Chapter 332

When we got back to Oakfall, Tirnicia rushed over expecting to welcome us and Nyra. Instead, there was nothing to be excited about. We told her everything that happened at the inn. She couldn't believe it herself, that Matron Elder Maenyssa turned out to be the Shades leader. At the very least, Tirnicia was innocent and not involved with them.

"Even now, I find it difficult to come to terms with. I've known that woman for centuries. She trained some of us in magic," Tirnicia murmured, facing a crisis of her own.

"I feel the same way. Never in a thousand years would I have imagined this. Tirnicia, Maenyssa has been living in Oakfall since its inception. Did she ever show hints about being a Shades?" Elendir asked.

"No." The dark elf shook her head. "She sure fooled us. Maenyssa mostly kept to herself. Granted, people like Matron Elders are all mysterious. Myself and some of the others have been investigating Shades for years. We haven't been able to uncover the identity of their leader… until now. If only I looked a little deeper. Please, forgive my incompetence…"

"That's behind us now. Forgiveness won't solve anything. The potential of the Demon King's return is something we can ill-afford to let happen. We have to find them and stop their plans," Erma implored.

"You're going to have to convince someone first," Shayle piped up.

Everyone turned to me. The hope I had earlier all but vanished. Gone, like Maenyssa and Nyra. Mio was hugging me from behind, chin perched on my shoulder, but I felt numb to her comfort. It was like someone had torn a part of me from my body. An omnipresent void in my chest pulsed with pain. Maybe this was how Hatsumi felt when I used to try pushing her away.

Nyra was like a baby sister to me. I wanted to do better for her. Even though she came into my life suddenly, there was a sense that I'd lost something irreplaceable. All we had left of her was the cat plush.

"My love." Elendir grabbed my hand on the table and gave it a squeeze.

"I'm fine… just need to collect my thoughts." I rubbed my eye.

"If I may, I'm pretty sure I know exactly where they went," Shayle said.

The whole table turned to Shayle, staring at her with their jaws hanging.

"You do?!" we cried.

"Why didn't you say so sooner?" Elendir scolded her subject.

"I was searching my memories! I had to be sure. It would have been incompetent of me to spout uncertainty. Listen, when Maenyssa opened the portal, I managed to catch a glimpse of the other side. I saw an obsidian wasteland interspersed with towering stone columns and gray clouds obscuring a crimson sky. Morharst," Shayle explained.

That description. Mio and I lit up. It was the same exact place we saw delving into Nyra's dream.

"Wouldn't that be where the Demon King's palace is?" I asked.

"Its remains, more like. When the Armies of Everlight laid siege to it, they wanted nothing left of the place still standing. All rubble. No buildings." Tirnicia shot a dirty look at Erma.

"Your insults fall on deaf ears. I didn't have the pleasure of participating in the final siege. But what can I say? We wanted to be thorough." Erma shrugged.

"It's got to be far, right? How do we get there?" My question ended their bickering and returned to the matter.

"North. North past the manor. But between traveling back, rallying an army, and making our way north… We'll be too late by then though!" Mio exclaimed.

Tirnicia cleared her throat.

"We actually have a teleporting circle here in Oakfall. It isn't as powerful as your artifact but does mimic a fraction of such trans-teleportative powers," Tirnicia explained.

Without sparing another moment, we followed Tirnicia into town. She led us to a quaint, two-story home with vines engulfing the front of the building. After a minute of knocking went unanswered, she let herself in.

A cozy home opened up to us, with a pair of couches facing each other and a nice coffee table between them. The fireplace had a warm flame going that made the room toasty. Two sets of shoes rested in the foyer. Mio and I realized why no one answered the door as soon as we entered though.

Upstairs, someone was really going at it. Well, two people were. But whoever was topping had the bed creaking rhythmically like a metronome, the headboard banging, and the legs scraping hard against the floor. A few among the retinue turned bright red, particularly Kana and Erma.

"Come on! Yes! Keep going… I'm so close… You're doing so good! Squeeze my ass, too! Ahh! Yes!" A coquettish voice moaned loudly.

Tirnicia had zero care for the residents and what they were doing. She climbed the stairs with us following close behind, then threw open the door. As expected, two dark elven women were having sex doggystyle. It was the one on the bottom, biting down on the pillowcase, who was screaming like a bitch in heat. Meanwhile, the other desperately tried to please her partner despite being drenched in sweat, gasping for air, and looking a little pale.

Both of them turned our way and jumped under the covers.

"AHHHHH!" they shrieked.

"Tirnicia?!" The horny elf peered over the bedsheet first.

"Kiere, get dressed and call your mages. We have need of the teleportation circle," Tirnicia said.

"In case you haven't noticed, I'M IN THE MIDDLE OF SOMETHING! I was so close to climaxing, too. Ugh!" Kiere groaned.

"Hey, if you need help orgasming, we're just what you need!" Mio put an arm around my shoulders and volunteered us.

"Get out and let me get changed first!" She chucked a pillow.

We backed out of the room and waited in the living room. It was quiet upstairs, so we were confident they didn't go back to sex afterwards. A few minutes later, Kiere and her partner descended to meet us.

Kiere was a lot shorter and petite than I expected. Four and a half feet at best. The dark elf wore her platinum hair in wavy curls. She donned a black gothic lolita-type dress with many frills and a corset that tightly bound her waist. A cute tiny hat rested off-centered upon her head.

The other dark elf, however, appeared tomboyish. She had a whole head and then some over Kiere. Her black hair was cut short, ears adorned with many piercings that emanated strong magic, and dressed in a simple tunic and pants. They couldn't look more different if they tried.

"I still can't believe you barged into my house, no— barged into my room like that!" Kiere stomped angrily.

"I was knocking, and no one answered the door." Tirnicia folded her arms.

"So, you had enough sense to knock on the front door, but not my bedroom door? I don't care that Queen Elendir is among you. should blow you all to smithereens!" she roared.

"I remember Kiere." Elendir giggled at the threats. "You've always been a firecracker."

"Darling, we should hear them out. They wouldn't visit us without a good reason, let alone intrude into our room. Besides, the sooner we get this over with, the sooner… you know," her partner whispered.

"Ugh. You're right, Inest. You're all lucky my snugglepuss put me in a good mood earlier. But make it quick before my patience runs out!" the pint-sized elf exclaimed.

We explained to Kiere and Inest what had transpired outside, as well as why we came to them. Inest was understanding, but Kiere not so much. Our whole barging in didn't exactly give her the best impression.

However, the one thing Kiere really didn't like was the Demon King.

"Very well, I shall help." Kiere relented, much to our relief. "I quite enjoy my freedom, away from the slave labor hours while under the Demon King's employ. Inest, my lovely flower in full bloom, will you go fetch my colleagues and bring them here? I'll prep the teleportation circle in the meantime."

We headed downstairs into the pitch black the basement. With one flick of her wrist, Kiere ignited the braziers and torches around the room, illuminating the room. Her home was built on a concrete slab, where a large runic circle had been carved that took up the entire area. Five smaller circles were spaced out around the outer rim, and Kiere took her place at one of them. She held a staff that split into three prongs, each growing with honeycomb-like pustules.

Inest returned with four more dark elves, all of them mages and powerful in their own rights. They walked into the circles to begin an incantation in unison.

"To think, you created a teleportation circle here. I remember the Demon King keeping you in his palace to make one," Elendir said.

"Yes, and I pretended to work oh so hard for his sake. I've always known how to make it. He was only lacking the right resources. I merely neglected to tell him the right one." Kiere giggled to herself.

"In other words, you purposefully sabotaged him. If he had a teleportation circle, his armies could have gone anywhere. What a disaster that might have been. Your deception was very well played." Erma nodded in acknowledgement.

"Hehe. I invite you to praise me more!" She puffed her chest out.

Tirnicia cleared her throat.

"Right. Of course. Where did you want to go?" Kiere asked.

"To Morharst," I said.

"Saeko." Elendir grabbed my hand. "I'd like to rescue Nyra soon as well. But we don't know how great their numbers are. We should gather our forces at the manor first."

"Sorry. You're right. I'm just getting ahead of myself." I pinched the bridge of my nose.

Elendir gave Kiere the location of the manor. She and the four other mages channeled their magic into the circle, creating a swell of wind that shouldn't be possible in the basement. Their robes fluttered. My wings pulled taut. It almost knocked Kana off his feet until he stumbled backwards into me.

Bright blue energies drained from their bodies and into the circle beneath them. The braziers and torches roared to life.

"Behold, my greatness!" Kiere boomed.

A portal as tall as the ceiling tore open, its seams rippling like ocean waves. We saw the manor on the other side, including curious succubi and dark elves peering through it in puzzlement.

"It won't last very long. This drains a lot of mana. You better go now," Kiere warned.

The others jumped through. Erma inconspicuously handed Tirnicia a letter before entering. Elendir and I were the last to go. I paused when I noticed she had paused behind me.

"I suppose this is goodbye?" Elendir asked her old flame Tirnicia, who was watching us from the sidelines.

"Goodbye? Nonsense. I owe you all my life. All the lives in Oakfall owe you. I will rally those capable and willing to join me, and we'll meet you at Morharst. You won't fight alone," Tirnicia promised.

"Thank you. Seriously, thank you!" I bowed.

We stepped through and came out the other end back at the manor. It closed shut behind us just as I pulled my tail through. Traveling via the mirror artifact definitely felt a lot safer. Still, to be able to mimic its teleportative capacity was impressive.

Few succubi and dark elves began to emerge from the manor, drawn out by our sudden return.

"Welcome back, Queen Saeko and Queen Elendir! How was your trip?" A succubus flew down with only kind intentions to make conversation, but she noted the tension on our faces and stiffened.

"Summon everyone. I have an important announcement to make," I said.

"R-Right away!" She bolted back into the manor.

"Shayle and I will go gather our people as well." Elendir walked ahead, dragging her subject along.

Meanwhile, I pulled Erma aside.

"I saw you give something to Tirnicia earlier. What were you being sneaky about?" I asked.

"You noticed? I'm losing my touch. It was a letter. Since Oakfall possesses a teleportation circle, I asked Tirnicia to deliver a message to the City of Everlight. Specifically, to Princess Amira, in beseeching aid. The Demon King is not a trifling matter. As an elf, I am still beholden to the crown. I had to warn them. If you're angry with me, I understand." Erma lowered her head ashamedly.

"They won't be as gentle with Nyra as we would?"

"I'm afraid not. For what it's worth, if they do send aid, their firepower will easily punch through any demon army for us. We can use that opportunity to get ahead of them," she said.

It might have to come to that.

The courtyard soon filled with hundreds of succubi in the sky and dark elves on the surface. Sometimes, I forget just how large this manor was with its many floors and underground levels. They answered mine and Elendir's summons, but I was having a hard time breaking it to them why I'd gathered them. Their waiting gazes fell firmly on me.

"A sect of dark elves known as the Shades are trying to bring about the Demon King's return. They captured a young demon girl, who I'd been taking care of these past few weeks. Her true identity… is the Demon King," I explained.

A round of gasps and terrified whispers exchanged through the air.

I continued before they came to any conclusions yet, "Nyra is her name. She doesn't have the memories of her past life as that monster. I know that for certain. Everyone who is with me knows that, too. All Nyra is is just a scared little girl in a scary world. I've summoned you all here as the succubus queen… to ask your help in going to war with me, against the Shades, to bring her back. To stop them from restoring Nyra as the Demon King."

When I finished, no one spoke a word. They traded uneasy glances with one another. Many were justifiably scared. My heart dropped thinking no one wanted to help. I didn't want to force them either, and—

A blonde-haired succubus landed and stepped forward. She looked older, and carried herself with a kind of big sister mood.

"Queen Saeko is giving us the choice to fight with her. Did Queen Beatrice give us a choice? Did the Demon King? No, they didn't. For the first time ever, we get to choose because our queen is kind and just. Cute as a button, too! I say, we fight for her," the succubus said.

"I-I feel like there's a part in your speech that wasn't necessary," I stammered.

Both races erupted in cheers. They walked forward and roared with fervent devotion. The weight on my chest lifted. It was flying off. Their raucous filled me with the hope I thought I'd lost. As succubi came forth pledging to fight under me, I saw for the first time just how much my rule had touched them.

"Thank you, everyone." I wiped a tear from my face, then pumped a fist into the air. "Let's gear up and get ready to kick some ass!"