Chapter 15.5 Part 2 -

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"Interesting town." yawned a tall and slender lizard, Zephyr rubbing his ocellated scales and stretching his dragon-like wings protruding from his back.

Zephyr didn't really know what he was doing right now. All he knew was that apparently some princess, queen, mayor, or someone who runs a town asked to meet him. That was according to a young lady that had found him passed out in the forest when he decided to sleep his worries about the new world off instead of exploring. The only thought still in his mind apart from how cute the flaxen-haired girl leading him was was the fact that somehow the lady that asked to meet him knew of the golden alliance cloak he wore, but he was sure this was another world.

Zephyr let out another long yawn when he and Despi, the girl leading him, finally stepped off of the long, spinal bridge.

The soot-covered smooth stone path diverted into three. They all seemed to cut into what seemed to be a curved escarpment, separating the town from the rest of the land.

The path straight ahead housed refined wooden buildings on each side. What caught the eye the most was the two grand stairs on each side of the path. The black stairs climbed the rust-tinged escarpment, allowing one to enter the black mansion that stood on top.

The right path was dotted with a few stone huts. Each leading to wooden planks overhanging off the sharp cliff, about twenty metres above the crimson sea. This caused Zephyr to wonder about the strange coastline. It was as if part of the land was ripped off, causing the irregular coastline.

“What’s up with the coastline?” he asked, looking to Despi at his right.

“Huh?” Despi cocking her head but didn’t move her gaze from the black mansion, “I gueeeess you could say war damage?”

“…Right,” Zephyr said, unsatisfied with the answer, “So, I was thinking I could do with a wash before I meet this lady. Know any places?”

“Hmm, sure, sir,” Despi giggled at Zephyr whose scales almost tinged red when his eyes met hers. “Althooough, I have to make a stop somewhere first.” She said, finally turning her gaze from the dark mansion and starting down the left path.

The left side of the town was filled with all sorts of shabby buildings, seemingly built with odd-sized planks and scrap metal. It was the complete opposite of the refined craftsmanship of the buildings along the middle path.

“Woah,” Zephyr exclaimed in awe as his eyes moved past the shabby buildings and found something spectacular.

A large winged-beast stood on what looked like a landing area. Its scaly hide was as dark as night and covered everywhere but the blood-tinged feathers covering its beak-like face. A glimpse of its great fangs could be seen as it ripped apart a chunk of meat tossed by a scaly humanoid.

Just as Zephyr was beginning to move his focus back to walking, another beast came crashing onto the stone platform on the edge of the coast, throwing its rider off before a handful of scaly humanoids with chains attempted to detain it.

“Hey, are you coming or not?” an annoyed Despi shouted, finally realising she hadn’t been followed.

“Oh…sorry,” Zephyr said, watching the vexed beast struggle to be detained. Even better than the ones back home...

Noticing his awe Despi smiled, tugging on his hoodie, “Aw, Wyvern carriers. You can see them more later, just come with me first.”

“Huh?” Zephyr let out, turning back to the barely tamed beasts, “oh…”

Apart from the furry humanoids wearing nothing but rags, there was a handful of what appeared to be humans, chained to the calm wyvern’s ankles. The dark grey humanoid appeared to be feeding the wyvern to allow for easy removal of the chains locked around its ankles.

Before the vexed beast ended up killing its detainers, a figure draped in a dull cloak appeared. With a wave of the figure’s hand, the restless beast collapsed, allowing the humanoid figures to cuff its ankles with bulky metal with a train of small furry beasts. Well, small in comparison to the wyvern.

The cloaked figure then walked over to the calm wyvern, waving a hand at its scaly handler, who after getting what appeared to be the beast’s rider, led the chained humans towards the cloaked figure.

With another wave of the figure’s arm, the sleeping beast awoke. This time the wyvern was calm, allowing its rider to climb back on the leather saddle.

Zephyr and the Despi felt gusts of wind as the wyvern flapped its red wings. The wyvern rose and rose until everyone attached to its leg was in the air, before flying towards the deep ocean.

"Well, that was definitely quite a sight, sir." Despi stated matter of factly as she stared through Zephyr eyes.

"Ah, sorry, coming."

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After zig-zagging through the wooden maze with many complaints from Zephyr (“why did we come to this shit hole and not the brothels—I mean inns?), Despi finally came to a stop.

She began to knock on the front of a particularly shady shack, even when compared to the others the left side of town was filled with.

“Who is it?” a high-pitched voice questioned from within the windowless wooden box.

“One of your many, many clients...” Despi mockingly replied.

A sudden large bang. Blew the pale roof open, followed by a mess of clanging, clattering, shattering and smashing; a lot of breaking.

This repeated whilst the high-pitched voice continually shouted, “One second,” and, “I don’t believe it,” until a rather tall black box popped out of the roofless shack.

“One second, let me just- argh!” the voice cut off with a scream and more clattering, “never mind, I’ll just go through the front.”

A few seconds later a couple of planks rotated inwards before-

“I’ve missed you soooo much! It’s been over a year!” A small animal pelted into Despi, knocking her to the floor as he hugged her.

“Yes, yes, it’s good you see you too, Malemi,” Despi laughed whilst pushing the animal off.

“Did you go on your journey then?” The vanilla-furred animal- Malemi – inquired.

“Yes, I did…hehe”

“What’s so funny? Don’t tell me you went and got rich.” Malemi said, rubbing his round paws together.

“Nooo, just…could you maybe go on all fours?”

“Huh? Don’t think I’d do something so absurd!” Malemi protested, “unless, you have some riches? Some starseeds? Maybe some, dracos?”

“Hmph, always money with you,” Despi pouted.

Before the two could continue their joyous reunion, Zephyr interjected, “Why is there a talking cat-rabbit, whatever it is, wearing a top hat? A top hat that’s even bigger than him. If it’s a him…

“Huh?” Malemi cranked his neck with his paws, before a set of deadly claws popped out of them, “Did you insult my hat, punk?”

Unable to stop his laughter, Zephyr popped a question, “And…what if I…did?”

“You think its funny, do you? I will freaking kill you!” Malemi squealed, his pink tail standing on edge.

“Yeah, I do-”

Suddenly, Malemi jumped at Zephyr who luckily got his hands up in time, catching the meowing Malemi scratching at his hoodie.

Zephyr couldn’t contain his laughter as tiny Malemi squealed in his grasp. However, despite the overwhelming difference in strength and size, Malemi wouldn’t let himself be mocked, slamming his tail into Zephyr’s groin.

“Got ya bitch” he screeched, “don’t take us Ka’vaan lightly!”

“Fuuuuuuck!” Zephyr howled in pain, “Despi, get your pal off me!”

Despi, who had stitched over in laughter at the squabble, said, “He is off you, idiot.”

With the pain blocking out most of her words, Malemi poured a warm, white fluid over Zephyr’s head.

“You little shit…” Zephyr told Malemi with the pain now gone.

“What? Want to go for round two?” Malemi asked with a devilish smile.

“…” Zephyr paused, staring at Malemi’s rock hard tail, “What is that made of?”

“Pure muscle,” the cat-like monster replied.

“Come on you two,” Despi laughed despite trying to force it away. "Look Malemi, we came for a reason."

“Ohhh, I see how it is,” the little guy replied with a hint of sadness, “you’re only seeing me cos you want something…”

“Yeah, it’s how it’s always been.” She replied, not even acknowledging his bad attempt at puppy eyes.

“Fine, though I’d like to talk about something myself” Malemi gave in, glancing towards Zephyr before entering his shack.

Despi followed suit, gesturing the others to follow.

“What? No one’s gonna help me up?” Zephyr muttered.

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“You can come now,” Malemi told the trio, having finally cleared some space for them to stand.

Walking to the little guys make-shift counter, Despi got down to business, “So, I’d like some of those tablets.”

“…that’s vague,” Malemi replied as he began emptying crates, “you mean these?”

Despi caught the tossed box, labelled with a mix of backward letters and symbols.

“Err, ‘If you’re struggling to manifest mana or your mana flow is clogged up, here are the tablets for you’” she read, “Yeah, these are the ones. Right on the money, as usual, Malemi.”

“Hehehe, thanks.” He blushed.

“Hey, how’s Meimi?” Despi idly asked whilst examining the black tablets.

“Uhh, fine. Why are you asking?

“No particular reason just saw your face-fur turn red…” she stated nonchalantly.

“Ah, I…uh…” Malemi stumbled over his words.

Ignoring Malemi’s blunders, Despi called to Zephyr, “Catch, sir."

The box flew through the air, veering off course. But that didn’t matter to Zephyr as he leapt to his left, throwing an arm up to catch it

…Or not, as the little girl swiftly caught it before passing them to Zephyr, “H-here you go…”

“Uh, what are these for? I dunno how my magic or mana is different to here so if your mention manifesting mana it should help right?"

“Ah, don’t be silly, you have been struggling with a mana illness, haven't you?” Despi winked at Zephyr. "Always spouting some imaginary nonsense like magic being different to here when you know it's the same everywhere.

“Uh…sureeee,” he hesitatively went with her.

Despi then replied not out loud, but in Zephyr’s very mind. “I can’t speak about you out loud, it’d be bad if people found out you were from Japan, a country in another world.”

“Oh, right…Well, why do I need these.” Zephyr replied out loud. "Was i on the money at-"

“Huh?” Malemi let out.

“Don’t be silly. we just said ha ha ha,” Despi laughed off Malemi’s concerns before entering Zephyr’s mind, “Stoooopppppppp. Don’t talk. I’ll explain. He knows that I can speak telepathically you know? I don’t want him knowing anything.”

Zephyr nodded his head in response, glancing in distaste at his new enemy – Malemi.

“This guy…” Malemi spoke, stroking his furry chin, “he isn’t a demon, is he? These tablets are made for demons? It's a demon illness, right? And... he... doesn't seem to be a demon, even though some look similar.

“Woah there, don’t go jumping to conclusions. He is a demon. I uh, found him on my journey…” Despi lied, brushing off any questions.

However, Malemi’s questions kept coming, “Really? Where? When?

“Okay, okay, okay. It’s complicated, okay? We have urgent business so I can’t spend time telling you.”

“…You never have time.”

“…. Look, I’m sorry. I promise I’ll tell you when we next meet.” Despi pleaded for the little man to leave her alone.

“Oh? And when will that be? In 6 months? In RedFall?”

“Right, I’ll talk to you when you’ve calmed down. I’ll be telling Meimi how mean you’ve been to someone you haven’t seen in over a year.” Despi stated before walking it and gesturing Zephyr and the girl to follow.

“Oh, taking the moral high-ground, are you? The Ka’vaan don’t turn our backs on people. We sort it out, there and then.”

Despi ignored the little man and instead explained the situation to Zephyr who followed behind.

“Well, I said I'd explain it but I think you had the right idea. Do you?"

“Is it really okay to leave him like that? I think he wanted to have a nice chat with you, not just business.” Zephyr replied ignoring the question, “Oh, I don’t like the fella so I’m thankful but-”

“Just answer my question alright.” Despi cut Zephyr’s concerns in half, she was clearly in a foul mood.

“Okay…I’m guessing it's because my mana is a bit different and this will help?" He asked, figuring t was best not to ask why she didn’t help him when he was knocked out.

“Yeah, but your mana is similar to ours except the fact it's actually much more potent, It basically just helps your mana manifest properly and flow properly."

"I see."

“Yeah, I'm hoping it works for you because we have similar illnesses where we can't use magic

"Right."

“Only thing is that these are classed as cursed and aren't exactly legal. It's our best bet though."

‘Curses? Illegal? You're telling me I got involved on the bad side of things, to begin with?” Zephyr thought to himself, forgetting his headspace was shared by Despi.

“I’m just going to ignore that,” Despi said out loud, before stopping outside another shabby building.

A stone step led to a wooden door that was barely hanging off its hinges. A sign above showed a picture of a small horned fairy a top of what appeared to be Malemi’s shoulder.

“You can have a wash in here, we’ll get some clothes after,” Despi said as she opened the mouldy door.

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The door creaked open and revealed a dark room. It was a common room where food and drink would be served. The tables and stools should be filled with weary travellers, but dust covered every surface because no one was present.

“Err looks deserted. Let’s go to one in the middle of town.” Zephyr said, using the empty room as an excuse for a more lavish inn.

Despite the Inn seemingly being deserted for long, the running tap suggested otherwise. With the running water pointed out by Despi, Zephyr dropped his complaints and collapsed in a chair, raising clouds of dust.

Despi creaked along the wooden floor, following footprints and eyeing a feint glow emitting through the gaps of a door behind the dusty counter.

Suddenly, the running water stopped with Despi inches from the door’s simple handle.

A creak came beyond the door, followed by high-pitched maniacal laughter. What was it that lurked beyond the wooden door?

Despi carefully placed her hand upon the grimy handle, slowly pushing the door open.

The more the door opened, the quieter the laughter got until it could be heard no more. Despi glanced back to Zephyr and the girl, both idly chatting. Was it only Despi who heard the laugh?

It was a simple room. The rusty tap that had been running was placed next to big lumps of meat strewn across the wooden counter. Big lumps of meat, riddled with teeth marks.

The room was empty. Whoever or whatever was feasting had gone. A suspicious Despi muttered as she stepped through the door’s grimy frame, “Where are you?”

What greeted her upon entry wasn't the answer, but an ice-cold weight crashing down upon and over her body, soaking her clothes and leaving her dripping-wet from head to toe.

“REEQ!” she yelped.

The maniacal laughter returned as a tiny black figure danced upon Despi’s soaked hair.

Despi immediately slapped at it, only to evoke more screeching laughter as the demonic prankster dodged and flew away.

Suddenly, the back door flew open with a high-pitch scream, “REEQ! You better not be pranking the customers…again.”

“Hi, Meimi.” Despi greeted the fluffy brown animal with a wave.

“By the Great Wolf… DESPOND!?” Meimi exclaimed. The ball of fluff, draped in a frilly apron ran towards Despi and squeezed her bandaged legs.

Despi laughed and stroked Meimi furry head before saying, “It’s Despi now, not Despond.”

“Oh, right,” Meimi released her grasp, “I think it’s meooowch better.”

“Hehe, thanks. I can’t stay long but could you give us some food and drink?” Despi asked. “Oh, and some cursed water.”

“Ah, okay. Did you see Meowlemi?”

“…Yeah, could you give him a talking to for me?”

“What has he done meow?”

“Well, I was telling him that I couldn’t stay and chat. He asked me why and I lied. He didn’t buy it so I told him I’ll tell him when I next see him,” Despi explained.

“Ahh, so he went on a rant because the last time you saw each other was over a year ago?”

“Yeah,” Despi confirmed. “I’d honestly love to stay and chat but… Things are complicated.”

“Ah, I won’t pry then. Go and join your fwends. I’ll give you the food and drink soon and then I will give a talking to Meowlemi,” Meimi said, shooing her out of the room.

“Thanks”

“Ah, Tell your fwends about Reeq. He can be a handful.” Meimi shouted before closing the door.

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After Despi had returned from her soggy adventure, the chatter died and an awkward silence was brought about.

The awkward silence, however, was finally broken when a high-pitched shout came from behind the counter.

“I’m bringing your food and drinks, customers."

The small cat humanoid placed a plate in front of a Zephyr and another in front of Despi, both with the exact same food and drink.

"This looks decent," Zephyr said he stared at his first meal in this new world. A meal that was simply a loaf of bread and curse water. According to Despi, the water would 'ease the pain' of developing the tablets could cause as a side effect.

Despite the food not being so appetising for Zephyr, he gobbled it up in an instant.

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

The silence was awkward yet again except it was even worse thanks to only Despi eating.

"I should grab a wash..."

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After wetting his scales a tad bit and freshening himself up ever so slightly for his meeting, Zephyr headed back down to Despi who had just about swallowed the last bit of food and gulped down the rest of her water.

"Let's go. Bye Meimi!"

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A few minutes after entering the main part of town, Despi came to a stop outside a brick restaurant separated from the two wooden Inns by two narrow alleys.

At a glance, it looked like a normal restaurant, but…

“Welcome–!”

A young woman with long scarlet hair and a body all men dreamed of greeted the trio from the alley.

"Hey, Mother told you about me bringing you someone? This is him." Despi spoke to the beautul women.

"Ah yes, I see."

"What's happening?" Zephyr said, his face scales tinging red.

"Before you meet my mother you need to go through a trial of sorts. You'll enjoy it, don't worry, Sir." Despi explained before walking off. "See you soon."

"Uh..."

"Right this way." The other woman said to Zephyr, her beauty convincing him to go with it.

Ushered down the alley by the beautiful succubus with such a tempting body, they entered the shop and to no surprise, found quite a few patrons, all of them male.

There were several other succubi with alluring figures moving around inside. To be frank, it was causing an urge to well up in Zephyr’s chest, one he could barely suppress.

It was a restaurant, but there was no food or drinks on the table of the patrons. Instead, all the customers were staring intensely at a survey form on their table, concentrating hard whilst presumably filling it in.

After the tanned succubus led the tall lizard to a seat, she pulled a menu from underneath the loose silk covering her bountiful bosom and gave a sweet smile.

“Dear customers, is this your first time visiting us?” she asked. Despite her raunchy appearance, she exuded professionalism, taking the utmost care with potential new clients. "I know you aren't a proper custmer bt the trial needs to be conducted like one."

The lizard nodded but this time in silence, with both of his eyes drawn to her particularly big set of eyes. Then the smile of the succubus became even more brilliant.

“… Well then, do you know what kind of shop this is, and who we are?” She asked

Zephyr shook his head.

"Well, if I tell you that I'm a succubus, would you now?"

Zephyr nooded his head eagerly.

The succubus seemed satisfied and laid the menu down on the table before saying, “Please place your order. It’s fine if you don’t order anything either… And please fill in the necessary information on the survey form and hand it to the cashier when paying your bill.”

The lizard took the form, looking over it and caught something which seemed a bit strange.

“Um, what’s this part about our status, gender, and appearance in our dream…?”

The succubus smiled and explained, “The status part means being, for example, a king or hero in the dream. As for gender and appearance, occasionally there are customers who want to experience how it feels like to be a woman; there are some who want to be a young boy and be forced upon by a strong female.”

‘Are the guys in this town alright?’ Zephyr wondered. However, that also explained the reason why it was more popular than straight-up sex.

A man sat next to Zephyr shot his hand up and, with a wide grin, asked the succubus, “So, sweetie, for the setting of the target, how detailed can we be?”

“It can be as detailed as you wish. Personality, favourite phrases, appearance, how much she likes you, any feature, and any figure. It’s fine even if you asked for a fictional character.” The succubus professionally explained with an alluring smile.

“Are you serious?” Zephyr couldn’t help asking.

“I’m serious.” The succubus answered immediately

The urge in Zephyr’s chest grew exponentially. This meant that it could be a famous girl, the girl he had a crush on at magic acadamey ; and that's right, even his imaginary and made up girls.

The succubus’ professionalism put Zephyr at ease. It wouldn’t cause any problems since it was just a dream.

The man next to Zephyr timidly raised his hand.

“… That means, there are no age restrictions on the targets? No, I’m not thinking about any specific age group, but how should I put this…”

“None, please choose as you please.” The succubus answered without a second thought.

“Is, is that really okay? What about laws…” Zephyr couldn’t help but ask.

“No problem, it’s just a dream.”

“That’s true.” He agreed.

There were no problems with just dreaming, after all. The dream service of the succubus was perfect in every way. That’s what Zephyr told himself, at least. He wasn’t wrong, but you would still have to question the one wanting the ‘illegal’ dreams.

The eager duo then proceeded to fill out the survey forms in silence. Yes, just like the other patrons in the shop. That explained why it was so quiet, despite brothels normally being rowdy. It was a special service to the males, after all. Despite brothels being so common, it was a different kind of relief.

“Well then, all honoured customers chose the three-hour session. The fee is 5,000 Dracons each.”

"Eh?"

"Oh, except you."

"Oh, thank fuck."

Still sounds pretty cheap though if it's similar to my currency.

The succubus must have read Zephyr’s thoughts from his expression, and gave a faint smile.

“To us, we just need enough money to eat and drink. Apart from this, we just need to feed on a little bit of mana from our customers.”

It was a perfect business. There were no other businesses that could bring happiness to everyone as this brothel did.

The duo had submitted wholeheartedly to the brothel policies which gifted love and care to all. They even started worshipping the succubus, mumbling, “Praise be to the goddess… Ah, goddess…”

“Don’t, don’t act like that, how inauspicious!” She cutely answered their worship, breaking her professionalism for the first time before straightening herself up. “Well then, if you don’t have lodging in the town, tell the cashier and she’ll show you to a room. If you do, please leave the address you’ll be spending tonight at, and what time you plan to sleep. Around that time, the succubus from our shop will go to the side of the sleeping customers and let them see their desired dreams.” The succubus said, getting the trio excited for tonight’s sweet dreams. “Oh, and please don’t drink alcohol if possible. If you get dead drunk or sleep too deeply, even we won’t be able to let the customer dream.”

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

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“Wait, It’s like 5 PM, right? The others can get sleep at any time but I don’t want to be stuck in a room doing nothing until I get tired.”

“Well, if you wish you can allow us to put you to sleep ourselves.” The succubus said with a faint smile.

“Ah, err…would I have to pay anymore? Or is there anything bad about that?” Zephyr asked, still hesitant.

“Oh, I thought you understood everything. Did you not know?” the succubus asked with a surprised expression.

“Err, I don’t…think so?”

“Then please forgive me, I should have been more thorough in my explanation earlier.” She bowed, apologising with the utmost professionalism.

“Uh, no it’s alright…”

“Well then, the pen you were given allows your mana and lust to be engraved onto the parchment. This allows us to easily materialise into your dream as whatever type of person you want. By being in your dream we are constantly feeding off of your lust which is filled with mana. So, to put you to sleep we can simply enter whilst awake and force you asleep.”

“What!?” Zephyr exclaimed, stopping in his tracks, “That sounds…”

“Oh, don’t worry” The succubus turned to Zephyr with a faint smile, “Force sounds a bit rough but it isn’t that bad. We don’t recommend it because we’ll be feeding on more of your mana. But if we know you're low enough to die, so it will be alright, don’t worry sir.”

“Ah,” Zephyr let out, following the succubus up a set of wooden stairs. ‘Wait, my mana doesn't really work so- wait! How the hell is she going to…’ Zephyr gulped, he might not be able to enjoy paradise. “Um, if the client had little mana, what would you do? You wouldn’t even be able to get in their dream, right?”

“Hmm… Well, if it was low enough then we would either have to reject the service, or they could pay more and drink some water with dissolved mana crystals. Then, we’d have to do physical service and not the dream service.”

“…” Zephyr gulped. He didn’t know whether to be happier or not. He really wanted the dream service, but did he really want his first time to be at a brothel?

“This way please.”

"Uh, one more thing."

"Yes."

"This... this is the trial, right?"

"Most certainly," she smiled brightly.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Zephyr lay on a king-sized bed with a wide grin etched onto his face.

‘I can’t fucking wait.’

About ten minutes of Zephyr fantasising passed before the door suddenly swung open.

Unable to contain himself Zephyr shot upwards, straightening himself out, “H-Hey, I hope you enjoy sucking off my…dream.”

Two petite succubi slowly closed in on him.

“Huh…” Zephyr couldn’t help but let his gaze fall upon their bosom. Well, what should be their bosoms. “Woah, woah, woah! I didn’t ask for girls like you! Is this why it's a trial or something!?"

However, before Zephyr could get some explanations, the pair dived at him and pinned him to the bed.

“W-What!? This wasn’t what I ordered!” Zephyr squealed as he tried to free himself from their clutches. trial

“We’re sorry but this is the real trial, sorry to get your hopes up." The white-haired girl went before clicking her fingers.

“Sis, what happened? Why is he still awake?” the other girl asked, barely pinning Zephyr down.

“…Resh was right. That's all. This person's mana is weird so he passes the trial and can meet her."

“Awake? No mana?” Zephyr relaxed as he came to a realisation. “Ah, you’re just forcing me to sleep like that busty succ’ said.”

“Geh, no,” the crimson-haired succubus snorted. “I guess we need to choke him out then?”

“Probably,” her sister agreed before diving onto Zephyr .

“W-Whackkk…”

One tail wrapped around his neck; pillows smothered his face. The succubi blocked all air reaching Zephyr . He knew it was a part of the process, but desperation to breathe overtook him…except he couldn’t move no matter how hard he struggled. He screamed silently as another tail curled around his neck. No matter how hard he struggled, their grip was too tight. His silent screams slowly faded as energy escaped him…until the black he saw invaded his mind.

He was out.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

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Zephyr awoke as two petite succubi released him from their grasp.

He appeared to be kneeling on a thin, crimson carpet that stretched the length of the hallway.

“…!”

Zephyr let out a gasp as he realised the scope of the room. It was simply too large to be called a hallway. But it was too extravagant to be called a chamber. It was more like a throne room, sheltered by a triangular ceiling, held up by two rows of deep purple pillars.

If it was a throne room, where was the throne? There were a couple of steps at the end of the red carpet, leading to a wide pedestal. Of course, that’s where the throne stood…

…or not. In its place was a lavish, crimson canape. A succubus seemed to be lying on it, surrounded by big, burly humanoids. Like the ones surrounding the succubi hidden by the pillars, they were a mix of fur-covered and scaly.

Suddenly, the two petite succubi that dragged Zephyr here spoke in unison.

“Mum, the strange boy you wanted is here.”

A few seconds passed, the humanoids repositioning to the side of the canape, lifting it up. With about six carriers, it came to Zephyr.

Zephyr was in awe as what appeared to be lizard men and wolfmen placed the canape down.

The succubus on the canape couldn’t simply be described as beautiful. In fact, none of the succubi could. It was just that her beauty was too much. It encapsulated the perfect woman, despite the long black tail with a heart-shaped tip.

“Oh,” the succubus let out, eyeing Zephyr . “Devoid of mana, huh?”

It was too much for him. Even her voice was alluring.

“That can only mean two things,” the succubus hypothesised she lightly hopped off the canape, the tips of her rosy hair stroking the carpet. “Either, you’re from beyond the abyss, or, you happen to be from an entirely different world. Or both.”

Zephyr could only gulp as the succubus walked towards Zephyr . The succubus that had attended him definitely had a body all men dreamed of, and she paled in comparison to the sheer beauty of the voluptuous succubus, wearing nothing but revealing lingerie.

“Stand up, dear. I will not harm,” the succubus spoke, every word speeding up the beat of Zephyr’s heart. “I only want to…inspect you.”

The succubus wore a faint smile but her large, rose-coloured eyes penetrated Zephyr’s. Her figure curvaceous, her lips luscious and slender, her waist perfect. A terrifying beauty. Zephyr did not stand up; he simply averted his gaze from hers.

“Thank you, children. Grab one of the DragonMen and leave, my treat,” she told the succubi that carried Zephyr before coming to a stop, inches from Zephyr. “Hmm, didn’t I say stand up?”

“…!” Zephyr instinctively clutched his limbless shoulder as it started to throb.

“Oh, silly me,” the succubus said, crouching down to place a hand on Zephyr’s throbbing shoulder. “It must hurt. I can make it better if you wish.”

“N-Nah, I’m f-fine,” he spluttered, refusing to return her gaze.

The succubi placed a finger on her lips, whilst her hand stroked the odd jacket worn by Zephyr .

“This… doesn’t seem to made out of material I know,” the succubus muttered. “What is this called, I wonder?”

“…!” Zephyr scrambled backwards as he felt her soft fingers clasp his chin.

“Ah, a bit skittish, are we?” The succubus giggled as she got to her feet.

‘No…’ Zephyr was defiant, yet only in his mind. It was the only place he held power. The only place where he was allowed to be himself. All he had experienced in this new world was punishment. For what? He didn’t know. One thing he did know was even his thoughts weren’t safe. Who else could read him like Zephyr ? He knew he was powerless but he couldn’t just ask to be pitied. His missing arm was a reminder of those facts. It was a reminder of him beating his fear and fighting the strong. But he was ignoring it.

“Aww, are you too scared to speak, I wonder?” The succubus said, licking her lips as she approached Zephyr .

He was. That was the truth. He was truly scared. Zephyr glanced towards his limbless shoulder. The throbbing had stopped but was still clutching it. “What am I doing?” He muttered. ‘I lost my arm to fight yet I’m scared of a beauty?’

“Yesss, it is most patthhhetic,” a hiss coursed through Zephyr ’s mind.

“Heh, I’m even taunting myself…” Zephyr quietly laughed, forcing himself up. “Argh, what a pain.”

“Oh, tee-hee. You have a voice after all.”

“Heh, yeah. I guess I do,” he smirked as his gaze fell to her stacked chest. “Jeez…”

“Oh…do you like, I wonder?” She teased, licking her lush lips.

“…Come on, what man wouldn’t?” Zephyr said, brushing past his increased heartbeat.

“Aww, you make me blush,” the succubus faked shyness.

“Right… So why the hell have I been brought here?”

The succubus thought for a minute before a devilish grin appeared on her face.

“Because I want you.”

Suddenly, the succubus dashed to Zephyr , pulling him close. With his cheeks squashed by her soft breasts, she continued to whisper in his ear.

“Don’t you wonder what it tastes like, I wonder? Because I wonder what you taste like.”

Suddenly, her small fangs tickled Zephyr ’s ears as her wet lips smothered it.

“…This is certainly something…different. No mana to gain. No benefit. The only thing is the action,” she giggled as she released his ear from her mouth. “I wonder if you can go longer than the wolf-”

The boom of the doors exploding off their hinges echoed throughout the throne room. What followed amongst the clashing of steel and gusts of wind was a familiar voice.

“Get away from him, Lust!”

“Despi-” Zephyr cried as he turned before a hand trapped his head.

However, the instant she emerged every wolf and lizard humanoid in the room approached her.

“Ahh, is that the nameless demon, I wonder?” the succubus feigned deep thought. “Oh, don’t worry guys. Just tend to my children and ignore the ruckus.”

As soon as the big men backed off, Despi rushed towards succubus and cried, “I said get away from him!”

However, her attempt was in vain as two leathery wings spread from the succubus’ back and knocked her back before wrapping around herself and Zephyr .

“So…you’ve come back, have you? Where have you been, I wonder?”

“That doesn’t matter lust. Just let him go.”

“Oh, you came back with this one. Have you ventured into the abyss; I wonder? Or perhaps you…travelled to that world.”

“Just give him back, Lust!” Despi cried, ignoring the questions.

“Maybe if you call me my name and not my sin, I wonder?”

“Fine! Just give him back, Shendilavri!”

“Hmm, better but could you shorten it, I wonder?”

Despi clenched her fist as she got to her feet.

“Lavri…please let him go.” She said, pushing back her anger.

“Hmm, sorry. He’s with me now.” Lavri laughed as she stroked Zephyr ’s deep brown hair.

Just before Despi erupted in fury, another familiar voice intervened.

“Yo, Lavri-girl. Let my bro go.”

It was Cerrin, wielding a flaming katana.

“Ahh, Cerrin. Was our meeting scheduled for later, I wonder?”

“Ha-ha. No, sorry. But yeah, do me a favour and let my bro go.” Cerrin shouted with his boisterous attitude, walking towards Lavri and Zephyr .

“Oh, I didn’t know you could boss me around. I don’t think I will. I’m sure Daddy will be keen to see him.”

“…” Cerrin froze as Lavri spoke those words. “PHAHAHAHAHAHA! Daddy?”

“Hmph, I’m definitely not letting him go now,” Lavri pouted in annoyance.

“Whew, that was good,” Cerrin barely calmed his laughter. “But…you do need to let him go. You remember what me and the others are here to discuss, right?

“Yes…” Lavri sighed, folding back her black wings and releasing-

“Oi, let me go then.” Zephyr spat with her fingers curled around his wrist.

“My my, I’m not just going to let you go without giving you something to remember me by.” Lavri giggled before releasing him and gesturing him to follow.

“Huh?” Zephyr paused, looking towards Cerrin and Despi.

Despi harshly averted her gaze but Cerrin spoke up.

“It’s all good to go with her. Though I better help the others in the back.”

“Oh…right,” Zephyr let out before unwillingly following the giggling Lavri.

"Will you like it, I wonder?"

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

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“Why didn’t you say I could wait here…?”

Zephyr muttered to himself as he emerged from a room hidden behind the throne room pillars. He had followed Lavri into a room, who then plucked a transparent crystal from the plethora adorning the walls, before following her back to the throne room. That was it.

Lavri giggled at Zephyr ’s annoyance as she walked towards the raised black-stone, missing the canape she was laying upon.

Zephyr followed suit when the strange silence suddenly hit him. He forced his gaze to Despi…

‘…She went with Cerrin?’

There was no one to be seen where the canape stood atop the red carpet. That meant no Despi.

‘…Comes to get me but doesn’t wait…’ Zephyr thought as he stepped onto the pedestal, with Lavri poking a finger in a small indentation at the centre.

After a few seconds of poking, Lavri straightened and gazed at Zephyr , muttering, “I wonder…”

“W-What? Don’t just stare at me,” Zephyr blushed, stepping back to the edge.

Lavri giggled in response before she too stepped to the edge of the pedestal. Her tail then took the clear crystal from her soft hands.

Zephyr could only wonder why she didn’t use her hands as her tail stretched to the indentation, placing the crystal inside.

The next moment, there was-

“Light?”

Zephyr murmured, apparently being the only one harbouring surprise.

The cracks in the pedestal glowed with a faint light, seemingly urging Zephyr and Lavri closer, illuminating the platform with a crimson, phosphorescent glow. It seemed to originate from the crystal that was now glowing red.

A few seconds passed when a sudden clang of steel coursed through the throne room, falling into Zephyr ’s ears and slashing his thoughts.

“Argh!” Zephyr cried, sinking to one knee as he clenched his head with his only hand.

His mind has stopped. No coherent thoughts could form. Nothing but the odd word. His mind had been sliced into emptiness but-

“KHCTXXCVLQQXXVTXKCHVX-!!”

-It was suddenly filled with incomprehensible noise, filling and frazzling his mind. Zephyr couldn’t even form noise in pain. All he could do was clench his throbbing shoulder.

“What’s wrong, dear?”

However, the noise frazzling his mind was dispersed by doting words.

“Huh?” Zephyr let out as his ability to think returned. “N-No…I’m fine.”

“Hmmm, are you really, I wonder?” Lavri asked with her finger touching her lips. “Well, It’s open.”

“Huh?” Zephyr let out a noise in confusion. ‘What’s open?’

Lavri then proceeded to walk towards the centre of the platform but-

“-Eh?! When did that happen?!”

Lavri was heading to the centre, but she was also heading downwards.

The floor had opened up, with floating stone stairs making a path to whatever hid underneath. The same red phosphorescent glow emitted from underneath each floating stone, faintly illuminating the corridor the stairs led to.

“Wait, where the hell has the floor gone?” Zephyr questioned as he cautiously followed Lavri into the hidden space.

“Hmm, if you look at each stone you should notice,” Lavri informed, sinking into the near-darkness.

“…The hell does she…wait.”

A fairly strong glow was emitted out of one stone. Except it came from the top, not underneath.

“That…was the crystal you placed, right?” Zephyr asked as he walked down the stairs.

“Mhm, make sure you don’t step on it, okay.”

“Huh?! I already have. Shit! What’s gonna happen.” Zephyr shouted.

“Hmm, I guess you really are then,” Lavri muttered to herself as she waited for Zephyr .

“Huh? What’d you say? Somet’ bad gonna happen?”

“Ah, no no,” Lavri giggled. “It’s fine.”

“…Then why tell me then?” Zephyr muttered as he reached Lavri and followed her down the dark corridor.

Zephyr wasn’t sure, but he guessed that the crystal somehow morphed the stone-floor into this staircase. “Magic huh.”

“I guess it is technically,” Lavri smirked. “Albeit ‘cursed’ magic.”

“…What’s up with all this cursed shit?” Zephyr muttered, getting further and further away from the faint crimson glow. “Uh, you gonna tell me where the hell we’re going?”

“Hmm, scared of the dark, I wonder?” Lavri giggled as she mocked Zephyr .

“What? ‘Course not,” He spoke somewhat truthfully.

“No need to worry then. I won’t harm you, Cerrin would be mad,” she giggled teasing Zephyr with her rosy tail.

“That… doesn’t sound definite…”

“Well, I’m not sure I know anyone who would just follow me into the dark alone. With no weapons at that…. Actually, there are a lot of lustful and desperate men,” She spoke, muttering the last part to herself.

“Eh? What’s that supposed to mean?!” Zephyr asked. ‘Though…she isn’t wrong. What the hell am I doing?’

“Aww, ignore lil’ old me. I’m sure Cerrin soothed your worries.”

“Right…”

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