Kalia, along with Donovan, wandered along the dirt road of Bona. They gazed upon the sights of increasingly stranger-looking homes and the increasing abundance of big mushrooms they never thought possible to find. And despite the packed roads of demons, Donovan could sense a strange calmness about Kalika.
"What a relief. It looks like she's dealing with demons much better now than when she was in Berg."
From the corner of the road, a Giant red demon came into sight. The demon's banded black hair swayed as he pushed past the demons in his way. As he came to their direction, his gaze curiously drifted to the two of them, then directly at Kalika.
"
Kalika glared at the demon but turned away and focused on the road ahead. Donovan followed behind Kalika, trying to ignore the demon the best he could. "So there's more demons like Bjorn here…"
Donovan focused back on the road, and as he and Kalika turned the corner, they were shocked to find a busy crowd of demons shopping about. As they walked through the street of stalls selling various wares and clothes, they saw lines of demons seemingly purchasing women as well.
Behind the vast stall were lines of Succubi, dressed down to their bare garment, vying to be purchased by the weak-willed demons around. With temptations high in the air, it was a miracle that the other demons who shopped didn't fall for the luscious bodies of these women.
Even Donovan's gaze drifted to these women, but with a crawling skin and increasing discomfort, he was able to get past the succubi that winked at him and swerved their assets for all to see.
Catching sight of these women again, with their cat-calling, Donovan gulped harder as his entire body shook on its own. He tried to calm himself and focused as he followed behind Kalika.
Kalika glanced behind at the succubus and incubus as they turned a corner. "Hmm… Hey, Donovan." Kalika quietly called.
"Y-y-y-y-yes?"
"Quiet. What do you think all that was about with all those succubus?"
Donovan instantly calmed himself and pondered. "I don't know. But it must be what Zelak was talking about earlier. With them being in…Heat?"
"So they're selling their bodies?" Kalika became silent. "Only fools would do that."
"Yeah… It's hard to believe that anyone would actually do that. But we are talking about demons."
"I suppose you're right." Kalika's eyes drooped. A darkness seemed to cloud her eyes concerning Donovan.
"Hey, Kalika. Are you alright?"
"I'm fine. Let's just find something interesting."
As they continued, they came across a few buildings with signs.
"Stores?" Donovan wondered.
"Stores? What's that?"
"Y-you're joking, right?
Kalika stopped and glared at Donovan."
"And she's not kidding." A cold sweat ran down Donovan's face. "U-uhh… It's like the stalls where you buy things. Like the ones we just passed by."
Kalika's eyes widened. "O... Oh." She became flushed and quickly turned from Donovan. "I… I knew that. Th-this stupid dream is just confusing me!"
"Sure." Donovan forced a smile.
Without thinking, Kalika turned to the first building she saw and approached it.
"Kalika?" Donovan called.
Donovan caught up to Kalika and observed as she stared up at the sign just above the door, scrutinizing it. "Hmm…a store…?"
"U-uh…" Donovan awaited an answer from Kalika, who continued to stare at the sign.
"Uhh… Kalika, what are you- Oh."
Kalika ignored him as she entered the shop.
"O…Okay…"
Donovan followed her inside. To his surprise, the building had a cobblestone fireplace in the center, built with randomly shaped rocks and held together by some strange adhesive. Outside the fireplace, an assortment of tables and shelves held various vials and bottles, some of which appeared questionable. There is also an assortment of different mushrooms and herbs sprawled on a shelf, displayed boldly for all to see.
Ignoring the items on display, He searched around the building until he finally found Kalika. She examined a strangely shaped stick.
Donovan quickly approached and came close, whispering. " Hey, Kalika. What kind of store is this?"
"I don't know. The sign said 'Dreaming Sins'."
"Dreaming sins?" Donovan glanced around at the various strange items once again. "What kind of store is that?"
Suddenly, a succubus approached with her hands clasped together. "
The succubus sported the traditional pink eyes of her race and short, white hair. She showed off her slender physique with pride, with curves that accentuated her hips and chest, which could eat a man's face. But unlike the other succubus they passed, she wore a black and tan garment that was much more modest than the other women from the stalls.
The succubus eyed Donovan, licking her lips. "
Donovan stood stiff, not understanding what the woman said. He then turned his gaze to Kalika, praying for help.
Seeing Donovan shaking hands, Kalika stepped in. "
"
"
" The succubus rubbed her hands across his chest.
" ""
Kalika rolled her eyes. " The succubus blurted a laugh. But gazing back at Kalika, she understood she was serious.
The Succubus recomposed herself and explained. " Kalika raised a confused brow.
" Kalika's eyes widened, setting eyes directly on the vial.
" The succubus pushed the vial forward. " " The succubus froze, surprised at how quickly Kalia agreed.
" " " The Succubus smiled. " Kalika quickly turned to Donovan, explaining her plan in a whisper. Donovan jumped, shocked. He nervously opened the pouch of crystals and cautiously approached the counter, spilling the crystals out.
The succubus scrutinized the pile, picking out a few of the crystals from within. After a moment of sorting through, the succubus finally spoke. " " ""
Before Kalika could respond, a man appeared behind the succubus and pushed her head into the pile of crystals.
" "What!?" Kalika glared at this white-haired incubus indignantly. "And who the hell is this?"
" Charla pouted at Zigfred, Annoyed.
" Zigfred frowned. " Kalika felt an intense tingling sensation at the back of her neck. Suddenly, the familiar laughter echoed in my mind. Kalika tensed and clenched her fist.
"[Interesting…a piece of me still exist in the hands of our creation.]"
Kalika whipped her head around furiously, alarming Donovan and the others.
Concerned, Donovan tugged at Kalika's fur robe, immediately drawing attention to him with Kalika practically snarling at him.`
She quickly composed herself.
" Charla agreed. She collected the crystals and handed the vial and the remaining pouch of crystals to Donovan. Just before he could retrieve them, Charla, with a flushed face, gave a playful wink.
Donovan shuddered. He floundered about, trying to follow behind Kalika as they left the store.
Charla giggled at the scene, amused. " Zigfred knuckled the top of Charla's head. " " ""
Bored, Charla sighed. " " " "They're all entering their last years. Besides, having an exotic demoness like that little woman would be a nice addition to my collection.>" Zigfred stroked his chin, as he perked a smirk.
********
Donovan ran to catch up with Kalika inside the increasingly crowded road. He noticed how she kept darting her head around as if she were looking for something.
Catching up to her side, Donovan quietly spoke, "Hey Kalika, what's going on!?"
Kalika stopped at once, glancing around once more. "He's gone…"
"Who's gone, Kalika? You're not making any sense."
"It's nothing." She said. She then turned her gaze to the green vial Donovan held.
Noticing her gaze, Donovan presented the vial to her, expecting her to take it.
"What are you giving that to me for? Drink it."
"What?"
"You obviously need it more than me."
Donovan stared at the vial. "You want me to poison myself!?"
"That's not poison!"
Suddenly, the crowd stopped shuffling around, and the eyes of the demons fell on them. The demons around them chatted amongst each other, confused at what Kalika said.
Acting quickly, Donovan grabbed Kalika's hand, leading her away and out of the crowd. Meanwhile, the demons watched on confused before going about their day.
Some time later, they found a more secluded place with mushrooms around as big as the buildings around. They took shelter under one and took one last glance around.
"So why did you want to get this?"
Kalika sighed, now more annoyed. "It's an elixir that is supposed to heal you. It is something I saw the Heroes of prophecy use."
Donovan stared more deeply at the green vial. "The Heroes of Prophecy?" his eyes darted back to Kalika. "W-wait! You met them!?"
" Yeah…" She stared up under the mushroom. "And they were every bit as amazing as the legends said they'd be. But for some reason, they came and tried to save me. And because of that… They died. Killed by my sister…"
"Wh…What?" Donovan looked on in shock. His grip loosened, and the vial fell to the ground.
A silence grew between them. After a moment's hesitation, Donovan finally spoke back up. "Kalika… Who was your sister, exactly?"
Kalika glanced back, "Lily?" Well… She was supposed to be the Saintess, but after I tried having her executed, she turned and became the queen of demons."
"Wait! What!??" Donovan stepped back. "W-wait…S-so y-your sister is… The demon queen?"
"Yes. It came as a surprise when I found out too-."
"But why!?"
"Huh!?" Kalika turned back, more confused.
"Why did you- Did you really have your sister executed?"
"Why do you care all of a sudden?"
Donovan froze. "I… I just want to know."
Kalika took note of the distance growing between them. With a growing guilt, she turned her head.
"Survival…" she said.
"What?"
"You heard me… Now, if we're done here, I'd like to go."
"O…Okay…"
"Don't forget the elixir either. Make sure to hold onto it. Just in case…"
Donovan grabbed the vial off the ground and stored it away in his crystal pouch. He sighed and watched on as Kalika continued without him.
********
After some time of quiet exploration, Kalika and Donovan returned to the woodsmith, who was working hard.
Slowly, the lights in the sky dimmed. "It looks like it's starting to get late… we should probably check the butchers for Zelak," Donovan said.
Kalika looked around aimlessly.
"She's still ignoring me…" Donovan thought.
"No need," Zelak announced. He arrived with several huge bags over his shoulder. He placed the first few on, along with their other supplies.
" Trapal waved him away and went on hammering a wooden plank into place.
"Do you know a place we can sleep?" Donovan asked.
"There's an inn near the entrance. So we can rest there for the night, then we can work on getting that ogre scum you want so much." Without another word, he gestured for them to follow.
They followed behind and watched as some demons stumbled about while incubi and succubi alike were passionately kissing one another and other demons.
"Are you sure we'll be safe in that 'Inn'?"
" Donovan leaned towards Kalika. "What did he say?" he quietly asked.
Kalika turned her head, not answering.
Zelak noticed this and quickly answered. "It's safe."
"Oh, okay."
" " Zelak chuckled at her response, agreeing with her.
They soon arrived at the building in question. Unlike the rest of the small wooden lodges, the inn was much taller and broader than the other homes around. The entrance was draped with a cloth and was big enough to fit an entire group of people.
Just as Zelak reached for the door covers, a familiar giant red demon with long, banded black hair squeezed out from the door. He gave a brief glare but ultimately turned, ignoring them.
"That demon again, I wonder what his problem is…" Donovan thought.
"Ignore him," Zelak said. He continued to lead the way and opened the curtain, unveiling a loud, excited atmosphere of drinking demons. "This is Myno Inn."
Demons bantered and chatted amongst each other, throwing jokes and the like. As Kalika entered, a waft of pure must smacked her face. She cringed but quickly composed herself alongside Donovan.
Zelak pushed up front and led the way to the counter, where a couple of demons broke out in a brawl.
Punches and kicks flew, and demons from around gathered to watch the spectacle. It wasn't long before a giant red demon grabbed one of the demons and threw him off.
The demons that watched booed. Many of them seemed disappointed by the outcome.
Donovan gazed up and down the giant Demon before them, "Bjorn? No wait…"
The giant red demon, white-haired demon with horns curling, back turned, showing a mug much flatter than Bjorn's, with teeth much shorter as well.
" Fearful of their own life, the demon quickly fled.
The ogre then turned a glare at the other culprit. " " Kalika, along with Zelak and Donovan, watched as the last brawler pathetically scrambled out.
"What was that about?" Donovan muttered.
" "What did he do this time?" Both Kalika and Donovan wondered.