Chapter 460: Fairies of Avalon

When handling things, especially electronics, the most frustrating situation is when they break.

Something breaking down. Especially if it happens right when I'm touching it or about to touch it, that's even more alarming. And it's all the worse when I absolutely didn't mean for it to happen.

"Oh, shit! What the hell is this?!"

That was exactly what was happening now. Asmodine's body lost all vitality, like a flower whose roots had rotted, leaving it shriveled and withered. Watching a person turn into a mummy in an instant made my heart drop.

"This is so fucked."

"Master, please calm down."

"That's not Asmodine."

"...??"

Shaitan and Lucifer were calm. They gazed at the decaying Asmodine with faintly irritated eyes.

"That's not Asmodine?"

"No. It's like an avatar."

"Oh, what? Like a Gremory thing? Thank god. I thought I'd screwed everything up by pulling her out of Lustrilis. Hahaha."

A laugh escaped me on its own. The Asmodine that rotted the moment I touched her wasn't the real one. The Asmodine I'd risked my life to save was just an avatar.

"Then where the hell is the real one? The Seal is right here, though??"

"The Seal is definitely here. ...Please trust us and wait a moment."

"My hands are literally shaking from anxiety right now."

"Then stick them inside our pussies and relax."

"Shall I?"

I slid my hands inside Shaitan and Lucifer. The two pressed their bodies against mine, trying to calm me down. The scent of lavender and lemon soothed my mind, clearing and cleansing it like an herbal remedy.

"Master, how about some peach tea?"

"Sounds good."

I downed the peach tea Lune had prepared. My dick was burning up, but paradoxically, with all my fury channeled into my dick, my mind became ice-cold.

"...I've calmed down."

With the help of three women, I managed to settle the panic. After sending all three of them off with my hands and tongue, I looked at Asmodine, whose form had completely vanished, and let out a deep sigh.

"...Branches?"

The human shape was gone, leaving behind only a pile of tree branches. And on a piece of bark shaped like a lower abdomen, the Seal of Lust remained. I wondered if someone was playing a prank, but no matter how I looked, the Seal was unmistakably real.

"What on earth is this?"

"Master, Asmodine is a dryad. A tree fairy and a spirit."

"...And she's got a pretty mischievous streak and a sharp mind, too. From what we can tell...."

"She embedded the Seal in an avatar and moved around in her real body separately?"

Shaitan and Lucifer nodded. If Asmodine hadn't actually died, it meant she'd inscribed the Seal onto an avatar and was moving freely on her own.

"Is that even possible?"

"Because it's Asmodine, it is. The avatar she made... was crafted from her own body."

"Think of it as breathing life into a wooden puppet. We didn't expect she'd go this far with the Seal, though."

"...."

The Seal had undeniably come into our legion's hands. But I couldn't be satisfied with an emblem like this.

"A Seal refers to the Demon King's daughter herself. Just as the Seal of Wrath is Shaitan and the Seal of Pride is Lucifer."

Which meant the Seal of Lust had to be Asmodine herself. Not a Seal glittering on a piece of bark, but Asmodine in person.

"Shaitan. Absorb the Seal for now."

"Yes."

Shaitan placed the Seal of Lust into her lower abdomen. The Seal of Lust, now mingled with Wrath, settled in as naturally as if it had always belonged there.

"The real body is out there somewhere... and it's probably with one of two."

Astaroth.

Asmodeus.

"Damn, it's a shame I didn't catch Astaroth."

"Hehe, master. You've already caught Astaroth."

"...?"

Shaitan smiled at me as if bursting with pride.

"The trap you laid...."

The moment Shaitan finished explaining, I pulled her into an embrace.

Well done, past me.

***

[Three hours ago, in front of the gates of Raspica Castle.]

"We can escort you this far. I'm sorry, but you cannot enter beyond this point."

"Of course. We'll follow this road straight back to the marquisate."

Andaihal and the knights stole a glance at the tightly shut gates of the baron's castle and swallowed hard. The exterior of Spica Castle, which had been nothing more than an ordinary barony, had been reinforced with walls that looked sturdier than most count's estates.

"Your Excellency, that is...."

"Must be the Stone Golem wall from the reports."

Andaihal and Anthonius shared the same thought. In a barony where properly quarried stone wasn't readily available, building a new wall in front of the existing one was practically impossible under normal circumstances.

Creeeeak.

The tightly shut gate swung open. Knights in black uniforms burst out on unicorn-back. Their visors concealed their faces, and Andaihal's hand moved to his sword.

Dullahans. Unicorns. The moment these so-called "Death Knights" appeared, tension naturally ran through his body.

"...Are you all right, Nifela?"

The armored knight leading the Death Knights had an unexpectedly soft, beautiful voice.

"Yes. It seems we'll need to get them cleaned up before Her Majesty arrives. Please make the preparations."

Nifela, who had returned under the escort of the human knights, pointed at the dark elves being led along like prisoners.

Most had their wrists bound with leather straps, but they had walked on their own feet alongside the elves and orcs all the way to Raspica.

All except one dark elf, bound head to toe in leather straps and slung over an orc's shoulder.

"That one is...?"

"Unfortunately, a dark elf with the 'demon of lust' dwelling inside her. She carries a Curse of Lust that only Her Majesty can personally purify. Even now...."

Drip.

Sticky nectar trickled down from between the dark elf's feet.

The human knights trailing behind had felt a flicker of lust at first, but the sight of the dark elf gushing such a flood of fluid that it drew a line of moisture on the ground left them feeling nothing but pity.

The Curse of Lust.

A curse so potent it drove even elves into a frenzy of arousal; if things went wrong, it could spread not just to elves but to orcs and humans alike.

The orcs carrying the aroused dark elf were ejaculating without erection just from holding her, and they'd barely managed to haul her here by rotating shifts every hour.

"You've had a long, hard journey. Her Majesty should be arriving shortly, so please rest inside."

The Death Knight let the expedition into the castle. The human knights, unable to enter, lingered awkwardly, waiting for Andaihal's word.

"We thank the knight order for their service."

The Death Knight removed her helmet. Beneath it, a woman with flowing long hair smiled with a pale face. The humans stood momentarily mesmerized by her rare and striking beauty.

"As someone who was once human, and as a fellow woman. Thank you for rescuing the elves who were tormented by those creatures. These are... modest gifts, but they are a token of goodwill from the Elf Queen to the humans."

The Death Knight brought out three or four sizable packs. The packs of black leather looked quite luxurious on their own, and Anthonius stepped forward to check the contents.

"...!!"

Inside the familiar paper boxes were items he recognized, along with something new. Andaihal, too, was startled when he saw what was inside.

"This is...?!"

"Panties, stockings, garter belts."

The Death Knight lifted the hem of her uniform skirt just slightly.

"You're free to use the gifts for personal use. In time, once the elves' purification is complete, the elves themselves will wear these when they come to you."

"...."

The knights scratched their heads in embarrassment. Several of them cast uneasy glances toward the elves being led inside the castle.

"You truly intend to keep that promise?"

Andaihal gave voice to the words they couldn't bring themselves to say.

"Once the elves' purification is complete, you will really hand them over to us?"

"...Her Majesty the Elf Queen has said that she cannot take back elves she has already exiled. However, she also cannot simply cast them out to fend for themselves, so she will send them first to the humans who rescued them."

The knights silently cheered at the Elf Queen's public pledge. The Death Knight continued with a bittersweet smile.

"Of course, the purification may take a long time. Depending on how much they endured in the dungeon... it will take time to purify them. But Her Majesty has promised. She will purify them without fail and send them to give thanks to the ones who saved them. Elves are a people who repay their debts, she said."

The Death Knight produced a parchment from her chest. The seal bore both the Legion of Wrath's crest and a stigmata resembling the Elf Queen's emblem. Andaihal accepted the parchment inscribed with the queen's promise and bowed his head.

"I sincerely hope that day comes."

"Yes. You have my word."

The human knights had rescued the elves but hadn't been able to take a single one back to the Marquis's house.

Yet they received enormous wealth from the elves and the Legion of Wrath, along with the "Queen's Promise."

[The moment the rescued dark elves are purified, they will be sent to House of Marquis Leo via the Ras Market.]

The human knights turned their horses around, placing their faith in the Elf Queen's promise.

***

[And back to the present, Rok Grimfang Shek's Dungeon, Basement 1.]

"Welcome to the Ras World."

The moment I walked in, the sweet sound of orcs going at it echoed throughout. The dark elves brought in from the humans under the pretext of "purification" were being used by the orcs, steeped in pleasure.

In addition to the dark elves our legion had already captured, we were also making use of the ones handed over by the humans.

"Hehe, this is exactly why I deployed forces on two tracks."

Even if the humans rescued the dark elves, I'd subtly maneuvered things so they'd end up in our arms regardless. No matter how capable a knight was in combat, they couldn't overcome the primal fear of sorcery.

Bringing up a demonic curse had worked like a charm. And with the Elf Queen's promise to lift the curse and send them back on top of that, the humans had obediently handed the dark elves over to us.

"Master, so you're not going to keep the promise?"

"That's not what I said. The promise was made in Luna's name, and the Legion Commander of Wrath endorsed it too. For the sake of our honor, we will purify the elves and send them. However...."

Squelch. I picked up one egg from my pouch. Warm as if freshly laid, it was the monumental first "egg" produced from this elf ranch.

Its parents: an orc and a dark elf.

[Orc x Dark Elf: Union of orc and dark elf]

Orc (☆☆~☆☆☆, 40%)

Dark Elf (☆☆☆, 20%)

High Elf (☆☆☆, 20%)

Green Elf (☆☆☆~☆☆☆☆, 20%)

"Hehehe, when you give away livestock, you give away the offspring."

"Master, you're devious."

"Even if we sent them to the humans, they'd just end up being sold as sex slaves anyway. Rolling the reincarnation gacha here in our legion until they're reborn is way better."

Reincarnation, or synthesis with their own eggs.

In the latter case, an elf could end up becoming a female orc, so it would be far better for them to keep laying eggs at the ranch until they reincarnated.

"But master, isn't the reincarnation rate really low?"

"Lune."

I grabbed Lune by the head, pushed her down below me, and plugged her mouth with my dick. Gripping her ears like handlebars, I rocked her back and forth.

"Reincarnation is something you achieve through effffffort. Have you forgotten Andras's case?"

Just like Andras, who had tried to reach five stars by laying 666 eggs, laying an enormous number of eggs might unlock the reincarnation quest.

If it was a quest exclusive to dungeon owners, then that couldn't be helped, and we'd simply use eggs guaranteed to produce elf reincarnations.

"I said we'd purify them and send elves. Even if the contents are different, we're still sending elves, so how are they going to tell? Did they taste them? Did they even get their names? We already told them the purification process might cause changes."

When elves other than the ones they rescued were presented before them, the sharp ones might sense something was off.

But the moment those elves hiked up their skirts to reveal garter belts and stockings, and approached them reeking of sweet fragrance saying they'd come to repay the debt of being rescued, those humans' minds would go blank.

"Shaitan, the two VIP prisoners are being kept separately inside, right?"

"Yes. I've made sure they can't move a muscle."

"Hehe, then let's test this first."

I turned around. Behind us, the women who had come to observe the ranch were all human, every one of them possessing sex appeal surpassing that of a succubus.

"Since you've already infiltrated human society as spies, you'll be able to put that experience to even better use, right? Hehe, you worked your bodies hard, so it's only fair I reward you. Now then, my fairies."

The human adventurers who had sold smiles and flowers of their own accord to guide men to the succubi during the conquest of the barony.

The Fairies of Avalon.

"There's a 40% chance of becoming an orc, but a 60% chance of becoming an elf. If you end up an orc, I'll synthesize you until you become an elf, per your preference. So... who wants to go first?"

The Fairies of Avalon, who had brought about the barony's downfall, would cease being human and be reborn as elves, infiltrating human society even deeper than before.

And while they were at it, they'd trade in their well-worn bodies for the pristine new bodies of elves.