In a courtroom on earth, a black-haired woman stood on the defendant's stand. She had an orange jumpsuit on and handcuffs. Currently, she had a dead expression on her face. She had sold out her husband for a few thousand dollars after being told they would only rough him up a bit. Then he didn't come home ever again.

 

Her affair with this foreign operative was also brought to light to the public, with even sex tapes leaking. She had felt dissatisfied with her life, and wanted more. Then she met, who she thought, was a great man offering her a break from her boring life, and some adventure. It turned out he was just using her and had even taped their sex together.

 

She had found out about her husband's death from her friend. Her friend had seen them taking his body out of the car and photographed it. The twisted look of agony on Reginald's face is what made her realize what she had done. The next day the FBI and S.W.A.T. teams broke into her home and dragged her out. She didn't fight back at all, it would have been pointless anyway.

 

“For the charges of treason, how do you plead?” The judge asked with an expressionless look on his face.

 

Looking around the room, she saw no warm gazes anywhere. Her parents stopped coming when the sex tapes were used as evidence. The military was angry the blueprints for their future weapons were leaked, and had to cancel the contracts. The gun companies were furious they lost the weapons contracts and a good employee. The media had also drummed this up. It was pointless to fight it, and she didn't want to anyway.

 

“Guilty.” She said calmly.

 

“By pleading guilty, you will be accepting a death penalty for your crimes.” The judge explained carefully. “The damage you have caused can not be excused with a life sentence. You have caused irreparable damage to this country, and you have given weapons to our enemies. This is one of the most serious charges in modern history.”

 

It was clear the judge only cared about her not being able to take a re-trial. It was one of the first times a treason charge happened, but he died in such a public place it was impossible to hide it. The news had erupted after the body was discovered in the diner.

 

“People only really get one chance, and I wasted mine. I am guilty.” She said, with no room for misinterpretation.

 

Fighting this was pointless. The last 6 months in a cell with nothing to do, made that clear. She didn't want to fight, or be afraid anymore, she just wanted to relax. She had grown to miss her old life with her dead husband. It wasn't until it all fell apart she realized how good she had it.

 

“Alright, for the charges of treason. We find the defendant, Mary Otem guilty of all charges.” The judge proclaimed as he struck the gavel. “We will carry out the sentencing at the end of the month. Mary Otem will be subject to lethal injection for her charges.”

 

Mary's eyes didn't change in the slightest, if anything she seemed a little relieved.

 

It's finally over...

 

-

In another world...

Succubus Homeland, outside Rex's Lab

 

Rex was on pins and needles as he waited outside the lab. He was nervously walking back and forth, as he waited to hear news from Kira.

 

Is this how a parent feels?

 

Rex was struck with this thought, as he thought of that magical goo he created. If asked if he would make it again, the answer would be yes. This was just a setback, he had fractional distillation already, if he had a rapid amount of nitrogen to just flood the lab, this wouldn't have happened. It had become so reactive, and it was something he just didn't expect. It had shown him some new possibilities though.

 

“I just couldn't keep that child under control. I need a way to ground them in the future.” Rex was thinking his current lab was inadequate.

 

He built it around human standards, and that was a problem. A succubus could work in a very harsh environment, comfortably. It was kind of shocking from a biological standpoint, but Rex's understanding of this field was limited. More fail-safes would be needed in the future when he was dealing with mana research.

 

Rex was interrupted as he heard the door start moving. Soon it was lightly pushed open and a vacuum was formed as the air equalized in the room. Rex sucked in a deep breath as he quickly ran over to look. The pit was issuing flames, but it was muted. It was clear this was only a small amount of residue burning on the walls of the pit he stored it in.

 

She got it in time!

 

Kira had a look of reverence, as pointed to the stack of large glass balls filled with fluid. They looked like solid glass basketballs. Using sap from the rubber plants he had concocted a resin. This was able to seal the glass shut, it also didn't have water content.

 

“Well done, Kira! Now get it out of here!” Now that it could be transported, he no longer had to worry about burning the island down. This was as long as the culprit left the island.

 

These glass balls were originally meant to be used to hold Nitroglycerin and sawdust. Since he had paper and wax, he could make real TNT in tubes. This would also make mining easier in the future.

 

“I will have to leave your side for a short while. I will ensure these are used properly.” Kira said with gravitas as her wings extended.

 

Rex was nodding along until he heard the word used “used,” but by the time he looked up he noticed the little girl was flying away.

 

“Oh well, I am sure she won't do anything dangerous.” Rex mumbled. “I should probably take a break from this anyway, as we will need some real guns soon.”

 

Rex's plans had moved to the swamp, it was time to introduce a new profession to the prisoner's which would be gathering saltpeter from the marsh.

 

“I need to import cotton.” Rex muttered.

 

This would be used to make nitrocellulose which is what most modern guns use. Nitric acid and sulfuric acid would be mixed, then cotton would be added. As long as it stays below 80 degrees centigrade then you will have gun cotton.

 

In modern weapons, the firearm was the least important design-wise. The ammo and the magazine were much more important than the firearm. If the ammo or magazine had an issue, the gun would fail before it even gets a chance to prove itself. Rex had already seen the direction ammo was going in.

 

“Synthetic polymer casings...” Rex muttered.

 

Brass was heavy, and expensive. Plastic was light and cheap. The pressure of the propellant meant you needed a material that could handle expansion and heat. Shotgun shells had used this technology for decades. With the right additives, it was easy to adjust the firmness of the plastic, and give it additional properties.

 

He would need to be able to perform fractional distilling of oil on a larger scale. Ethane is collected as gas and undergoes cracking, which forms ethylene and propylene. Then you undergo polymerization to get the plastics you want in raw form.

 

“I need to start industrializing. This is the only way we are going to get the production we need.” Rex concluded.

 

The issue was the succubi, Kira just didn't have enough control over them yet.

 

“I need to come with some way to give Kira more momentum, for now, I can think on that while I figure out a welder.” Rex said as he sighed.

 

Rex wasn't able to use his lab until the last of the fuel burned out of the pit. He could only watch the smoke rise from his lab.

 

-

3 days later...

Acid Island, Succubus HQ

 

Kira had come here to issue new orders, this island was a day's flight from Carlog island, and was close to the mainland. Kira and Rex had decided this made the best staging area for the succubi and it was quickly converted. Several rooms had been made in the soft rock of the cave that acted as offices and to store various items.

 

Kira had found it awkward to face her mother since she challenged her mother's position. Explaining their customs to Rex was difficult, as it had to do with the difference in their species. Succubi could live for thousands to tens of thousands of years. The first ancestor had addressed these problems, as the first ancestor didn't want to rule the succubi.

 

Every single succubus could challenge to rule, as long as they are willing to put their life on the line if they fail. Her mother had acknowledged her challenge, and been helping her behind the scenes. Kera wouldn't tell her why, she just said she would know if she succeeded.

 

Kira came up to a wooden door and knocked.

 

Rex had helped her so much up to this point, she now had the great weapon of the succubi in her hands! She couldn't let him down!

 

“Enter.” Kera called out.

 

Walking through the door, she was greeted with a small simple room. Since Rex had blown up her house, she was waiting on a new one to be built. A much bigger one, of course, she had become jealous of her daughter's mansion-sized home.

 

Her mother sat on a chair at a desk. She had reverted to her base form which she only did when Rex wasn't around. Kira would look almost identical to Kera so she stayed in a drow form around Rex. Kira knew that this was because she was supporting her. Kira would grow up all at once in a few years and become an adult succubus. It was a result of their transformation ability coming to maturity in their bodies.

 

Kera smiled gently at her daughter as she walked in before her. Children succubi are sent to the island to grow up as the adults need to be able to hunt. The children can't hide their features and would be a liability. Now succubi didn't need to hunt any longer, once the production on the island was up to par, then their lives would all change. Kera didn't get to see Kira enough in her opinion, as a mother.

 

Kera had almond-shaped eyes and looked like an older Kira. She had long hair that hung to her waist in shiny black, the soap had done wonders for her. Her breasts were large and stood proudly on her wispy frame. She had a narrow waist and large hips with long slender legs. Her skin looked almost like porcelain with no veins underneath.

 

Kera reached forward and began to stroke her daughter's hair. When they were alone Kera was just like any other mother.

 

“Mother I wanted to talk to you.” Kira said shyly.

 

“About what child?” Kera asked calmly.

 

“When are the beastmen planning to attack the elves?” Kira asked.

 

“It will be in 8 days, why?” Kera inquired.

 

“I wish to deploy the great weapon of the succubi!” Kira said resolutely.

 

“What's the great weapon of the succubi? Why haven't I heard of this?” Kera asked her expression freezing.

 

“Rex made the great weapon of the succubi to punish our enemies!” Kira announced. “We can use it to make the elves think the beastmen are taking this more seriously.”

 

Kera looked at her daughter in confusion, as she tried to figure out what she was talking about. She knew that they were following Rex's plan, but this didn't sound like something Rex had thought of.

 

I guess I can only trust my daughter...

 

-

8 days later...

Above a section of the elven forest.

 

Rex had concluded a mid-grade magic stone could run a car for a month for a maximum of 10,000 miles. The great weapon of the succubi had consumed over 300 magic stones to produce. Calling it unstable was being incredibly generous. The reason it had fused so readily as it had was due to just how much mana Rex had shoved into it.

 

The succubi were carrying a net as they flew near the clouds. It had taken 50 of them to carry this weight between them. Kira had also come along, as this would be the determining moment of her rule, she was just running into an issue.

 

How do I use the great weapon of the succubi?

 

She wasn't able to look at it directly. The fluid contained a blinding amount of mana, she had to fill the containers with her eyes closed. She had 80 glass balls the size of a basketball. They were filled with a clear gel-like fluid that seemed almost harmless. All of the succubi had complained about this task, as the balls were so blinding. One glance and they would see spots for several seconds.

 

“Everybody Stop!” She ordered.

 

Succubi had a type of sign language using their tails they could use but it was too hard to see. All of the succubi started calling out to each other as they came to a slow stop.

 

They were all carrying the net and the change caused the balls to roll around dangerously.

 

“Everyone let go!” Kira shouted out.

 

The succubi all started a countdown and dropped it in uniform

 

As the net fell, all of the orbs started to rain out like little bombs. The succubi all waited as it was too bright to see for them until they heard the glass start to shatter. The gel began to roll around and splatter and formed a large pool. This began to quickly bubble and pop and soon burst into fire.

 

The fire was really hot and started to create sparks as it fired out globs of gel. Thick dark smoke began to quickly drift towards the sky. The succubi moved up into the clouds to hide, they knew the elves would quickly see this.

 

“This is the great weapon of the succubi? A little fire?” A succubus asked in scorn.

 

“Oh look the elves are already coming, so much for the great weapon of the succubi.” Another succubus laughed in mockery.

 

Kira was convinced there was more to this than that. She had seen the things Rex considered toys. This was something that excited him, it was on the same level as her pot after all!

 

The elves gathered quickly and seemed to be laughing at the great weapon of the succubi that was slowly spreading. It seemed like it was having problems waking up, this is what Kira concluded.

 

The elven mages all wore colorful robes denoting their craft. Covered in fine silver and gold trim and finery they stood out in the ranks. They marched proudly to the front of the lines and began to chant as a group. As the chant grew in power the succubi noticed the cloud they were in was filling with water droplets.

 

“Damnit, I just bought this dress too!” One succubus couldn't help but complain.

 

The water soon began to fall and the Great weapon of the succubi looked like it was put out, to the elves at least. The succubi were seeing a much different picture than the elves though. They saw the mana start releasing and floating around the gel as if a giant pool was forming. It was quickly building in mana intensity and becoming brighter as it flowed into the elven ranks.

 

“What is happening?!” Several succubi exclaimed together but didn't have to wait long for the answer.

 

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!CRackackackackack!

 

The explosion looked like the Kraken rising from the depths, as it was mushroom-shaped at the center, and ejected burning tendrils of gel everywhere. All of the elves in the front line were shattered into liquid and sprayed on those behind them as gore.

 

“Look! They pissed off the great weapon of the succubi!” A succubus yelled in shock.

 

The increase in fire seemed to be just what the gel wanted, as it happy lit everything it came into contact with on fire. The elves were also subject to this treatment as many were sprayed by the gel directly. Many of them were instantly engulfed in flames, it seemed to especially like the water content in their bodies. The succubi watched as anything with water content in it produced that gas. Anywhere the gas was the fire burned even hotter. The high temperatures were also pushing the gel forward as if the sound of burning was its marching beat.

 

“The great weapon of the succubi has almost killed all of the elves! Even kicking dirt on it just makes more of that air!” Another succubus yelled out from the crowd.

 

The fire was spreading in every direction as it began to grow faster and faster. One elf with a weird hairstyle had tried kicking dirt at the gel but that just caused it to explode. It was unsure if the elves had helped or hurt the fire as the amount of gel didn't seem to change. The heat continued to push it towards cooler areas, usually areas with fresh fuel.

 

Trees were carbonized in minutes, and underbrush lasted seconds. Thick black smoke had begun to create a smog that began to spread out. It was like it wanted to choke the life out of everything and burn it to ashes.

 

“It can truly be called the great weapon of the succubi! Look at it go!” A succubus cheered it on.

 

Kira felt her mouth twitch, they had all been badmouthing it before! Now they were all cheering it on in rabid excitement.

 

“See it's heading to a city over there!” A succubus pointed to the city the elves fled to.

 

The issue was that it wasn't the only one. The fire was rapidly spreading in every direction, it looked like it would burn until the mana ran out. This was also a very hot fire, as the ground was starting to char in places.

 

The succubi were very heat resistant, or they wouldn't be able to stay where they were. Even hundreds of feet above the fire, it was nearly unbearable even for them.

 

Kira was also shocked at how violent this weapon was, she was now convinced of why Rex was so excited.

 

It's just like Rex said, it is so happy! It's sharing its happiness with everything!

 

Kira watched raptly as the flames continued to spread.

 

-

2 days later

Succubus Homeland, Rex's lab

 

Rex had finally finished cleaning all of the damage to his lab. It had taken way longer than he expected.

 

“That shit burned for 3 days straight...” This had shocked Rex speechless.

 

He had no way to put it out once it got going. If he hadn't stopped it from igniting they would have no way to stop it from spreading.

 

“Thank god it doesn't spread phosphorous, or it would wipe out all life on the island. The succubi would be the only residents left.” Rex mumbled.

 

Kira had been gone for 2 weeks which was odd for Rex. He had used enchanting to make a welder but he needed to make sticks to weld.

 

“It's Borax again, I need to source it.” Rex muttered.

 

He was running into supply problems, the island was limited in resources after all, and he was hitting that barrier. No gunpowder without cotton, and no welding without flux.

 

“The elves have a more developed market than the beastmen, but it is completely based on slaves. Slaves produce all the materials the elves use, it's so inefficient. I need to get something I can give to the elves to open their market.” Rex said as he leaned back on his stool and looked at the ceiling.

 

The entire lab had been stained with smoke from the residue Kira had left. He had to replace a lot of things as well that were ruined.

 

Dunk!

 

His door opened as Kira marched in proudly like a veteran of some battlefield. She couldn't wait for Rex to ask and immediately reported.

 

“We successfully deployed the great weapon of the succubi! We burned down over a quarter of the elves' forest!” Kira announced in excitement.

 

“Great weapon of the succubi?” Rex questioned with a blank look.

 

Why does that sound so familiar? WAIT WHAT?!

 

“The great weapon of the succubi... was the stuff you took out of my lab?” Rex was completely pale as he asked this question.

 

“Yes! It was amazing, it burned for so long, and if the elves threw water on it they all died!” She was gushing as if she had been holding back all this excitement.

 

It could disperse mana by stripping the hydrogen and oxygen from water, then burn it as fuel. If it had water, it would burn even hotter as a result. This would also cause it to spread everywhere. The more he imagined it, the more horrified he became.

 

That was an absolute calamity waiting to happen... I can't believe it was used on the elves...

 

“The elves are looking for the culprit, and we had to move a bunch of our sisters out of the areas.” Kira reported worriedly.

 

“We should just tell them, the beastmen did it.” Rex mumbled an afterthought.

 

Now that the milk is spilled, it is time to point at a culprit.

 

This idea instantly gripped him though as he had a great idea.

 

“Kira, we should send a representative to the elves, and blame Fourpaw.” Rex said as he felt like he had a moment of brilliance.

 

“We can announce our neutrality, and sell weapons to both sides.” Rex began explaining as the ideas occurred to him. “We could use this to enter their markets and trade.”

 

The elves used Borax as detergent, and the beastmen had cotton in the plains. Appealing to the beastmen was easier as they would soon be attacked, and no one would suspect the succubi. They would assume the succubi lived elsewhere, and if the demons sold them out it wouldn't matter as much.

 

“We can just drop TNT on them after all if they send boats.” Rex said calmly.

 

Being completely cut off would suck though, Rex planned to begin building weapons. He wanted to sell them sharp sticks, while he produced guns. He wanted to encourage them to run right into the fire lines.

 

“Kira, can you bring some more sisters here? I want to start producing weapons again to sell.” Rex asked without much hope.

 

“Yeah, they will listen to me.” Kira said.

 

“Can you teach them to use your old smelter and kiln, I want to take over their weapon markets. Succubus steel will be the best around.” Rex began. “I also want to send a neutral representative to the elves. Report to them Fourpaw ordered this and ask about a trade pass.”

 

The elves wouldn't part with their slaves unless they were desperate. The elves had collections of slaves and reared them like animals. Famous beastman bloodlines and even some near-extinct races. Rex hoped to find humans there, although he didn't have much hope. These races would also be the backbone of the future population of the island. He wanted to start a war, then use that time to develop the island.

 

Then he would be able to go to the mainland as another faction, he wanted to find other humans in this world.

 

To get there though, he needed stable sources of certain supplies that he couldn't get on the island.

 

“Also make sure the weapons are crappier than the last batch. Remember, sharp sticks.” Rex reminded his little helper.

 

He wouldn't want to help his enemies after all. The elves would never allow anyone that could rival them, the beastmen were the same. Every faction had major problems, it's why Rex just stayed where he was. He'd face the same issue anywhere, and maybe even worse. The beastmen often ate slaves, so did the demons. The dwarves would constrain him to life underground, not to mention they hated surface dwellers.

 

“Sharp sticks, I got it!” Kira reported proudly, she was learning so fast.

 

If Rex could not find a place he could belong, why not just make one.

 

“Can you teach me enchanting?” Kira asked suddenly.

 

“Sure.” Rex didn't need to think about it before he answered.

 

Why wouldn't he want his helper to be more skilled?

 

“What do you plan to make with it, more weapons?” Rex asked.

 

“I want to make a baby with it!” Kira declared.

 

Rex stared at her in shock, this was not what he was expecting.

 

“What do you mean Kira?” Rex felt like he heard wrong.

 

“Succubi have to kill their partners for a chance to get pregnant. I want to find another way, just like you did for our food.” She said honestly.

 

Rex listened to her reasoning carefully. A part of him was touched as this was how society spread, it was once others saw what it offered them. Human technology allowed us to surpass our limits, and now he felt like he could help her overcome hers. His thoughts froze here though.

 

Wait, that means she will want to test it when she gets older...

 

What if it doesn't work? Will he end up a pile of ashes as a result of her failure. A sense of dread instantly filled him.

 

I can just teach her very, very slowly.