The Hero Became a Succubus, and the Only Way to Level is to… What?!
Chapter 394 – The Dawn at Sultan’s Wake

Kanae gathered everyone into her room first thing in the morning to explain what she had seen last night. To no surprise, Claudia didn't take the news lightly. Her first instinct was to go give her fellow sisters a piece of her mind. It took Kanae, Edina, and Kris to hold her back, and she eventually settled down after being reminded a fight was inevitable.

Although that day wasn't today, it was certainly soon. Midnight, to be exact. The plans hadn't changed. When the signal at the lighthouse appeared, Petyr would dive underneath the docks to destroy the support structure, and Renya and Rasheena's resistance members would set off the explosives in the Ortesian ships. Kanae and the rest of her companions had the new task of dealing with the Queen-Mother's succubi.

"What's the plan then? We staying in to avoid being seen? Because I don't mind. I mean, some of them gotta recognize us, right?" Edina asked.

"I'm going to keep scouting the city in Human Form. I want to at least hop on Levain's edirashem to see if I can find out why she's here," Kanae explained.

"Then I'll go with. If that lamia is in league with my Mother, then I wanna know." Claudia cracked both knuckles.

"You absolutely can't." She shook her head. "If there's Queen-Mother succubi on board, they're going to recognize you for sure."

Claudia pouted and sighed. She muttered an incantation under her breath, and in the next second, her succubus features vanished. The horns and two pairs of wings were gone, leaving behind a woman with blonde pigtails and deep crimson skin.

"Hey, you look just like a regular demon now!" Kris exclaimed.

"That's because I have Demon Ancestry in me. Same goes for Alicia, too. We share the same pops," Claudia said.

"How come you've never used Human Form before?" Kanae asked.

"It's actually called Demon Form for me, and why would I deny my succubus existence by taking on another form? Anyway, now I can go with you. If you say no, I'm coming either way!" She folded her arms defiantly.

Kanae relented. Better to keep Claudia nearby than to let her roam free. Kris and Edina also wanted to tag along, and she couldn't exactly stop them. However, Petyr, who had caught up to them late last night and rented a room for herself, stood up and made for the door.

"Where are you going?" Kanae spoke up just as Petyr grabbed the doorknob.

"I'm going to scope out the docks. Don't worry, I'll keep a low profile. Well, try to anyway. Fair warning: if I see Vernon DeSalle, all bets are off," Petyr said.

"Why do you always have to be so difficult… fine." She groaned.

Petyr took a taxi carriage down to the docks, while the rest of them hailed one bound for the edirashems. Both caravans and the area around them were just as crowded as last night. Merchant stalls were set up on the wagons and on the ground in rows. Inhabitants from the city and edirashems intermingled in their own way, microcosms of their own unique cultures linked by being Savirans.

Those from Odika's edirashem carried themselves more haughtily, almost like high elves. Citizens from Levain's caravan were more blunt and forthright. And the hearty folks of Sultan's Wake were warm and welcoming, serving as the bridge between their stiffer cousins.

Kanae and her companions stepped onto a lift, which raised them up onto the second wagon of Edirashok Levain's edirashem. They entered a serene city made up of mostly abode buildings and houses with gorgeous latticework patterns on their exterior walls.

While Odika had embraced the verdant green nature from other environments on his caravan, Levain's edirashem reflected the natural beauty of Savir's deserts. Cacti as tall as trees greeted them at every corner, and desert grass grew along the roads like bushes and shrubs. Tiny critters like snakes, owls, and hares lived in harmony alongside the edirashem's inhabitants. Kanae lifted her foot as a hare darted by, jumping into a hole inside the base of a cactus to escape an owl.

But there wasn't a bustling bazaar up here like they had expected from the other. Only miserable, shackled slaves in chains sweeping the streets and tending to the flora. Lamia guards patrolled up and down the wagon, leaving behind their slithering trails in the sandy roads.

"Am I the only one who was expecting a biiiiig marketplace, a bunch of people shouting at me from vendor stalls, and like shoulder to shoulder crowds?" Kris asked.

"You're not the only one," Kanae said.

"You four!"

A pair of lamia guards in bone armor and wielding glaives, slithered up to them. Forked tongues flicked out repeatedly as if tasting the air.

"I don't recognize any of your scents. Are you all from Sultan's Wake or Edirashok Odika's edirashem? And you." A black-scaled lamia pointed to Kanae in particular and wrinkled his nose. "You smell like a dozen different people have marked their pheromones on you like a cheap whore."

"You're right, but that's rude!" Kanae cried.

"We were hoping to see Edirashok Levain's caravan for the very first time! Could you point us in the direction of the bazaar? Or the amenities!" Kris batted her eyelashes.

"New rule. Edirashok Levain doesn't permit large-scale trades on the edirashem." The other lamia, a woman of smaller species, directed behind them with her tail. "If you want to conduct business, it's back the way you came. Besides, I wouldn't stay up here long were I you."

"Why's that?" Claudia asked.

The male lamia nudged his fellow guard and shook his head, but she wouldn't budge. Kanae and the others squinted at them both curiously.

"Come on. We all know it's fucking weird," she said.

"It's about the succubi Edirashok Levain invited," her peer began with a click of his tongue, "they enslave whoever they want. Our edirashok seems perfectly fine with it. Even the guards aren't safe from them. Some of us think she's been charmed, and we're all just dancing to the orders of a puppet. That's all I'm saying. We can get in trouble speaking out against them. There's no rule about not letting people on board, but you really shouldn't stay long."

They hurried back to their patrol, leaving them with more questions than answers. 

Kanae noticed a dark elven slave woman in a simple frock, raking feces left behind by animals in the sand. She walked over and waved a hand in front of her. No reaction. The woman didn't even notice and continued working. Those lamia guards told the truth. They really were enslaved.

Freeing them was a simple matter of exerting her own charm, and then ending the effects. Kanae felt terrible, but she didn't want to draw attention. A succubus was going to get suspicious if her thralls somehow escaped being charmed.

The lift they had come up on returned, carrying with it a crew of laborers and a giant cactus plant. Kris and Edina skipped out of the way as it rolled onto the wagon on a large cart. The unblossomed bulb was about the size of an ogre, and thick cacti flared out where leaves would normally be on a flower. It smelled enticingly sweet.

Guards flagged down to the crew. Kanae inched closer from the other side of the flower. She overheard them talking about it being a delivery to Edirashok Levain herself, a gift from the viscount of Sultan's Wake. 

Kanae returned to the others and said, "They're taking it to Levain. I'm jumping in that flower to see what's going on inside. The rest of you go home and wait for me. The signal should be midnight tonight."

"Be my guest. I ain't taking a trip into a lamia's lair. Don't get caught, because I don't want to be the one to have to break you out! See you later when shit hits the fan." Edina turned tail and headed for the lift with Kris in tow, but Claudia stayed behind.

"I'm going with ya," Claudia insisted.

They quietly snuck into the bulb, careful not to get pricked by the cactus leaves on the way in. The folds of each flower petal were as thick as bedsheets and tougher than bark. Fortunately, there was an empty cavity within for them to sit in but that didn't make it any less comfortable. The stamens and pistils, the reproductive organs of the flowers, tickled their butts with fibers full of pollen.

Kanae and Claudia were chest to chest, practically embracing each other inside. Their faces turned red and hot, and the enclosed space quickly grew moist from their breaths. The cart eventually began to move, thank goodness.

"I kind of wish I was claustrophobic, because this would make for some intense mental anguish," Claudia said.

"Is pain always on your mind?" Kanae rolled her eyes.

"About as much as sex is always on yours!" She reached out and pinched Kanae's nipples, causing her to twitch uncontrollably.

The two grappled around and nearly forgot about trying to stay quiet.

"Uh. Is this flower supposed to kick? It feels like there's something inside," someone said.

"Hells if I know. It's probably blooming soon, that's why," another suggested.

They breathed a sigh of relief. Claudia had pinned Kanae beneath her. Their eyes held each other's gaze for a quiet moment. Kanae thought she saw Alicia in her, but it was a different succubus entirely. It was Claudia. The two may be sisters, but they were completely different people. Yet both of them shared a deeply rooted hurt inside.

"I wasn't always like this." Claudia laid her head down on Kanae's chest. "Would you believe me if I told you I got beat a lot as a fledgling? Mother spanked me so often for misbehaving, I still flinch every time she lifts a hand."

"Your… Your mom beat you?" Kanae stammered.

She scoffed bitterly. "I didn't get crowned Bulwark until a lot later. The first 70 years of my life, I felt pain like everyone else. Every time we screwed up or disobeyed, Mother would beat the shit out of us, starve us, or throw us in a pit of monsters too high level for us to charm. I was stupid back then. A pushover. Had sisters pin their fuck ups on me. But you know what made it worse? Mother probably knew it wasn't my fault, but she had me take their punishments anyway because I'd never speak up."

Kanae thought back to her children. She could never lay her hands on them. Any of them. She loved them far too much, and if they were to ever misbehave, a scolding was all she could ever muster. Thankfully, her kids had grown up kind, loving, and caring for one another. They had many guardians by their sides, guiding them on the right path.

But… not all succubi were as lucky.

"I'm sorry. It sounded like you had it rough." Kanae hugged Claudia and stroked the back of her head.

"Had it rough? I wanted it rougher!" Claudia grinned.

"I take back my sympathies!" she retorted.

The transport came to an abrupt stop. They lifted the entire flower and set it on the floor, then left in a hurry. Neither of them heard anything or anyone else. It seemed to be completely quiet wherever the flower had been delivered to. Kanae pressed a finger through the petals, parting them until a small opening gave way.

It looked to be a room, a big one at that with lavish furnishings. An enormous, ornate rug with gold trim spanned the length of the room. Fine cabinets and a bed were fashioned from dire beast bones. Claudia poked the other side and revealed a balcony seeing out to Sultan's Wake.

Claudia continued, "Mother was like that to all of us though, except… Amby. Around her, it was like she became a whole different person. I know we're a gigantic family, but playing favorites? What parent does that?"

"Wait. Only Ambrosia? No one else?" Kanae asked.

Before Claudia could answer, the room door flung open. Windchimes and clattering bones followed as a lamia woman of the cobra race entered the room. Edirashok Levain.

"Ah. There it is! The Dawnglory Cactus. An ironic name, given that their pollen is often used in alchemy to produce sleep potions. Even so, isn't it beautiful? Ancestors say that it blossoms during times of great upheaval, and I expect it to soon. I simply cannot wait!" Levain exclaimed, throwing out both arms as if to hug the flower.

"I'll take your word for it," a voice that put Kanae and Claudia on edge said.

The former Mistress of Pain clenched her fists and grinded her teeth. Furious eyes looked like they were about to pop out of their sockets.

Levain slithered out of the way to let none other than Ambrosia, the Mistress of Desire, through. The succubus beheld the Dawnglory Cactus with only the most lukewarm of interest. Kanae gulped hard. It didn't seem like she had noticed them yet.

They took their hushed conversation to the balcony. Claudia struggled to break free from Kanae's grasp, but she held onto her tight.

"Don't! Please, don't! We can't let her know we're here," Kanae whispered desperately.

"Shall we break over tea or coffee, Lady Ambrosia?" Levain offered, head bowed low.

"I'm not here to break bread with cattle." Ambrosia dismissed her hospitality with a light hand wave. "You're under a misunderstanding. All of you are beneath a succubus. If you weren't one of the few crowned classes that can resist me, I would have placed you under my control. However, I'm not above being grateful. You have delivered my sisters to exactly where they needed to be, and for that, I thank you."

"Even so, I live to serve the true rulers of this world!" she exclaimed and remained bowing.

Ambrosia allowed herself a soft, triumphant smile. Her gaze wandered back to the flower. Something had caught her attention. Kanae and Claudia pressed a hand to each other's mouths. Shivers ran up their spines as Ambrosia drew closer until she was inches away from the flower. The hole in the bulb only allowed them a glimpse of her legs. Neither dared to swallow the lump in their throats.

"On that note, Lady Ambrosia. When would you like to leave for Avanesse?" Levain asked.

Ambrosia spun around and returned to the balcony. Kanae and Claudia exhaled quietly. Little did the lamia know, she had just saved them. Or saved herself from a chaotic fight that might have ensued.

"Tomorrow morning at the break of dawn. It is high time to see if my sisters are worthy of succeeding their predecessors. I also wouldn't want to miss Elaine's wedding to Sultan Cerberus. Now, show me to the new slaves you promised me. Like the viscount gifted you this flower, they will be my gift to my bride-to-be sister," Ambrosia said.

"Of course! Right this way, my lady!" Levain led her away and closed the door on the way out.

"This isn't good," Kanae muttered. "If they aren't leaving until tomorrow, we'll end up fighting them when Rasheena kicks off the plan at midnight. Claudia, we have to—"

Claudia was deadweight on top of Kanae fast asleep. It was the damn pollen. She tried to push the succubus off, but exhaustion tugged on her eyelids and sapped her strength. Shit. Shit, shit, shit. Not like this. If they fell asleep now, the operation… the operation would be in… jeopardy…

Kanae closed her eyes for only a second, and that was all it took to knock her out.

They woke up after night had stretched across the horizon, and the full moon illuminated Sultan's Wake with its bright lunar rays. Kanae stirred first, followed by Claudia, who rubbed her crusty eyes.

"What happened… I remember seeing Amby, then I got tired…" Claudia grumbled.

"Damn it. I fell asleep, too. We need to get out of this thing." Kanae peered through the openings first.

It was dark, and no one seemed to be in the room. Kanae pushed through the petals until she slipped out. Claudia rolled out the other side and yelped in pain.

"You okay?" Kanae raced around.

"I fell on a fucking cactus… I think there's some spines on my ass!" Claudia yanked a cactus off her butt.

What late was it? They might still have time to call off the attack. Kanae hurried over to the balcony and looked for the lighthouse. The powerful beam of light, most certainly energized by magic, fired far off into the seas. She wondered what exactly Rasheena's signal would be. The resistance leader made it sound like it was going to be the most obvious—

Just as the thought crossed Kanae's mind, the base of the lighthouse exploded. Her eyes went wide with surprise. The lighthouse, which once stood as a monument to the city's burgeoning growth as a port, toppled over and collapsed down the cliff into the dark waters below. A blast also came from the first of the docked Ortesian ships. One of them started sinking fast. It was so loud, the city erupted into horrified screams and panic. Lights inside homes switched on and tearful citizens came out with lanterns or candles in hand to investigate.

"Your call, Kanae. What do we do?" Claudia asked.

The succubi that had entered Sultan's Wake last night flew into the sky, making a beeline for the docks.

"Plan hasn't changed. We stop the Queen-Mother succubi and buy Renya and the resistance members time. If Ambrosia shows up, hold nothing back." Kanae armed herself with Lust.

"I like what I'm hearing!" Claudia smirked, drawing her crop whip and paddle.