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

Due north, a much larger lake fed into the one Barkwen village was situated at. Trees encircled the length of it, and Kanae spotted collapsed bridges from the south and north end. They stretched for at last ten feet before the drop. Dirt and overgrown grass reclaimed the cobblestone path.

"I didn't even know this was here," Kanae said.

"Neither did we," Terra remarked from her little cart throne pulled by two goblins. "Not 'til a couple of these bozos took a boat out and capsized. Apparently, they saw a whole ass building down there. Castle, maybe, by the way they described it."

This very well could be Saint Rue's resting place. Did the entire place sink into the lake? The Ortesian forces had no idea how close they were to discovering it.

"How come your people built a village at the smaller lake? Isn't there more fish in this one?" Kanae asked, leaning over to inpsect the water.

One of the goblins waved dismissively. "Nah. That's the weird thing. Ain't no damn fish in there. No insects either. Just a jungle of kelp and that castle. Water's fresher than crisp mountain air though."

Kanae started taking off her clothes. Both goblins popped boners, and Terra clocked them over their heads.

"Ya fucked the queen already and did jack shit in return. Put those dicks away before I snap 'em," Terra threatened.

"Y-Yes, mate!" they cried, looking away in hopes of losing their erections.

After setting the pile of clothes and equipment aside, Kanae flew to the center of the lake. It was a little too murky to make anything out, and the sun's glare reflecting off the surface made it hard to see. She sucked in a deep breath and torpedoed in.

Towers of kelps blocked her way. It really was a jungle down here. She shifted through and pressed on, eventually finding a belltower one would see from church buildings. This must be the top. In that case, the lake was a lot deeper than she expected.

Kanae swam a little deeper and the rooftop came into view. Gargoyles covered in algae stood vigil over the building's watery grave. Gothic architecture, including the many hips and valleys of the rooftop, didn't scream high elven. Someone as important to them as Saint Rue would have been buried in extraordinarily lavish crypt, but this wasn't.

Thinking had to come later. Kanae winced, and her muscles were beginning to tighten. She was running out of breath. After resurfacing and flying back to Terra, she laid on the grassy ground to let the sun dry her out.

"What are ya waiting for? Give it to your queen!" Terra urged them.

Both goblins ran up to Kanae and dropped their pants.

"TOWELS! NOT YOUR DICKS!" The fiery female goblin kicked them into the lake and handed Kanae a towel herself.

"If there were more female goblins like you and Moira around, the males might stop being horny," Kanae joked while wiping herself down.

"No way. These green pricks are too horny for their own good. Well, did you find what you were looking for?" she asked.

"It's looking like this. Won't know for sure until I actually go in there, but I'll need something like an oxygen tank…"

Anyone trying to go seplunking in that cathedral would drown before going through the doors. Having reached a dead end for now, they returned to Barkwen village. It was starting to get late. If Kanae didn't return to Ehmvier soon, the others were going to get worried and send a search party. As much as she wanted to get to the bottom of this, the underwater temple was going to have to wait.

"Sorry, queen. Wish we had more to help you with. Me and my mates are only fishers here," Terra apologized.

"Don't be! You have no idea how much you've helped by showing me that place exists. For now, just keep an eye on the lake. Let's see… if that stuff in the water is actually kelp, you can harvest it for food. That way, your people can guard it while not looking suspicious," Kanae explained.

"Eugh. I feel like I eat enough green," she said, side-eyeing the many goblins of her village. "Alrighty. Anything comes up, we'll send word to Ehmvier! One more thing. Whaddya want with the captives?"

Terra and the goblins led Kanae over to a boat shed at the docks. Inside, lying on the ground, were four high elves, stripped naked and bound.

"Uh… Where's the women at?" Kanae asked.

There were seven captives in total between the occupiers at Barkwen and following the end of the battle at the Ortesian encampment. Four were men, who were currently tied up here. The remaining three women, and they were missing.

When Kanae and Terra turned to the two goblins accompanying them, they avoided eye-contact.

"I thought you said they didn't know how to count!" one of them whispered frantically.

"Terra didn't know how to count. The queen does!" the other groaned.

"I can at least count up to 0, and that's how many offsprings you'll get from me if you don't tell us where the females are at!" Terra growled, grabbing a handful of both goblin's gnads.

They relented and brought Kanae and Terra to a tool shed a stone's throw away behind Barkwen. It did seem a little too quiet in the village. This explained everything. One goblin threw open the door to the missing high elven women in the rapturous throes of a gangbang.

There were as many as five goblins to a high elf, each caked in cloudy white seed with more to cum. One of the elf's eyes were rolled back, likely having disassociated to escape the ordeal.

"This is… where we kept them…" the goblin who led them here confessed.

 When the others finally saw an angry Terra at the door, one of them screamed, 'run', and they scattered for the exit. Kanae exerted a charm to freeze them all in place.

"I didn't say you had to stop. I'm only here for the Viviren. Terra, do you recognize which one it is?" Kanae asked.

"Meh. All knife-ears look the same…" Terra used her foot to turn the elves side to side. "Them being covered in jizz makes it harder to tell. Oh, wait! I'm pretty sure it's this cunt." She lightly stomped on an elf's stomach, forcing all the spunk from her pussy to shoot out. "Bitch had a mole under her left eye. Didn't see it with all the cum on her. I remember her making fun of me for being a breeding sow. Is that s'posed to be funny? That's like me saying ya use forks to eat food, ya fucking weirdo. How d'ya like being a goblin's breeding sow, too? HUH?"

The Viviren were portal masters, which made them an extremely high value asset to the Empire of Ortesia. Was it a unique skill they had? In which case, Kanae could fuck out of her using Skill Drain. Unfortunatelly, until the potion wore off, she couldn't do anything.

"You will… pay for this… succubus…" the Viviren elf muttered.

"I'll be taking this one." Kanae wrapped her tail around the high elf's waist and picked her up.

"W-What about the rest?" a frozen goblin asked stiffly.

"I'll send someone from Ehmvier to pick up the men. You can keep the women. Break them in the name of Sin," she said, releasing the goblins from her control to continue.

"You heard the queen!" Terra flashed a toothy grin. "I'm joining in. Time to see what creampied high elven pussy tastes like."

Kanae flew home and made it back in time as the strike team for Windy Bog was getting ready to leave. Esta was still moping around about not being able to accompany her.

"There, there! I'll make sure Amethyst is just fine. Leave it to me, Silver!" Lani assured the drakeling knight.

"Are we all set?" Kanae asked, descending to meet them in front of the castle.

"My talons are sharpened and ready for tearing." Talon smirked.

"Man…" Edina shuddered from atop her dragon. "I know Talon's under your control, but bloodthirsty harpies still scare the shit outta me…"

Five harpies, five succubus Sisters in Black, Talon, Edina, Lani and Chappy, and of course, Kanae herself made up the small force to assault the Knight of Gold with. Going off their past battles, this was suicide without Esta, Minestra, and Claudia. It had to be few. Too many traveling across the Commonwealth would draw attention.

"Uhm… I'm afraid to ask, but who do you have there?" Lani pointed at the elf.

"Oh, right. This is someone from the Viviren family. Claudia! I brought a new toy for you!" Kanae shouted.

The Mistress of Pain, currently dressed from head to toe in a dominatrix outfit, came flying out of the castle in a hurry.

"Queen Kanae, you shouldn't have!" Claudia leered at the elf with ravenous intent.

"Make her talk." Kanae dumped her before Claudia's feet and wagging tail. "She holds the secret to portal magic that might help us. I also want you to send some succubus to fetch the high elves I left behind in Barkwen village, east of here by a small lake."

She decisively held back from informing the others about the sunken temple. For now, at least. Not when an Ortesian was right beside them.

"I can smell the seasoning of goblin cattle spunk on this one. Did she get a good rutting from a few? No matter. A little rinse before playtime won't hurt. I can't wait to show you all my toes~" Claudia lifted the elf with one hand and caressed her bare chest with the crop whip.

"It… It really is true… The Commonwealth has really allied itself with the Underqueen… Aren't you and Estaline von Cleisseldor knights of the Order of Colors? And… And that's Lanil Hammerthorn, a Saint Priest! Where's your sense of righteousness against… against evil?" the Viviren elf asked, casting a desperate gaze to Kanae and Esta.

"You and your people invaded my home," Kanae began, her voice simmering with malicious and sadistic drawl. "My sense of righteousness is the joy of turning enough of you into gibbering, mindless sex slaves enlightened by carnal pleasure that the rest will think twice about attacking ever again. 

"No, please—"

The elf's pleas were cut short by Claudia ferrying her away into the castle.

Now to…

Kanae paused, staring up at Edina's giant undead dragon.

"Edina, stow your dragon. You can bring it out again when we're fighting," Kanae said.

"You want me to what? That's like asking a succubus to cut off her wings! I'm not stowing anything away," Edina protested.

"It's an eyesore! We're trying to go inconspicuously, and a dragon is not inconspicuous!"

"No!"

"Damn it, Edina. Put your dragon away!" Kanae placed a powerful charm on her.

"Ahhh! You bitch! Putting a charm on me is cheating! Where are those damn potions when you need one?" Edina complained and did exactly as she was told.

Once the dragon vanished into the portal, they took flight westward for Windy Bog. Edina pouted and threw a tantrum the whole way there while the harpy squad took turns carrying her. At one point, she struggled so much and ended up plummeting from to the ground. A harpy barely caught her in time, and she stopped thrashing ever since. Night turned to day, day turned to night. They traveled across the width of the Commonwealth for what felt like ages.

For once, it offered Kanae a glimpse of her country's vastness. Gifting Queen-Mother Zariah and Demon Lord Charron a parcel more than likely wouldn't affect her at all.

They passed over small villages and farmsteads along the way. Some were up in flames and others were left as cold ruins in the wake of the Ortesian invasion. Their attempts to scorch farmlands and occupy some were intended to the starve the Commonwealth, and they might suceed if this war lasted long enough with Radevic staying neutral.

"What do you think, Lani? Do Ortesians deserve mercy for what they're doing to innocent people?" Kanae asked.

"No," Lani answered promptly, then offered a giggle. "Did you expect me to say yes? I'm a Saint Priest, Amethyst. I have to put on glasses where one lense is white and the other is black. If Grand Eye Analise tells me to fight, I'll fight. But that doesn't mean I can't make my own decisions. Right now, Ortesia is my enemy because of their plans to resurrect Saint Rue. After that, I'm bringing you back to Aidenhall to face judgment."

"At least I can rely on you Saint Priests to be practical." She sighed.

By day five, everyone was getting tired. Kanae's wings were sorer than her pussy the first time she had sex with Thume. They should be about two-thirds of the way there. Chappy assured them that the ankh was still in Windy Bog, although it had been suspiciously moving closer to the coast and back like a blip on a radar.

"Kanae!" Edina shouted from the front. "I think the harpies and succubus are getting tired. We should head down and make camp!"

The area around here was dry yet extremely cold. Canyons and valleys as far as the eyes could see. They were in Varu now, a desert that extended for kilometers and the home stretch before reaching Windy Bog. The land was interspersed with clusters of cactii and thousand-foot tall trees spaced far apart from each other. Their roots propagate through the rocky terrain, weaving over deep groves in the earth once carved by ancient rivers.

"There should be an Eminence of Sin monastery somewhere in Varu. We'll rest there. Keep an eye out!" Kanae signalled for the harpies and succubus to fan out.

It didn't take long before one of them found the temple built into the cliffside. A gigantic root jutting out from the cliff wrapped around the monastery like a protective wall. They regrouped and descended down together.

"Was something like this always here?" Lani gasped.

"We certainly didn't builld it." Kanae shrugged. "Back when I was going around conquering No Man's Land, a few of us came across this on our way to the coast. Judging by the statues of the Supreme One, it was a pilgrammage site for followers of the One, but long since abandoned. Arenade had the bright idea of repurposing the monastery for the Eminence of Sin to use for… well… Let's just say there are some succubus I've turned that have a hard time adjusting."

"Great place to throw in some up criminals to serve their time! I've sent a couple of fucks who tried to cheat me outta my money in Lograin," Edina added.

When they landed at the front entrance, the large double doors had been left slightly ajar. The wooden make was blackened by fiery scorch marks. Kanae had a bad feeling about this, and the others were quick to catch on, too. Everyone drew their weapons and entered slowly with Talon leading the way.

The farther they crept into the antechamber, the more Kanae was able to make out the subtle sound of… music. Light poured in from the opening of another set of doors on the other side. When Talon pushed it open, they found the source of the music.

Labelle, the Mistress of Debauchery, was sitting on a chair at the dais. She played a merry tune on her lute that echoed across the worship chamber. The music seemingly had more notes filling the air than just the string instrument in her hands could muster. Her audiences were a hundred or so succubus Sisters of Sin fighting for a turn with the high elves, their moans serving as the chorus to Labelle's climactic finale.

"Another Queen-Mother succubus…" Lani eyed the Mistress of Debauchery cautiously.

"An enemy to soak my talons in blood with!" Talon shot in with a burst of speed.

"Talon, wait! That's—" Kanae cried too late.

"Thank you, thank you! But I'm afraid I won't be accepting autographs." Labelle jumped onto her chair and played a rift on her lute. The ensuing vibrations caused Talon to careen to the side, crashing into a few rows of pews.

"An ally…" She finished her sentence groaning into her hand.

Labelle flew on her back like floating in a pooll of water while strumming her lute. Upon reaching Kanae and her companions, she landed gingerly and took a deep bow.

"I'm not going to clap if that's what you want." Kanae folded her arms. "What are you doing here and what happened to my monastery?"

"Kanae, man. I'm hurt! You need to praise talents in order to nurture them, ya know?" Labelle wagged a tail at her.

"That's right. I don't get enough credit being the greatest necromancer in the world." Edina nodded.

Kanae rolled her eyes and ignored the squirreling.

"If you gotta know, Mother sent me out. You gave us a chunk of land in the northwest, remember? We caught the sweet scent of some high elves poking their noses where they shouldn't. She wanted me to to check it out, offer some an invitation for dinner, and, well… give a concert to welcome them!" Labelle smirked.

"Help… I can't… cum anymore…" One of the high elves being sucked off by a succubus high elf croaked for help.

"Come on~ I'm still hungry! Give me more! You can give me more, can't you?" the Sister of Sin panted.

When Kanae pointed at them, Labelle threw her hands up.

"I had nothing to do with them if that's what you're asking! They were already fucking when I got here. I just thought they needed a little music, is all!"

Something hit the monastery hard, and the entire place shuddered. Kanae and Labelle exchanged glances wondering the other had anything to do with it. Another hit. This time, it blew a chunk off the worship chamber's rooftop.

"We're under attack! Quit fucking the high elves and arm yourselves!" Kanae ordered the Sisters of Sin.

"Dragon time?!" Edina asked.

"Dragon time." She nodded.

They escaped out the hole in the ceiling to meet a small army of high elven knights at the edge of the cliff. Spellcasters stood on the front line, preparing to cast another round of artillery magic.

"Don't waver!" an elven officer boomed. "Destroy this sanctum of sin. Our brothers and sisters' sacrifices will not be in vain! For the empire!"

"I fucking hate hecklers, man. It's rude to interrupt someone else's concert!" Labelle plucked a lute string, sending out a high-pitched screech that brought the spellcasters their knees.

The magic they were about to cast sputtered out. That wasn't all. One by one, the Ortesian mages began to take off their clothes and find a partner to make out with.

"That's better." She smiled, then turned to Kanae. "What are you waiting for, your majesty? Let's rock their worlds!"

"Sisters! Dinner came to our doorstep. It's time to feast! Talon, Edina, show them what you're made of!" Kanae empowered her companions with Bond and cracked her whip.