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

Kanae couldn't believe what she was seeing— wait. Why couldn't she? Arenade was here. Had something happened to her? A profound sadness chewed at the back of Kanae's mind.

"Alright, I'm up." Arenade sighed and peeled the covers away having noticed Kanae staring hard. "What? Might you be admiring my extreme beauty? In awe of the divinity that wreathes my immaculate form? Heh. Very well, Kanae. I'll allow it, if not just but a moment to bless your dewy morning eyes!"

Dewy was right. A tear ran down Kanae's cheek. Overcome with these confusing emotions, she threw her arms over Arenade and squeezed. The warmth, scent, and touch was all so nostalgic.

"Whoa! What's gotten into you this morning?" she asked.

"I'm not sure. I felt like I was in the worst nightmare. You left me… or something. I had to handle everything on my own. Do you know how many times I just wanted to lay down and give up without you with me? I'm so tired! I just—"

Two gentle hands clasped Kanae's cheeks. Arenade leaned in and kissed her. Love tasted like honey. Like cool silken sheets against her skin. Kanae reciprocated, kissing back more deeply and vigoriously. They rolled around in bed like old times, wrapped in each others' arms and lips pressed tightly together.

"I'm right here," Arenade said reassuringly. "I'm not going to leave you. Well… not unless you decide to leave me, but then I'll be leaving you first because no one breaks up with me! Who would? I'm a demigoddess for Supreme One's sakes. You'd have to be crazy."

"God, I missed you." Kanae snuggled into Arenade's neck and kissed the sensitive skin around there to make her squirm.

"Psh. I bet you missed this body more than me. Anyway, I can't believe you were heartbroken having to do house chores all by yourself while I was away. Well, this is you we're talking about," she said condenscendingly.

"Er… House chores?"

Arenade expelled an exasperated groan and jumped out of bed. Kanae followed her out. She rummaged through the closet for the Matron's Regalia, but it was nowhere to be found. Instead, Arenade picked and shoved a work tunic into Kanae's hands. The fabric was coarse to touch. Burlap.

They emerged from the bedroom, and it was then that Kanae realized the place was a cabin and not a castle. Upon leaving the cabin, she couldn't be more shocked that it was a quaint farm and not a city. Where was Ehmvier? The cabin was surrounded by tomato plants propped up by wooden trellises, a small orchard of peach trees, and a few farm animals freely roaming about.

"Where are we? Don't we have a kingdom to rule?" Kanae asked as she stepped out into the farm.

"We left that behind us, remember? The Commonwealth is ruled by an ecclesiarchy now. The Church of the Eminence of Sin and elected city mayors jointly govern the country." Arenade beckoned Kanae over to the toolshed where she pulled out tools.

Did they really relinquish the crown to representatives instead? Kanae couldn't remember for the life of her. She snapped out of it when Arenade shoved a hoe into her hands.

"Huh? What's this?" Kanae held the farming tool for what must have been the first time in years.

"It's a hoe. You know, like yourself." Arenade smirked.

"Ha-ha. Very funny. I mean, what are we doing with this?" she asked.

Arenade answered Kanae by leading her to a greenhouse. Inside were many one foot-tall tomato plants in pots. Although Kanae didn't have much of a green thumb, even she knew their growth would be stunted if they weren't planted soon.

"We're going to transplant these before the end of the day. I'm here now. You won't be doing everything by yourself, so no need to go crying on me." Arenade teased.

Kanae rolled her eyes. She helped nonetheless. The two worked tirelessly under the beating hot sun without any protection other than straw hats and long sleeves. Kanae wielded a hoe in both hands and a second with her tail. After digging up the earth, Arenade transplanted a young tomato plant by hand. It took hours of back-breaking labor before they finally planted them all.

Next, they splashed each plant with a full pail of fingercrab juices to fertilize them. The stupid monsters needed to be milked, so the tasked fell to Kanae. She entered the pen and allowed them to fuck her until they had several troughs' worth of their liquidy spunk.

"I don't get it. Why aren't we using your Plant Growth to grow the tomatoes instead?" Kanae asked after emptying the final pail onto a plant.

"What kind of lazy talk is that? Tomatoes taste a lot better when they grow naturally. Well, it's fine to speed them up a little…" Arenade caved and cast Plant Growth upon their freshly-transplanted tomatoes.

Many of them went from a single foot to almost a yard tall. Arenade stopped there and didn't grow them any more beyond that. Kanae laid down on the soft, warm dirt and gazed up at the cerulean sky. Two tomatoes suddenly appeared in her vision.

"Try this one." Arenade handed her a tomato that was as firm as an apple.

Kanae bit into it. The flesh was tough. Not really tart and barely juicy.

"Gross." Kanae frowned.

"That was grown by Plant Growth. Try this. We grew it normally," she said, handing her the other one.

When Kanae sunk her teeth into the second tomato, a burst of flavor filled her taste buds. It had a slight sweet taste but was undeniably tart.

"It does taste good! I could see us making a nice salad with this. Or just eating it as is!" Kanae went for another bite, but Arenade snatched it away to munch on herself.

"Slow down there, buster. This isn't just for us to eat. We're shipping most of them to schools all over the Commonwealth. There's a lot of hungry kids to feed, let me tell you!" Arenade sat down beside Kanae to rest.

Kids… Right, they had kids.

"Come to think of it, where's our kids? Suvee and Kanade. Mine and Mitty's. Nelly, too. Are they here?" Kanae asked.

"Here? Did it slip your mind or what? My Nelly and your hob kiddies have been full-fledged Aidenhall knights for years now. Suvee and Kanade are attending school there, too. They grew up so fast, just like most of these tomato plants will. It's just you and me now. Been that way for… Gods, I don't even remember how many years." Arenade heaved a content sigh and smiled.

"Wow. We did good by them, then. Hold on… What about mine and Esta's kid?" she pressed for more.

Arenade turned to Kanae in surprise. Genuine surprise.

"WHAT?" Arenade gasped. "You and Esta went and had one, too?"

They stared at each other in confusion. How did Arenade not know? Unless she… she what? Something important was missing, and Kanae couldn't quite put her finger on what.

She continued, "I guess it isn't really a surprise coming from a hornbat like you. But by the Supreme One's hairy ass, Estaline von Cleisseldor, the Knight of Silver? Huh. Yeah. I think you're going to be alright with her. The kids, too."

"What do you mean by that?" Kanae asked, but Arenade jumped up and extended a hand down to her. She took it. Hand in hand, the two wandered into their tomato farm and peach tree orchard. Just like their children, they raised all of this with hard work, love, and patience.

Arenade looked so beautiful as streaks of sunlight hit her skin. Even if she was wearing a leather work tunic, or even if her hair was tied up in a bun and now flowing freely like usual. She didn't need the Halo of Holy Radiance to appear so dazzling and bright either.

Following after Arenade from behind… this was everything that Kanae wanted. Right here. With the woman she dearly cared for and who cared for her back.

Kanae stopped walking, and their hands separated. Arenade walked a few more paces ahead before coming to a halt, too. As though to fill the void, her hands clasped together behind her back.

"This isn't real, is it? The farm, the tomatoes… you," Kanae said.

"What's gotten into you?" Arenade asked without so much as turning around. "Of course, it's real! You were practically tongue-fucking me earlier, weren't you? You ate the tomato. You're tired from hoeing the earth all morning like how you hoe yourself out so often."

"That snappiness makes it very convincing that I'm doubting myself. Maybe I am crazy, but…"

Arenade whipped around, stormed up to Kanae, and kissed her. They stayed that way for what felt like ages, lips and fingers locked in an embrace.

"What if I told you that I am real?" Arenade asked.

"That's the thing… I don't know. I don't know! You didn't know Esta was pregnant, and your surprise was so real. I think I remember a war, a Rift, something I had to do… you being dead… Marrowyn! This IS a Rift! So why wouldn't he make you know about Esta being pregnant? Ugh. My head hurts just thinking about it!" Kanae sulked in the former demigoddess' chest.

"Sheesh. What a crybaby. You need to get your aching head back in the game. There's work to do. The longer you wait here, the worse it gets out there. But… if you want to cuddle up in my arms like a baby, I'm not going to tell you to screw off." She hugged tightly.

"But I have to go, right? Even if I might not see you again, I have to go?"

Arenade nodded in response.

How great would it be to stay here and farm for the rest of their lives together? Wake up in the morning for another session and cuddles. Farm tomatoes and peaches all day. They would go to bed after having steamy hot sex. Start over. Things were so much easier when they were picking up quests to earn pocket change.

"I got a question for you. Remember way back when in Orturic? I sitting on the side of the road covered in fleas. Your first fucking word to me was 'geh'. You remember that, you horny shit?" Arenade asked.

"Pfft. Yeah, I remember. You smelled so bad." Kanae laughed under her breath.

"Laugh it up, buster. This question is your trial. Am I still just a sex slave to you?" She looked deeply into Kanae's eyes in search of the answer.

"You forcibly yanked me into this world and got me genderbent. You're also the mother of my daughter. You're somehow the most charitable yet self-centered, luxury-seeking bitch I've ever met. So… Yeah. You're still my sex slave. We made a vow on that. But… you're also the love of my life."

A single tear streaked down Arenade's grinning face. She blinked away the rest, then dove in for another kiss. They continued to do so even as cabin, farm, and plants faded away like paint washing off a canvas until only an open sky remained. When their lips parted, Kanae did the unthinkable— she groped Arenade's tits.

"Seriously?" Arenade put both hands on her hips.

"If this ends up being the last time I ever see you again, I'm not wasting this chance. Your boobs really are the best. I can't get over how big and plush they are! After all, it's all a part of you who I love so much." Kanae flashed a mischevious smile.

"A perv through and through, always wanting to defile the temple that is my body. I love you, too." She threw herself in for one final hug, the tightest one yet that neither of them wanted to let go of.

When Kanae opened her eyes, Arenade was gone. Her arms held air instead, but her hands clenched together with a sense of closure and resolve. It occurred to Kanae that she forgot to tell Arenade the single-most important thing.

"We found a way to resurrect you. Boy, are you going to be surprised when you come back to life. So much has happened, I wouldn't even begin to know where to start. One thing's for sure… You better bet I'm going to grope the crap out of your boobs again, too!" Kanae shouted into the vast skies.

"Lust and love are oftentimes confused with each other. When the scales are tipped in either direction, they deceive your heart's deepest desires. Only in balance might you find what it is you truly yearn for. If my people possessed even an iota of your wisdom, young succubus, perhaps they would not have tipped the scales into oblivion," Marrowyn explained cryptically.

"I know Rifts are the gods' playgrounds. You can affect us and many things not possible in the real world. Was that just now… Was that the real Arenade?" she asked.

"Who am I to say? You have found balance. Your heart knows the answer. However, that is not important here. Go, with my blessing. Press on to the third and final trial."

Everything went black. When Kanae opened her eyes, she was lying on a bed in a dormitory room. Her companions were fast asleep in beds, too. Well, Titan was lying on the ground.

"Guys, wake up! I've completed the second trial. Hello? Helloooo!" Kanae repeatedly patted Mitty on the cheek, but he wouldn't wake up. She went to do the same of Aisha. Same thing.

There was no god damn way she was supposed to wait for them to complete or fail their trial, right? Wait… but did failing mean they would stay dreaming forever? Kanae searched the room for clues, and it didn't take long for find a common theme. A glowing, diamond-shaped crystal rested beneath their pillows. The crystal in the bed she was lying on earlier had gone inert and stopped glowing.

"Hmm…" Kanae grabbed the crystal tucked under Mitty's pillow, and a magical force suicked her inside.

"Aahhhhh!'

"Can't catch meee!"

"I'm better than you. Nyeeeh!"

Kanae panicked at forty goblin and hobgoblin children frolicking in the field. They were all play-fighting. Some of them, the girls at least, had succubus features. The boys didn't.

"Kanae? Oh, thank the Supreme One!" Mitty sighed heavily. He carried a succubus goblin baby in each arm, and they were wailing at the top of their lungs. "Can you feed Tanya and Koppi? I think they're hungry."

"Wait, is your dream about us having all these kids? How many did we have?!" Kanae cried.

"We're up to 39 now with the 40th and 41st on their way!" He pointed to her stomach.

Kanae glanced down. Her belly had swelled up significantly to accomodate twins.

"I'm not sure I wanted THIS many kids! Mitty, snap out of it. This is a Rift trial. You have to find… what did Marrowyn say? Something about balancing lust and love. This must be love. You love me a lot to want to have all these children. I love you, too. You're my first boyfriend. You make my heart sing and pussy throb like crazy. BUT we need to be realistic," Kanae explained.

The children began to disappear one by one. The pair in Mitty's arms were the last to vanish. In their place, their four kids appeared behind him, all smiling and placing a hand on his shoulders.

"Sorry… My father used to yell at me all the time that I was useless… That I wouldn't find a mate to have children with. When we got together and had Teana, Pan, Revah, and Mikki, it just made me so happy. You're right. The four of them are honestly enough for me, but I'm always open for more! At least a few more!" Mitty grabbed Kanae's hands.

"I won't say no to that." Kanae returned the smile.

When the world faded away, Kanae and Mitty awakened next to each other.

"What… happened?" Mitty asked, rubbing his eyes.

"No time to explain!" Kanae grabbed Aisha's dream crystal and was teleported into a similar field.

However, instead of Kanae and Mitty's children, Aisha had a harem of men whom she had bore an army of children with. Amusingly, William Bellevue, was the only man worthy enough to stand by her side. The others were her breeding fodder, much like how a succubus treated sex slaves.

"Aisha!" Kanae shouted.

"Ah, fuck. You're here. Don't mind me, I already know this is a trial. I just wanted to have a little fun first." Aisha groaned.

The two of them emerged from the dream right away, much to Kanae's surprise. Aisha was a lot more formidable than she had given her credit for. Next was Lani and Chappy. They were in the same bed together that only had a single dream crystal.

As soon as Kanae grabbed it, she entered a place of pitch darkness. The sounds of squelching and moans came first. Echoes of Chappy talking dirty to her rang across the void. Images of Lani being fucked by tentacles appeared all around. The living grimoire held a leash attached to Lani's collar and walked her naked through town. He withheld sex from her until she availed herself to being gangbanged by ruffians and beasts. Through it all, Lani had the most depraved smile on her face that would make a succubus blush.

"Of course, their lust was extremely imbalanced." Kanae sighed into her hand.

Maybe there was a way to trick them. Marrowyn used those dream crystals to create a world for them to live in that felt real. Much like lucid dreaming, Kanae attempted the same by imposing her will upon this world. She forged from thought a wedding ceremony, church, decorations, and all. Lani, dressed in a skimpy wedding dress, and Chappy, wearing only a bowtie on his leather cover, physically manifested in front of Kanae.

"Am… Amethyst?" Lani gasped.

"What's going on? A second ago, I was about to shove some anal beads into my sweet Lani!" Chappy complained.

"We're gathered here today to wed these two lovely… sex-crazed lunatics in holy matrimony. Do you, Chappy, take this horny beastman hare as your lawfully-wedded wife, in sickness and in health?" Kanae asked.

The confusion went away immediately as they were caught up in the pace of the ceremony.

"Hells yeah, I do!" Chappy exclaimed and slapped Lani's ass with a tentacle.

"And you, Lani, do you take this… horny book as your lawfully-wedded husband, in… wrinkly bindings and in healthy pages?" Kanae turned to the Saint Priest.

"I-I do!" Lani answered passionatelly.

"Then with the powers vested in me as a High Priestess of the Eminence of Sin, I pronounce you husband and wife! Chappy, you may now fuck the bride." She stepped away as a tangle of tentacles sprouted from the pages.

Lani gazed up at the many appendages that awaited her, hands pressed together and legs trembling. Drool slipped down from the corners of her lips. Misty eyes in which the pupils were fully dilated, welcomed what was to come. However, instead of fucking her, Chappy gently wrapped his tentacles around the warlock.

"I used to be the hungriest darn living grimoire to ever roam the world, then you came along with your unquenchable libido. I'm glad you found me, Lani. I'll be with you until the day my pages fall apart!" Chappy cried.

"Hehe. I feel the same way. When we're together, all I know is happiness. You may be a devil, but you're my devil!" Lani embraced the living grimoire in return as tentacles began to poke, prod, and molest every hole on her body.

Kanae wiped the tears from her eyes. That was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen, and she was happy for them.

"Hrm… This doesn't feel right, but they DO seem to care about each other. In their own twisted way. I'll hand it to you and them," Marrowyn said.

The three of them were kicked out of the dream. Kanae came to consciousness and shook off the daze.

"Chappy, wait! Not while people are watching— aahhh!" Lani moaned at the top of her lungs.

It looked like they were continuing where the dream had left off. Only two more. Kanae saved Titan for last, because she was curious about Lynn Alton's dream. She landed in a massive throne room with columns of white and gold surrounding it. Banners, familiar and unknown, draped down from the ceiling. Lynn sat atop the throne overlooking kneeling high elves.

"Ahaha! Who's empress now, you conniving bastards? Me! I'm the—" Lynn locked eyes with Kanae and squeaked. "Kanae Toyomi is my queen! My queen until the end of my days!"

The world melted away. Kanae returned to reality with Lynn prostrating before her in apology.

"I suppose some desires don't change. You high elves really have it locked down for one thing only," Kanae said mockingly.

"Even so, my loyalty is to you! Please, forgive my subconscious transgressions!" Lynn pleaded.

Lust for power was a thing, too, it seemed. 

One more to go. Kanae walked up to the slumbering Titan and could only fathom what he was dreaming about. It must be an imbalance of lust, right? Languisteeds were intelligent, but were they also deeply emotional creatures? She touched the dream crystal and entered his dream expecting to be railed by his enormous cock. Instead, a cool breeze was coursing through her hair. Crisp mountain air filled her lungs.

Kanae was riding on top of Titan while he galloped across the countryside of the Commonwealth. The sun cast a warm glow upon them.

"Awww, Titan! This is all you really want with me? Maybe I'm the one with an imbalance of lust," Kanae said.

Hmm? So did Titan have an imbalance of love, or was it balanced and this was an Aisha moment?

The languisteed gradually came to a halt on a hill. They had a nice view of the setting sun that was now pulling a blanket of orange and red across the sky. She dismounted from Titan, only for him to nuzzle against her chest. That was when she saw it— his dick fully erect and throbbing for release.

"It wouldn't hurt to fool around for a bit. Lani and Chappy had their fun. Why don't we?" Kanae asked as went down on him.