The Hero Became a Succubus! - Chapter 171

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Chapter 171

All dreams came to an end and Kanae awakened with her bedsheets soaked in sweat. Her pussy had been running like a leaky faucet all night. When she brushed a hand across her body, gliding across the layer of moisture, a tingling pleasure returned ten-folds. Even the warm bed sheets brought her close.

Neither Eliza nor Esta were up yet. It was still too early in the morning, or at least Kanae thought. Daylight wasn't exactly the best measurement. The scalding ambient heat on the other hand was, because compared to the evening humidity, it wasn't as muggy.

Kanae turned in bed to find Arenade, still sound asleep. Since the room only had three beds, they shared one together through the night. She brushed the golden locks from Arenade's face.

"Excuse me while I help myself to a little breakfast." Kanae double-checked that the others were asleep— they were— then scooted down between Arenade's legs. She licked the little nub, slightly wet from sweating all night. The salty taste vanished after the first taste, and the second was making the high elf squirm.

"Mm… Kanae, wait…" Arenade mumbled in her sleep.

Kanae didn't wait. She sucked on Arenade's clit while fingering her pussy. Two hands planted on Kanae's head to grab a handful of hair. Arenade started kicking the sheets.

"Hahh… Your tongue… but the cake… is in the oven…" she continued to ramble.

Cake? Was Arenade baking in her dream?

"Don't worry, I have cake right here~" Kanae squeezed Arenade's butt cheeks, causing her pussy to clench.

"Save it…" Arenade lifted Kanae up by the horns.

"Eh?" She watched helplessly as Arenade reared a foot back.

"For later!" Her foot smashed into the side of Kanae's face, sending her rolling off the bed and waking everyone up.

"Are we under attack?" Esta snapped awake first, reaching for the greatsword propped up on her bedside.

Eliza sat upright next, her unopened eyes groggily scanning the bedroom.

"Kanae!" Arenade peered over the bed. "What happened? Did an assassin attack you?"

"Ugh… No… but someone attacked me," Kanae groaned, rubbing her sore cheek.

While everyone was getting dressed, Kanae explained her crime to Eliza's delight, Esta's relief, and Arenade's fury.

"Here I was, worried about you! Only to find out you were eating me out in my sleep!" Arenade strangled Kanae with the vines from her dryadic staff.

"I'm sorry! You looked so cute, I couldn't help myself!" Kanae exclaimed.

She went red up to her pointed ears. "Th-There you go again… Don't I'll forgive you so easily by acting sweet!"

"Anyone else feeling mighty refreshed? I haven't slept that well since achieving my magnum opus," Eliza said while in the middle of stretching her arms.

They turned to the culprit, the bavarii sitting in its glass jar. Kanae did feel a lot more refreshed. Restful sleep had become a luxury with all that had been going on. She kneeled in front of the wisp and gently tapped the glass, thanking it for the rather wet dream it had given her.

The party gathered their things, reapplied ink to Arenade's hair, and Kanae recast Human Form before heading downstairs. Sure enough, just as Kris promised, the eccentric explorer was waiting for them at the table they had occupied last time.

"I'm surprised you guys didn't skedaddle," Kris said with a mug up to her lips.

"Can't very well leave without returning the favor." Kanae grinned.

"Seriously, I owe you guys! Before we head out though…" She pulled out a handful of dweller mollusks.

"Oh, joy…" Arenade grimaced.

Leaving Brimstone Refuge was easier than entering it. Soldiers at the entrance let them out without so much as another glance. Another group presumably seeking shelter in the city were stopped on their way in.

"Where exactly are we headed? You mentioned Tortuga Forge. Was I mistaken to believe it was somewhere inside the city?" Esta asked the guide.

"Yep. Tortuga Forge is an ancient dwarven city. Dwarves aren't known to be so close to the surface, so that makes this one special. It's not exactly abandoned though. Lord Charron tasked Lady Minestra to excavate the place, meaning it's guarded by a fortress," Kris explained.

Which was why she had a tough time entering. They weren't just going to let her in.

Arenade nudged Kanae in the back. She gestured to Kris to ask about 'the thing'. Right. If anyone had any idea about what was north of Artaggon, it was her.

"You've been to a lot of places, right? Have you ever traveled as far north as possible?" Kanae asked.

"North? What's over there that has you so curious?" Kris seemed strangely surprised by the question, but Kanae couldn't tell if it was because it came randomly or some other reason.

"I… have a friend who is desperately trying to go there. Stopped her, of course. It just got me thinking."

"Well, you did your friend right. Few people survive a trip there and back. It's just one big sand dune of nothingness that no one's ever given a name to. However! I'll be the first to uncover whatever secrets are buried under there!" she exclaimed passionately.

Another dead end, huh? Kanae sighed.

The path they were on became a decline. Farther ahead was a range of volcanic mountains. A fortress was built into the side of the entrance, including an encampment of tents and bonfires outside. Mining carts, pickaxes, and other tools were strewn about. A few demon workers and slaves milled about, who shot them uneasy looks.

"Halt!"

A dozen mounted demon soldiers, some of them herzuliths, rode out from the fortress upon bulky and scaled beasts to stop them. One of them dismounted. He folded one pair of arms while the other pair clenched the hilt of his swords. Esta responded in the same manner.

"I'm Sergeant Blarick, the overseer in charge of Fortress Tortuga. State your bus— Kris, is that you? I told you we're not letting you in, and you hired adventurers this time? The forge is still too dangerous! My answer is the same— no." Blarick heaved an exhausted sigh.

"Sorry about this, Blarick. Don't hold it against me," Kris said, then turned to Kanae for help.

"Viscount Bashaun hired us to help excavate Tortuga Forge. Will you be so kind as to escort us to the entrance? We'll take it from there after." Kanae placed a charm on each of them.

Their eyes briefly flashed a shade of pink. They tensed up for a second, but as their shoulders slacken, Kanae knew they had fallen under her control.

"Alright, well… It's your funeral. Don't expect us to pull your bodies out of the lava when you fall in," Blarick said and whistled to his soldiers to perform an about face.

"Whew. That gave me goosebumps. Having a succubus around sure comes in handy!" Kris wiped the sweat from her brow.

As they were led into the fortress, soldiers made odd glances at them before the sight of Sergeant Blarick sent them back to work. Obviously, two humans, an elf, and drakeling were a strange party. However, no one dared to question their commanding officer.

The fortress did seem a little odd. It was more industrial than a military base. There were more smithing hammers and tongs than swords and shields. Instead of watchtowers, smelting furnaces and kilns took up most of the space.

"What exactly do you do here?" Kanae asked the sergeant.

"Dwarves left behind a trove of ingots and machinery. Lord Charron and Lady Minestra want us to salvage all we can. Natural ore is in short supply around Artaggon. We need all the metal we can get against our enemies from the south," Blarick explained and gestured with his chin to a demon laborer, emptying a wheelbarrow of metal bits and contraptions into a furnace.

"Hehe… I'll be the first in Radevic to explore a dwarven city. I'll be the envy of every Aidenhall scholar. It's too bad you're not here, Marwin. I shall take it all in for the both of us," Eliza said, wringing her hands and giggling creepily to herself.

Blarick brought to the other end of the fortress in which two soldiers guarded a lift, much like the ones back in Brimstone, that led into the depths of the volcano.

"Stand down and let these five pass," Sergeant Blarick ordered.

They exchanged glances.

"A-Are you sure, Sergeant? Yesterday, you said no one enters until while—"

"Are you talking back to your sergeant?" He walked right up to the one who had spoken.

"No, sir!" Both of them moved aside right away.

"They sound concerned… should we be concerned?" Kanae whispered to Kris.

"Hey, Blarick. What's going on down under?" Kris asked.

"As you know, we've been excavating the city. We're not sure what they are, but some unsavory monsters are causing collapses all over the place. I wanted to hold off on sending people in until something is done about it," the sergeant explained.

Collapses, monsters… Why did this sound familiar?

Nevertheless, the five entered the elevator. Sergeant Blarick offered them a nod before pulling a side lever, and the platform began its descent into the fiery depths of Tortuga Forge. Out of prying eyes, Kanae and her companions donned their usual equipment at last.

"The heat is getting worse. Now is a good time to pass around the greater fire resistance potions." Eliza handed each of them a vial.

As soon as the liquid slid down Kanae's throat, the stifling heat seemed to have all but disappeared. It was like being back in the Commonwealth on a sunny day.

"Oh, my beloved Halo. I'll never take you off again." Arenade was especially glad to be reunited with her divine equipment.

"Wow. I had a feeling you weren't really from Hellfire. All that equipment on you… you're definitely not from Artaggon either. The only other place I can think of is the Commonwealth. Am I close?" Kris asked.

"We'll just leave that up to your imagination." Kanae winked.

"I thought you said Tortuga Forge was close to the surface. We just keep descending and descending." Eliza tried to peer over the railing, but the elevator fit too snug in this vertical tunnel for her to see anything.

"It's the closest to the surface compared to their other cities," the demon corrected her.

The tunnel finally gave way, offering them a 360 degree view of the city they were descending into. Tortuga Forge, the city of the dwarves. Iron and stone buildings, some buried under rubble, were carved into the cavern walls like sculptors had taken to marble. Giant aqueducts guided lava through multiple channels across the city. Other sections had fallen completely, traces of their existence slowly being consumed by the lava the city was built over. Statues of stout, bearded men were all that remained of the long lost race.

When the elevator came to a stop at the bottom, the platform gate opened for them to step onto the metal-stitched floor dusted with a layer of ashes.

"I'm finally here. This is like a dream come true. Well, one dream. I have so many more after this, but wow!" Kris raced ahead recklessly into the dwarven city.

"Hmm. I'm sensing danger, Master. We should tread carefully," Esta warned.

"HELP! HEEEEEEELP!"

Kris came sprinting back, chased by three faceless humanoids that were… Kanae squinted to get a better look, but Esta drew her greatsword to cut two down and bashed the other with her greatshield.

"Is it just me, or does this one have a big chest?" Arenade asked, picking up one of the humanoids' torsos.

They were made of stone and mud, chiseled to the artisan-level details. The one in Arenade's hands was so detailed, it even had a life-like skin texture around the nipples.

"Maybe the expert can tell us what this looks like." Eliza lifted a piece of the one Esta bashed up which had a distinctly phallic shape.

"That's pretty obviously a dick," Kanae answered confidently, then recoiled in confusion. "Wait, a dick?"

"I don't get it… are these dwarven-made?" Kris panted.

"Golems, it looks like. Made from rock and stone like from my own magic," the sorceress said.

When Kanae squeezed a piece, it was surprisingly supple. The rock portion was actually a very small part of the body. Like joints.

The entire city rumbled. They threw themselves under a building as rubble collapsed onto the street they were on.

"Forget about the golems. Let's find the forge and get out of here," Kanae said.

Once the shaking had stopped, Kanae and Arenade flew up to scout the city. At the other end, lava spewing from the mouth of a three-headed hydra poured into giant metal vats. It appeared to be a forging area, since an anvil rested at the center of the platform. The two returned to the others to inform them of what they saw.

"That has to be the forge, but the forge itself isn't what I'm looking for. The compass… maybe it's in a warehouse near it. The dwarves had to have been using it to determine the ore they were about to smelt," Kris insisted.

They helped each other over the mound of rubble only to come face to face with more earthen golems on the other side.

"Damn. Why are there so many? And why do they all have genitals?!" Arenade exclaimed.

Now that Kanae got a good look, many of them were sculpted to have big tits and dicks.

"Master, wait!" Esta shouted as Kanae slid down to them.

"I don't think they're hostile. Look." Kanae reached out to squeeze the tits of one golems.

In response, the golem began to act bashful.

Kanae proceeded to grope the golem in every part of its body. The curves, the many grooves in its hair, and even the slit-opening of its crotch. It was almost like…

"Sex dolls," Kanae muttered under her breath.

"Sex what? You're joking." Arenade made a disgusted face.

"They can't be," Eliza chimed in. "Clearly, the dwarves made them to use as defense against invaders."

"No, I think Kanae has a point," Esta interjected.

Everyone snapped to Esta, who was the last person they expected to agree with Kanae.

She continued, "I mean, they were too soft and weak. I defeated them with ease. They made for poor defenders."

"Even Esta agrees! I'm telling you, they have to be sex dolls! Watch." Kanae pulled her underwear aside and pulled the dweller mollusk out of her pussy, then beckoned to a golem with a dick.

The obedient construct grabbed Kanae by the waist and plunged its earth-made dick into her. Everyone's jaw dropped.

"Ahhh… See? They… It's like they were built for this… nngh!" Kanae climaxed and dropped to her knees.

"No… I refuse to believe it," Eliza said, backing away from the golems. "Are you telling me the ancient dwarves, architects of iron and steel, the smiths of the underworld, were…? This has to be a mistake!"

They watched as Eliza broke into a house. She came back out a moment later with something in her hand. It was a long, rod-shaped metal contraption tapered on both ends.

"This must be a weapon!" Eliza insisted, and pressed a button that made both ends gyrate and thrust.

"No, I'm pretty sure that's a two-sided vibrator," Kanae said.

"Are you kidding me? Did you know?!" She smashed the object into the ground and stormed up to Kris.

"I-I only know they made mechanical things, not that they were sexual in nature!" Kris stammered.

"I remember now…" Arenade mumbled only enough for Kanae to hear. "Marrowyn and his dwarves were—"

The volcano shuddered and wouldn't stop. Stone from the ceiling shook loose and crashed down on the city. With it came giant worms with rocky exteriors, landing all around them.

"I knew it. Stone borers!" Kanae shouted.

The rock-eating monsters lunged at the helpless golems with sharp, crushing beaks. Kanae lassoed one with her whip and flung it over the edge into the lava.

"Behind you!" Eliza warned, shooting a freezing spell to stop two borers from catching Kanae.

Esta finished them off, slamming her greatshield and shattering their hardened bodies.

"Hurry to the forge!" Kanae pointed down the street. "Sex— I mean earth golems, distract the borers!"

Although not fit for fighting, the golems threw themselves on the borers to slow the monsters down. The party seized this chance to make way for the forge.

"First the Moonlit Avenue, now the dwarves… What must a sorceress do to find ancient knowledge that doesn't involve sex?" Eliza groaned while racing ahead.

They ran across a bridge suspended over lava, but a boulder crashed in front of them. As the way through collapsed, Kris plummeted along with the rubble. Kanae spread her wings and scooped the explorer back up. She glanced behind and was relieved that Arenade and Eliza were holding Esta's arms as they flew to the other side.

"This place won't last much longer. Those borers have eaten the caverns to the point of total collapse. Not that I mind all this being lost to the earth," Eliza cursed.

"The warehouses!" Kris made a run for it into a building the moment Kanae let her down.

Kanae was about to go help search until Arenade grabbed her arm.

"Look. Is this what I think it is?" Arenade asked.

They followed her eyes to a worktable. A hammer and chisel weighed down a very brittle map that was burnt at the edges. Parts of it were charred beyond recognition, but Kanae and Arenade wouldn't mistake a part of the geography for anything else— the Commonwealth.

It was a map of Artaggon, stretching all the way down to the border between the Commonwealth and Radevic.

"The dwarves have a map of this portion of the continent. Is this supposed to be profound?" Eliza asked, unimpressed by what Arenade found.

"For a scholar, you suck at reading between the lines. You see this red circle at Suvius? Isn't that where we are, at Tortuga?" Arenade said.

The dwarven city of Tortuga Forge was marked with a hand holding a hammer, but the color was incredibly worn. There were other points of interest on the map with the same symbol. Four more places in particular: one near Talahurah, another just shy northeast of Highgreen where the frigid mountains began, a third between Radevic and Orturic, and the last one—

"This part right here, just past the enormous lake, is Garrison Charron. North of that… Isn't this where Lady is at a standstill with the Mistress of Love and Mistress of Debauchery?" Kanae asked.

"It is," Eliza said, then gasped hard. "These must be other dwarven cities!"

Peering hard at the map, Esta agreed. "Not that I doubt Lady Dahlia's strength, but even she would struggle against two mistresses. The reason they are stalled there…"

"Has to be because they're searching for the dwarven city!" Arenade concluded.

But what for? It couldn't be just to uncover sex toys, could it?

While the others continued to study the map, Kanae was drawn to the anvil. There were metal molds leaning against the anvil that looked like individual pieces of body parts. This 'forge' looked more like an assembly line. Steel-forged limbs, dangling from hooks on the metal beams above the forge lent proof to that.

Kanae was most curious about the brown orb the size of a baseball sitting atop the anvil. Glowing red lines ran along it like a maze. She picked it up and wondered if it was cool to the touch or if Eliza's fire resistance potion protected her.

The entire place shuddered even more violently. Stone borers continued to fall. A few landed in the lava vats, tipping the massive thing over and pouring lava out.

"We'll figure that out later. Take the map. Let's help Kris find the compass and get out of here," Kanae said.

Arenade carefully rolled up the fragile map but bits and pieces kept chafing off.

"The warehouse! Go!" Eliza boomed, then willed the metal ingots around them to life. They amalgamated into golems first, then linked together to form a wall to stop the wave of lava flowing toward them.

Esta kicked the door into the warehouse open. Contraptions laid strewn on the floor as Kris rummaged through the boxes, tossing things she didn't care over her shoulder.

"Lava's closing in!" Kanae exclaimed in panic.

"I think I found it!" Kris lifted the prized trinket, which was a silver compass with the vague face of a dwarf on it. She popped it open and a twitching dial laid within.

"Are you sure? How in three hells do we know if that's it?" Arenade asked.

"Uhhh… F-Find gold! Gold!" the explorer shouted at the compass.

The dial spun rapidly, then stopped right at Kanae and pointed at the gold jewelry she wore. Everyone was in disbelief that they had found it— until Eliza stumbled through the door with a teleportation pellet in hand.

"It's now or never!" Eliza activated the pellet just as one side of the warehouse caved inwards and bursted into flames.

A bright light blinded them.

Magic yanked them through space-time, spitting them out into a pile in the transportation floor of Eliza's tower. A couple of crates marked with the dwarven symbol of a hand holding a hammer traveled with them.

"Hot, hot, hot!" Arenade patted out a fire on her dress and frowned at the damage done.

"Well…" Eliza stood up and flicked the depleted teleportation pellet away. "Let's not do that again anytime soon."