The Hero Became a Succubus, and the Only Way to Level is to… What?!

Many of the jackal warriors looked like they could be a beastman race. They might have been and had gone extinct just like the dwarves. Or they were living somewhere in Savir with little to no interest in venturing out into the world. Kanae walked up to one jackal, who was a staggering seven feet when not counting the ears.

Their bodies were extremely human at first glance. Kanae rested a hand on the chest of one, and his fine fur felt like silk. A bronze girdle and waist cloth wrapped around their hips, draping down to the knees. There wasn't a shred of humanity or intelligence behind those glowing purple eyes, but she was able to control like animals regardless.

Kanae tried to lift the waist cloth to look underneath until Arenade slapped her hand.

"Are you serious?" Arenade groaned.

"Sorry! I just got a little curious!" Kanae apologized.

The Ortesians should be up ahead. As they pressed forward, new statues of jackal warriors took the place of the ones Kanae had charmed into her service.

"Heh. See? That's the monster spawner at work! Nifty, isn't it?" Necro Lord Thored asked proudly.

At the end of the long corridor, a heavy stone door stood between them and the next chamber. Runes etched along the frame suggested there were magical enchantments strengthening it. Three movable rings on the door, each with drawn symbols, implied that this was a sort of alignment trial. They could hear sounds of shuffling from the other side. It must be the Ortesians.

Thored strolled right up to the door and said, "Ah! I remember this one. We have to align the proper animal images with their respective—"

"I'd get out of the way if I were you." Kanae yanked the Necro Lord back.

"Holy Armament: Big Fucking Hammer!" Arenade manifested the enormous mallet and pummeled the door repeatedly. The first hit caved it in just a little, the second caused cracks and fissures to form all over, and the third punched through like wet paper.

Thored's jaw dropped.

"But… But I didn't design these dungeons to be brute-forced through…" he muttered.

Kanae patted his back on the way through the collapsed stone door. They entered a large inner chamber with a tall ziggurat in the middle. Many adventurers were climbing up the steps to reach the top. The ones closest to the peak were the familiar silver and gold regalia of high elven Ortesian knights, as well as two Rotandrix dragoons. One of the drakelings was holding Seven like a sack of potatoes on their shoulder.

"Seven!" Kara gasped.

"Kara, Kanae, Arenade? And… weird-looking guy I don't know! Help! These bastards won't let me go!" Seven yelled, struggling helplessly in the drakeling's grasp.

The Ortesian group turned around. Their demeanors soured when they saw Kanae and her companions. Memories of being defeated in the Commonwealth were still fresh in their minds, it seemed. All eight of the high elves wore the emblem of the cross with a single eye indicative of the Supreme One. However, another heraldry Kanae hadn't seen before adorned their armor. It was that of two pegasi on their hind legs, facing away from each other against the backdrop of a sun.

"Whatever you Ortesians are trying to accomplish here, it's going to end the same way it did back in the Commonwealth. Give up now and put Seven down before it ends with a trip to pound town!" Kanae threatened.

"It's time for round two. The first time we clashed, I didn't even see it coming. I'm going to pay you back ten folds!" Arenade shook an angry fist at them.

One high elf, the one who was at the very front of the group, descended a few steps and laughed. Judging by the mostly gold armor, he was their leader. It was always the ones that looked like they forked the wealth of an entire country that were assholes…

"Believe it or not, we have no quarrel with you this time. Run along before this gets messy," he haughty voice of a young man said. 

"You made it our problem when you kidnapped Seven. Give him back before I make it even messier!" Kanae shouted.

"That won't be happening. We'll be taking him and the relic. You see, this boy you call 'Seven' is none other than the Harpy King's son. That makes him very valuable to the right people," he explained.

Everyone did a double take. Seven was—

"I'm… the Harpy King's son?" Seven stammered.

"Wait, you didn't even know?" Arenade exclaimed in shock.

"This is my first time hearing! I grew up with a clutch of other harpies. I'm the seventh to hatch… I didn't see no Harpy King when I opened my eyes!" he cried and struggled to break free even more.

A high elf whispered something that magically put Seven to sleep.

The commanding officer of the group continued, "As much as I'd like to stay and chat, the dry atmosphere here chafes my skin. To the adventurers of Kandis, 100,000 gold and a mansion in the empire's capital to the first party who defeats that mewling succubus and her bitch elf wife." 

Every single adventurer, Rookie, Seasoned, and Veteran abandoned the climb. With money on their minds, they turned their attention to Kanae and her party instead. A wave of adventurers surged down to meet them in battle. Kanae commanded her jackal warriors to fight. Meanwhile, the Ortesian group continued their ascent to the top. Not wanting to let them escape, Kanae and Arenade flew up to pursue.

Countless volleys of spells, fired from adventurer casters all over the ziggurat, bombarded the two. They took numerous hits and came crashing back to the ground.

"This was supposed to be my honeymoon…" Arenade stood up with a shadow over her face, sending a chill up Kanae's spine. "Bond me. Now! I'm going up there to tear them a couple of new assholes for you to fuck!"

"Uhmm. I don't know if we have to be too violent about it." Kanae gulped and stepped back.

"BOND ME, DAMN YOU!" She grabbed her shoulders and shook.

It was one of the rare times Arenade had ever asked for Bond since she hated the side effects of the spell. Kanae formed a connection with her wife, and they briefly experienced a euphoria never felt before. That became their thread. For Arenade, her immense strength.

Arenade cast Holy Armament again to grant herself a full suit of armor. The wings had become more angelic, and the mallet more savage than before.

"This is for interrupting my VACATION!" Arenade shot into the sky, causing a sonic boom to explode in her take-off.

Kanae was about to follow after her until Kara screamed. A large, human adventurer shoulder-checked her into a pillar. The jackal warriors were too busy in their own battles, and Thored was doing his best deflecting the incoming barrage of spells. When the adventurer picked Kara up by the throat, Kanae exerted a charm and ordered him to put her down. He did, much to the beastman girl's surprise.

Unfortunately, that wasn't the end of it. The subtle sound of magical stealth signaled Kanae to someone sneaking up behind her. She spun around and whipped the seemingly empty space in front of her. Lust came in contact with someone, knocking them out of stealth. The rogue rolled around on the floor, clutching their face.

"We need to catch up with Arenade! Thored, can you do something about all these adventurers?" Kanae exclaimed.

"Well, let me see…" Thored opened his character sheet and spawned a menagerie of dire beasts.

The monsters attacked any and all nearby adventurers. One of them, a dire boar, lunged for Kara and Kanae had to kick it away.

"That's not what I had in mind!" Kanae yelled.

"What do you want me to do? My list of spells are limited. I'm an Artificer! An engineer. Not some rambunctious gladiator!" Thored retorted.

Kanae had an idea. She entered the list of monsters available to be spawned, then selected a wyvern. The flying beast roared at them when it teleported right before them— until Kanae activated the Collar of Domination to subjugate it under her control.

"I'll deal with the spellcasters. You two start flying up to help Arenade," Kanae said.

They mounted atop the wyvern. With a heavy beat of two massive wings, it took off. Immediately, spellfire pelted them from the ziggurat. Kanae made a beeline for them and switched on Sadist. A few of the adventurers froze in terror as she landed on the steps beside them.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. You have all been very naughty, and naughty children need to be punished!" Kanae flashed a deranged smirk and activated Grow Tentacles, a spell she had obtained from the ropers much earlier in the day. A dozen thick and slimy tentacles protruded from her back, wriggling at the many potential foes to capture.

When a human woman in a scholarly brown robe tried to run, Kanae's tentacle captured her. The appendages almost had a mind of their own. They plunged into the spellcaster's pussy, and she threw her head back in shock. The others made a break for it, but she captured them all the same and penetrated their puckered holes.

[Skill Drain has temporarily acquired the skill Icicle Barrage.

Skill Drain has temporarily acquired the skill Firestorm.

Skill Drain has temporarily acquired the skill Magic Missiles.

Skill Drain has temporarily acquired the skill Arcane Bolt.]

Kanae lifted a hand to the adventurers storming up the ziggurat in an attempt to back up their fallen comrades. She unleashed a volley of recently-drained spells from her palm and knocked out most of them. Thored and Kara just reached the top when she got done defeating the adventurers. Kanae switched off Sadist and raced up to join them, but Arenade and the Ortesian group were nowhere to be found.

"Where are they?" Kanae asked.

Kara beckoned her over to a wide platform. Thored was tinkering over it with a set of chiseling tools.

"Thored mentioned something about a malfunction," Kara said.

Not a minute later, and the runes along the edges of the platform lit up.

"This is what I'm good for!" Thored smiled.

A few jackal warriors that survived the fighting below ascended to the top of the ziggurat. Kanae corralled them over.

"What exactly does this lead to?" Kanae asked.

"Another dungeon boss. I designed this tomb in such a way that there are multiple converging paths which lead to the final section. The desert biome is one of them. If we defeat the dungeon boss, it should allow us access to the final biome which contains… the anomaly." Thored swallowed hard.

With no other way but down, they stepped onto the platform. Groaning stone rumbled as it began to descend into the ziggurat. When it finally reached the bottom, they found themselves in an enormous sand pit.

Kanae's party stepped off the platform and onto a ledge overlooking the underground chamber. Toppled pillars and statues were half buried in sand. Hanging braziers illuminated the entire pit. There was another one of those stone doors across the way, the same one that Arenade had destroyed earlier.

Down below, a berserking Arenade battled the remaining seven Ortesians. She swung madly, like a stampeding bull.

"I am Sergeant Moran, one sword of many, who serves House Pyrelle! Even if you defeat me, another blade shall be drawn— aaahhh! Give up already, you crazy cunt!" the captain of the Ortesian group screamed. "You two dragoons, DO SOMETHING!"

Both drakeling knights exchanged hesitant glances but ultimately obeyed. The pair whirled around to meet Arenade head on, only to become acquainted by her hammer. She batted a homerun, sending each of them flying into separate directions.

"I WON'T BE SATISFIED UNTIL I BEAT EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU FIFTY FEET INTO THE SAND FOR RUINING MY HONEYMOON!" Arenade bellowed at the top of her lungs.

"That's my wife!" Kanae cheered, glad that Bond was enough to empower her to be stronger than the Ortesians.

"That's odd. I don't see the Sand King anywhere." Thored ignored the fighting going on and scanned the sands instead.

"Sand King?" Kara and Kanae repeated uneasily.

The ground shuddered. Hanging braziers creaked as they swung from the violent shaking. Sand dunes within the pit cascaded as something gigantic approached. 

"Arenade, get out of there! There's a monster in the pit!" Kanae shouted.

Too late. A column of sand exploded upwards, separating Arenade from the Ortesians. The massive chimera-like creature possessed the upper body of a scorpion and lower half of a lizard with its segmented tail as a giant stinger.

"Sand King! My second favorite monster creation!" Thored beamed, arms outstretched as though to welcome an old friend.

"OUT OF MY WAY!" Arenade smashed through its body, bisecting it and flinging guts everywhere.

"SAND KING?!" the Necro Lord cried in horror.

The Ortesians were too stunned and petrified by the spectacle. That moment of hesitation allowed Arenade to catch up, and she beat the living shit out of each of them. By the end of it, they were strewn across the sand pit. Some of them were sticking partway out of the sand.

"Oh, my gods… Seven! Is Seven okay?" Kara slid down from the ledge.

Seven was leaning against a pillar, still unconscious from whatever magic they placed on him. It seemed the Ortesians, in their desperation to run away from Arenade, had left him on the ground.

"I was worried for nothing. Sheesh. It's like you woke up on the wrong side of the bed today," Kanae joked, only to swallow the comment when Arenade turned a furious glare her way. "Right… sorry…"

Kanae also ended the effects on Bond just in case Arenade wanted to continue venting elsewhere. They went to check on Seven. Aside from a few bruises here and there, he was perfectly fine. Kanae cast Dispel, and the harpy boy's eyes fluttered open.

"I'm safe? I'm safe! I knew you guys would save me!" Seven sat upright and grinned.

"Thank goodness…" Kara's lower lip quivered so much until she hugged her adventuring companion.

Kanae and Arenade smiled at the heartwarming scene. Although, their reunion with Theena might be a little more awkward. It was still hard to believe Seven was the son of the Harpy King. What did the Ortesians plan to do after capturing him?

Well, those answers could come directly from the source. It took a little fishing, but Kanae eventually yanked out the right high elf from the sand. She pulled off his helmet to reveal an elf with a chiseled jawline, luscious blonde hair, and thin brows.

"It's time to talk!" Arenade slapped him awake. "What in three hells is the empire doing in Kandis? Kanae, do your thing!"

When Kanae tried to exert a charm, the spell didn't connect. Of course, it didn't.

"Haha! Stupid, succubus. The empire still has large stores of anti-succubus magic potions. You cannot charm us!" he taunted.

Maybe not. But there were other ways to make someone talk. Kanae ripped away pieces of the elf's equipment until she got to his dick. It was encased in a chastity belt. She met his gaze again, and he was smirking.

"What the… You guys do know this is just a kink thing, right? There's nothing pure about locking your junk!" Kanae exclaimed.

"No, it's not. Obviously, a degenerate succubus like yourself would regard this sacred instrument of purity as something dirty. What is a chastity belt if not just another piece of armor to protect the body?" Moran shouted zealously.

Kanae put a hand to her face and sighed.

"Hold him," Kanae ordered the jackals.

Two picked up Moran by the arms. Kanae unwound Lust and switched on Sadist, that way, her attacks with the whip would inflict Turn Horny despite him having drunk the reversal potion.

"Did you know my weapon has a special trait? It ignores both defenses and armor," Kanae explained.

The smile on Moran's face vanished.

Kanae flourished once and struck Moran in the crotch. The whip magically fazed through the metal dick cage of his chastity belt. He threw his head back in pleasure. It was supposed to hurt, but each strike was infused with Turn Horny that made him feel good from the attacks instead.

"Hahaha! How about now? Are you willing to talk yet? Go on, keep telling me no, because I want to keep hitting you!" Kanae cackled.

Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack!

"Aahh! Stop! It… hurts… My dick… it's getting too erect for the chastity belt! I'll tell you… just stop hitting me!" Moran screeched.

Kanae turned off Sadist but left a lasting effect on more than just the elf. Kara, Seven, and Thored had backed as far away as they could from here.

"I-I didn't know you were like that, Kanae…" Seven shuddered.

"Only to my enemies!" Kanae corrected him. "Anyway, tell us why you were trying to kidnap Seven. Does the Harpy King want his son back? Answer, or it's back to getting your dick and balls whipped."

"I'll answer! We're not trying to bring the kid back to the Harpy King… It's… Ah, fuck… It's Cerberus. Our Lord Guillaume Pyrelle wants to strike an alliance with Avanesse, the Ruby Jewel, and its ruler. One of Cerberus' demands is that we bring him the son of the Harpy King. Why? I don't know! I'm only following orders," Moran explained desperately.

Arenade scoffed. "Sounds like this Cerberus wanted to hold Seven hostage as a card against the Harpy King. I wouldn't put it past the Pyrelles to go around helping kidnappers. What about the relic?"

"Same reason. Cerberus wants it. Don't know why. Don't know what for." The elf shrugged.

Whatever this artifact that Lord Charron had stolen from Savir, it sure was causing a lot of headache now. He was probably blissfully unaware all this was going on!

"One more thing. Are you Theena's handlers?" Kanae asked.

"What? What's Theena got to do with any of this?" Seven looked at each of them with confusion since they hadn't filled him in yet.

"No. I swear as a vassal of House Pyrelle, I've never met a Theena in my entire life. We only came here to retrieve an artifact and the Harpy King's son," Moran insisted.

"You think he's telling the truth?" Arenade leaned in and whispered.

"It's the best we've got unless we want to wait until the reversal potion wears off," Kanae said.

Vizier Duran was the cousin of Sultana Dudula. Currently, the Harpy King's agents had infiltrated his palace and were holding him hostage. Cerberus colluded with the Empire of Ortesia in an attempt to kidnap the Harpy King's son and acquire the artifact. This was the same artifact that Duran had sent Kanae down here to fetch. A few more threads were missing to connect the entire thing. The bigger picture was just barely within reach… but what was it?

"Uhm… You will let me go now, yes?" Moran asked politely.

Kanae planted her tail pussy on the elf's head and drained him dry. When he had nothing left to give, she dropped him to the ground with a suction mark on his face.

"The Ortesians won't be a problem any more. All that's left is to find Renya, Theena, and to complete the final dungeon," Kanae said.

"Through that door is where we will want to go, but everyone must be on their toes. There's no telling what the anomaly has in store. I haven't touched that dungeon biome in years," Thored explained.

Kanae, Arenade, and Seven flew up to the ledge on the opposite side of the sand pit. They helped the other two, who couldn't fly, out of it. The runic symbols glowed brightly, then a fissure split the door cleanly in two. It began to part open, grinding against the stone.

"Hey, before we go…" Seven wrung his hands together, gaze cast to the ground. "I hope me being the Harpy King's son doesn't change anything. I haven't changed! I'm still me, Seven! I don't care about being royalty. All I ever cared about as being an adventurer with Kara and Theena. It's been the most fun I ever had, and… meeting Kanae and Arenade, and the big horse-face guy whose name I still don't even know yet… just proves that this is what I want to do."

"Let's find Theena together." Kara grabbed Seven's hands and smiled.

Arenade slapped him on the back. "That's the spirit! You guys need to treasure each other. Don't enter into a contract that turns you into a sex slave like this cunt over here did—"

"Arenade!" Kanae pouted.

She continued, "Listen, your friends are what's important. They are the only family you need. All that other stuff with the Harpy King and Cerberus? Just noise trying to get in your way. Never forget who's really there for you at the end of the day."

Kanae chuckled. Arenade did have it in her to say some nice things sometimes.

"You're right!" Taking those words to heart, Seven squeezed Kara's hands in return and nodded. "Let's find the others, then beat this tomb's final boss and claim its prize!"

Thored held his tongue and simply nodded in agreement. The party faced into the dark corridor emanating with unholy energy and marched in.