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

The dryad sent forth an ungodly number of roots to grab them, but they darted off in every direction. Renya raced across the room while firing off blasts at the appendages chasing her. Arenade stood her ground, swinging a longsword in a vain effort to cut down the roots. Thored shielded himself with a barrier, but the roots were slowly beating its way in to get to him.

Kanae got to the wall before spinning around to throw a Titanic Blow. The roots recoiled. Some exploded into pieces of bark. However, more grew back in their place like a leviathan's regrowing head.

Crap. Kanae continued running while searching through her skill and spell list. She came across Necrotizing Touch, obtained from Edina through Feed the Queen back when they had sex. If the dryad was regenerating her roots through some kind of healing magic, then this should work.

Kanae faced the pursuing vegetative appendages and threw another haymaker, pummeling the roots into bark again. As they began to regrow, she reached out to touch the base of the injury.

"Let's see what Necrotizing Touch can do!" Kanae slapped a hand misting with purple energy on the tough exterior, causing the roots to blacken and crumble away.

An agonizing screech erupted from the center of the room. The dryad shot a furious glare in Kanae's direction.

It worked! And… it also pissed her off.

The ground shuddered. Kanae flew up, but roots punched through the stone tiles to grab her legs. She tried to destroy them with Necrotizing Touch, but among the roots were vines that spat out a sticky sap-like substance on her hands.

Captured and unable to escape, the dryad reeled Kanae up to her. She did the same for Arenade, Renya, and Thored, who were all restrained by roots. A particularly thick vine emerged from behind the dryad's head with an open mouth dripping with some kind of nectar.

"Why is it always tentacles?" Arenade sighed, rearing her head away from it.

"Now that I have you in my clutches… which of you shall I make my champion, I wonder?" Saffronesse's disjointed voice asked and inspected them each with the vine like a pair of eyes. "The high elf? Their pride can only be matched by their arrogance, and they always want, want, want more than their peers. Or the dark elf? This one has the air of having gained much in her lifetime, yet is in search of much, much, much more…"

"Oh, why thank you for noticing! I won't stop until Rown Company has a road through every country!" Renya explained.

The dryad's salivating tentacle hovered over Thored.

"You, beastman… You have my gratitude for creating this vessel, a dryad so powerful that she can wield me. At least for the moment. She is beginning to break at the seams. I need, need, need a stronger champion. It could have been you, Succubus… but you're already taken by Satine, it seems. How is that FAIR?!" Saffronesse cried.

"You're aligned with another devil?" Thored turned to me and asked.

"I'm not!" Kanae protested. "I'm just wearing her Matron's Regalia— well, just every piece except for the Tiara. I didn't even know these were the devil's artifacts when I put them on at the time!"

Saffronesse certainly sounded like her namesake of envy. But how were they going to beat this monster? With Edina, they had to make use of Lapis and Aidenhall's greatest minds to give Hax'gorah the boot.

This could get very bad. Kanae considered using Eliza's teleportation pellet to escape back home. The sorceress had given it to her in case things went very wrong. Arenade would complain about their honeymoon being cut short, but it was better than being fertilizer for a dryad and one of them becoming a devil's champion. Only… She lifted her gaze to Theena, who was unconscious and bound to the tree at the back of the room.

No. Escaping wasn't an option. Kanae had promised Kara and Seven that she would bring Theena back to them. Theena also owed them answers. She wasn't going to abandon them.

"Oh, I know!" Saffronesse exclaimed excitedly with her vine flinging nectar everywhere. "I'll just make you tell me what you want, want, want the most. I'll take whoever's envy is greatest!"

"I don't like the sound of— AUUUGLURHHMMPH!" Arenade choked when the dryad waterboarded her gooey nectar, dripping down from the tail-like vine. After gulping it all down, she didn't look at all agreeable like the others thought would happen. "I could have drowned from that, you vegetable!"

The dryad grabbed Arenade's face with the tentacle roots to make her face it.

"What do you desire the most?" Saffronesse asked.

"Screw you! Why would I tell you I want statues of myself erected at every corner of the world? At minimum, I want tens of millions of people worshiping me. Screw that Ruedegard Ducante! Why does he get an eight day holiday dedicated to him for just walking from the west coast to Radevic? That bastard probably rode in a carriage the whole way!" Arenade ranted, appearing surprised after the fact.

Saffronesse reveled in hearing it all from start to finish.

"Huh. Does it work with my questions? Between my dick or tongue, which do you prefer?" Kanae seized this chance to ask.

"Your big dick makes me cum like crazy, but I think I like cunnilingus better— HEY! WHAT ARE YOU MAKING ME ANSWER?!" Arenade boomed angrily.

When the dryad moved on to Renya next, she willingly opened her mouth wide to receive the nectar.

"Tell me, dark elf, what do you desire most?" Saffronesse demanded from her.

"I already told you: to have Rown Company roads through every country in the world, like the blood veins in the human body. I could also go for a couple of hot babes and studs in my life. My guns are also getting on in age after years of use. Be nice to have some new shooters, know what I'm saying?" Renya grinned.

That didn't seem to interest Saffronesse one bit.

"Sorry about this Renya, but I really want to know if you and Queen-Mother Zariah are getting friendly," Kanae said, taking advantage of whatever Saffronesse did to make everyone honest.

"Aww, come on. I told you before, didn't I? That bitch is batshit crazy. There's also something weird about her that I can't put my finger on, like she ain't all there. I like our partnership better. There's no 'succubus-only' future working with ya compared to her," Renya explained.

Kanae breathed a sigh of relief and felt a little guilty not trusting Renya Rown. They had gone through a lot. Even the dreaded pirate lord and devilish business woman had a heart of gold.

Finally, Saffronesse stopped in front of Thored to inject a load of nectar down his throat.

"Surely, a Necro Lord must covet something?" Saffronesse asked.

"Well, I would like to have a new workplace. I've been down here for decades. It is wholly unsafe and a constant threat to my health, especially when monsters try to kill me at every turn! Tinkering with the dungeon core has been fun, but I need new material! Such is the ambition of an artificer!" Thored exclaimed.

"Be honest, did you like having sex with me?" Kanae chimed in.

"Oh, very much. I haven't been with a woman in years! Despite the ensuing pain, to lay with a succubus was an incredibly— Quit it! Don't ask such questions while I'm prone to answering truthfully!" He frowned.

"Silence!" the devil roared.

A tentacle shoved down each of their throats, and they couldn't so much as utter a word. Saffronesse strolled back to Arenade and caressed one side of her cheek.

"I have made my decision. You shall wield the Sceotre of Want and become the champion of envy. Together, we shall seize the world for ourselves!" Saffronesse bellowed.

Arenade shook her head frantically. Roots forced her arm outstretched and fingers open. The dryad was about to hand Saffronesse's weapon over when a gust of wind blew past them.

"Let them go!" Seven shouted, swooping through to cut their bindings with his sharpened talons.

Freed from the restraints, they dashed away to safety. Seven veered back around to rejoin them, and Kara hurried in to catch up.

"Squirt! You're a little too clingy for my liking and need to start taking showers more often, but am I glad to see you!" Arenade high-fived the harpy boy.

"Y-Yeah! That was weirdly honest…" Seven furrowed his brows and sniffed his armpit.

"Is that Theena?" Kara gasped, pointing to the tree in the back of the room.

"It is." Kanae nodded. "But the dryad's in the way, and it's empowered by a devil. Since you two are already here, stay on your toes and don't let her tentacles grab you!"

Thored summoned an army of dungeon monsters to attack the dryad, but they were all like ants to her. She knocked them away with a single sweep of her root. Magic pounded into her with little effect. Even though Arenade, Renya, and Thored were made stronger by Kanae's Bond, it was like hitting a giant concrete wall reinforced with adamantine. She barely budged from their attacks.

Renya clicked her tongue out of frustration and summoned numerous clones into a firing line. They blasted the dryad relentlessly— until a stray shot found its way past it and struck the tree in the back. Her spellfire had damaged a small section of the trunk, which was scarred black with burns. But the wound was beginning to regenerate like the necrotized roots. The enraged dryad let loose an ear-splitting howl.

"It's the tree! That's the dryad's weakness!" Kanae shouted.

Everyone made a break for the tree. Thousands of roots erupted from the ground in an attempt to capture them. A beam of sizzling holy energy cut through the appendages like butter.

"I'll hold her back! Get to Theena and the tree!" Arenade urged as she charged up another beam from her Halo.

As soon as they reached the giant tree, Renya created more clones of herself to shoot down any roots and vines that slipped past Arenade. Meanwhile, the rest of them put their heads together over what to do next.

"Theena!" Kara and Seven raced up to Theena, tugging on the vines that restrained her to the tree.

"We need fire!" Thored yelled.

"All I have is this!" Kanae pointed the Ring of Scorching Ray at the roots holding Theena and fired a couple of bolts.

Each blast struck them dead on, and they began to burn. However, the living organism that was the tree started regenerating. Kanae pressed a hand into the fire to harm it with Necrotizing Touch. It worked. The regeneration stopped, and the burning roots crumbled away to free Theena. She fell into her two companions' arms, who laid her gently on the ground.

"Keep casting! What are you doing?" Thored asked impatiently.

"This ring recharges once a day! I don't have any fire spells, but you make a good point… I should find someone who does with Feed the Queen… Actually, what about you? You haven't done anything this entire time!" Kanae complained.

"Hrm…" The Necro Lord brought up the Dungeon Core Manipulation screen to scroll through a list of available monsters.

Kanae searched, too. They came across the hellduke troll, which had supposedly been defeated by the Ortesian group. Its status showed that the monster was still alive. Kanae and Thored nodded to each other that the troll was their best shot. He despawned it back into the storage, then spawned it in front of them. The hellduke troll was badly hurt, but he was up and conscious at least.

"Uh… Kanae? Whatever you got up your sleeves, you better do it now!" Renya warned.

Since the troll was her offspring, she directed him to attack the tree. He obeyed and lifted a giant burning club to strike it when powerful vines reeled the weapon away. The troll toppled backwards, his ankles and wrists bound by vines.

Kanae whipped around to find Arenade wielding the Sceptre of Want. The high elf's lips were peeled back to a big smirk.

"This vessel is so full of envy, that it's brimming with it!" Saffronesse spoke in Arenade's voice.

"You free my wife right now!" Kanae growled.

The devil answered Kanae with a dozen tentacles grabbing her and pulling her up to them.

"I don't think so. Centuries buried under this place with nothing but dryad for a vessel… A dryad's simple mind has no envy! I was so deprived… but no longer!" Saffronesse cackled.

Kanae gritted her teeth. She had almost lost her best friend Edina to a devil. She wasn't going to lose Arenade. But a devil's control was weakest at the beginning. Edina's symptoms didn't show until weeks and months later.

"Arenade, I know you're in there! You aren't going to let a devil beat you, a demigoddess, right?" Kanae asked.

"What are you spewing about— You're… gods damn… right, I won't— Stop resisting! You're mine now!" Saffronesse and Arenade bickered over each other for control. "Yours? Hah! I… er… I-I belong to… Kanae… aahhh! Why am I still speaking honestly? You want to serve me, to be my champion, and we will take, take, take from all who have more than us— Us? Just because I want something doesn't mean I need it. I have all I ever want or need already, and most of them are back home. The other? Well, she's right in front of…" A glint of clarity showed in Arenade's eyes as she stared at Kanae. "Right in front of me."

Kanae smiled. She mustered up every ounce of strength to lean in to kiss Arenade, who dropped the Sceptre of Want to hold her. The bindings loosened and fell away. Lips locked and fingers entwined, they embraced each other tightly.

Saffronesse screamed like a child throwing a tantrum after having her toy taken away. Dark energies misted off Arenade and the unconscious dryad on the ground, seeping back into the Sceptre of Want until the devil's voice vanished with a whimper.

Arenade and Kanae parted from each other's lips at last.

"So, was that the nectar making you talk?" Kanae asked teasingly.

"Y-Yes… I mean, shut up!" Arenade pouted.

Behind them, the hellduke troll broke free from the vines. He picked up the fiery club and beat into the tree. Flames creeped up the trunk, where they began to engulf the branches and leaves in a blaze. Ashes showered them like rain. Thored despawned the troll before he could cause any more havoc.

"Hahh… Shit. That was a lot of fun. I should go on more adventures with you, Kanae!" Renya wiped the sweat from her brows.

"To think, the dryad was empowered by the devil's artifact." Thored summoned a lockbox with enchantments on the surface, then carefully placed the sceptre inside it. "No wonder I couldn't control her. I promised to allow you to take the artifact, but knowing what you know now… Do you still want to take it from this place? I understand why Lord Charron buried the sceptre underneath an entire Necro Lord Tomb now."

"What we just faced kind of proves your tomb isn't the best place. Aidenhall can protect it. We have an order of knights and a lot of safeguards in place for something like this. Also, Lord Charron's currently there. I can ask him how best to contain the sceptre," Kanae explained.

Thored was more than willing to part with the Sceptre of Want having heard his master's name. When Kanae held the lockbox, she felt a malignant force within. No way was she going to give this to Vizier Duran after learning that the devil of envy was inside it.

As for the last matter…

They gathered around Theena, who was still unconscious. She was being looked after by Seven and Kara. The two guarded her protectively.

"I don't care what Theena did or said. No one's gonna take her away from us!" Seven snarled.

"Theena's our best friend… Please, at least let us talk some sense into her when she wakes up," Kara pleaded in earnest.

"We won't hurt her. For now, let's just get you all back to Kandis. Thored, I don't suppose you can show us to an exit?" Kanae asked.

"Of course. Right this way." Thored beckoned them over to the far wall that hadn't been overgrown with vegetation. He put all his strength behind pushing a stone block. The piece groaned and clicked into place, and a section of the chamber above opened, followed by a rope ladder rolling down for them.

The party climbed up one by one with Thored leading the way. He popped open a hatch, and they poked their heads out. It was the forest just outside of Kandis.

"I… You had the final boss chamber right next to the exit?!" Kanae exclaimed.

"What? It's an easy access for adventurers to escape should they finish," Thored reasoned desperately.

The same was true for Saffronesse and the dryad. Thankfully, neither of them knew this secret passage existed.

"We just went through the entire dungeon, but where was the loot?" Seven asked.

"Ugh. Adventurers. Always so greedy. Very well. I'll bring Kanae to a chest, and she can deliver the treasures back to you all," Thored said.

Kanae had Arenade and Renya to guide the Rookies back to Kandis ahead of her. She reentered the Necro Lord Tomb #3 with Thored, and they navigated back to the observatory deck. Everything was still in place where the two had left it, including the messes.

The Necro Lord opened the door to a storage area stacked to the ceiling full of magical items and equipment, collected from fallen adventurers, discarded, and forged from his own tinkering. They were all supposed to be dispersed across the individual dungeons, but he hadn't found the time for it yet.

"You may take but a single chest. It should contain enough loot to satisfy each member of your party. Before you leave though, perhaps you can help me with one more thing in my dungeon. I would be in your eternal gratitude," Thored said.

"Does it involve fighting another anomaly?" Kanae asked.

"Nothing of a sort." He shook his head. "Traversing the dungeon with you and your companions has simply shown me what I've been missing. I believe I should make a premature departure from this place. But I'll need your help to do that."