The next morning, Alicetroemeria and I bid Odette goodbye, with promises to visit again, if possible. Odette knew how precarious the state of the multiverse was. She kissed me goodbye and told me that she had faith in me. I was touched and more motivated than ever to insure not just that the world survived, but that it was a world that Odette could be proud of.
"So how are you going to get me to San Ilia?" I asked Alicetroemeria as we walked down the street. "Flight? Teleportation? Hopping? A very large cannon?"
"Flight," Alicetroemeria answered. "But not yet. I don't fly people around for free. You're taking me shopping."
My first thought was to object, but then I realized that anything that helped to humanize Black Alice was a good thing. And I did need to get back on her good side after insulting her the previous night. So I took her shopping until the late afternoon. I bought her tasty things galore, which she loved without exception, no matter how exotic or questionable. She also liked shiny things, and some of those cost me a lot more than I wanted to spend, but it seemed to make her happy. But the highlight of the shopping trip wasn't anything I bought for Alicetroemeria. It was seeing another familiar face.
"Aradia!" I exclaimed as I walked into a feminine clothing store.
"Oh, previous customer?" Aradia asked.
It was unusual seeing Aradia fully dressed. She usually preferred to wear nothing but a hat. I'd exempted her from the dress code in the castle due to her sheer size. We had nothing that could possibly fit her. Her exemption was about to be revoked.
"Aradia, you don't know me, but I've heard all about you," I said, flashing my most charming smile. "I have a friend, just about exactly your size, but finding clothes for her has been…. Well, pretty much impossible. Would you have something?"
"My store specializes in plus size!" Aradia said excitedly. "Now I must warn you, it gets expensive. Fabric ain't cheap, you know…"
"I understand and money Is no object," I said, holding up my still very fat bag of gold. Aradia's eyes grew wide.
"Come right this way, sir, to the back!"
"If you're not out in five minutes I'm coming back there!" Alicetroemeria warned. "I know your type, Aradia!"
"Wife?" Aradia asked as we went into the back room.
"Oh, no, no! Heaven's no!" I said quickly. "Just a companion."
"Well, I don't assault customers, so you have nothing to worry about. Check… this… out."
Aradia started off with an enormous bra with leopard spots. She posed with it over her chest and smiled.
"It's perfect," I said. "I'll take two."
"Wow, big spender! So you say her dimensions are similar to mine? Same race?"
"She could almost be your twin."
That enabled Makai's Aradia to give me several hundred gold pieces worth of clothing in Aradia's size, in a great deal of variety. A lovely dress, a pantsuit, a tank top, and jeans. I decided not to get the bikini, since if Aradia had to be dressed she'd probably just wear the bikini all the time. Our lovely giant was about to be presentable.
Since I'd spent so much on Aradia, that apparently obligated me to spend almost as much on Alicetroemeria, who chose some ultra modern wear, since she already had a large wardrobe of medieval style garb. By the time we walked out of the store, Aliceotrmeria had transformed from ordinary human mage to ordinary human tourist, wearing an Iliasburg T-shirt, a very short pair of shorts, and stylish sunglasses.
"Can we go to San Ilia now?" I asked.
"Yes we can," Alicetroemeria replied sweetly. "You carry all the bags."
I was already carrying all the bags, but I guess that was fine since Alicetroemeria had to carry me.
If not for the fact that I had Sylph to keep me safe should I fall, the flight would have been terrifying. Alicetroemeria used magical flight, and she liked speed. She wasn't very steady, which meant a lot of dips and tumbles and turbulence. But we made it to San Ilia in one piece by late afternoon.
San Ilia was not at all as I had expected. There seemed to be no respect shown to the traditions of the Ilias followers as there had been in Ilias Village. It also wasn't very modern like Iliasburg. In fact, San Ilia was seedy in a way that reminded me of an Earth slum. The buildings were all run down, and the famous cathedral that dominated the skyline featured a statue of a naked succubus where the steeple used to be. The crosses on the cathedral were turned upside down.
"I love what they've done with the place," Alicetroemeria chortled. "It's a vast improvement. They should do the same thing in Ilias Village. I wonder why they didn't?"
"I wonder that myself," I murmered, turning away from the cathedral and staring at the old homes that didn't look as if they'd been updated in hundreds of years. "What about the culture here is so different than in Ilias Village or Iliasburg?"
"In all seriousness, Luka," Alicetroemeria said. "I don't actually like it that much. It's obvious there won't be any good shopping or food here."
"Yeah, I think that's a pretty solid bet," I agreed.
We explored the city streets of what was once the holiest city of the Ilias faith. Like a slum, it was densely populated. The first thing I noticed was the presence of succubi. But these succubi were far from the beautiful, dangerous looking succubi I was used to. Half of them seemed to be smoking cigarettes outside. Many of them were overweight, some obese. I guess that made sense, given that Makai was a monster's playground and succubi could be voracious feeders when unrestrained. There were human males in abundance as well, most of them looking healthier than the succubi, but also looking as if they didn't own a decent pair of clothes. Human women were nowhere to be seen. I was beginning to put two and two together. San Ilia had become Succubus Village. Except instead of a small, tight village where everyone knew each other and there was a lot of concern for one another, this was a succubus city, with all the downsides to a big city. It added up to nihilism. The succubi were obviously just gorging themselves, and when not gorging themselves, probably seeking other pleasures. The men didn't have enough energy to work. I wondered how the men were fed, given that no one seemed to be doing anything but lounging around.
"So everyplace is like Succubus Village around here," I observed. "Except ironically, an actual succubus city, which has none of the charms of Succubus Village and all of the drawbacks of a big city."
"This is disgraceful," Alicetroemeria said, shaking her head.
"Wow, if even you think this is disgraceful…"
"Don't get me wrong, I like to see succubi living their best lives," Alicetroemeria clarified. "But this isn't their best lives. Everyone looks like hell. Succubi are supposed to be beautiful, with hard, tight bodies, ready to summon the wind and catch any man who tries to escape their grasp! Most of these girls don't look like they could catch a cold. And what is that nasty smell? Is that tobacco?"
"Among other things," I muttered, seeing a couple of succubi sharing a long drag on some kind of handmade pipe. I was glad I didn't have Alicetroemeria's sensitive nose. "I wonder why they aren't trying to get me to let them feed? I wonder why I'm not seeing any feeding at all?"
"I have a pretty good idea," Alicetroemeria said. "If there's one race of monsters I know well, it's succubi. They're waiting for something. What we're seeing here, all these drugs and just hanging out…. They're probably waiting for nightfall to go nuts."
"What, like the Purple Sabbath?"
"I don't know…. But I bet we can find out if we go over to the cathedral."
I looked to where Alicetroemeria was pointing. I'd only seen the top of the cathedral upon entering the city, but closer to the center I was able to see the ground level. There seemed to be some sort of gathering going on.
"Let's chec k it out," I suggested.
"Yeah, I'm interested in finding out what's going on here too," Alicetroemeria agreed.
The gathering appeared to consist of thousands of people in the square in front of the old cathedral. On any other world, this would be where the Pope would lead mass. The crowd seemed to be about half male and half succubi. I was relieved to see that the people I'd seen in the slum areas weren't completely representative of the residents. There were some true knockouts among the succubi, although still a lot that appeared fat, strung out, drunk, or all three. The males were of a similar variety. Some healthy looking ones and some that looked like they'd been drained to near the point of death many more times than the Surgeon General would advice, if this world had a Surgeon General to give advice.
The ratio of males to succubi increased in favor of the males as several buses pulled up. Ah, so they did invent the combustion engine on Makai! But for whatever reason, there weren't personal vehicles yet, only mass transportation. Males of very high quality exited the buses to join the gathering in the square. The succubi cooed and ogled the handsome, healthy, and young meat. I felt embarrassed myself for judging the men as if they were livestock.
"Oh, I know what's gonna happen next," Alicetroemeria said with absolute certainty.
"Maybe I shouldn't be here," I said.
If I'd been traveling with Alice, she'd agree wholeheartedly and probably whisk me out of there. Alicetroemeria was not Alice.
"Odette said that you'd need to see this to make a judgment on whether Makai was worth supporting," Alicetroemeria reminded me.
"Observe yes," I argued. "Participate, no."
"Particpation is the best observation! Don't worry, I'll keep them from going too far. You're my ride home, after all."
"I'm surprised you don't want to stay here," I said. "I would think a world like this would be paradise for you."
"Yeah, if I want to be a nobody. I'm not even trying to pretend I'm human and no one even notices me."
A succubus walked up to me and stuck me with a needle as if she was Promestein or something.
"Hey! Don't go sticking people without asking!" I yelled.
"Lighten up!" she said in a voice that was ravaged by years of smoking. "It's just to make it feel even better when the feast starts."
"Does it really need to feel better?" I asked. We were talking about succubi here.
"No one's got time to be sucking your dick for like…. Two minutes just to get one load," she huffed. "This is a feast, not work or something stupid like that."
"Mmmh mmmh mmmh," Alicetroemeria mumbled, shaking her head disapprovingly. "This is what happens when succubi have it too easy. I always wanted them to have a place where they could treat men like livestock and feed as much as they wanted, but if the men are being fed on all the time, that means the girls have to do the labor."
That was definitely true. Back on my world, Succubus Village pampered their men, who worked only a few hours a week while the succubi put in the bulk of the labor, growing food for the men to keep them nice and healthy and delicious. The mayor ran a tight ship, controlling the more negative impulses of her people. Men were not drained dry and thrown away like a discarded can. Succubi were required to earn their right to feed. If a succubus didn't want to work, she didn't eat. Makai's version of San Ilia was… not that.
My head started to feel a little foggy. Must be the effect of whatever I'd been injected with. Alicetroemeria, with an amused look on her face, caressed my arm with her fingertips. I nearly fell down. I moaned at how good it felt.
"You owe me big for this one," she laughed. "I could be feasting myself but instead I'm going to be staying close to you to keep you safe. At least I can be amused by the look on your face when they make you come over and over."
"Do you think they take liberties?" I asked, slurring my words.
"Control requires sobriety."
Great. I was beginning to feel weaker as well. I had at least been hoping to choose who got to touch me. I'd been eyeing a plump but not too overweight blonde hottie with great curves and blue eyes you could lose yourself in. She'd been eyeing me as well. But it didn't look like I was going to get any choice in partners.
The crowd began to stir. Something was happening at the entrance of the cathedral. Even with my vision blurry I could not have mistaken the form of the woman coming out: Minagi. Her lighter hair was a little different than the Minagi I knew, but the face and the body were identical.
Males began surging forward as Minagi walked up to a podium. I was jostled and nearly fell down in the rush. Alicetroemeria saved me for the first time that night by holding me up so that I wouldn't get trampled.
"Ah, hello there, guys!" Minagi shrieked, giggling as the men crowded to the front. "Don't push, now! You know I don't discriminate! Ugly, handsome, young, old, small penises, huge penises..… I love you all! Getting to the very front won't make me any more likely to pick you!"
The men calmed down and the rush subsided. Night had fallen and the skies were clear, giving an excellent view of the stars and a half moon.
"So are we ready for the feast, tonight, guys?!" Minagi yelled enthusiastically. The crowd, male and monster alike, cheered that they were indeed ready.
"Well I won't keep you long," Minagi said. "I just have an announcement, and the traditional picking of the first mannnn….."
The men up front cheered at that last one.
"And then you can enjoy your meals," Minagi continued. "So for my announcement, rumor has it…. It's not confirmed now, just a rumor…. That we have an off world visitor here. Now I know most of you don't know what that means, but let's just say you aren't going to want to be too hasty in throwing the ugly ones back today. This guy doesn't look like much, but he's got the strongest, most flavorful semen you've ever tasted. Now I don't know this for sure, I've only heard! But if you find him, you'll thank me later, right girls?!"
A cheer went up from the succubi. The beautiful blonde looked at me and smiled broadly. Maybe I was getting some of that tonight. Given how my head felt, I wondered if I'd even remember any of it. Another homely looking young man with glasses standing next to me was being eyed appraisingly by several succubi. He could barely contain his excitement.
"I guess it was too much to hope that you'd be able to observe this place without them knowing," Alicetroemeria said to me.
"At least she didn't ask for my head to be brought to her," I said.
"Now, I know you're all hungry, and you men are oh so horny," Minagi said, doing a sultry little dance as she said the horny part. "So let's get straight to the selection of the first man. Hmmmm…. Who should be the lucky guy today?"
Minagi moved in front of the podium, her naked body in full view. If the male reaction was subdued, it was only because many of the men were stunned at the very sight of her. Minagi bent down slightly and began looking over the crowd that had gathered near the front, a cute smile on her face.
"Hmmm…. You're handsome. Oh, you're a cutie! Aw, you look lonesome! Ah, I know who… You! No, not you. You! Yes, you! The middle aged guy with the mustache. Come on up!"
"Pete! Pete! Pete! Pete!" the crowd up front chanted. Apparently many people knew this guy. He climbed up to the stage, turned to the audience and threw his hands up in the air in triumph. Minagi laughed and beamed at the spectacle.
"Now Pete, here, I didn't choose him randomly," Minagi said. "Pete is one of the hardest workers here and he gets no appreciation, do you Pete?"
Minagi said this while grasping his chin and squeezing as if he was a puppy.
"Even though Pete was in pretty deep critical ecstasy the night before, he helped with the rebuilding of the Platinum Pussy after that unfortunate incident. His co-workers reported that even though he was tired and hurt all over by the end of the day, he went above and beyond to contribute to getting us our favorite nightclub back!"
"You earned this, Petey!" a voice shouted up front.
"But my cute, hard working Petey, why are you still in your work clothes?" Minagi asked.
Minagi put her hand on his shirt and with one motion ripped his entire outfit off, leaving him stark naked. Pete raised his fists in the air again, to wild cheers from the crowd.
"So Petey, are you ready?" Minagi asked. "Do you think you're ready to taste pleasure finer than any you've ever tasted? Do you think you can handle all of… this?"
Minagi gestured to her body. Pete shook his head and mouthed, "No way." There was no sign of fear on his face, though. His smile was genuine and he clearly couldn't wait to get started.
Minagi grabbed Pete and locked lips with him. Pete went limp immediately, semen spurting out of him even though Minagi hadn't even touched his penis. The kiss alone had done it. Minagi gently set Pete down on the stage and straddled him. She turned to the crowd.
"Bon appétit, ladies!" Minagi said, and began riding Pete, whose arms and head were thrashing about.
"Is he gonna be okay?" I asked Alicetroemeria.
"If she wants him to be, I'd imagine so," she shrugged. "he seemed to at least have an idea of what he was in for and she wanted to reward him. It wouldn't be seemly to kill him under those circumst- Hey!"
I felt myself being dragged away from the square, two sets of arms lifting me into the air and flying off with me. Was one of them my blonde friend? To my shattering disappointment, no. The two succubi that had me looked like crackheads.
They set down, none to gently, in an alleyway and without even a 'how do you do, my name is-', started right in on me. A dark haired, rail thin succubus went down on me while her equally emaciated brown haired friend began her rubbing crotch against my chest. She briefly stopped to light some kind of cigarette, took a long drag and offered it to me.
"No, no," I said, shaking my head. Between the first succubus' expert oral skills and the drug that was already in my system, it was getting difficult to think or talk.
"Take a hit," she insisted. "It'll make you feel even better."
"Don' want it! Don' need to feel better!"
"Ooh, someone's a grumpy pants tonight!" she responded, bending down and blowing smoke into my face. The smell was horrid. And it definitely wasn't tobacco or marijuana. I began coughing uncontrollably. At the same time, I was coming into the raven-haird girl's mouth.
"Does it taste good, Megan?" the one straddling me asked. "Is this our off worlder?"
"I dunno," Megan replied. "Can't taste much right now. I think I had too much of the Scuz."
Megan's partner laughed and took another hit, and then handed the evil smelling drug to Megan. She mounted me cowgirl style and went at me hard.
The smoke blown into my face seemed to be adding to the effects of the first drug I'd been injected with. I was beginning to see double. Or maybe there were actually four succubi attacking me. The enhanced sensations caused me to come quickly and frequently as countless girls took turns alternatively riding, sucking, and tail draining me. At least a couple even did anal on me, although I couldn't be sure since it was hard to see.
As the night went on, I became convinced that all of the succubi were taking quick hits off of me as if I was one of their drugs, getting a shot of semen and then moving on to a different target. The women started to get more and more lovely as the night went on, although I couldn't remember specific details about any of them. Were they actually getting prettier, or was that the drugs in my system fooling me? I did distinctly remember the pretty blonde I'd seen in the crowd taking some time to give me extra special attention, but I'll be damned if I can remember what she did to me. I wasn't even sure after a certain point if I was awake or dreaming. I couldn't remember the specific moment when I passed out, or when reality had turned into dreams. I only knew that I was being continuously fed on, and then I awakened in that same alley. I'd apparently continued to dream that I was getting attacked even after falling asleep.
It was daylight and the sun was bright on my face. Alicetroemeria was leaning against a wall in the alley. Seeing that I was awake, she sauntered over.
"I'll say one thing for succubi, they know how to throw a party," Alicetroemeria chuckled.
"Did you eat last night?" I asked, wondering why I was asking. For some reason that was the first thought that popped into my head.
"Yeah, a lot. All from you."
"Wow," I breathed. "I don't even remember you doing me last night."
"I didn't. You were asleep, but you were practically a cum fountain. Apparently one of the drugs they gave you gave you some hot dreams. I saw other guys ejaculating in their sleep as well. Pretty ingenious, actually. Succubi knock their prey out quickly, so if they continue to ejaculate even while unconscious it means they get to eat more."
"How many times did I ejaculate?" I asked.
"Counting awake and asleep? I don't know. Forty, fifty? Awake it was about twenty times."
"Damn. Odette's pre-draining me did nothing."
"Well, you're drained now," Alicetroemeria said. "Not an ounce of semen in you. So what's the verdict?"
"Verdict?"
"Odette said you should see this before deciding whether to side with Makai or not. So what did you think of all this?"
"My first thought," I answered. "Is that I never thought I'd miss the wholesome, family friendly orgies of Succubus Village."
"They really should have more pride," Alicetroemeria said disapprovingly.
"I guess this is fine. Everyone's doing what they want. It doesn't look like anyone was forced into being here."
"You might want to rethink that when you see what's outside this alley."
"Oh?"
I sat up, surprised that it was actually pretty easy to do so. I'd never been drunk or high before, but I'd heard that hangovers were an after effect. But my head felt clear and my body didn't hurt or feel weak anymore. Seeing that it was safe to just get up, I did. A succubus was sleeping the previous night off among some garbage cans, flies buzzing all around her. Yeah, Succubus Village definitely did this with more class. I'd never look askance at their relatively tamer feasts again.
I exited the alley, Alicetroemeria following. People, succubi and human alike, were laying in the street, sometimes still intertwined. The men, obviously knocked cold due to critical ecstasy, the succubi probably from the drugs, although some succubi might have inflicted critical ecstasy on their fellow monsters just for fun.
As I checked the fallen people, however, I realized that not all were merely sleeping last night's party off. One man was dead. The succubus with him was also dead. She'd choked on her own vomit, her head lying in a pool of it.
"I already checked around," Alicetroemeria said. "A few dozen men dead of critical ecstasy. Some you'll know it before you even check them. Turned into dried fish because the succubus pleasuring them was so high she didn't even notice she was killing him and kept on going even after he was dead. Some of the girls didn't survive the night either. They smoked too much of that Scuz or whatever. That one there had been drinking too much. Between the alcohol and the Scuz she couldn't even wake up when she started throwing up."
"This is so unnecessary," I said angrily. "So wasteful! Why does Minagi let this happen?!"
"My guess is that she believes people are free to make their own choices," Alicetroemeria shrugged. "I believe in a little more order than this. You're right. It is wasteful. I could understand if some of them wanted to eat their prey, but not one succubus ate anyone as far as I can tell. All of these killings are probably accidental."
"I'm going to go talk to Minagi," I said.
"Luka…." Alicetroemeria said, a warning tone in her voice. "This is not your world. Weren't you listening to Saja?"
"I'm not… I'm not judging what's done here! If they want to have the world's biggest orgies and get high or whatever, that's their business. But obviously they can't handle doing both at the same time, so someone should impose some very easy to follow rules here! Like no Scuz for starters!"
"They don't seem too big on rules here," Alicetroemeria noted, stating the obvious.
"I at least want to talk to Minagi. If this happens every day…."
I started heading towards the cathedral. I was going to talk to the manager!
"Luka, where are you going? Luka!"
Alicetroemeria followed helplessly behind me. "Luka!" she yelled. "I am not going to fight an Ancestor for you! If you get yourself killed, how the hell do I get home?!"
"I'm just going to talk to her," I said, still marching towards the cathedral. "They don't want to kill me, they want to recruit me. Well, if that's so, then I would think that a few reasonable safetly regulations for the goddamned orgies wouldn't be too much to ask for!"
"It probably won't do any good, but I'm going to use my most sophisticated invisibility spell. Do NOT piss me off by dying here!"
I stomped into the cathedral, past a bronze sculpture of a succubus fellating a giant pig. I was glad Ilias wasn't with me. She would have spontaneously given birth to a litter of kittens and probably a golden calf as well.
I knew exactly where I'd find Minagi. She must have taken a special kind of joy in desecrating this formerly holy place. She would sit on the throne, where the King of San Ilia once sat. Or the Pope. Whatever they had called him here before the war that all but ended the Ilias faith.
There were no guards. I passed a couple of pretty succubi, but they neither challenged me nor even acknowledged me. Emptied of semen, I was of no interest to them. And no man walking around the cathedral could possibly be a threat to Minagi. Alicetroemeria was undetectable to me, but I knew she would be close. She'd want to see this, both to satisfy her curiousity and to see if she'd have to find another way home.
Minagi was right where I expected her to be, sitting on the throne. A mural behind her depicted Ilias being slain, raped to death by a multitude of succubi. History, or propaganda?
"So is that how Ilias really met her end?" I asked loudly.
"Wh-Wha! Ahh!" Minagi jerked in the throne and stared at me, uncomprehendingly. Had she been asleep?!
"Looks like you had a late night," I observed wryly.
"Yeah, it was pretty badass," Minagi yawned. "Petey had more endurance and energy than I expected."
I saw Pete in a corner, snoring loudly. That was a relief. Minagi at least had demonstrated a little restraint.
"So is that really how Ilias died?" I asked, pointing at the mural.
Minagi seemed confused. She turned around and stared at the mural for a moment.
"Oh, that? More or less, yeah," Minagi said. "The war went on a long time and it couldn't reach a definitive end, since Ilias and Alipheese couldn't confront each other directly. The world was at risk of total destruction. By the way, who are you, again?"
"I'm Luka. You might have heard of me."
"Luka…. No, I can't say I kn- oh wait, Worldbreaker, right?" Minagi clapped her hands in delight. "I'd been told by Saja that you were on your way but I didn't know if you'd arrived yet. Did you participate in the feast last night?"
"I did," I said. "That's what I'm here to talk to you about."
"We can get to that, but first let me finish telling you how we killed Ilias. It's an awesome story! I claim full credit! So Ilias didn't give a shit if she destroyed the whole world, as long as she destroyed us monsters too. She offered us some seal spell that would remove us from the world or something, in esxchange for what I don't remember. Alipheese knows the full details, I don't. The Dark God had other ideas. She had me take a squad of my best succubi and I cast a spell enabling Ilias to feel pleasure as a human does. She went down like THAT! It was over in seconds! Once she was helpless Tamamo and Saja came in with another spell that destroyed holy energy. I don't know why we didn't think of it sooner. I guess we'd always assumed Ilias meant the bullshit she was preaching and wouldn't succumb so easily to temptation. Or maybe we hated her so much the idea of making her die feeling good never crossed our minds. So then we repeated that spell on all the angels. The war was over in days."
As they say, people don't change much from world to world. For all her power, she'd fallen as easily as any mere mortal.
"So have you heard how they beat Alipheese on the Angel World?" Minagi asked.
"Um, no, I haven't heard yet."
"So how did you like the feast? I can't smell any semen in you, so you must have had a great time," Minagi said. "You know, since you're just visiting, you could have come to see me and I would have chosen you."
"I've already had the pleasure with your counterparts a few times," I said evenly.
"Oh, you devil you!" Minagi chortled. "So how long will you be staying? I can still choose you for tomorrow's feast. I can cast a spell to speed up your semen production so you're nice and ready for me by nightfall."
"I think I've seen enough of the feasting, thank you. It's the bodies in the street that I want to talk to you about."
"I know! Some party, huh? Usually the body count isn't that high, but we had a lot more noobs than usual among the men."
"It's not necessary for anyone to die at these things, Minagi," I argued. "You run this place, right? You can do something about it."
"I suppose I could," Minagi mused. "But why? Every single man volunteered to participate. They all knew the risks. So what's the problem?"
"Under your misrule, not only are men dying, but succubi too! Many of them overdosed on whatever that Scuz is!"
"Yeah, that's a nasty drug," Minagi agreed. "But last I checked, they are all free people, succubi and male alike. The Scuz is only really used by the girls. Humans can't handle it, it's too strong."
"One of them tried to get me to smoke it."
"Oooh, glad you said no. You might have been killed."
"Why is that stuff even legal?!" I asked.
"Why would it be illegal?" Minagi retorted. "We didn't fight for freedom from Ilias to tell everyone what they can and can't do. We're not a completely rule-free society. There's no tail swallowing at the feasts. But accidents can happen. It's still pretty safe though. BARB!!!! What was the turnout last night?!"
A pretty, short olive skinned succubus entered the throne room from the room I knew to be for the Pope's chief of staff.
"We had 1298 males and 624 succubi, plus one monster that was impossible to classify. Of the males, sixty-two died and about two hundred will need a few days off of work. We also lost fourteen succubi."
"See?" Minagi asked. "Only a small fraction of men died. That's about five percent, right, Barb? Math isn't my strong suit."
"About five percent, yes, Minagi."
"So 95% of the males survived! That's not so bad!"
"But you do it every night, don't you?!" I protested.
"The death rate isn't usually that high," Minagi replied. "What's our normal average, Barb?"
"It was a pretty bad night," Barb agreed. "Normally we get a dozen, maybe two dozen fatalities among the men."
"But it's the weakest ones," Minagi added. "Pete here has been part of the feast for fifteen years, haven't you Pete?"
Pete just continued to snore.
"Add Pete to the list of people who will need a few days off, Barb," Minagi instructed.
"I already took the liberty of doing so, Minagi," Barb said proudly. "The man you choose usually needs time off."
"I'd be insulted if they didn't," Minagi said. Minagi and Barb shared a laugh at that.
"This is not acceptable!" I said in righteous indignation. "A dozen people dead every day!? At least?! Back on my world, they have these feasts on a smaller scale and no one has ever died!"
"There's two thinigs in your statement I want to focus on," Minagi said. "For starters, smaller scale. I can't control what nearly two thousand people are doing. Secondly, YOUR world. This isn't your world. Don't dictate to me how to run my province. Not even the Dark God does that."
"There's a way to make it safe for everyone and it's your responsibility to make it safe!" I insisted.
"Oh, my responsibility?!" Minagi asked, descending from the throne. "Who the fuck do you think you are?"
"I'm the Worldbreaker," I said, putting bass in my voice.
Minagi stopped a few inches from me and stared, anger etched into her face. Then she smiled and started cackling hysterically.
"Oh, you are a riot!" she laughed. "But are you seriously willing to risk one or both of us dying in a confrontation over this? Look, I don't know what your abilities are, so you have me at a disadvantage, but I can see that you're carrying some serious, god level magic in you. I can also see that you're an utter imbecile, judging by the battles you pick. So I'm going to deescalate this situation a bit, okay? I've heard you're pretty tight with monsters, so you know our culture, right?"
"I'm pretty tight with monsters, yes."
"So we fight. But safely. No magic, no weapons, no sexual skills, not even elements. Just you and me, hand to hand, fists, feets, and wrestling moves. If you win, I'll do what I can to make the feasts safer for everyone involved. But if you lose…. Then you're mine. You will serve Makai."
"Wait, so a physical fight, me… and you? I just have to beat you that way?"
"That's all you have to do," Minagi said.
I appraised Minagi. She was smaller than me. She was also quite a bit stronger than me. But an Ancestor's primary strength was in their magic, not their physical form. I was one of the best there was at hand to hand combat. But I was also aware that some succubi practiced the combat arts. Was Minagi practiced in such arts? I imagined she had to be, or else she wouldn't have challenged me. I also knew from long experience that even if a succubus wasn't trying to use sexual skills on you, wrestling a naked succubus was never a good idea. Then I had another realization.
"Wait a minute, I'm not some naïve kid anymore!" I said. "Our wager is very uneven. You lose, you just issue a few safety regulations. I lose and I'm your slave!"
"Hey, I had to try," Minagi shrugged. "I'm a temptress by nature. I thought there was a pretty good chance that you wanted to be my slave. So how about this: you lose, and you have to do me a small favor."
"What kind of favor?" I asked suspiciously.
"Oh, don't get all paranoid!" Minagi mockingly scolded me. "For a hero like you, it's right in your wheelhouse. I just need you to solve a little problem that's been bothering Saja and I in Sabasa."
"What kind of problem?"
"A Hiruko problem. I assume if you knew another version of me, you know another version of Hiruko."
Did I ever. Hiruko was a vicious little snot, although that was a weird way to describe someone who was thousands of years old. While I counted half of the Ancestors as friends, the other half, consisting of Hiruko, Kanade, and Kanon, had never warmed up to me.
"All right," I said. "Provided I can handle it in my own way."
"Hey, if there's one thing you should have gotten from this conversation it's that I don't micromanage people!"
"Fair enough. Then in that case, I accept your wager, and we can begin whenever."
"Now's a good time," Minagi said.
I was worried about having to wrestle a nude Minagi, but to my relief she clothed herself, summoning a tight-fitting combat outfit similar to what a female MMA fighter back on Earth might wear. It looked good on her. I imagined everything looked good on Minagi. But at least it meant I could grab something other than bare skin.
Minagi took on a fighting stance and gestured for me to make the first move. Being a better grappler than a puncher, I went for a double leg takedown. She easily moved out of the way. Even without using wind power she was pretty quick.
Minagi circled me on the balls of her feet, hands in a defensive position. I advanced aggressively, throwing light slaps to try to get her to do something with her arms that would enable me to grab a hold of some sort. The slaps weren't meant to actually hit or do damage so much as entice her to give me an opening. Minagi was disciplined, however. She used minimal movement to deflect my half hearted slaps, leaving no opening. I apparently left her one, though, and she took advantage in an instant jabbing me hard in the nose. Yee-owch!
"C'mon, hero, enough foreplay!" Minagi teased. "Show me the good stuff!"
I began chasing her, in a much slower version of the dance Alma Elma and I used to do with our wind powers. Minagi skillfully retreated, landing more jabs and a couple of kicks to my legs for good measure.
"I don't tire, but I bet you do!" Minagi said, after I'd stopped to catch my breath. "Even with no magic, you're still a human and I'm still a monster."
Time to get tricky, I thought. I tried the same strategy again, knowing it would fail. I took a few more kicks to my legs and a solid left hook to my cheek. Minagi gloated as I put my hands on my knees and breathed hard.
"You're still in critical ecstasy," Minagi observed. "Bad time to pick a fight, hero."
MInagi leaped into the air, spun, and aimed a spectacular flying kick(literally, since her wings assisted), at my head. That was the opening I was looking for. I'd pretended I was more out of breath than I actually was to see if she would get adventurous. I caught her leg in mid air and executed an ankle lock before she even hit the ground. Agile even for a succubus, she turned quickly and kicked at me with her free leg. I lost the hold, but pounced back onto her to keep her from getting to her feet.
"If you wanted to be all over me, all you had to do was ask," Minagi joked as we grappled for position on the ground.
A headbutt from her back caused my nose to start bleeding. She was also delivering rabbit punches to my sides and assaulting my legs with her heels. But I knew that once I had her on the ground, I'd beat her, it was just a matter of grabbing one of those flailing limbs. In the end, it was her left arm. I was able to put it into a key lock. Minagi went to her stomach to try to escape it. As agile as she was, it was the wrong move. She probably hadn't seen a hold like that before. There was no getting out of it now.
Well, there was one way. The next thing I knew, we were both naked and my penis was twitching in a dry orgasm provoked by contact with her backside. My partial critical ecstasy became severe. I couldn't have held down a small child. Minagi sprang to her feet and jumped around, raising her hands in the air.
"Victory!" she exulted. "Still unbeaten!"
"Y-you cheated!" I said weakly. "You said no sexual powers!"
"That wasn't a sexual power," she laughed. "All I did was make our clothes disappear."
"That still falls under magic use," Saja said, appearing out of nowhere in the San Ilia throne room.
"I know!" Minagi pouted. "I guess it's my loss."
So like Alma Elma, I thought.
"I see that you are still acting in inadvisable ways during your visit here, Luka," Saja observed mildly. "What about this did you think was any of your business?"
"You want me to join you," I said, still lying flat on my back. "I don't join people who let other people die unnecessarily."
"Well since you won, hero, you get your wish," Minagi said. "Barb!!!!"
Barb came out of the chief of staff's office at Minagi's summons. "Yes, Minagi?"
"Please get signs made and posted everywhere, no drug use of any sort during the feast, Also, have my personal security remove any succubus who seems obviously out of it."
"Is this just for tonight, or an ongoing thing?" Barb asked.
"Tonight and forever," Minagi said. "If anyone asks, tell them that the offworld human defeated me in combat and I had to do what he said."
"The human-! Yes, Minagi, of course."
Barb left to go carry out Minagi's orders. Minagi turned back to me. "The drug use is the main cause of the fatalities. Getting rid of that factor should make things much safer. Wanna hear a secret? I've been wanting to rein that in for awhile. It's just that I'm really popular here, and I kinda like being popular. So I needed the excuse of you defeating me to actually get it done."
"A true paragon of leadership as always," Saja muttered.
"Hey, if you think you can do better, why don't you run a province?!" Minagi shot back.
"My place is at the Dark God's side. As well as handling the big jobs that she needs done. If I had to manage a province, I'd have little time for that."
"Mainly because you'd take the job so seriously!" Minagi pouted. "If this girl was running a province, she'd be working twenty hours a day! You won't see me doing that. I've got Barb for that!"
"While it is good that you've acquired your excuse to crack down on drug use at the feasts," Saja reminded her. "There is still the matter of Hiruko. Now the hero is under no obligation to help us with that troublesome one."
"Good point. Let's talk about that. Where were you planning to go next, Luka?"
"Sabasa, probably," I replied. "There's another friend there."
"The desert is a big place," Saja cautioned. "And we do not know her whereabouts. Do you really have time to go searching for Regina in such a place?"
"Orrrr….." Minagi said playfully. "You could do me that little favor anyway. I'd be verrrry grateful."
"As would I," Saja added.
"Can I say something here?" Alicetroemeria asked, reappearing as well.
"Of course, child," Saja said. "I was wondering when you would drop that silly concealment spell."
"The way you two are talking about Hiruko, it sounds like you want to to sic Luka on her," Alicetroemeria said. "Luka didn't come here to get involved in disputes between Ancestors."
"It is not a dispute," Saja said. "Merely…. A concern."
"We just want Luka to do what he did here," Minagi said. "Observe, get all self-righteous, and convince Hiruko to choose a different course."
"I doubt that Hiruko will be defeated by an ankle lock," Saja said.
"Will you at least tell me why I'm gong to be mad at Hiruko?" I asked.
"You should see for yourself," Minagi said. Sigh. I was getting that a lot lately.
"Fine," I said. "I'll go to Sabasa, then. Just as soon as I can move."
"You can just lay there until you're ready," Minagi said sweetly. "Oh, I wouldn't attend anymore feasts. If anyone figures out it was you that beat me, they might try to kill you."
Great. I'd visited three places on Makai and been run out of two of them.