When I woke up after an unknown amount of time, I felt something small and soft tickling the skin on my chest.

Prying my eyes open and looking down, I saw Soea running her fingertips over my skin.

She was staring up at me and when she saw me waking up, she looked away and stopped the movement of her hand.

I gently disentangled myself from her and got to my feet.

Soea followed along, but as before, she crawled to the edge of the bed before standing up.

The first thing I had to do was to gather a large number of materials and reagents, which I would be using to employ powerful wards around my castle.

While I was sure that a massive army was coming, they wouldn't be a danger, but I also had to prepare for the worst case, that being that some Heroes would come along with the Human military.

The reason that I had to specially prepare for Heroes, was because Heroes summoned by that bastard god usually had a Special Skill which we called 'Bender'.

This skill allowed us to easily bend most wards without the original caster even detecting the slightest change in their magic, we could also slip past most magic traps.

Of course, this skill didn't stop us from tripping physical traps.

The normal name for a Special Skill, among the general populace, is a Trait.

Since Heroes could slip normal wards, I needed to use specialized Demonic magic, magic that had been designed and tinkered with over centuries to specifically stop Heroes.

These wards were additionally highly resistant to Phase Shifting or Spatial magic.

I had to make sure that these special wards were deployed, to stop Heroes sneaking in during the battle. They would be no threat to me if they were newly summoned, but they could easily kill Soea, she wasn't a Demon with a combat centralized bloodline.

For the spells that I had chosen, I needed certain rare reagents such as the bones and skulls of Hell Boars, Dragon scales. A few more Soul Stones wouldn't hurt...me anyway.

Of course, I already knew where I could find these reagents. I had been saving them in a certain location for quite a while, storing them just in case of an event like this.

It didn't take long for me to arrive at the courtyard, and with a quick flap of my wings, I took off along with a fairly large cloud of dust.

I looked back and saw Soea following along next to me, she seemed to be deeply thinking on something, internally debating, and she looked really worried.

While I could ask her about the problem and then try to help, my instincts said that she should figure it out herself, and I had long learned to trust my instincts. She would look at me and have strange facial reactions, it seemed that whatever her problem was, it was related to her and me.

I decided to just wait for now, but if she struggled too much, I would ask her and see if I could help.

Normally, Dragon scales would be the hardest thing to find, but I already had some in storage. Hell Boars were also fairly rare, they required a certain environment to thrive.

But, I knew the location of the territory of a massive herd of Hell Boars. I had been there a year ago, so I didn't know for sure if they were still there or if they had been wiped out.

While Hell Boars were weaker than me, both physically and magically, they had great defensive capabilities. Not many animals could kill off a herd of Hell Boars, so my hopes that they were still there were high.

While I was at the mountain where the Hell Boars were hidden, I would stop by a certain location and grab a Dragon heart from the lair of said, dead, Dragon.

I had only killed two Dragons in the five years I had been in this world, I bathed in the blood and ate the heart of one of them, the other was inside the mountain range that was my target.

The large mountain range was covered by enormous black flames, the flames were caused by the magic that was released when the Dragon was killed, and what leaked out of its body. Since I didn't remove the Dragon Soul when I killed the monster, the remnants had combined with the leaking magic power and formed the flames.

Since the flames were the living embodiment of the Dragon Soul and the residual magic, if I left it alone, it would evolve into a new Flame Elemental Dragon within the next twenty years.

Master had suggested that I keep the flames active and not absorb the power while taking the heart, because a lot of Demonic beings would be drawn to the mountain range, making it a treasure trove of Demonic reagents.

Hell Boars were one of the lower-ranked Monsters that were drawn here.

However, recently I had heard an intriguing rumour, that a Salamander King lived in the core.

I hoped the rumours were true, Salamander Kings were a very good war asset. They were only a rank below Lesser Dragons and could easily destroy massive armies by themselves.

Ahh... Flying was really great.

The wind gently rustled through my feathers, tickling slightly as they fluttered around. It also tussled my hair, messing it up and whipping my face.

But the best thing about flying was the incredible feeling for freedom, a sense of being untouchable.

 

Before I realized it, I had arrived at the mountain range. Rapidly stopping, I flapped frantically a few times and dove towards the ground. With a soft thud, I landed on the rocky ground, pulverizing stones beneath my feet and leaving a crater expanding radially.

Even though she looked like she had been complete immersed in whatever it was that was bothering her, Soea stopped when I did, instantly reacting to my actions.

With barely a sound, she landed behind me and on the edge of the crater that I accidentally created.

We had landed at the peak of a massive mountain.

In the past, this mountain had been a volcano, which was why a Black Dragon was drawn here originally. This was also why the Salamander King had been rumoured to be here as well.

Soea and I were standing on the lip of the caldera, which was originally five meters wide, but I had damaged it with my landing.

Looking down the slope of the mountain, I found out that I was in luck, the first thing I saw was a herd of Hell Boar.

Hearing her gasping for breath, I looked over at Soea.

She seemed to be tired, her face flushed as she leant over and gasped for breath.

Again, my gaze was drawn to her exposed cleavage. The way the skin was slightly red, sweat beaded for a few seconds before rolling down into the partially concealed valley.

I managed to tear my gaze away very quickly.

A few steps took me over to her side, and placing a hand on her back, I injected some energy.

"Thank you, my lord." She spoke softly, energy returning to her face, "My lord, can I ask something?"

Her voice shook slightly as she spoke, she seemed to struggle to meet my gaze.

I noticed that her hands where shaking slightly, this time not from tiredness.

Seeing how serious she was, I knew that I should respond in kind. I met her gaze, and to be honest, I was slightly worried. This seemed very similar to that old situation of: "We need to talk."

"My Lord, I know that you made me into a succubus for your plans, and it may be important. But can I ask you, please change me? I...I mean, can you make me into another form? ...I don't dislike being a Demoness, nor do I dislike being your minion. But I am useless...I want to be able to fight, to help My Lord and not just be a drag." She spoke rapidly, her voice trailing off towards the end, almost whispering.

After speaking, Soea became quiet, her head was lowered. Her raven hair hung like a curtain and hid her face, but I could see that she would take rapid and cautious peeks from the gaps in her hair.

She seemed to do this when she was nervous, or when she was asking for something.

So, she wanted to be able to fight, to help me. Honestly, I should have expected this. It seems that she had been feeling upset when she saw me doing dangerous things that she couldn't help me with.

While I am unsure of her exact thoughts, this is what I believed that she was feeling.

Changing her into a combat race would be very simple. I could use the remains of the Dragon nearby and turn her into a Dragonoid. This was probably the best race, since she didn't seem suited to a race that used magic.

Dragonoids were incredibly powerful beings, I had fought with a few of them. I could also use the Dragon Soul to give her an instinctual knowledge of both combat and how to use the power of a Dragonoid.

There was no real reason to refuse her, though for a second it did cross my mind, I did like her being a Succubus. But I wasn't quite that selfish that I would make her suffer just for that reason.

Though changing her species would remove the brainwashing magic, the spell that made her devoted to me. It was highly probable that she would turn against me. But, I wanted to fulfil her request, and I felt that brainwashing her was wrong.

"You don't need to be so scared of asking me for things, and while it may change my plan slightly, I can easily change it. Of course I will change you, if that is what you wish." As I spoke, she looked up at me and brushed the hair from in front of her face.

Reaching towards me, she hugged me tightly, burrowing into my embrace.

"Thank you, my Lord," her voice was quiet, but I could hear happiness.

"I do have a few things that I have to do first, but I will change you when I get the chance."

Soea pushed herself back, her small hands still resting against my chest, nodding enthusiastically.

I found myself smiling as I turned my attention away from her.

She stepped back, the normal pace back and to my left.

It was curious why she did that, it's not a Demonic ritual, or instinct that I know of.

Something about this situation made me slightly nervous, the way that the first person I turned had become a reliable companion; the way that I got the Demon Lord's horn and then completed the ritual in one try without any mistakes; the way that as soon as I landed here, I saw Hell Boars.

My luck seems to have improved rapidly since Master and I met that Goddess that I can't remember.

What worries me the most is that there is a Goddess who governs the domain of Luck, and it was possible that I drew her attention.

Of course, it was very likely that I was worrying over nothing, but deities made me nervous.

If the Goddess of luck was helping me, or paying attention to me... Why was she doing this? What would I owe her when she finally came to collect? When will she collect her dues?

These thoughts echoed in my mind.

But this was a problem for the future, there was nothing I could do right now.

When I managed to drag my mind back to the current circumstances, I realized that I had reached the edge of the caldera lip.

Looking at the Hell Boars, I mentally measured the distance between them and myself, which was around two hundred meters.

I lunged towards the Boar herd, and covered the distance in an instant. I purely used my new physical strength, not even using my wings.

The Hell Boars didn't even get a chance to roar or spew their signature corrosive flames.

Slamming into the rocky ground directly in front of the lead Boar, I reached out and ripped its massive head off.

There was almost no feeling of effort, no need to exert any strength. My physical strength had been increased. Though the spray of blood that spurted out and coated me was uncomfortable.

One of the first things to do when in combat, go for the strongest, the alpha. Killing this would throw the rest of the enemies into chaos.

The nostalgic feeling of incredible physical strength was intoxicating.

Reveling in sensations that I thought permanently lost, I dashed between the Boars and punched a single hole into their chests, eviscerating their watermelon sized hearts.

Though I shattered their rib cages, this was the best way to kill them, since I needed to powder their bones for the coming ritual.

I didn't need to use any weapons, or even my magic to fight these car sized Monsters. Just pure physical prowess to tear through their thick skin, skin that would put the armour of a tank on Earth to shame.

It took me around a second and a half to kill them all, the stones that were raised from my initial impact were still clattering onto the stone ground as I withdrew my arm out of the chest of the final Boar.

Blood coated me from head to toe, the thickest of the sanguine fluid covered my arms.

When I turned and looked at Soea, I saw that she was watching me calmly, she smiled softly as her eyes met mine.

I was curious as to what sort of Heroes would be summoned this time. Because they would have to get more power than the previous group, they had to both contend with me and a possible splinter faction in the church.

Arre may even go as far as to grant them a Supreme Form.

Supreme Forms were Divinely created bodies that were based off the bodies of Ancient Monsters and Elder Beings, the two of which were just below that of the Ascenders.

Ascenders were, of course, the ones who were born with the potential to reach full deity-hood when they reach maturity. While Ancient Monsters and Elder Beings were themselves one step below demigods. Ancient Monsters were incredibly old and powerful intelligent Monsters, and Elder Beings were those of the Humanoid races, such as Celestial descendants, High Humans, High Elves, etc.

So, if Arre summoned Heroes and gave them a Supreme Form, they would be much stronger than any being found in Human and Allied Territories, excluding the Dark Lands.

Though some insanely powerful people still dwelled in hidden areas of the Territories, such as the new Shureen of the Soul.

After finishing storing the Hell Boar carcasses in my ring, I signaled Soea and started walking back towards the peak of the mountain. Soea had sat on the edge of the Caldera as I fought, sitting down and swinging her slim legs back and forth as she watched me fight.

This caldera was the location of the rumoured Salamander King, there was supposedly a tunnel which lead into a room filled with lava, in which the Salamander King lived while swimming lazily in the lava.

Standing on the lip of the caldera, I looked down and into the active volcano.

There it was, the tunnel.

I could see a soft flickering crimson glow reflecting off the walls, lighting the interior.

This should be the rumoured entrance.

 

As I walked through the stone tunnel, my footsteps echoing, I noticed that it was easily wide enough for me to have my wings spread to their full extent and still have room.

Of course, I didn't act on this thought.

In preparation for fighting the Salamander King, I started to prepare both Water Magic Runes and Runes of Sealing, which were the most efficient Runes for fighting and capturing fire creatures.

 

I prepared the Runes beforehand, making them much stronger than Runes which were cast in the middle of combat.

 

The tunnel wound around as it lead down and into the depths of the volcano, I could still see the crimson glow lighting the walls. The tunnel also followed the crater, spiraling, a long walk.

Of course, I didn't have to follow the path, I could have just used simple Earth Magic and tunnelled straight towards my destination, but it was just useless effort.

The tunnel finally terminated at a narrow ledge extended over a massive pit, the bottom of the pit glowed and moved sluggishly, it was lava.

The ledge was one and a half metres wide, circling the wall of the pit before leading down towards the glowing floor below.

The tunnel, and resulting ledge seemed to almost be artificially created.

If the rumours were correct, the Salamander King would probably be an Elder Monster, one step below an Ancient Monster. While I could easily kill something of that strength, I wanted to capture it.