Chapter 5

The giant massive double doors gave in easily to Lucarad’s forward motion, suggesting more strength within the skinny white-haired High Priest than meets the eye.

Ember and Beatrice followed the High Priest inside, finding themselves inside a giant throne room.

Like the other places within the palace, it seemed a pale shadow of its former glory. The hall that could easily fit twenty elephants was nearly utterly empty of decorations. The couple dozen people that were inside, standing together in small clusters, seemed like ants here. They all stopped their discussions and look at the arriving trio. Like before, though at first, the nobles looked at the High Priest, their gazes quickly switched and remained on the practically naked, big-breasted succubus. Beatrice tried no to look back at them and continued walking behind Lucarad.

Lucarad, Beatrice, and Ember walked on the wide red carpet that led directly to the throne. The throne stood on an elevated marble platform, that stretched from one side of the room to the other, was wide enough to fit an orchestra, and had five steps along its length to ascend to it.

Upon the golden throne with a narrow, five-foot back, sat an elderly man with long, unkempt grey hair and a messy beard. His garbs were worn and dirty. The golden crown on the man’s head was about the only thing that informed of his royal status. In front of him, he had a small table with a glass surface, on the same level as his knees.

Standing just behind the throne stood a single guard in heavy armor. Nearly seven feet tall, he had a weathered red cape and a giant claymore behind his back. The figure seemed to have no weakness. Not a single spot of skin was visible. The helmet covered the guard’s entire face, not even his eyes were visible. Beatrice would’ve mistaken him for a statue, had the guard not moved his head slightly in the direction of the arriving trio.

Beatrice couldn’t help but feel a menacing aura emanating from the guard. He seems like the type that would rush into combat ahead of the other troops and dominate the carnage, she thought of the knight.

The guard did seem to draw attention to himself. Only when the doors closed behind them and Beatrice looked back, did she notice that there were two more guards at the doors behind them. Looking around, the succubus counted eight guards apart from the one behind the king. They were armed with spears, taller than the men themselves, but even though they were also heavily armored none of them were as menacing as the guard at the throne.

Beatrice wrote it off to the fact that their helmets were open and revealed the faces of the men—young, clean-shaven, with a sense of duty in their eyes. But deep inside Beatrice knew, the guard behind the king was unlike the others. He’s not human, a thought flashed through Beatrice’s mind. Thus far, she had only seen and met humans. But in no way did she feel any kinship with the guard.

Apart from the guards, on the platform stood a girl who was talking with one of the guards. Unlike the others, she paid no attention to the arriving trio, until they were nearly at the throne. Her bright aqua eyes met with Beatrice’s for a moment, though they were not friendly, nor welcoming.

The girl had straight ruby hair that reached her shoulder blades. Several of her long bangs fell on the girl’s face but her bright aqua eyes shined through. She wore an embroidered blood-red dress with a tight waist. Her gloves ended above her elbows. Her black choker was adorned by a ribbon. Her collarbone and shoulders were covered, but the dress was low-cut, revealing the so-called “boob-window”.

Beatrice also could appreciate the look of the girl’s thin, smooth, naked thighs, which were revealed thanks to the black over knee boots and the cut-up dress that looked like a miniskirt. A separate part of the dress, attached with belts and brooches reached all the way down to the floor.

“Lucarad? How dare you show up like this unannounced?” One of the nobles scoffed at the passing High Priest.

“It’s fine!” the man on the throne spoke.

One of the guards on the platform took a step forward and announced to the approaching trio, “You are standing in the presence of king Selirius, of the Sinatus line, the eighteenth ruler of the Kingdom of Larpsus!”

The king leaned forward and put his nose on the glass surface of the table, pressing his left nostril against the glass. Beatrice finally saw a line of black powder on the table surface. The king closed his right nostril with his finger and slid his left nostril across the black powder line, vacuuming it all inside.

“That’s the good stuff!” the king exclaimed as he straightened his back and shook his head. He then wiped under his nose with his finger and looked at the trio that stood within permittable speaking distance from the throne. “Now, what is it that you want from me this time, Lucarad?”

Lucarad took a step forward and spoke loudly and proudly, “I have come to inform you, that The Hero That Was Promised, the one who will save this world as foretold by The Scrolls, The Savior, has finally arrived to this world!” Lucarad said loudly and proudly, and then bowed to the king and added, “Thanks to me, of course!”

The High Priest’s announcement was met with laughter from the other nobles present.

“Again with that nonsense, Luca?” one of the nobles asked in-between laughter.

Even a few guards couldn’t help but chuckle, although the king and the princess retained a stern expression.

“Haven’t we had enough ‘Saviors’ come through these doors?” another noble asked.

“Those were all imposters! Liars! Thieves!” Lucarad snapped back at the nobles.

“And what makes your presentation any different?” another man among the noble crowd asked with contempt. Beatrice could not see him at all, save his glistening, oiled bald head. “We have seen enough “saviors” to last us several lifetimes! Men, women, catboys, fishpeople, zombies, and cripples ... Now you bring this ... This ... Half-human stripper?”

“Despite the persistent interference from some of the vermin present,” Lucarad continued talking to the king while throwing death glares at one of the noble groups, “I was finally able to perform a successful summoning ritual! Dozens of men and women risked their lives—”

“Sex-crazed lunatics!” a noble shouted over Lucarad.

“Risked their lives to summon forth a hero that will bring us salvation!” Lucarad spoke louder, bordering on screaming, to bring his point across over the annoying noble’s insults. He then reached into his robes and continued speaking passionately, “This event has been described in detail in The Scrolls—”

“The authenticity of which is still greatly disputed by the Royal Scholars,” a short bald man interrupted Lucarad and stepped forth from among the other nobles. The five-foot-tall man wore golden robes. His thin, gray beard dragged on the floor behind him as he walked up the steps and took his place on the right side of the throne. “You dare bring this ... This ... Thing! A stranger, an unknown monster into the very heart of our kingdom!? Look at her! Some kind of half-male, half-female abomination!”

“That’s right! Look at her! What is that between her legs!?” The nobles nodded and added to the bald man’s accusations.

The man continued speaking, “You risk the lives of everyone present! If your word and those smelly old scrolls in your possession are the support to your claims, then this woman you have brought is just as likely to be an assassin to slay our righteous ruler!”

The nobles gasped and the guards pointed their spears at Lucarad and Beatrice.

“Is this what it has come to!?” Lucarad shouted. “You would point your weapons at unarmed men and women that have come offering you help? Has the noble rule of the Sinatus line fallen so low that it would strike down potential allies, giving in to fear and paranoia? The king I knew would break bread with any stranger willing to fight demons in his name. The Selirius I knew would trust those strangers to guard his back in the battle against the horrors from Beyond!”

“Enough!” The king raised his voice.

Beatrice nearly gasped when she heard king Selirius’ voice. For a moment, she had forgotten altogether the king was still there on his throne. He had no presence. Even now he seemed lethargic, even though he seemed in high spirits after interacting with the strange black powder.

“What do you want from me, Lucarad?” the king asked. “I’m too old and crippled to return to battle, and the treasury is spent. All I have are my useless counselors and spoiled daughters with no allies to sell them to.”

“This woman is The Hero That Was Promised!” Lucarad insisted. “The one who would save this world! The one who shall cure the Taint! Have we really fallen so low that we cannot scrape together even the bare minimum of finances for such a cause?”

“Ha! ‘The Taint’!” the bearded bald guy scoffed. “More of your baseless claims and delusions! Have you not heard the king!? The royal treasure is bone dry and you know it! And If this woman really is who you say she is, she will have no problem procuring funds for your dysfunctional cult of fanatics by doing “favors” for the local populace.”

King Selirius raised his hand demanding silence and asked the High Priest, “Do you know how many “heroes” this kingdom has been through?”

“Yes, I do, but this time—”

“Do you know how many times I’ve heard ‘but this time’?”

“Let her prove her worth!” Lucarad insisted.

The king sighed and closed his eyes. No one dared utter a sound for those few seconds. Then the kind opened his eyes and said, “Very well.”

“Your Highness!” the short bald guy exclaimed and turned to the king.

“Shut up!” Selirius growled at his counselor and then looked at Beatrice. “You haven’t spoken a word since you got here, young lady. What is your name?”

“M-my name is Beatrice, Your Highness,” the Succubus said, stuttering a bit from the sudden question from the king. But she quickly regained her composure and kept her cool.

“And are you the savior of this world?” the king asked. “Have you come here to rid this world of all the monsters and demons from Beyond?”

“That is exactly why I am here!” Beatrice lied through her teeth.

The king smiled when he heard Beatrice’s positive answer.

“So be it,” Selirius said. “Savior, this is your first Royal Quest! Kill twenty Demonlings and bring me their heads. If you do that, I might just believe you to be the hero we’ve been waiting for.”

“Demonlings?” one of the nobles asked the other as if he’d misheard.

“Twenty?” another one repeated.

“She might as well go kill herself right now,” someone else spoke amongst the present nobles.

“Poor girl.”

“Combat is no place for beauties like that.”

Now I’m a beauty again? Beatrice thought and raised an eyebrow as she listened to the nobles, remembering how she was labeled a monster minutes ago. Their opinions change with the slightest breeze.

“That’s right!” Another noble agreed, emboldened by the comments of the others. “She should have stayed where she belonged—on her knees, getting plowed from behind by a rich noble!”

Many of the nobles chuckled and laughed.

How about I plow you from behind? Beatrice thought to herself, though in reality, she would not want to even breathe the same air as those men. She did however make a mental list of people that were now on her bad side.

“Indeed,” a particularly arrogant young noble jeered. “With her looks, she should put her womb to good use and produce plenty of sons for someone worthy.”

“Like you?” the arrogant young noble’s friend snickered and all the nobles laughed together.

While the nobles laughed Beatrice imagined impregnating their wives as just revenge for such comments. I’d probably even let you lot watch how your wives beg me to fill their wombs with my cum, Beatrice thought with a smile and even got a little harder due to her vivid imagination.

Beatrice then looked at the girl in the blood-red dress. I wonder if she also has to endure their comments? Who is she? Another noble? Then why is she standing apart from the others? The princess? This decrepit king produced such beauty?

Beatrice continued to stare at the girl. Her enticing cleavage. Her smooth thighs. Thanks to the fitting dress, Beatrice could imagine exactly how the girl would look naked, on her back, with her legs spread open. Who will be the lucky guy to pick this cherry? Do all the nobles imagine her on her knees, just as they imagine me? None of those scum is worthy. She ... Deserves a hero...

“Thank you, Your Highness!” Lucarad spoke loudly, over the poor attempts at humor by the nobles. “To that end, I would humbly ask for you to give the order to have a badge issued to Beatrice so that she can move within your city.”

“Done,” the king said.

“And what is the reward for saving the Kingdom of Larpsus?” Beatrice boldly asked the king.

Lucarad looked back at the succubus. For a moment anger flashed across his face, but he masked it instantly with genuine surprise.

“Hoho, aren’t you putting the cart before the carriage?” the king asked Beatrice.

“I want to know what I’ll be risking my life for,” Beatrice explained with a smile.

“I see,” king stroked his messy beard. The stray gray strands refused to fall into place. “Somehow I have a feeling you’ve already decided on your reward. What is it that you desire for saving my kingdom?”

Beatrice silently pointed to the girl in the blood-red dress that stood in the shadows, a distance behind the throne. When the girl saw the succubus pointing at her, her stern demeanor broke. She was shocked and outraged.

The king looked behind him. His gaze stayed for the moment on the girl. Then he turned back, looked at Beatrice, and started to laugh hysterically.

“Oh? Bwahaha! Is that it!?” Selirius asked, laughing himself to tears. “You can have her now!”

“WHAT!?” countless nobles screamed in unison, astonished and refusing to believe what they just head.

Wait, seriously? Beatrice snapped back into focus from the sheer shock of the king’s outlandish response. I guess that’s the type of world I’m in.

“Your highness!” the bald counselor exclaimed.