"Peony, I'm not joking," said Lania with an intimidating tone. Her eyes were still glowing with killing intent, bronze flames sparkling inside to make sure her words were well understood.
Brunos felt Peony sliding his dragon out of her full lips. He didn't know how to feel. His dragon was still pleading for more strokes, but he was in no situation to grant him such a wish. How could he enjoy it when the more time it would take, the more he would be approaching his death?
Peony turned to look at Lania.
"Commander, why did you bring him if not to enjoy his presence?" Her voice revealed how shaken she was. She had never seen Lania acting that way toward her.
Lania ignored her question and loudly shouted orders.
"Stand up! Now!"
Peony stared at Brunos with longing, let go of his dragon and hesitantly rose to her feet.
Lania pointed at other succubi who were still squatting beneath Brunos's furious dragon. Their cheeks were still carmine in colour, their eyes sparkling with thirsty that could only be cured by his...
"What are you staring at? Stand up!"
At their commander's order, the eleven succubi stood up. They did it with reluctance, sadness and other complicated emotions written all over their lovely face.
...Disbelief. Yeah! One of those emotions was disbelief. Actually, Brunos himself was dumbfounded. However much he tried to guess what was behind Lania's actions, his mind seemed to lose connection all of a sudden.
Lania was not done shouting orders.
"Step aside!"
They did.
wait!
Is she angry with them that they took the first bite on an apple she had struggled so hard to pluck?
'What else did you expect? That she's saving you from these succubi girls who wanted to drain life essence out of you? You're wrong! See! She wants to be the one sucking it out of you.'
'Geez... What a miserable death! Isn't this the funniest joke ever? I came after her so she won't escape. Who's held a hostage now?'
As the succubi stepped aside,
...aside to give Lania enough space to suck his...
Wait!
'How bold!'
Lania was staring at his... uh, you know what she meant. Her lips were twitching, her whole body trembling as if she was trying to control herself over some... some what? Brunos didn't know what to call it.
He just glanced at his treasure bird and pulled his trousers to hide it from her.
'Why don't you just look away if my treasure bird is disturbing you?'
When the treasure bird returned into its nest, Lania seemed to regain her composure. That's when, though still shaken a little, she shouted another order.
Uh... no! This time she called Natollie and told her to bring Gillian, Meggie and Beth.
"As you wish, Commander Lania," said Natollie disappearing into the corner just a few meters behind what Brunos had called a swimming pool.
'Don't tell me she's calling for support!' Brunos was already shaken by the fact that he would have to satisfy such a number of succubi. What if they had the Kiss of Death ability?
He recalled the time Lilyard applied it on him. That time when he killed her. The damn ability was too cruel to withstand even for a second. He couldn't imagine facing it from more than 10 demon beauties.
"Commander Lania," asked Peony. "What are you up to?"
'Ask her! Just what are you going to do to me, eh?'
Brunos wanted to hear the answer and didn't want to at the same time. He would rather just die physically than die both mentally and physically.
Instead of answering Peony, "Do you know how powerful he is?" she asked. Not waiting for Peony to say no, Lania continued. "Of course you don't! He had killed Amellia and the rest of the group. Can you imagine?"
Unlike earlier, now the room temperature rose not because of their teases but their cold gazes. They held an intense sadness, and the aura around them screamed killing intent.
"He moves faster than an ordinary eye can see," Lania made their eyes widen wider and wider. "Do you know what it means?"
She paused as if expecting an answer and then answered it herself. "It means war. By now, the queen knows who is behind the attack. Can you defeat the entire Realm?
"Maybe we can, but on which price? I don't want any of you to die fighting."
She stared at Brunos.
"If we want to win without loosing any of our member, we need to do anything it can take to keep him here. With him, Valeria can abide to our terms. Understood?"
Silently, all succubi ran to stand behind Lania and her illusions. As they took formation, only wary replaced their seductive smiles which have been at their faces minutes ago.
Lania was still talking.
"As a revenge to our sisters he had just killed..."
She paused and gave Brunos a long look.
'Come on! Say it! I want to know my fate.'
"...We will have to enjoy him to death."
'What the fuck?'
Surprisingly, the girls behind her smiled and threw satisfied glances at Brunos who stood shaken by Lania's words.
These girls were really of a demon race. How could they switch mood so easily. He had killed their sisters. Maybe because he was the one who fed them to Morrin's sword.
Then... and then sleeping with him would be the punishment?
'What a strange world!'
He felt like complaining.
'How is that a punishment?'
If it was in a normal situation, he could have been celebrating being given such a punishment. However, he could imagine how cruel it was going to be for his treasure bird.
'Oh God! I don't want to be here! I don't!'
A rumbling sound brought him to reality.
Peony was closing the entrance to the cave. When she was done, she opened her hands and raised them in the air as if asking for blessings. A few seconds passed, and out of no where, a maroon pot appeared in her right hand.
It started glowing and sending the same colour smokes into the air. Slowly, the maroon smoke rose into the air and dispersed.
'What is she doing? Trying to block my way with some kind of a spell? Oh God! Just... just how the hell will I get out of here?'
One hour had already passed. Maybe the second one was about to. He would then be having only 1 day and 16 hours which meant nothing since he only have one night in between.
'System, what are you doing to me? How am I going to kill a pergus?'
System would not respond to him of course. Why not ask Dollian Ris instead?
'Dollian!'
Like minutes before, Dollian was no where to be heard.
'Dollian!'
What did he expect? That he was waiting for his voice? He was a lowly creature, right? Why would she want to talk to him.
The debate inside Brunos's mind reminded him how depression felt like. Was he falling into a depression again?
...Maybe it was the old one still there.
Not wanting to loose hope completely, Brunos stared at the approaching maroon smokes trying to think positively.
Lania looked and the smokes surprised before turning to Peony. "What the hell are you doing?"
"Intoxicating him," she casually answered. "Wouldn't making him dizzy weaken him? I can even make him fall asleep if you want. Then we can rest assured."
Knowing that their defence was somehow invincible, Lania sent away her illusions and strolled toward Peony. "Are you crazy?"
Peony's mouth fell open.
"Huh?"
"Summon your intoxicating scents back! We need him strong. How is he going to give the Red Triangle to Fellene if you make him fall asleep?"
Peony nodded in understanding.
"OK!"
She raised the Marron Pot high in front of her and hummed a melodious tune. Brunos could only watch in awe as the smokes, a few inches to reach him, started returning inside the pot.
"What's taking Natollie so long?"
As if to answer her, several footsteps echoed around the room followed by Natollie's figure emerging from the left corner. Behind her, three succubi, two with bows and quivers on their backs were following in her footsteps. The third one's black hair was sweeping the floor, making Brunos wonder how many years it took her to grow such hair.
He was also surprised by their attire. For the first time in the Succubi Realms, Brunos was able to see a succubus completely dressed. The two archers resembled knights in brown armours, the long haired one looking like a goddess in a silky-milky dress.
Natollie's behavior was also surprising. Why in Grinan did she have to return in her birth costume? She could have wore something and brought clothes for her naked friends too. Why didn't she?
'Maybe they still want to torture you.'
Like soldiers on a parade, they passed by Brunos and stood in front of their commander.
"You two," Lania pointed at the archers. "Go guard the door. If he tries anything stupid, shoot him but keep him alive. Understood?"
They nodded their heads and stood by the entrance, their bullet points aiming at Brunos.
Brunos would be too stupid to try anything. He had witnessed how enchanted their arrows were when it shot Lilyon. He would rather die enjoyed to death than die by that arrow.
It was time for the white-dressed goddess.
"Meggie, call Fellene right now!"
'Oh no!'
Brunos could imagine all kinds of things Fellene was going to do to him.
'Damn!'