Mio and I waited at a randomly chosen park in downtown Tsukiji early in the morning, enjoying ourselves with some crepes. The sweet, tender dough coupled with fruits and whipped cream spread across my palette like sex. A ravenous succubus suddenly chomped down on my last bite.

"Hey!" I pouted. 

"Mmmmh! It's got both the sweet taste of crepes and of you." Mio teetered left and right happily as she chewed, then brandished her chocolate crepe in my face. "Here. Just one bite though, buster. It's all I took of yours."

I leaned in to take a bite, but Mio pulled it away at the last second and kissed me instead. Her tongue shoved the partially-chewed morsels of my crepes into my mouth. She grabbed the back of my head so I couldn't get away. When our lips parted at last, I stared at her in disbelief and horror.

"Ew… Mio… What am I? A baby bird?" I spat the crepes out and swallowed the urge to vomit.

"Kahaha! What's the matter? We're sucking each other's tongues and pussy all the time. That's what you're grossed out about?" Mio asked.

"Those are two different things and you know it…"

The taste of fruits and crepes still lingered in my mouth, and I was red up to my ears.

"Here." Mio tilted a water bottle in my direction.

"Are you going to offer that to me through your mouth, too?" I asked.

Without hesitating, Mio unscrewed the cap, filled her mouth with water until the cheeks were bursting, and pounced on me. Both of us went flat on the bench, both hands clenched to the other in a battle of might.

"Goddamnit, how did I know?!" I groaned aloud.

The sensation of Yumi and Selene's aura tickled mine. Both of them were in close proximity to us. In my moment of distraction, Mio sealed her lips to mine and delivered the payload down my throat. She finally let go, and I sat up sputtering from being waterboarded.

"Ara~ Did we interrupt?" Yumi giggled.

"Geh. You could have forewarned us that you were going to be flirting." Raniel turned the other cheek.

Yumi and Selene were accompanied by the twins, Raniel and Arniel. They all had ice cream in their hands.

"Which means they really did find you two. Neither of you made it easy for them, did you?" I asked my succubus companions.

"I thought for sure I was well hidden. But their sense of smell is no joke." Selene clicked her tongue.

"Well, damn. Color me surprised." Mio sat back and seemed unimpressed.

"So, do you believe us now?" Arniel asked me.

The whole purpose of our little outing was to fan out across the city and test the light elves' ability to find us. They appeared to have found Yumi and Selene first, then myself and Mio after. We should have been a needle in the haystack level of difficulty, combing through an entire city for two pairs of succubi. But seeing was believing.

"Yeah, I believe you two. That won't make searching for them any easier. I've had my people looking for the rogues all this time, and we've only made progress when they choose to show themselves," I explained.

"Then you're in luck. While searching for you four, we caught the scent of what may be rogue succubi." Raniel nodded proudly to herself.

"In the city? Bullshit," Mio said. "How do you know they weren't one of ours?"

The disbelief was only feeding their ego.

"There was a ship off the harbor of your city. We thought you might have gone there, but the scent was too dense. Meaning there were many," Arniel said smugly.

"However, the rules to our test was that you four split into two pairs. That crosses you out of the equation from being there. What truly gave it away was Queen Saeko saying you searched the cities, but did you ever consider searching out at sea?" Raniel asked smugly.

"I hate to admit it, but that is certainly a high possibility. Especially if they have mind-controlled the crewmen on board," Selene said.

Out at sea… Why didn't I think of that? Both twins giggled and wrinkled their noses, while flashing shit-eating grins at us.

"Saeko… Let me peg the shit out of these two," Mio growled through clenched teeth.

"I know you don't like it, but sometimes we have to hand it to them. Selene, make some calls to the Tsukiji nest to be on standby. Yumi, let the Himeji and Kobe nests know to investigate suspicious ships. We'll search the ship now," I ordered.

"We will?" the twins repeated curiously.

"Aren't you the queen? Why don't you command your succubi to take care of this instead? I recall you also entered the keep while your army waited outside," Raniel said, seemingly genuinely befuddled.

"It's because I'm queen that I should take care of this personally. I care about my people too much to let them potentially wander into danger. When it matters the most, I'll know I can trust them to do the same for me," I explained.

The light elves pursed their lips from saying any more. After Yumi and Selene finished making the calls, we flew straight for the Tsukiji coast. I carried Arniel, and Mio begrudgingly carried Raniel.

"Hey, quit struggling or you're fish food!" Mio exclaimed.

"Then stop groping my private parts, you insatiable mutt in heat!" Raniel fired back.

They were both going to end up falling into the ocean at this rate. At least Arniel was more behaved in my arms. Though… seeing that he had a boner and was beet red, I could understand why.

"You said you and your sister were special to be champions at your age, right? What exactly does it mean to be champions?" I asked.

"It means our devotion to the Everlight is pure and true. The Blinding Point and Sol Bulwark are among four artifacts belonging to the light elven race. For us, those bestowed with the artifacts are christened as champions. We have a sworn duty to carry out the Everlight's and Empress' will," Arniel explained, slowly growing less self-conscious as he spoke. Even the erection had softened.

"There it is!" Raniel pointed to a large multi-story yacht in the distance, the size of which must belong to someone incredibly wealthy.

We had gone far enough that the pier was out of sight. I thought the twins meant it was in the waters just off the harbor. Nope. I would never have considered searching this far. The light elves, through seabreeze and brine, managed to sniff out succubi at this distance.

Selene and I withdrew our auras. If there really were rogue succubi on that yacht, and it was looking more and more likely, they wouldn't sense us coming until we were on top of them.

"I want fighting to a minimum. Make sure no one escapes, so we can interrogate as many as possible. If there are humans on board, prioritize their safety. Yumi, Mio, and Raniel will  board from the back. Selene, Arniel, and I will surprise them from the front," I said.

"Come on. The stern is the rear of the ship, and the bow is the front!" Mio flew in to nudge me, and I almost lost hold of Arniel. He clung tightly to my neck and squeezed.

"Okay, okay! You guys go in from the stern, and we're going in from the bow! Happy?"

The six of us split up into two groups to assault the yacht. Selene and I landed on the bow, startling four succubi who were lying on lounge chairs and tanning under the sun. I placed them all under my charm by the time they noticed.

"How many of you are there?" Selene asked a magenta-haired succubus.

"There are—"

An explosion from the stern caused the entire yacht to lurch to one side. Arniel lost footing and fell onto his butt. When I tried to help him up, another explosion knocked me over. I stumbled forward on top of him, burying his face between my breasts.

"Just what are they doing over there?" I groaned.

"Saeko, we have company!" Selene warned.

Succubi and baton-wielding human security emerged in force. One succubus leading the charge fired a magic shard. I backhanded the spell out into the sea. As they poured onto the deck, a close quarter combat ensued.

Arniel made use of his small frame to weave effortlessly between multiple foes. He dove past two succubi trying to grab him, swept the leg out from underneath one, and pushed off the ground with his hands to kick the other away. Even without the spear, he was a capable fighter.

A succubus cursed under her breath. "What's a light elf doing in this world?" 

Another succubus went crashing past them and through the sliding glass door into the yacht. It was Selene who dealt the crushing blow, cracking her knuckles as she squared up for more.

"Surrender and Queen Saeko may ask that I show you mercy," Selene said menacingly.

Many of them wavered under Selene's intimidating visage, but a desperation kept their hands and weapons up.

"We just need to stall them until the ritual completes!" a sharp-eyed succubus exclaimed, rallying the others into a fiercer resistance.

What are you doing? Blow through them! You have the power to do so! Beatrice shouted like she was right next to me.

I summoned my Blade to parry a swipe from one succubus and kicked another away. There were so many standing between us and getting in.

"Shut up… I'm not going to kill the succubi you led astray to begin with…"

Pathetic. Now is not the time to worry about others. If they usher a dryad into your world, then that puts my Mio in danger. I will tear your mind and psyche to shreds should that come to pass, she vowed.

One dryad was strong enough to incapacitate me and two light elven champions with their artifacts. Mio almost got hurt alongside me. Magic began to ooze from my body, blending in with the succubi auras all around me.

"Kneel." I lifted the Blade of the First Temptress, commanding the rogues and mind-controlled humans to drop to their knees.

"This power… are you…?" Selene gaped at me.

Two hands with long, painted black nails fell upon my shoulders. It was like Beatrice stood right behind me, guiding me forward. Before I realized it, I was already below deck in a dining room where furniture had been cleared away to make an open floor. A dozen succubi were arranged around a runic circle, surrounding a couple of unconscious humans tied up in the center.

"Stop her! The portal isn't complete yet!" a ritualist cried.

With a single swing from the sword conjured hazy bolts of magic. They fired forth, seeking out each succubus in the room which exploded with devastating force. The yacht teetered to the side, and the humans in the circle slid out of it. However, the center opened a deep, black void.

"Shit. Was I too late?" I braced for something to come out.

Countless tentacles came surging out of the abyss. They snatched succubi and humans alike. A few came for me, but I leaped out of the way and let them plunge through the floor. Water started flooding through the more the tentacles wreaked havoc on the yacht's hull.

"I can taste it! The feast on the other side! Let me through, so I can have a taste!" a shrill voice howled from the other side.

It's not over. Not yet. The portal isn't strong enough to let the dryad through. Now is your chance to escape. Find Mio and get out of here!" Beatrice blared like an alarm.

The others rushed downstairs and stopped at the door.

"Saeko!" Mio called out worriedly.

"Stay back!" I shouted.

Think. At this rate, everyone on this yacht was going to the bottom of the sea. If I didn't free the succubi and humans from the dryad's grasp, they were going to drown.

Unless…

I flew up and dove through the portal. Mio's screams were all I heard before emerging into a red hellscape of craggy, obsidian mountains. The surface of the world was covered in a layer of charred, green roots. Or vines? No… Those were dryad tentacles. The same tentacles that were trying to enter my world.

"Is this… Elza?" I gasped.

This, errant queen, is our true feral home. A planet of parasites where only the strong survive— at least until we were dragged into Elza to serve the demon lord, Beatrice said.

I dove away as tentacles reached up to try and capture me. Countless deep, red eyes like the ones I saw back at the garrison in Elza stared at me from below.

Fool. You have brought us here to die. If you want to live, tap into my strength again. Dig deep into the Blade of the First Temptress, she urged me.

A familiar aura tickled my own. Beatrice's aura. It filled me with an indescribable power, one that made me believe I could conquer everything and anything. As more tentacles rose to meet me—

"Stay out of my home!" I pointed the blade to the sky, summoning a massive raging storm that brought powerful thunder strikes to the surface. The tentacles retracted from the portal to defend itself. Seizing that opening, I flew back through the portal just as it began to close.

The seawater was up to our waists now. Succubi that I mind-controlled earlier were picking up the unconscious and bringing them out. I grabbed the last passed out succubus and followed after them. As soon as I escaped, Mio tackled me with a hug and almost knocked the girl out of my arms.

"Geez… You fucking idiot. Why did you go and jump in there like that?" Mio asked, shaking as she held me.

"I'm sorry for worrying you," I apologized quietly, then glanced past Mio's shoulder to Selene and Yumi. "Did we get everyone out?"

"Yes. A succubus you charmed assured me all are accounted for, humans and succubi alike." Selene nodded.

We brought them back to the harbor, leaving behind the sinking yacht. They made for twenty-four succubus and nineteen humans. The humans we set free, but we weren't sure what to do with the succubi while the mirror artifact was still recharging.

"The best we can do is use one of Hana's love hotels and have a couple of loyal succubi guard them," I suggested.

"Allow me to volunteer. None of them shall escape so long as I breathe," Selene said proudly.

It was settled. We would leave them under Selene and several succubi's watchful eyes. 

"Well, color me a believer. Still can't fathom that some light elves can actually sniff us out by scent. What the hell do we even smell like?" Mio asked.

Raniel and Arniel snapped to Mio's side and began sniffing like dogs while circling her.

"Like a fragrant flower," they answered.

Without a doubt, light elves had definitely evolved to feed themselves to the succubi race.

"As soon as I get back to the dorm, I'm taking a long nap." I sighed.

"Pass out? We skipping classes today?" Mio asked excitedly.

"Wait…" I pulled out my phone and saw that it was past noon. "MIO, WE JUST MISSED A FINALS EXAM!"

The shouting made Mio plug her ears to my panic.

"I don't know what the big deal is. We can just—"

"Selene, Yumi. I'll leave the prisoners and twins to you. Good work today. Everyone, dismissed!" I snatched Mio's hand and began flying towards the university.

We got to Tsukiji campus, still smoking from the battle on the yacht. Students were just now pouring out of buildings to head to their next class. I checked the time. It was five minutes past our exam.

I landed with Mio and pushed our way inside. The professor was at the bottom, straightening out papers and packing things into his messenger bag. He saw us coming down and offered a scolding look.

"Saeko, Mio. Glad of you to finally join after the exam has concluded," he said.

"I'm sorry, Professor. We got caught up in something… Take it now? Or retake it?" I asked desperately as my potential future of failure flashed before my eyes.

"No, I'm afraid you can't. But… there may be a way for you two to make up for it, if you catch my drift?" His lips creased into a lecherous smile.

A wrathful shiver ran up my spine. 

This impudent old fool wants to have his way with you and Mio? Absolutely not. Seize his mind. Teach him a lesson, Beatrice ordered loudly in my head.

"I caught it alright. You're going to let us retake the exam. But there won't be any funny business or strings attached," I said while placing a charm on him.

"Sounds… good. I'll be in my office and free today at 4:00 PM. See you two there," he said.

As we watched him exit, Mio casually remarked, "What? Didn't wanna snack while taking the test?"

"And let that mutt have his way with you? Not a chance."

"Oooh? A little possessive streak going today, huh? I got some Bea vibes from that one," she teased.

Beatrice? Ugh.

I rubbed the side of my head and sighed. The last thing I needed right now was to hear more about her. She was already whispering to me through my thoughts.

Is something the matter, errant queen? You should be rejoicing. I commend you for your actions. Mio is a precious gem not to be besmirched by the likes of low-brow buffoons, Beatrice said.

"Please, just shut up already," I muttered.

"What'cha standing around for? We got a test later, and I wanna get some grub!" Mio hollered from the other end of the room.

The class was beginning to fill with students while I stood around. I hurried to catch up with Mio. We took a break before heading to the professor's office to take the exam. However, I couldn't help but be distracted the entire time. Especially with Beatrice constantly whispering the incorrect answers.

On our way out of the campus building, I paused at the exit.

"What's eating you lately?" Mio turned around and asked.

Looking her in the eyes, I was reminded how much she meant to me. Or maybe that was Beatrice's siscon obsession with her. Regardless, I had promised time and time again to tell the truth when it came to Mio.

"Don't freak out, but… ever since we encountered the dryad in Elza, I've been hearing Beatrice in my mind the entire time," I confessed.