"You want to know if there is a powerful enough spell or magic item capable of subduing Roshasha?" Eliza asked behind a cup of wine.

"Maybe there's something in the vault I can use? Or, as a sorceress, you know a secret magical ritual that can bind Roshasha!" Kanae suggested.

A few days had passed since the Amethyst Hall was formed and its very first members recruited. The other Knights of Colors were given their own specific task to carry out. Kanae and her young order had been assigned the toughest one yet— to find a way to restrain Roshasha in case they go through with releasing her.

Kanae was at her wit's end, having exhausted every avenue in trying to figure out a method. Today, she visited Elizabeth Bedlam in hopes that the sorceress could help or offer a different perspective.

"Well, I'm sure you know many items in the vault are too destructive to be used. They may even hurt Roshasha, but not without inflicting untold mayhem on everything else. Imagine using the Horn of Glentir in the middle of Aidenhall. Or unleashing a phoenix in the city. Using anything from the vault is out of the question. Besides, you're already wearing something that was originally locked in there," Eliza explained.

"R-Right…" Kanae gulped hard.

"I suppose making use of Lapis is out of the question?" she asked.

Kanae nodded. Lapis had helped enough and deserved a life of peace. Especially after suffering from a crack in her core, the last thing Kanae wanted was to put any more pressure on it. Suppressing Roshasha's magic could backfire, too, if she proved physically stronger. That would only end up robbing them of their magic instead.

"Many ritual spells that might work require sustained focus and channeling. Roshasha will not allow that to happen. If only we could ask the heroes of old how they defeated her…" Eliza said, falling into thought.

"Huh." A bulb lit up in Kanae's head. "There is a way! We have a necromancer that can yank souls out from the afterlife!"

"Amethyst… Disturbing resting souls is a crime in Radevic," she replied scoldingly.

Of course, a necromancer messing with souls is outlawed. Exasperated, Kanae threw her hands in the air.

Eliza continued, "However, the Grand Eye did task you with finding a way to subdue Roshasha. I think she will forgive a little bending of the law. I'll accompany you. For scholarly purposes."

Kanae, joined by Eliza, returned to the Amethyst Hall to explain their plan to Edina. The necromancer had made a lair for herself in one of the large chambers in the south hall. Her undead soldiers worked tirelessly around the clock to decorate the place. Undead mages were inscribing a ritual circle in the middle of the room.

"Move the troll skull a little to the left," Edina instructed.

A bone brute holding the large, tusked skull of a troll scooted as ordered. Edina motioned to the right. The bone brute moved again. She motioned to the left. The bone brute moved again. Eventually, she flashed thumbs up.

"Meh. Good enough. Get that shit mounted pronto." Edina nodded happily to herself.

"Enjoying your new place?" Kanae asked as the necromancer whirled around.

"I love it!" she exclaimed, jumping for joy. "There's so much room, I gotta kill a couple of more monsters to decorate the place with. A necromancer needs to keep with the aesthetics, you know? You think I should have a fresh hanging corpse? Ehh. Maybe not. All the blood makes a mess of the place and stinks real bad. Anyway, you guys need something?"

They explained in detail about their plan to speak with the souls of the heroes who defeated Roshasha. Edina looked very interested. Her eyes lit up with a fire.

"What do you think? Can you do it?" Kanae asked.

Edina rested a fist on top of her chest and grinned. "You bet I can! Long as I have some knowledge of the heroes like their names and history, fishing them out will be a cakewalk. One question though: can I make death knights out of them when we're done?"

"No, you cannot!" Eliza interjected.

The necromancer clicked her tongue. She ordered her undead mages to hurry up, then arranged three of them around the circle. Her Pillar of the Damned was staked in the center, and its skulls and braziers ignited. Fortunately, they didn't speak.

In the meantime, Eliza, who had brought a dusty old tome from her cabinets, recounted tales of the heroes of old to give them context.

Jericho the Brave. A large human man who feared no one but his own missus. He always charged head-first into battle with little regard for his safety. If there were traps, at least he would be the one to activate them all and suffer the consequences so his companions wouldn't.

Loradell Pracht, a high elven mage exiled from House Pracht for the practice and study of profane magic. Some say she was the most beautiful high elf anyone had the pleasure of laying eyes on. Her beauty, however, was only second to her magical prowess in battle. She was most famous for single handedly slaying an ancient dragon in a duel of magic.

Ellard Red, the dark elven musician hailing from the vast sands of Kutash. History has not known a worse womanizing bard. His talent in weaving magic into his music was overshadowed by how easily he could swoon a woman into bed with him, only to screw up his chances during the act.

Victa. Few could challenge the she-paladin and emerge unscathed. Fewer still have ever bested her in combat. The human woman came from nothing and didn't even have a last name of her own, but through grit and will did she rise to become a revered hero, championing the weak, rooting out evil, and becoming what all paladins strived for— courageous.

"Wow. So, these four were the same ones who defeated Roshasha?" Kanae asked after Eliza recounted their stories.

"Indeed." Eliza shut the tome. "Obviously, they didn't go at it with just the four. They had a lot of help. The names read to you were the key players."

There were more to them. A whole tome's worth. Unfortunately, they didn't have time to read a fairy tale.

"I'm ready to start digging if you guys are. You haven't actually seen me conduct this ritual before, right?" Edina asked from the edge of the circle.

Kanae and Eliza shook their heads.

The necromancer continued, "Think of Soul Search like digging up a grave. I need a ton of magic to act as my shovel. Sometimes, a soul can't be found. Probably because the gods got to them already. Otherwise, a soul's got regrets keeping them anchored to this world or some magic has them chained. Like my death knights. Once I'm down there, I use the memories and name of the soul to lure them."

"I see. How fascinating. And in this way, you're able to commune with the dead." Eliza was so interested, she started taking notes.

"Alright, I need you two to get to fucking," she said.

"What?" Kanae and Eliza, who dropped her notepad, gaped at the necromancer's serious comment and waited for the punchline.

When none came, the three of them remained deadlocked in silence.

"You heard me, get fucking!" Edina emphasized again much more loudly. "I told you, it takes a ton of magic. I usually get a couple of guys from the adventurers hall in here to run train on me. You two probably have more than enough."

"Okay, but why sex?" Kanae asked.

"What happens during the ritual is there's a vacuum that sucks in magic. It's too weak to suck it right out of us or an object. There's got to be a medium. I read that past necromancer lords had like dozens of disciples to channel latent magic out, but yours truly found another way. Since succubi can drain magic through sex, the vacuum cuts in during the transfer to take it instead. Cool, right?" the necromancer explained.

Eliza sighed. Without another word of protest, she began to strip.

"You're fine with this?" Kanae gasped.

"What we're doing here has to stay between us, after all." Eliza discarded her clothing until she was down to her birthday suit.

The sorceress, whose flawless cocoa skin marked with golden tattoos radiated with beauty, didn't need to do much to convince Kanae. As soon as Eliza turned around to enter the ritual circle, she revealed a very shapely ass and backside.

Kanae swallowed her hesitation and switched on Futanari. The cock made large by the Cock Ring of Hardening stood at full mast.

When Eliza glanced back, her eyes snapped open. "Amethyst, you're going to use that? I thought we were going to— aaaahh!"

The urge to feed seized hold of Kanae. She entered the circle, grabbed Eliza's waist, and plunged her massive cock in. They stumbled a few steps forward, and the sorceress' grasping hands found purchase on the Pillar of the Damned.

Plap! Plap! Plap! Plap! Plap! Plap!

"Gods… Amethyst… slow down! You don't have to go so hard!" Eliza cried.

"I just love the way your fat ass ripples when I pound it!" Kanae exclaimed, thrusting even harder.

"Ooh, that's it! Fuck her silly, Kanae! I can feel the magic seeping out," Edina said as she facilitated the ritual.

The runes beneath their feet glowed with energy. Edina's eyes and mouth lit up with the same purplish energy. Meanwhile, Kanae savored the sensation of Eliza's pussy tightly clenching her cock. The sorceress erupted in quick, feverish gasps.

Each time their hips connected, Eliza quipped almost inaudibly. But Kanae could hear it. She heard her say 'more' and 'faster'. Soon, Eliza was pushing back on her own.

It was a strange feeling. Kanae was used to Drain replenishing her mana and stamina. The ritual circle was taking it all. Her hunger continued to build, like being tempted with the scent and never getting to taste. She pounded harder and faster, enough to make Eliza cry out in delirious pleasure.

"Incredible! Ahh! You're stretching me apart… My hips are going to tear open, but I… just want more!" Eliza screamed.

"I'm going to cum inside you!" Kanae embraced the sorceress' waist and blew her load.

Eliza came, too. Her whole body shuddered. Cum gushed out from where they were connected and dripped onto the circle.

"Did… we do it?" Eliza asked.

Their eyes snapped to the brazier at the top of the Pillar of the Damned. A white smog billowed out from it, taking the form of an ethereal, amorphous blob.

"Where am I?" a confused male voice rang out. "This doesn't look like a tavern. Oh, but what is this? Two elegant beauties before my eyes, connected at the… hips?"

"Judging by the fact that he's trying to flatter us, I assume this is Ellard Red," Eliza said while getting dressed.

"Ah! You have heard of me. Yes, I am the illustrious Ellard Red. At your service, madame. How shall I address thee, fine maidens?" Ellard asked.

"Our names aren't important," Kanae began, "but we have a few questions that are. You and several other heroes defeated Roshasha, the former Demon Lord of Artaggon. We want to know how you did it."

"What a tale that was! If I can just find my violin… I could regale you of what happened in a ballad, but drats. I must have misplaced it somewhere…" he murmured distractedly.

For whatever reason, the soul hadn't realized it was dead yet. Or maybe it did? Hard to tell with the way Ellard was acting.

They waited and waited, but Ellard seemed too preoccupied with searching for his imaginary instrument. Actually, was it possible that he actually was? Afterlife stuff sounded complicated.

"Hey, uhh… You don't have to give us a ballad. Can you just tell us the story?" Kanae hollered at the soul.

"Just one moment!" Ellard insisted.

Another ten minutes went by, and they still hadn't learned anything.

"This is taking forever. Ellard probably couldn't keep his women because he makes them wait for so long. Soul Search another hero already!" Eliza groaned aloud.

"That's rude! Give me… Wait! Waaaaiiiit—" The wispy soul sank back into the brazier, and another one surged out.

This soul possessed a fragile golden hue. It seemed almost… ephemeral, like the spirit would vanish if someone were to touch it.

"I appear to be dead. What manner of magic has bound my soul here?" a woman's commanding voice asked.

Kanae and Eliza gasped. Unlike Ellard, this one sounded like it was aware of being dead.

"You're Victa, are you not?" Eliza asked. "It is an honor to meet the famed paladin. We seek your knowledge on how to defeat Roshasha. Do you perhaps remember her?"

"Of course, I remember that mad woman… Toughest opponent I've ever fought. Even without a body, I can feel my wounds ache when I recall that day. Why? Has she escaped?" Victa sighed.

"Well… We kind of want to… free her." Kanae pressed her fingers together.

"Oh. I'm sorry, I might have misheard. You want to WHAT?!" the soul erupted furiously.

"Whoa, whoa! Don't piss off the soul, or it might turn into a vengeful wraith!" Edina yelled.

That would have been pertinent information to know first!

"A lot has happened since you've been dead! The Empire of Ortesia are enemies now, and the succubi are led by a cult that wants to enslave every other race. Radevic's only chance of survival is to ally with Lord Charron and Artaggon, and the condition for that is Roshasha's release. We want to release her, subdue her, and hand her over to Lord Charron," Kanae explained.

Victa fell silent for a moment, but it didn't look like she was outright angry anymore. Kanae really hoped she would be willing to tell them how to defeat Roshasha. They were out of ideas otherwise.

"I suppose it is your world now, and not mine. Fine." Victa relented, much to their relief. "We knew facing Roshasha would not be easy. Suicide, in fact. She was a powerful rhyleth. To level the playing field, we sought out two enchanted items. The Empire of Ortesia lent us the One-Eyed Cross, an artifact that reversed the flow of time up to a few seconds. Even with it, we suffered a fatal blow dozens of times before beating her. The other was a cursed item called the Debilitating Band, which reduces all stats to F. Would you believe she still put up a fight? At any rate, we had succeeded in defeating her and, with the then-Grand Eye's help, imprisoned her underneath Aidenhall."

Kanae and Eliza changed an uneasy look at each other.

"The… The One-Eyed Cross is dust now. That thing got eaten up to revive someone," Kanae said.

"Who in their right mind would destroy such an incredible weapon to bring a person back to life?" Victa asked.

Instead of answering, Kanae whistled off-beat and kicked her feet off to the side. It was still worth the sacrifice to bring Arenade back.

"We will have to make do without the One-Eyed Cross. Where is the Debilitating Band now?" Eliza questioned the soul.

"From what I remember… That idiot Ellard pawned it off for some drinking money," Victa recalled thoughtfully.

They slapped a hand to their faces and sighed.

"We can ask Lani to look through Chappy for the location of the band. It's how he helped me find the Ankh of Reincarnation to begin with," Kanae said.

"Well then, we know what to do next. Thank you for your time, Victa." Eliza was about to signal to Edina that they were done when the soul shaped into an exclamation mark.

"A moment, if you will! For years I have mulled over my regrets, and I think it is finally time for me to move on. Will you aid me in passing on to the afterlife?" Victa asked.

It was Eliza who nudged Kanae forward. She drew closer to the soul to lend an ear to hear her request.

"Since you helped us, it's only fair. How can I help you move on?" Kanae glanced up at the fidgety soul.

"I've lived a pious life," Victa began in a somber tone, "I swore off alcohol, the touch of companionship, I never wagered anything more than a gentleman's bet, and not once did I ever chase my own desires. Death in limbo has given me a lot of time to think. Please, let me possess your body so that I may experience these vices!"

"Eh… Are you… serious?" she stammered.