The Hero Became a Succubus, and the Only Way to Level is to… What?!

Over the next few days, Team Make-a-Lich worked tirelessly to create Edina’s remaining soul cairns. Kanae checked in frequently, worried that their experiments and rituals might rip open a portal to the Realm of Eternal Sleep. The city didn’t need undeads from the afterlife to pour in and wreak havoc. Her hunger hadn’t come back after being sated by the goblins. It still bothered her how quickly it came and went, with no warning whatsoever. She needed to be careful of it happening again.

Between balancing royal duties and helping Edina, this past week had become increasingly hectic. During free time, Kanae joined the necromancer in quests to slay big and dangerous creatures. Making a soul cairn required strong souls after all, and there was no other way to obtain them. They had been taking up all the high level quests from Ehmvier’s adventurers hall, much to the dismay of many adventurers.

”Bocchiri, I’m leading the dire wolf right to you!” Kanae shouted, luring the pursuing beast through the forests with her Versatile Womb turned on.

The elven Saint Priest laid in wait just beyond the treeline. As soon as Kanae crossed it, she caught a glimpse of Bocchiri channeling magic into the palm of his hand. The giant dire wolf emerged right after, and the elf released the spell. A tomb of ice encased it mid-lunge, the raging erect cock still thick and throbbing within.

”Whew. If you didn’t land that spell, the dire wolf would’ve been knotting me until next week. Nice work!” Kanae raised a hand to high-five Bocchiri, and he responded in kind rather unenthusiastically.

”Let’s bring this back,” Bocchiri said.

”Y-Yeah.” She signalled to the crew of undead Edina had assigned to them.

They were made up of ten undead warriors, two undead horses, and a vehicle to bring back to Ehmvier. Everyone pitched in to hoist the frozen dire wolf into the bed of the wagon. The others from Radevic had also paired up to find and hunt monsters to power the soul cairn. Kanae had the pleasure of joining Bocchiri. However, just like the way here, he was also silent all the way back.

”Amethyst, you’re staring again,” Bocchiri said.

”Sorry! I’ve just never met anyone so quiet and not talkative before. Except my own daughter, Kanade. I’m pretty sure she talks a lot with her sisters though,” Kanae explained.

”Not everything needs to be said. Like your remark about being knotted until next week.” He sighed.

”Urk…”

”Or when we picked up the quest, you mentioned wanting an extra hour to lay with the dire wolf.”

”I apologize…”

”And I most certainly didn’t need to hear you talking about how much you like the shape of the canine phallus.”

If Kanae had a hole to crawl into, she would have jumped into it and buried herself. Now, she couldn’t stop wondering if all her conversations with people were about sex or not. They arrived back in Ehmvier in the afternoon. The others had returned much earlier. Their wagons parked outside Edina’s lair were empty. Kanae and Bocchiri hauled their prey down, then headed inside to inform the rest of the party.

Lanil and Eliza were standing across from each other on the ritual circle, channeling their mana into a soul cairn. The empty eye sockets of the skull pile oozed with purplish necromantic energies. Archbishop Patrice, who was reading a book, and Edina were taking a break after exhausting themselves. Kanae glanced up, where the ceiling had since been haphazardly boarded up after the incident the other day.

”Edina, we brought another monster for you,” Kanae said.

”Fuck yeah! That’s the last one we need to finish the eighth soul cairn!” Edina jumped up and followed them outside with the Scythe of Soul Reaping.

Bocchiri carefully melted part of the ice block enough for the necromancer to plunge the scythe into the dire wolf’s flesh. Its soul clung to the blade and seeped into a lantern hanging on Edina’s belt, leaving the body behind as an empty husk. The elf ended the spell effect, and the dire wolf’s limp dropped to the ground. Seconds later, Edina raised it into undeath.

”How long do these things stay fleshy after you raise them?” Kanae asked, poking the beast’s wet fur.

”I’m not letting you fuck my undead, you horny bat.” Edina glared.

”You’re doing it again,” Bocchiri said.

”What? N-No, that’s not what I meant! I swear!” she cried, but neither of them would believe her.

Edina yanked a whole arm off one of her undead servants. She flung it into an abyssal portal, and the undead dire wolf jumped in after it. They returned inside together, where Edina shoved the dire wolf’s soul into the soul cairn. Lanil and Eliza stopped channeling. The air inside the house turned arid. A gentle whisper hummed from the mound of skulls.

”Two more now.” Patrice put the book down, rising from her seat and trembling. ”We’re so close, I can taste history in the making.”

”I… I need to lay down.” Eliza fell backwards, but Death Knight Cantu caught her before she hit the floor.

”This is so draining… Edina, have you been creating soul cairns by yourself all this time?” Lanil panted while Chappy fanned her with his pages.

”Yep! With you guys here though, this shit’s been a breeze.” Edina grinned.

”So, this is the eighth. Where are you going to put it? What about the rest?” Kanae asked.

”You wanna know where they all are? I’ll tell ya. I owe you as much,” she said.

There was a soul cairn across the Commonwealth and city-states. One here in Edina’s very lair, Amethyst Hall, the Talahurah Branch of the Eminence of Sin, Highgreen Branch of the Eminence of Sin, Dead Man’s Gamble in Lograin, and Rown Company headquarters in Radevic. The newly-created eighth soul cairn was to be implanted in Cantu’s body again. She had destroyed the last one to give herself a boost in the climax of Savir’s civil war.

Edina continued, ”The last two, I’m going to put in Zogoth and Cantu’s tombs.”

”One, two, three… Wait a minute. That only counts up to nine. Where’s the tenth?” Patrice folded her arms.

”That’s a secret, for me to know only. It’s not that I don’t trust any of you. A necromancer’s got to have an ace up her sleeve. Alright, Cantu. Open up your chest cavity,” she ordered.

”I liked it better when I didn’t know there was such a thing inside me.” Cantu reluctantly did as asked, pulling aside his Corpsestitched chest muscles to an empty cavity within the ribcage. Edina plugged it inside like a perfect fit, and if Cantu had real skin, he would be getting goosebumps all over going by his reaction.

Everyone except Edina packed their things and adjourned for the day. The only one not pooped was Bocchiri, who stayed behind to help the necromancer get started on the ninth soul cairn. The following week would be more monster hunting, and that was exactly what they did.

Two weeks later, the group completed the last remaining soul cairns in record time. Edina didn’t wait to ship them off to the Necro Lord Tombs with an escort of undead and Sisters of Sin. As a fellow founder and High Priestess of the Eminence of Sin, she had the authority to command them. They would also serve to calm the common people who might think an undead army was attacking.

Everyone involved in the process had gathered at Edina’s home. Archbishop Patrice and Elizabeth Bedlam were more eager than the necromancer herself.

”What now? You’re not a lich yet, right?” Kanae asked.

”Almost there. Next step is to transfer my soul to a phylactery. Eliza?” Edina handed the floor to the sorceress.

”Edina Hackett, I present to you three phylactery designs for your soul’s new home!” Eliza rolled in a cart with three silk sheets draped over each urn.

Everyone applauded.

”This one I had a taxidermist assist me in the finer details. Ta-dah!” Eliza removed the first cover.

”Wait, taxidermist?” Edina’s face dropped.

The clapping came to an abrupt stop. Sitting on a silver platter was a taxidermy squirrel. Lanil and Chappy snickered from the corner. Its hands were clasped together, holding an acorn.

”I must say, it is very well done.” Patrice donned a pair of glasses and leaned in to inspect it.

”This is a joke, right?” Edina grimaced.

”I don’t know. I think it suits you. It even has your pre-succubus transformation fur color!” Kanae pointed out.

”Next!” the unhappy necromancer groaned.

Eliza removed the next cover. This one was more like it. Designed to appear as a small black cauldron, the lip boasted a gold trim and inlaid amethyst and ruby jewels.

”I like it, but I dunno if I like it because the first one sucked or what. Show me the next!” Edina demanded.

Sighing, Eliza pulled off the cover to the last one. The third phylactery was a tall glass urn, cupped by a gold metal frame shaped into two skeletal hands that helped it stand in place. Enchantments strengthened the material, so the glass wasn’t as fragile. Edina looked particularly drawn by it.

”Seems the necromancer has made her choice,” Patrice said amusingly.

”The third phylactery it is then.” Eliza smiled.

”Right. Now, who wants the honor of severing my soul?” Edina picked up the Scythe of Soul Reaping.

”Me!”

”No, me!”

Patrice and Eliza butted heads.

”Hah. As if. I want my Kanae to do it.” Edina offered Kanae the scythe from the handle.

”Are you sure? What if I mess up?” Kanae hesitated.

”It’s fool-proof. Cut me, drag my soul out, and stuff it into the phylactery. You’re my best friend. You’ve been there for me almost every step of the way. Saved my life more times than I can count. Gave me the chance to be where I am today. So, yeah I’m sure.” She flashed a big smile.

Even the other two, disappointed as they were, stopped fighting for the chance to carve Edina’s soul anymore. Kanae grabbed hold of the Scythe of Soul reaping, but she didn’t feel the weight of responsibility. Instead, she felt an incredible sense of pride to help her best friend accomplish a dream.

”Are you ready?” Kanae asked.

”If I die, I die!” Edina puffed out her chest.

Kanae brought the blade into the squirreling’s body. It passed through her much like the Blade of the First Temptress did. However, unlike the sword, the scythe dragged out Edina’s soul. As soon as the wispy tendrils snapped from her physical body, she dropped to the floor. Eyes no longer blinking. Her chest didn’t rise or fall from a breath.

A moment of panic washed over Kanae until Eliza held the glass phylactery up to her. She guided the soul into the container and needed to flick it a few times to knock traces of the soul loose. It seemed to know exactly where to go. Even when a few drops and threads hit the side of the phylactery, they amalgamated together and crawled into the opening. After the last traces of Edina’s soul entered, Eliza plugged the top with a lid.

”What now?” Kanae asked.

The room was silent.

”I’m unsure. This is my first time witnessing a lich being born. Was there another step?” Archbishop Patrice asked.

Lanil kneeled down and pressed a hand to Edina’s body. ”She’s unnaturally cold! Did we mess up?”

”No way. There’s no way this crazy necromancer bit the dust. Hey! Is that really it for you?” Chappy slapped her cheeks with his ribbon bookmark.

”I did do something wrong, didn’t I?” Kanae cried.

”Guys, I’m undead. I’m supposed to be cold.” Edina sat upright and startled Lanil three feet into the air.

Relieved, Kanae threw her arms over Edina.

”I thought we messed something up, and you were just dead.” Kanae sighed.

”I’m fine!” Edina hugged back, then stood up when they parted. ”Let’s see…” She brushed a hand over the sigil on her wrist to check her character sheet.

Edina Hackett Lvl. 312

Race:

Lich

STR

A

Subrace:

Succubus

DEX

A

Class:

Necromancer

INT

S

It worked. Edina had transformed into a lich. Her STR and INT had risen. They were lower before, which used to be F and B respectively. She didn’t look any different. She appeared as her usual self before her soul was placed into a phylactery.

”Edina, how do you feel? Can you breathe? Do you still have your senses?” Archbishop Patrice asked, notepad and pencil in hand.

”I feel great! I can breathe, taste, see, hear, and smell just fine.” Edina hovered a hand over a torch and peeled back. ”Feel fine, too. The real bonus is I’m immune to poisons and toxins. I’m moderately resistant to all damage types. Double vulnerable to holy though, eugh. I’ve got a few spells I wanna try out!” She snatched the scythe and raced outside.

”Edina, wait!” Kanae shouted.

They chased after the necromancer, who was in the air and flying out of the city. The group landed beyond the confines of Ehmvier in a grassy field. A flock of birds had landed to peck and scratch at the soil for worms or insects to eat.

”Fog of Death!” With the Pillar of the Damned in one hand and Scythe of Soul Reaping in the other, Edina willed forth a necromantic cloud upon the birds. Every single one realized something was wrong too late and dropped dead. Their feathers fell out. Flesh sizzled away. The ground withered. Then, the birds came back to life in a different way. An undead flock that picked itself back up. ”Clutch of the Lich Lord!” A giant skeletal arm burst forth from the earth which moved as she did.

”What else? What else?” Patrice asked excitedly.

”You want the icing on the cake, huh? Very well! Before, Sacrifice Undead only gave me a weak pseudo-lich form. Now that I’m an actual lich— Behold, the face of death itself!” The necromancer flung her combined staff and scythe into the air.

But the real show was what was happening to Edina’s body. Her very robes turned into mists. She grew in size to the height of an ogre. Necromantic energies wreathed her waist, forming a black skirt made of skeletal arms and legs. The same magic adorned her hair with a long lace veil. A large pair of bone wings without feathers or webbings, but something entirely of its own, sprouted from her back. The right half of her face was just her skull, and the other half her usual squirreling self.

Like in her pseudo-lich form, Edina had no legs. She levitated on a cloud of souls, which seem to cling tight and whisper inaudibly. The horns which she gained from becoming a half-succubus extended out to the sides. Monster skulls hung on them by heavy chains. She caught the scythe-staff on the way down and bowed.

”Whaddya think?” Edina asked, her voice a menacing howl.

”I think we’ve quite literally created a monster. Bravo!” Eliza applauded passionately.

”A lich… I stand before a lich! What a magnificent entity born of necromancy!” Patrice was so emotional she teared up.

”Exactly how much stronger are you now, Edina?” Kanae flew up to the lich, who now dwarfed her.

”Remember when I said I’m limited to a few death knights and big things at any given time? Well…” She spun around and sliced open a giant gaping abyssal portal. Twelve death knights lumbered out of it, their march alone causing the earth to quake. That wasn’t all. Two undead dragons and the berinath dragged themselves out and launched into the sky, circling them from above. ”I’m this much stronger now.”