Succubus Village

Succubus Village wasn't far. The trip seemed longer if only because Alice didn't like the idea of me going there at all and constantly said so. I know she trusted me in her head. If I could resist Alma Elma, I could certainly resist lesser succubi. But beneath her snark about me being a pervert who just wanted to get raped by multiple succubi, there was the genuine worry that a succubus was the most dangerous monster that I could encounter given my relative strengths and weaknesses. And I'd be taking on a whole village of them! Alice admonished me to not get any ideas about being chivalrous and wrestling with these ladies. Use Angel Halo, she told me. Seal one, move on to the next. She reassured me slightly by noting that the average succubus was relatively weak physically and magically. Most could be sealed with one good hit, and being able to master the wind element was not common. I could not give them a chance to do pleasure attacks on me or use sexual magic on me, almost none of which involved the infamous eye attacks that a few monsters had already come to regret trying. You could tell how concerned Alice was because she generally didn't deign to provide me with extensive scouting reports on the monsters I was likely to face. She really didn't want me losing to a succubus. On the bright side, I felt that at least I knew exactly what I was getting into in this village. That assessment would prove to be only partially correct.

We arrived at the village in the late afternoon, having foolishly decided to travel on a day when I wasn't supposed to either travel or fight. I had done both. It was just that with the inn partially wrecked in the ant girl uprising, neither of us felt like staying there another night. The Succubus Village was pretty quiet. There seemed to be a sense of gloom in the air. There were also soldiers everywhere. Here to fight the succubus attack? Or to enjoy it?

Then Alice said something very unhelpful. "The Purple Sabbath is tonight."

"Wait, tonight?!" I yelped. "I'm not ready for that!"

"You should have looked at the moon, idiot," she retorted. "I thought you knew."

"I thought we had a few days! I've got to get to bed early if I'm going to have any hope of being rested enough for this."

My instincts told me to head straight for an inn, but I just had to get some intelligence first. The atmosphere here was just too weird for me to go to bed and then try to wake up in time to fight. The conversations were pretty hilarious, looking back on it.

Soldier-"I'm here to defend the village! Even if I'm completely exhausted with all the er… defending, it will have been worth it!"

Alice-"Damn pervert."

A woman-"A few of the heroes who have come here are here to defend the village. But most just want to get attacked by a succubus."

Alice-"Damn perverts."

A food stand owner-"Corn dogs for sale!"

Alice-"Damn pervert. I'll take a dozen."

Then there was a soothsayer who gave me a fortune reading for free. She said I would have trouble with women. Like that was hard to figure out. One look at Alice must have told her that. I was glad the reading had been free. But more intriguing was that she said this Purple Sabbath was different. The succubi were attacking not just to feed this time, but for a larger purpose. When I asked her what the purpose was, she became coy and told me it was a secret. When she left, Alice called me an idiot, but wouldn't explain why. At least she wasn't calling me a pervert anymore. Alice had seen plenty of the real thing all over the village. I also met the village chief, a sweet, lovely young lady who thanked me for coming and said she wished there were more heroes in the village. Which caused Alice to call me an idiot again.

The inn was free, which was great since I had almost no money. Why was it free? Because the owner and staff had evacuated, but had helpfully left all the room keys out, presumably for the heroes who had come to save the village. Expressing that thought out loud resulted in me getting called an idiot yet again. Before I went to take my nap, Alice decided to be helpful.

"One word of advice," she said. "It seems you're assuming that the succubi will attack from the outside. But the most troublesome part of the Purple Sabbath is the succubization of humans. "

"If that means what I think it means, didn't you tell me that was impossible? For a human to become a monster?" I asked.

"A human can't become a monster by biting them," Alice explained. "Magic is different. Particularly promiscuous, predatory women are transformed by the Sabbath moon. They'll be very weak and their pleasure attacks won't be much more potent than a human's. The transformation is more mental than physical at first, although there are some physical changes as well. If you seal them, it will cure them. "

"So when the moon passes, will they return to normal?"

"Not necessarily," she said."If they feed enough tonight the change will be permanent. There are senior succubi in this town who have infiltrated for the purpose of welcoming and training the newborns."

"Wow," I said in wonder, still not understanding how the idea of biting someone to change them was ridiculous but the far away moon could plausibly transform humans. "It's too bad we couldn't explore all day. Maybe we would have spotted some of the succubi who are impersonating humans."

Alice stared at me. "You never cease to amaze me."

"Thank you?" I said. Then I had a frightening thought. "Wait, is there a chance I'll run into Alma Elma tonight?"

"I don't know," she replied. "She's the Succubus Queen, but there's never any way to know what she'll do. She doesn't give a damn about her people, so if she did come it would probably be just to mess with you. Anyway, you've been warned and you know how I feel about this… thing you're doing tonight. I'm going to go amuse myself elsewhere for awhile while you sleep. Once this thing starts, you won't see me, but I will be watching. Remember that."

I had no doubt. I wasn't even offended that a part of her still wasn't willing to give me credit even though I'd proved myself. I knew that was just her feelings warring with her intellect. I fell asleep readily, forgetting to think about what would happen if I overslept. Naturally, I overslept. I awoke with it still dark outside but with the attack already underway. Now a succubus attack is not like an attack by rampaging orcs or lizard men or a human invading force. There weren't people running around in a panic in the streets. It was mostly pretty quiet, except that I would pass by a residence or a business and hear the sounds of gasping, heavy breathing, beds creaking, and moaning. Lots and lots of moaning. Lots of cries of delight from voices that sounded female as well. Apparently people didn't even need to leave their homes. The succubi were providing room service! It was probably good that I woke up when I did otherwise I might have awakened with one in my bed. I know, a terrible fate, isn't it?

I wasn't even sure where to start. Alice had often advised me to go after a leader, but since she did not give me that advice this time I assumed it had to be an ineffective way of dealing with the problem. There might be no choice but to seal every succubus I could find. Since they didn't seem to be rampaging around in groups, this might be easier than I thought.

I chose a bar right outside the inn, since I was hearing a lot of moaning and yelps of pleasure from there. Sure enough, I found men sprawled all over the floor. To my relief, none appeared to be dead. Succubi were famous for being extremely desirable, enough so that men would willingly let them do whatever they wanted even though it could mean their deaths. Then I remembered what Alice had told me: the newborn succubi were still more human than monster, so they probably couldn't actually screw a man to death yet.

The one in the bar milking all the men, however, was certainly trying her level best. I recognized her as a local prostitute that we'd briefly conversed with. She was completely naked and covered in semen from head to toe. She was just finishing up with a bar patron when she caught sight of me. She was exultant in her new power. She didn't yet have succubus wings, but she had the precursors. There was no tail yet. Although it seemed wrong to strike a naked woman with a sword, I remembered Alice's advice. I also knew that she was probably watching. I reached out with my wind-enhanced senses but couldn't locate her. Still, I knew she couldn't be far.

I probably shouldn't have underestimated the newborn succubus. Being a street girl she was tough. She ducked under my sword swipe and decked me with a solid left hook to my jaw. Her strength might have been enhanced a little as well by the transformation. Apparently assuming me to be neutralized, perhaps because that had worked on more normal men, she started trying to get my pants off. That was all the distraction I needed to stab her in the side. Rather than cry out in pain, she lamented losing her power that she had just acquired. Oh well, lady, better luck next Purple Sabbath.

I left the bar and followed more sounds of copulating into an alley. Sure enough, more men laying around exhausted but thankfully not dead. I started in surprise at the succubus in question. She had a teenage boy held up against a wall. She was kneeling in front of him, his dick in her mouth. But she was so young! She couldn't be more than 14! How could someone so young have succubus potential? As I thought this, he gasped and she started slurping loudly. He collapsed and she turned to me.

"Your turn!" she said happily. "You look like you'll be just as delicious as he was!"

She charged at me foolishly. She was sealed in an instant. She lay on the ground, unconscious, her physical form human once again.

I found another in the street, prowling for a victim. She was sealed immediately. I was realizing the downside to the succubi attacking as individuals. I'd feared having to take on too many at once, but going after them individually was taking a lot of time. Many were in homes, which would take even longer to deal with. Going door to door would take forever. Despite Alice not advising me to go after the leaders, I decided to prioritize them anyway, if for no other reason than I had no better ideas. I still didn't know who they were. All the succubi I had encountered thus far had been humans in the beginnings of the transformation process. Suddenly I had an inspiration. I decided to go to the chief's house and see if she could shed some light on the situation. She should know her village better than anyone! She might know who the infiltrators were and where they might be.

Right track, wrong railroad, as they say in our world. I burst into the village chief's home, deciding that with the city under attack, knocking was a useless formality. The chief and the soothsayer I had encountered earlier were together in her house.

"Chief!" I said. "Do you know of any strange women who may have infiltrated this village recently? I think they might be succubi here to recruit!"

The soothsayer and the chief exchanged a look. The chief turned to me. "You're cute, but not too bright."

Wings emerged from the soothsayer's clothes. Wings also emerged from the chief, although her clothes instantly dropped off of her, leaving her stark naked. I recognized immediately that these weren't transformed humans. These were full fledged succubi, born and bred.

"Witch," the chief said, turning to the soothsayer. "Go ahead with the ceremony preparations. I'll deal with this tasty idiot."

"Be sure to save some semen," the soothsayer cautioned. "We'll need some for the ceremony. Don't get too excited and drain him completely. I can sense that his semen has unusual properties. Much more potent than an average human's."

"Oh, I can smell it too," the chief said. "I'll just get a good taste, that's all."

"See you soon, then," the soothsayer replied, leaving for another part of the house.

"What are your plans here?" I asked the chief. "I've heard this Purple Sabbath is different."

"Yes," she responded. "This year's Purple Sabbath isn't just to make more allies. It's a ceremony to bring back the legendary Lilith, sealed 500 years ago. We succubi have no permanent home. But Lilith can lead us to the promised land. It's the wish of all succubi to bring Lilith back. When she comes back we can make all humans into livestock for semen cultivation. But you know, you look really delicious. She told me not to, but I think I want all your semen for myself. There's plenty of semen in this village to revive Lilith."

I realized that my promise to Alice was more than just for her sake now. It was also a shield to protect me from my own desires. The chief succubus was beautiful. I wanted nothing more than for her to drain me dry in as many ways as possible. I didn't have my hate this time to buttress my willpower as I had with Alma Elma. Without my promise to Alice I probably would have let her have her way with me. I sensed something in the air enhancing my desire. Was it pheromones? No, it wasn't a smell, per se. A type of subtle magic? That seemed likely. It was becoming hard to concentrate. I summoned Sylph and Gnome together. This one wasn't going to be so easy. She attacked me immediately with pleasure attacks. Her hand went down my pants while I was concentrating on summoning the power of the elements.

"You can't even stand this much, can you?" she said seductively, her face inches from mine. She was right. As quick triggered as I still was, even a succubus' touch was dangerous to me. Without Alice's training I'd have already been defeated. I pushed her away to gain some distance and struck at her with my sword, aided by the power of the wind as Alice had taught me. To my dismay, it was not enough to seal her, but it did make her angry. She took me down and mounted me, using her hands to hold down my own arms. Surprisingly, my pants were still on, although I suspected that would be a temporary boon.

"Normally I don't have to hold men down to get what I want from them," she said. "But I wouldn't be much of a succubus if I couldn't do it when necessary."

As I expected, my pants disappeared, removed in one fluid motion by her tail. With flexibility that almost rivaled Alma Elma's, she turned around, switching her hands for her feet to restrain my arms, and plunging her face into my groin, engulfing my dick. Even with Gnome, my arms couldn't compete with her leg strength, but I could turn over, and did. That made things worse. Now on top of her, my penis went even further into her throat. She was a succubus all right. She never even gagged. If anything, her slurping got even more insistent as she held onto my waist with determination and that uncanny monster strength. I felt the beginnings of an orgasm rising in my waist. If I didn't stop her soon, my resistance would be at an end.

Now that I was on top I was able to utilize Gnome effectively enough to break free. Then I did something Alice had predicted might happen. I rose and went for a wall, looking to deliver a Demon Skull Beheading. The problem with that was that a succubus doesn't have to actually bring you to critical ecstasy to weaken you. From the moment they touch you, your energy is draining. I wasn't technically at critical ecstasy, but I was close. I misjudged the jump and slammed face first into the wall.

The next thing I knew her pussy was in my face, grinding. It wasn't the kind of stimulation that was going to make me come, but the smell was making me even more disoriented. It was intoxicating. She was also screwing around too much. I guess that must have been a succubus trait. If she had gone straight for my penis, she would have finished me. Messing around gave me a chance that she shouldn't have given me. Pushing her off of me, I unleashed my best move. The lightning fast, seemingly random sword strikes were an ideal move to pull off even though I was disoriented. I'm probably being generous in calling it a "move". It more closely resembled a truly random flailing around. But it got the job done. Between Sylph enhancing my speed and Gnome my strength, she couldn't cope with the attack. She was sealed, turning into a bat.

I needed a breather, badly. I wasn't sure I could take on another succubus so soon after the chief. But there was a ceremony going on in the other room and it had to be stopped. It probably should have occurred to me that by rushing in there I was delivering the necessary semen myself. But fools rush in, as they say.

I rushed into the room. The soothsayer, which I guess I'll call a witch from this point on, was quite surprised to see me. Humans successfully vanquishing high ranking succubi was not something one saw every day. I demanded that she stop the ceremony. I had no idea how powerful she was or if I could back up my threats in the state I was in.

"Hehe," she laughed. "But she's already almost revived. Thanks to the village chief, plenty of soldiers came to this village to 'assist' us. We only need five more men's energy, but your semen alone might be strong enough to finish the ceremony."

"I'm afraid I can't let that happen," I said.

"Do you think me weak?" she said. "As succubi go, I admit I'm not as strong or as skilled in the sexual arts as most of my kin. I spent my life in study and mainly lived off second hand semen. But what I lack in those attributes I more than make up for in magical power. "

I hid my relief. Anything was better than trying to endure a pleasure attack given how close I was to shooting my seed all over the place. Turns out that I still had to worry. Her hat and gloves flew off her body and began circling me. The hat had a huge tongue coming out of it. I could guess what that was supposed to do. Wasn't too difficult to guess what the gloves were going to be attempting either. I had an inspiration. If she's not going to physically attack herself, and these things are just made of cloth, why not just cover up my penis with my hands? So that's what I did. Her solution for dealing with that simple defense tactic was to try to use mind magic on me. Since it wasn't an eye spell, it didn't produce a violent response. Instead, it just didn't work. I was actually a bit confused at what she was doing. I could feel something, she was obviously waving her arms around and my head felt weird, but that could have just been from being so close to a succubus to begin with.

"You want me, don't you?" she asked.

"I do, very much," I replied. This was actually the truth, but you know…

"Then just tell me what you want, and I'll give it to you."

"Breasts….." I said, pretending to be in a trance.

"Come and get them, then," she said, obviously proud of what she thought she had done.

I buried my face into her now exposed chest. She rubbed her breasts on both sides of my face and giggled. While this was a big turn on, it also was a bit more of a break for my penis, which was finally starting to feel like I might not come from just a touch. I tried to er… milk the situation as long as I could. If Alice was watching, I had to assume she knew what I was up to. I hoped so, anyway. But all good things must end, so after a few minutes of booby fun, she pushed my head away. "That was a lot of fun, but now what do you want me to do next? Want a blowjob? Do you want me to push you on the ground and fuck you silly? Perhaps my tail opening appeals to you? Or maybe you'd like to have your way with me? I don't really care, as long as you give me lots of semen."

"I think I'd like…." I drove my sword into her gut. "To seal you."

Her eyes widened in shock. "How….." It was obvious her power was fading. Although Angel Halo was never fatal, no matter how powerful a monster was, having it driven through their body and being held there was going to cause the monster to be sealed. But she was holding on. She had one last card to play.

"If I'm going to be sealed, I'm going to transfer my remaining power to complete the ceremony!" she gasped, before turning into a bat and flapping away.

Had I stopped her before she could do it? No. I could sense the change in atmosphere. It was almost as heavy as if Alma Elma was here. I didn't recall the exact context in which I'd heard the name Lilith, but it didn't sound good. The laughter and giggling I started to hear was creepy as well. It sounded like two women, not one. A magic square formed on the floor. Rising from the floor out of that square were two women, embracing each other.

"Teehee," one of them said. "It's been 500 years since we last set foot on this world, hasn't it sister?"

"That's right, Lilim," the other said. "This world, so full of energetic young men. It's unbearable!"

They looked at me. Lilith said, "How nice of whoever revived us to leave us such a tasty looking man to feed on. She must have known we'd be famished."

"He looks absolutely delectable, sister," said Lilim. "I want to play with him and absorb his energy so badly, sister."

I had to buy time. I wasn't on a hair trigger anymore, but I was nowhere near ready to fight not one, but two powerful succubi. I did the only thing I could think of. I ran. Out of the house, and into the street. My goal wasn't merely flight. I could not leave two hungry, powerful succubi to feed on the poor males of the town. In their current states they were very unlikely to show any restraint. As far as I could tell, no one had yet been killed. That would change if they got hold of someone. So I had to lead them on a chase for awhile until I could face them. I also needed space to work with. They had no obvious ways of hurting me physically. I knew pleasure attacks would be their exclusive tactic. That meant avoiding closed in spaces. So best to have this fight out in the street, I thought.

"Oh, sister, the prey is running!" Lilim said.

"That will just make it all the more satisfying when we catch him," said Lilith.

They chased me out of the chief's house and into the street. I ducked into an alley and then turned into another and hid in the shadows, my back to a wall. They ran right past me. Judging that I had a moment, I took off my pack and put a pair of pants on. They'd probably just get ripped off anyway in half a second, but any chance of delaying their attack was worth trying at this point.

Just when I was worried that I had really lost them and they'd found easier prey, Lilith appeared at the front of the alleyway. "You can't hide from us. Your succulent smell couldn't be easier to track."

I drew my sword. I had to take the opportunity to fight just one while I could. I was foolish. I was so focused on the opponent in front of me that I failed to hear the wind warning me of the other. It wasn't behind me. I'd become paranoid about glancing backward. No, Lilim came crashing down onto me from above. My sword clattered away. Lilim began trying to restrain me, as Lliith rushed over to aid her sister. I threw her off and reached for my sword, but Lilith picked it up before I could reach it and stared at it.

"Sister…." She said. "this sword. Could it be?"

Lilim, now holding me from behind while I was on my knees, looked up. "Angel Halo." She growled. "There's no mistaking that sword. This man wields that accursed weapon! "

Lilim pulled me up to a standing position, as Lilith brought the tip of the sword to my neck. "It's so hard to decide whether to seal you or drain you until you die. It would be so poetic to treat you to the fate you intended for us, and yet…. It would be such a shame to waste such a succulent piece of meat."

I was beginning to see the difference between these two. Lilith radiated pure evil. Lilim, on the other hand, insanity. Lilim started to rave. "Seal him! There are plenty of men for the taking here! I can smell them!"

"Maybe," Lilith murmured, touching Angel Halo to the side of my face and drawing it slowly across my cheek. It was as painful as getting cut, as I expected. Given the small cut I didn't feel a lot of energy leaking out of me, but I didn't know how much I could take if she decided to get serious with it. "But I know you smell what I smell. This one is of higher quality than the others here."

She came in closer and took a long sniff. "Mmmmmm, there's an otherworldly quality about him. We are still weak. Who knows how much he'd replenish our power? Let me get a better taste."

Lilim pulled my arms further back and tightened her hold painfully. This was weak? Even with Gnome I was having trouble, although I hadn't yet made a serious push to free myself. I was waiting for the best opportunity. But with Lilith dropping to her knees and getting ready to undo my pants, I knew I couldn't wait much longer. Lilith pulled my pants down partway and went to work on my dick with her mouth. Her face had a look of euphoria on it like a woman biting into the best piece of chocolate she'd ever had. It really was flattering that women in this world, at least monster girls, seemed to find me so irresistible. If only the price wasn't so high! Lilim was starting to say really dirty things into my ear as she restrained me. With my pants around my knees instead of completely off, I was in a difficult position. Even if I got free, it would be tough to fight until I either removed them or pulled them up and buttoned them. So I did the only thing I could think of. I played possum again, pretending that Lilith's energy draining succubus powers had weakened me more than they actually had. I sagged, trying to fall to my knees. Taking advantage of monsters' hunger and impatience had never failed me yet, and sure enough Lilim, sensing my weakness, let me drop. She then kneed me in the back for good measure, forcing me prone. Assuming me to be too weak to resist any longer, both girls began kissing each other passionately with my cock in the middle. Chalk up another new experience! As strong as I thought my will had become, I managed to forget to resist for just a bit too long, letting them continue to enjoy each other and my shaft. I was gathering up my strength. Yeah, that's it!

After letting them do that to me for about 30 seconds, I sat up, grabbed each of them by the hair, and smacked their heads together. I must have seen that on a wrestling show somewhere. Such a thing should never work in a real fight, but how often in a real fight are your opponents giving you a tag team blowjob? It seemed to stun them. I tried to rise, too fast. Letting them work on me for even that long had drained significant energy. I stumbled. Lilim, with a scream of rage, grabbed my sword from the ground and thrust it at me. I dodged as best I could. Lilith was behind me. Lilim plunged Angel Halo deep into Lilith's chest. Their eyes met as Lilith's went wide in pain and surprise, Lilim's in shock and dismay.

"Sister…. Not again," Lilith said, as she vanished into a puff of air.

With an even louder scream of rage Lilim charged me with my own sword, swinging again and again. Sparks flew from alley walls as she flailed wildly at me. I grabbed her sword arm. She bit me and then elbowed me in the face. Okay, so maybe this wasn't just going to be just pleasure attacks. Now she was determined to give me a serious tail kicking. She resumed her flailing, which wasn't terribly hard for me to dodge given her lack of skill with weapons, but I wasn't looking behind me. I felt my leg impact something just as she brought the sword down for a two handed vertical strike. I grabbed her hands to stop the descent of the sword. Her momentum caused us both to trip and fall over some garbage cans. We both went down, garbage and muck spilling all over us. In her rage, she didn't care. Angel Halo got lost in the garbage somewhere. She contented herself with trying to claw my eyes out. She was now powered by rage and insanity, making her even stronger than she already was. She mounted me and put her hands around my neck. Even with Gnome, I was unable to escape given my relative weakness and her enhanced crazy person strength. I felt my windpipe being compressed. I desperately felt around the garbage within my reach for my sword. I found it blessedly fast. Without being able to aim or put leverage behind a good strike, I settled for smacking her in the head with it.

That succeeded in knocking her for enough of a loop that I was able to push her off. I raised my sword over my head to deliver the sealing blow but she kicked my leg out from under me. She crawled onto me and another battle for the sword ensued. But by then I was getting my second wind. Her rage power was beginning to fade and my own drained strength from their pleasure attacks was returning. With both of our hands on the blade of Angel Halo we got to our feet. Taking a page out of Granberia's book, I powered her into the nearest wall. This knocked the wind out of her and enabled me to press the sword against her neck. Once the sword bit into it, her strength waned rapidly, enabling me to complete the seal in very ugly fashion.

I sat down in the alleyway, exhausted. Please let there be no more tough fights today, I pleaded to whatever gods were listening. I don't know if any deities were listening, but a familiar face was. Alice appeared in the alleyway, arms folded, looking down at me. If she's here, the worst must be over, I hoped.

"That went about as badly as I thought it would," Alice said. "But given that you fought a few powerful succubi, I guess it went about as well as it could. You're still alive."

"How are things elsewhere in the village?" I asked.

"About what you'd expect," she replied. "You got the real succubi, so all that's left are the baby succubi you haven't sealed yet."

"Then I guess I'd better go to work," I said.

"No," she said, putting her hand out to order me to remain sitting. "Those aren't real monsters. I have no problem dealing with that for you. You've fought enough succubi today. With just a small amount of my magic I can change them all back and revive the men who are in the worst shape. The perverts that just had a good time, they can sleep it off. I'm not wasting my energy on them. Be happy I'm doing even this much."

"I am truly grateful," I said sincerely.

Alice closed her eyes and began an incantation. "Close your eyes, Luka. I don't want to take any chances here."

I did as she ordered. I saw even behind my eyelids a bright flash of light as she completed the spell. I opened my eyes and the light was still present, if gentler. It encompassed the whole village. "This is… amazing, Alice! To think that you have this much power!"

"Who do you think I am?" she retorted. "I'm the Monster Lord, you idiot. Aw, crap."

I followed her eyes. Lilith and Lilim were standing in the alley once again. When they saw each other they hugged fiercely. Still holding on to each other, they stared at Alice.

"How strange," Lilith said. "That radiant light was just like her Majesty's."

"Did you mean to do that?" I asked Alice.

"Oops…" she said. "My control isn't always perfect. I think I may have undone the seals as well."

"Alice, I can't win if I have to fight them all again!"

"That won't be necessary," a voice said. I turned towards the source of the voice. Standing at the entrance to the alleyway was the village chief and the witch. It wasn't just them. Many of the women who had been changed also stood there, now normal. Many men were also gathered around them, bewildered.

"Our dream has always been denied," the chief said sadly.

"The legendary succubus Lilith was defeated by a human again," the witch succubus said. "It appears as if there is no promised land for us after all."

"It's as you see," Lilith stated. "my friends of this new era. We were unable to defeat this hero. We are far too weak to be a savior. "

"Sister," Lilim said. "Even in this new era, must we wander the lands again with no place to call home?"

I was relieved and surprised. The fight seemed to have been taken out of them. I would live another day after all.

"You are the current Monster Lord, are you not?" Lilith asked, addressing Alice. "It has been five hundred years since Alice the Eighth. Might you be Alice the Eleventh?"

"I am Alice the Sixteenth," she said.

"It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance," Lilith responded. "We owe her majesty the eighth a great deal for everything she did for us. She was the one who inspired my sister and I with our dream, which was broken by that hateful hero."

"I don't understand," I said. "What's all this talk about a home?"

"Succubi cannot live without humans," the chief explained. "Yet human villages do not accept us, and won't let us live with them. Lots of men agree to let us live with them. But the problem is women. Most human females are hostile to us. They will never allow succubi to live in the same town they do. That's why we have no choice but to hide our true selves and live hidden in towns. If we don't, we would be forced to endlessly be on the move, never able to stay in one place. We wish for a place to call home. A paradise where we can live without worrying about starvation. A wonderful succubus village where we can harvest men like livestock. From generation to generation we've been planning to make our dream a reality. Hundreds of years. Until the day where we could take over this village. We aren't dreaming too big. All we desire is just a small, nice little village. With men as livestock. Is that so wrong?"

"There's a lot wrong with that," I said. "For starters-"

I was interrupted by a man in the crowd. He came forward and put his hand out to stop me. "NO! Don't give up on your dreams!"

Other men came forward as well. "We should work together to fulfill the succubis' dreams!" one said.

"Your dream moved my soul!" said another.

"Please!" said yet another. "Let me become a domestic animal for you!"

"How could I resist that moving speech?" said one of the men who had come to defend the city to his last drop of semen. "I'll be a domestic animal too! From the bottom of my heart, I want to help you succubi create a home you can call your own!"

Men continued to crowd around the two succubi, shouting their agreement and encouragement. Lilith and Lilim, at the other end of the alley, looked on dumbfounded. Probably thinking they'd entered an insane new world.

"E… Everyone," the chief said. "You accept us?"

"Of course!" "We want to live with you succubi!" "Peaceful coexistence!" "Succubi and human livestock!" "Yes, make us livestock!" "You can squeeze our milk as much as you need!"

"Damn perverts," Alice said.

"You really don't mind," Lilith said, picking her jaw up from the ground. "Can we really make this village into a succubi paradise? Sister, we can make our utopia at last!"

"We'll even look into recruiting immigrants!" said one excited young man. "I'm sure we'll be able to find willing men!"

"Please, milk me first! Feel free to rape me without holding anything back!" said another.

"Whoa!" I yelled, getting everyone's attention. "Hold on just a damn second!"

Everyone looked at me expectantly. Even Alice's normal disinterested look seemed to have changed slightly to one of slight interest.

"This is great, actually," I said. "But there have to be some ground rules. Don't make me have to come back here."

The succubi shook their heads fiercely. They did not want that. Alice decided to back me up. "Listen to my agent here! What he says goes!"

"First," I said. "Consent. Ever heard of it?"

The succubi all shook their heads in bewilderment.

"It means you can't milk any man who doesn't want to be milked," Alice explained. "even if it's just that he doesn't feel like it at that moment, or doesn't want a particular succubus to do it."

"Exactly," I said. "Second, no milking men until they die!"

Lilith and Lilim looked to be struggling with that one, but the chief gamely stepped over to them and took their hands. "Agreed," she said. "If these men are willing, it would be wrong to pay back their generosity by abusing their trust. We will not rape any man who doesn't want to be raped, and we will always stop well short of doing them harm."

Given their definition of rape here, I wasn't really sure they totally got it, but close enough. "And finally," I said. "any man who wants to leave is free to do so."

"Also agreed," the chief said. "If men are free to also come to this village I don't think we'll have any shortage of men. Even with succubi from all over the world coming here to this village. We'll have to house them, of course."

Men raised their hands eagerly, offering a place in their homes. I guess this was all going to work out. Sort of.

"Damn perverts," Alice said again.

"I'm going back to the inn," I said. "I'm so tired."

As I trudged back to the inn, Alice following, she had a bit more to say. "Your 'put your face in her breasts' strategy…. Very unconventional."

"Alice, I think you know why I did that if you were watching," I said wearily.

"I'm just needling you," she said, smirking. "I know I can trust you. You did what you had to do to win. That was smart. I can even forgive your strategy of 'let them lick me an extra 30 seconds while I gather my strength' given that it worked."

"I'm glad you're taking all this better," I said.

She stopped me and pushed me against a wall. "You're in bad shape. You stink too. You've got succubus and garbage all over you."

"Yeah, I'm going to bathe at the inn before I go back to bed."

"Not before I relieve you," she said. "Tamamo was right that I was letting you stay in a state after battles where you were brought really close to the edge. That's not healthy."

"Why not just wait for me to bathe?"

"As filthy as you are, that will take you too long. This won't wait."

"But I thought you hated doing this when I was filthy," I protested. "I don't think I've ever been more filthy than right now."

She smiled. "That just gives me an opportunity to show you something a little different. You notice these velvet black gloves I wear all the time?"

She held one glove covered hand up before putting it down my pants. The touch of the glove was indeed different from when she had used her bare hand on me at the Sutherland. I moaned in pleasure as she gently stroked me. She bent over and whispered in my ear. "I know that what you really want is for me to suck it like a piece of candy. You want my tongue wrapped around it again, squeezing it…."

I spurted into my pants, her eyes locked with mine, the usual smirk on her face. I started to collapse. Her hand gently held me up. "Easy, easy…." She said. "You need to learn how to not collapse from just one little orgasm caused by a monster."

She slowly removed her hands from me. I was able to remain standing. She smiled. "Proud of you. You're making progress."

We made it back to the inn without me stumbling. I took the longest bath I've ever taken in my life, then I went to bed. The advantage of no innkeeper was, also no checkout time. I slept in as long as I needed to. As usual, Alice was up before me, finishing up the packing.

"Feeling like you can travel?" she asked.

"I think so," I confirmed. "I feel… good, actually."

"Excellent, because I don't want to stay here any longer. The food here stinks. Succubi can't cook and men whose minds are only on perverted things can't cook either."

As we walked through the streets of the village, making our way out, the succubi and many of the men came to see us off.

"I heard that you're on a journey to promote coexistence between humans and monsters," the chief said. "Is that why you came to this village to help build this utopia for us?"

"It's… complicated," I said. "None of this is what I envisioned, but…. I think it's good. I'm happy for all of you."

"Thank you for helping us create a place where we can live," she said.

The chief and the witch seemed to at least have a minimum of decorum. Lilith and Lilim, however…. I guess it was understandable given their 500 year hunger that they wouldn't be particular about where and when they milked men. They must have started last night and been doing it non stop for hours.

"T… Travelers…." A man gasped. "G… Good … Ah… Luck. Oh! Ah… That feels… AHHHH!"

"If you're ever nearby," the chief said. "Please stop in and visit. We'll always give you a warm welcome. Of course, you're welcome to live here too. I'd be glad to give you a taste of heaven every day."

"I might very well take you up on that," I said, meaning every bit of it. My promise to Alice only applied to our travels together. If I survived my journey, I had every intention of spending a long vacation here.

As we continued our journey, Alice muttered to herself again. "Damn perverts."

"Alice, what's happening there is what I've talked about before! Monsters want something men have, and plenty of men are willing to give it to them. In that respect, the village really is a utopia. Isn't that a good thing?"

"I guess," she conceded. "I have a lot to learn about this consent thing myself. It's ingrained in my head that the best way to have a man is to take what you want from him whether he wants it or not. It almost seems…. Unseemly, perverted somehow if he actually wants it. But traveling with you…. I guess I'm learning to like having someone who actually wants to feed me. I know that you liked that first time, but I have to admit that even if you'd protested or struggled, I was going to feed that night. I didn't care what you thought of it. And… I feel kinda bad about it. Can you forgive me?"

"Of course!" I said. "You can't control how you were brought up. But you're changing for the better. That's all anyone can expect. I think it's amazing that the Monster Lord being exposed to humanity is making her a better person."

"I'm also sorry I was so casual about the idea of turning you into a slave," she said. "Even though slaves are treated well in the castle, seeing the ant girls enslaved…. I guess I never learned to think of things from the human perspective."

"You keep slaves at your castle?!"

"Well, I don't," she said. "The Four Heavenly Knights do."

"When you get back, will you free them?" I asked.

"I would," she sighed. "But they won't want to go. You saw how it is in that village. Once a man gets a taste of a monster, he doesn't ever want to leave. You saw that in Happiness Village as well."

"I guess that's true," I conceded. "Don't take this the wrong way, but even though you're absolutely incredible, I could part ways with you. I wonder why other men can't?"

"You're made of sterner stuff than they are, and I haven't tried to break you. Remember, monsters that capture males keep them in critical ecstasy for days, even weeks. That causes the men to become addicted. In the case where it's only one monster doing it to them, they fall completely for that monster. The Four Heavenly Knights avoid that annoyance by sharing all the men in the castle. That way they are just in love with being there with all those beautiful women, rather than an irritant to just one."

"So where does 'claiming' a man come in?" I asked.

"Sometimes one of the Heavenly Knights grows really attached to a particular man," she explained. "She declares her attachment to the other Knights and any other monsters staying in the castle. Once he is known to be hers and hers alone, no other monsters can touch him. He becomes her lover."

"Do they all have lovers?"

"Granberia has never had one," Alice replied. "I've never had one. Alma Elma sure as hell has never had one. Erubetie did a long time ago, before she came to really hate humans. Tamamo is the only one who has regularly taken on a lover, and when she does, she tends to keep him for life."

"That's kinda like a marriage," I noted.

"Close, but not really," she said. "Tamamo remains free to also play with and feed off any other humans that strike her fancy. Only he is bound to be loyal to her that way."

"That's awfully one-sided," I said. "What does the man get out of this? Don't most of the men like getting to have sex with all sorts of monsters in the castle?"

"It's hard to explain," she said. "But the most important aspect of claiming a man is that he is under the Knight's protection. If a monster assaults him, she is bound to defend him. That's why I haven't claimed you. I can't fight my cute little subordinates."

"Is that one of the rules Tamamo imposed that you were upset about?" I asked.

"No," she said. "That one is mine. It's a principle. It's also hard to explain. You probably wonder how I deal with direct disobedience or if a monster dared to attack me. In the former case, Granberia is my enforcer. She's more intimidating than I am and it allows me to remain aloof. She doesn't mind drawing resentment towards herself by disciplining wayward monsters. She actually does most of it without even consulting me. In the latter case, I would respond with force. No monster may attack a Monster Lord and live. But I can't raise my hand to fight a monster to protect a human. That's why I can never have a lover."

"What about a husband?" I asked.

"A husband would have to be stronger than me, and so I'd never need to fight a monster for him," she replied.

"When has a human ever been stronger than a Monster Lord?" I asked. "I only know of one person who defeated a Monster Lord, and he certainly didn't marry her afterwards."

"No," she confirmed. "It's never happened before. Monster Lords either force humans to mate with them so that they can reproduce, or in one case and one case alone, she broke the prohibition and took a weak man as her husband. In that case, she stepped down as Monster Lord and went to live with him among humans."

That was a lot to take in. I wasn't sure what to think about all of that just yet, but it reminded me again just how wide the gulf was between human and monster

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