"Well I have to say, this is certainly more comfortable than the last ti you had at your rcy." Cerise Darktouched forces a small smile to her lips as she sips from her wine while she sits in her plush chair.
Seated opposite of her across the small table, Xenia responds with a slight smile of her own. "What, you didn't like being trapped in a magic bubble and thinking you were going to die? Well, suppose it could've had a pillow or two in there."
Cerise makes a show of eyeing her small room before responding. It's not quite as big as one of the floor guardian's apartnts, considering space is at a bit more of a premium these days, but it's still certainly nicer than the average inn. The bed is large and cozy, there's a personal store of food and refreshnts, a private bathroom, and even a bookshelf with a few contents. "It is more comfortable now, yes. I'm not entirely sure about the 'living through this' part of it, however. Gaining a dungeon's rcy once is rare, twice is a fool's hope."
"Ah, co on." Xenia gestures at her chest. "Would I have popped my avatar out for you if I was just gonna kill ya? And it's not like I'm surprised or nothin'. You were pretty plain about your loyalty to the Dragonlord back then. Even if that was back when you thought they were actually a dragon."
The succubus has to laugh at that. "True, that was a bit of a surprise. Them being a dungeon, that is. But it did explain so much, and given that most of the important decisions made by...well, I suppose this isn't really relevant, is it?"
"No?" Xenia raises a questioning eyebrow. "What do you think would be relevant right now then, Cerise?"
"Well, let guess." The Emissary begins counting off on her fingers. "You're looking for intelligence on our forces. You want to know the Dragonlord's next moves. You want to plead your case to the Dragonlord. You want revenge for the mortals who have died or just, well, in general for...everything. Any of those items on the docket?"
"Seems like you wanna put a lot of words in my mouth, if you just rattled off all that off the top of your head." Xenia sips a bit of her own wine and then shakes her head. "Actually, just for the record, I wasn't expecting Taly to bring you back here. That was her idea, not mine."
"Ah. But you were giving her orders, yes? You had so ans of communicating with her? How did she break free of her binds?"
The reincarnator considers the question before answering. "Well, suppose you ain't gonna be trying that again either way, so may as well tell you. I was still able to pump her full of new skills from the library even while she was trapped out there. None of your magic bubbles or whatever stopped that at all."
"Fuck." Captured and isolated from her colleagues, Cerise finds that her desire to keep a prim and proper appearance is quickly fading. "Of course, I didn't even - dungeons change the skillsets of their floor guardians so rarely I didn't even think about the chanics of it! I assud at least a respawn would be required...dammit! Well, however it happened, I am here now. Even if it wasn't planned ahead of ti, you've had hours to consider the matter now. Am I to be inford of my fate?"
Xenia doesn't answer that right away, and instead shifts the topic. "Lyota works for now. You might've noticed? She was involved in the breakout." When the agent nods, she continues. "That wasn't just sweet-talking. She ca around after she apparently got an 'ENLIGHTENNT' from being near ." The finger-quotes she puts around the demonic word may have been an attempt to add so levity, but Cerise's widened eyes indicate that she's taking it quite seriously regardless.
"What!? She - the guilt? Or...such? She said that sothing felt different when we arrived, if I recall. That...well, I won't ask the details I suppose, but that's extraordinary!" She takes a mont to digest that before continuing. "I...suppose I cannot bla her for changing sides. Almost everything else in a demon's life would take second stage compared to such a feat."
"So I'm told. Which makes wonder if maybe I could offer sothing like that to you. Maybe get on a gal's good side, hrmm?"
The thought causes Cerise to laugh loudly. "Ha!? Xenia, you have a demon advisor on your staff, yes? Surely you know it's not that easy."
"I did get a general idea of things, yeah, but sure, educate ." Xenia spreads her arms wide. "What would it take for a succubus like you to find that sort of thing?"
"It's not sothing we tend to think about very much!" The Emissary shakes her head in disbelief, setting her wine aside. "It's so difficult to find that most demons don't even begin to consider such a thing until they're three or four hundred years old! In case you're wondering it's not just 'have a lot of sex', Xenia. If it was just that, the Dragonlord could arrange that for us rather trivially."
"Assuming they wanted to. But sure, I'm told it's hard to pull off. Do you actually know yourself how it'd be done?"
Cerise rubs her temple, having not anticipated having to struggle with this particular issue any ti soon. "As you may know, the thods vary based on each line of demon, and our...specialized diets. For succubi and incubi, we feed off of physical pleasure and pain. Absorbing a great deal all at once might do it, but it might only be a single ingredient. It may need to be sothing unique, sothing that adds a brand new kind of pleasure or pain to the world's experience. It's not sothing every demon can achieve, not just because it's difficult but because the requirents may very well make that impossible. It's limited by its very nature."
"Hrmm." Xenia gets a thoughtful look on her face. "Well, maybe if Kahlia puts in a good word with Taina for , get so Goddess of Love action - "
"Xenia." Cerise stops her there with a shake of the head and a serious expression on her face. "I appreciate that you're even considering this, but stop. The idea of manufacturing an ENLIGHTENNT just to dangle as a carrot, well...your self-confidence is impressive, but don't. It's not necessary and you've already changed the continent enough as it is. There's no need to trivialize sothing which we demons consider...well, holy, for lack of a better term."
"Fine, fine." The reincarnator pauses as a realization occurs to her. "What do you an it's not necessary, though? Did I win you over already through the power of conjured wine and comfy chairs?"
"What? No. No. It's just..." The succubus sighs. "I do believe the Dragonlord would be a fine ruler for this continent, 'tyrant' or not. They'd be like a god walking upon the world! There are so, so many good things they could do with that power."
Xenia raises an eyebrow. "I sense a 'but' coming in there."
"But when I think of you, and your own potential, I...admit I have been having so doubts as to the current course of action. You have your own unique offerings for this world, don't you? Your experience compares to that of so of the eldest immortals in this world, you offer your own path to immortality...for the worthy, at least." She chuckles at her own pun. "If you were to last even fifty more years, let alone a century or two, I do believe you would be the mightiest dungeon in the world. A fountain of magical goods and riches, and a challenge that any Challenger would dream of facing. But your options with the Dragonlord are either your destruction or your subservience, and you have made it clear which of those you'd prefer."
"It's not like I'm so arrogant blowhard who always has to be in charge. I've had bosses before plenty of tis." Xenia's expression doesn't indicate a particularly high opinion of any of them, however. "The Dragonlord, though? A 'god walking upon the world'? That will never work out well, not in the long run. I'm too much of a cynic for that, I suppose."
"What if..." Cerise trails off, uncertain of her own thoughts. "What if you could both get what you want? Not everything, perhaps, but...enough."
The dungeon master scoffs at that. "What, with the power of friendship? I feel like we've both made our stances on this fight pretty clear by now. In the words of a wise woman from my holand, 'I think we're gonna have to kill this guy, Steven.'"
"What..." At this point the stress of speaking further almost seems to be physically paining the demon, but eventually she finishes her statent. "What if that was the idea?"
Xenia's eyes narrow, but she leans forward with interest. "...I'm listening..."
"Sensationalist Pretty! Your presence is demanded in the eting room!" As a demon soldier confidently makes his demand at Pretty's door, the incubus groans and rubs his head before shifting upon his mattress.
"Ugh, I believe I prescribed myself a full day's worth of bedrest, if I recall correctly. My defensive armants may have spared from the most grievous injuries but I was just blown up this morning, you know."
"I am aware, sir. Again, I must insist on your presence. I will drag you downstairs if I must."
The vehence does manage to catch the mage's eye. While the man isn't a 'proper' mber of the Domain military, soldiers had been falling all over themselves to be deferential to the Supres in their ranks ever since the war started. For a low-ranking soldier to be this firm now, the man must be confident in the authority in which he's acting. And the possible sources of that authority are slim...
"Very well, very well. One mont to pull on so robes and I'll be right there."
The soldier nods and steps outside, but doesn't entirely leave - probably preparing to co back in and actually drag Pretty out if he tries to go back to sleep. With a sigh, the incubus gets to casting a few spells to improve his appearance and freshen up his clothes. He generally hates leaving such things to magic, but now is not the ti to dawdle if he's not mistaken.
As he makes his way into the Lucky Bastard's eting room a few minutes later, he can see that he was indeed correct to be efficient about things. With a quick bow, he greets the toga-wearing individual he finds seated at the head of the table. "Dragonlord! I was not inford of your arrival."
"I was simply catching up on matters while you rested, Sensationalist." The sovereign's lips quirk in an amused expression. "I did hear that you had so excitent last night."
"Indeed we did. I regret to report that the dungeon's agents managed to rescue almost all of their imprisoned allies. On the good side...well, we do at least know where they went."
"Indeed we do." The golden-scaled dragon's smile fades away as they continue. "Along with Emissary Darktouched, if reports are correct. Captured rather than killed, by all appearances."
Pretty nods. "So I heard. However, from what I know of the woman she is nothing but loyal to you, my lord. Not to ntion, succubi are particularly difficult to torture. I don't think we need to worry much about her betraying our secrets."
The dragon waves that off. "Even if she would do such a thing, we will not be giving her the ti to do so."
Pretty discreetly sucks in a breath, realizing that his rest has been cut even further short. "No, my lord?"
"Commander Gerlosius is already preparing the troops stationed here along with the reinforcents I brought. I'll need you to direct the Supres and Masters yet remaining."
The tyrant grins, fangs exposed. "We finish this tomorrow morning."
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