"What is this?" Asmodeus asked with a sigh.
Just as Syndra noticed the hundred-plus Succubi, she had stuck close to Asmodeus, and he understood that she was about to use her magic.
"I lent you that energy because I thought you were taking me inside the castle."
What he had not expected was to be teleported away from said castle.
"Where are we?" Asmodeus asked, peeking both outside and inside the cave they were standing in.
"My secret base," Syndra answered. "Well, used to be. Before I joined Nyl."
Asmodeus’s eyes narrowed as he studied the place.
A bed was at the end of the cave, covered by a thick blanket that looked as though it hadn’t been touched in weeks. Beside it stood a wooden bookshelf. On the opposite side was a tall closet.
"Do Nyl and the rest know of this place?"
"They do not."
"Hm." Asmodeus peeked outside. "I didn’t think you were capable of having secrets."
The cave’s entrance opened directly onto the side of a mountain.
He walked towards the edge and looked down.
"It’s a good place," Asmodeus whispered. "Outsiders would have to expend a large amount of energy to get here, while you can just appear."
"Just appearing, as you say, also expends a large amount of energy." Syndra corrected.
"Oh, I’ve realized this. Whose energy have you been wasting?" Asmodeus turned towards her. "What are you doing?"
Rummaging through the closet, Syndra ended up exposing three different items on the bed.
"Choose what you like." She gestured for him to get closer.
"I already told you that I feel no need to put anything on or around me."
"That’s not the point. You can’t keep your body bare."
"Why not? I feel no shame towards my body."
"It’s not about shame! We can either explain who you are to a hundred different Succubi, or you can put some clothes on, and we can walk right in. Which do you prefer?"
Asmodeus’s face visibly changed as he imagined having to explain everything to so many people.
"Fine." He sighed. "Just this once."
"Alright," Syndra nodded. "These are jeans, you can-"
"No."
"Okay," She nodded again. "This is a different type of-"
"I will not wear that. It is obviously constraining."
"How about this-"
"No."
Syndra’s hands shook as they held onto the shorts, violently enough that she almost tore them apart.
"You know what? You look for something you like." Syndra thumped her way to the cave’s entrance and took a seat, feet dangling over the cliff.
"Alright." Asmodeus stepped towards the closet and started rummaging through it. Pieces of clothing went flying in every direction as he tossed all that did not meet his fancy into the air. "Hm. This will do."
"Really?" Syndra sat up at once. "I’m so glad you..."
Her words trailed off as she laid eyes on him.
"Anything wrong?" Asmodeus asked. "Why are you staring like that?"
"I-It’s nothing."
"Then," Asmodeus reached his hand out. "Take me to Nyl."
Syndra’s elbow came into contact with his hand, and they disappeared.
***
Asmodeus and Syndra reappeared in approximately the same place.
Saphyra was gone.
The hundred-plus Succubi were not.
They stood in front of the castle just like before.
"Oh." Asmodeus noticed. "I forgot about him." He took a couple of steps and grabbed the whip he had forgotten, as well as the unconscious Incubus at its end. "He’s still asleep... He’s not dead, is he?"
Syndra didn’t hear the question.
’To be fair, there is no telling whether or not Asmodeus will grow breasts later on.’ She thought to herself. ’Maybe it really is as I thought at first. Maybe Asmodeus is a female with a...’
He raised an eyebrow curiously, and Syndra looked away.
"Is it because of this that you’re acting strangely?" Asmodeus asked while pulling on the fabric of the one piece of clothing he had accepted.
It was a long skirt. Completely black. Very comfortable, and the least constraining thing he found.
"Let’s head inside, huh?" Syndra said with a reassuring, albeit awkward, smile.
The two started walking forward, and just as Asmodeus started dragging the Incubus’s body, he slowly opened his eyes.
"I guess that answers my earlier question," Asmodeus whispered as he gave the leash a swift pull, keeping the Incubus from rising to his feet. "Crawl." He ordered.
The Incubus looked at Asmodeus and Syndra, then past them.
His face lost what little color it had as he noticed the dozens of Succubi eyes on him.
"Fuck!" He cursed, pushing himself away with hands and heels. "Fu-"
Asmodeus pulled the whip again as the Incubus tried to run away.
"Crawl, I said."
The Incubus stumbled back to the ground.
"You don’t want him to repeat himself," Syndra warned.
"They... They’ll kill me." Those words were all the mortified Incubus could muster.
"I can kill you now." Asmodeus walked closer to stare down at the trembling Incubus. "If you prefer."
Slowly, he got on his hands and knees. The Incubus could tell that the child meant it.
"Good boy," Asmodeus said.
Syndra noted internally that his voice had never sounded more positive.
It wasn’t long before they walked through the crowd and towards the castle’s entrance.
The Incubus kept his head down. He did not meet any of the dozens of gazes, and was painfully aware that he only lived because the child had willed it so. For now.
’Such humiliation...’ The leashed Incubus bit his lip. ’I am one of the King’s Soldiers! How dare you!’
He increasingly seemed to be on the verge of tears as he crawled on all fours.
All were silent as Syndra stepped into the castle. But just as Asmodeus was about to do the same,
"You dare enter the Queen’s castle with your bare, dirty feet?"
Asmodeus stopped and momentarily turned his gaze towards her. She was the only one to have uttered a word. He could not remember her name or her face. Insignificant.
"You’re free to kneel and wash them for me if you desire."
The Succubus froze at his impertinence.
Asmodeus did not wait long enough for a response. He stepped into the castle, and so did his leashed, crawling Incubus pet.