Everyone in the room eyes me dubiously. I guess they have a good reason for that. I (literally and figuratively) crashed a summoning session held in another basement. Why is it always a basement? Is there some reason you can't summon a demon into airy, sunlit hall or a field of flowers?

Anyway, there's another demon in the same small circle, still ducking in cover as result of my high speed entrance. She rises up and turns to me, very annoyed. She's an arachnid demon with a large pitch black spider body that makes her pale humanoid upper body look like a different entity in contrast. She has wispy white hair and peculiar shifting pink-grey toned eyes, giving her a fragile look that is at odds with her forceful tone and haughty glare.

"Mizeleth is here already, so you can leave. Preferably as fast as you came."

"Oh, can I?"

"Honestly! These lower class lust demons, skittering around like they own the world!"

I think you're the one who could be said to be skittering. And as for being a lust demon, apparently she shares that attribute. She's not wearing anything but barely covering patches of web over the strategic places of her human parts, seemingly only there to highlight rather than hide her curves - which are inferior to mine though. Heh.

"Heh."

My involuntarily smirk makes her eyes widen. She realizes what I was comparing and is just about to launch a barrage, when she gets interrupted by our would-be contractor.

He's an elven man, whom I presume to be of nobility, with peculiar greyish-brown skin and silvery hair. This, combined with his semi-toga, gives a completely different vibe from the elves I've seen so far. Granted, most of those were always either scowling like they'd just eaten a spoiled lemon or screaming murder...

He has clearly been hovering between being aroused by the arachnid's scantily clad humanoid half and repulsed by the spider half. My arrival seems to ease his conflicts and he almost nodded after sizing me up. Yep, no compromises needed here.

"Now now... Spider lady, you can help her out, yes? A succubus will surely handle this with ease."

Despite my failed entrance he seems to immediately favor me for the task, whatever it is. Set aside like this, the spider demon flashes in anger that is at odds with her almost fragile looks.

"Me, 'help out' a succubus?! This is outrageous!! I will not--"

The summoner wizard, a cowled figure who has been so quiet that I barely noticed him before, intercepts her tantrum before it can continue.

"What my noble master means is that this task is important for him, and if you both use your own special talents to accomplish it, you'll be well compensated."

The arachnid thinks for a moment. Then she changes to a smile calculated to give hint of promise and danger.

"Very well, I shall allow it. She can serve as my foil. And a threesome would be more interesting after all."

Wait, just what did this bitch just say?

***

"So... you want us to seduce your daughter's lover and break her heart, so she'll be father's good little girl again?"

"Not the way I'd put it, but in the essence, yes."

I got the situation straight from the elf-lord. I'm not sure why such a scheme is necessary, but whatever.

"A menial task for one such as me."

The other demon, Miserles, is puffing with confidence. Or arrogance. We'll see which.

"What if the end result is achieved other way?"

"As long as she won't be pining after scoundrels like him, it's all the same to me."

"Then our contract would be... To make it so your daughter won't fall in love with men you disapprove of?"

He turns to the wizard with a questioning glance.

"I'd say the wording of task itself is solid, but there needs to be additional conditions as well. Like that after the task is done, they'll leave for hell. Or that they aren't to kill anyone during their stay."

"I see, I see. Then shall we make the deal according to those changes?"

We both accepted these terms.

"Tch. Fine, I shall do it."

"Accepted."

The evil acts he spoke of were roughly described in strength earlier, but actual content was left up to him. There should be a metric for evil acts... it'd be easier if you could say, for example 'this act is worth 12 puppy-kickings'. Anyway, he'd be fool not to do what he promised to a demon.

When we are released from the circle, the spider demon immediately jumps at the wizard.

"Huh? What are you doing-- Aaaagh!"

She bites his neck as if sucking the life out of him... no, that's exactly what she's doing. After draining him to brink of death she tosses his ragdoll body aside.

"Hah, impudent fool. Contract he specified forbid killing, but said not a thing about attacking!"

"W-what about the--"

"Worry not little mortal, I shall accomplish the task with ease."

She leaves nonchalantly, leaving the shaken elf with his unconscious wizard. I shrug apologetically and follow right after her.

As I step outside, I can see we were inside a stone chamber in the middle of a strange giant fern-tree forest. It's mid-night, and the shimmering moon can be seen reflecting on the surface of calm sea. I guess demon summoning is a taboo in this land too, since they had to do it in time and place like this. Despite the late hour, the air is almost tropical - warmer than any I've felt outside of hell's lava zone. This land must be far from any I've been to so far.

I catch up to Mizulesb, who is licking her lips with malevolent smile.

"Hah! That showed those mortal worms. ... Hey, you. You are new, are you not?"

"I suppose so."

"Try not to ruin this, you hear me? Not that my plans are vulnerable."

"And what exactly are those plans?"

"Just follow me obediently and you shall see. ... Well, I bet you are weak anyway, so your conduct is of no consequence"

"..."

This eight-legged elitist makes me wish I had a giant rolled newspaper.

Under night sky we both head to the house of the 'scoundrel' who is our target. He's apparently another noble's son, hence the need for this scheme. They had helpfully provided detailed directions to his room, and I fly straight to it while the spider demon climbs agilely. What, you didn't expect intruders from the third floor window? Too bad.

In the dark room we stand beside a sleeping figure of a young elf. He has rather effeminate long hair and the same desaturated medium-brown skin this elven race seems to have. The room has unusual amount of clothes, all of which are for females. I wonder what that's about... Is he a womanizer who likes to take mementos?

"Watch and learn. This is how dream invading is done properly."

Dream invading? I have never heard of that ability. It must be a specific spell for her type of demon.

"I could just charm him and be done with it."

"Hah. I do not need rely on a crude ability like charm. Besides, this is much more entertaining."

Sure, you are hybrid pride / lust demon, but try not to confuse pride with stupidity. She crouches over him and does some gestures I can't quite see, and then world swirls. I half expected a whoosh sound to accompany this.

I find myself in a glade lined up by forest at all sides and variety of flowers in full bloom. There's no grass on the ground though. When making my way here I noticed this curiously prehistoric trait too. This would be his dream then. It looks remarkably real to me though. Dreams are just side-effect of reorganizing memory during sleep as far as I know, so I expected a more incoherent picture. Or are my own dreams just particularly trippy?

Mizederp looks otherwise the same, except her dream-self has normal legs instead of the huge ass spider body, making her effectively human. Is her spider butt detachable in real life too, like a mobile docking station? ...I should try kicking her later, maybe she'll separate.

I notice the elven man himself inside dream, back turned towards us and sitting on a swing hanging from single huge fern-tree-thing.

"Follow my lead. I shall make him fall for me."

"..."

I'll let her handle the seduction part, I don't think I could manage that without visible cringing, not yet anyway - I've had bad experiences with elves there. She heads towards him and I follow watchfully - if she's any good, I can get pointers. When right behind him, she snakes her hands around him and whispers.

"(Forget about dalliances with silly, inferior girls. I shall show you what you have missed!)"

Not very subtle, are you? But I doubt many people would decline it when someone like her appears in their dream, especially since it's 'just a dream'. I have to admit she's almost hauntingly beautiful - assuming you ignore her insufferable personality, of course.

I'm not sure what she wants me to do, so I do nothing. The elf turns around and grabs her shoulders. He takes a look at her mostly naked body with completely neutral expression. And then... tosses her onto the ground like a sack of potatoes.

"Mwhaah?"

Mizzyleth's jaw drops visibly.

"No dresses, no frills, just bare flesh sticking out like a ham. Phah. Vulgar and uncute. 1/10, would not even touch."

Ham? Ah! With the webbing her chest indeed looks like a raw ham. I can't unsee that anymore! But ham-like or not, why'd he rebuke the seductress and just critique her taste in clothing?

"H-h-how dare you!"

He completely ignores the demon who’s so aggrieved that she's hyperventilating, and turns to me instead. Oh, my time to shine! ...Wait, I have no idea what I should do...! Uhh... undress? No, clearly he isn't vulnerable to full-frontal assaults. Apart from flashing, what else can I do? From within my severely limited repertoire I pick: slamming him senseless with a charm!

"Love me and despair!"

"Meh."

"...Meh?!"

He bypassed my powerful charm without so much as a bat of an eyelid! And I don't think it's because we’re within a dream; he's just that abnormal! The weird elf sweeps his appraising gaze all over me. Then he gives his judgment...

"Cut isn't completely awful, but the material is simply barbaric. Metal plate is a big no. Too martial, femininity is like that of a boulder. 3/10, try again."

What's wrong with the plate?! I like it... Well, at least I got more points than the currently forgotten and furious Mistylez. It doesn't matter if you do badly as long as someone else does worse.

The elf continues ranting on his own.

"Only Ellysa's is good enough for me! There is no other dress in this world for me! Sublime! Perfection!"

...Did he say dress? Then it gets weirder. His clothes morph into overtly frilly over the shoulder dress with lots of added lace and pink. Our contractor's daughter's dress, I presume. I'm beginning to see what this is all about...

He's left frolicking around the meadow as furious Miseleh forcibly ends the spell while grumbling and cussing incessantly.

"That wretched mortal! How dare he refuse ME!?"

"I suppose he doesn't like it hammy."

"IAAAAAARGH! Shut up, shut up! You... you boulder woman!"

Micelend storms out of the room after the dream invasion ends and disappears into the night to scream away her frustration. Another good thing about this was the insight gained on the target.

Since my charm had no effect, we're hamstringed: a ham-fisted approach won't work here. But I shall not stay hampered.