Lysandra, seeing the situation spiral into madness, let out a heavy, weary sigh. In an instant, her form began to flicker with a white aura.
Just as Lilith had done, her body began to transform - those magnificent white wings furled and melted into her back, and her predatory features softened into something more elegant.
In her Human Mask, Lysandra was the personification of cold, aristocratic beauty. Her silver-white hair flowed in a shimmering cascade down her back, contrasting with her flawlessly pale skin, and her legs seemed to go on forever. Even without wings or talons, she radiated an authority that made the air around her feel frostbitten.
Before Lilith could even blink, Lysandra vanished from her side and reappeared in a blur between the two brawlers.
Before the Red Succubus's hand could descend for another strike, Lysandra scooped the Green girl up by her armpit with one fluid motion, lifting her off the warrior's knees like a misbehaving puppy. With her other hand, without a shred of hesitation, she snatched the Red one by her horn and squeezed hard.
"Ow! Owwwww! Let go! Let go, Lysandra! Come on, calm down!" the Red one wailed, her face contorting into a comical grimace of pain as she tried to squirm out of the white-haired woman's iron grip.
Lysandra, still holding the giantess by the horn, dragged them both before Lilith. She set the Green one gently on her feet and, with almost motherly tenderness, smoothed out her disheveled green hair. The small Succubus looked up at her with immense gratitude and relief, huddling against her side like a bruised child.
A moment later, Lysandra turned her icy gaze toward the Red one.
"Do you have something to say?" she asked, her voice so frigid the Red one immediately stopped massaging her aching horn.
"It... it's that brat's fault! She provoked me and - " the Red one started to defend herself, but as their eyes met, the words died in her throat. Seeing the pitiless composure in Lysandra's eyes, she suddenly looked down and muttered, "Sorry. I got a little carried away."
Lysandra nodded with a small, triumphant smirk. "I'm not the one you should be apologizing to," she added, gesturing discreetly toward Lilith.
The Red Succubus looked at her Monarch, who was watching all of this with a rather bewildered expression. The warrior immediately dropped to one knee, thumping her fist against her chest.
"Forgive me, My Lady, for this pathetic display. I promise that next time, I will use my strength on our enemies, not on this... green creature."
Lilith scratched her cheek, a wave of profound awkwardness washing over her. She looked at Lysandra with newfound admiration - the White Succubus had "tamed" this predatory beast in mere seconds. Lilith stepped toward the Red one and took her by the arm, helping her up.
"It's fine, really. Just... try not to kill each other in the first hour," Lilith said, before extending her hand. "I'm Lilith. And you?"
The Red Succubus straightened up, towering over Lilith's human form. She looked slightly stunned by the direct gesture. "Kala," she grunted, squeezing the Monarch's hand with such force that Lilith almost felt her bones crunch.
Seeing her surprise, Lysandra quickly explained to Kala and the Green girl what she and Lilith had established - the partnership, the shared growth, and the lack of unnecessary titles. Kala listened, narrowing her eyes, before looking Lilith straight in the face with brutal honesty.
"A partnership, huh? Well, I'll tell you one thing, Lilith: if you'd turned out to be some stupid, arrogant bitch who only knew how to bark orders, I'd have walked away a long time ago. But you've got something... strange about you. I like it."
Lysandra, hearing Kala's choice of words, clutched her head again, closing her eyes in a gesture of despair. Lilith looked at her with genuine sympathy, thinking: Poor Lysandra... she really must have a hard life with these two.
The small, green-haired Succubus stood still for a moment, shifting uncertainly from foot to foot and playing with the hem of her green scale armor. Seeing Lilith finish with Kala, she took a deep breath and took tiny steps toward the group.
"Um... so... I..." she began in a quiet, almost whispered voice, casting her gaze down at her small feet. All three of them - Lilith, Lysandra, and Kala - turned to look at her, making the girl turn even redder. "My name is Mina... and... I'm glad you summoned me, Lilith."
Lilith, seeing this almost painful shyness and the aura of pure innocence radiating from her, felt her heart soften. This demon-child looked so defenseless in this brutal world that the Monarch instinctively smiled warmly and reached out to shake her tiny hand.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mina," she said gently.
The moment their hands met, Mina's shyness evaporated. The girl grabbed Lilith's hand with both of hers and began shaking it energetically with the power of a small turbo-engine, grinning a joyful, toothy smile. Lilith actually wobbled on her feet, startled by the sudden shift in energy.
Kala, seeing the scene, snorted loudly and crossed her arms over her massive bust, looking at the Monarch with a warning glint in her eye.
"Better not let that innocent smile fool you, Lilith," Kala threw out in a low, serious voice. "Out of all of us, this brat is the biggest pervert. Under that mask of sweetness are thoughts that would make even a demon's ears wither."
Mina immediately let go of Lilith's hand, her green eyes widening in feigned shock. She pointed an accusatory finger at Kala and attacked like an enraged puppy that had just had its tail stepped on.
"What?! You shameless lizard!" she shrieked, her voice regaining its shrill strength. "This is coming from the person who was just comparing her own giant tits to Lilith's in her head and gloating like a moron because hers are bigger?! You call ME a pervert when you're the one drooling over thoughts of dominance?!"
Kala's eyes snapped wide. The warrior jerked her head away, avoiding Lilith's gaze as a dark purple blush stained her cheeks. "That's... that's not true! What are you talking about, you little shit!" she huffed, but her voice betrayed that she'd been hit where it hurts.
Mina, sensing blood, decided to finish her opponent. In a flash of green energy, she shifted into her Human Mask, wanting to further emphasize the contrast between her "sweetness" and Kala's "brutality."
In human form, Mina was the embodiment of delicacy. Her short, bright green hair framed a face with large, shimmering eyes and a small, upturned nose. She was petite and short, her skin smooth and soft as silk, making her look like a precious porcelain doll. She stepped close to the tense Kala, craning her head way up, and began to mock her mercilessly, swaying her hips in a provocative way.
"Oh dear, is our big warrior embarrassed?" Mina chirped, poking Kala in the stomach. "Look at her! The Great Kala, ravager of worlds, has a complex about our Monarch's bust! Maybe Lilith should give you a spanking to calm you down, since you love giving them out so much?"
Lilith stood beside Lysandra, watching this new round of chaos. So Mina is a crafty little demon in an angel's skin... she thought, massaging her throbbing temples. Kala is a proud warrior with a size obsession, and Lysandra is the only one holding this whole thing together.
She looked at Lysandra, who was back to rubbing her forehead. "Lysandra..." Lilith whispered. "Are we ever going to leave these ruins, or are they going to keep bickering until the end of the world?"
Lysandra, seeing Lilith's doubting look, sighed heavily, her aristocratic features hardening in deep mortification.
"They can be serious when the situation demands it... truly," she managed to say, though seeing Kala and Mina still scuffling in the background, she felt her own authority melting away. Under Lilith's gaze, Lysandra lost her cool for the first time and looked like she wanted to sink into the ground along with the altar.
She quickly looked away, squaring her shoulders to regain some dignity. "I wonder... as the Monarch, can you summon more units?"
Lilith blinked. The thought hit her with full force - she'd been so focused on the chaos these three brought, but a Demon King needs legions. Her eyes sparked with excitement. She approached the altar, imagining hundreds, thousands of Succubi flooding the valley. She placed her hand on the obsidian, intending to repeat the ritual, but instead of a violet glow, a blood-red message flared before her eyes, chilling her to the bone:
[ SYSTEM ERROR ]
[ Due to the specifics of the race: PRIMORDIAL SUCCUBUS MONARCH, the mass-summoning function of the Altar is permanently locked. You may never again summon units using this construct. ]
Lilith froze, her hand falling limply onto the cold stone. "What...? Never again?" she rasped, turning to Lysandra with a face as pale as a ghost. "The system says it's because of my race. That the limit was reached with the three of you!"
Lysandra didn't look surprised. She nodded slowly, her face turning grave. "I expected as much..." she muttered. "You are the Primordial Monarch, Lilith. A Rare-type Demon King. To maintain balance in this world, the system had to impose drastic restrictions on us. Other Kings can summon hundreds of low-tier servants, but succubi... we were never known for our numbers. We are individual, powerful entities. The elite, not cannon fodder."
Lilith furrowed her brow, panic beginning to take hold. "But... other Kings will have entire armies! How are we supposed to survive with only four of us?"
Lysandra crossed her arms under her bust and gazed into the dark valley. "It's true. Kings of Kobolds or Goblins... their territories can number in the millions in just a few months. Those races start fucking without pause, breeding at a rate no one can control. They will flood the world through sheer numbers."
In Lilith's imagination, an image immediately formed: the four of them, standing atop this altar, surrounded by an ocean of green-skinned, drooling goblins whose counter in the system menu read "1,000,000." The vision of a wave of small, aggressive monsters pressing in on their tiny group turned Lilith's expression from terror into pure, existential numbness.
"Four Succubi against millions of horny goblins..." Lilith whispered, her human legs feeling a bit weak. "That's not balance, Lysandra. That's a script for a very bad movie that I definitely don't want to star in."