down on them with its intense rays. Lucky for them, cragtoise shells came in all shapes and sizes. Kanae, Edina, and Claudia landed in the shade atop on.

Inside the shells, the sound of mesmerobos grunted and shouted. Edina looked inside, only to have a hard fruit thrown at her face.

"Ow! Grrrr. I'll show these stupid chimps!" Edina was about to climb inside until Claudia grabbed her by the scruff of her neck. "What're you doing, ya masochistic bimbo? Let me at 'em!"

"We don't want to cause a scene with the mesmerobos. We only need to get the cragtoise to stop long enough for the edirashem to pass. Edina, keep watch. I'll charm and stop the ones closer to the caravan. Claudia, take the ones farther up the pack, " Kanae instructed.

"You got it!" Claudia dragged Edina with her.

Kanae tapped her Collar of Subjugation and seized control of the craigtoise she was standing on. The massive beast stopped. She proceeded to Mass Charm the ones nearby, compelling them to stop in a line. Those that she didn't charm crossed the rest of the way and left a clear path for the edirashem, which began to roll ahead now. Cheers erupted all over from aboard the caravan.

"Hey!" Rasheena shouted from above. "Just hang in there until the last wagon is through!"

"Yeah, yeah. Just take your time," Kanae said.

A two-foot tall, bug-eyed mesmerobo climbed out from the shell. It stared at her curiously, brows furrowed in frustration.

Kanae kneeled down, sending the creature scrambling back inside. But not completely. The mesmerobo hid within the shadow of the cragtoise's inner shell, waving something at her. Its tail. The long appendage flicked side to side and had a glowing green gemstone attached to the very tip.

"Awww. You're trying to hypnotize me, aren't you? Sorry. Won't work. See this?" Kanae pointed to the vulgar tattoo calling her a 'cock-hungry whore'. "The ink makes me immune to your magic."

Wait. She was immune. Edina and Claudia weren't.

"Uh, oh." Kanae shrunk as her two friends hovered menacingly above, their eyes shining with the same green hue from the mesmerobo tail gem.

They dogpiled her at once. One would have been fine, but Kanae couldn't overpower two. She reached for her wand too late. It slipped from her grasp and landed precariously near the edge. They dragged her into the cragtoise shell, where a dozen mesmerobos yipped and danced from recesses in the walls.

"Guys, snap out of it! If we're not on the edirashem when it passes, we're screwed!" Kanae yelled, but neither of them reacted.

"Ooh, ooh! Kii!" A mesmerobo landed on top of her chest and groped them.

Which mesmerobo was it? Which one had Edina and Claudia hypnotized? Kanae resisted the urge to charm every mesmerobo to be sure, but she risked the currently charmed cragtoise breaking free and marching into the edirashem.

Another chimp pushed Kanae's legs apart and sniffed her pussy. She glanced down, and he had a raging erection. The bright red cock throbbed for release. As if Edina and Claudia weren't bad enough, horny mesmerobos jumped down all around, holding down her arms and legs.

"Wait— ooummph?!"

The one on Kanae's chest shoved its cock into her mouth, and the other slammed into her pussy. No matter how hard she kicked and struggled, they had her in a vise. Impatient mesmerobos swarmed. They sucked on her nipples, jerked off on her face, and fingered her asshole. Others even wrapped her hair around their pricks.

To make matters worse, Kanae was beginning to like it. At some point, her hypnotized companions backed away as more and more mesmerobos piled in, and they started molesting the two instead. It became a full-blown orgy inside the cramped shell of the cragtoise.

A new pair of mesmerobos double-teamed Kanae's ass and pussy. She gladly bounced on their slippery cocks.

"I can't get enough… I'm surrounded by dicks… These chimps are going to get me pregnant! I'm cumming…!" Kanae cried.

"Oook! Ooook!" A particularly horny one jumped onto Kanae's head, hands on her horns, and face-fucked her. Bucking hips pummeled his cock down her throat like a jackhammer. 

"Shlluurrp… mmmm! Shllrrp… sho… good!" She swallowed load after load even after he emptied his balls.

The mesmerobo collapsed to the ground unconscious. When the two fucking her blew their loads, they tried to get off. Kanae wouldn't let them.

"Tsk, tsk." Kanae wagged her tail and smiled. "If I don't know which one of you has my friends charmed, I'm just going to have to fuck all of you unconscious. Turn Horny!" She casted her signature spell to get them hard again.

A couple of tired chimps made a break for the exit, but Kanae yanked them down by their tails. She drained every single one. All 35, to be exact, laid passed out on the floor in a pool of their own jizz.

"My win…" Kanae panted.

But Claudia and Edina were out cold, too. Both of them were covered in mesmerobo spunk. She hoisted Claudia onto her back, picked up Edina by the tail, and climbed out of the cragtoise shell. The charmed dire beasts hadn't moved an inch, thank goodness. But the edirashem had already passed them.

The large rearwagon was maybe a hundred meters away, and the next closest vehicle was a small cargo carriage trailing along in the back.

"It's now or never." Kanae lifted off the shell, but carrying a grown adult and a pint-sized adult was tough. She had no choice but to fly. The sun burned no matter where in Savir they were, its curse from Sultan Cerberus' ancestors draining her of life.

Close. Just a little more. Kanae's eyes fluttered. Her lungs were on fire. She struggled to stay awake. Her body gave out, and the three of them plummeted from the sky. They landed in the little carriage. Soft textiles and neatly-folded draperies broke their fall.

"Raiders?! Do you bastards know who's edirashem this belongs to?" A ragged elven man brandishing a spear gasped as he climbed onto the back of the wagon. "What the… Oh, ho-ho! It ain't every day some sexy women drops in to say hello~"

"Hands off my friends. You're welcome to have your way with me… but I'd appreciate some help getting back up top in exchange…" Kanae rubbed her head and groaned.