A loud scream echoed through the cavern. It was a woman's voice, probably Sarah's, maybe Lona's. I wasn't able to tell. How could I without ever hearing them scream before? At least it had never been screams like this.

Sure, we had laughed and sometimes even yelled at each other, like all friends did, but what I had heard just now couldn't even be compared to the pleasant chaos I was used to. Those were death cries, the last signs of life I would ever hear coming from them.

It was only two hours ago that we had made the stupid decision to invade this hell-hole, thinking we were some kind of heroes only waiting to get fame, riches and honor. I couldn't possibly feel more regret.

 

«I was so dumb for accepting this.»

 

As the screams died down the demons returned to their posts, with or without the corpses of what once had been my comrades, and a ghastly silence filled the cavern. I endured it for minutes or even hours, then I could no longer suppress my anxiety anymore and slowly raised up to stare into the stifling darkness surrounding me.

 

"Nartus, grant me your eyes, for I desire to step into your realm," I whispered my chant.

 

Slowly, my vision became clear. What had been complete darkness before, now gradually gained fuzzy forms and silhouettes. It was dangerous to use this magic, as it gave my eyes a faint, grey glow. In the absolute darkness, this was easily spottable for human eyes, for nocturnal monsters however it worked like a beacon. Still, I had no chance but to use it.

Obviously, I had been hiding without using this help, silently praying for my very life and only hidden by the dark grey robe I had decided to wear today. With its almost black color, it had made me less of a target inside this monster's den, at least when compared to the pale green and white robes Sarah and Lona had worn today.

 

«Who knew my 'weak' sense of fashion would one day save my life? I guess she will never make fun of me again ...»

 

Hesitatingly, I began searching my way through the gloomy cavern, always ready to turn run for my life should one of the demons or a monster show up. My path led me further and further away from where I had seen them the last time.

Now that they thought there was none of us remaining, they would obviously protect the entrance rather than the deeper parts of the cavern.

I did not try to make myself believe in a happy future of me eating cakes and sweet fruits while being surrounded by beautiful children and a laughing husband. Looking at this mess I had let myself be dragged into, I could consider myself lucky if I were to stay alive for a single day more.

I could only try to survive, hopefully long enough for a far stronger and more experienced group of adventurers to arrive and save me or what remained of my body.

Obviously, they wouldn't come. This cavern was protected by powerful demons: ugly, large-horned bulls that were at least three and a half meters tall when they walked on their two strong hind legs. They not only fought with large swords but were also able to use powerful magic.

There strength and numbers combined with the fact that it was unknown whether it was even worth fighting them or not, made it unlikely for me to ever be found.

There were no tales about treasures waiting here, nor was it the ruins of some old castle or stronghold that could house a library of ancient grimoires. It was just a heavily guarded cavern. Of course, this had caused many to speculate.

Now that I was stepping through the depths of this hell-hole, alone and powerless, I couldn't curse my naive self enough.

 

«Why did I allow myself to be dragged into this!? Fame? Who the fuck cares about fame!»

 

Fame was for men who tried to get into the pants of girls far above their league, or for those who needed the recognition of others before they could recognize themselves! I needed neither; my life would be complete just by getting the attention of the man I loved, but I had just gone and ruin even the faintest hope of that ever happening.

My steps became slower as I reached a passage that led to another, possibly deeper part of the cavern. I stopped at the corner and pressed myself against the cold, damp rock before cautiously taking a better look at the darkness awaiting me.

The magic didn't help much. In this absolute darkness, it could barely reach a few meters, and the chamber seemed to be far deeper than that. At least I knew there was no bad surprise lying in wait for me right at the entrance, as I could make out neither monsters nor demons.

 

«We didn't go in here before, did we?»

 

It didn't matter. Anything was safer than going back or choosing to follow the very same junctions that had led us into this misery, so it wasn't even a real question whether or not to enter this chamber. Without hesitating any longer, I stepped forward and into the void.

This part of the cavern was especially wide. The pathways I had seen before had been easily big enough for the largest of the bull demons to pass through, this tunnel, however, looked like it could even fit several of them walking next to each other - fighting would be a whole different story, though.

As I made my way through the gloomy ambiance, I stared into the distance. I had already made a few dozen steps but still didn't manage to find the end of the tunnel.

By now, I could easily have made fifty, maybe even a hundred steps into this nothingness. When I could finally make out blurry Silhouettes in the distance, I felt both relieved and anxious.

 

«This has to be another exit! It just has to be!»

 

Instead of a door or entrance, a larger room supported by two rows of columns awaited me. It looked like a church, a much cruder one than those built in the city, though. There were no benches for believers to sit on, no fires or candles to light the prayer room up and no colorful glassworks. It was just cold, chiseled rock.

 

«This is what they are protecting? I shouldn't be here! Shit!»

 

Just as I was trying to turn around and run, I heard an ear-splitting scream coming from behind me.

 

«They have found me!»

 

I immediately began running, deeper and deeper into the church-like structure.

 

"Damn it! Damn it! I don't want to-"

 

A blazing heat followed by a heavy impact cut of my words. I was thrown through the room, crashed onto the ground and slid several meters before finally coming to a stop. Screaming in pain, I tried to fight the fire burning away my clothes and skin, but I wasn't even given chance to do so.

The demons heavy steps were making the ground tremor. I had only the chance to breathe twice before it was already close enough to kick me. But instead of finishing it with a single, brutal attack, it bent down, reached out for my left arm and pulled me up. I heard bones crushing as he raised me above his head.

 

«It hurts! It hurts! Make it stop! It hurts so much!»

 

My prayers weren't heard. The demon neither seemed to enjoy my agony nor did it care about it. Now, that my magic was gone, I couldn't even make out an expression on its face. The flickering flames that still tried to consume my robe only revealed the demons dark red skin and black hair, which was covering a muscular body. Two curled, silver horns were resting on its bull-like head.

The mouth of the demon looked big enough to swallow a leg on mine without even chewing, that is if the demon was able to chew in the first place. Its dagger-shaped teeth seemed to be worthless when it came to anything else than tearing apart arms and legs or biting off heads.

Just the mere sight of the demon had been enough to petrify me. I was just hanging there, defenseless and at the end of hope, while it seemed to ponder over what to do with me. It didn't even take a breath's worth of time for the bull to come up with an idea.

 

"Tarb ensh!" Its cold voice uttered.

 

A ball of fire appeared in its free hand. The demon waited for the magic to grow bigger and bigger, before finally forcing it into my defenseless chest. There wasn't even a resistance. The fireball just went through my body, leaving behind a gaping hole where once had been my hearth.

 

«It hurts- help me! Somebody! I don't want- It hurts!»

 

My eyes became blurry with tears as the chaos in my head slowly died down. The demon didn't care about me anymore, it knew it was over. After mustering his strength for one last time, it just tossed me away. I felt my body flying and crashing into another wall, before falling into an endless darkness.

 

«Michel ... I- just one last time ...»

 

⊱————-　❈　————-⊰

When I came to, I felt cold metal shackles entrapping my wrists and ankles, damp cloth that was touching far too little of my body and crude rock pressing against both my buttocks and my back.

A overwhelming dizziness had taken ahold of me. At first, I had thought it was the blood loss weighing down on my body, but I felt neither pain nor a wound where my heart should be.

 

«They have really found me ...»

 

「Nah,」 a gleeful voice answered, 「you died.」

"I- I died?"

 

Upon hearing what should have been my voice, I immediately became petrified.

 

«What? My voice- that isn't my voice!»

 

「Yes, it's mine! A little hoarse, though, but can't help it! Has been hundreds of years since I've used it~」

"Hundreds- what happened to me?!"

「I could spend tons of time to explain it.] Her voice became a little playful: 「ooor~ you could just open your eyes.」

 

I tried to open my eyes to comply with her suggestion, only to realize they felt as heavy as lead. It was only after I had struggled for what had felt like a minute, that they finally opened and I was rewarded with a scene that could only be described as a gory mess.

 

"That- that's-"

「Your body, Flatty,」 the voice commented explained, 「or what remains of it.」

"Remains- wait?! You called- I AM NOT FLAT!"

「But you are! Did you eat properly? You shouldn't have dieted so much! Men don't like Flatties, you know?」

"I didn't diet! I even drank milk every-" I felt hot blood rushing into my face. "I- I never said that!"

「Don't worry, Flatty, I got you covered now! Look down, will ya? Aren't they great!?」

 

Hesitatingly, I let my gaze wander, away from the mess that had been my body for almost 18 years and towards the unfamiliar weight that rested on my chest. Two large mounds greeted me, hidden behind a poor excuse for a cloth to cover their peaks.

 

"Wha- what?!"

「You like them, Flatty? Don't play them too much, will you? I understand you're happy but-」

"WHAT HAPPENED TO ME!?"

「You died, dummy.」

"After that! After that!"

「Your soul stole my body. It was a hell of a surprise, you know?!」

"How can my soul steal a body!? You are not making any sense!"

「My body was hungry. It tried to absorb your life force. Looks like it messed up!」

"How can it mess- it wanted to steal my life force!?"

「I'm a succubus, you know?」 She seemed to think for a second. 「No, I should say wee~ are a succubus now!」

"But- but my body- I'm a succubus?!"

「Nice to work with you, Flatty!」

"Wo- work?!"

「You will love it!」

 

I couldn't even imagine what awaited me ...

 

⊱————-　Extra　————-⊰

 

???: Sooo.. what type of guy do you like?

Risa: A- a type of guy?

???: Yeah! What are you into? Small ones, fatties, young ones, or grandpas? I won't judge you, you know?

Risa: There is nothing like that!

???: Ah? Is it girls? Not like I care! They are great, too!

Risa: No- no!! I- I only- Michael.

???: Wait a second? Why are you getting so nervous?

Risa: I- I ...

???: Don't tell me ...（○□○）

『Disclaimer: Extras aren't part of the story. Whatever is happening in the extras does not necessarily happen for real, at least in most cases. Find out which ones are true!』