Chapter 7

“That was ... I don’t have any words,” Ember gasped as sweat rolled down her entire body. After her climax, her temporary magical dick softened and quickly shriveled, smaller and smaller until it disappeared. Finally, the redhead asked, “Was that one of your new powers?”

“Yes,” Beatrice answered.

“Then did your powers fully return to you?”

“No, not yet,” Beatrice said. “It will probably take some time, but I am getting stronger with each passing moment.”

Beatrice checked her stats to see how much progression she made toward her level five.

Information

NameBeatrice

Age18

ClassSuccubus

Level4 (55%)

Health Points180/180 (+0.32/sec)

Arousal Points14/53 (+0.01/sec)

Stamina Points50/50 (+0.13/sec)

Physical Attack6

Physical Defense8

Magic Attack7

Magic Defense12

Speed4

Half a level, huh? Beatrice thought. Not bad, but not spectacular also.

Then the futanari looked at her recovering bodyguard. Who cares about levels? Beatrice thought while she gazed deep into the redhead’s green eyes. She’d do this again even if she would not get a single experience percentage. But Beatrice knew she had to proceed forward, otherwise, she’d make no progress at all at this rate.

“We should go,” Beatrice said with a deep breath and got up. She then extended her hand to help her bodyguard up too.

After a couple of minutes of cleaning themselves up and getting dressed (which for Beatrice wasn’t much, but she wasn’t complaining thanks to her [Succubus’s Thermoregulation] passive), the girls moved further down the tunnel.

The route was monotone. The girls took care not to venture into any side tunnels that connected to this tunnel and not to deviate from their sloping and twisting path. To kill some time Beatrice sparked up a conversation about something princess Mary had mentioned before.

“Do you know anything about that S.E.C.R.E.T. guild the princess talked about?” Beatrice asked her bodyguard. “She mentioned ranks, but was never clear on what that guild was all about. Although I have a suspicion.”

“You really are not from this world,” Ember concluded and sighed a little. “At least not from this kingdom. What little is left of it that is.”

Ember was silent for a moment, thinking how to approach the subject, and finally said, “Unlike what the guild’s acronym would suggest that guild is anything but “secret”. Sexual Entertainment and Carnal Rapture Expertise and Talent Guild, that’s what it stands for. And it ranks its members accordingly.”

“Haa, so it’s basically a sex club?” Beatrice asked.

“Club?” Ember raised an eyebrow. “It has nothing to do with weapons.”

“No, no, I meant as an organization for sexual activities ... It’s a term we used in our world, ah never mind.”

“Ah, how foolish of me!” Ember exclaimed. “Of course, you would also have such guilds in your world!”

“Yes, well, they are illegal in many places,” Beatrice said. “More importantly—how did the royal princess end up wrapped up with such a guild?”

“As the princess said, there are very few people that aren’t,” Ember said calmly. “Without a doubt that guild’s buildings are the most popular in the entire capital.”

“Buildings?”

“The guild rapidly expanded and took over the surrounding area. Now it is an entire district with its own tavern, shop, lodgings.”

“Nobody has anything better to do?”

“Exactly! The Kingdom of Larpsus is in ruin. This is one of the last cities in the entire kingdom that is still deemed completely safe from the monsters and demons from beyond. It also has become completely isolated. Which is one of the reasons everyone must have a citizen’s badge on them. The guards are always on the lookout for any potential infiltrators or refugees that might try to sneak in during supply deliveries.

Food is more often stale than not. Morale is low. Even in better times, people were looking for distractions in this overcrowded city. That’s how the S.E.C.R.E.T. guild formed originally. And although the guild has never been recognized officially—that would require a royal degree—restrictions have been lifted and laws softened over time.

Public nudity, masturbation, consensual sexual activities are not only legal, they are all but encouraged. As long as nobody involved is under the age of eighteen, anyone can have sex with anyone anywhere. With a few exceptions. And the S.E.C.R.E.T. guild provides a handy service in this regard. Anyone who is registered in the guild and has a rank within it is guaranteed to be eighteen years old or older.”

“By being a member of this guild, you’re basically signaling you’re up for guilt-free sex,” Beatrice concluded.

“Exactly! It lets both parties skip formalities and lets you know how skilled your potential partner is. Needless to say, the ranking is more forgiving for women, but in this city, nobody is left without plenty of sex.”

As they walked, Beatrice looked at her bodyguard, paused, and finally asked, “Are you a part of this guild?”

“I am,” Ember said and got out a badge that was different from Beatrice’s citizen badge. Ember’s badge was metal, small enough to easily fit in the palm of the girl’s hand. It had the shape of an eggplant and even had leaves engraved on one end. In the middle, a prominent letter “C” was engraved with two signatures below it.

Beatrice looked at the S.E.C.R.E.T. guild’s member badge that her bodyguard showed her with a tinge of sadness. Rank “C”, huh? Beatrice thought. I wonder if the ranking is similar to my skill rankings.

“What’s the lowest rank in that guild?” the succubus asked.

“F-rank,” the redhead answered and put away her badge back into her robes.

“H-how—” Beatrice stopped her own question. She was about to ask “How long have you been a part of this guild?”, but got a feeling that she might not want to know the answer. Instead, the succubus recovered with a different question. “How does the S.E.C.R.E.T. guild determine the ranks of its members?”

“Part of it is peer review,” Ember answered as she and Beatrice proceeded forward. “But the final decision is always with the guild’s Inspectors.”

“‘Inspectors’? No doubt that’s a dream job for many around here,” Beatrice smiled.

“Wait!” Ember said suddenly and stopped. She extended her arm in front of Beatrice and the succubus walked straight into it, boobs-first. Beatrice almost let out a moan from how her nipple pressed through the thin cloth of her bra into Ember’s open palm.

About fifty feet in front of the two girls five figures appeared one by one out of a connecting tunnel and slowly walked toward them. Three men and two women. They stopped about thirty feet in front of Beatrice and Ember. Standing side by side, the five-man group completely blocked the way forward.

“Ha! I told you she’d be here!” the scrawny guy said. “In your face, Bob!”

“Alright, alright, you don’t have to rub it in, Garry,” the bulky guy with a neckbeard said as he drew his loaded crossbow.

A fight already? Beatrice thought, slightly worried. I had hoped to avoid any combat, at least for now.

Ember stood next to the succubus and carefully observed the newly-arrived group.

“But how can we even be sure that this is that “Savior” chick we’ve been sent for?” The tallest of the two girls in the group exclaimed. She looked like she was in her early twenties. She had long green hair and a fragile frame. Most of her skin was exposed as she wore several pieces of green cloth that roughly formed a very loose idea of what mage’s robes would look like if designed by a pervert. And while none of her private parts were completely exposed, the mage’s outfit left very little to the imagination.

“Are you kidding!? Look at her!” The shortest of the group screamed. She was a girl in a dark-blue ninja outfit with bleached hair tied in a high ponytail and long bangs falling on her face. In contrast to the scantily clad, skinny mage girl, the ninja had almost none of her skin exposed. Even her mouth and nose were covered by a dark-blue cloth mask.

“Do you know of any other women in this entire godforsaken city with a huge dick between their legs!? Or have you finally lost your sight along with all your other senses you fucked away?”

“Hey!” The skinny mage protested with a pout.

“Well said, Olivia,” The tallest of the group said with a nasty smirk. He was in his early thirties, and was good-looking, with a square jaw. But his entire demeanor emanated a malevolent intent of somebody you did not want to meet alone in the dark. He wore nothing but black pants and an open vest, revealing his shredded abs. “For once, luck is on our side!”

“Oh, I knew you could do it, Sebastian!” the mage instantly changed her demeanor from a pouty girl to an overly supportive lover. Although the mage was nearly two heads taller than the ninja, Sebastian towered over her. She wrapped her skinny arms around Sebastian’s giant biceps and kissed it. Then she looked up lovingly at the man who did not even bother looking back and cheerfully said, “This will finally restore your relations with young Julius!”

“Hey, stupid! You’re not supposed to reveal the name of our boss!” the ninja girl screamed at her female companion.

“What does it matter, Olivia?” The girl pouted. “They’re as good as dead anyway!”

“The slut is right,” Sebastian said. “Their luck ran out when they ran into me.”

“Oh, come on, Sabby! You know I like it when you call my name!” the mage pouted again. “Ta-bi-tha. Remember? Now, how about I tell them who exactly wants to kill them and why? I found it quite funny and I think—”

“Think?” Sebastian interrupted Tabitha and snorted. “I do not keep you around to think! I’m amazed your cum-addled brain can still form coherent sentences!”

Garry and Bob laughed, while Olivia kept her eyes on Ember and Beatrice. Tabitha did not react in any way to Sebastian’s remark or her teammates’ laughter, though for just a split-second Beatrice noticed the mage’s eyes glaze over.

“But damn, she’s a looker!” Bob pointed out. “Do we really have to kill her? Like right away? Can’t we have a little fun first?”

“Seriously? Again with that crap? You’ve been in the S.E.C.R.E.T. District for the past week! Haven’t you had enough?” Olivia seemed repulsed.

“Nah, Bob is right on this one,” Sebastian said and scratched his abs. “She’s a ten out of ten!”

“Hey!” Tabitha pouted again.

“That’s just how it is,” Sebastian said coldly. “That doesn’t mean I plan to keep her though! As long as we bring her head to Julius, nobody can blame us for having some fun.”

“Hey, if her dick works, maybe have her fuck her friend?” Bob suggested. “We could take turns taking her from behind while she does it!”

“Nice idea! I like it,” Sebastian said and smirked again.

Nope! I am not getting done in by these rejects! Beatrice decided. But I really don’t want to fight either. That would mean investing in my Combat or Mischief skills. And I don’t even know how high-leveled these guys are. If this is a standard wish-fulfillment setting, I should be able to mop the floor with these losers and brush their teeth with my cock! But I better play it safe, for now.

Beatrice threw a glance at her bodyguard who’d been standing beside her all this time and calmly listening to the exchange of the five-man group. She’s calm and focused—that’s a good sign, Beatrice thought. So far bluffing hasn’t failed me, so no reason to stop now!

Beatrice raised her chin a little, straightened her shoulders, puffed out her impressive, barely concealed breasts, and asked in a confident, slightly dismissive tone, “Who the hell even are you? Some wannabe mercenaries?”

“We’re not just any wannabe mercenaries!” Tabitha shouted and took a step forward. “We’re Golden Daggers! And Sebastian is the greatest mercenary in the entire kingdom! And his cock is the girthiest of them all! He’s just been slightly unlucky lately with lousy jobs, that’s all!”

The ninja girl audibly groaned as her eyes rolled back into her skull.

“You really have no idea who you’re messing with, do you?” Beatrice asked. “Honestly, you’re beneath me! I might as well let my friend toy with you and not bother dirtying my own hands.”

The succubus took a couple of steps back, past Ember. As she walked past Ember, Beatrice whispered, “You’ve got this, right?”

Ember simply nodded and took a step forward.

“Why don’t you surrender peacefully?” Bob asked and aimed his crossbow at Ember. “I have lots of ideas about what to do with you and very few of them involve impalement by an arrow.”

“Sure, let me think about it,” Ember said sarcastically as she raised her hand.

“Bob—” was the only thing the ninja girl had time to say before Bob fired from his crossbow, aiming at Ember’s stomach.

“[Unholy Roasting]!” Ember shouted the name of her spell and a dark flame flew from her hand directly at Bob, intercepting his arrow. The arrow disappeared in the flames, disintegrating from existence.

“Uwaaah!!” Bob scream and tried to dodge the firebolt, but he was too slow. The flames engulfed him completely.

“Aaaaaaahhhh!! UuAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaa!!!” The man screamed in agony running back and forth while the tunnels filled with the stench of burnt meat, leather, and hair. Within a couple of seconds, Bob collapsed to the ground and burned silently as the flames slowly subsided.

“You bitch!!” the scrawny guy, Garry, screamed and ran at Ember while throwing knives at her.

“[Curtains of Hell]!” Ember shouted and a wall of flame rose in front of her. Five feet wide, seven feet high, reaching all the way to the ceiling. The knives entered the flames, but did not go out, burnt to a crisp.

“What are you standing there for you useless whore?” Sebastian shouted at Tabitha and got out his greatsword.

“I-I’m sorry,” the green-haired mage whimpered. “I’m still weak from ... this morning.”

“Useless slut!” Sebastian cursed and ran at Beatrice, aiming to run past the firewall together with Garry.

Beatrice took a couple more steps back as the flame wall in front of her bodyguard dissipated. Come on, don’t make me fight! Beatrice thought and glanced at Ember. If they get any closer I’ll have to active my [Sharp Claws] and use [Daze] on one of them.

“[Curtain Fall]!” Ember shouted.

The same wall of fire that appeared in front of her now fell from the tunnel ceiling right on top of Sebastian and Garry.

“Guh!” Sebastian tumbled and dodged the flames at the last second. He ended up against the tunnel wall and nearly lost his sword.

“AAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaa!” A scream once again filled the tunnels.

As Sebastian rose to his feet he looked at Garry and saw the scrawny man fall to his knees as most of his clothes burned away.

The poor man let out the most gut-wrenching screams of pain as he touched the molten flesh on his face with his charred hands. He only had a single charred pinky and both thumbs remaining, cracked and burned like campfire wood that was about to crumble.

His fingers stuck to the molten flesh of his cheeks that were blue, black, pink, and white, burned all the way through the muscle. His nose was gone completely, revealing the openings in his skull. Both his cheeks were black and white as his eyes poured down his face, leaving blackened, soul-chilling openings.

What ... the... Beatrice was left speechless by the power her slender, unassuming bodyguard could unleash.

Suddenly, the ninja girl appeared behind Ember, having dashed through the carnage. Without a moment of hesitation, Olivia thrust her kunai through Ember’s robes, just above the waist. She sunk the blade through the cloth and deep into Ember’s flesh, all the way up to the hilt, before turning it to open up the wound.

“Guh!” Ember let the air out of her lungs and arched her back with and looked back with wide eyes, astonished by the ninja’s sudden attack. The next second her entire body burst into flames.