The Hero Became a Succubus, and the Only Way to Level is to… What?!
Chapter 408 – The Beauty vs the Beast

[Blade of the First Temptress: This weapon also serves as a casting element. Excess mana is stored in the pommel, and spells are cast from the tip. Cast spells expend the entire mana pool and its strength is magnified by the amount spent. Physical attacks from this weapon do not maim, and instead sexually stimulates the struck target on contact, then bringing them to climax reveals their deepest desire to you.]

'A sadistic succubus queen once wielded the Blade of the First Temptress to instill terror. Only her body perished upon death as punishment, so a kind succubus destroyed the weapon to save both of their souls.'

Something about the sword resonated with a familiar energy that Kanae had sensed before. The pommel started shining. It was a gentle glow at first, but now as radiant as the sun. Her new weapon did say it stored excess mana in the pommel, and Kanae had nothing but excess mana to give thanks to a number of thralls.

"Time to put this weapon to the test. I'm also naked, so Exhibitionist Spellcasting is boosting my magic!" Kanae brandished the sword towards a group of succubi and their charmed thralls. "Hailstorm!"

What was once a mildly strong area of effect spell now came down hard like a freezing tempest. Hail the size of basketballs battered the incoming group, knocking succubi out of the air. Two feet of snow and slush blanketed the ground, putting a stop to charmed thralls' advance. Many became frozen into blocks of ice, helpless within their chilly prison.

"I don't recall your Hailstorm being that powerful…" Alicia gaped.

"It's thanks to my new Blade of the First Temptress!" Kanae jumped with joy, marveling at how the pommel was quickly filling with mana again. "This should tip the scales in our favor though… er… wait. If I came out of the Rift with an incredibly strong enchanted item, then—"

A deafening roar rang out from the far side of the engine room, so loud that everyone squeezed their ears shut. Kanae and Alicia thought the succubi cultists had brought a bear in here.

"aaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHhhhhhh—" Something hurled Edina screaming across the room. The squirreling landed in front of them, most of her bone armor scattered over the ground after such a hard landing. She sat up, groaning and disoriented.

"What in three hells did you two come back? Things suddenly got worse!" Rasheena complained from behind them, battered from head to toe.

"Uh, well… We both triumphed over the Rift. Problem is, Jhene won something out of it, too," Kanae explained.

"Keep herding the cattles into their pens! These are my prey," a growling voice said.

The horde of succubi parted aside or lifted into the air, giving way to their hulking counterpart. Jhene's heavy footfalls sounded like they belonged to giants. She was already tall to begin with as a hobgoblin but now stood at a staggering nine feet tall, two whole feet taller than before. Muscles rippled from every inch of her body, pulled taut against the dark and scarred skin.

Jhene wore a necklace made of bones that she didn't have before, and a desiccate heart dangled from it. The organ looked nothing like any humanoids. Four throbbing chambers pulsed with life despite the dry and shriveled appearance. But what really stood out to the four of them gaping in awe was the projection of a gigantic grizzly bear on the succubus' back.

"I might not have won, but Regallis gave me something good outta the tie. Bestial Heart. Now it won't matter if I run outta shrunken heads. I'll still have this as back-up. So, it's time to pay you back for earlier! Aspect of the Cheetah!" The beast behind Jhene transformed into the black-spotted cat she had just shouted out and, in a blink of an eye, was on top of them.

"Kanae!" Alicia shoved Kanae away and took a thunderous blow that sent her crashing into the wall.

"Oh, fuck. Not aga—" Edina barely reformed her bone armor in time and took Jhene's roundhouse kick to the head.

Kanae and Rasheena squared up against the Mistress of Subjugation. Her speed and dexterity made it hard to land any attacks. Retreat wasn't an option. Every time they tried to put distance between themselves and her, she caught back up in an instant.

[Quarry Jhene has been marked as Prey.]

Was that Thrill of the Hunter? The ten seconds rule of the skill had passed since Kanae started fighting Jhene. This was good. However, it made her weaker against everyone else.

"Rasheena, help Edina and Alicia back up and take care of everyone else. Leave Jhene to me!" Kanae exclaimed.

"Shit. That doesn't sound any easier. Fine, but don't go dying on us!" Rasheena sprinted off to help Edina first.

"You really think you can take me one on one?" Jhene laughed.

"I'm not alone." She smiled in return.

"Huh? That squirreling half-succubus has a better chance of beating me than you. Whatever. I'm going to maul the shit outta you and give your beaten body to Elaine as a wedding gift. Aspect of the Bear!" The Mistress of Subjugation roared, calling forth a grizzly to replace the cheetah.

Kanae activated Irresistible Seductress as Jhene struck out. Bear claws came down across her chest— and left hardly a scratch.

"What?!" Jhene gasped.

It wasn't that the attack didn't hurt. Kanae was certain that getting mauled hurt very much. It was just that Jhene's attack had hurt others instead.

[Irresistible Seductress (Active): Any damage inflicted on you is redistributed to thralls under your Charm, Mass Charm, Enthrall, and afflicted with Cursemark of Horniness.]

"My turn! Time to see what you can do!" Kanae slashed Jhene with the Blade of the First Temptress.

"Aspect of the Armoredillo!" Jhene blocked the attack expecting it not to hurt, but she dropped to one knee and winced. "Nnnnh… What did you do? The amoredillo… is supposed to… raise my defenses…"

"This sword doesn't actually hurt you. It does, however, arouse you like we're doing foreplay." She winked.

Infuriated, Jhene launched into a flurry of attacks in Aspect of the Cheetah. It was obvious to Kanae that she wanted to overwhelm her with sheer speed. But every strike brought the hobgoblin succubus within retaliation range. Kanae didn't need to land every blow, only just enough.

Both of them faced each other down from only a few meters apart. Jhene trembled so much, her legs were about to give in.

Kanae neared her limits, too. The active skill of Irresistible Seductress showed the extent of its ability. She had been attacked so much, her Cursemarked thralls and prisoners must be spent. Wounds were beginning to open on her legs, arms, and torso.

"Aspect… of the Dire Wolf…" Jhene panted, granting herself a vicious lupine beast for one last go.

"Bring it…" Kanae raised the Blade of the First Temptress and braced her heels on the ground.

They stared one another down for a few seconds longer, then charged at the same time. The two clashed for a final draw and staggered a few steps past each other. Kanae pressed a hand to the gash on her stomach and heard Jhene snickering from behind… until Jhene sucked in a deep breath and collapsed to the floor.

"Kuh! I'm… I'm cumming?! Ah! Aaaaaaahhhhhhh!" Jhene squealed a surprisingly feminine cry despite her brash, tomboyish nature.

In that same moment, a vision came to Kanae. It was of Jhene, flying side by side with fellow sisters as they pursued a pack of dire beasts in an open plains. The dream shifted. Now, they sat in front of a warm fire, roasting meat from their hunt, eating together, sharing stories, and laughing. Another shift, and Jhene stood triumphant on top of a leviathan-sized monster while her sisters cheered.

Kanae casted Flash Heal using the blade and closed her wound. She walked up to Jhene, who was lying face down and still twitching from climaxing.

"You can still have a life like that, you know? Like when we were in the Rift. In the Commonwealth, you do what you want. Not what someone else like the Queen-Mother wants," Kanae explained.

"It's not… the Queen-Mother… holding my dreams… hostage… It's…" Jhene's eyes rolled to the back of her head.

"Hey, come on!" She kneeled down to try and shake her head. "Don't go passing out right as you were about to say something important! Arrgghh!"

No use. The Mistress of Subjugation was out like a light. Kanae rushed past the fighting to check on Alicia, who was sitting upright against a fallen pillar.

"You defeated Jhene." Alicia smiled and pressed a hand to Kanae's cheek.

"I just made her cum a few times." Kanae chuckled.

"There's still like a hundred succubi and hundreds of charmed fuckers! How about a little help?" Edina cried.

Jhene going down didn't make a single one of the cultists waver. If anything, they fought with more ferocity, desperate to protect the temple. Scores of undead fell at a time, pummeled by magic and their renewed vigor. The succubi started shoving people into the portals and didn't care if anyone got trampled in the process.

"We need to ground the temple! Edina, can you do anything about the giant crystal?" Kanae asked.

"Whaddya take me for? Petyr? I guess I can try. Sacrifice Undead!" Edina destroyed a large number of her shambling army, amalgamating their bones onto her body into a pseudo-lich monstrosity. Wielding the combined Pillar of the Damned and Scythe of Soul Reaping, she plunged the curved blade into the man-sized crystal. It sank an inch, and Edina wrenched her weapon out to continue shearing.

The temple shuddered. Some of the portals flickered. The more perceptive succubi realized what was going on and tried to intercept Edina. Kanae and Alicia intercepted them first, guarding the necromancer with their lives.

An overhead slash cleaved the crystal in two, and the flying temple went into free fall. The chamber ceiling slammed into them. Kanae grabbed a hold of Alicia and embraced her. They hit the surface of the earth with an ear-shattering crash. Rubble rained down on them as chambers and corridors all over the temple collapsed.

"I… I think we hit the ground…" Alicia murmured.

Something large pounded a side of the engine room. A giant skeletal talon punched a hole through and tore the sandstone wall down. Dim light flooded in, and so did Edina's undead dragon, forcing its head through and letting loose a roar.

Hundreds of people surged through the open entrance, overwhelming the succubi and their thralls. The scales of battle had finally tipped against their favor.

"Commander!" A harpy scout soared overhead shouting for Rasheena.

"Down here! What's happening outside?" Rasheena beckoned to the beastman.

"The succubi left the city in droves to defend the temple. We seized the chance to launch an offensive while they were gone. Only just recently, many of the thralls snapped out of their charmed state. Now, battles are erupting all over The Claw, The Commons, and The Royal Grounds," he explained.

It must have happened when Edina destroyed the engine room's crystal.

"Where did the temple land?" Kanae asked, grabbing him by the shoulder.

"The oasis around Isha Palace. But the Avanessi royal army and Ortesians are retreating from The Claw. They will be in The Royal Grounds within the half hour," he said.

"Then we need to rejoin the resistance to mount an assault on the palace. We've grounded their temple, so it's now or never!" Rasheena howled, drawing raucous cheers from her people.

"Wait a sec. I'm still naked! I gotta find my stuff!" she groaned.

"I don't know. I rather like the look of your bare self." Alicia bit down on her lower lip.

Kanae turned beet red. A tiny skeletal rat climbed onto her shoulder and nibbled on some hair.

"Leave it to me," Edina's voice came through the squeaking critter. "Now that we're on the ground, I'm calling an army of undead rats to scour the temple. And you know, there ain't no shortage of rats in any big city! It's only a matter of time. You guys go ahead, and I'll bring your stuff to you as soon as I find it!"

"But I'm so tired of fighting naked already! Ugh, fine. At least I have my sword." Kanae sighed.

"Follow the naked succubus!" Rasheena shouted.

"Nnh…" She was starting to get wet now that all eyes were on her.

Together with Alicia, Kanae led half of the resistance out of the temple. The other half and Edina's undead army stayed behind to make sure the cultists couldn't regain control of the temple.

It was absolute chaos outside. As soon as Kanae emerged from the bottom floor of the temple, smoke filled her nostrils. Magical explosions boomed across the city, near and far. The oasis was only waist-deep from where she was standing and hardly submerged the temple. Carriages rushed past them on the man-made sandstone bridge, leading from The Royal Grounds' plaza to Isha Palace.

The resistance wasn't afforded rest. They waded back onto land only to meet steel and arrows from the city guards. Rasheena snarled as they were being forced back, until Kanae casted Mass Charm over their aggressors.

"Our forces are still supremely dwarfed by the combined might of the royal army, Ortesians, and succubi cultists. We need to apprehend Cerberus and put an end to this," Rasheena implored.

"With just us? Not happening. Kanae is still missing most of her equipment. We must— and I hate that I'm saying this— regroup with Petyr. We need her strength to overwhelm Claudia, and Praijya to free my sister," Alicia explained.

"I'm with Alicia." Kanae nodded in agreement. "Let's rally at The Claw and—"

The earth shuddered. A giant shadow shrouded the entire plaza. Everyone glanced up to find the skeleton of a gargantuan sandworm falling from the upper canyon. It destroyed the bridge to Isha Palace on the way down and sent a massive ripple through the oasis.

"You're not escaping while I draw breath." Riben Crow descended from the sky on the back of an undead gryphon, and Necronomicon floated ominously beside him.

Four death knights blocked every exit out of the plaza, and an army of undead humanoids and monsters cornered the resistance back to the waters.

"Fucking necromancers!" Rasheena groaned.

"Damn it, Riben! Is bringing your family back really worth all this destruction?" Kanae shouted.

Riben scoffed. "Yes, it is. Don't tell me you wouldn't do the same for your own family, Demon Queen of the Commonwealth. I've learned of you. How you went to great lengths to resurrect a loved one. Why am I the villain for doing the same? Sultan Cerberus promised me a war great enough to quench Necronomicon's thirst, then I'll finally have my family back."

"Kanae, this isn't looking good. At the very least, I can make you or Rasheena invisible and escape," Alicia whispered under her breath.

Giving Rasheena an escape was the obvious choice. They had no reason to help with the coup otherwise. Kanae was about to give the order until Ortesian soldiers came charging in from the southeastern street.

No, actually… Charging didn't seem to describe them properly. They fled in panic, without weapons in hand, and with terror written all over their faces.

"HELP!" one cried.

"I didn't sign up to fight the Knight of Gold!" another screamed at the top of his lungs.

"Get back here! What kind of Ortesian knight retreats? Get back here and tell me where that bastard, Arnault Pyrelle, is hiding! SHOW YOURSELF, YOU FUCKING COWARD!" Petyr boomed furiously.

"What? The imperials are… fleeing?" Riben squinted.

A bolt of arcane energies screeched through the sky, nearly knocking Riben off his undead mount. Bright flashes of light erupted, followed by the thundering crack of a paladin's smite. One of the death knights guarding that road dropped to one knee, then another smite took off its head. The rest of the body crumpled into bones and plate armor.

Renya blasted stray undead in the mayhem, and one of her clones met Kanae's eyes. She whistled sharply, signaling to the building rooftops. Romira's Stalkers revealed themselves firing bolts primed fiery payloads. They combusted on the ground and undead warriors. But the shots weren't random. Their attack pattern wreathed a path to keep other undeads and Ortesians at bay, but left an opening to escape.

"Over here! We're falling back to The Commons!" a Renya clone shouted.

Threatened by a hail of crossbow bolts, Riben cursed under his breath and retreated behind a statue of Sultan Cerberus. Kanae, Alicia, and Rasheena corralled the rest of the resistance into the fire, where they made a run for it down the road.

"Petyr, Renya! Holy shit, am I glad to see you two!" Kanae exclaimed as she flew alongside Renya running on foot.

"Why hello, sexy. You know I'm always there to make a grand entrance!" Renya winked.

"The last thing I wanted to see is you naked. Where's the necromancer? Not that I care," Petyr asked.

"Stayed behind at the temple… We've destroyed the crystal powering it, but hopefully, Edina and the others make it out later," she explained wistfully.

The streets of Avanesse were filled with rubble. Fires had mostly subsided, but the city continued to billow with smoke. Petyr and Renya brought them to a large luxury hotel called Dashim, a crescent building standing at five stories high but taking up an entire block. Resistance members had barricaded the streets with all manner of rubble and makeshift spikes. They let Kanae and everyone through after Rasheena made herself known.

So many people were injured lying outside of Dasheem on bedrolls and cots. There weren't enough priests to heal and take care of them. Physicians only bandaged the wounded, giving most of their attention to those critically injured. Kanae grew nauseous thinking about how many innocents were suffering from this war. It hit too close to home.

"I… I need to find my officers. See who's still able and… out of commission," Rasheena said, hobbling towards the hotel with a limp to her gait.

"Will we really be safe here?" Kanae asked the others.

They shrugged.

"In a city undergoing its own civil war? It ain't safe anywhere, baby. But this is as safe as it's going to get until the next attack," Renya explained.

"That's fine. I need a shower, a bath, and a nice hot meal that isn't just fruits and monster spunk." Kanae slumped down against the lip of a water fountain.

"Perhaps we should take it inside then?" Alicia suggested and threw a cloak around Kanae's body.

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