Soren honestly didn't know whether the succubus Grand Elder spoke truth or spun lies with every breath. Her face gave nothing away, and her mind-reading had been blocked by the Gem, leaving her words hanging somewhere between revelation and manipulation.
They flew in silence for a long while.
The Abyssal Plane wasn't the universe-sized expanse Soren had seen beyond Earth, but it was vast in its own strange, maddening way.
Once they left the flaming lands of the Flame Demons, the landscape shifted violently rolling into a region of constant, crackling thunder.
Bolts of lightning crashed into black mountains, leaving smoking craters and shuddering shockwaves.
The elder raised a hand, guiding him into a wide arc to skirt the storm.
"This is Lightning Demon territory," She said lightly, though her tone carried caution. "They're territorial, impulsive, and not fond of conversation."
"Once they attack, they don't stop until something dies. Better to go around."
Soren nodded. As irritating as she could be, her insights into the Abyss were proving useful.
Soon the land changed again, this time collapsing into an endless, pockmarked stretch of earth riddled with holes large and small.
"This whole region was eaten through by Tunnel Demons," The elder explained. "They aren't aggressive."
"Their food doesn't overlap with most other demons, so no one bothers stopping their… population explosion."
As if on cue, a cluster of creatures emerged from beneath them, humanoid only in the loosest sense, shaped like oversized bipedal rats with glowing, beady eyes. They chittered, sniffed at the air, then scurried back underground in a flurry of dirt and dust.
But nothing prepared Soren for what came next.
A sea of blood stretched into the horizon… dark, churning like a living organism. Shapes writhed beneath its surface, surfacing only to tear into each other… Blood Demons.
"They kill, devour, multiply, and then begin the cycle again," She said quietly. "Even their own offspring mean nothing to them. Everything is consumed, recycled, and born anew through slaughter."
Soren watched a larger demon tear apart a smaller one, then immediately sink into the blood to hunt another. The sight was grotesque and disturbingly hypnotic.
"Such is demon nature." A shadow passed across the elder's face.
Soren frowned. "But… the Abyssal Demons in stories are all supposed to be mindless killers. Greedy, selfish, savage. Nothing like what you're describing."
She looked at him with a curious, almost amused tilt of her head.
"Brutality is the nature of demons. But evolution has its own patience. After countless ages of slaughter, most Abyss Demons grew tired of chasing nothing but blood. Many races began trying clumsily to escape their inferior instincts."
"Some succeeded. Some failed."
She turned her gaze forward again. "And that is why I came to you."
"…You want my help in purging this 'inferior nature'? But you don't even feel like a demon. I don't sense any of that savagery in you."
For the first time, her smile wavered.
A bittersweet expression crossed her face… halfway between pride and pain.
"Soren," She said quietly, "The succubus were once among the strongest of all demon kinds. But when we fought too hard against our own blood, we paid a terrible price."
"Now, no males remain in our entire race. We became what you see today beautiful, seductive, all-female, and chained to charm we never asked for."
Her voice softened further. "This was the punishment for resisting our nature too fiercely."
Soren stared at her, momentarily at a loss. If she was lying, she hid it well, but something in her tone, the tension at the corners of her eyes, made him doubt she was weaving a story.
If this was the cost of change… it was far heavier than he'd imagined.
"So what exactly do you want from me?" Soren finally asked.
The Grand Elder didn't even hesitate. "I don't know."
"...You don't know?"
"Then why drag me across half the Abyss? Don't tell me you've suddenly fallen in love with me and want me to settle down in your succubus territory."
She shot him a flat look that could've killed a lesser man.
"Keep dreaming."
By now she'd taken his measure his ruthlessness in battle, his mercy toward the non-hostile, his sharpness beneath the bravado.
She'd also noted something else… no matter how beautiful she was, he only admired, not hungered. A strange trait for any being human or demon.
"We're almost there," She said, slowing her flight. "The territory of the Succubus Clan is just ahead."
"And one more warning don't start flirting with every young succubus you see. Your suffering would be… memorable."
Soren snorted, but the retort died on his lips when his eyes widened.
Before them lay a lush oasis vibrant, green, impossibly alive in the heart of the dark continent. He had expected magma, smoke, and constant slaughter. Instead, gently swaying trees and blooming flowers stretched out in all directions.
"You've got to be kidding me," he murmured. "This… this doesn't look like the Abyss. This looks like a hidden island paradise."
The elder landed lightly and gestured with a soft smile. "Please, Prophet."
Soren frowned. "Prophet? What prophet?"
She only smiled again, refusing to answer, and walked deeper into the oasis. With no better choice, Soren followed.
The deeper they went, the more surreal everything became.
The oasis reminded him strongly of his own Macaluso Island… primitive, untouched by blood or corruption. Strange flowers released sweet fragrances.
Huge trees rustled softly in the abyssal breeze. A few succubi young, bright-eyed, and very much alive moved through the greenery, gathering fruit and fresh buds.
Most wore little, relying on natural beauty rather than crafted charm spells. Even so, every movement radiated an effortless allure.
"If you hadn't told me this was the succubus territory," Soren said, glancing around, "I would've assumed they were forest elves."
And honestly, standing here, it wasn't hard to imagine why outsiders viewed succubi as dangerous temptations.
Every single succubus, whether mature or youthful, carried the same trait… lethal beauty.
If an ordinary man wandered into this place, he'd be lost within minutes mind, heart, and probably soul.