The Devouring Dragon-Chapter 35: Spirits

I stared at the naked, very large, woman blankly.

"...You wanna run that by me again?" I said blankly.

Hey, cut me some slack for the less-than-eloquent response - I came here expecting to have to possibly kill both two Succubus Princesses and the Fairy Queen if they didn't surrender, but instead got a naked woman saying we were getting married.

"Let us end this war by commencing our marriage and making love," Tiffana repeated, staring at me with the same floaty gaze.

"Yeah, I heard that part," I deadpanned, "I'll rephrase - what the hell are you talking about?"

"Y-Yes! Are you sure about this, my Queen?!" Margret actually agreed with me, looking doubtfully at the Fairy Queen, "He is the Beast King! So many of our kind have died by his hand, and he's come here to enslave us!"

Well, I prefer 'strongly encouraged servitude,' but she wasn't that far off.

"I have seen it in the spirits, Margret," Tiffana said ominously as if that explained everything, taking another step toward me as she actually towered over me - which was strange, as aside from dragons and trolls I hadn't met someone taller than me. Not someone humanoid, at least.

The spirits?

As far as spirits go in the DxD world, they're pretty unknown. They definitely exist, but what exactly they can do is rather undeveloped and unknown.

"T-The spirits?!" Margret stuttered, apparently actually understanding what the crazy woman meant, "They have foretold this?"

"Yes," Tiffana smiled widely, stepping just mere inches away from me as she reached down, aiming to caress my helmeted face, "The spirits praise him in a way I have never seen before. His presence exceeds even the limits of this plane!"

I reached up, grabbing her wrist before her hand could make contact with my helmet. She seemed like a pretty nice woman, considering that she didn't seem to be trying to kill me despite the fact that we were literally at war, but...

I'm not letting this crazy lady touch me. I don't know anything about these 'spirits' she was talking about, and I couldn't be sure she wouldn't do some crazy shit to me.

Spiritual techniques and skills were in the same vein as magical ones to me - meaning they were terrifying. Without proper knowledge and defense against spiritual techniques, I could find myself in a bad position very quickly.

Tiffana blinked, looking genuinely surprised as I stopped her, "Are you shy, Beast King? I have yet to indulge in lovemaking on this mortal plane, but I can request for the spirits to guide us upon our journey if you are also inexperienced."

"Not shy," I shot her down, "More like, not going to have sex with you just because some 'spirit' told you to. We're at war here, Fairy Queen. To be blunt..."

I took a step back, releasing my grip on her wrist and reaching back to unsheath my sword - which was a bit awkward with Velrissa still lying over my shoulder. I pointed the blade at her, making sure there was no way the insane woman could misunderstand my words.

I activated [King's Aura] and [King's Command], causing a thick tension to fill the air as Magret tensed and held her light bow up nervously.

"Surrender," I ordered her, my blade glinting in the vibrancy of the forest around us, "Or, I will kill you."

Margret tensed even more at my words, a light arrow forming in her shaking hands as she readied herself to defend her Queen.

"B-Beast King," Talia finally spoke up, pleading with me as she floated behind me, "P-Please..."

"I agreed to give her a chance," I replied bluntly, staring down Tiffana, "This is her chance. I'm not kind enough to grant you another, so I suggest you take it. Submit, or die."

Compared to the tense Talia and the shaking Margret, Tiffana looked strangely calm - as if my two skills weren't even affecting her. She simply smiled brightly at me, nodding as she hummed lightly.

"Yes, in the mortal realm, wives must submit to their husbands, correct?" She tilted her head, as if she was thinking very hard, then abruptly kneeled down in front of me, "Alright, lover. I submit."

"M-My Queen!" Margret stared in shock, looking unsure what to do as her Queen kneeled.

I stared at her blankly.

I go through all the effort to make this imposing atmosphere, literally threatening to kill her while pointing a massive greatsword at her, and that's what she gets from it?

"I meant, like, as the Fairy Queen," I clarified.

"Yes, the Fairy Queen is I, and I will submit to my lover, the Beast King," Tiffana nodded as if we were on the same page.

"No, not in some 'love-making' sense," I sighed, the tension disappearing as I lowered my sword. I couldn't bring myself to try and threaten the woman any longer, "As in, submit to my rule. This area - this little section of the forest you have, it's mine now, alright?"

I waved around at the little oasis-esque area, and Tiffana just nodded as if we were agreeing.

"Yes, in this mortal plane, the female must give possession of herself and her belongings to her lover," Tiffana nodded sagely, "What is mine is now yours, Beast King."

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I stared at her blankly.

"No, like, I'm conquering your territory!" I tried to drill the concept into her head, "Not in some 'lover' way! That whole 'wife submitting to husband' stuff is pretty outdated anyway, you don't necessarily have to- ah, nevermind!"

As Tiffana stared at me with the same bright, air-headed smile, I gave up.

[Your territory has increased!]

Judging from the notification, whether Tiffana thought this was me conquering her land in a 'conquest war' sense or me conquering her in a romantic sense didn't matter.

"S-So, you'll spare her?" Talia asked questioningly, and I just nodded with a sigh. I wouldn't describe myself as the nicest person in the world, as I was literally committing massacres in this forest, but I still wasn't an asshole enough to kill her when she was smiling at me so lovingly.

"Y-Yay! Thank you!" Talia cheered lightly.

The encounter with the Fairy Queen hadn't gone how I expected it too, but I wouldn't complain. Her randomly being in love with me because of 'spirits' was preferable to fighting against her, a bunch of guards, and two Succubus Princesses.

Speaking of guards-

"You only had one guard here protecting you?" I asked Tiffana, raising an eyebrow at her and nodding at Margret, "She didn't send any succubi to protect you?"

I gestured to Velrissa as I finished my sentence. If the remaining two Succubus Princesses weren't here, then I'd need to hurry back to where Thrain and Baldrek were - as I doubted the two generals would be enough to take them and any servants they had on their own.

"She did," Tiffana answered, still smiling brightly at me.

...

"Then... where are they?" I asked bluntly as Tiffana didn't elaborate at all.

"Right there," Tiffana turned around, pointing behind her into the small pond - which wasn't really all that small, as the circumference was still a couple of hundred feet wide. I followed her finger and blinked as I realized she was correct.

[Rosa] [Succubus Princess] - Level 77

[Paula] [Succubus Princess] - Level 59

Across the water, sitting side by side were two breathtakingly sexy women.

The first one, Rosa, didn't look all too dissimilar to the other Succubus Princess I had seen - Peach - as she had long, lightly-glowing bright platinum-blonde hair, and a lustful body. But, compared to Peach, she was much thicker all around - in the best way possible, as she had two massive jugs on her chest, a thin waist, and thick hips that were barely hidden by the water she was sitting in.

Next to her, Paula looked pretty similar to a previous Succubus Princess - Dame - as well with her long black hair and sexy curvy body. She was sexy in a more thin sense than Rosa, as while she definitely had large breasts and a thick bottom she wasn't absurdly blessed in those departments.

I was confused as I took in the sight of the two women - they were leaning into each other, their shoulders brushing as they in the edge of the pond with the water reaching their waist. They both were staring off into the sky blankly, and even from the rather far distance I could see their dazed eyes.

They were also butt-naked.

They hadn't reacted at all to my arrival, or my conversation with Tiffana. There were no servants around either.

"What did you do to them?" I asked curiously to Tiffana.

The two princesses should've been Tiffana's allies, but it was clear to me the queen had done something to them. Normally, I don't think succubi stare into the sky looking high out of their minds.

I hadn't seen any that acted like that, at least.

"They are connecting with the spirits," Tiffana answered as if it was obvious.

I stared at the two women blankly.

"...Connecting with the spirits?" I raised an eyebrow.

I was starting to question if these 'spirits' were real, or if all the fairies were just smoking some 'spiritual mushrooms.'

"Spirits are beings that reside in the spiritual realm, Beast King," Talia supplied helpfully at my obviously doubtful words, "It's very difficult to contact them, but they have a vast well of knowledge if you can!"

"Indeed," Tiffana nodded, finally apparently seeing it fit to actually explain something to me, "This spring is one of the few places in any world, be it the under one or the over one, where you can connect with the spiritual realm."

"Really?" I hummed, a small grin forming on my face.

If this place really was that special, then I might've found a jackpot. I wasn't sure what kind of skills spirits have, but they must be pretty good, right?

My stomach growled at the thought. I wonder if spirits taste good? Do they even taste like anything?

"What can these 'spirits' do?" I asked, deciding to pry out some more information from Tiffana.

"Many things," Tiffana answered, her smile slightly dreamy, "They know the inner workings of the world! They can even see your destiny! They are the ones who told me you would arrive here!"

Seeing your destiny? And, apparently knowing I would come for the Fairy Queen.

Granted, that didn't mean much - if these 'spirits' had any surveillance skills, or an above-average brain, they'd know I was headed here.

"Your presence is so large, lover," Tiffana looked up at me with bright, dazed eyes.

"Presence?" I blinked, realizing what she was saying.

Like, the 'presence' that raised from my [King's Aura] skill and armor?

"Every being has a presence," Margret grunted, finally lowering her bow and stepping forward to give a better explanation than the ditzy Queen, "It refers to your importance in this world, and seems to depend on the actions you've taken and the actions you will take. Beings such as dragons have an immense amount of presence just from existing, as it is in their nature to leave a lasting impact on the world."

So, it was essentially the impact you were destined to have on the world? I wasn't sure how something like that could be raised by a skill, but I assumed my skill moreso projected my presence than actually increasing it.

"I have seen many visions through the spirits, lover," Tiffana's wide smile grew even wider, looking slightly abnormal and psychotic, and her eyes became even more dazed, "The presence of dragons, which fill the planet like lakes and rivers. The presence of the devil who sits on his conquered throne, which fills the world like an endless ocean. But, I have never seen anything as wonderful as yours!"

Her blue eyes seemed to nearly glow as she stared up at me, her gaze a mixture of love and reverence that creeped me out a bit. Around her, the air started to vibrate, a light glow filling the air.

"A presence so powerful, it floods the world like a never-ending sea! Yes, a flood is the only way to describe it!" Now, I was certain her eyes were glowing, and her face became even more crazed, "It floods the world, filling it, and then overflowing! A presence so large it can not be contained! A presence that flows out into other worlds, claiming them as its own!"

My eyes stared back into her glowing orbs, the Queen becoming flushed and out of breath as she continued.

"Your destiny is so grand, lover! So powerful! So overwhelming!" She continued, and her voice started to change - becoming slightly deeper as it seemed to echo, sounding almost like multiple people speaking at once, "You bear the destiny of a conqueror, Beast King! A destiny so heavy that even the strongest of giants would shatter under it! This little forest can't hope to contain you! Even this world itself can't contain you! Your presence will grow, expanding beyond-"

Abruptly, the words stopped, and Tiffana suddenly slumped forward. She flopped face-first onto the ground, her soft and sexy body squishing into the dirt.

"M-My Queen!" Margret rushed forward to help her sit up, but the woman was out cold, lying unconscious.

In response to her words, I merely chuckled. It was pretty clear to me what had happened to her.

"Taking control of the Fairy Queen to tell me something I already know, spirits?" I hummed, a slight tinge of arrogance in my gaze as I looked over the pond, "You might not be as interesting as I thought."

I didn't need some spirit to tell me what was destined for me - the never-ending hunger in my gut did that more than well enough. I was a King. I was a Conqueror. And, most importantly, I was a beast.

A beast whose hunger could never quelled.

This section of the forest wouldn't be enough - I'd continue forward, taking down Tiamat and claiming the entire forest for myself.

Then, I wondered if even the entire underworld could make my hunger feel even a bit satiated.

Judging by the spirits words, I doubted it.

And so, as I took in the sight of the unconscious Fairy Queen, the Beast-Dwarven Alliance v. Meadow of Love war officially ended.

A war filled with tens of thousands of soldiers. A war filled with unexpected beasts, dominated by powerful dragons, devils, and supernatural creatures. A war where the Dwarven King was mere seconds from death. A war where one King ignored all war etiquette to challenge the enemy Queen personally.

For such a grand war, the ending was rather anticlimactic. There was no bang - no final battle where I was on the verge of death, barely managing to overcome my opponent and steal victory from the jaws of defeat.

Instead, it ended with an unconscious, naked, Fairy Queen, two 'spiritually high' princesses, and a knocked-out Succubus Queen.

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