Myrilla

And there she goes…

Now, time to do my part…

My thought returned to the succubus being tied up in my room. Hugo was right. She really was a rotten girl through and through.

It was all the fault of her mother. She spoiled her too much. And her father as well, who never cared what she did outside of his eyes.

The household of the Demon Lord of Wisdom… it was not the ideal household this city imagined it to be.

Still, it also meant her own fault, as she was old enough to make her own decisions. Which meant being tied up like this—she deserved it and more.

But, the problem was, how would we transport her out of the city? It would be too risky to do so. As a daughter of the local Demon Lord, there would be people who know her.

And staying here could mean making it easy for the Demon Lord's forces to search for her. Even now, I could see several skyfishes swimming about. One glance of the rotten princess and they would know where she was.

There was one thing that we could do to bypass that problem however.

And I didn't like it in the slightest.

ㅤ

"Your plan is to make her a slave?"

"Not just any slave. One that is tattooed with an obedience rule. Add some disguise on top of that and she'd be a different person entirely."

After Sherry’s departure, we resumed our meeting inside Hugo’s room. I promptly made the proposal when the topic got brought up, earning a confused look from him.

I couldn't blame him. He probably thought I was the kind of person who hated slavery. Just like he did.

"It ensures that she would never try to escape," I continued. "For even the slightest thought of disobedience—"

"—will bring great pain to her entire body." With a grim look on his face, he finished my sentence.

"While thoughts of servitude will be rewarded by pleasure," I added. "It's the most effective way to make a slave to obey you."

"Isn't that too cruel? Kidnapping her is one thing but making her a tattooed slave—"

"It's not too cruel," I interrupted his thoughts. "She deserves it. I've read her memories all night and she's worse than you think."

He fell silent, exchanging a glance with Felicia.

"I'm not opposed to it myself," She replied. "A vile woman like her deserves to be amongst the lowest, dirtiest slaves. But how do you propose we get a slaver that can burn the rune into her? You know how expensive the whole procedure is."

"I'll do it. Have you forgotten? My kind is responsible for selling and crafting most of the mind-altering slave devices out there. You can say that my kind specializes in lobotomizing the brains of others."

"...Oh, right, I remember hearing something like that…" Hugo's thoughts entered my mind. "But judging by her disgusted expression, she's not proud at all of the fact, is she?"

"It's one of the many reasons I left my homeland," I answered him. "But, enough of my past. Felicia, I'll need you to ready a special runic ink according to my specifications. Can you brew it fast?"

"Runic ink?" She smiled. "I already have that ready. But, if you need something more specific, one hour should be enough to synthesize a new one."

"Good," I switched my gaze to Hugo. "As for you, Hugo, I want you to buy some female slave clothes. You know where the slave market is, don't you?"

"Yeah yeah, I know." He smiled back. "I don't like going to that place though. It upsets my stomach." I heard his added thought.

"And if anyone recognizes you, just say that you’re there to buy clothes for your slave."

"As for the disguise," I looked back at Felicia. "We can just dye her hair, wings, and tail. And for her face, I'll hit her a couple of times with my quarterstaff. Thar should hide her features."

The two raised their eyebrows.

"Uh, did I just hear her plan to beat the shit out of the succubus until she's black and blue? Wow… since when she can be that hardcore… I expect that from Sherry, not her."

"I misjudged you, Ms. Thought Reader. You're not some goody-two-shoes after all."

"Don't look at me like that, you two." I narrowed my eyes. "I'm only doing what's necessary for this plan to be a success. We'll leave this town and go straight where Tira and her two kids are."

"Two kids? Tama isn't—"

"She's her daughter-in-law." I shot down that silly thought from Hugo before he could finish it. 

ㅤ

Sherry

Really, Hugo… why must you be such a pervert? That was not the time to flirt with me, you know…

And why must you look so cool while doing it too…

As I made my way to the Colosseum, my nerves couldn’t help but to still feel his groping of my butt… Thanks to that, my face was flushed silly and my heart was beating like a lovestruck racehorse…

Tch, it's all his fault…

I was happy yet embarrassed at the same time… it was always like that with him… I couldn't be like Felicia where she openly enjoyed being groped in public by him…

And yet, I was the one he groped this morning. Not her.

A triumphant smile appeared on my face. Once again, I had won over Ms. Big Boobs.

*squeeze*

My hands gave my bum a light squeeze. This is my weapon… my sword against that hideous lump of fat she has…

…

…

Hmm?    

I was so focused on my thoughts that I didn't notice the stares I was garnering.

Oh, right, of course people would know me from the Colosseum.

My smile grew. That’s right. I was the one that defeated your unbeatable Champion.

Still, not all of them had adoration in their eyes. Some looked at me with fear, which was completely fine by me.

But when they looked at me with lustful gazes, however…

Tch, lechers.

A flame of anger burned in my heart the moment I noticed that some of them were staring at my behind. Thankfully, I quickly put an end to their ogling by a simple deadly stare at their direction.

Perverts… why must they be everywhere?

Only Hugo is allowed to ogle me… All of you don’t even measure up to a speck of his hair.

…

Oh, I’m here.

Before I realized it, my feet already took me to the front of the colosseum.

Well, time to go in.

I stepped into the front gate. Unlike yesterday, there was practically nobody there. The only face I saw was the face of the announcer lady standing in the middle of the arena. That, and a pair of guards dressed in pitch-black full plate armor.

“Welcome! Welcome!” The announcer lady flew up to me. “Please, this way!”

She led me to the center of the arena. Looking up, I noticed that the Floating Fortress was hovering right above us.

“Are you ready?” The harpy smiled. “I’ll carry you up there to meet with him. Hope you’re not afraid of heights.”

“Of course not. Who do you think I am?!” Of course she wasn’t afraid of heights! Why would she be afraid of such a banal matter? She was pretty sure she could survive a fall from any height, even if it meant sacrificing both of her legs to absorb the blow. Hell, the toxic greatsword from yesterday melted the skin of her hand and yet said skin already stitched back itself now.

And so, the harpy lady wrapped her arms around her before using her wings to carry them both to the skies.

ᅠ

Hugo

“Slave clothes, huh? Slave clothes…”

I made my way to the market district, particularly the southern section where most of the smaller, less well-off shops were located. It was where low-class slaves were sold to the masses—the disposable kind you would buy for the cheap.

It didn’t matter whether you were in the human continents or the Demon Continent. Slavery was always there. The only difference was that mind-control tattoos were forbidden, owing to the fact that the Church declared it as “demonic”. Though I figured it wouldn’t stop slavers from using it as long as they could hide it from the eyes of the public.

On the way, as I expected, I noticed people staring and whispering in my direction. After my stunt at the Colosseum yesterday, it was only natural that I would become quite the celebrity.

Only, not all of them were kind words. I heard giggles about me being humiliated by the Dullahan and how I had to be saved by Sherry.

I ignored them all, of course. I really could care less what they thought of me. 

It didn’t take long until I reached the “slave plaza”, where they would auction slaves to the public. That morning, there were ten slaves being paraded there—most being demons with only one being a dark elf. They were stripped naked completely. Even the females.

I couldn’t ogle them. It was just so distasteful I couldn’t even get turned on by the sight of naked breasts and womanhood.

Heh, how ironic. The Demon Lord doesn’t want demons to be slaves to humans so he sponsors those raids into the northwest human territories. But he’s perfectly fine if the slavers are demons themselves.

“There. That looks like the place.”

My sight landed on a rundown shop named “Hork’s Slave Emporium” by the sign hanging above its front door. There was also another sign that was plastered onto the window, saying “Selling all sorts of slaves for your needs! And every tool you need to make those slaves obey!” in Demon Tongue.

Pushing the door open, I was greeted by the sight of a dimly lit shop. The ceiling was low but the room was large and wide. Rows and rows of shelves were stocked to the brim with all sorts of objects, from shady-looking potions, shady-looking collars, and shady-looking leather belts and whips.

This looks more like a BDSM shop over a slave shop… Wait, those two are kinda the same thing…

I made my way to the shelf stocked with slave rags. Grabbing a pile, I brought them all to the shopkeeper. Thankfully, the other customers that were there were still busy browsing, so I didn’t have to wait in line.

"Hey, I want to buy these." I put the rags on the table.

The shopkeeper, who was this fish demon, adjusted his tiny glasses before silently using his abacus to calculate the price.

Not the talkative sort, is he?

"Hey, you're that human who got absolutely obliterated by Lady Esana, aren’t you?"

A hand reached out towards my shoulder from behind. I grabbed it mid-air before it could touch me.

Looking behind me, I saw a dude standing with a grin on his face. His blue skin showed he was some kind of demon but I couldn’t know exactly what type of demon he was. He did wear an armor similar to the one that dullahan lady wore though.

"Heh, nice reflexes. For a human."

I narrowed my eyes. This guy… he's definitely making fun of me.

I threw his hand to the side. "I'm sorry. I'm really busy right now so I don't have time to chat."

"Busy? For what? Doing chores for that girlfriend of yours?" He laughed.

Thankfully, I didn't have to listen to his nonsense for long as soon after the shopkeeper finished his count.

"Thank you, Sir." I smiled, sliding him a couple of ruby coins—the local currency of the place.

"You think you're some hotshot, aren't you, just because you have an Izurd as your babysitter? They're a breed of legendary warriors and I, as part of the Dullahan warrior race, respect them deeply. And you—you’re merely using her to satisfy your own ego. Pathetic."

I tapped my staff, storing the rags inside my Dimensional Storage.

"Don't you ignore me, you bastard!"

His hand moved once again to grab me. And, once again, I repelled his touch, though not without knocking him off his feet with a simple wind magic.

The dullahan crashed into the floor, miraculously not hitting any of the shelved near him. His heavy armor sent tremors through the entire store and the clanging sound certainly grabbed the attention of the other customers there.

And, funnily enough, instead of dislocating his neck, his head just rolled down the store, making the unfortunate demon lady across him scream with terror.

I gave him one last look before making it to the exit.

"Fight me fair and square, you coward!" He yelled. "I'm the protégé of Lady Esana and by her name, I shall avenge her humiliation!"

I sighed, closing the door behind me. I really have no time for this… Better to make my way back to the inn right away…

ㅤ

Sherry

"Here we are! Shall I drop you down?"

"Hmph. I can handle a little fall."

The harpy lady released me from her grip, right as we were flying over the gardens of the flying fortress. I landed on my two feet smoothly, bending my knees to a crouch before standing back up immediately.

And there, right in front of me, two maids stood with a blank expression on their faces. They were twins. Ogre twins to be exact. The only difference was one had blue hair and the other had pink—each going down all the way to their waist.

"Welcome, Champion Sherry Izurdia." They spoke in perfect sync. "Please, follow us."

A slight chill crept down my spine. I wasn't fond of how unnatural they spoke. Or walked, as their steps were synced perfectly as well.

Make no mistake. I'm not afraid of them. I'm simply wary of them. That's all.

ㅤ

The maids took me into the fortress proper, entering a side door that linked to the gardens. Hmph, for a lair of a Demon Lord, it isn’t as intimidating as I imagined it to be. It's just hallways with fancy carpets, fancy chandeliers, and fancy suits of armor and paintings. It's just like the hotel we stayed at!

I expected something more bombastic. Like a pool of lava. Or a pool of acid. This is just a boring old castle.

Eventually, after walking around for seemingly far too long, we arrived at the throne room.

"He's waiting behind this door." They gestured towards the massive double door in front of us. "You will go there alone. That is the will of Lord Balthazar."

I didn't hesitate. I threw the heavy oaken door wide open.

And there, at the end of the room, he sat. Along with his ten wives.

"You're here at last, Champion Izurdia." His voice echoed across the room. Magic, I suspected. "Come closer. And tell me, what do you desire as your reward?"

I did as he told, slowly walking to the far edge of the room. On the way, I scanned the ten women that sat beside him—each possessing their own seats.

It's true… every single one of them belongs to a different demon race…

I could feel their gaze landing upon me. Especially Miss Dullahan over there, who no doubt was still mad about her defeat.

I stopped a number of steps away from the Demon Lord. Now that I looked at him up close like this, I had to admit, he looked quite intimidating. Even from here I could sense his immense power.

And yet, he was undoubtedly weaker than Grandmother.

"I'll cut this short. I want you to free Victoria."

Silence, followed by hushed whispers from his wives. I didn't bother sparing them a glance. None of them were a threat to me.

He, on the other hand, had a small, almost invisible smirk on his face.

He's taking me for a fool.

"The half fey Victoria. You forced her to marry one of your sons, did you not?"

Silence once more. And his smirk only grew bigger.

"ANSWER ME!"

I did what Grandmother taught me to do when someone didn't take me seriously.

I sent an aura of intimidation towards them.

Only for him to counter with his own.

Tch!

His smirk had turned into a full blown grin. He stood up from his throne, taking one step closer to me.

And I… I unknowingly took a step back as my reaction.

I couldn't intimidate him.

He was the one intimidating me instead.

"I see it now. No wonder my dear Esana lost to you. She never stood a chance."

"T-that's not true, Milord!" The dullahan jumped from her seat and gave him a hug. "I didn't fight with all my strength back there! I didn't use my magic!"

"But you are poor at the mystical arts, my dear." He rubbed her head. "Even with your magic, winning against her is still an impossibility."

The dullahan then made a cooing sound, rubbing her filthy face onto him.

It nearly made me puke on the spot.

"Look, you promised you'd give anything to the winner of your little tournament. So let her go."

Instead of answering me, he gestured at the dullahan to leave him, which she readily did. Only after he turned his attention back to me.

"How curious. Why would you know about Victoria? Why would you ask for her freedom? Is it simply out of a simple whim, seeing her unhappy expression when I paraded her all those months ago?"

This is it. This is the question Felicia has warned me about.

"It's none of your business."

I locked my eyes with his. If I averted my gaze, he would know I was lying.

"...I see. So you're with him. The other one who desires to become a Demon God."

…Huh? What is he talking about?

“Unfortunately, now that you have revealed this fact to me, you can no longer leave. I will not risk an Izurd as powerful as you to join his ranks.”

I knew it. I knew it would come to this.

I took out the conch from my pocket before crushing it in my hand.

“Mama! Papa! Please help! I’m being kidnapped by these terrible people!”

I grinned, hearing the voice echoed over and over inside the room. I looked at the succubus wife, Rita Naturia. As expected, she turned pale from the revelation.

“YOU KIDNAPPED MY DAUGHTER?” Her voice roared.

“Why yes, I did.” I smugly replied to her. “And if I don’t return in time, you’ll never see her again.”

Switching my gaze back to Balthazar, I folded my arms under my chest, smiling as I did.

Checkmate. What will you do now, Demon Lord?