Chapter 431 430: Meet And Greet



"You called~?"

I almost had to sigh as I saw the pink skinned, snake haired Arch Fiend poke her head around the slightly opened door, trying to look as innocent as possible...

All while we both knew she had likely been peeking; otherwise, how would she have managed to get here that quickly?

Unless she heard her name from the other side of the Mansion and swiftly made her way over, like some kind of dog responding to its master...

Cali pouted as she stared at me, before taking a few steps inside the bedroom, her body still covered in violet scales.

"Arch Fiend of Hidden Twisted Pleasures Sla'Caligo at your service~!"

Giving the group an exaggerated bow, Cali beamed at me as she took in my drenched state, her forked tongue flicking out over her plump lips.

"Kat..."

I nodded at Jahi's low growl, saying "This is the woman - the Arch Fiend - that I made a deal with. I would... allow her to take Lust Mana from me, and in exchange she would give me a little boost in power. One with a small initial benefit, but something that has a higher curve later down the line."

"Lust Mana? What..?"

Cali grinned as she sauntered around the room, taking pleasure in looking at everything as she answered Leone's question.

"The same way you mortals have your elemental magics now, us Fiends have our own 'elements' per se. Those of the Sla domain have Lust Mana; Ka have Wrath Mana, Nua have Gluttonous Mana, and the Tza have just raw Mana - which can be shaped however they please. Each of our respective domains gives us the ability to wield that form of mana, which are... rather potent~!"

She flicked her hand out towards us, tendrils of pink energy filling the air as she shrouded us in a haze.

My breathing grew heavy as I felt my womb throb, while the heat inside my body doubled - no, tripled - in intensity, threatening to consume me.

However, just as quickly as it began to sink its talons into me, the heat was drained from my body, leaving me feeling hollow and unmotivated.

When the pink fog dissipated, I returned to normal, the display of extreme lust to none whatsoever rather frightening as we stared at the pink skinned Arch Fiend in front of us.

"That is but a taste of what Lust Mana is capable of. It's a rather fun little emotion, Lust. Most akin it to pleasure, but you can lust for other things as well. Power. Wealth. Fame. Knowledge. So what happens if you were to... oh, I don't know... sap an entire populace of its lust for power?"

Her grin turned demented, and I shuddered slightly as her words began to weigh heavily in my mind, the sheer power from just that one display making me realize the immensity of the Arch Fiend before me.

Cali reined her grin in, going back to a sensual smile as she said "That is one of many ways Lust Mana can be used. Now, it is created in many ways, but the way that Katherine here will be making it for me is simple~! Ten points to whomever could possibly guess how she makes Lust Mana for me~?"

Leone grit her teeth slightly as she growled "Sex."

"Ding~! Correct~! Katherine here would be producing Lust Mana through the most optimal way possible; having sex with those she lusts after~! That means that, right now, she's filled to the brim with juicy Lust Mana, and I want that mana for myself now... And no, little Demoness, I won't be taking it from her the normal way, which would be to bed her~! It's the same way you can take mana from her as well; creating a circuit between myself and the little lusty puppy there~! In exchange, I act as a whetstone for her mana to sharpen itself, giving her a boost here and there..."

The pink skinned Fiend stretched lazily before plopping onto the bed, her eyes roaming each of us as she added "Though, I certainly wouldn't mind letting you three pour some of your lust inside me~?"

"Cali..."

She shuddered slightly as she raised her hands, a soft smile on her face as she said "You said I couldn't actively seduce them~? Well, that was just an offer! Not seduction. Anyways, what she said before is true; we're both bound by an oath to a Goddess, just like Ka'Hondi is bound by an oath to your house as well, little Asmodia. No need to worry about me trying anything bad now, alright? I wouldn't want to lose my precious Katherine..."

Slipping off the bed, Cali hummed to herself before walking over towards the door, where she stopped and glanced back at us.

"All four of you are far more important than you realize, especially now that the Fiends are reawakening and reemerging. Tza'Yul, Ka'Hondi, me... You have three Arch Fiends bound to your group, while some of the strongest mortals to have ever lived are either friends or family. That places the largest target on your heads, girls, so while you might not like us, we three will be your tickets to getting stronger. We're eccentric, self serving, proud... but we can push you above even what your parents were ever capable of. Think that through before levying any judgements."

With that, the Fiend departed from the room, leaving us alone once more to talk everything over.

"The world is changing faster than ever before, according to the Marquess and the Empress. There's no guarantee that we can reach the level of strength needed to survive on our own within the timeframe we've been given. Any help is good in my books."

"But she's an Arch Fiend, Anput! That isn't just 'help'! It's a contract that most likely is weighed heavily in her favor, far beyond anything any of us could even begin to imagine!"

The Jackalkin shrugged, her attitude still the same as she said "How would this be any different from when Jahi takes the mantle of Marquess? At that point, she'll be directly 'contracted' to Ka'Hondi, another Arch Fiend. What about your family, Leone? You were the one to tell us about Tza'Yul, and I can't imagine that they're staying with each of your families from the good will in their hearts."

Leone could only growl softly as she looked away, likely trying to formulate another argument, while Jahi looked down at me and asked "What exactly does she want? Besides the... 'Lust Mana' that you'll be producing?"

"Cali wants to... whittle down the existing Fiend population, removing the ones that she says aren't beneficial to the world and allowing for new Fiends to arise."

Silence once more filled the room, each of the women around me narrowing their eyes at that statement.

An Arch Fiend wanting to purge out other Fiends was definitely fishy - even I could admit that I still had no idea on why she truly wanted to kill so many of her brethren, but...

"Well... At the very least, we'll have one active Arch Fiend around us, capable of giving us tips or advice on how to deal with the Fiends that are reemerging..."

Leone said "Jahi!", her voice laden with surprise and shock as she stared at the Demoness, who was letting out a sigh.

"They've already sworn an oath, Leone. There is little more we can do to affect that. And... Anput is right. We need the help now to prepare for what our 'tomorrow' is going to be like... Fiends and those creatures we fought... They aren't going to wait for us to figure out if a single oath is airtight or not. We need to get stronger fast."

The Vampire grit her teeth once more, her emotions easily readable in her crimson eyes, before she too let out a sigh, slumping her shoulders in defeat.

"Creatures..? And you all fought Fiends?"

Jahi gave me a wry smirk, nodding as she began to tell me of what happened during my absence.