Myrilla

"It's time."

Once the ink was ready, Myrilla didn’t wait for a second longer. She and Felicia made her way back to her room, where the succubus was tied up. Since last night, she had been guarded by Kiri and Aria. With Hugo’s precise order not to let her free, there was no fear that they could be charmed or fooled by the lust creature. Not to mention that a succubus's charm only worked if the opponent had an attraction to the female gender. And both of them certainly did not show any behavior to that effect. They might even be asexual, as most feys were.

Standing in front of the succubus, Myrilla entered the tip of her index finger into the ink vial, dying it pitch-black. All the while Felicia watched with unabated attention. To the alchemist, there was no question that she did it right. Still, she had to make sure everything worked as intended.

Myrilla then approached the tied-up succubus, who naturally, wasn't all too pleased with this development.

"A-a slave tattoo? Are you serious?! No! You-you can't do this to me! I'm Anya Naturia, the daughter of Rina Naturia, the eight wife of—"

"We know who you are." Felicia narrowed her eyes. "It doesn't matter. For Milord is stronger than your dear father." She ended with a smirk.

The succubus couldn't deny her words, knowing that they were indeed working with the legendary Hugo Greenwood. To slaughter an entire army by himself—it was a feat worthy of the Demon Lord title.

"Kiri. Aria. Hold her in place." Myrilla ordered.

"Yes, Miss Myrilla!"

"Of course, Miss Myrilla."

The two feys responded with haste, grabbing the succubus from each side, forcing her to sit down on her chair.

“You—you’ll regret this! I swear you would!”

Myrilla did not respond. She simply pressed her hand—the other hand that wasn’t dyed in ink–onto her head.

Putting her to sleep in an instant.

It would be easier to work on her while she was unconscious after all.

ᅠ

Hugo

When I returned to the inn with the rags, Myrilla and Felicia had already finished engraving the tattoo on the succubus. She was still tied up on her chair though. Crying. The usual stuff.

Oh, and just like Myrilla suggested, her hair was now dyed pitch black—same color with her wings and tails. And yes, she had beaten up her face as well, causing quite the considerable swelling that obfuscated her cuteness.

“Try commanding her,” Myrilla spoke. “I’ve made it so you are the master.”

“Wait, why me?”

“Because you are the person most fitting for the role. You’re already acting like a villain in the tournament. And now, you’re carrying around with you a slave girl that you routinely beat up. This city doesn’t have a rule against it, by the way, so the guards shouldn’t arrest you for it.”

That means you’re making me into a girl-beater!

Felicia giggled. “That’s good, Milord. That means you will have less flies following you around.”

By that, she obviously meant girls.

Heh, if Sherry was here, she’d definitely agree.

Haah, how did I end up with two jealous, controlling girlfriends? One that can snap my neck with her bare hand and another that can poison me casually!

"Fine. I'll do it. I'll be her master."

I walked up to the succubus, my eyes locked at her pathetic face. Her tears were still coming out though instead of loud crying, she was quietly sobbing instead.

"From now on, you are no longer Anya Naturia, the daughter of the eight wife of the Demon Lord of Wisdom. You are Kara, a succubus slave I purchased in the markets a few days ago. And you had been very naughty, defying my orders again and again. And such, you have been punished, and you completely deserve it.”

She didn’t reply. She merely nodded her head.

“Good. Kiri. Aria. Release her binds.”

When my two familiars finished, the succubus gingerly stood up.

“Now, kneel.”

She quickly did as I told her to.

“Now, I want you to gouge out your left eye.”

She flinched—an expression of horror drawn on her face.

“Take it out. With your bare hands.”

Her entire body shook. The tattoos drawn to her left arm pulsated.

“N-no, p-please, M-Mas—ahhhhh!”

The curse activated. She wriggled and writhed on the floor—every second in agonizing pain.

“If you wish for the pain to stop, then do as I say.”

She gritted her teeth, looking at me with clear, unyielding hatred as her right hand slowly moved upwards towards her left eye.

“No wonder… they call you… the Human Demon Lord… You’re as evil… as the worst of them…”

Right when her fingers hovered above her pupil… “That’s enough. You can stop now.”

She stopped, looking at me with disbelief before falling to the ground, panting from exhaustment.

The test was complete. The tattoo worked as intended.

I summoned the slave rags back from my Dimensional Storage before throwing them on top of her face.

“Wear those. And take off your panties. Slaves like you don’t wear them.”

How did I know that, you might ask? Easy. I saw a number of slaves wearing the same garment on the market. And they didn’t wear any panties under them.

Yes, I checked it with my wind spell. Gotta get the details right, you know.

I looked away when she took off her clothes. Didn't want to get scolded after all.

"She's ready." Myrilla declared a few minutes later. "We can depart now."

And so we did. I told Kiri and Aria to return, paid the innkeeper, who didn’t even bat an eye at our extra "companion", and made our way to the east gate, which, luckily enough, was very close to where we were.

A skyfish soon followed us. It shouldn't matter though. From the dyed body parts to her black and blue face, they shouldn't be able to identify her easily. And when they did, we would be long gone. Still, just in case, I called her by her fake name over and over, just to show that she responded to it, and not her real name.

Soon, we arrived at the east gate. And just like when we first came, tall guards in pitch-black armor gave us a silent welcome.

They didn't say anything. Or even move for that matter. Only their eyes locked in to us, particularly towards the succubus.

They're staring… but they don't seem to care enough to stop us.

Myrilla was right. This does work!

Only once we were through the gate, Myrilla opened her mouth.

"Those guards weren’t happy to see you walk around with a beat-up slave. Especially since you’re a human.”

“But they didn’t do anything.”

“Perhaps they didn’t. But they were sure to take note of you. Most likely, they would send a bunch of brigands to attack you later, once you are out of town. It was just like the slave trader you and the ogres killed.”

“I don’t see the point of doing that though. Especially since they now own the entire northwestern peninsula of the continent. The humans won’t be able to do anything.”

She opened her mouth to respond but nothing came out.

She didn’t know the answer either.

“Milord, we’ve been followed.”

And there it is.

Behind us was a squad of armored knights, riding on top of their Scarabs straight towards us.

And the face at the front of them—I knew it all too well. I just met him a while ago after all.

Oh, it’s that idiot dullahan from the shop.

Guess I shouldn’t have picked a fight with him.

Oh well, he started it.

“Let me handle them.”

“Teehee, they’re no match for you, are they, Milord?”

“Nope. Not in the slightest.”

The brigand of buffoons quickly surrounded us. Clearly, they did not want any of us to escape.

"Alcyon! You are under arrest!" The dumbass Dullahan shouted.

"Oh? I can't seem to recall that I have done anything wrong." I grinned, just to piss him off.

"You are abusing your slave! By the law of the great Lord Balthazar, all slaves are to be treated well! Especially when the slave owner is a filthy human!"

"Hmm, really?" I shifted my gaze to the succubus. "Hey, Kara. Do I mistreat you in the slightest?"

"Aaahhhh!"

She opened her mouth to say otherwise but the searing pain quickly stopped her in her tracks.

"N-no, Master… you have been kind… so very kind…"

"Do you think I'll going to buy that, human? When you have an accursed Nerthusian Tattoo on her?! Not only you're a coward but you're a vile little man as well!"

"A coward, huh? Well then. Why don't you try arresting thus coward? Be warned though. I won't go easy on you like I did on the shop~"

"You— bastard!"

He was the first to enter the range of my Thanatos.

As such, he was the first to fall.

"Gwaaahhh!"

He fell off the Scarab, his head rolling away yet again as he did. The Scarab immediately died from the spell but he, owing to his demon physiology no doubt, managed to survive, though profusely coughing blue blood in the process.

"You—"

"What did you do to our captain?!"

One of his subordinates jumped off her Scarab, coming to his side to heal him.

"Charge! Attack! Don't let a single one— gwahhhh!"

It was easy.

Too easy.

One by one, I ruptured their lungs, hearts, and stomachs. If I weren't close enough, I'd just close the gap with my dash step.

Didn't even take me a whole second to finish them off.

A cacophony of screams, coughs, and groans filled the air.

Leaving only one, very scared-looking Dullahan knightess behind.

"S-stay away, you monster!"

She was the healer of the group, it seemed. After all, she was the one who jumped off her mount to come to her captain's aid.

She began to flail around her morningstar towards me. As if that was going to do anything.

From the corner of my eye, I noticed it—a skyfish floating in the air.

I see. So you have seen everything, haven’t you?

I guess there’s no need to keep up this charade.

“Leave.” I told the Dullahan knightness. “Or else you’ll share the fate of your comrades.”

She did not listen.

Her head popped off to the air, firing a laser beam from its mouth just like the Champion did.

Of course, it was a mere pitiful imitation of hers.

I blocked the beam with my Wind Barrier before firing off a Boom Cannon in response.

Destroying her head as a result.

The body left behind fell to the ground, unable to keep standing after its controller ceased to exist.

I looked back at the skyfish. It tried to fly away, only for me to snuff it out from existence with a simple dispel.

Well, that’s that.

“Wonderful job, Milord!” Felicia ran up to me and gave me a hug from behind. “With your magic, you really are unmatched!”

I smiled, feeling the softness of her breasts pressing into my back.

Even without looking, I could sense Myrilla rolling her eyes at this scene.

“We should move.” The demoness said. “There might be more of them coming.”

“You guys go. I’ll stay here.”

“What? What do you mean, Milord?” Felicia asked with a distraught expression.

I turned around, releasing myself from her arms. “At this point, I think they should have figured out who I really am right now. So, if I’m correct, they won’t let Sherry leave.” My gaze rested on the floating fortress above the city for a short moment. “I’ll act as a distraction for her. In the meantime, you should get the ogre army here.”

Myrilla closed her eyes. “...I see. We can certainly do that.” She opened them back, looking at me with her usual sharp glare. “You’re strong. You can take care of yourself. Just be careful. And don’t do anything stupid.”

“Then I’ll stay!” Felicia protested, grabbing my left arm, pushing her boobs into me yet again. “I can be of use! If you need to escape, I can act as your protection!”

"No, you shouldn't." I shook my head. "It'd be faster to make my escape if I do it alone."

She opened her mouth, wanting to protest my decision. But realizing that my argument was sound, she closed it back again before any words came out.

“Then it’s decided. I’ll stay here and wait for Sherry. If she doesn’t return when the clock hits our predetermined time…” I looked up towards the flying fortress. “...I’ll raise hell at the capital. Bait the Demon Lord himself to come out."

ᅠ

Sherry

Heh, the atmosphere sure has gotten heavy…

Eleven opponents… I’m not naive enough to think I can take them all on my own.

But, if it’s just running away, I should be able to manage…

"Alright, Demon Lord! Send me back!" I pointed at him, forcing a grin in the process.

He did not respond. Instead, he was glancing at one of his wives. Not the angry succubus, no. But the mermaid woman, who was preoccupied with the shell-encased hand mirror she had been holding non stop.

Her name is… Hosalu Naturia, if I’m not mistaken. The mermaid princess.

I don’t think Hugo told me what her abilities are… Still, she doesn't look stro—

"I found her. They're right outside the city. And they… they just slaughtered your dullahan guards." She looked at Esana.

…Damn it.

I bolted, running as fast as I could away from them all.

But not before my hair jetted towards the archfey wife, fully intending to kill her on the spot. If I can take her down, the fairy barrier might just disappear.

Only for the spider lady wife, who sat beside her, to cut them off with her scythe, grinning at my direction as she did.

"Get her!" I heard someone yell. I didn't know who.

I crashed through the door—its thickness and sturdiness failing to hinder my speed entirely. My feet then took me on a straight line towards the gardens from before. Once there, I planned to just jump straight off the floating fortress.

Only, I soon found out that no matter how long I ran, I wasn’t getting any closer to my destination.

The hallways—they were repeating themselves!

W-what is this?! Is this the work of their magic?!

I closed my eyes, sensing the magic in the air.

Sure enough, my suspicion was proven correct. The magic wasn’t just warping the space outside. It was warping the space inside as well!

Then I’ll just have to cut it! Just like I did with that Archfey’s trick!

I formed a sword with my hair and swung it down with my full might at the wall in front of me.

The wall burst open. I ran in and did the same with the next wall. And the next. And the next.

Until eventually, I made it back to the gardens.

Ha! Take that, you stupid fairy! You think you can hold me here?! Think again!

I ran towards the nearest edge and jumped.

And I fell.

And fell.

And fell.

I was falling without end, going through the same clouds over and over again—the land below me never getting any closer.

Tch, I knew this was going to happen!

I swung my sword again, trying to cut through the dimensional barrier the spell had put in the air.

Only to find that I couldn’t do it. Not because it was hard but because it was… slippery.

Just like Hugo said, the spell here was designed to absorb any blows that might disturb its flows. It was like trying to cut an eel.

And then, all of a sudden, the fortress was under me.

I landed right back on the gardens, as if I hadn’t just leapt of it a minute ago.

“Oh dearie, you are such a bonehead, aren’t you?”

A giggle echoed across the air, followed by a soft pop as the archfey wife manifested herself into existence right in front of me.

She wasn’t alone, however. Following her was a series of other pops. And another. And another. Until the full party was there.

Grrrr! I’m trapped!

“Escaping is impossible, Izurd.” A bored-looking elven woman floating in mid-air spoke. Adele Naturia, the fifth wife and the magician of the harem. “The charms I had designed—you will not break it so easily with that dull sword of yours.”

“And don’t worry!” The mermaid woman giggled. “I’ve alerted the army down below to chase after your human. He won’t survive for long.”

Now that it becomes like this…

“Hah! If you think Hugo is going to be defeated by the likes of you, think again!” I proudly declared with a big grin on my face. “And neither will I! For I am the granddaughter of the great Quania, the Demon Lord of Blades herself!”

Instead of the fear I wanted, however, only confusion spread on their faces.

But nevertheless, it was enough to give me the opening I needed to enact my backup plan.

Drinking the concoction that big-boobed witch had given me before I got here.

I reached into the pocket of my shorts, took out a small ball from it and crushed the outer shell open with my teeth, allowing the red liquid inside to enter my throat.

“Listen well. This will allow you to fight beyond your limits for a short amount of time. Once it’s over, however, you won’t be able to fight anymore.”

In an instant, I felt a burst of strength spreading through my entire body.

I did the only thing that would make sense in the situation.

I attacked.

I dashed towards the mermaid and sliced her in half.

The last thing she felt was the horror of my blade going through her skin.

She didn’t even get to speak her last words.

I would’ve attacked the elf or the archfey but they were too close to the Demon Lord for me to take the risk. He could’ve blocked my surprise attack. Her, however, was only close to the spider wife, and she wasn’t fast enough to block my attack with her scythe this time.

Out of the corner of my eyes, I could sense the dark aura of the Demon Lord, sending goosebumps all over my body.

He wanted me dead now. For sure.

Too bad. I had no plans to stick around.

I jumped off the gardens one more time.

All the while doing another full-power slash, but this time, it was amped beyond its limits by the drug Felicia gave me.

And I aimed it at the floating fortress itself.

“Haaaaaaa!”

I swung. Just like Grandmother swung when she cut off all those trees with a single swing.

She never really gave a name to this technique. In fact, she never did any of her techniques. She never saw the point.

But, I wanted to. So I did.

“Take this, you stupid Demon Lord! Fury God Technique! World Slicer!”

It was a blade that could cut the world in two.

A massive aura enveloped the tip of my blade, growing it into a massive sword that rivaled the size of the fortress itself.

In retrospect, I shouldn’t have used said technique since I could’ve killed Victoria as well.

But, back then, I was too caught up in the action to care.

The sword crashed into the barrier protecting the fortress, immediately producing cracks all over the dark bubble. The whole place shook from the clash.

And then, just when the bubble was about to shatter completely, the air shifted.

The charm imprisoning me there had been lifted, its power rerouted to reinforce the protection of the fortress.

I grinned. My plan was a success.

And so I fell.

I fell and fell and fell.

Until I landed on the ground on my feet.

Right in front of Hugo, who had been seeing all I did with that cool grin of his.

“Heh, that was quite a show you just made. I shouldn’t have bothered staying here just in case you need help.”

“Hmph, if you think I’m going to get captured by them, you’re underestimating me.” I huffed.

“I know. I know. But, as your husband, I can’t help but be worried, you know.”

He walked up to me and patted my head.

BA-DUMP

My cheeks reddened. My heart throbbed with joy.

“Well, let’s go then. A full-blown war awaits. It’s a shame the negotiations failed but I guess it’s to be expected. It’s a Demon Lord after all.”

I nodded.

My sword was his and his alone.