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

Twenty high elven prisoners of war lay defeated at Kanae's feet, all of them out of mana and gasping for breath. She kneeled down next to a woman. Her demeanor showed of defiance and spite, a familiar look that Kanae was all too used to from a high elf hailing from Ortesia.

"Don't look so smug… the might of the Empire of Ortesia will fall upon the Commonwealth like a hammer to a nail…" the lady knight snarled.

"Maybe. But you're going to be fighting on my side if or when that happens. Turn Horny!" Kanae tapped the elf's outer thighs, causing her to shiver in ecstasy.

"Ahhh— Mercy! I'm climaxing… guuhhh!" She threw her head back and foamed at the both from an intense orgasm.

Kanae stood up and clapped her hands of a job well done. The high elves were powerful and disciplined. Many of them were probably worth two Aidenhall knights in strength and magical prowess alone. Even those not crowned were adept in martial proficiencies. However, none of that meant anything without the anti-succubus magic potion to protect them.

Sisters of Sin flew in to carry the unconscious or incapacitated Ortesians back to the dungeons. They made for a great snack and sparring partners, but Kanae hadn't been able to fully test the upper limits of her two new passive spell buffs, Greater Holy Resistance and Steel Mind.

"Mooooom!" Suvee bellowed from afar. She was just now riding around the corner on Avon. Kanade was on the horse, too, mounted behind and holding onto Suvee's waist.

They were accompanied by Gretchen Redbaron, who had become like a second… third? Like third mother to them.

"Is school out already?" Kanae asked.

"It was out an hour ago," Gretchen answered. "We returned a while ago when they saw you facing the Ortesians and wanted to watch."

An idea lit up Kanae's mind.

"Gretchen, you're a priest! A high elven priest, too. I need your help blasting me with holy magic. Those high elves just now didn't cut it. The priests and paladins among them came nowhere near Gold or yours and Arenade's level," Kanae said.

"To test your new inked advantages, I presume? Very well. I may be enthralled by you, but should you ask me of it, I'll not hold back. Consider this payback for humiliating and defeating me." Gretchen unhooked the magic staff attached to her back to wield like an old friend.

"Oooh. Mom and Gretchen are going to fight? I'm betting my tail on Gretchen!" Suvee exclaimed, and Kanade nodded in agreement.

Did they just…

"You don't think your own mom is strong enough?" Kanae turned to her daughters with a frown.

"We saw Gretchen fight. We don't really see you fight," Kanade said.

Well… fair. If there was ever a time Suvee and Kanade witnessed Kanae fighting, she would be a bad mother for letting them be so close to a battle.

A servant came to grab Avon's lead and pulled him away from the courtyard. Once Kanae's daughters were far enough away, she and Gretchen got into place. They were about ten meters from each other, a short run and an even shorter spell fire away.

"I'm ready whenever you are, Gretchen! Hit me with your best shot!" Kanae yelled and stood her ground.

Two passive spell buffs worked in tandem with each other. Greater Holy Resistance, which raised her defenses against holy magic, and Lion's Pride, which granted durability against physical and magical attacks. Fighting Gold before with only just the latter still left Kanae with a bad beating. Now to see if the inked enhancement was worth its salt.

"Empowered Holy Fire!" Gretchen lifted her staff, and the sun appeared to lend its radiance.

Kanae shielded her eyes at two snaking flames swirled faster and faster above— then Gretchen swung the staff in a downward arc. Gold and red light engulfed her in holy magic. It seared her skin and… tickled.

"Oh, wow! It works!" Kanae cheered.

"Empowered Divine Strike!" Gretchen casted a second spell that Kanae wasn't ready for.

"Er…" She looked up to find giant golden swords poised to rain down on her. "Gretchen, wait—"

They showered the ground, leaving Kanae nowhere to run. Gretchen sprinted in and, before Kanae could react, struck her on the side of the head. When the spell had ended, she was lying flat with a bruise on her cheek and groaning in pain. One sword had plunged into the dirt between her thighs and another next to her head.

"Whoooo! Gretchen won! Does this mean we get more allowance, Mom?" Suvee had the gall to ask.

As soon as Kanae sat up, healing energies bathed her and restored every visible wound. She was back to having pristine skin again.

"Wait, what happened to me? Greater Holy Resistance states…" Kanae opened up her skill sheet.

[Greater Holy Resistance: Holy magic and holy physical attacks deal significantly less damage to you.]

"Holy Fire is purely holy magic. Divine Strike is a holy physical attack. The blunt side of my staff is neither. It is merely a physical attack," Gretchen explained and extended a hand to help Kanae to her feet.

"So, what you're saying is… I'm still weak." Kanae sighed.

"What I'm saying is, Gold can very well bludgeon you with the head of her warhammer, skewer you with the tip of her sword, or pierce you with an arrow. Be on your toes when you face her again. She isn't merely the inheritor of the mantle of Gold. We Ortesians regard her as the empire's shining knight. On that note, the Rook of Rotandrix is no less formidable on that front. Are you prepared?"

"No…"

"At least you're honest." The former archbishop chuckled.

A commotion erupted behind them. From around the corner, two guards fell backwards into view.

"Where's your queen? Kanae! I have a bone to pick with you!" Claudia stormed in and picked a fallen guard up by his cuirass.

"Oh, shit." Kanae tried to tiptoe away, but—

"There you are! How dare you think to leave me behind AGAIN! Is it me? Do you hate me? I thought we had a good thing going!" she yelled angrily after singling her out.

Kanae tensed up. Claudia, the Mistress of Pain and daughter of Queen-Mother Zariah, was furious that she hadn't picked her to be apart of the operation in liberating Talahurah.

"Is Mom having a lover's spat with someone else again?" Suvee whispered.

"Yes," Kanade answered promptly.

"It's not what you think, Claudia! I… I'm, uh… just saving the best fights to come for last!" Kanae tried to explain.

"By denying me a chance to exchange blows with this Rook of Rotandrix that you call her? She sounds strong. Strong enough to inflict the sweetest of pain on me. You even chanced upon Labelly the last time you left! Why do you get all the fun, and I'm to stay put?" Claudia complained.

"Talahurah won't exactly be happy about seeing another Mistress at their doorstep after the last one burned the city! I'm also not about to pull all of our muscles out of Ehmvier, which I should remind you, is very close to the border of Lograin! You know? Where almost ten-thousand Ortesians are gathered right now?" she reminded her.

The Mistress of Pain let out an expaserated sigh. Her shoulders slackened. Kanae, Claudia, and Gretchen noticed Suvee trotting up to her.

"You're very tall!" Suvee exclaimed.

"You think so?" Claudia playfully lifted the giggling Suvee into the air. "The more you fight, the taller and stronger you become!"

"Put the child down, fiend." Gretchen glowered, staff still in hand and wielding it more threateningly.

"Cattle with a bite. Be glad you're enthralled. I can't charm you even if I wanted to. You would be under my foot otherwise." She sneered in return.

Kanade hopped off Avon and jabbed Claudia with the tip of her wooden sword. Whatever she did, holy energy sparked on impact. The Mistress of Pain yelped in surprise. 

"Kanade!" Kanae yanked her daughter back.

"Did she do that?" Claudia asked in genuine bafflement. "A mere strike from your daughter managed to pass through my defenses."

"That's because Kanade is super strong. But I'm going to be strong, too!" Suvee pumped her fists.

Claudia smiled. She put Suvee down and nodded in encouragement.

"I get it now. I see why you would rather I stay, Kanae. Fine, fine!" Claudia put her hands up in resignation.

"Can't we go and fight with you?" Suvee glanced up at Kanae with a pout.

"Maybe when you're older. Until then, stay here with Gretchen and Claudia where it's safe. Promise me you won't go around finding trouble." Kanae grabbed each of them by the horn.

"We promise," they answered together.

Kanae pulled the two in to scrape their horns together. Unfortunately, their familial moment was short-lived. It seemed everyone wanted to meet with Kanae today. Lani and Lynn hollered to her from a walkway in the castle. She patted her daughters on the head, then flew up to meet with them.

"The two Vivirens you captured have completed drawing the magic circle, but… we won't be able to use it so soon," Lani explained.

They led Kanae into the library where two high elven Ortesian captives, Ralph Viviren and Jennibelle Viviren, cousins from House Viviren, were in the middle of channeling their magic into a chalk-drawn circle in the ground. Both were under firm control of Kanae's charm.

"Viviren portal magic, hm?" Lynn walked around the magic circle in awe. "It is a complex spell and talent taught by each successive generations of mages within their house. Traveling via their portals will consume vasts amount of mana. Not scaleable in use for moving a large number of people. Few at a time, however, has led to it being something of a luxury."

"How does it work exactly?" Kanae asked.

The witch continued, "They create two runic circles that connect long distances through shared enchantments. Both must be maintained by a member of the Viviren family. These circles are powered by the respective mage at each location. At any point that one of them runs out of mana, the circle collapses and must be remade. In other words, we have to create the second portal in Talahurah before it can be used. Even then, sparingly."

Something as complicated as this made Kanae appreciate Elizabeth Bedlam's arcane engine a lot more. Too bad she didn't have the luxury of that tower at her disposal right now…

"Lynn, you stay here to monitor this portal with one of the Vivirens. Lani, I need your firepower to face Avaline. We can set up the second portal with the other Viviren together after defeating her," Kanae said.

"Uuugh… I feel sick to my stomach thinking about facing Avaline." Lani shuddered in terror.

"Oh, come on. We've faced Gold… how many times now? Avaline can't be that bad," she said.

Lynn wagged a finger. "You don't understand, Queen Kanae. It's her stratagems that will be your greatest challenge. Lord-Major Stormcloud is first and foremost a grunt. A fighter. A warrior of renown. She takes orders rather than gives. People like the Rook of Rotandrix? They are the generals who lead those fighters. I've seen her conquer small countries in the name of the empire without so much as suffering a single casualty!"

This was not what Kanae needed to hear before leaving for Talahurah.

"Alright, well… I'm feeling a lot more confident now," Kanae replied jokingly. "We're leaving first thing in the morning. Get what you need done out of the way before then, Lani."

"You got it, Amethyst!" Lani nodded.

Kanae left the castle in search of Edina. Apparently, she and Esta were hanging out. Those two couldn't be a more odd pair. The squirreling's eerie abode, which was managed and guarded by undead, had long been patched up since the Pillar of the Damned's ritual summoning blew out her roof.

"Is your necromancer inside?" Kanae asked the undead guards.

They shook their heads.

Suddenly, both of them tensed up. Their crooked spines cracked straight. Empty eye sockets glowed deep purple.

"Kanae, that you?" Edina's voice came through them like a staticky intercom.

"Edina? How are you doing that?" Kanae asked, lightly rapping her knuckles on one undead.

"Heh. You wanna know? Speaker of the Dead! It allows me to project my voice through any of my minions and talk to the recently-deceased. We're at the casino blowing steam before tomorrow if you're hankering for a drink and gamble," she said.

"You are? Okay, I'll be there in a— WAIT. Don't you dare let Esta drink! She's pregnant… with MY child!" 

There was a snortling laughter on the other end.

"You better hurry. Esta's about to chug an entire barrel of whiskey!" Edina warned.

Kanae spread her wings and launched into the sky, then dive bombed for Edina's casino. It was located in the northwestern stretch of the city, in a burgeoning ward that was quickly developing into an entertainment district much like Lograin's Carnal District. Since the relief huts were located there, brothel and sex work naturally gravitated to where people visited most. Adjacent vices like gambling and drinking followed suit soon after.

Over the years, Edina Hackett and Renya Rown had erected their own little empires there as kingpins of vices. Neon signs powered by magic crystals lit up the streets. Prostitutes paraded themselves out in the open. Alcohol flowed smoother than the clearest river.

Dead Man's Gamble was a franchise that dipped its toes in every avenue imaginable. When Kanae threw open the doors to the casino, it was like she had returned to the excessively lavish Jewel once operated by the Outriders.

"Esta? Edina!" Kanae shouted into the venue, drawing eyes of patrons and employees alike to her.

"Over here!" Edina waved a giant sloshing stein from the bar, and Esta was next to her… empty-handed.

"Master, good of you to join us. Edina was just telling me about the times Arenade was pregnant by you. Motherhood is new to me, so I must admit… I'm a little scared," Esta said with a hand to her stomach and not at all looking drunk.

Kanae glared at the squirreling, who shrugged and whistled absentmindedly off to the side.

"I thought you were drinking, but I guess someone was only trying to give me a heart attack." Kanae rolled her eyes.

"Please, Master. I may be a first time mother, but even I know drinking isn't healthy for an infant. The child will know, however, the blood drunk fever of battle," Esta said.

"Yeah, yeah! That's the spirit!" Edina chugged her beer, then beckoned over an undead servant for a refill.

Kanae still couldn't help but worry. She was reminded of what Arenade… or at least what the Arenade in Marrowyn's trial had mentioned about Esta. Having already lost someone she cared deeply about, it was hard to let another put themselves in the way of danger again.

"Say, Esta? Are you sure about coming with us tomorrow? It's not too late to stay behind. No one is going to think the Knight of Silver is a coward. You've more than proved otherwise," Kanae reasoned.

"That pinching feeling of worry in your chest, Master? It is how I feel every time you to go fight without me by your side. I can only ever be at ease when you're in eyeshot. I want nothing more than to fight alongside you and to confront my mother together. So please, do not worry for mine and the child's safety. Our energy is better spent figuring out a way to defeat the Rook of Rotandrix," Esta explained, her voice so full of resolve that Kanae was hardpressed to find the words to argue back.

Then a hard slap on the back snapped Kanae back to her senses.

"What Esta means is…" Edina shoved a second stein into Kanae's hands. "We're roll them so hard, they won't even know what hit 'em. But it ain't happening if you keep being a succubus downer. Now, let's down these bad boys and down those baddies tomorrow!"

Kanae gazed into the golden nectar and saw her own worried expression. She thought of a victory instead. When a smile flashed across her face, she knocked back the beer. Edina and Esta were right. Enough sulking. They had prepared for so long and taken much needed wins recently, so there was reason to be hopeful.

Once the beer had emptied into Kanae's gut, she slammed the stein down and said, "I'm going to need something stronger than this!"

"That's the spirit!" Edina cheered.

"In that case, I'll also partake— a virgin drink obviously." Esta grinned.