A dozen minutes later, slicing through the air with powerful wings, the four succubi landed on the edge of a territory forgotten by the gods.
This place differed drastically from the rest of the vibrant Darkness Woods. Here, an unnatural, stifling silence reigned. The trees were gnarled, leafless, and black, as if charred by an invisible fire. The air grew thick with the stench of rot and ancient magic.
Lilith, hovering slightly above the ground, narrowed her blood-red eyes and activated Analysis. A translucent system window bloomed before her, shimmering with an ominous violet glow:
[RUINS OF FALLEN DARKNESS]
TYPE: Elite Level 1 Area.
HISTORY: Once a prosperous forest village founded by a powerful mage. It was utterly destroyed following a foul experiment that spiraled out of control. All inhabitants died in agony and were transformed into the undead.
VALUE: Relatively high exploration value.
POSSIBLE REWARDS: Black Iron Treasure Chest, Mage's Legacy, Rare Necromantic Materials, Hidden Treasure.
Lilith swallowed hard, her armor heaving over her chest as she read the description aloud to her companions. The girls reacted instantly, each in her own way.
"An Elite Area? Finally, something that won't drop just by looking at it!" Kala bared her fangs in a predatory grin, tossing her flame-red hair. Her fire-red wings spread wide in a gesture of combat readiness. "I'm going to smash these rotting bones to dust!"
"Ugh, necromancy..." Mina pouted in her sweet human form - which she had assumed as a disguise - and vigorously brushed off invisible dust. "Undead are so... unhygienic. And they definitely don't produce any nice desire energy. This is going to be a waste of time unless we find that 'legacy' the system mentioned."
Lysandra, maintaining her cold professionalism, merely nodded while analyzing the surroundings with her blue eyes. "Let's focus. An Elite Area means the traps and enemies will be significantly more powerful than wolves. But the rewards... Lilith, this could be the breakthrough we need."
Lilith furrowed her brow, looking at the rewards notification. "Black Iron Treasure Chest...?" she muttered, scratching her cheek. "I'm imagining a gargantuan, metal-bound trunk full of gold coins, jewels, and maybe an epic sword that glows blue... that's how it works in games, right?"
Lysandra smiled faintly at the rather naive interpretation and shook her head.
"In this world, Lilith, a Black Iron Chest is more than just a container for gold. It's a rare system artifact. Yes, it can contain gold and items, but its main value lies in what's inside - often building blueprints, scrolls with powerful spells, or rare materials you won't get any other way. Opening one is always a lottery, but the stakes are high."
Lilith nodded, digesting the information. The challenge was dangerous, but the potential gain was massive.
"Alright then. In that case, let's explore this place," she said in a firm, monarchic tone. "But girls, watch your backs. The moment it gets too dangerous, we're out of here!"
With those words, the girls began their descent into the territory that was once a bustling village. The deeper they went, the darker and more oppressive the atmosphere became. Lilith felt a sudden, freezing chill, as if stepping onto the grounds of a gargantuan, ancient cemetery.
Some powerful, evil energy still radiated from the ruins, even though many years had passed since the catastrophe. The air turned ice-cold, and parched bones and remnants of homesteads crunched beneath their feet.
After just a few steps, the gloom began to thin, revealing their first targets.
From the ground, beneath ruined foundations and crumbling earth, hands began to emerge... or rather, what was left of them. Bone hands. A dry, rattling sound filled the air as skeletons began to claw their way to the surface. Lilith immediately used Analysis on the nearest one:
[SKELETON SOLDIER]
TYPE: Normal Level 1 Monster.
HISTORY: Formerly ordinary inhabitants of this forest village. They died as a result of the village lord's foul experiments and were transformed into skeleton soldiers by the powerful necromantic energy that saturated these lands.
CHARACTERISTICS: Slow but determined. They attack everything that is living.
Two skeletons, their bones visible through rotting rags, drew themselves up before the group of succubi. These undead constructs, devoid of brains or nervous systems, knew no fear - to them, Lilith was not a powerful Monarch, but merely another heat source to be extinguished. They lunged forward with a hollow rattle, brandishing chipped, bone swords.
"An interesting sight..." Lilith started, but she didn't get to finish her sentence.
Kala, whose patience had vanished the moment they entered the ruins, shot forward like a red missile. With fury and excitement in her eyes, she reached the first corpse, slashing her sharp talons straight across its neck.
There was an unpleasant screech of metal on dry bone, but the skeleton didn't even flinch - the slashes that had torn through wolf muscle only left shallow scratches on the hard calcium here.
"Oh, right! I forgot talons don't work on these heaps of bones!" Kala snarled, smacking her forehead with an open palm.
She instantly changed tactics. Utilizing the immense power in her legs, she delivered a devastating roundhouse kick. The skeleton's skull exploded in a cloud of dust and shards, and the limp spine collapsed to the ground.
The second undead swung its sword, but Kala easily blocked the blade with the forearm of her armor before shoving it back with a powerful kick to the chest. As the skeleton fell, crushing its own ribs against the rubble, the warrior simply stepped on its skull, ending its wretched existence.
[KALA HAS KILLED A SKELETON SOLDIER. GOLD +5!]
[KALA HAS KILLED A SKELETON SOLDIER. GOLD +5!]
Lilith watched with approval, nodding slowly. Her succubi's combat power was impressive. Though the skeleton soldiers were "normal" Level 1 monsters, her girls were top-tier elite units. The difference in potential was overwhelming.
"Let's split up for a moment and wipe out this filth," Lilith ordered, feeling the blood start to pulse in her own veins. "Clear this sector!"
The girls immediately scattered in different directions, turning the ruins into a predator's playground. Lilith decided to use her greatest advantage - her wings. She took to the air, targeted a group of five skeletons, and folded her wings, dropping onto them like a bolt from the blue.
She struck with her knees in the middle of the group, and the spikes of her amaranth armor shattered the ribs of the first one. A clear, dry snap echoed - the skeleton's head couldn't withstand the weight of the impact, and the entire body instantly disintegrated into dozens of bony fragments.
[YOU HAVE KILLED A SKELETON SOLDIER. GOLD +5!]
The remaining undead, unmoved by their companion's death, lunged at her from several sides. Lilith, however, had no intention of fighting on the ground. She kicked off with her right leg, kicking up a cloud of dust, and instantly "dissolved" into the air, soaring back above their heads.
She repeated the process again and again - soar, target, violent drop, and a devastating knee strike. The skeleton soldiers didn't even have a chance to react to these vertical attacks.
[YOU HAVE KILLED A SKELETON SOLDIER. GOLD +5!]
[YOU HAVE KILLED A SKELETON SOLDIER. GOLD +5!]
Lilith smiled, feeling a thrill of satisfaction. This couldn't even be called a battle - it was a pure execution. Even though fighting soulless bones provided no emotional high from desire energy, the process of "mowing the grass" gave her almost physical pleasure.
In that moment, Lilith fully realized her own power. As a Demon King of a rare race, she stood in a completely different dimension from these rank-and-file undead. After a dozen minutes of this slaughter, however, she noticed that no new targets were clawing their way out of the ground. The area around the entrance had been completely cleared, and only piles of useless calcium lay around.
Lilith stood motionless among the shattered bones, her chest rising and falling steadily as she took a deep breath.
Suddenly, her eyes widened, and every muscle in her body pulled taut like a wire. Her Primordial Succubus instinct, previously lulled by easy victories, shrieked an alarm that could not be ignored.
Danger! her mind screamed before her eyes even registered the threat.
In the next second, the gloom of the ruins was torn apart by a blinding, bloody glare as a dark-red fireball shot from the shadow of the ruined mage's tower, hurtling straight toward Lilith.