Chapter 37

In the wake of the tournament, classes were unofficially canceled since everyone was sleeping off the gallons of booze they had consumed yesterday. Sure, the lessons were still technically scheduled, but after Raigill passed out on her desk you decided to get some brunch and call it there.

“That was so exciting!” said Decara.

“Uh huh.” You mumbled, pouring some syrup into the heart shaped divots of your waffles.

“I though you’d be a bit more enthusiastic, considering who won.” Said the smugcubuss.

“The tsuki? Why? She could tear me in half if she wanted too. Isn’t she going to have some raging cock-lust for me?” you asked.
The motherly succubus giggled. “No, she already had her eyes set on a man in town. Apparently the crowd convinced her to go get him after the match. Rumor has it they haven’t left his room since.”

That was a relief. It was comforting to know that one of the Academy’s premier ass-kickers wasn’t going to be part of the rape-squad beating down your door tomorrow night.

You clenched your fork. That was it, wasn’t it? A little more than a day to make any preparations you needed to protect yourself from being harem’d by women more than twice your weight.

No, you had finally made up your mind. You were going to Zipangu. The promised land. It was a bit of a gamble, but a gamble you were willing to take. The island was home to some of your favorite species: kunoichi, ryu, ushi, inari to name a few. But it also had some of those WEIRD ones. If some fucking lamp tried to have its way with you, you were taking a swan dive off the nearest cliff. Better wisp’d than be an umbrella’s husband.

Your destination was certain, your means of egress were not. You only had a paucity of money to your name, owed to you by Voso. Not NEARLY enough to get you where you needed to go. As it turns out, this world was BIG. It was one thing to hear it from the encyclopedia, and another to realize that in all your travels you had only laid heel on a tiny corner of one continent of this vast world. The trip to Zipangu would take months. You would also need to purchase food, water, travel supplies, and protection in addition to simple transportation.

No matter. You had the plan, all you needed was money and a bit of faith.

“Are you all from Valisias?” you asked the group of succubi.

They stopped gushing over how cute the tsuki and her husband were and gave you a perplexed look.

“No, I don’t think most people are.” Said the dumb succubus.

“I came from a monster neutral town from the frontier. The Academy will prospect guys with magical potential and give them a free ride.” Said Brez.

“That’s so WE can give you a free ride~” said the smugcubuss.

“How far away are your homes?” you inquired.

“I’d say… a week and a half away by road.” Said the motherly succubus.

“About the same for me.” Said Decara.

“And how much did it cost to move to Valisias? With all your luggage and everything.” You said.

“A decent amount, the company I used was pretty cheap. The centaurs are very competitive when it comes to transportation.” Said Decara.

“What about travel to somewhere really far away? Some place like the Mist Continent?”

The smug succubus laughed. “Babe, if you think you’re going to escape the Dash and be halfway around the world in a day you’re overestimating how fast transportation in this world is. It isn’t like we have those flying things you have.”

“And there’s no way you’re getting out of the Valisias. The second you step outside the city bounds is the second you become fair game for all the girls in the Academy. And the ones outside it…” said the motherly succubus.

“I know that.” You said. “I’m just thinking about the future.”

“Bold of you to assume you have a future outside of Rhodon’s personal cunt-polisher.” Said the smugcubuss. Brez slapped her tit and she yipped.

“Worst case scenario, I just pick out whoever I feel most attached to in the crowd and pray that they’re the monogamous and jealous type.” You said quietly.

“Not a harem man, hmm? I would have figured that you’d have a whole laundry list of girls you would collect.” Said the motherly succubus.

“That sounds like one of those Zipangunese lamias.” Said the dumb succ.

“I just think one wife is enough. No offence, Brez.” You said.

“None taken.” Said Brez from the cleavage of the dumb succubus.

“If I were you, I’d pick a few girls instead of just one. It’s not like she’s going to be able to keep you to herself when everyone else is trying to rape you as well.” Said Decara.

You sighed. “I didn’t think that getting an education would be so stressful…”

“Aww, cheer up. In just two days you’ll be in the middle of a big cuddle pile with all your new wives! All your stress will just melt away!” beamed the dumb succubus.

“…Yeah. I’m going to go do some work. I might not be back for dinner.” You said.

“Going somewhere?” asked the motherly succ.

“I’m helping someone out with a project.” You said.

“Should we come find you if it’s getting late?” asked Decara.

“No, I should be fine.” You said.

“Glad to hear. We weren’t going to come save you anyways.” Said the smugcubuss.

You rolled your eyes and went to find Pacolo.

~~~~~

“Excuse me, do you know where Pacolo’s dorm room is?” you asked an arachne.

She blinked at you. A smile bloomed on her face and she anxiously nodded. “Of course! Yes! How about I show you? Her room is right over here!”

The spider woman skittered down the hall and up the stairs. You jogged after her. It was imperative that you spend as little time as possible in the mamono dormitory. Mostly because of the (relatively) high probability of sexual violence, but also because it smelled funny and if your boot stuck to one more mystery splotch on the floor you were going to burn this building to the ground in the name of sanitation. Seriously, where was a kiki when you needed one?

Clambering up the stairs, you saw the arachne doing a little side-step dance in front of a door. It reminded you of a jumping spider back on Earth.

“This is it! Her room!” grinned the spider.

“Thanks.” You said.

You stood away from the monster, waiting for her to leave. No way in hell you were turning your back on her.

“You can leave, I don’t mean to hold you up.” You said.

“Oh, no! I don’t mind at all! I’ve got nowhere to be.” Insisted the spider.

You frowned. Walking towards her, you positioned yourself against the door on the other side of the hall opposite the one she was standing next to.

“Could you knock on that door then? Just call her name and wake her up. Since you know her so well.” You said.

The arachne woman hesitated, and gently knocked on the door. She muttered something you couldn’t quite make out.

“Looks like she’s asleep. Why don’t you go wake her up? I’m sure she’ll be MUCH more excited to see you rather than me.” Said the arachne.

“Open the door.”

The arachne’s eyebrows raised. “Huh?”

“We both know that that’s your room. Do you even know the person I’m trying to find?” you asked.

“Of course!” said the arachne indignantly.

“What species is she?”

“She’s uhh… you know, one of those…lizarrrrrrr-“

You stared at her.

“-amazoooo-succubus?” said the arachne with an apologetic grin.

“I’ll find her myself.” You said.

“Wait! I admit it, I don’t know Pacolo on a personal level, but I’ve heard the other girls talking about her! This is her room, I swear! I just wanted to help you, that’s all.” Said the arachne.

“I understand.” You said with a disarming smile. Looks like you had to do this the hard way. “How about you come in with me and I can introduce you?”

The phrase “come in with me” was all she needed. The arachne nodded vigorously and licked her lips. You took a few steps towards the door as she cracked it open.

As she slowly pushed open the door, you used a bit of magic to flick it all the way. The second you saw the first chunk of webbing hanging from the ceiling, you grabbed the arachne and began stuffing her into her room. She let out an angry shriek and lodged a few of her legs in the doorframe. Using one hand to hold her back with a ward, you used the other to pry her legs loose with magic. As the last leg sprang loose, the arachne hurtled back into one of her webs. A stream of curses and impotent vitriol spewed forth from the dark room as she fought to free herself.

You shut the door and listened. Yep, you could still hear her. Satisfied that the arachne could get someone’s attention if she started to starve to death, you continued your search for Pacolo.

“Who the hell is screaming out he- Anon!”

You whipped around to see Voso peeking out of her room. She looked awful. You couldn’t tell if her eyes were red or not with the black sclera, but you were fairly certain by the inflammation around them that she had been crying. Her normally neat hair was now a thicket of tangled locks and errant spikes sticking out at odd angles. You’d passed unconscious drunks on the way to the cafeteria this morning that looked more composed than Voso.

Actually, the hair was kind of cute. Something about refined evil women with bedhead was more adorable than it had any right to be.

“What are you doing here?” said Voso. She shuffled back into her room to hide her disheveled appearance.

“I was just looking for Pacolo, I’m helping her out with something. Are you okay?” you asked. It seemed like it would be inconsiderate to just ignore her anguish when she was so obviously distraught.

“I’m fine. I just… wasn’t expecting things to go like that in the final fight.” Said Voso. She sniffed and wiped her eyes.

“But you were great out there!” you said. “If it had been anyone but Madolotis, you would have one for sure!”

“It WAS her, and I still lost!” said Voso.

“Second place is impressive no matter how you look at it.” You said.

“I just really wanted to… It’s hard to come to terms with the fact that no matter how much you want something, someone who is stronger than you can take it away in an instant.” she sniffed.

You shifted uncomfortably. These kinds of conversations really weren’t your thing. “Life isn’t all about power. Don’t forget, you don’t have to be strong enough to conquer the world; you only need to be strong enough to protect what’s most precious to you.”

Voso giggled. “What the hell does that mean?”

“It made more sense in my head…” you admitted. “Anyways, I have to go find Colo. Do you know where her dorm is?”

“First floor, three doors down on this side of the hallway.” Said Voso.

“Thanks. Are you sure you’re going to be alright?” you asked.

“I’ll be fine.” Nodded Voso.

You started down the hall.

“Anon, wait!”

Voso peeked out of her room at you. “What are you doing during the Dash?” she asked quietly.

“Fighting for my life, mostly.” You said flatly. Voso watched as you turned around again and went to find Colo.

~~~~~~

You sat at the corner while Pacolo composed herself.

“How does my hair look?” she asked, looking at herself in puddle.

“You mean your head hair, or your body hair?” you asked.

“It’s fur!” snarled Colo.

“It looks fine, calm down.” You said shielding yourself from her.

“Okay.” She took a deep breath. “You go in first.”

“You better get your furry ass in there soon. If it’s just going to be me sitting alone like an asshole, I could be doing that in my dorm room.” You said.

“I’m right behind you, now go!” said Colo.

By the way her tail was bushing, you figured you could order and eat a three-course meal before she darkened the door. Moseying across the street, you dodged an ogre’s groping hand and ducked inside.

“Heeeey! There he is!” boomed Guyan.

“Hi Guyan. How’s it going?” you asked.

“Great! Follow me, I’ll set you up at your table.” He said.

Your table. The table you had only sat at once before. Just how much was Guyan going to milk your patronage? This wouldn’t be an obstacle in your eventual egress from Valisias right? You hadn’t promised lizard-mom anything, but she obviously expected you to come eat here. And she didn’t seem like the kind of monster who would forgive you if you stopped showing up. Chances are she was also skilled enough to track you down like an animal if you ran. You shuddered as you remembered the size of the cleavers you had seen in the kitchen. “Come try our Anon special!”

“Feel like a drink?” asked Guyan.

“No thanks I’m f- Actually, I’ll take a drink. Give me an ale.” You said. This might be the last chance you had to get booze as a single man. Might as well savor it.

“Coming right up!” said Guyan.

Guyan disappeared to fetch your beverage. Colo floated inside soon after. You watched as she greeted Guyan and sat down at a booth a few rows up from you. Time to get to work. Cracking open your notebook, you mentally prepared yourself for the trainwreck you were about to watch.

“Hey there. This seat taken?~”

You were taken aback as a devil plopped herself down in the bench across from you.

“You must be that human I’ve been hearing so much about!” she said.

“Sorry, ma’am. I’m not here for company.” You said.

The devil ignored you and looked you over. “Goodness! So pale! Have you been taking care of yourself?”

You sighed. “Yes, that’s just the way my skin is. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some work that I need to be taking care of so…” you shrugged and waited for her to leave. She smiled at you.

“Work hmm? I’m sure I can help you out with that. Wouldn’t you like some help from a cute little genius like myself?~” said the devil batting her eyes at you.

“No.” you said. Not a chance in hell you were risking making an accidental Faustian bargain with this overbearing womanlet.

She pouted. “I understand that you’re a capable man, but you have to learn to rely on others too.”

Reaching across the table, she yanked the book towards herself.

“Hey!” you protested.

“Ufufu… Something like this will be child’s play for such an intelligent and powerful monster like myself.” Chortled the devil. Her head snapped down and her red eyes bulged as she did a doubletake at the foreign scrawls.

“Here’s your ale.” Said Guyan. “Who is this?”

“Good question.” You said dryly.

The devil shrunk down into the booth. “I-it’s none of your business…” said the devil quietly.

“Please don’t bother the other patrons, miss.” Said Guyan.

You pulled your book back over and took a sip of ale. The devil muttered an excuse and quickly left your table.

“Looks like we’re going to have to make you a ‘do not disturb’ sign, eh?” said Guyan watching the tiny woman scuttle away.

“Couldn’t hurt.” You said.

“So, what’ll it be today?” he asked.

“I’ll have the… steak, with the potato/vegetable mix as the side.” You said.

“Sure thing! I’ll have that right out.” Said Guyan.

You dipped your quill into the ink and  scribbled out some opening observations. The easy part was ordering the food and taking notes. The hard part was having to watch Colo try and hold herself together. You winced as she called Guyan over and her voice cracked. Eros give me strength…

~~~~~~

Colo for the love of the Demon Lord, stop talking to him. Look at how uncomfortable he is! You sighed as her already discordant story started ANOTHER unrelated tangent.

Guyan didn’t have anything better to do. There were only a few other customers in the shop, and he had already asked them how their food was twice. He was now purring out a string of affirmatory grunts in response to Colo’s disconnected mess of a story. You had no idea what the purpose of the anecdote was, or what it was even about for that matter. And you had listened to the whole thing.

Time for the secret move. You loudly cleared your throat.

Colo went silent.

“… You ok?” asked Guyan.

“Huh? Uh, yeah! I just forgot what I was going to say.” Said Colo.

“Ah. Well, maybe you can tell me when you remember. I gotta go help with the dishes, I’ll be back in a few minutes.” Said Guyan quickly excusing himself.

“Mouth.” Said Colo’s disembodied maw, popping into existence next to you.

“Colo, you’re doing the thing again.” You said.

“What, you mean talking too much?” she said.

“Yes! His eyes were glazing over.”

“You said to talk to him! I thought this was a good thing!” she hissed.

“You’re talking AT him, not WITH him. A conversation means BOTH people are talking.” You said.

Colo groaned. “I don’t know what to talk about!”

“Ask him if he saw the competition yesterday. Ask him about cooking. You know more of his interests than me!” you said.

“Fine!” huffed Colo. Her mouth disappeared.

Guyan slipped out of the kitchen a few minutes later and billed some of the other customers. Eventually he reached your table and bussed your dishes.

“So Anon, what did you think of the competition?” asked Guyan.

“Impressive on all accounts. Those were some talented mages.” You said.

“You looked like you were enjoying yourself. I uhh… didn’t know you were into those kinds of things. If you want, I know an amazon baroness who would LOVE to meet a guy like you.” Said Guyan.

“HOLD IT!” you shouted. “That was NOT my idea. Maranth put me into that shit for kicks.”

“Oh! My mistake. But if you ever change your mind, let me know. I hear she’s really gentle once you get to know her.” Insisted Guyan.

“I’ll keep that in mind.” You said shutting your book. “Well, I have to be going. I’ve got some things to take care of back at the Academy.”

“Of course! Come back again. You’re always welcome, even if you get married. If you and your wives are feeling sore after the Dash, you can always bring them here! They’ll have to pay though.” Said Guyan.

“Yeah…” you said.

“Welp, I’ll see you later then! Be careful on the way back. Oh, and take this.” Said Guyan. He handed you a scrap of paper.

“What is it?” you asked. It looked like a coupon.

“That’s the baroness’s marriage proposal and how to contact her. I told her I know you when she ate here, and she asked me to give that to you.” Said Guyan.

Oh.

“Bye, Guyan.” You said.

You slipped out into the street and darted across the street. Pacolo exited a few minute after you and floated over to you.

“About time.” You said. A harpy was eyeing you up and counting the money in her coin purse. By the way she was looking around you were guessing that she had the wrong idea about why you were out here.

“I didn’t take long.” Huffed Colo.

You walked back towards the Academy with Colo. Once again, you chatted about what she had done well, what she hadn’t, and what she would do next time.

“Are you alright? You seem a little out of it.” Said Colo.

You yawned. “I haven’t been getting as much sleep as I normally do. I’ve been trying to practice all the spells I’ll need for the Dash.”

“I’ve been working on that too!” said Colo.

“Really?”

“Don’t give me that look! I can work hard when I need to, you know.”

“Oh yeah? What have you done so far?” you asked.

“It’s a secret.” Winked Colo.

“A secret huh?” you said flatly.

“Have some faith, Anon! I wouldn’t let my friend down.” Said Colo, poking your cheek.

“I trust you. After all, the girls would probably beat the crap out of you too if they catch us.” You said.

Colo grimaced. “Eugh… I hadn’t thought about that…”

“You don’t have to think. Just keep me away from them and leave the blasting to me.” You said.

“Aww~ What a big, strong, man you are~” Said Colo batting her eyes at you.

You snorted. Turning back to your notes, you began to rip into her again as she insisted that she wasn’t half as autistic as she actually was.

~~~~~~

Dawn of the final day.

What was that from? Oh right, the game. Rolling out of bed, you scribbled yourself a quick note about the relic of your life on Earth and dressed yourself. Today was the big day. Preparations had been long and costly. Tonight, the efficacy of your precautions would be put to the test.

Schlepping down to the washroom, you splashed some water on your face and looked at yourself in the mirror. An unsightly bit of stubble had begun to manifest on your neglected face.

You can do this. Everything was in place. Colo was backing you. The succs and a few other monsters had agreed to help you. Kind of. The general consensus was your survival would be a strong second priority to their husband’s dick. More than you would get from most monsters honestly.

Donning your clothes for the day, you headed off to breakfast.

~~~~~~

Not much was said; there wasn’t much to say.

You knew what was coming, and so did every other monster in the cafeteria. Even the ones that were after different guys were simmering with anticipation. Rhodon was staring at impassively. Her face didn’t show it, but you sensed a smug aura radiating from her. A few other members of the penis plundering posse were less subtle in their insinuations of your defeat, making crude gestures or mouthing salacious phrases at you. Barbaric.

Little did they know that they were in for a nasty surprise. You weren’t some run-of-the-mill monster territory man who would just roll over and drop his pants the second some weresheep asked him to. No, you were a rootin’ tootin’ magic shootin’ machine who had taken down an ancient evil vampire(with the help of her freakishly strong progeny who admittedly did most of the legwork, but you were there for moral supports and some of the potshots you took hit too, so it counts). Compared to such a foe, slogging through these mooks would be a cake walk.

“Anon, even if we don’t see you tonight, we’re all hoping you stay safe.” Said Decara.

“Actually, I’m rooting for the rapists.” Quipped the smugcubuss.

“Imaris! How could you say that? Anon is our friend! The least you could do is support him.” Chided the motherly succ.

An ironic statement, considering you only knew Brez and Decara by name. You had carried over your autistic means of communication from Earth: the tried and true “make eye contact with the person, start talking, and pray they get the message.” It wasn’t as if you were on bad terms with any one of them (except the cunty one who rubbed you the wrong way sometimes), you just never learned their names when you first met them and it would be too awkward to ask now. They were supposed to be pawns anyways, not the people you ate with every day.

“I’ll be fine. One way or another…” you said.

“I’m sure one of them will make you very happy.” Said the dumb succ warmly.

You gave her a smile. Out of pity, not because you were touched by the sentiment or anything. This poor little semen demon was just too innocent for this world.

“We’ll be sure to check on you first thing in the morning.” Said Brez.

“Thanks. I don’t mean to burden you, but if you do could you bring some breakfast?” you asked.

“I’ll bring a few portions.” Nodded Brez.

Brez, that’s the homie.

“Out of curiosity, who do you think is going to give you the most trouble tonight?” asked the motherly succ.

“Who ever has the strongest magic. Don’t know who that would be.” You said.

“Just aim for whoever’s pointing their hands at you.” Said Imaris.

“I think that might be most of them.” You said.

“Then you’d better aim fast.” She sneered.

Insightful as always.

“I’m plenty fast.” You said.

“Yeah, you seem like the kind of guy who would blow all of his mana the second he saw an attractive woman.” Grinned Imaris.

Why did you even bother?

“Whatever. I’ll see you lot at dinner.” You said excusing yourself.

“Make it an early one. The dash starts at sundown.” Said Decara.

You nodded and headed towards Raigill’s classroom.

“Anon!”

Maranth sauntered towards you. The spring in her step and the smile on her face were a perplexing juxtaposition of her dour demeanor when you had first met her. To the rest of the student body, you may have been a bachelor or another student. To Maranth, you were an invaluable source of entertainment, and bait to coax other monsters into doing her bidding.

“How is my favorite human doing today?” she asked sweetly.

“You seem… vivacious…” you said. Maranth calling for you was never good, but Maranth being this excited was ALWAYS bad.

She inhaled and let it out with a sigh. “I’m just enjoying this WONDERFUL day. The sun is shining, the birds are singing, there’s love in the air, and tonight a pack of violent rapists are going to savage anything on campus with testicles.”

Maranth looked at you expectantly. You didn’t reply.

“Speaking of which, I wanted to ask if you had any plans for tonight.” She said.

“We both know what I’m doing tonight.” You said.

“Yeah yeah, the whole “fight my rapists” thing. I just want to know HOW you plan to do that.” Said Maranth.

“Are you doing espionage for Rhodon?” you asked incredulously.

“What? No, of course not! That would ruin the fun.” Frowned Maranth. “Just give me a few hints about what you have planned.”

“You’ll have to wait for the surprise like everyone else.” You said trying to move past her.

“Come ooooonnnn!” whined Maranth. She leaned in and put up her wings to shield your conversation from passing monsters. “Is it all going down in one place, or do I will I have to move to see the whole thing?”

“That depends on the circumstances.” You said.

“Oooh~ How mysterious.” Mocked Maranth. She pulled away from you. “I’ll just be prepared to move. Oh! And I rehired that leana and her husband again. If you do get raped, they’ll paint your ahegaoing face sandwiched between your smug wife’s thighs as your semen leaks out of her snatch. You can interpret that as consultation for getting raped or extra incentive not to be raped. Anyways, see you tonight! Be sure to wear some clothes that will look good when they’re torn up.”

Maranth winked at you and wandered off down the hall. You shook your head and continued to Raigill’s class.

“Oh! And one last thing…”

You looked over your shoulder.

“Try not to bust up the campus too bad. A few smashed buildings are fine, Druella knows that they probably aren’t up to code, but if I have to rebuild the campus from scratch, I’m putting you up as a deposit for the construction firm.” Maranth made finger guns at you and clicked her tongue.

That’s not good. Your strategy consisted almost solely of blowing holes in things. If things got too intense, it might be wise to improvise a trip out to the practice fields to save these drafty, mold-ridden buildings from being blasted into rubble.

You plunked your stuff down at your desk and took your seat. The monsters in Raigill’s class were even more tense than the ones in the cafeteria. Normally the raucous crowd was loudly fighting, arguing, gambling, or molesting each other. Today, they were all eyeing each other; sizing up the competition and the prey. Rhodon and her compatriots locked eyes with you as you sat at your desk.

No sooner had you pulled out your first piece of paper than Rhodon made her way over to you. You knew she was coming by the hush that wormed its way towards you with her.

“Anon.”

You clenched your quill.

Rhodon moved to the front of your desk and placed her hands on either side. Leaning over, she gave you an unimpaired view of her cleavage.

“It’s your last chance, Anon. I may be a cruel bitch, but I’m not as sadistic as you think. You’re mine; there’s no way I’m letting you go after the shit you’ve said to me. How cruel I am? Well… That’s up to YOU.” She said. Dipping her pinkie into your ink well, she traced a heart on the blank piece of paper in front of you.

“We ALL know what’s going to happen to you tonight. Nothing, and no one can stop that. I will beat, squeeze, bite, and FUCK every last shred of that arrogance out of you. And so will they.” She said, her eyes flitting up to the other rapists.

“Tonight, when we come for you, just let us in. Let us in, and do as your told. However we contort you, whatever we order you to do, do it. Surrender yourself to pleasure as we feast on you. And smile. Smile, because you know that you have saved yourself a terrible fate by not resisting. Because if you DO fight back…”

Rhodon traced a jagged line through the center of the heart.

“We’ll make sure your mind is so fried that you won’t have the mental capacity to do anything more complex than finger a cunt.”

She moved in to whisper in your ear. You did your best to remain stoic.

“Between you and me? I WANT you to give it your all. Some of the others want to take pity on you when you’re beaten and bloodied at our feet. Not me. I want you to look up at me, confident that the suffering your enduring is as bad as it gets… And I want to show you that the REAL suffering hasn’t even begun.”

Rhodon stood up and stretched, revealing her toned brown tummy. On a different monster, you would have admired such a splendid midriff. But not on Rhodon.

“Whatever you decide to do, I hope you do it well. It would be such a shame if you couldn’t live up to all the boasts you’ve made.”
Rhodon returned to her seat.

You exhaled. Without realizing it, you had been clenching every muscle in your body. Working your way through your body, you tried to loosen individual muscles. Blood pounded through your head.

“Anon…”

Voso’s voice was almost a whisper.

She was looking at you with pleading eyes.

“Anon…” she whimpered again.

“I’ll be fine, Voso.” You said softly.

Demoto’s tail rested its head on your desk. The rest of her also turned around.

“We’re all worried about you.” She said. “Why not take one of us? We can protect you. I can care for you, not like those SAVAGE SLAGS.”

You sighed. “I know you would, Demoto. This is just something I have to do.” You said.

“WHY?!” shouted Voso. You almost collapsed out of your seat. “Why do you INSIST on slugging it out with them for the sake of PRIDE?! You’re risking EVERYTHING, and for WHAT? Bragging rights? To test your strength? Or is this some sort of fucked up foreplay for you?”
You gawked at Voso. She started to cry. Words failed you. The rest of the class seemed equally as stunned by the normally composed demon’s sudden outburst.

“Voso I-“

Voso spared herself your half-baked excuse by getting up and leaving. Flinging open the door, she slipped outside before slamming it shut with magic behind her.

Shit. As if today wasn’t stressful enough…

~~~~~

“Hey Anon, if you’re not going to eat your potatoes, can I have them?” asked the dumb succ.

You shoveled them onto her plate. It seemed foolish to give away food when you would need all the energy you could get later, but you were too stressed to eat right now.

“There’s no need to worry, Anon. No matter what, everything will be better tomorrow morning. Even Rhodon will love you if she manages to catch you.” Said the motherly succ.

“It’s not so bad once you get used to it.” Added Brez.

“Yeah, I know…” you said shuffling some vegetables around your plate.

“So why the long face?” asked Decara.

“I… I’m haunted by the notion that this might be it, and I might be forced to marry someone who isn’t who I could love the MOST. Sure, I’d come to love them eventually, but are they really the one I could love over all others? I mean… Shit. I don’t know. Forget I said anything.” You said stabbing your fork into your tray.

The succubi glanced at each other.

“Is that why you’ve been putting off getting hitched this whole time?” asked Imaris.

“It’s not the only reason, but it’s a big one. What I’m describing probably seems like paranoia to a monster. Hell, maybe it IS paranoia to think like that in this world.” You said.

“There’s nothing wrong with thinking like that.” Said Imaris softly.

“She’s right, Anon. Mamono may consummate our love quickly, but we don’t do it with just anyone. In fact, monsters know better than anyone that love isn’t anything to be taken lightly. Sometimes you just feel it; a werewolf will pass up on an easy target, or an amazon will pass off a man to one of her sisters even though she isn’t married because they can tell that the spark isn’t there. Eros will provide, so long as you’re honest with yourself.” Said the motherly succ.

A hint of a smile crept onto your face. That was surprisingly reassuring. It was comforting to know that even sex demons were so understanding of your apprehensions. This whole time, you had figured they would tear into you for being a coward; so entitled that he would chase the woman of his dreams instead of the one in front of him.

“Thanks. I don’t know if Eros is watching over me, what with me being… not of this world, but I could really use any help she could spare right now.” You said.

“Eros is the steward of ALL love, Anon, even beasts know her touch.” Assured the motherly succ.

You sighed. “As much as I’d love to let my faith settle this, Eros isn’t going to fight my battles for me. I have to get ready; it will be dark soon.” You said looking out the window. Already the first streaks of red were starting to color the sky.

“Be safe Anon.” said Decara.

“We’re all rooting for you.” Said Imaris.

“No matter what, we’ll see you tomorrow.” Smiled Brez.

You nodded and headed off to your room.

Fate it would seem, had other plans. Voso was waiting outside the cafeteria, leaning against a wall. You hadn’t seen her since she stormed off this morning.

“There you are. Do you have any idea what time it is?” she said.

You breezed past her. “Time to get ready.”

She matched your pace. “Anon, I want to help.”

You cocked an eyebrow. “Huh?”

Voso pursed her lips and nodded.

“If you want to help, you can wish me luck.” You said.

“Anon, I’m serious.” Said Voso.

“So am I. I have a plan, and you’re not in it. I can’t reschedule everything now because you want on at the last minute.” You said.

“You need all the help you can get.” Hissed Voso. “We both know that I won’t be a liability. I have more combat experience than you and that damn cat combined.”

You looked at her. “How much do you know about Pacolo?”

“I know she’s helping you. I know you’re planning on using her to warp around. And I’ll tell you right now: it won’t be enough. You need someone else to help you fight.” Said Voso.

“This isn’t about fighting. If I thought I could survive this with fighting alone, I’d just crater the bastards when they knocked on my door.” You said.

As you rounded the corner Voso slipped in front of you and blocked your path. You were inexplicably struck with an intense feeling of DeJa’Vu.

“You are impossible! Give me ONE reason why you don’t want my help!” shouted Voso.

“Because I can’t trust you!” you shouted.

 Voso shrunk back. “…What?”

“You have your own agenda, just like they do. I’m sorry, Voso, but I can’t be dealing with a potential threat when I’m facing down Rhodon’s rapists. You’re my friend, but don’t think I’ve forgotten that of all the people in this Academy, you’re the one who has come closest to raping me.”

Voso grit her teeth. She mouthed a response as tears welled in her eyes, but didn’t manage a retort.

“I don’t care what you do tonight; if you feel like helping me, fine. Do whatever you want. Just don’t get in my way.” You said.

She let out a raspy sigh and wiped her face. “I… Don’t like it, but I can SEE why you would be apprehensive about me helping you…” Voso sniffed and looked away.

It hurt to see her like this. She was arguably the sweetest girl you had ever met. Granted, she had tried to warp your brain, but other than that and some questionable, borderline stalking behavior, Voso was a good person. Demon. A good demon. You scratched the back of your head.

“I’m not mad at you. I just… can’t this time. Tell you what, we can eat breakfast tomorrow and you can patch up any cuts I can’t reach.” You said.

Voso giggled a bit and hiccupped. She smiled and nodded. “Okay, it’s a deal.”

You returned her smile, and moved past her to get to your room while you still had some sunlight left.

~~~~~

 Pacolo was on your bed reading your journal. Striding over to her, you snatched the book out of her hand and stuffed it into a satchel filled with everything you needed for the night.

“Hey! I was just getting to the good part!” grinned Colo.

“You can’t even read it.” You said. “Are you ready to go?”

“Always ready~” purred Colo. “All I have to do is zap us away when the goons get to close, right?”

“Precisely. Got enough juice? I snagged some supplement from the alchemy lab earlier.” You said offering her a small pouch.

“Eww, no thanks. I’ve got something better in mind.” She said sticking out her tongue and shoving the supplement back towards you.

“Colo, now really isn’t the time for any improvised magic tricks.” You stressed.

“You’re no fun at all, you know that?” huffed Colo. “I’ll have you know that I’ve been putting in work to keep your pasty ass safe tonight.”

“Uh huh. And by “work” do you mean sleeping in an extra hour to save your energy?”

“Nope. For the past few days, I’ve been putting mana markers all over campus. All I have to do is hone in on one and we can teleport there for way less energy than it would normally take.” Said Colo.

“That’s… actually really smart.” You said incredulously.

Colo chuckled. “Make sure you tell Guyan that I’m as smart as I am beautiful.”

“Because Lord knows you won’t.” you said.

She snorted and hovered over to you. “So, how does this all start? Do you want to get out of here the second things get hairy?”
You shook your head. “We’ll start things here. We’ll finish them elsewhere.”

Colo wiggled her fingers at you. “Ooh~ How cryptic!”

“Just be ready to go. When I give the signal, warp out of the room.” You said.

“Where do you want to go? Close by, or the other side of campus?” asked Colo.

“No, I mean YOU warp out of the room. Come back in when it’s over.” You said.

Colo looked at you pensively. “When it’s over, huh? You mean when you’re raped?”

“You’ll see what I mean. AFTER the big-ass explosion.”

“Explosion.” Said Colo flatly.

“Yeah.”

Colo glanced at the walls and ceiling. “…Is it safe to be in this room right now?”

“Probably. Unless I made a mistake. Then everyone in this wing is in danger. But nothing has exploded yet, so it’s probably stable.” You said confidently.

Shouldering your satchel, you walked over to the window and cracked the curtains. The last vestiges of sunlight were quickly fading beyond the horizon. They would be here soon.

“Are you nervous?” said Colo.

“How could I not be?” you said. You sat down on the bed and ran your hands through your hair.

“I don’t know, I think it’s exhilarating!” said Colo doing a loop-the-loop in the air. “A fight of passion! Of love! A clash of wills to determine who stands above whom!”

“It’s not much fun when your life is on the line.” You said.

“You’ll be fine. They want you to submit because they think your fragile. If you do start to overdose on mana, I’m sure they’d get you help. No one wants a dead husband after all. Except the undead… There aren’t any wisps coming after you, right?”

You gave her a dubious look.

“Right, well, in any event, I think you’ll be fine. Sure, you may be relegated to eating Rhodon’s cunt every day for the rest of your life, but at least you’ll be under the leather, thigh-high boots of someone who loves you.” Said Colo patting you on the back.

“You always know just what to say to cheer me up.” You said sarcastically.

Colo’s ears perked up. She floated to the window and peered through the curtain.

“Uh oh…”

You pushed her aside and looked through. The first few monsters were gathered in front of the doors to the dorm. Most of them were in small groups, chatting or stretching.

“Shit. There’s a lot of them. There weren’t this many before…” you muttered.

“They aren’t all here for you, you narcissist. There’s a few dozen other guys in here waiting to have their balls drained too.” Said Colo.

An especially large crowd was congregating in the corner of the courtyard. Your suspicions were confirmed when a few of them looked at your window. One of them pointed to it and whispered something to the others. Rhodon stepped through the crowd and looked at you with a telescope. Collapsing it again, she signaled to an amazon and began to gesture to her.

Motion on the roof of the building opposite you caught your eye. For fuck’s sake. Maranth was sitting in a chair, watching your window. It looked like she had even splurged and brought a pair of opera glasses. She waved at you.

Bitch.

This was it. The last rays of day vanished, and the stars held dominion at last. The lamps on campus roared to life and the monsters below let out a howl of delight. There was a loud crack, and an unknown monster threw one of the doors into the courtyard. The others cheered and funneled into the building as fast as they could. From below, the first shrieks and squeals of the other students echoed up through the floorboards.

Rhodon’s crew waited patiently. You would have preferred it if they had just bum rushed you like the others and gotten it over with. But they were content to make you wait. All of them now stared up at your window, no doubt imagining what was to come. You swallowed the knot in your throat. What were they doing? Why weren’t they attacking?

At last, Rhodon waved the mob forwards. The beasts grinned and quickly trotted after their boss.

You whipped around to face the door. Would they sprint here once they were inside? Did they want to catch you off guard by changing their pace all of a sudden?

The din of dozens of other men consummating their love made it impossible to tell where Rhodon’s raiders were by sound alone. They could be right outside for all you knew.

“Anon? Should I leave now?” asked Colo.

“Yes! Leave. Just be ready to come back!” you said.

Colo vanished. You took a deep breath and tried to steady your heart. Now wasn’t the time to have nerves; an errant shot could mean the difference between wife and death. Heh.

You used your boot to flip over the rug. Underneath was the magic circle that you had been working on for the better part of the week. Every drop of excess mana you had was poured into this thing before you went to bed at night. It made getting up in the morning hellish, but now it would pay off. Or meltdown and blow you to pieces.

Taking your position in the locus, you channeled a bit of mana to loosen the bindings on the well of energy. The hair on your arms raised as magic flowed through your body. Oh yeah, that’s the stuff. This might not get all of them, but trying to take as many out as possible when they were all clustered like this was your best option.

You felt them even before the wooden floors outside creaked in protest of the exorbitant weight it was forced to bear. A creeping malevolent presence getting closer and closer to your door. The couple next door slowed their pace, perhaps in awe of the unholy congregation now massing just outside their door.

Now that she was close enough, you could make out the clack of heels. Rhodon took one, two, three steps forward, and stood at your door.

You didn’t dare so much as breathe.

When she knocked on the door, you were tempted to just blow it and her away, consequences be damned. But you held back. Not yet. This was not the bellicose knocking that implied she was about to break the door down; this was a soft knock. Polite and cordial. Mocking.
“Oh Anon~ We’re heeeerrrreee~ You’re going to be a dear and let us in, right?~” cooed Rhodon.

You inhaled sharply in spite of yourself.

Rhodon waited for a few seconds. “I KNOW you’re in there. I can HEAR your heart beating.”

To prove her point, she began to rap on the door in time with your pulse. You gulped.

She giggled. “Goodness! What a noise that was. Mmm… I can practically smell your fear from here… Gods, that’s hot. There really is nothing quite as satisfying as putting a man like you in his place.” Said Rhodon. A soft thud came from the other side of the door as she pressed herself against the wood. “Fuck… I need it! I need to see that face Anon! I have to see that pitiful look of yours! The look you’re going to give me as I take EVERYTHING from you! What’s it like?! Is it spiteful?! Determined?! Or have you completely lost yourself to despair and fear?! Your face, Anon! That sweet, craven face! I HAVE TO KNOW!”

Rhodon pounded on the door. The hinges groaned with each hit. A low rumbling accompanied it as the monsters outside began to chuckle and murmur amongst each other.

Soon, Rhodon’s pounding stopped.

“Enough of that, welp. Let me through!” bellowed a voice you didn’t recognize.

“I still get him first!” snarled Rhodon.

“You can have him first if you GET him first.” Growled the second voice.

A new set of hands tapped the door experimentally.

“There’s the spot…”

You nearly jumped out of the circle as a gigantic hand smashed through the wood near the handle. Splinters showered the floor. A horizontal crack spread across the door. The entire thing was now buckling in towards you. Her claws curled over the top of the door through the gap she had created between the top of the doorframe and the door itself. With a mighty grunt, she pulled the top half of the door down off the hinges.

And now you were exposed. Face to face with a manticore who looked ECSTATIC to see you. Rhodon was right next to her, trying to keep herself in the front of the pack. She let out a little moan upon seeing you and clasped her face. The other monsters looked at you salaciously.

Time to go.

Popping the rest of the seals in your circle, you opened the floodgates and drew upon the entirety of the power stored within it. Rhodon’s eyes widened as she realized what you were about to do.

“WARDS!”

You thrust your hands forward and bathed the mamono in magical flames. You had learned this technique from Zara. Apparently this was the spell of choice for dealing with large numbers of Order troops; a wide area of effect, capable of flowing into armor, and intimidating to look at. It had the added bonus of not having the kinetic impact of a conventional mana bolt. Which was important for you. You just need them unconscious, not turned into jelly.

The conflagration blew what was left of your splintered door away along with the manticore. Flames flowed out into the hall and over the other monsters. Screams echoed through the halls as mamono were caught in the arcane flames. Some of the magic slipped into adjacent rooms. Whoops. You’d have to apologize to the neighbors later.

In a matter of seconds, you had burnt through your stockpile of magic. When the sensation of fatigue began to tickle you, you knew that you were now relying on your own mana reserves. Cutting the spell off, you surveyed the damage.

Only a scant few mamono were on the floor. The majority of them were huddled behind a few magically gifted mamono who had shielded them from the brunt of the attack. One of the succubi who had been warding collapsed from the stress. Seeing the dearth of bodies, you froze. This was NOT good. You had expected only a handful of the raiders to make it through that.

“Ahhhh~ THAT, is the face I wanted to see~” said Rhodon stepping through the threshold. “What delectable despondency! And we haven’t even begun…” She took her whip off her hip and cracked it.

“You didn’t really think something like that would work, did you? Or did you really stake your life on trying the SAME trick that you’ve used every time you’ve been in trouble so far?” sneered Rhodon. “A biiigggg blast, and then what? Nothing.”

Rhodon cracked her whip next to your head. You blenched at the snap. Rhodon laughed.

“So much for that confidence! Now, SUBMIT!”

Colo’s torso popped into existence behind you.

“’Scuse me.” She said.

Rhodon glared at her. “Ahh yes, you. I don’t know why you’re aiding him, cat bu-“

Colo pulled you backwards in the middle of Rhodon’s monologue, and you fell through space. Nausea wracked your body. It felt like you were trapped in a blender. The kaleidoscope colors and imagery didn’t help; was this a wonderland thing or was all teleportation so unpleasant?

Your feet hit solid ground and you crumpled to the floor. Colo kept your torso propped up by holding her arms under yours.

“Some light show that was! I wasn’t sure if that was the thing or not, but it looks like I came at the right time.” Said Colo.

“What the hell did you think was going to happen?!” you asked.

“With you? I was waiting for the whole roof to come off.” Shrugged Colo.

You rolled your eyes. “We’ll wait here for now. I don’t think they know where we are.”

Some of Rhodon’s girls sprawled out into the courtyard. A burley succubus barked some orders and the henchwomen dispersed.

“They’ll find us soon. One of them is going to scent you out.” Said Colo.

“Ahh, but they still have to find a way up here once they do. Unless they can fly, we’re set.” You said.

“You know they can teleport too, right? It’s just more efficient since I set up the marks…” said Colo.

As if to prove her point, an ocelomeh battle-mage blinked onto the roof of your dorm. She surveyed the area. You dropped to the roof tile and pulled Colo down too. You should be safe like this; she was upwind of you.

“DO YOUR BEST, ANON!”

Maranth waved at you from a different rooftop. Monsters everywhere looked at her, then at your hiding place.

“Shit.”

“Should we go?” asked Colo.

You watched as the first few monsters reached the foot of the building you were at.

“Not yet. Let them climb. We need them as close as possible before we make the next jump.” You said.

Rhodon had other plans. Panting from her sprint, she cupped her hands and called up to you.

“This ends now, Anon!” She held something up.

“What the hell is that?” whispered Colo.

“I don’t know.” You said. Nothing good, that’s for sure.

“Recognize this? I bought it from a dear friend of mine: Madolotis! She doesn’t need this anymore now that she’s married!”

“Oh, it’s my mana.” You said.

“Isn’t that stuff strong? Shouldn’t we be worried?” hissed Colo.

“I don’t think so…” you said.

“Ironic, isn’t it? Now you’ll be undone by your own magic!” cackled Rhodon. “Kaloyaros!”

A dark priest stepped to the front of the throng next to Rhodon.

“Who the hell is that?” you asked.

“She came in seventh place in the magic competition; no one we want to trifle with. Now let’s get out of here!” insisted Colo.

“Hang on.” You said shoving her paws away. “I want to confirm something.”

“Have you given up? Are you going to surrender? I would start casting spells now if you don’t want to be obliterated!” said Rhodon.
Kaloyaros pulled the stopper out of the flask and guzzled the contents. She grimaced and wiped her mouth on her wrist.

“Anon…!” said Colo.

You ignored her.

“Kaloyaros! Destroy them!” roared Rhodon.

The dark priest moaned. Arcs of mauve lightning shot from her hands as she struggled to maintain her balance. Her teeth slammed together as she trembled in ecstasy. Raising her hands ever so slightly, she unleashed a torrent of lighting against the building you were standing on. The spell never reached you, stopping at about the second floor. You could hear cries of protest from the floors below you as many a coitus was interrupted by the light show. Kaloyaros continued to spray lightning indiscriminately.

“What the hell is wrong with you?!” shouted Rhodon.

Kaloyaros climaxed and collapsed into the dirt. Drool seeped from her smiling mouth as she twitched and spasmed.

Rhodon gently slapped her face. “Hey! What gives?! Get up! Tell me I didn’t spend all that money just for you to scorch a fucking BUILDING!”

The dark priest moaned.

“Fuck!” Rhodon stomped on her, squeezing a fresh trickle of liquid from between Kaloyaros’s thighs. “We’ll do it the old-fashioned way. Get him!”

Monsters still had to get onto the roof, but it Looked like that wouldn’t take as long as you expected either. A ghoul wedged her hand into a crack in the brick and performed an impressive dyno to work herself farther up the building. For some monsters, climbing wasn’t an issue. A falcon harpy dropped out of the sky at you, brandishing silver claws on her talons. You shoved her aside with a tendril of magic. She swore and flapped away.

An arrow colliding with your barrier almost knocked you off your feet. One of the amazons below was using a MASSIVE longbow to try and take you out from afar. The arrow she had hit you with was the size of a javelin.

“Okay, time to go.” You said. Colo grabbed you, and you fell backwards into the Wonderland tunnel again.

~~~~~~

Not having much dinner turned out to be the right choice.

After the fifth or sixth jump, you had hurled from the assault on the senses that was the Queen of Hearts’ dimension. How the hell did anything live there?! Even sex would be an ordeal within that funhouse from hell.

“Hang in there, Anon!” said Colo rubbing your back.

You wiped your mouth. “How much longer until dawn?”

“Uhh… A few hours, it looks like.”

Fuck. The rapists may not have been the brightest bunch, but they were tenacious and seemingly indefatigable. Sure, you were thinning their ranks by picking off a few of them from your vantage point every time you warped, but the ones you managed to take out were the ones who weren’t the problem. All you were doing now was ensuring that only the most brutal, cunning, and resilient monsters would be the ones crushing your torso with a leglock.

 With a groan, you stood up and looked around. Colo had taken you a far off practice field on the other side of campus. You took the lull in the action to eat a bite of fairy powder.

“Do you think you can hold out?” asked Colo.

“I don’t know. I was banking on most of them being knocked out by the initial blast. This was never meant to be an extended conflict.” You said.

“Just let me know if you want to give up. You can just pick a gal and I’ll warp her into your room for you.”

“After all that I’ve done? I think Rhodon would rape the shit out of me even if I was happily married. Never have I met someone as spiteful as that elf.” You said shaking your head.

A horn sounded in the distance. Those fucking orcs and their horns; why couldn’t they just shout like a civilized person? Or use a bugle?

“Anon… I’m starting to run out of marks too…” said Colo nervously. “They’ve been purging the ones we’ve visited already, and if they find any in their searches, I’m sure they’ll remove those too. I can do a few impromptu teleportations, but…”

You smiled at her. “Do what you can, and I’ll take care of the rest.”

Colo giggled. “That’s pretty funny coming from the puke-stained guy I’ve been protecting all night.”

You blushed and tried to wipe away the stain on the collar of your shirt.

“… But I appreciate the sentiment. Maybe Voso isn’t so crazy to chase after such a weird guy after all.” Said Colo.

“I’m not that weird.” You said.

“A human protecting a monster? Sounds like some sort of fairytale to me. Why an Extremist would even humor the idea of a man putting his life on the line to protect his wife is beyond me. Maybe it’s a fetish thing…” said Colo rubbing her chin.

A low rumble heralded the return of the girls. In the distance, a plume of dust was wafting into the air behind a horde of angry mamono.

Colo took her position behind you as you waited for them to approach again.

“Back to work again, huh boss?” sneered Colo.

You rolled your eyes and readied the first bolt.

~~~~~

Colo collapsed on top of you. She wasn’t heavy, but in your ragged state, anything was enough to make breathing an ordeal.

“Colo!” you gasped. You shook her. She whined and rolled off of you. “Colo! Are you alright?”

“I think I’m at my limit…” she moaned.

This was BAD. Sure enough, the monsters had finally figured out that erasing the mana markers Colo had set up prevented you from back tracking. Even worse, some of the more innovative monsters had figured out that by keeping certain markers up, you would eventually warp TOO them. Two back-to-back ambushes had left both you and Colo covered in nicks and gashes. By the sound of it, Colo had used what was probably the last of her energy to plop you down on the roof of some building. Where you were, you couldn’t say. At least this roof was high enough to provide cover from the other rooves below.

“Sit tight, I’m going to take a look around.” You said.

Propping her up against the wall, you slid over to the edge of the roof and peered down.

No monsters below you, as far as you could see. None that were conscious anyways. By now there was a thin trail of unconscious women snaking around campus, roughly following the path you had taken from place to place. As it turns out, the monsters’ conniving tendencies had once again tilted odds back in your favor a bit. One of the high orc had decided that an extemporaneous mutiny against her sister would be a great way to wrest control of the tribe and keep you to herself. An especially limber oni that had been first to reach the roof numerous times had mouthed off to Rhodon, insisting that she be first to have a go at you. She got a dirk to the race for her compelling and staid argument. Others had given up or found other “prey” during the search.

There weren’t many left. But as they say: it takes one to commit unspeakable sex-crimes. You weren’t out of the clear until the last monster fell, or the sun rose. Even if it did, would Maranth cut them off?

Sighing, you took a long swing from your canteen. All you wanted to do now was sleep. Picking yourself up, you plopped down next to the dazed cat and rested your head against the cool brick. The cuts from the realms silver weapons you had incurred pulsed with heat. Taking a deep breath, you tried to focus on keeping your essence from spilling out. Dawn was still an hour or two away.

~~~~~~

Something nudged your foot.

You grunted and moved your leg a little. Repositioning your head, you tried to resume your nap.

The accoster kicked your leg again, this time with enough force to roll you sideways. You awakened with a start.

“Hello, Anon. Did you sleep well?” asked Rhodon.

You nearly choked on your breath as your body flailed in panic. Rhodon had you at the point of her sword before you could scramble to your feet. The rest of her rag-tag posse stood behind her in various states of dishevelment. A few were so exhausted that they opted to sit on the ground instead.

“Oh, don’t get up on my behalf! You’re just going to be on your back in a moment anyways.” She said.

You swallowed and stared down the blade at her. Her hair was coming out of the ponytail she had put it in earlier that night. The leather of her corset was frayed and worn in some places where you had hit her with spells or debris. Judging by the lassitude in her eyes, she didn’t have the energy to do anything too fancy. Right now, all Rhodon wanted was to rape you and go to bed.

“It’s been a hell of a chase, I’ll give you that. In fact, I might not have even found you here if it weren’t for a friend I picked up along the way.” Sneered Rhodon. She glanced behind her and motioned with her head. Some of the larger monsters stepped aside, and Voso strutted forwards.

A knot formed in your throat as you saw her. She started back at you impassively. All you could glean from her expression was muted contempt.

“Mmm~ What a DELIGHTFUL face you’re making right now~” purred Rhodon. “How does if feel? To know that rejecting the person who wanted so desperately to help you led to your capture?”

She pushed the blade into your skin, slowly cutting your cheek. Voso squirmed a bit.

“What did I tell you, Anon? I told you time and time again that this was the ONLY way things would end. There is only one fate for a human: a loving husband of whatever monster chooses him.”

Rhodon pulled the sword back and lapped some of the mana off the blade.

“You think I don’t know that?” you croaked.

Rhodon’s eyebrows lifted at your response.

“Did you really think that I wasn’t aware of what I was getting myself into when I entered monster territory? I was IN human territory at one point. I could have just stayed there. But I didn’t. I came back in because I knew there was a monster out there waiting for me.”

You smiled and closed your eyes.

“I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about who I want to marry. Too much time, honestly. Some days it feels like I’m expending all my energy just to keep up with the pace of things.”

You opened your eyes and looked up at the sky. The stars were beginning to fade.

“I know my wife is out there. And I know that she’ll love me just as much as I love her. She’s my partner, my lover, and someday she’ll be the mother of my children. That’s why she has to be perfect; I couldn’t forgive myself if I never reached her...”

Some of the monsters behind Rhodon stirred. Rhodon was unfazed by your speech.

“…And you’re not her.” You concluded. Readying a bold of magic, you tried to flick the elf away before she could react. Your cumbersome attempt at defiance was ended when Rhodon slashed your wrist with her sword. The mana you were channeling dissipated and you slumped back against the wall.

“I suppose your consistency is something to be lauded. A shame you couldn’t have been a bit wiser.” Said Rhodon. She stretched. Undoing the first few strings of her corset, she began to disrobe. “Don’t worry, I’ll whip you into shape. Pun VERY intended. This is all for your sake after all; I only want you to understand what you’re missing~”

Rhodon let the corset fall free, exposing her breasts. Your member was at full attention from the battering you had received and the sight of such a fine body. Rhodon may have been bat-shit crazy, but she was a looker.

A grunt and a thud was almost enough to pull your gaze away from the dark elf’s nipples. Rhodon turned around just in time to see one of the amazons collapse with a knife sticking out of her back. Voso pulled it free and thrust it into the throat of a nearby succubus.
“You!” snarled Rhodon. “I knew you would try something like this!”

Voso kept slashing and blasting, using her magic to aid her in dismantling the last of Rhodon’s raiders. Tired as they were, the gang was giving her a real run for her money. Unlike the arena, Voso did not have the space to teleport and collect herself. Her skill with her knives was admirable, but the monsters she faced were not magic users; melee combat was their specialty. The gap in energy quickly narrowed as Voso desperately fought off attackers from all sides.

“The deal is off, demon! You should have just waited your turn like the rest of them!” shouted Rhodon. She pointed her hand at Voso as your blue-skinned savior flipped over a minotaur.

Straining, you peeled yourself off the wall and lunged towards Rhodon. It was a staggering, stumbling lunge, but you managed to hook the tips of your fingers into her skirt. You landed face first on the cold roof. Rhodon cried out in frustration as her shot went wide. She wrenched your hands free and shoved you away with her foot. You gasped through the blood trickling from your nose.

“If you want to bleed so bad, I’ll be happy to oblige you in a moment.” Seethed Rhodon.

Voso blinked away and reappeared directly in front of Rhodon. The elf balked as Voso stabbed at her. Parrying as quickly as she could, Rhodon stepped back to avoid the flurry of blows. The other monsters were now converging towards the three of you. With the last of your energy, you reached out with your magic and shoved the back of Rhodon’s knee.

The elf staggered, and Voso took her chance. Shoving Rhodon’s desperate swing aside, she thrust both daggers into her abdomen. Rhodon squealed and trembled as the silver pierced her. Pulling her knives free, Voso let Rhodon fall back onto the roof next to you. Her eyes started to glaze and she looked over at you. You stared back.

“I’ll send you a “save the date” card, bitch.”

Rhodon’s head lolled off to the side and her eyes closed. Voso wheeled around to face the incoming onslaught and collapsed to one knee. Her arms and legs were trembling so much she was having a hard time keeping her grip on the daggers.

A loud crack split the pre-dawn hours. It sounded like you were in the middle of a thunder cloud. Underneath the feet of the incoming monsters, a blinding pink light erupted from the roof. The attackers let out a panicked cry in unison before being blown away by the explosion. Dust wafted over you. Your coughing and Voso’s panting were the only discernible noises on the roof.

The first streaks of lavender were working their way west. It would be day soon.

Voso sat down next to you. She tried to say something, but couldn’t get enough breath to say it.

“Later.” You slurred.

She nodded.

Fuck it. Rolling over, you made yourself as comfortable as you could given the circumstances and went to sleep.

~~~~~~~

“Rise and shine, Anon!”

Maranth’s booming voice roused you from your light sleep. You had been fading in and out of consciousness for a while now. The sun was up by now, and the daylight was making it hard to stay asleep.

You glared up at the dark valkyrie.

“I have to admit, I didn’t think you’d make it.”

“Am I single…?” you asked.

Maranth laughed. “Of course! You saw what happened to the others yourself.”

“Where’s Voso?” you asked.

“She’s right next to you. Didn’t lay a finger on you.” Said Maranth.

Sure enough, Voso was curled up a few feet away from you. She had folded herself up so that her wings shielded her eyes from the affronting sunlight.

“And Pacolo?”

“Gone. Said something about making the breakfast special at some café.”

“I want breakfast…” you whined.

“Well you’re in luck! The cafeteria is serving extra large portions today.” Said Maranth.

“Great.” You rolled over and sat up. Your limbs still felt like jelly. “…I don’t think I can walk that far…”

“I’ll see if those succubi you always hang out with want to bring you something.” Said Maranth.

“Could you ask them to bring two portions?” you asked.

Maranth smiled. “Certainly. Oh! And check this out…” She rummaged through her bag and pulled out a small rolled canvas. Unfurling it, you were met with the sight of an exaggeratedly muscled Rhodon standing on you while choking you with a whip. You were crying, and blood trickled down your face as the other monsters stared at you in the background.

“It would have been you if you had won. I mean, it looks like no one really WON, but I’ll be damned if I was just going to lose the deposit for the painting just because everyone ended up in a heap at the very end. And to be fair, I thought Rhodon was going to ride you so hard your balls fell off; she had you dead to rights for a minute there. I already have my copy, but I’ll let you decide what you want to do with this one.” She said tossing the painting at you.

“I don’t want that, give it to Rhodon or something.” You said.

Maranth shrugged and stuffed the painting down the front of Rhodon’s skirt. The dark elf moaned and pressed her hips against Maranth’s hand.

“I’ll tell the succubi to look for you here. Don’t get raped by any of the holdouts, okay?”

Maranth spread her wings.

“Maranth, wait!”

She looked back at you.

“Thanks for saving me. With that last blast, I mean.” You said with a smile.

She cocked her head. “That wasn’t me. Wasn’t it Voso burning off the rest of her magic?”

“I don’t think so…” you said.

Maranth shrugged. “Oh well. You can ask her when she waked up.” Flapping twice, Maranth took to the sky.

You hoped the succubi brought eggs…

~~~~~

Food never tasted so good. The chefs had really outdone themselves today. With savage abandon you wolfed down another slice of French toast. Or whatever the equivalent of France was called here.

The succubi had obliged your request to help you carry Voso back to your room. She was resting on your bed, slowly working her way through her own plate of food. Too bad your room was a mess. The door and half the doorframe were vaporized. Passing monsters were free to ogle at the strange congregation of monsters and two guys sitting in your room as you ate brunch.

“We were so worried!” said Decara.

“I can’t believe you made it.” Said Imaris. “Good thing I never made all those bets.”

“How did you do it?” asked Brez.

“Endurance, a LOT of mana shots, and luck. Mostly luck.” You grunted through a mouthful of food. “Barely got out. Voso saved me at the last second with some sort of trap.”

“Do you mean the spell at the very end?” asked Voso.

“Yeah. I was surprised that you were able to pull that off in your state.”


“I thought YOU did it. I was on my last legs.”

You frowned. It must have been Maranth after all. Though it was unlike her to be so humble…

“Say, Voso, I have to ask… When you were up there with the other monsters, what changed? I thought for sure you were going to… you know…” you asked.

Voso blushed. “It was my fault; I never should have used them. But after you rejected my help, I didn’t see any other way to save you from yourself. I mulled it over for a while and decided that if you were getting got anyways, I might as well be in on the take.”
She took a sip of water. “At first, I wanted revenge. Rhodon always rubbed me the wrong way, but that night I understood what she was getting at. I’m an Extremist; and I’ll make no apology for that. Since I first met you, I never understood why you were so recalcitrant. “Why won’t he marry already? Why doesn’t he accept anyone’s advances?” I thought. That’s why I figured there was no harm in helping Rhodon out; you were traveling down a path of self-destruction, and it was up to us to stop you.”

Voso wiped her mouth and neatly placed her silverware on the tray. “I wasn’t thrilled by the prospect of being a sister wife, but if that’s what it took to save you from your own suicidal tendencies, so be it. Until…” Voso squirmed. “…The others, they didn’t care about you like I did. When they talked about you, it was always about the things they would do TOO you, not for you. When I tried to explain to them what your culture was like, and what kind of person you were, they paid me no mind. They were singularly focused on devouring you. I couldn’t just let that happen.” Said Voso solemnly.

The succubi in the room sat patiently, waiting for her to continue. You would have liked if they had made themselves scarce, but they loved stuff like this.

“That still doesn’t explain why you didn’t… ‘finish the job.’” You said.

Voso smirked at you. “Did you want me too?~ I’d be happy to oblige if you’re feeling disappointed.”

You smiled nervously.

Voso chuckled. “I’m kidding. After I committed to fighting, I was still considering whether or not to ravage you while I had the chance. But it didn’t sit right with me; not after what you said. For the longest time I was worried that you were never going to get married because you weren’t looking for anyone.” She smirked. Reaching into your bag, she pulled out your journal.

“Hey!” you said. You sat up, but Voso pushed you back into the chair with magic.

“You’ve put a lot of thought into this, huh?” mused Voso flipping through the pages. Dozens of tables, comparisons, notes, thoughts, ideas and preferences of what or who your wife would be flapped past as Voso thumbed through the book.

“Can you read it?!” asked the motherly succ.

“What does it say? Tell us!” insisted the dumb one.

Voso handed it to them.

“Voso!”

“What?” she frowned. “They can’t read it.”

Decara gasped. “It’s his preference in women!”

“Holy shit! Make a copy, we can sell the information to the highest bidder!” said Imaris.

“You’ll do no such thing!” you snapped.

“Anon.” said Voso.

You looked at her. She stood up and folded her arms across her chest. “I can respect you wanting to make a choice, but as a member of the Extremists, I can’t let you carry on like this. I want you to make a pact with me.”

The succubi abruptly stopped clamoring over the journal.

“Huh?” you said weakly.

“Not a marriage pact. Not with me, anyways. I’ve taken some…’liberties’ and examined your medical reports. Right now, your body can handle copulation with most species near the top of your list. You need to get married as soon as possible; even if your body can’t handle the mana, you can still live with your fiancé until you can consummate the marriage.” Said Voso. “For that reason, you will make a pact with me: if you are not wed within half a year, I will use teletomancy to place markers on you for ANY of the species from your list.”

You gulped. “And if I don’t?”

Voso rested her palm on the hilt of one of her daggers. “Then you’ll be making a different kind of pact.”

“That’s… Not a lot of time…” you said. Getting to Zipangu was still the plan, but the trip alone could take months. Even when you got to the island, who knows how long it would take to find one of the monsters you were looking for?

“It’s all the time you’ll get.” Said Voso. She held up her hand and a piece of paper sprang forth from an explosion of flames. The only text on it was a single sentence in the middle of the page and a line underneath it. “Now choose.”

Taking a quill from your desk, you dipped it in your inkwell and scribbled your name on the line. The contract disappeared again in magenta flames. Voso inhaled and exhaled.

“I’m glad you were able to see reason.” She said. “There is always room for another in the fold of the Fallen God. When you marry, I hope that you will consider Her teachings.”

“I think I’ll stick to a more moderate religion, thanks.” You said.

Voso hmphed. “It’s NOT a religion, it’s a way of life and a doctrine of existence.” She huffed.

You smiled. “Thank you, Voso. For everything. I promise I’ll send you an invitation to the wedding.”

Voso smiled. “Do I really want to go? I mean, you DID say that you were going to invite Rhodon.”

“I think I can arrange for the mail harpy to lose it.” You said.

Voso shook her head and chuckled. Stretching, she picked up her tray. “I’m going to take a bath; I need to get all this soot off of me. Oh! And Anon…”

She grinned at you from the ruined doorway. “That list of yours? I saw where demons are. Which means that if you’re still hanging around here after six months, you’re fair game~”

Voso winked and wandered off, her tail swishing back and forth behind her.

“Wow…” said the dumb succubus. “That was cool!”

You nodded. “She’s something else alright… Hey, where’d the rest of your ilk get too?”

“They took the journal to Raigill for translation.” She chirped cheerfully.

“They WHAT?!”

“They took the journa-“

“For fuck’s sake…”

Dashing out the door, you tore down the hall after the succubi and Brez.

What a world. And now Voso had severely curtailed your options by imposing a strict time limit. Getting to Zipangu was now the priority. To do that, you would need money, protection, and connections. So much to do so little time… Somehow, you weren’t worried. Love would find a way.

You suddenly recalled a tune from Earth: The power of love. Gotta write that down when you get your journal back…

Humming the song, you wandered off to go find what was yours.

~~~~~~~~

A houri watched Anon as he burst into the classroom and demand his journal. The alien song he had been hummin had an enchanting quality too it. She would make sure that the gandharva would hear it later.

“Sister.”

The houri turned to a cupid. “Sister, is this really the will of Eros?”

“It is, Prenne. I shouldn’t have to tell you to have faith in the Lady.” Scolded the houri.

“My devotion is absolute.” Asserted the cupid. “But I know this business with the human to be needlessly convoluted; we have had ample opportunities to strike the spark of love within his heart, yet we have held our hand time and time again.”

“Too hasty! That’s the problem with you young ones.” Said the houri. “Love is not a race. A vintner who empties their cask to early will be left with a glass of disappointment.”

“Then when? When sister? How long must we wait?” insisted the cupid.

“Patience. It will not be long now. The pieces are in motion. He need only triumph over a few more obstacles.”

The houri pulled out a coiled red string. Holding it in her palm, she gently blew on it. On end lazily snaked upwards, and pointed itself at Anon. The opposite end likewise rose up and started worming its way east. Prenne watched as the slack in the middle slowly fed east.

“Can he make it? Already we have intervened; how can he vanquish what is to come without our help?!”

“He will grow stronger.” Said the houri. “You see his heart; it beats with single-minded determination. The strength he cultivates is all in the name of being able to reach the one he loves…”

She turned back to the window and watched him smack the cloying fingers of a succubus away with his journal.

“…Even though he has no idea who she is. Anon will be fine, Prenne. So long as love and the desire to be loved dwells within him, he shall walk with Eros.” said the houri, winding up the red string.