The Hero Became a Succubus, and the Only Way to Level is to… What?!
Chapter 412 – Re-Reunited

The sisters didn't have time to celebrate. A series of bellowing horns sounded across The Royal Grounds. Rasheena's ears perked up to the drumming that followed, and the look on her face suggested that it was anything but good.

"What's going on?" Kanae asked.

"The war drums of the Avanessi royal army…" Rasheena kicked a discarded helmet and cursed. "They answer only to the sultan. I was wondering where they were. It seems the main force had been rallying. We need to regroup and pull back before they overwhelm us. Pick up the wounded, but leave the dead! Follow me to Edirashok Colonnades!"

Kanae, Alicia, and Claudia watched in shock as they marched deeper into The Royal Ground. But Rasheena must have a plan, and none of them wants to be around when a country's primary fighting force arrives.

"Kanae, what about Praijya and the two Dervishes?" Alicia snapped in the direction the trio had disappeared to.

"Leave them. If I heard Sofisa right, those three are going to be long gone," Kanae explained.

As the resistance picked itself up to follow after Rasheena, Kanae trudged through the crowds towards Petyr. Maybe it shouldn't have come as a surprise, but the high elf was still standing. Bodies littered all over the streets and buildings had crumbled around them. Mostly high elves, Avanessi guards, and undead parts.

Petyr stood over Arnault Pyrelle, who was on his knees and the magic staff broken in two. His once beautiful hair disheveled and matted with sweat. The paladin had Smite infused to her maul, primed to pummel the defeated man.

"Do it, Stormcloud! Give in to that rage of yours and finish me!" Arnault taunted her.

"Don't fall for it! We can question him instead. He's worth more to us alive than a ketchup stain on the road!" Kanae exclaimed.

"I don't think Petyr intends to listen to reason!" Alicia warned.

Petyr shot them a side-eyed glare. "You want me to spare this sorry waste of existence? I originally wanted to ruin his pretty face and send him back to Guillaume as a message." She hoisted the weapon up for an overhead swing. "I'm thinking sending Arnault to an early grave will make for a more satisfying letter."

"Wait, wait—"

Alicia and Claudia jumped into action. They stopped her from taking Arnault's life. Alicia grabbed onto Petyr from behind, and Claudia pushed against the head of the warhammer with both hands.

"You're a member of Amethyst Hall… Disobeying the Knight-Commander is insubordination," Alicia chided.

"Fuck my ass sideways! All that holy energy is stinging my hands something fierce. You're really out for blood, ain't ya?" Claudia chuckled nervously.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't. I can give you one reason why I should. Look around you," Petyr urged.

Kanae did as Petyr suggested. Many people that littered the ground, but strewn about them were… children. Not citizens caught in the crossfire of battle, but kids as young as ten dressed for war, wielding weapons too big for their hands, and those still conscious were crying.

It was hard to watch. Nausea welled up in Kanae's stomach. Something gnawed at her heart. Lying on the curb was a whimpering high elven teen with long blonde hair that reminded her of Kanade.

What was Ortesia thinking drafting children into their army?

Heartache turned to anger. That anger boiled the blood in Kanae's veins. Petyr was a better person than her for holding back and not throwing the sisters off.

"Petyr, the one you should be directing your hate to is the Empire of Ortesia. Arnault is just another piece on the chess board. I'm sure burying him six feet under will feel really good. But we can humiliate him more by keeping him hostage," Kanae reasoned.

"Over my dead body, you fiendish cur. I'll never—"

Kanae clamped her tail pussy over Arnault's face, draining him until his body went limp. When she let go, he crumpled to the ground unconscious.

"I know you're a good person. You have a lot of sharp edges, sure. Remember Victa? Remember what she said when we helped her to pass on? Ortesia may have made you into what you are, but you don't have to let them continue to define you," Kanae said.

Petyr sighed. Violent holy energies on her warhammer subsided. Alicia and Claudia slowly backed away, fearful that she might redirect her anger at them instead. She walked a few feet past Kanae and stopped.

"These children have lost their childhood. It's something they will never get back. Their talents, drive, and innocence… gone. Reduced to weapons in an armory, left to collect dust when rusted or broken beyond repair. That is unforgivable." Without another word, Petyr left in the direction of the fleeing resistance.

"Didn't peg her to be so soft," Claudia said.

"Don't let her hear you say that… I just got you back." Alicia rolled her eyes.

"Petyr threw us a bone, so let's not waste it. Claudia, grab Arnault." Kanae spread her wings, and they took off flying east of the district together.

From the air, they saw two large forces sweeping across the city. One in The Royal Grounds, emerging from the northwestern barracks. Another in The Commons, which quickly overwhelmed pockets of resistance. Even the holdout at the luxury hotel Dashim surrendered. The Avanessi royal army was swift and surgical.

Kanae and the others caught up to the resistance rushing into Edirashok Colonnades, a sub-district of The Royal Grounds. It was a lavish place set on a terrace and accessed by a short flight of stairs. A long row of columns made of sandstone framed the way. People pulled aside spiked barricades along the stairs to let them and the resistance through.

At the top, they were greeted by a rectangular pool. Long buildings crafted with intricate mouldings flared out at the corners like rays of the fiery sun. A particularly tall pillar extended high above any structure in the colonnade. Copper plaques were embedded into its stonework, but some of them were too faded to make out what they said.

"By The Many!" someone gasped.

Kanae turned to Edirashok Odika, who stumbled out of a nearby building in shock. He looked worse for wear, but no longer mind-controlled by the cult's temple.

"Cerberus has set the Avanessi royal army loose in the city. Who else among the edirashoks are raising their weapons to the cause?" Rasheena asked.

"About that…" Odika anxiously turned around.

Two people came out, one of whom Kanae recognized. Zayn and a skittish dark elven woman. She locked eyes with the rotund edirashok, who averted his gaze in a mixture of fear and somber. They had a peculiar relationship a while back when she was… of a different form. But her body still remembered.

The other introduced herself as Edirashok Misiah. Misiah was of young adult age in her early 30s. She might have looked younger if not for being hunched over. It didn't seem like an ailment, because she occasionally straightened her back. The dark elf appeared to be in a perpetual state of paranoia, hands clasped together, and eyes darting every which way. A kind of ochre-colored clay had been mixed into her black hair to form thick dreads. She wore an intricate, light-weight red gown interwoven with hollow beads and jewels.

"It's her! The succubus who attacked us!" Misiah cried suddenly, pointing at Claudia.

"Huh?" Claudia cocked her head as armed soldiers behind the edirashoks drew their weapons.

Alicia whipped out both daggers to protect her sister.

"Wait, I think I know what's going on! Claudia was being controlled by Ambrosia earlier. Not anymore though. She's one of us." Kanae jumped between them.

"Oh, yeah. My bad, guys! I'm actually on your side." Claudia lifted both hands in the air.

Edirashok Misiah didn't back down until Rasheena stepped in.

"Misiah, call off your people. Claudia won't harm you. Even if she and the other two succubi here want to, there's nothing we can do to stop them," Rasheen explained.

"Is… Is that supposed to reassure me?" Misiah chewed on her thumbnail.

"Kanae." The hell hound woman turned with a sigh. "Why don't you and your companions head to Crystal Lodge? I'll calm things down here and get you caught up later."

Rasheena ordered one of her men to lead Kanae and the others there. Crystal Lodge was an opulent spa on the first floor and a lodging on the second. It quickly became clear to them that Edirashok Colonnade was entirely dedicated to the people, and those in their close circle, in the namesake. At least originally. Now, the place served as another holdout for the resistance.

Few people were lounging inside except for workers going about their duties in a nervous wreck. Who could blame them either? A civil war was going on outside, and the resistance had just taken over Edirashok Colonnade. None of them even questioned a high elf and succubi, carrying an unconscious high elf, waltzing upstairs to a suite.

They threw Arnault inside and tied him to a chair. It took a couple of slaps to wake the Ortesian up.

"What an unpleasant feeling." Arnault shook his head and groaned. "You may do your worst, but I'll not say a thing to any of you scum."

"All we have to do is wait until your anti-succubus magic potion wears off. You will tell us everything. Make it easier on yourself. I might even find some food for you so you don't starve here if you cooperate," Kanae said.

"I'll make sure to spit in it first. I promised Kanae not to kill you, Arnault. I didn't make any promises to leave your limbs intact, starting at the fingering tips. Answer my question: what are you doing here?" Petyr asked, brandishing her warhammer.

He cursed under his breath.

"Nothing you don't already suspect," Arnault heaved a sigh before starting. "The specifics of Guillaume's plans elude even me. But we came to Savir for two reasons. First, to make an Ortesian foothold out of Avanesse. Losing Port Kandis after the failed invasion of the Commonwealth hurt the empire's economy. The crown didn't realize how much we relied on imports from the eastern city-states. Second, to satisfy the cult's need for thralls and slaves. I believe you were present in Vanuis when the temple lifted off. The brewing civil war made it easy for us to ingratiate ourselves into Sultan Cerberus' good graces."

"The emperor and empress don't know House Pyrelle is aligned with succubi?" Petyr narrowed her gaze suspiciously.

"Hmm. Perhaps. Not that anyone would believe such hearsay, and those rumors are quickly squashed. Our dear Emperor Eugene and Empress Danielle of House Cinderwall will abdicate the throne to my house soon. Their powers have waned significantly in recent years. They hear no news but their own bickerings about bygone days of glory," he explained with a laugh.

In other words, the power structure had been shifting more and more to House Pyrelle for a while now. The Empire of Ortesia's new leadership was just a lackey of the Cult of Lust and Depravity though.

"What about Ambrosia's plans here?" Kanae asked, knowing full well what the Mistress of Desire sought.

"That succubus would sooner put down a dog bowl for me than converse with me. She gave me orders to repel the likes of Rasheena and the resistance. That's it," he said.

Until the reversal potion wore off, Arnault wasn't going to tell them any of the important bits. Kanae casted Sleep on the high elf, putting him out like a light. Petyr glowered before storming out of the room.

The remaining three decided to head down to make use of the spa. Kanae asked a couple of resistance members to keep an eye on Arnault Pyrelle in case he woke up. In the meantime, they availed themselves of Crystal Lodge's lavish amenities.

Since there were few other guests, Kanae, Claudia, and Alicia mostly had the place to themselves. They began with a shower, from water siphoned from the oasis fed through a series of tubes, and had sex to make up for lost time. Next was a nice hot soak in a large bath, where they had sex again. Finally, the trio entered a wooden sauna room and fucked in there while sticky and sweaty.

They sat shoulder to shoulder, exhausted and breathless as hot steam soothed their sore bodies. Claudia splashed another ladle of water onto the hot coals, releasing a burst of scalding mist into the room.

"Hey, you guys don't mind if I dumped the entire bucket do you? I'm hardly feeling the heat," Claudia said, holding the whole pail in hand.

"We're going to die of a heatstroke if you do," Alicia warned.

"Oh, alright… " She sat the pail down and returned to them, then nudged Kanae in the side. "Why you looking down for? Ahhh, I get it. Alicia's pussy-eating game wasn't that great, huh?"

Her sister gave her the stink-eye.

"It's not that. There's something you both need to know about Ambrosia, but maybe we hop out and get dressed first?" Kanae suggested.

After washing off one more time, Crystal Lodge staff came by with satin robes for them to put on. The fine and cool fabric felt incredible against their skin, especially so following a sauna. They cooled off in the lobby, running their feet in a coarse sandbox intended to make their feet baby smooth.

Even then, Kanae couldn't shake her unease about telling Claudia and Alicia, both of whom waited patiently for her to work up the courage.

"Ambrosia is on the path of Deification," Kanae said at last.

The sisters recoiled. They acted about as appropriately as Kanae expected. Claudia grinded her teeth. Alicia clenched both hands so hard, her nails bit into her palm.

"Deified? What a fucking joke. So, she does all this fucked up shit and gets to ascend to the status of a living deity?" Claudia couldn't drink her glass of wine after the revelation soured the taste.

"And I presume she seeks to defeat you?" Alicia asked.

"Yeah." Kanae nodded. "Everything that Ambrosia's been doing for the last few centuries was to get her to this point. The Cult of Lust and Depravity groomed followers like House Pyrelle. Other Ortesian houses, too, I bet. They probably helped her find and defeat her first two contenders, too."

Claudia marched to the other side of the room and gasped. "The Ortesians were trying to revive their saint, right? Roo-something? He died without achieving Deification. Maybe they actually wanted to revive and hand him over to Amby?"

Kanae shuddered. She hadn't thought of that. But given even Petyr hadn't been too sure why the empire went to great lengths to revive Ruedegard Ducante, it did make sense.

Wait.

That recontextualized the entire invasion of the Commonwealth. Guillaume Pyrelle would have acted under Ambrosia's orders to make that happen. His bannermen were seen traveling to Temptation towards the end of the war for some reason, too.

"Ambrosia… I thought reuniting you with Lord Charron made us friends. If she was the one who ultimately started the war…" Kanae seethed with anger until Alicia grabbed her hand.

"Then we will be the ones to make her pay. Together," Alicia said, squeezing.

Tension left Kanae's shoulders and she returned a little squeeze.

They jumped when someone at the front shrieked. Some of the employees took off running farther into the establishment. Kanae thought the colonnade was under attack until a couple of squeaking undead rats entered the lobby, each one carrying a piece of her equipment in their mouths. The Matron's Regalia, Lust, and others.

"Holy crap, Edina! You managed to get every single thing!" Kanae gasped.

"It wasn't easy, lemme tell ya. Riben's giving me one helluva time here. I'm going to try and break out to join you guys soon, but the Necronmicon's within my grasp. I can feel it! So, I'll be going after it first," one of the undead critters explained in the squirreling's voice.

"Is that… Edina? What the hells did I miss while under Amby's hypnosis?" Claudia asked.

"A lot, sister. But there will be time to talk about that later. We should get back to Rasheena. There is only one place left to assault— Isha Palace itself," Alicia reminded them.

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