-[Chapter 012]-

“To glory or death!” Elnora cried as she drove a horde of monsters towards the imperial palace. The succubus was perched atop the shoulder of a mountain giant and waved her halberd as she rallied her troops after the routing imperial defenders. She gasped for every breath and her heart rumbled like mad, but the exhilaration she felt at this very moment—standing at the front of a charging army—was unlike anything she had ever experienced before.

Beckoned by her call, the battle-crazed monsters rampaged through the burning city streets. With brute force and sheer numbers they overwhelmed the last remaining formations of the imperial troops wherever they found them. No quarter was given and no mercy was shown as they pushed through the narrow streets, following the rallying cry of their mistress.

As the invaders drew closer to their goal—the imperial palace that was positioned at the heart of the city—they found the drawbridge of the palace gate to be raised and their approach to the walls denied by a deep moat. One final line of desperate defenders clustered between the monsters and their target. A ragged band of soldiers and militiamen had sought to rally at the gatehouse, but they now found themselves boxed in between the angry horde and the moat that served to separate the city streets from the palace walls. It was here that they resolved to make their final stand with spears, pikes and swords braced towards the approaching mass of monsters. It was to be their last hurrah for their beloved Empire Solar and even in the face of certain death these men did not falter. They sobbed and lamented their fate, but stood fast against the rampaging horde, seeking solace in their faith in Maiden Solar and her promise of deliverance.

While their goddess failed to intervene on behalf of her faithful servants, the soldiers did receive supporting fire from the archers stationed in the towers adjacent to the gatehouse. From their elevated position they rained down volley after volley of arrows upon the charging monsters. But even this storm of missiles did little to curb the bloodlust of the invaders. Heaps of dead minions soon littered the ground in front of the gatehouse, but the horde just kept on advancing, climbing the steadily growing mound of corpses to reach their kith enemies.

Like an angry tide, the monsters clashed with the thin ranks of soldiers and militiamen, seeking to sweep them aside on their way towards the palace. The imperial defenders were quickly overwhelmed by the mass of fangs, claws and hooved feet that tore into them with unbridled glee. Once forced down on the ground they were simply ripped to shreds, as at this point most of the dark lord’s forces had been reduced to their most feral state. The green tide of goblins, orcs and trolls had long since broken, lost or discarded their weapons in the frantic melee and now resolved to engage their foes in what could only be described as a blood-brawl.

While close quarters combat carried on below the walls, mages took to suppressing the imperial defenders that were stationed on top of them. Witchdoctors, shamans and beast-sorcerers threw spells at the soldiers garrisoning the towers and ramparts adjacent to the gatehouse. Their potent magic chipped away at the stone parapets and was successful in keeping most of the archers from firing back with any degree of accuracy. But the wall itself yet stood as an impassable obstacle to the monstrous horde.

Looking to deliver the final blow to Empire Solar, Elnora spurred her titanic mount forward, towards the raised drawbridge. The mountain giant stood only half as tall as the palace walls, but he cleared the moat in one long leap and latched onto the wooden drawbridge with both hands. Elnora barely managed to hold onto the brutish creature as it shook back and forth in an effort to break free the bridge from its moorings.

Having endured the giant’s wrath for a few precious seconds, the gatehouse finally gave in. The victorious giant tore the bridge from the wall by snapping the chains that held it in place. He then climbed down into the moat and lowered the whole thing atop of himself so that the rest of the monsters could safely access the gatehouse.

“Forward!” Elnora commanded as she climbed onto the bridge. “Bring down the gates and the palace will fall! Victory is near! Charge; charge to glory or death!”

With easy access to the gatehouse now secured, a band of trolls began pushing their way through the sea of bodies that littered the streets. Their task was to leverage their considerable strength against the final obstacle in their path to victory—the gates that stood between them and the courtyard of the palace. Elnora’s forces came equipped with chain-bound hooks for the task at hand and a hundred beasts stood by, ready to pull on them. The gates would soon fall, and then the palace would follow, just as she had planned. But the trolls would never get to play their assigned part as the imperial defenders moved to counter their inexorable advance.

To Elnora’s great surprise, the palace garrison raised the gates themselves and sallied out in one last attempt at breaking the morale of the horde. A shining mass of armor-clad warriors came charging through the gatehouse under the banners of their precious Maiden Solar.

Their shimmering flags—burning with holy light—forced back the monstrous trolls, who were especially vulnerable to such magic enchantment. So great was their aversion to it, that the ugly beasts scattered in panic, some even jumping to their deaths into the moat below. The imperial knights easily slew any beasts that failed to flee, as they had been rendered near helpless under the effects of the burning light.

So sudden and complete was the flight of her forces that for a brief moment Elnora was left all by herself to fend against the ranks of charging imperial knights. Her face burned from the golden light cast by the sanctified banners, but after her encounter with Maiden Solar, during the battle for the dungeon core, the succubus had acquired a degree of temporary tolerance for the holy element. Elnora stubbornly braced her blood-drenched halberd and dove right into the tightly packed ranks of her enemies. She expressed her defiance with a war cry that gave pause to the imperial defenders, who had not expected to encounter such determined resistance so early into their charge.

With a flurry of blows and thrusts the she-demon managed to hold back the bulk of the imperial troops. But she now found herself controlling just a tiny sliver of the bridge, right on the edge of the city street. It was here that they managed to envelop her. While some of the soldiers stayed back to pin down the she-demon, the rest sought to chase after the scattering horde in an effort to cull their ranks, as had clearly been their plan all along.

The unexpected charge of the imperial defenders had greatly complicated Elnora’s plans. While she did not doubt her imminent victory, this one last act of suicidal defiance was sure to cause her a lot of grief. If she did not get things under control quickly, it would reflect poorly on her performance and that is exactly what she was most concerned with at the moment.

Elnora’s wrath was directed not only at the imperial defenders, but also at her own panicked minions. “I should have stayed further back,” she lamented her own decision to lead the charge from the front. “The damned beasts need to be driven, not lead! Curse you all!”

The complete rout of her forces had left the succubus surrounded on three sides. Elnora sought to keep her enemies away by swinging wide with her halberd, but as a result of her aggressive posture even more of the holy warriors were drawn towards her.

Elnora found herself being slowly forced back towards the city streets. She knew that she could not lose the bridge, as the defenders were sure to try and destroy it in an effort to halt their advance. It was at this moment that she felt a powerful presence materialize behind her. The succubus was about to swing her halberd around to strike at it when she realized that it was one Scarlet’s shield maidens. She had come to join the battle for the bridge.

“I’ve got your back,” the red paladin said. She positioned herself to guard the rear and flanks of the succubus. Armed with a sword and shield she was better able to defend against several attackers at once.

Working in tandem the two women managed to finally check the advance of the imperial troops. Now that Elnora no longer had to focus on keeping up her guard, she went on the attack instead. One after another the low-level guardians of the imperial palace were cut apart by her wicked weapon. The bridge soon became cluttered with their corpses. But even in the face of this overwhelming show of force, the imperial defenders kept up their assault. It seemed as though no matter how many soldiers she cut down, a band of new and more frenzied men took their place. Their mad rush into the jaws of death culminated with a small measure of success when one of her thrusts with the halberd penetrated the chest plate of a paladin and impaled him up to the axe head of her weapon. But, instead of falling aside like so many others had before him, the man grabbed hold of the weapon and leveraged his weight on it. With her weapon pinned down and her enemies surrounding her on all sides, Elnora was forced to relinquish it.

Having now lost her main weapon, the succubus once more found herself on the back foot with naught but a dagger to fall back on. Even with one of Scarlet’s famed shield maidens at her side, she could not hold on to the bridge against so many enemies at once.

“Not now!” she lamented. “Not when I am so close to victory…” Elnora’s expression burned with righteous fury that could rival the shine of the blessed banners of Maiden Solar. She looked on, filled with impotent rage, as her black halberd—still lodged in the chest of the mortally wounded paladin—was being carried back towards the gates along with its victim. No longer able to fight with conventional means, she was forced to either surrender the bridge and fall back to regroup her forces or… she could activate the one ability that she knew she could use to take back the initiative. It was her trump card in this fight and now, at the gates of the imperial palace, she felt justified in using it.

Elnora touched the soul stone on her forehead and activated the special ability of the enchanted head gear: “[Greater Charm]!” The soul stone flickered, discharged its stored energy and grew dim as the magic took hold of her enemies. A strange silence settled over the battlefield around her as the slaughter suddenly ceased.

The imperial soldiers all around Elnora appeared to have fallen under a stupefying daze. Their motions turned sluggish and the previously voracious defenders now all looked to the succubus standing among them with lustful eyes. Some of them even removed their helmets so as to better witness her splendor. The effects of the spell had been so overwhelming that these once loyal imperial soldiers, who had sworn to oppose her very nature, now looked to the bedazzling she-demon with puppy-eyed worship.

Soldiers in their dozens fell to their knees before the succubus in a display of feeble minded worship. Elnora gracefully stepped over the corpses of their fallen comrades on her way to retrieving her misplaced weapon. So incredible was the effect of a [Greater Charm] spell on these low-level kith that even the paladin who had sought to disarm her with his dying breath now pulled the weapon from his chest and offered it to his newfound mistress with a crazed smile on his face. As his blood pooled at his feet, the love-stricken paladin pushed through the pain to kneel respectfully before the succubus as he delivered the black halberd back into her hands.

In their eyes she glowed like the holiest of angels, so the charmed soldiers immediately complied when Elnora ordered them all to remove their helmets and kneel. They lusted for her attention and rejoiced with glee as her piercing gaze crossed their closely packed ranks. Soldiers, knights and paladins—they all expected her to surprise them in the most wondrous of ways.

Elnora did not make them wait long. Halberd in hand, she activated a combat ability: “{Cleave}!”

In one long horizontal swing she had decapitated the front-most line of her worshippers. Blood rained down upon the bridge as the succubus reaped her way across the field of kneeling men. The poor sods… their love-crazed expressions did not falter, even as she raised her weapon for swing after bloody swing. If nothing else, at least their last moments on this world were spent in a euphoric state.

Once Elnora had cleaved her way across the bridge, she found the charmed standard bearers still holding onto their blessed icons of their precious Maiden Solar. At her command they threw the holy banners into the filthy moat, rejecting a goddess in favor of a she-demon on a charmed whim. They then followed their battle brothers into the oblivion as the halberd rose and the halberd fell.

With the blessed icons now out of the way, the horde of trolls, orcs and goblins began rallying back to their leader. At her command they swarmed over the bridge and through the open gate into the palace grounds beyond. A mass of monstrous infantry poured forth and overwhelmed the remaining defenders.

It was at this moment that Elnora looked back to assess the situation only to find her advisor, the shield maiden, staring at her with lust-stricken eyes. The armor-clad woman appeared ignorant of the world around them, choosing instead to bask in the presence of her newfound obsession.

Elnora recognized the domineering effect that her [Greater Charm] spell had taken on the Basil’s minion and moved to explore that mistake. “Come forward,” she said and waved for the woman to approach her.

The shield maiden complied without hesitation. Her expression grew ever more ecstatic the closer she drew to her new master.

Maybe it was her bloodlust or perhaps her mind was simply clouded by the mix of potions she had consumed and the adrenalin pumping through her veins, but Elnora felt like partaking in her state of absolute domination for a moment longer. This intoxicating power over someone else—it spoke to her deepest instincts as a succubus and now, at the precipice of her victory, she desired to taste it more vividly than ever before.

Elnora took hold of the shield maiden as she entered her reach. She then kissed the paladin with such passion that the sword slipped from the enamored woman’s grasp. The succubus did not, however, overindulge in celebration of her victory and pulled away from their mutual embrace swiftly enough.

“I release you,” she said and touched the forehead of the shield maiden, imparting a spell: “[Dispel].”

As Elnora removed the effects of her domination, the minion in her hands seemed to awaken. Her previously blissful expression turned to one of confusion and then horror as the woman realized what had just transpired.

The shield maiden kneeled before Elnora, ostensibly to pick up her sword. There she remained, head lowered in shame before the succubus standing over her.

“I apologize, Lady Elnora,” she said. “I should not have fallen under the effects of your spell like that. I was unprepared. It will not happen again.”

Even though Scarlet’s shield maidens were on average several power levels stronger than Elnora, the [Greater Charm] spell, which only worked on kith and demi-kith races, was powerful enough to have a chance at overwhelming them. But, since it was an illusion spell of the sixth tier, and had only been made available to Elnora through the use of her enchanted equipment, the succubus had use up most of her already limited mana pool to cast it just once.

“You are not to blame for this,” Elnora said as she offered her hand to the kneeling woman. “It was my fault in not warning you.”

The shield maiden looked up at the succubus and mustered a shy smile.

“I don’t regret casting the spell,” Elnora told her as she helped the paladin to her feet, “and I won’t apologize for what I did.”

The shield maiden nodded. “Thank you, Lady Elnora.”

The succubus gestured towards the open gate. “To glory or death!” she yelled, seeking to dispel the aura of awkwardness with a war cry.

With the palace gate secured by her forces, Elnora made her way into the courtyard. She had expected to find it a scene of battle, but when the succubus passed through the portal of the gatehouse she found her forces clustering along the walls, kneeling towards the white marble steps of the palace complex. As she looked up, she found the reason why—her master, Basil von Doom. The dungeon keeper towered over his victorious minions, surrounded by an aura of regal dignity.

The scene was deathly silent as the dark lord’s forces waited on the succubus as she climbed the steps on her way towards the dungeon keeper. When she arrived before him, Basil ordered Elnora to kneel and the succubus complied.

“You should not have doubted yourself,” Basil said. “I knew that I could rely on you to lead my forces to victory,” he announced loud enough for the gathered monster army to hear.

“You have lived up to the standards of House Doom, Elnora,” the dungeon keeper announced. “You may consider this a gesture of my faith in your ability to one day command a dungeon of your own.” Basil placed the emperor’s crown on Elnora’s head. “With this I dub you an honorary member of House Doom. Carry the crown and the title with pride, Elnora von Doom. You have earned it.

“Now rise,” he said. “Rise and bask in the well-earned glory of your victory!”

Overwhelmed by the occasion, Elnora found it impossible to relay her emotions with any degree of modesty. She therefore resolved to express her jubilation through maintaining a rigid posture as she stood at attention before the dungeon keeper, saluting him.

Basil placed his hand on the shoulder of his apprentice and winked at her. He then turned the succubus around so that she was facing the gathered horde of monsters below.

“Take it in,” he said as they watched the mass of angry critters and beasts roar and cheer with excitement at their victory over the civilized kith of this world. “This is your moment of triumph. There will be many more to come, but for now allow yourself to bask in the adoration of your troops. Tomorrow will be a new day and you will face more challenges on your path towards becoming a full-fledged dungeon keeper. I want you to know that you made me proud today.”

The dungeon keeper’s praise served to embolden Elnora. She tried to reach for his hand on her shoulder, but Basil suddenly let go of her and stepped away. When she turned to look for him, Elnora found the dungeon keeper conversing with himself. She noted a trace of concern in his expression.

***

As Basil stood atop of the stairs, sharing a moment of celebration with his eager apprentice, he felt a distant presence calling out to him. The dungeon keeper was surprised to find a telepathic communication being directed at him at this time. He knew that the [Message] spell would only ever be used by his minions to contact him in the case of a dire emergency, as it dulled the user’s senses while the connection was active.

“I am listening,” he said. “Speak quickly. I am in the middle of something important.”

“This is Schwartz,” a voice inside his head answered. “I apologize for the disturbance, My Lord, but there is an issue that demands your immediate attention back at the Mansion.”

An issue at the Mansion? Basil thought. What could possibly be so urgent that it would require my presence?

“We have encountered an unforeseen consequence of the recent attack on the dungeon core,” Schwartz explained. “As of this moment, Drum the Devourer is being held hostage...”

Hostage? Basil wondered.

“By whom?” he asked.

Schwartz cleared his throat before answering. “It’s… Aidan and Nadia, My Lord. Or, rather, their shadow clones. They have… escaped their imprisonment and are acting hostile towards our forces. Blood has been spilled.

“What are your orders, Master?”

Basil carefully considered the possible implications of the situation before giving his answer.

“Stall for time,” he ordered. “Keeping Drum safe is your number one priority. I will be with you shortly.”

Schwartz affirmed his compliance with the order before ending their communication. “Understood, Master.”

The dungeon keeper returned to Elnora. The joyful expression of the succubus soured the moment she recognized Basil’s burdened state of mind.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

“We have to return to the Mansion,” Basil said. “There has been an incident.”