The Queen’s Surrender

Back besides Lena and Urag, Kilian laid down the attack plan.

“First, the Fortress of Vice fuels all its occupants’ bodies with rising levels. The lower their willpower and Dra Control, the more vulnerable they become. However, only those at the Astral Master level or above can outright ignore the effects—none of us have reached that tier.

Fortunately, we have Urag. For the duration of our stay, he will periodically use his Lust Magic to empty our group’s lust bars and feed his Mark of Lust. However, if everything goes according to plan, we shouldn’t be here for more than a few days,” Kilian started, and seeing that he’d suddenly turned into the mainstay of the faction’s survival, Urag stuck his chest out, struggling to hide his pride and elation.

“Hehehe, yes boss!” The imp lord replied with a military salute. Ignoring his obvious delight, Kilian went on.

“Second, we’re severely lacking in manpower. From the moment we arrived, whoever rules this zone has been aware of our presence, and even had those gals ready to welcome us. What level are they at? Low, mid or top-level Fehl Lord? What about their legions’ strength? If it comes down to it, can we take them on? I doubt it. At least not with a straight fight.

Since those daemons were, for all intents and purposes, abandoned by Ashera to watch over her fort, we can assume that they aren’t the cream of the crop among her legions. But at the same time, they must all have attributes matching this place’s rules—fehls that get their high from extreme decadence, and are therefore most vulnerable to Urag’s Arcana. I believe that some of them must possess similar abilities to Eromancy. But even then, their nature and fehl high will leave them vulnerable. With the proper bait and arrangements, we can capitalize on that.”

The Bacchanalia invitation already told a myriad about the type of events the people of zone 13 indulged in. As an earthling, Kilian learned much about greco-roman culture, and knew that Bacchanalia plus fehl could only mean drunken orgy. However, he couldn’t understand why a zone predating all civilizations on Earth used a Latin name for its revelry—not that he cared.

Snapping his fingers, Kilian summoned the Sura Queen from the Hellforge, making the dazed ruler stand between Urag and him. After many probes, Kilian realized that his connection with the Hellforge overrode all the shackles of this zone, enabling him to summon things and people he kept stored there.

“Hi, Sura Queen, I know you must have many questions, but we don’t have time for that. Long story short, I captured you, nuked the Blood King, used your life to suppress your councilors and dragged you into the Fortress of Vice. You have five seconds to process my words and accept the fact that you’re at my mercy,” Kilian started, and if at first the words seemed too ludicrous for the Sura Queen to accept them, recalling the barrage of lust-inducing magic that overpowered her mind and consciousness, she was forced to accept Kilian’s words.

Alert to the tiniest detail, the Sura Queen realized that Kilian seemed in a rush, and that, assuming all his words were true, the wrong words would land her into a serious mess.

“What do you want?” She asked after pulling in a deep breath. Satisfied by the prompt adjustment, Kilian nodded in approval.

“You might not realize it yet, but the whole Fortress is a place of lust and debauchery. In a few minutes, my partners and I will leave for the Bacchanalia—hoping to find a way out. However, we might have to wrestle with an army of sex-crazed daemons, at least of the Noble rank. According to my estimations, their leader should be a mid-level Fehl Lord. Needless to say, the situation is far from pleasant. But if you’re willing to play the bait at a critical juncture, by combining your abilities and ours, we can turn the tide,” Kilian offered. As a mid-level Exarch, while she recently received her powers from Ashera and didn’t have the time to explore them all, the Sura Queen was a reliable ally.

Unfortunately for her, Eromancy was at its strongest when used against the opposite gender. Thus, either Kilian or Urag could suppress her. When the two joined hands, she couldn’t escape. Of course, the Sura Queen knew nothing of that, and thinking of how Kilian planned to turn her into a juicy lamb for a pack of hungry wolves, she couldn’t restrain her outburst.

“And what else? Will you also have me parade myself naked across the street? Maybe I should start by warming up your bed? Boy, stop daydreaming,” the Sura Queen spat, but never expected Kilian’s next words to be:

“If it must come to that, yes, I expect you to cross the street with your tits and ass hanging loose. As for my bed, that’s optional.” To say nothing of the Sura Queen, even Urag and Lena couldn’t believe their ears and exchanged doubtful gazes—wondering if their boss hadn’t been replaced by a doppelganger.

“You—”

“Not me. You. Please understand that you’re flanked by two people both able to turn you into a braindead cum-drinker with a few arcane gestures. The one at your back is, in fact, the true master of that craft. I’m not asking you to assist me because I need your consent. It’s a courtesy.”  Kilian cut the Sura Queen mid-talk, stifling all protest she might have had.

“While I don’t approve of your current path, I understand that when faced with either the destruction of your species or Ashera’s cradle, you had to choose Ashera. If the roles were reversed, I wouldn’t have chosen the path of certain ruin either. Still, the fact of the matter is that your choice threw the majority of your brethren into a brand-new level of hell. Hell you were ready to ignore, so I had to do a lot of your job for you. Had to feed and shelter your people from external AND internal threats. Therefore, I expect immediate compensation.

If you won’t pay your dues, we will have to do this the hard way and feed you to a literal army of voracious daemons with no tenderness in store. Your choice.” Met with Kilian’s ultimatum, the Sura Queen blinked in disbelief, and after weighing her options, turned to face Urag.

The imp lord’s beaming and expectant face awaited at her back. And seeing Urag rub his hands with “hehehe” sounds, the Sura Queen wondered if the most immediate of dangers wasn’t at her back. Alarmed, she spun toward Kilian, forced a smile and replied:

“How should we sign the agreement?” Satisfied, Kilian drafted an inviolable greed contract and secured the Sura Queen’s temporary allegiance.