The Hero Became a Succubus! - Chapter 147 (Patreon)

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Chapter 147

After freeing Lilith and the harpies from their uncompromising predicament, Kanae held back on doing the same for the demons. She flew to a wriggling demon man mummified up to his neck and his mouth gagged with a smaller mushroom like a binky. Upon pulling it out, he began cursing like a sailor.

"Wait until we're out, you succubus bitch! We'll—"

Kanae clamped her tail over the demon's mouth and sucked him dry to the last drop. She shuddered from the pleasure of mana flowing into her body. However, now that he was empty and had fallen unconscious, the mushroom tentacles released him. He fell to the ground with thud.

The other demons stopped struggling and stared in horror.

"Who wants to be next?" Kanae asked.

All of them frantically shook their heads.

She continued, "I'm going to take control of your minds and free you one by one. As thanks, I want you to tell me where Milton is and what you're doing here. If you don't know, then I'll drain you and leave you behind as food for Toadstool Forest."

A red-skinned female demon with black war paint across her face started flailing around. It looked like she had something to say rather than to try and escape, so Kanae plucked the mushroom gag from her mouth.

"M-Milton captured a drakeling and went ahead north. He left us behind in a hurry because he knew you were coming," the demon explained in haste.

"Well done~" Kanae cooed, stroking the demon woman's cheek with the back of her knuckles.

"You'll… let us go now?" she asked timidly.

Her lips curled to a devilish smile. "And leave behind a perfectly good feast? Girls, lunch is ready!"

Daya, Mikki, and Revah rose up to the canopy, drooling from the corners of their mouths. Lilith, eager to replenish what the mushrooms took from her, joined the feeding frenzy in draining every demon within the vicinity. By the end of it, the ground was littered with unconscious demons— only for them to rise a moment later under the succubi's magical charms.

"If you hornbats are done, we have a Knight of Color and Rift to find!" Arenade hollered from a mushroom stump.

"There are a lot more dangerous species of mushrooms farther in. Not to mention other demons. Make sure to stay vigilant," Kanae warned.

As they ventured deeper into Toadstool Forest, their formations morphed into unusual cliques. Revah held on tight to Mikki's arm, keeping her at a distance from Daya and consequently from the main group. Although Mikki was troubled by it, she didn't fight her older sister's actions.

Kanae ignored them to focus on the task at hand. She slowed down to Lilith, who lingered at the back of the group with her head down.

"What happened when you guys got here? Were you ambushed?" Kanae asked.

"If only that were so…" Lilith frowned. "When we encountered the inspectator named Milton and his demon forces, I convinced Estaline that we should engage them right away before you arrived. We caught them by surprise flying above them, but our fight attracted the attention of canopy mushrooms. Milton held Estaline captive during the scuffle, and the rest of us were stuck there until you came. I'm terribly sorry, Mistress…"

This place was full of surprises and traps.

Arenade sneered with her nose held high. "What is this, amateur hour? If you were a veteran adventurer like me, you would never have made the foolish mistake of getting caught! You see this mushroom?" She directed their attention to a thick, red-capped mushroom growing out the side of a boulder buried part way into the earth. "I know exactly what it is and what it does!"

"What is it and what does it do, Auntie?" Revah asked from behind, taking a step back with Mikki.

The veneer of pride shattered like a stone through a glass window. Arenade suddenly wasn't so sure anymore but continued to do so.

"Eh, uh… W-Well, I'm glad you asked! First, you should identify it by touching—"

"Arenade, wait!" Kanae shouted.

Arenade poked the red mushroom. It sprung forth and sucker punched her across the face. She dropped to the fetal position, both hands pressed to her face and fighting the urge to squeal in pain. Off to the side, Edina doubled over in laughter while clutching her stomach.

"Ugh… What in the three hells was that…" Arenade asked dizzily.

"It's a Boxing Shroom. They punch anything that touches it as a defense mechanism," Kanae explained with a sigh.

"Well, why didn't you tell me that sooner?!" she cried.

Kanae shrugged. "You were acting so high and mighty again, I thought you should get a taste of how dangerous it is to be an adventurer again."

The fallen demigoddess rose to her feet and stared angrily at the mushroom that punched her.

"Am I out of touch? No… It's this forest that's out of touch," Arenade muttered to herself.

"What about this mushroom? Does it do anything special?" Daya asked curiously about a mushroom with slime mold shaped as feathery wings.

"Oh, that's a—" Mikki was about to answer until Revah pulled her away from Daya.

"Tch. You've been a pain in the ass since we met. What's your problem with me?" the canine succubus growled.

"My problem is you attacked Mom and Talahurah, and now you're pretending to be a friend? I don't buy it," Revah fired back.

"Is that… true?" Mikki gasped. "You didn't tell me that…"

Daya bit back her answer and looked hurt.

"Okay, girls. Stop." Kanae finally stepped in. "It's true, Daya and Hilde were my enemies. Were. We're allies now. And Revah, please don't go sneaking into the prisoner's dungeons again."

"If you don't tell us anything, how are we supposed to protect ourselves?" Revah asked.

"You know what? It's fine. I'm clearly not wanted here." Daya took flight and disappeared into the forest.

Kanae turned intending to scold Revah when a shriek rang out from Daya's direction. They hurried after and found her being captured by a group of demons across a wide field of undulating mushrooms. One of them saw her and cursed under his breath.

"Don't let them interfere! We'll take this one back. The rest of you stop them in the name of Lord Charron!" the demon commanded.

"No, you don't! Subdue them!" Kanae ordered her own people.

Lilith led the charge with the platoon of harpies. However, the blanket of mycelium sprouted out and grabbed hold of them. Edina's undead dragon, too, was caught in the tangle of growth.

"What the fuck is wrong with this place? Arenade, do something with your Plant Growth spell!" Edina exclaimed.

"Mushrooms are fungus! They aren't plants! I'd have done something sooner if it actually worked!" Arenade shouted back.

The snickering demon, who held Daya bound and gagged, dragged her away into the fungal foliage. Kanae's mind raced with what to do. Flying past the canopy would expose them to the gas. Going through the mycelium would only get her caught. They might already be long gone if she took the long way around.

"Revah, let go! We have to help her!" Mikki pleaded and tugged against her sister.

"Why do you care about her so much? You only just met her," Revah said.

"Because she's my friend, and that's that. If you can't accept her, then maybe I don't want you as my sister!" she exclaimed, the shock of which caused Revah to falter and let go.

"Mom!" Mikki raced up to Kanae with eyes full of resolve. "These are Carpet Slimes! They're mushrooms with billions of tiny follicles that sense movement in the air when prey wanders over them. We can disrupt their senses with heat!"

Heat…

"Good girl, Mikki. Stand back!" Kanae kissed her ring and fired Scorching Ray across the field, careful not to catch her people in the spell.

The Carpet Slimes beneath the beam of fire shrunk, but they didn't let go of anyone that was already caught. Kanae and Mikki seized this chance to fly over the path undeterred, followed by Arenade and Edina.

"We'll come back for ya later, so hang tight!" Edina waved to the others.

"W-Wait! It's getting into all the wrong places again!" Lilith cried.

As they reached the other side, Edina summoned her death knight and sent it into battle against the awaiting demons. A single cleave with its greatsword sent many of them scattering away, but they still had plenty of fight left.

"Go on ahead! I'll take care of these bastards. They ain't keeping mama from the Lich Lord's Skull!" Edina howled.

Arenade, Kanae, and Mikki soared ahead and cleared through a break in Toadstool Forest, expecting to find Daya with the remaining demons. Instead, they were stuck in the hollow center of the bulbous mushrooms with the appearance of rafflesia plants. Some of them with their asses and legs in the air.

"H-Help! It's all sticky and gooey inside!"

"Mmmphh… Mrrpphh!"

"Oh, gross! What did we stumble into now?" Arenade groaned.

"Mom, this is bad!" Mikki exclaimed. "Rafflora is a trapping fungus alraune! Their bodies are like pitcher plants underground with digestive acid. We have to find Daya before it's too late!"

"Alraune…? Mikki, don't go!" Kanae yelled and was too slow to grab her.

Something burst from the earth, tossing dirt and debris all over the place. A giant, feral alraune the size of a house emerged. Attached to its main stalk body were tentacles connected to pods of pitcher-like mushrooms holding their trapped prey. Now Mikki included.

"Mikki!" Kanae and Arenade cried.

The ground beneath their feet gave way. They tried to fly away too late and were captured in a pod up to their shoulders.

"Aaaahhh! I should have stayed at home after all!" Arenade lamented.

"What happened to wanting to adventure again? More importantly, we have to figure out a way to get out of this!" Kanae struggled to little success. The juices secreted within the walls of the pod were like superglue, and it was gradually closing in on the rest of her body.

"Daya, take my hand!" Mkki urged.

Above Kanae, her daughter reached vainly for Daya, who was trapped up to her neck. Only her head and an arm stuck out of the pod. They were only inches away from each other.

"You shouldn't have chased after me." Daya winced. "Now look what happened. At least you have a family who cares about you. I don't have anyone… I don't care about my family, and they certainly don't care about me…"

"I care about you!" Mikki shouted at the top of her lungs.

"Y-You're just saying that. You don't mean it!"

"I do mean it!" she insisted tearfully. "I care because of all the nice things you say to me, for staying up late to learn about alchemy with me, collecting reagents together when my sisters don't bring me along on their quests… What I don't care about is that you used to be an enemy, because you're different now! Right? I care about you so much that my chest hurts when you're not with me!"

"Atta girl, Mikki! You tell her how you feel!" Kanae rooted for her adorable daughter.

"Wait, what about Nelly? I thought you were all going after my son?" Arenade asked.

Mikki blushed as red as a tomato. "M-Mom, Auntie! Don't listen in!"

Overwhelmed with emotion, Daya fought against the pod's hold and grabbed Mikki's hand. Together, they kept each other from sinking any farther into the rafflora. Now, it was up to Kanae to protect them. If only…

"I still don't like it, but if I have to choose between accepting you or losing Mikki, then fine." Revah flew in, holding a small leaf-wrapped ball. She got right up to the alraune's face and chucked the thing in her hand into its mouth. The fungal monstrosity reeled back, wheezing and coughing up familiar dust-like particles.

It wobbled back and forth until finally crashing backwards to the ground, and everyone in the pods with it. They spilled out along with the sticky liquid that quickly became less adhesive by the second.

"Revah… What did you just do? And how?" Kanae asked, picking herself and a disgusted Arenade up.

"I told you I can be helpful." Revah produced from her cloak a glass vial, filled with mana-burning spores from the canopy toadstools. She then scooped some slime off Kanae's arm. "I once tried to use this in my traps until I found out they lose adhesiveness when exposed to air."

Kanae and Arenade folded their arms.

"And you wandered out to Toadstool Forest alone when we explicitly declared it off-limits?" Arenade asked.

Revah clammed up. At least until Mikki tackled her from behind with a hug.

"I'm sorry for saying that to you earlier! Thank you for saving us, Revah! You really are the best!" Mikki cried while rubbing her slimed face into Revah's chest.

"Stop… hugging me already," Revah mumbled in mild embarrassment.

"Maybe I was wrong about you. You're not so bad," Daya said.

Revah flicked slime in Daya's direction and turned the other cheek.

"Why, you little—"

Edina, Lilith, and the harpy platoon caught up and heaved a sigh of relief, seeing everyone okay.

"What in three hells happened here?" Edina asked.

When everyone gazed back at the defeated alraune, they saw the shimmering portal of a Rift behind it instead. An imp was crawling to the portal until Lilith lassoed his ankle and reeled him upside down like a fish.

"Where do you think you're going?" Kanae glared.

"Uh… What kinda info is it gonna take to convince you not to charm me?" the imp dared to ask.

"I have a better idea. You're going to tell us everything as fast as you can," she said, gesturing for a group of harpies to come forth.

"You demons are the reason we're dealing with all these stupid mushrooms. So it's only fair you suffer the same fate." Arenade smirked as the harpies lifted a large stone with a Boxing Shroom to the imp's gonads.