671Chapter 61: I Bought a Whorehouse (Part 14)
Much like he'd predicted cleanup had gone as simply as expected, Griselda an overwhelming enough force when not stuck in limbo that they'd even managed to capture the majority of the garrison as opposed to killing them, Asuka giving a very stern and very pointed talking to the bruised and bound Mishea and Gracia, Issei and the others ensuring the hooded and robed figures were safely squared away, divesting them of their hoods and revealing a collection of characters ranging from clearly psychotic to painfully mundane.
And while he'd like to get to Lilim as fast as possible there really wasn't much he could do with his meager amount of MP, even if it was regenerating at a pleasant rate. And combining with Oct wasn't much use at this juncture either since they'd both spent their pools of energy pretty lavishly, thus he was stuck as they took the expedited but ultimately safer step of ensuring they weren't about to get backstabbed.
To that end he glanced towards where Yumi was intently staring at where they had trussed the young girl up, still out cold due to his assault and seeming almost peaceful in her unconsciousness, as if the lack of awareness had finally afforded some measure of solace.
He couldn't even begin to guess what was going through Yumi's head at the moment. Relief? Anxiety? Rage? A potent cocktail of all three or more?
He was snapped out of his thoughts as Issei, Griselda, Eleonor and Onisaki approached, the Dark Elf explaining, "We're going inside, Asuka will stay here to help keep an eye on the prisoners."
"Appreciate it, I kinda burnt up all my energy making sure things over here went according to plan, I'm not going to be of much use inside."
Onisaki fiercely blushed as she no doubt remembered the sensation she'd experienced firsthand when he'd used [Tantric Rejuvenation], staying quiet but giving him a sullen stare as if he'd deliberately made things uncomfortable for her which he kinda did but that was the price of doing business, as it were.
"Heh, no worries, I guess this is where I get to show my stamina, isn't it~?"
Issei's cheerful comment drew eye rolls from the group as Cayman merely replied, "Show that endurance off by making sure our infiltrator is still in one piece, alright?"
"Can do."
The squad turned to enter the installation, Till landing on Cayman's shoulder as she wryly said, "I think you encouraged him too much to try and outdo you."
"Nah, he's just naturally competitive. So what did-"
Blinking as rather than a complete sentence leaving his lips a wet wheeze slipped out, field of view switching from his Fairy companion to the rocky ceiling as he tried to make sense of just what the fuck happened, distant voices sounding quite a bit alarmed as he decided to take a moment to rest and simply enjoy his reclined position.
At least until a haze of blue light brought him back to a semblance of sanity, pain and asphyxiation causing him to jerk and spastically cough as some measure of coherence returned.
"Cayman, hold still! Just let me heal you and you'll be alright!"
Gazing downwards with no shortage of disbelief at the giant fucking hole in his chest Cayman reflected that shock and a reduced sense of pain thanks to his Gamer setup were a hell of a drug.
Although that then begged the question of who the fuck decided to turn his lungs inside out, now didn't it?
Weakly raising his head adrenaline spiked through his system as he beheld none other than Ereshkigal herself, striding out from the base with a strangling Lilim held aloft while Valper casually followed behind her, seeming perfectly at ease with the carnage and destruction they'd wrought.
The moment of probably dying passed as Oct also dove into his body, artificial organs replacing his crisped and missing lungs as he spastically coughed for air, a cold and imperious voice remarking, "Well aren't you disgustingly tenacious? To be expected of one who has been such a persistent thorn in my side."
Meeting Ereshkigal's hateful gaze full on Cayman merely offered a lopsided grin marred by his own blood, staggering to his feet with an utterance of, "What can I say? I tend to be hard to get rid of."
Swiftly glancing around him he found everyone on the cusp of attack, held back only by Lilim acting as a shield for the Demon noble as they waited to see what his instruction would be, seeing as the Succubus was part of his team.
"Make any attempt to move and I shall end this wretch's life."
And of course the uptight bitch caught onto their wordless communication, tightening her grip ever so slightly as Lilim pitifully gagged, Cayman swiftly raising a hand to halt the rest of the team as Valper took that as his cue to stride forward, gazing at Yumi and Tosca as his bodyguard practically shook with the intention of murdering her most hated enemy on the spot, the researcher unconcerned with the danger posed as he cocked his head, casually remarking, "To think I once labeled the two of you as failures and not worthy of the program…yet here you are before my eyes, with newfound strength and worth. Although in poor Tosca's case?"
Valper shook his head in mock sympathy.
"Perhaps she is not as of much value as I believe her to be. Why would relics of the great Excalibur desire a non-virgin with her mind broken and restructured by Real's less than tender mercies?"
An audible creak emanated from where Yumi was digging her fingers into her palms, Ereshkigal raising her staff the blonde's general direction in clear warning as Griselda took the opportunity to send Cayman a pointed look, making it clear that she was willing to make the sacrifice if necessary as he minutely shook his head.
While he doubted the Demon noble was powerful enough to fight their whole squad and win handily he WAS certain she could fend them off long enough to get the fuck out of dodge, which meant she was feeling incredibly safe and confident.
And that was exploitable.
"All the same, I require the Excalibur Fragments you have taken and Destruction would be most appreciated. Lady Ereshkigal-"
"You do not have the privilege of uttering my name, Human."
Valper didn't seem all that put out by the Demon's sharp rebuke, merely shrugging as he amicably smiled, Ereshkigal turning her gaze on the rest of the squad as she ordered, "Return those toys. Now."
Cayman promptly opened his inventory and tossed Nightmare and Rapidly to the 'holy' man, Issei looking as if the Surveyor had completely lost his mind…and threw both Destruction and Transparency onto the pile of artifacts at Griselda's pointed look, disgruntlement clear to read on his expression.
"And as for my side of this exchange?"
She pointed Lilim Cayman's way, the poor Succubus turning purple as tears and snot dripped out of her abused body, the Surveyor making sure his ire - a surprisingly potent mix of it, he idly observed - was carefully hidden as Ereshkigal stated, "Your life for this creature's. Offer these and I will not erase you all where you stand."
A bold proclamation but Cayman seized on it, sensing an opportunity.
"And I have your word that you'll let her live?"
"You do, although I cannot fathom why you'd sacrifice your life for hers."
"Let's just say she's special."
He saw Lilim try to shake her head but could only soundlessly rasp some kind of warning, head tilting to and fro as he watched savage triumph blaze to life in Ereshkigal's eyes.
"Gotcha, bitch."
While the Demon noble obviously had no intention of letting Lilim live, knowing what she was, she had inferred that he knew and was some kind of guardian or protector of Kamadeva's true daughter, perfectly willing to lay down his life to ensure her safety. No doubt she was just interested in killing him to torment Lilim, finish the job and then be on her merry way.
Cayman idly wondered if Ereshkigal had any idea that, in this particular instance, he was the damsel in distress waiting for his protector to come save him.
"Abandon your Familiar first. Then approach."
Oct slowly slithered out of his body, Till having been hard at work the entire time and completed enough of her craft that he could at least breath with labored and painful motions, chest still a mass of unhealed scar tissue and oozing liquid as he staggered forward on unsteady legs, Onisaki blurting, "Are you crazy, she's not going to keep her end of the-"
He held up a hand, halting the declaration as he came to a stop no more than seven paces away from the hungry-eyed Ereshkigal, the Demon practically salivating at the prospect of murdering him.
"You ready in case this goes sideways, Cerb?"
"Sure am. Thought you'd forgotten about me up here."
"So has Ereshkigal, if I had to guess."
Lilim let out a desperate croak as Ereshkigal raised her staff, yellow eyes wide and desperate as he sent her a lopsided smile that was a counterpoint to the Demon noble's perverse own, wondering if that would be enough of a trigger-
-and with a desperate motion the Succubus grabbed the necklace around her neck, ripped it off…engulfing the area in an explosion of energy that sent Cayman flying ass over tea kettle which really didn't feel all that great considering his current condition but he figured it was a hell of a lot better than whatever Ereshkigal had planned.
"Also fuck yeah, did I call that right or what?"
Ever faithful Till was at his side in an eye blink, immediately getting back to work on his chest as the Surveyor groggily waved away some of the drifting dirt that had obscured his vision, gazing with no shortage of appreciation at the sight that greeted him. Lilim in her Awoken form, firmly planted between him and Ereshkigal as a haze of magic covered her impressively busty body, ornate cloth and painted on bodysuit complimenting far larger and more lethal looking wings as her spaded tail lazily wove about, a cultured and no-nonsense voice ringing out with, "Touch so much as a hair on his head, thief, and you might just live long enough to regret such an action!"
+10 DEV with Lilim [10/100]
Lilim, LVL 80
HP: 7000
MP: 40,000
STA: 7000
STR: 450
DEF: 300
MAG: 5000
MAG DEF: 1500
AGI: 220
While Cayman would have been perfectly happy to just sit there and watch Ereshkigal's expression morph into one of thwarted rage he wasn't afforded the opportunity as a wave of holy energy slammed into the Demon's side, Griselda capitalizing on the opportunity presented as she charged forward with a burst of speed, Lilim blinking at the sudden interruption but helping out regardless as she manifested a tidal wave of bloody water that chased after Ereshkigal like a sentient sea serpent, the combined assault causing the previously triumphant Demon queen to unleash a bloodcurdling shout of pure, thwarted rage as her arm smoked and burned as a result of the Exorcist's movements, orb of compressed energy forming atop her scepter-
-and least until Lilim's waters dove on top of it, nullifying and absorbing every last erg of power as Ereshkigal suffered another blow from Griselda, fury replaced with desperation as the reality of the abrupt turnaround became apparent, her staff once more raised aloft as snakes formed of raw energy dove up into the rocky ceiling, burrowing through it at a frenetic pace as the Surveyor idly noted they were about to be crushed by a metric fuck ton of rock, the Demon queen fleeing into the base as they were given the unenviable choice of chasing after her to finish the job or leave some people behind to get squished.
And because the crew he was working with were generally the nice sort they didn't hesitate in grabbing the bound and gagged prisoners, loading them up and running like hell as out of the corner of his eye he watched Yumi - freed from her forced inactivity - dash forward, Valper's blinking eyes joining his head in flying through the air as a clean slash through the neck ended his miserable life, Cerb tossing Cayman onto his back and making a mad dash for open ground, the Surveyor idly staring upwards as cracks and fractures formed with alarming intensity before falling directly atop of them-
-and the world took on a bloody hue as Lilim pursed her lips, brow adorned with sweat as the waters she controlled held up an ungodly amount of rock and stone for a few precious seconds as they escaped back out into the embrace of the Demon world's unnatural sky, Lilim letting go of her Atlas impression as the overhang at last gave way, a titanic impact kicking up a shitstorm of dust and sediment as Cayman decided that he'd done his part and falling asleep for a while sounded…nice.
So he did.
"Fuck, now that's a nap I would kill for, I feel great."
Rising back to consciousness with glacial slowness Cayman decided hugging the warm body into his side was a far better use of his time and effort than thinking too hard-
-and snapped back to full awareness, reaching out to Cerb and Oct as he inquired, "What happened, how long was I out?"
"Relax, leader. We're back with the Dark Elves and everyone's all right, still figuring out the details of prisoner and relic exchange, though."
"You were only unconscious for five hours, Master. Fully healed as well."
Breathing out a sigh of relief that everything had turned out alright in the end the Gamer let his hand lazily drop over the generous and warm hip that shared his bed…and blinked, the second oddity of his circumstances making itself apparent.
That of a busty, super powerful and super cuddly Succubus practically molding herself into his side as Cayman decided he quite liked the feeling of her tits on his ribs, instead calling up his stats and nodding in satisfaction at what he found.
Cayman Lute, LVL 39
HP: 2450
MP: 9200 + 1840
STA:4800
STR: 255
DEF: 265
AGI: 520
MAG: 785 + 157
MAG DEF: 1020 + 204
REIGN: 55
EXP: 300/4000
It'd been a moment since he'd gotten any more level ups and was happy at what he'd achieved, especially since he could see tangible results coming through as a result. The old Cayman upon first wandering into this world would have died a dozen times over during that whole series of events and wouldn't have been able to contribute much, that was for certain.
A cute yawn snapped him from his introspection, Lilim waking up and lazily blinking as she saw that he was awake, languidly rolling onto his chest and meeting his gaze with an intensity that could leave even a young and virile man such as himself blushing like a shy schoolboy, such was the rawness of her sex appeal.
Instead of doing any of that he just let his hands gently stroke the base of her tail and massage her back, genuinely smiling as he said, "I knew you'd come though and save my ass."
A happy grin adorned the Demon's full and inviting lips, her hands snaking upwards to cup his cheeks-
-and the mood was mildly ruined by Lilim pinching and painfully stretching said cheeks, adorably pouting as she archly stated, "And just what the fuck was that 'plan' of yours, Cayman? Hmm~?"
Gaining an erection at lightspeed due to the Demon's new attitude, looks and aura Cayman still attempted to play it cool, replying, "Wath a long thot, thure, buth it wahked, right?"
Letting his face go the Succubus didn't look entirely mollified, the Surveyor working his jaw for a moment before adding, "Besides, I couldn't just let Ereshkigal kill you, better to give her something else to focus on until you could save the day."
+5 DEV with Lilim [15/100]
"I think you're just trying to sweet talk your way out of a much deserved scolding."
"I can feel your tail going crazy in my hand. I think you aren't anywhere near as upset as you're pretending to be."
"Mmm…I guess that's true."
Cayman abruptly felt himself trapped beneath sex on legs that was attempting to kiss the life out of him, his hands leading a life of their own as one grabbed a generous heaping of perfect ass, the other fondling a heavy tit as heat and desire alongside an indescribably rich taste suffused his senses, broken only when Lilim abruptly sat up, the bed's blankets thrown back and exposing her sinfully beautiful body for his viewing pleasure, tail winding around his dick and giving a few dexterous tugs as the Succubus hummed, "Ooh, now that's a cock even I would struggle to handle~! But as a reward for your faith and bravery I think I'd like to give it a try…"
The charged words were like auditory gold, Cayman thickly swallowing…and rolled out of bed, grumbling, "Unfortunately I get the impression that if we start we aren't going to be stopping anytime soon and I need to check in with everybody."
A disappointed whine emanated from behind him as he grabbed what he assumed were clothes the Dark Elves had left for him, seeing as how his previous attire was a bit of a wreck. But thankfully there was the sound of rustling cloth and upon making himself presentable he found Lilim sporting a local garb of her own, white and gold strips of cloth that really didn't hide much but he wasn't actually complaining-
"You knew about my heritage, didn't you? Who and what I truly was?"
-and found himself brought up short by Lilim's abrupt question, slowly replying, "I strongly suspected. Moko pretty much confirmed it for me when I got that necklace for you, since it was apparently tied to your mother or belonged to her."
Lilim continued to stare at him with a completely shuttered expression, Cayman wondering if he had actually insulted or annoyed her by playing it cagey…and was instead treated to a sultry giggle as she grabbed his arm and placed it between her ample bosom, guiding him out of the room while cheerfully explaining, "I'm not mad, silly. I got all of my memories back, those of father, mother, the sealing of my strength…"
She shook her head.
"How do you even go about explaining that? You did the right thing, making it so I had to willingly step through that door myself."
"In a way that made you angry, of course."
She gave him an honest to god spank with her tail, impishly grinning while sultrily chirping, "And first chance we get I'm going to punish you in a way you'll never forget~!"
"Well shit, something to look forward to, then."
Exiting the cozy house they'd dumped him into Cayman took a deep breath of fresh air, noticing that the Dark Elf village seemed to be in a state of celebration as distant cheering and singing filled the area, the Surveyor nodding in satisfaction as he asked, "So what's everybody up to right now?"
"Till is making sure no one leaves without checking in with you first, something the Dark Elves agreed to enforce since she kinda bullied them into doing so. Aside from that everyone is looking after those sword pieces or whatever and taking it easy. Oh, Yumi is watching her friend since last I saw she's still out like a light. That's all I know since I decided to cuddle next to you afterwards~!"
"Then let's forgo the celebration for the moment and see if we can solve Yumi's baggage first."
"Ooh, I like the sound of that…"
Wondering if she was able to pick up on his insinuation Cayman eventually shrugged and put it out of his mind, instead letting her lead him to where his bodyguard was located and anticipating a successful quest rather than a dud like the last one had been. Sure, the nature of Under EDEN's brainwashing and corrupting was different compared to the Incubus King's but his powers seemed pretty potent when applied in their respective fields, he was willing to bet he could get Tosca back on her feet and 'normal' again.
…Well, maybe back on her feet once the soreness vanished but there wasn't much he could do about that.
Cerb and Oct came into view as they stood guard outside a small but solidly constructed house, the Hellhound sprawled out in the grass while Oct had draped himself across a decorative tree, Cayman smiling at his summons and remarking, "Goes without saying, but you two pulled your weight today."
Cerb's tail lazily thumped while Oct idly waved a tentacle, prompting a chuckle from the Surveyor as he ordered, "Make sure no one slips inside, I'm going to be busy for a bit."
A huff in the affirmative from his canine summon, Cayman opening the door for Lilim as they took stock of the situation inside, Yumi instantly leaping to her feet and swaying dangerously as she tried to focus on Cayman properly, clearly exhausted as the Surveyor decided to sate his curiosity first, inquiring, "Saw you remove Valper's head from his shoulders…did that feel good?"
He got the earnest response he'd been looking for thanks to her exhaustion and the suddenness of his words, the blonde firmly replying, "It's something I'd been dreaming of doing for years. It feels…like I'm just a bit lighter and freer now."
Cayman nodded in approval, smirking as no less than a second later Yumi's eyes had widened, hastily commenting, "I-I didn't make any trouble for you, did I? I know we were trying to take prisoners but I saw an opportunity and couldn't stop myself-"
"Relax, I doubt anyone will raise a stink about it considering how chaotic everything was. And if they do take you to task I'll not so kindly tell them to take a fucking hike."
Yumi shyly inclined her head as Lilim giggled, pulling the blonde into a full-bodied and overly affectionate hug as she cooed, "Oh you are just so adorable in your loyalty~!", the male turning to a simple bed where Tosca lay bound and gagged just in case she attempted to end her life, bodysuit removed and sporting the now familiar attire of a Dark Elf, hers a bit more on the modest side as it acted more like a combination of stockings, arm gloves and swimsuit than it did fetish piece.
It also highlighted her lithe and cat-like musculature, clearly a result of Under EDEN's training regimes and Cayman - still a bit riled up from Lilim's teasing - found that as a true omnivore he liked what he was seeing.
"You know the drill, Yumi. If you want to step outside for this now's the time, no telling if this will be quick and easy or long and hard, no pun intended."
"I…can I help?"
Blinking as he turned to stare at Yumi his bodyguard fidgeted madly, eyes darting to and fro as she nervously swallowed, adding, "Tosca…she might be all I have left of my past, it doesn't feel right to just let you have to deal with it for my sake."
Before Cayman could reply to that the blonde released a startled yelp as Lilim's tail poked her in the arm, the Succubus complaining, "Geez, enough of all this wishy washy stuff! We're going to help your long lost friend, you're going to get fucked in the process and I'm going to have a good ol' time watching it~!"
"What does that me-hmph?!"
Yumi stiffened as whatever aphrodisiac Lilim shot into her took effect, face warming and body shuddering as the Succubus pranced on over to Tosca, stinging her the same way before nodding in satisfaction, announcing, "That should make it easier for her, now let's get the show on the road~!"
Cayman blinked, not expecting that little speedbump but certainly not about to complain as it made his job that much easier.
"All right…let's get your friend back, Yumi."
"And blow out her back~!"
"Time and a place, Lilim."