The fiery barbarian woman advanced across the forest with sure steps. She cared not for the denizens of this land as they were too weak to be a challenge to her and her holy greatsword, so her eyes only saw ahead, towards the presumed nest of the beast.

She only wore the bare minimum to preserve her dignity as the rest of her armor had decayed from wear long ago. With the power of her scales, she needed no armor, anyway.

After a long and sweaty session of running, she finally stopped before a tall, ominous, dark mountain. The large cave before her was the obvious entrance to the nest, and dragons weren't known to sleep too deep due to their size, so after a short rest, she prepared herself for battle and continued her advance.

But a deep rumbling laugh coming from the cave stopped her. "Do I see a new challenger approaching? Another fool that has come to throw their life away into my jaws?" The voice mockingly asked.

"I've come to end your wretched existence, beast!" The barbarian shouted angrily and fed mana into her greatsword, making it shine with a dangerous, pure light.

"I only live off the land like any hermit, yet you have the audacity to threaten me? I'll add you to my collection of-…" A huge, shiny head peeked out of the darkness, then the dragon stopped in his tracks once his eyes saw the redhead woman before him. "Well, aren't you a beauty."

"That's what all the other insolent fools said before they fell to my sword," the barbarian replied ferociously.

The dragon narrowed his eyes in displeasure and stepped out of the shadows, but the sight of his full body caused the barbarian's will to falter. His scales had the same shine, the same mirror-like reflection, the same divine aura as the metal that made up her holy greatsword.

How could it be? How could a beast's scales be comparable with a weapon created by the Gods?!

"Your little toy won't be able to hurt me," the dragon warned the barbarian with a tired tone. "But you're welcome to feed me your delicious, supple, and gorgeous body."

And that inflamed the barbarian's rage. She cared not for the mystery of this dragon, all she wanted now was to make it pay for its disrespect!

But the dragon spoke the truth. Her greatsword couldn't pierce him.

She was smacked by a large set of claws and thrown towards a rock, then she hit her back and head against it with such force that the stone was pulverized, but a few seconds later, she rose up again while groaning.

"Oh? You're still alive? How intriguing," the dragon remarked casually, then sighed tiredly. "It's such a shame that I have to kill a fierce warrior like you."

"You can always just die by my sword!" She roared as she charged again, aided by the flap of her draconic wings as her emerald scales shined in the sunlight.

The dragon simply used one of his clawed hands to flatten her against the ground, but again she survived the attack, though now she was bound, pressed against the floor and with no way to escape.

Each of the dragon's five claws was as long as her strong arms, and their sharpness allowed them to dig grooves into the stone with ease, yet they couldn't break her emerald scales.

"Imagine how big, strong, and ferocious our children would be," the dragon continued with a wistful tone.

And the barbarian hummed loudly in confusion, "Huh?!"

"I'd rather take you as a wife than kill you," the dragon admitted, a jarring softness in his tone that somehow made her heart beat faster.

"Y-y-you can have children with humanoids?!" She exclaimed in disbelief, the barbaric rage quickly fading away from the shock, and the scales that covered her sun-kissed skin dissipated into mist.

The dragon nodded gently, or with as much gentleness his large scaled head could. "Of course, I can. Dragons are supreme beasts that can mate with anything that has matching genitals, like you do."

Her eyes opened wide. "But you're so big!"

The dragon laughed heartily, then grinned at her. "Women weaker than you have survived and enjoyed it just fine."

The barbarian was stunned by the revelation, and her retort died in her throat as a new flame arose within her. The flame of lust.

The dragon lowered his head, and his long, wet tongue licked her sweaty neck and cheek, its heat almost burning her skin, but its slickness made her shiver, and the smell of his breath was surprisingly minty.

"Did he wash his mouth?!" The barbarian thought, completely disarmed by the ridiculousness of the situation.

"You taste so good…" The dragon hummed, his deep, loud voice making her whole body vibrate, especially her increasingly hot womanly lips. "So, so good…"

The woman stared at the dragon in fear and awe, her jaw slack, and the lustful beast took the opportunity to invade her mouth with his tongue.

The pleasure of the tongue kiss unlocked something within her heart, and her legs quivered as her mind was flooded with depravity.

But the dragon pulled back and released the woman, then stood up on his hind legs.

"Sate your curiosity, follow your heart's desire, you perverted woman," the dragon ordered with a suggestive grin.

The barbarian doesn't have to think too hard about it. Her body wants it, and she's quite eager to follow her instincts.

After Hana passes out, I slide out of her and transform back into a humanoid, then I use [Gate] to get back to the castle and carry her to the bath.

I've given Hana enough attention these last few days, so I focus on the other girls, though, thankfully, nobody else wants anything as intense as Hana did, at least for today.

We invite one of the Companions for dinner. Hana and I are already quite familiar with their bodies, so now, we want to get to know them properly, too.

The muscular elven woman is one of my favorites, and it isn't just because she loves giving blowjobs and receiving facials. Her supermodel face, muscular body, and boisterous personality make her a perfect female Chad, and all I want is to be squished between her and Hana's strong thighs or hugged tight by both of their muscular arms.

No, not that tight, Hana.

Sometimes her asphyxiation fetish becomes a bit too intense and she fantasizes about crushing people's lungs with her bear hugs.

The table is filled with a nice selection of smoked veggies, making for a fragrant meal. There's also not-broccoli basted in chicken fat, making it quite crunchy and deliciously flavored.

"Golden flower, this is so good!" Cerena, the Chad, exclaims happily as she eats the not-broccoli.

"Eat as much as you like. We all know how irresistible our chef's cooking can be," Ciel kindly replies.

"How do the Lordsguard's meals compare?" Hana questions.

Cerena shrugs, then delicately wipes her lips with a napkin and explains, "If you're on duty, all meals are spiked with Conjured food. If you're in the field, half the meal is Conjured food. It's only when you're in the reserves or have time off that you can eat anything truly good, though at least the spiked meals aren't bad."

"It certainly seems better than what the Townsguard eats," Ciel wryly remarks.

Cerena gives her a curious look. "You worked in the Townsguard?"

And our angel nods with a proud smile. "In Rabanara, I worked with them quite often as a combat-healer during the purging expeditions."

Then they share a few stories about the Townsguard of Escanso and Rabanara. Over here, the soldiers seem to be a bit "delicate," so the "coming of age" rites are a common theme in her stories, while in Rabanara, the recruits have trouble building trust, so the most common theme there is people overcoming their differences and achieving something great together.

As dessert comes around, I interject and ask something that I'm always curious about for anyone who serves us, "Why did you join the Lordsguard? If you don't mind sharing such personal matter with us, that is."

She shakes her head gently as she smiles warmly and her long elven ears cutely bounce. "I don't mind," she whispers back, then stops for a moment to collect her thoughts. "When I first joined, it was under the late Lord Mavel's rule, and I had no special motive besides money and prestige. Lord Mavel was a good Lord, so we were happy and proud to serve him, even in the darkest of days."

She turns her eyes to Yunia, and they share a respectful nod, but then the gorgeous Companion slowly begins to smirk as her eyes go back to me.

"I was a Three-Petals Foot Soldier, so I was pretty satisfied with how far I had risen, but then you came along and humiliated me completely by stabbing me in the cunt."

Oh, fuck, that was her!

"I didn't recognize you because you wore a helmet," I blurt out in astonishment.

She grins and shakes her head. "And neither did I. The first time I met you…" -she glances at Hana- "well, all of you, you were like harbingers of death coming from Weepers' dreams to ruin my life, but the second time we met, I only recognized you thanks to Lord Aoi's unmistakable figure because you not only looked very different, but I could sense something in you that was deeper than just a higher 'Charisma.' I felt an intrinsic respect for you, Lord Wolf, so I decided to join the Lordsguard to see what's so special about you…" -she suddenly smirks- "then I saw you and Lord Hana beating down everyone during training, and I started to feel hot between the legs, so I joined the Companions."

"Ah, yes, he does have that effect on women," Roxanne remarks sagely, and Hana, Aoi, Yunia, Osaria, and Klein nod along with her.

"It's only recently that he got [Sexual Charm], so I think it's some part of his Gift that makes him so attractive," Ciel offhandedly adds.

"I think it's divine influence that makes him seem 'trustworthy,' or something that 'disarms' us before him," Yunia opines as she stares at me with a measuring gaze.

"He's Blessed by the Goddess of Knowledge, so maybe it's that?" Osaria suggests.

But Alissa shakes her head and retorts, "He was like that even before the Blessing, so I think it's his Gift that attracts certain types of women."

And Cerena smirks at the girls while she remarks, "Well, he certainly has a lot to thank the Gods for, then."

"Yes, truly enviable," Yunia agrees with a soft whisper as the girls all stare at me.

I grin cheekily as I reply, "Well, my life is quite hard, so be careful what you wish for."

Alissa groans loudly in pain at my pun, but the rest chuckle softly.

"Then let me help you with that," Osaria sensually offers, then I feel her feet touch my hard cock through the thin Snow Weave of my pants.

Cerena has to get to sleep early, so after dinner, I pull out my bottle of Cinco Flores, and we share a drink, then I press her up against the wall, and Hana and I fuck her until her legs give out.

With my cock and seed imprinted into her, I feel satisfied enough to let her go, and we retreat to our game room for another evening of family bonding.

Suddenly feeling like creating something new, I recruit Lina, Aoi, and Yunia, then we add darts and billiards to our collection of games.

Predictably, Lina easily wins against everyone in darts due to her [Throw] while Hana comes in second after a tough match against Alissa, and Klein comes in fourth.

In billiards, Hana, Ciel, and, surprisingly, Aoi come out on top. Lina, Yunia, and I are a tier below them, but we have an even match between the three of us.

"I'm starting to notice how bad I am at every one of these games you come up with, Wolfy," Roxanne bitterly comments.

"At least you win at Civil War and games that need 'Intelligence,'" Osaria retorts, sounding a bit disheartened.

"You're pretty good with cards since they benefit from your 'Charisma,'" Roxanne comforts her back.

Osaria smiles and dramatically remarks, "If only there was a game that benefited from knowing how to suck dick."

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Roxanne smiles smugly. "Or making men orgasm, that'd be the ultimate game for a succubus."

But Osaria raises an eyebrow at her. "I'll be surprised if your race doesn't have any competitions about such things."

"Only for seducing men. The women are too proud to have a competition about actual sex," Roxanne explains matter-of-factly.

And Osaria smirks and suggests, "But we could compete to see who can make Wolfy cum the most?"

Then Roxanne adjusts her glasses as she stares at my cock while in deep thought. "Well, it'd be quite difficult to maintain a scoring system if we only have Wolfy to use."

Osaria chuckles. "I see you've already put some thought into it."

And Roxanne nods. "Of course I have."

Today is the 24th. An, day of Wind. A good day for traveling since [Swift Foot] is known to be more effective today. The Chimeras also love this day because the gems of their ships are a lot more efficient mana-wise.

Alissa wakes me up quite gently, and I use my human hands to play with her furry ears for a bit while the drowsiness slowly fades away.

Everyone except Yunia gained a level from yesterday's fighting.

Alissa, Roxanne, Ciel, Lina, and I leveled up to 58. Hana leveled up to 59, and Aoi leveled up to 41.

I increased my [Earth Magic] by 1 (now 7+4); Alissa increased her [Illusion Magic] by 1 (now 16); Roxanne increased her [Water Magic] by 1 (now 7+34); Hana increased her "Endurance," [Draconic Body], and [Summon Wings] by 1 (now 26, 8, and 9); Ciel increased her [Light Magic] by 1 (now 8+33); Lina increased her [Earth Magic] by 1 (now 1+10); and Yunia increased her [Earth magic] by 1 (now 3+2).

The background for this morning's mana circulation training is a beautiful cave that Palo found while dungeon-delving. The shine of a few crystal lights far away hits the pool before us and reflects blue undulating patterns onto the walls, making for a pretty and calming light show.

Right now, I'm very thankful that we've chosen Osaria as our diplomat, for she's the one who's representing us in a meeting with the Temple and the Tribunal to decide the fate of the non-Wicked members of Dawn of Fire. We want the lower grunts to get lighter punishments than the higher officers since the latter is more complicit in aiding the Wicked than the former, but to get into the minutiae of it with the Tribunal would bore us out of our minds.

With nearly every day being filled with important work, it's nice to have someone we can trust and delegate tasks to. I think we'd quickly go insane if we had to oversee so many different projects on our own.

Lina and I get cuddly with Ciel, slightly disrupting her own circulation training in the process, but it's worth it because I'll never get tired of fondling her bountiful chest and marvelous booty.

"Are you both children?" She asks, mildly amused.

I share a look with Lina, then we both nod. "Technically…" She mumbles wryly.

"And we both want some of these mommy milkers," I add as I wiggle my eyebrows suggestively.

"Insatiable…" Ciel mumbles and rolls her eyes dramatically.

For lunch, we invite another Companion. This one seems to be so infatuated with Hana that her face remains red during most of the meal. She's quiet when it's time to talk, but very loud when it's time to fuck.

"Alright, she isn't really good enough for me to 'concubine' her, but I'll definitely keep her in my 'flings' category," Hana shares through [Bind].

And for the first time, I feel a pang of jealousy since Hana can't share that Companion with me.

"I think we should favor bisexual women who are ready to be shared with everyone to prevent deepening any feelings of jealousy," Alissa suggests through our connection, and I guiltily agree.

"Fine. I'll feel better too if no one feels like they're being neglected," Hana readily accepts.

And after our meal, I have an appointment with the Seekers of Truth to validate Arreira's will, get the temple's approval to allow us to study the undead, and evaluate Aisco's suitability for becoming a Blood Slave.

I meet up with the prospective High Mage in the main hall of our castle along with four Companions and one knight.

Aisco is a thin golden elf with a round, slightly boring face (for an elf), bags under his eyes, and a thousand-metri stare that gives me the creeps. It's like he's dead inside, but his elven, almond-shaped eyes also make him look like he's looking down on everyone.

"Royal Lord Wolf Ryder, it's a pleasure to meet you," Aisco greets drowsily.

"Did you sleep well? You have bags under your eyes," I remark worriedly.

He slowly shakes his head and starts to ramble in a boring tone, "I slept as well as I could considering that I didn't have my custom-built bed, and that my overactive brain didn't want to calm down due to the lack of stimulation, and that the night was too dark, and…" He suddenly freezes for a second then chuckles. "I actually slept really well, all things considered."

I blink blankly as I become speechless for a brief moment. "You… could've asked for such things from the men who were left to guard you… couldn't you?"

He lets out a short, hearty laugh as he shakes his head. "And speak to a stranger? Gods, please, no."

I look at the knight, but he does his best to remain impassive and stay out of this bizarre conversation. "You're… speaking to me, a stranger," I hesitantly point out.

Aisco nods and hums. "But you're the Lord, and I don't really have much of a choice right now, do I?"

"I see…" I mumble, then I turn to the Space mage and give him the signal so that we can get this over with already. "Let's go."

"As you wish," Aisco replies, sounding a bit chipper.

The mage opens a [Gate] for us, and I wordlessly cross through it with Aisco and our guards following close behind.

We appear right outside the temple's main building, but we walk out of the temple's grounds and move towards a large, square building right next to it, the Templar's HQ.

It isn't a particularly interesting building as the Templars are quite frugal, so the only decorations allowed are those made by hand and the vibrant green canopy of leaves for a roof, but the Templars do have a few artists among them, who show their skill through carvings and intricate details.

The entrance hall of the HQ is quite simple. There are a few sofas for waiting, a counter with an armored Templar acting as the receptionist, and two, also armored Templars flanking the only door forward.

The receptionist immediately recognizes us and guides us deeper in. We're in the administrative part of the HQ, so we should be their only appointment for today since so few people come here.

Then we're taken to a waiting room with an ominous, thick, heavy, metal door on the other side.

"Please wait here until your name is called," the receptionist states, then leaves without another word.

"Lovely, more waiting," Aisco sarcastically remarks, then plops down on a seat and immediately zones out.

I share a look with the Companions, and they're more responsive than the knight, smiling wryly behind their helmets.

But we only have to wait for a few moments before the door silently opens, and an androgynous, commanding voice calls my name, "Royal Lord Wolf Ryder. We are ready."

I sigh and enter the room alone, which is a metal box furnished with a single comfortable chair and illuminated by a crystal light in the ceiling.

When I sit down, the door behind me closes and the wall in front raises upwards, revealing a tall, white coffin standing vertically. There's no adornment or detail on the coffin, except for a face carved in the wood where the head of the deceased would be. The face is bald, and its expression is stern with its dead eyes looking down at me. Eyes that I find it hard to not look into.

I feel a chill as a "presence" enters my body and scours through it, searching every corner, nook, and cranny for anything I have "hidden." I feel uncomfortably naked, but the intrusion fortunately only lasts a few seconds.

Then they speak.

"Did the spirit of the late God-Ruler Arreira Soberano, the Unyielding, name you as the successor of his royal lineage?" The voice asks as if they were speaking directly into my ear.

And I feel a very heavy pressure on my back, as if I had a blade against my chest, threatening to kill me if I dared to lie.

"He did," I answer truthfully.

"Did he write the writ you possess?"

"He did."

"Did you send a truthful copy of the writ to the High Priestess, Teresina of the Black Sunrise?"

"I did."

"Changing topics. Do you intend to use the temple's knowledge about the undead in Wicked or heretical ways?"

"No."

"Do you intend to create undead?"

Oh, fuck. This is a trick question.

I breathe in and admit the inevitable, "There is a small chance I could do such a thing, but it'd depend on how dangerous it is, what knowledge I have to gain by doing so, and I'd only ever do it for research purposes."

The Seeker hesitates for a few seconds, giving me a mini-heart attack as I believe that I might've fucked it up.

"Do you intend to become undead?" The androgynous voice continues, and I think I'm in the clear, maybe.

"No."

"Why do you wish to know more about them?"

Regarding this topic, I'm confident that revealing everything is in my best interests. "I fear the undead and heretics because they've targeted me twice, so I want to know what they're capable of and the best way to exterminate them."

"We have no more questions," the voice suddenly declares, then the pressure is instantly lifted, and the wall before me drops back down.

I sigh tiredly and get up, then the door behind me opens, and I leave the room.

What a strange experience.

Once I'm out, Aisco is called in, and we wait for about a minute before he comes back along with a masked Templar.

"Aisco Munco is ready to serve as a Blood Slave," the Templar announces as he bows, then he returns to the metal room, and the door closes behind him.

But the weirdo remains standing, seeming to be quite out of it, or at least more than usual.

"Aisco?" I call for him with a frown.

He seemingly "wakes up" and turns to me. "Yes…?" He asks softly.

"Are you alright?"

He smiles wryly. "I feel like I've been mentally raped, but yes, I'm fine, all things considered."

I hum awkwardly, "Okay…"

Then we return to the castle and call for Esvisor to make Aisco into a Blood Slave.

Aisco Munco Skill Report

Physical

NONE

Magical

Skill Name Level Skill Name Level Skill Name Level Sense Mana 4 Mana Control 30 Reduced Mana Cost 19 Mana Efficiency 18 Fire Magic 81 Light Magic 1 Space Magic 1 Conjuring Magic 1 Alchemy 13

Miscellaneous

Skill Name Level Skill Name Level Skill Name Level

NONE

Info

Name Aisco Munco Age 51 Race Golden Elf HP 100 MP 6,020 Magic Power 3,005 Level 42

Stats

Strength 7 Endurance 7 Dexterity 7 Speed 6 Intelligence 23 Wisdom 20 Willpower 13 Charisma 9 Piety 8 Perception 10 Sanity 10

Other

Status Effects 'NONE' Titles 'Scholar of Goloria, Creator of the Eternal Flame' Affiliations 'Member of the High Circle of Dawn of Fire (Former)' Companions 'NONE' Crimes 'Illegal Slavery (High Forest, Atonement by Slavery, 5 years), Aiding and Abetting the Wicked (High Forest, Atonement by Slavery, 5 years)'

The fucker really is a genius mage. He's even supposed to be smarter than me, though with his low "Charisma," maybe he's too smart for his own good.

Anyway, now that we got this weirdness out of the way, we can explore the Folder of Cycles some more!

We resume where we left off, and I continue zooming in on the "star" from yesterday, but then I soon notice that there's a tessellation pattern emerging. The star is pure white, but there are a few repeating spots that have a subtly darker shade, and they become increasingly noticeable as the zoom level increases.

The girls go silent due to their curiosity as they peek through my eyes, and the High Officers start paying more attention to us as they notice the change.

The pattern that emerges seems like mere hexagonal tiles, but then we notice that there's a depth to the pattern. The "star" isn't one solid mass, it's a "structure."

But then my eyes start to strain as my brain fails to understand the true form of this "structure," just like whenever I've tried to directly peek at the "structure" of a soul.

Fascinating!

The girls start to complain about headaches, so I stop trying to zoom in and just move on to the next Cycles instead. I feel like the Realms are starting to become more complex, so we might find actual life real soon.

"I admit that this is kind of interesting," Yunia remarks through [Bind] with a subtle internal smile.

"Just thinking about what's out there gives me chills," Lina shyly adds.

Gify feeds the girls my memories of aliens, thalassophobia, black holes, and other wonders of sci-fi, entertaining them while I continue scrolling through the Cycles.

Then I feel something odd and stop on one of the Cycles. It looks different, as if all its "petals," the Realms, are fused together in a messy way.

I zoom in on one of the Realms and sense it "shift." There's not much to see, only darkness, but I still get the impression that something is moving.

A feeling of danger flares within my heart, but it grows so strong and so quickly that it paralyzes me for a split second, then something crashes against my mind, and I feel it "crack."

"AAAAAAAAH!" I scream in pain and clutch my head, then Yunia slices at my spine with her [Soul Blade] at the same time that Hana slaps the emellanat manacles onto me, the mages interrupt my spell, and the emellanat cage surrounds me.

But something still got through.

Ciel casts [Judgment] and slices at the "object" that's seemingly made of unknown, indescribable material with an unknown, indescribable shape, and it immediately bursts into a mist that fills the room with the pungent smell of acetone.

I can't move my body, and my mind is wracked with pain, but for some reason, I can still see what's happening around me with extreme clarity, almost as if my consciousness were detached from my body.

Alissa takes control of me and forces me to remove the manacles so that I can [Equip] Patrono, which Hana promptly steals and uses to slice open the emellanat cage, then she activates the sword's divine shine, and everything becomes a blur.