Kawa, the city built for and by the ogres.

Or rather, a certain subset of ogres — those that forgoed their nomadic traditions and decided to build a civilization similar to that of the humans.

They were the Altra Clan. And they were pretty much an exile amongst all the other ogre clans as they deemed them heretics who had abandoned their ancestral traditions.

However, it led them to become the most prosperous ogre clan. Their new culture, like the Falca garb, was exported everywhere across the Continent.

The city was located further south from Ixon, deeper into the Demon Continent. Here, humans, elves, dwarves,  and other non-demonic races were the minority. Laws were even less enforced than they already were in the human cities. The ogres cared more about honor over some texts written on paper. Someone stole from you? You beat them up and get your goods back. Someone impregnated your wife behind your back? Challenge him to a duel to the death.

And so, when Myrilla immobilized and dragged Orluk out of the Adventurer's Guild and into an alleyway nearby, no one bothered to help him.

"You! What do you know about the Izurd?"

She pinned him onto the wall, using what could only be described as human-shaped miniature tornados. It was her Master-level spell, Whirlwind Automata.

She activated her mind-reading ability, not even bothering to wait for him to answer.

What she saw made her gasp.

"H-Hugo? Hugo Greenwood? How? Why? Why is he here?"

There was no mistake.

What she saw was his face. The son of Alan. He was a lot older for sure but the way he looked — it was definitely him for sure!

She dispelled her automata. And she began reading the ogre's mind more intimately.

Alan! Where is he?

...No! He's not there! Why isn't he there?

...And that idiot brat! He's just as careless as his father! Killing all those people… does he want to be a wanted man?

...Arborea. I have to go there. Right away.

Right when a war is about to break out as well.

As she left the ogre, however…

"Wait!" The ogre croaked, slowly standing up. "You're Lord Hugo's friend, right? You know about the Izurd too. That's why you dragged me out here. You wanted to keep the secret."

Myrilla turned, eyeing him impatiently.

"I'll go with you. You'll need an escort, no?"

"And the dark elf? Do you want to bring her with you too?"

He paused.

"Yes. I can't leave her. Not after what happened to her mother."

"Then stay here. You both will be safer here. As you should already know, war is breaking out in the north. It's no place for a child. Or her babysitter.”

“...You got a point.” He sighed. Smiling, he said, “Send my regards to Lord Hugo, will you? Tell him that we’ve made it safe and sound home. Oh, and one more thing. You know where the Izurds are?”

“Of course. You don’t have to concern yourself with that anymore. In fact, forget about them entirely. And do not spread any rumors of their existence. Really, asking around in the open like that, I saw the little kid telling you to keep it a secret.”

“A-apologies!” The ogre bowed. “I’m really… not that good at stealthily gathering information.”

“Yes, I can see that. Really, the fact that he asked that of you is already an idiotic move on itself.”

With those cold words, the moth demoness finally left the ogre.

She had to hurry.

She owed it to Alan to keep his children safe. Or else he would hate her forever.

And that… even after all this time… she could not bear.

And if he was all the way out here on this continent…

Alan, what are you doing?! The plan is for your kid to wait until I return with Sherry!

...No, something couldn't have happened to you, could it?!

Fear crept into her heart.

If anything happened to him…

--------

Marlene

"Damn you… DAMN YOUUU! YOU BITCH! DAUGHTER OF A WHORE!"

"Lionfang Stormbeard. Oh how lowly you've fallen."

With a smile, Marlene drilled the heel of her boots onto his head.

The once powerful warrior was no more. He had been defeated. Not in an honorable fight, but by an act of betrayal.

Marlene, while he fought one of the wives of the Demon Lord, hit him with one of her spells. It allowed his opponent to take the initiative and cut his torso, splitting his body into two.

The man was now legless, bleeding profusely as his entrails escaped his abdomen.

"I should've known… you made a deal with them in your escape."

"Indeed. And you're too stupid to foresee it."

The last thing the man saw was her smiling face, as she aimed her wand towards him.

“You’ll regret this, Marlene Relfatia.”

“Oh, don’t worry. I won’t.”

With a simple Wind spell, she put a hole in his brain.

Ending him out of his misery.

“You’re finished?

She looked up, seeing the lamia approaching her.

https://pin.it/5vVHnku

Aisha Bethel Naturia. The first wife of Balthazar.

The possessor of the Mimic ability. She can fight Lionfang toe by toe, just by mimicking his axeplay.

Perhaps she gained that ability for being a special mutated version of lamia. That singular eye of hers… it gives me the creeps.

She's definitely an even more terrifying foe than the Mountain Buster. I made the perfect choice to side with these guys instead.

I didn't get to fight her before so I don't know if she can copy spellcasting as well, but if she could, it would be really troublesome to fight her.

“Yes, I’m finished,” she answered. "My soldiers had already routed Lionfang's as well. How about on your side?"

The lamia paused, her gaze looking upward to the scarlet sky.

"Squawwkk!"

A crow descended, landing on top of the lamia's head.

"...I see. Yes, they had routed the rest of the human army. We are victorious."

"Wonderful." Marlene smiled, resting her hands on her waist. "As promised, you are now free to 'liberate' the rest of the continent while I shall return to Arborea in triumph."

"Your sister… the half fairy… bring her to us."

"Of course! You'll have your half-fairy in no time."

That day, the demons won the engagement in a dominant fashion.

Out of the 100,000 soldiers they mustered, only 5,000 remained. And those were the soldiers that belonged to Arborea.

Only the upper echelons of command were informed of the betrayal plot. And so, when the order came to betray their human allies, a lot of the soldiers refused to follow along. Or they simply didn't know any better.

They became sacrifices. For a new and free Arborea.

As for the other cities and the Church's forces…

They were decimated completely.

The humans no longer had any strength to resist the demon invasion.

And so, one by one, the other city states surrendered unconditionally.

That day would become known as the Day of Betrayal in the history books.

It was the day when humanity lost its grip on the Demon Continent.

--------

When the Lady returned to Arborea, the city burst forth in a fanfare.

Not knowing any better, the citizens believed the human alliance had won and thus, they celebrated. They cheered and cried as Marlene made her way through town on top of her horse with her entourage.

But, Marlene, knowing the fact that the truth couldn't be hidden for long, immediately gathered the citizens on the city plaza, saying there was an announcement she had to make.

"Citizens of Arborea! Hear me! Today, I am here speaking to you as the daughter of the Relfatia house! I shall be the one leading this city once my good father retires!"

She was standing on a podium, looking down at the immense crowd before her.

"I have my own dream for this city! You may be satisfied by its current state but I am not! I know we can do better! I can do better!"

The crowd cheered. They didn't understand what she meant but they cheered anyway.

“And so, I made the decision — to live in harmony with the demonkind instead of rejecting them. To build a bridge between our two races so we can all better each other.

“In short, from now on, Arborea is out of the Human Alliance. We will stand with Ixon in this conflict instead.”

The reaction to her announcement was, as you would expect, silence, followed by chaotic shouts of the masses demanding her to explain what she meant by her statement.

She answered readily, saying that it meant Arborea had betrayed the Alliance, leading to its complete and utter defeat.

"As such, the demon army shall march to the other city-states and conquer them one by one. But do not fret. Arborea shall remain under my family's rule. It is the deal we have struck with them.

"This is for the best of this city. Of this country. You'll see, once you see what happens to the other cities.

"Arborea shall prosper. Now and forevermore!"

With those words, she ended her speech, ignoring all the cries and demands for explanation coming from the crowd.

Afterwards, she ordered her spies to spread amongst the masses, making sure that no one would try to assassinate her or her family. She knew that some of her subjects were openly bigoted towards the demons, especially those aligned closely to the Church and their Milicis religion. If a plan was found, the culprit would find themselves hanged the next day, as a display for the others to fall in line.

And then came the news of the fall of the city-states. Korlopur and Kanaan were razed to the ground as they resisted until the very end. Ul’Nemo’s merchants swiftly betrayed the Church, handing over all the remaining Church officials in their city to them. One of the Demon Lord’s children was then assigned to act as the city’s governor.

As for the other city-states, which was Fontaine, Maxias, and Coatlan — all of them survived like Ul’Nemo, quickly handing over all those that refused to be under demon rule. As such, their cities were spared as well, with three other children of the Demon Lord assigned for each.

Thanks to both, the citizens of Arborea began to change their minds. They realized just how fortunate they were that their leader had such foresight to join in with the demons early. Even now, their city remained unchanged, still ruled by human leaders.

And so, they quickly accepted their new fate.

--------

Myrilla

More wastelands and craters… just how far the fighting went?

Myrilla was now riding a Scarab, the cockroach-like insect commonly used as a replacement for horses in the Demon Continent. She had purchased it from a merchant in Kawa and she had brought it all the way out here to the north. According to her map, she should already be near the human regions.

Right at where the big battle happened.

She had heard the news — how the demons won a decisive victory. To be honest, even though she was a demon herself, she preferred the humans to win. After all, Hugo might be staying in one of the human cities. And who knew what the demons would do to the humans once they conquered their cities?

Her first destination was Fontaine. She hoped she could find information regarding his presence. Anything at all. Even if it was just information of him passing through the city.

She knew that he most likely was going to where Sherry was. But he shouldn’t have the needed information to go there. If he was smart, which she knew he was, he would be gathering information first, just like that ogre. He wouldn’t depart until he had a lead of some sort. Which meant people would see his face asking around.

Of course, she knew the chance of her finding him was slim, knowing just how big this continent was and how old the information she got was. But she had to try anyway. She owed that to Alan.

-------

Arriving at Fontaine, she noticed the somber atmosphere immediately.

The city was deathly silent, almost as if it was deserted. There were barely any people walking on its streets, and when people saw her, they all whimpered and ran away.

Fear.

People were afraid. Especially of her kind.

It can't be helped. They've just been conquered after all.

After purchasing an inn room with a stable, or rather, the innkeeper giving it for free if she were to spare her life, she then began her information gathering. She visited the city's Adventurer Guild as well as all the taverns she could find.

Unfortunately, however, being a demon, the people were far less receptive than she wanted.

Many would run away. Others would give her the cold shoulder.

Thankfully, she could read their minds so her unfortunate treatment was mitigated somewhat but it was still an unpleasant experience.

Not that she cared. The only human she ever liked was Alan. The rest could just die for all she cared.

Eventually, on the third day, she finally found her lead.

It came from an elven bard. That night, she found her in a tavern, regaling a tale of a demon boy who slaughtered a group of adventurers without mercy.

Realizing that it could very well refer to Hugo (bards loved to exaggerate their stories after all), she asked her for the details.

"Oh, my source?" She smiled. "I heard it from some adventurers that came from Arborea. Apparently, this boy somehow managed to take on the strongest adventurers there! Ten to one! Isn't it amazing?!"

"Do you know his name?" Myrilla asked.

"Umm… Hugo… Greenwood, if I'm not mistaken."

Myrilla's heart skipped a beat.

She immediately scanned her mind.

She was not lying.

"Too bad I wasn't there when it happened! I much prefer first hand sightings for my muse!"

She didn't wait for another second.

She departed for Arborea straight away.

-------

Hugo

"Milord!"

The moment I finished teleporting to the others, Felicia ran and threw her entire body on top of me.

Both of us fell to the floor, with her boobs landing right on top of my face.

*BOING*

To be honest, I let myself fall. I could just dampen my landing with my aura so it wouldn't hurt in the slightest.

I just wanted to feel her boobs pressing onto my face like this.

*Sniffff*

Aahh, her body odor… erotic as always.

…

After what I learned, I just wanted to be smothered by these heavenly pillows forever.

She lifted her body, smiling in the process. I could see her cherry red nipples peeking through her loose dress.

Her smile soon turned into a frown. She stood up and glared at Xaela.

"You really should've told us beforehand that you would steal Lord Hugo all for yourself."

"Apologies. But the conversation we had was a private one. Those who are not an Unchained One have no right to participate."

Oooh, red as usual.

Before I stood up, I looked up Felicia's dress, staring at the red thong she wore.

Somehow, the sight was calming. Almost therapeutic in fact.

...Yeah, one of my coping mechanisms is doing perverted stuff with her.

Still, enough of this.

I have to tell her everything.

I stood up, dusting my clothes in the process. I looked around my new surroundings.

So this is the 601th floor…

This looks like… a city? And the style of architecture… Ancient Greek…

But the size… it's so big… as if it's a city of giants…

Naturally, I knew nothing about the place. There were no records of adventurers getting this far inside the Observatory.

"Unchained One, should I be the one to tell them?"

I shook my head. "No. I'll do it."

And so, I began my tale.

-------

When I finished, my surroundings were filled with disbelieving, confused faces.

I couldn't blame them. I could barely process it myself.

"It's hard to take in, isn't it?" I chuckled, smiling wryly. "Well, I wouldn't blame any of you for not believing it. But don't worry. Once we are back outside, you will slowly forget everything I just told you. It is the 'protection' given to the world by the Heavenly Dragon."

"It's… it is hard to believe, yes…" Felicia bit her lip. "An evil goddess… the true nature of the Heavenly Dragon… and you, Milord, being a soul from another world…"

"Yeah, I need to apologize for that. For hiding it from you. I still retained the memories of my old life. Which means I am not technically a 13-year old kid. Adding 28 from my old life, I'd be 41 years old. Just like those old men you hated."

"I don't care about that! You're Hugo Greenwood, no matter who you were in the past! You're the kind and heroic boy that had saved me from the darkness! Who you were in the past would never erase that!"

"Really? At least it should sour your opinion on me a little. Remember all those times I groped your chest? Or when you pleasured my member? I wasn't the cute young man I thought I was. I was an old, obese man. Surely you'd be disgusted—"

She grabbed my hands and placed them on her chest, smiling as her eyes teared up a little.

"Oh, Milord. Even if you were an old, obese man, I would still service you with a smile. I don't fall in love with you because of your appearance. You're… you're the first to ever accept me… and you saved me as well, even though you knew I was a necromancer… all that made me fall for you, Milord. You're the man I want to spend the rest of my life with. Without question."

I gave her breasts a strong squeeze, enjoying the soft yet firm sensation it gave.

"Xaela?" I glanced behind me. "Can you show her how my old self looks? You can see it, can't you? With that eye of yours?"

"...I can. I shall project the image on the air. If you're fine with the others seeing it as well."

"Yes, that's fine." There's no point in hiding it anymore.

With a snap of her finger, a holographic image appeared.

My image.

Bespectacled, overweight, unshaven double chin…

An unpleasant, disgusting sight.

Theo and Tira gasped. Tama glared. As for Felicia, she took a short glance at it, faced me again, and pulled my hands even tighter to her chest.

"You're still more handsome than those men I had to service." She smirked.

"... You're lying. There's no way that man over there—"

"Stop being so harsh on yourself. Is it not enough, hearing my encouraging words?"

She was right.

Why was I doubting her so much?

"Then, you should like me doing this."

Before she could react, I took a step forward and kissed her in the lips.

Her eyes widened as she staggered backward. With my hands, still glued to her breasts, I played with her nipples, pinching and squeezing with both my thumb and my index finger.

As shocked as she was, she quickly responded, entering her tongue into my mouth. The famous French’s kiss. As our tongue danced, my hands pleasured her chest.

“H-hey! What are you doing? Y-you can’t do that kind of stuff now! Get a room!”

It was Tama’s voice, barely audible as euphoria filled my brain to the brim.

She really wasn't disgusted at all.

She still liked me, even after she knew the truth. Even after she knew I had been lying to her all this time.

My heart was never as light as it was at this very moment

Only once we both had to take a breath that we stopped. She was blushing and smiling with joy. And I imagined I was doing the same too.

"Hmph, now that you two lovebirds are finished, I have a declaration to make."

Tama was the one who spoke. Her hands were now on her waist.

"I barely understood what you just said so I'll leave the decision to my dear Theo. I'll follow him wherever he goes."

Well, that's surprisingly honest coming from her.

"I'll follow you, Master Hugo! I won't let that evil goddess harm you! Killing your parents, separating you from your sister… that's just wrong and I won't stand for it!"

"Theo's right." Tira followed. "Even if we can't do much in a fight, we still would like to assist you however we can. Even if It's just as a maid. When you two start a family, you would need a caretaker after all." She smiled.

Hearing that, Felicia's cheeks reddened.

A smile formed on my face.

Yeah, it would be nice to have them around once we settle down.

Still a long time away though.

-------

Xaela then lifted the mind block on them one by one, using the same commands as she used at me. Hearing them over and over, I couldn't help but imagine the Heavenly Dragon as less "artificial god" and more "artificial intelligence". He's probably both, to be honest.

And then, it was time for my training.

"You want to train with her, Milord? For how long?" Felicia asked. "I feel it's better if we just depart Arborea right away. Who knows what's going on out there with the war and all?"

"It won't be for long," I replied. "She told me I need to leave soon. Someone who knows where Sherry is is coming."

"Hmm?" She raised an eyebrow. "And how does she know that?" She narrowed her eyes on her.

"The Astrolabe on the top floor of this facility can predict fate, albeit in a limited capacity," Xaela explained. “I am sure it will be best for him to stay in this town a little longer until that person arrives.”

“And do you know who that person is?” Felicia returned.

Xaela shook her head. “No. The Astrolabe isn’t that precise, unfortunately.”

Felicia huffed. “Your ancient technology sounds not all too different from a crystal ball. And, to be frank, I still don’t quite believe that Fate really is a tangible thing you can predict or manipulate.”

Ah, a skeptic. Being scientifically-minded, of course she’d be one.

Xaela’s gaze suddenly sharpened as if she took offense to what she just said.

“I assure you, it is very real. The Ancients have researched Fate for a very long time, just so they could free themselves from the Goddess’ grip once and for all. You would be doing them a disservice if you think the Chains of Fate is not a real phenomenon that exists in this world.”

“Fine, if you say so.” Felicia sighed. “But I’m coming with him. So are the others.”

“That won't be necessary. The rest of you should return back to town — prepare for the arrival of that person. I’ll keep him safe. Don’t you worry about that.”

“Hmph! How about the Demon Lord? Isn't she still in this dungeon?"

"She won't be a danger. That swordswoman will take care of her. In fact, she insisted she wished to have a fight with her, one on one, without any outside help."

“And you trusted her?!”

“Of course. After all, she is one of the chosen Heroes.”

“Chosen… Heroes?”

Yeah, I didn’t mention the whole thing with the Cycle in my explanation before. To make things shorter, you know.

“Umm, Felicia? If you want an explanation on that front, we’ll be standing here for another fifteen minutes.”

“Yes, explain please, Milord! I don’t care if I have to stand here for another hour!” She pouted.

Yep, of course she’ll be stubborn like this. As if she’ll willingly let me be with another girl for a considerable amount of time without her being there as well.

“Alright, alright, I’ll do it.” I sighed. “I’ll give the abridged version though. We don’t have all day after all.”