Darkness Under the Lantern
"...Are they insane?"
Kairan stared at the space filled with loud singing and multicolored lights. Cages holding rare species from who-knows-where, and the children of noble families who'd gone missing months ago. The auctioneer dragged them onto the stage one by one, calling out prices in a booming voice. Kairan scowled at the underground slave auction descending into a frenzy of madness.
Most of the crowd probably had no idea what they were even buying. No one in their right mind would bid on that stuff.
"Talk about the darkest place being right under the lamp."
The Kingdom of Tailran. Nicknamed the slave nation, it treated slave trading as a national industry. Logically, it should've been the first suspect when elves started vanishing. But that very "national industry" aspect was the problem. 'A country that lives off slavery messing with elves?' Mercenary nations that had dotted continental history all prized their reputation and honor above all. Without it, they couldn't survive. The elves must've thought the same. That's why they hadn't rushed straight to Tailran—they'd checked the other kingdoms first, saving this one for last.
But the Kingdom of Tailran was full of women who defied common sense.
"A nation running slavery on an official level—insane as expected."
Kairan pressed both hands to her face and rubbed hard.
Through the gaps in her fingers, she glimpsed the scene on stage. A dark elf, hoisted up there, tormented by a dildo.
"Gotta... rescue her, right?"
Kairan let out a deep sigh and muttered to herself. When she'd arrived, the place was littered with rubble and corpses—probably Karni's handiwork. Even after she'd filled the long corridor with bodies, the kingdom's soldiers kept swarming like bugs. It was chilling. Brainwashed? Family held hostage? Whatever it was, charging ahead heedless of their comrades' deaths was pure insanity.
"Cockroaches, huh."
Sighing heavily, Kairan glanced back. More soldiers had gathered—mercenaries from outside, not the kingdom's troops she'd just crushed.
"Mercenaries this time? Give it a rest."
She pulled a sword from her inventory. Circulating mana through her body for reinforcement, she focused extra on her legs, then kicked off the ground and charged.
"Oh, she's coming—!"
Slash. Slash. Slash. Slash.
Lightning-fast sword strikes. Blood sprayed, dyeing the corridor red in seconds.
"B-block her!"
Whoosh—!
Bright light enveloped the dark corridor. Pure white mana, like sunlight, flooded the space.
"Gaaahhh!"
"M-my eyeees!!"
"Aaaagh! You sneaky bitch!!"
The corridor turned blindingly white. Only Kairan could move freely in it. The mercenaries squeezed their eyes shut and huddled, blinded by the radiant light. She severed their limbs and necks, surging forward.
It lasted mere seconds. Kairan rocketed to the end of the long corridor, spinning midair.
Boom—!
Crash—!
The first noise was her hitting the wall; the second, kicking off it toward the stage.
She crossed the blood-soaked corridor in a flash and dropped onto the stage. Before the nearby auctioneer could react, she yanked the arm of the dark elf billed as the "main attraction."
"Oooohhh♥♥"
"Wha—no...!"
"Hnnnghh♥"
The dark elf let out a pleasure-drenched moan and climaxed. No wonder—yanked off that grotesque dildo buried deep in her womb.
'Oh, they have these here too.'
It was the second favorite from her pre-possession "monster series" trio. This one looked just like it—black overall, thickening from top to bottom, covered in vicious suckers and bumps. Married women went wild for it.
"Tch, take it?"
A brief hesitation. Decision made fast.
⁎ ⁎ ⁎
"Halt! I said halt!"
"Catch the thief!!"
"Aaaahhh!!"
Whoosh! Whiz—!
Arrows infused with mana whistled past her ears.
"Ughhh! What the hell kinda forces are these—?!"
Kairan glared back at her pursuers and yelled. Emblems of every color. Completely mismatched uniforms. Each soldier from a different house, a different nation.
"Give me my merchandise! I won the bid!!"
"You thief! Fight fair with wealth, damn it!"
"Give me back my dildo! Don't care about the elf! Hand over the monster series dildo!!"
Even the nobles from the auction chased after her, armed with artifacts, potions, and spells. She couldn't kill them all. Minimal attacks only, all focus on escape.
The dark elf in her arms had passed out from the orgasm overload. Elf lightness made her feel like a feather.
'Prime carry material.'
Pre-possession, she'd figured dwarves were optimal for carrying. Wrong. Dwarves were small but pure muscle—no fat—their unique reinforced kind, too heavy. Why? Tried it. Knew.
'Nearly ripped my arm off.'
Another revelation: Lewd Mod didn't treat "dwarf beards = hair." She'd seduced women in every village and rest stop during adventures. Only one dwarf.
'I don't like hairy.'
Too hairy. Who knew the beard grew down there too.
"Stooop!!!"
"Oh, right—being chased."
Dodging a headshot arrow, she headed for Eli's cell.
"Eli! Grab the kids— ...Huh?"
"...H-hero?!"
"N-no...! I mean, it's not... um!"
Eli stammered incoherently. Kairan stared blankly at her—cock buried in Karni's pussy.
"I-I swear! I swear! It's not like I was enjoying myself alone while you were out working hard?! J-just, uh, rewarding Karni! Yeah! A reward...!"
"...Alone?"
"Eh?"
"Why alone?!"
"Ah, there you are."
Kairan felt betrayed. Karni was their shared onahole #1. The first one made her special. Maybe that's why the betrayal stung extra.
'Shared means shared!'
Until now, they'd used Karni together. Solo use? Always with Eli's permission. And she'd let Eli monopolize equal time after.
"Karni's a shared onahole!"
"Y-yes...?"
"Can't use her solo without permission! Got it?"
"S-sorry...?"
Eli was on her knees, looking up. Kairan stared, then sighed softly. Adventures seemed to multiply her sighs.
"No more next time. Okay?"
"Y... yeah. I'll be careful."
"C'mon, let's go. They're coming."
Kairan patted Eli's head, hoisted Karni, and spoke. Eli nodded, scooped up Nia, and followed.
⁎ ⁎ ⁎
Out of the underground auction, a flag appeared in the distance. Approaching hoofbeats. Closer look: elves on centaurs.
"Hey! Where'd you get that dark elf?!"
The lead elf aimed her bow and shouted.
"Lower your bow! I'm Elena Serenia, saint of Hero Kairan’s party! We rescued this dark elf from the underground auction!"
"What? Hero?"
What? Hero? Hero?! Tied to the Empire? Probably. Hit the Empire too? No—they said rescued, idiots.
Whispers among them. Kairan gently set the dark elf down and watched.
"You really rescued her?"
"Yes. Don't believe us? Check the underground auction below. Rare species still caged there."
"...Fine. We'll trust you—for now."
The elf eyed Eli and Kairan.
"If Tailran kidnapped our kin, or even just tried to sell her, we'll wipe the kingdom off the map."
"You stay here. We'll sweep the area."
"Flee while we're gone, and we'll hunt you to the continent's edge."
The elf spoke; her centaur mount added; another elf growled.
The first elf glanced at the interrupters.
"...Stay put."
"Yes. We will."
Eli smiled faintly. The elf frowned briefly, then led her soldiers toward the kingdom.
Soon, a massive explosion rocked Tailran's royal castle.
"But Hero."
"Yeah?"
"What's that?"
"Oh, this?"
Eli pointed at the "something" in Kairan's hand.
"Looked good, so I grabbed it."
"Whaddya think? Nice, right?"
"...That goes in?"
"Yeah. It was already in?"
Eli eyed the dildo on Kairan's palm, then shook her head. Felt like it'd feel amazing, but scary. Especially the look.