Guide to tamming vilanesses

Relieved to see the ogre had finally been defeated, Shin allowed his body to relax. The tension left his muscles all at once, and with it went the last of his strength.

He lost consciousness, falling forward into Octavia’s soft embrace.

"We need to find that idiot," Medea murmured as she approached. Her voice was noticeably weak. Nearly exhausting her mana had pushed her to her absolute limit.

"You shouldn’t force yourself anymore," Materna said, stepping toward her and preparing to use her power to restore Medea’s energy.

"You too, don’t push yourself," Octavia interrupted. "I can heal everyone’s wounds. Even if I can’t restore stamina like you can, it’s enough for now. You already used your trump card, so don’t be reckless."

Materna hesitated. Her face was pale, and her body swayed slightly from exhaustion. Every instinct told her to take care of everyone else first.

"Listen to her," Medea said firmly. "There’s no point in injuring yourself. Our king needs all of us to stay healthy."

After a moment, Materna nodded in agreement. She quietly sat on the ground and began meditating to recover her own energy.

If they had access to food, the process would have been much faster, but only Shin could open the dimensional storage. Besides, after Materna’s enormous breakfast, there probably wasn’t much food left inside.

"I’ll go look for Mora," Yasmin finally said. "I can move unnoticed, and I’m the only one who wasn’t seriously injured."

"Fine," Medea replied, "but how are we supposed to find each other afterward? The last thing we need is for you to get lost."

"Don’t worry." Yasmin shrugged with a playful smile. "Mora can always sense where our king is. I think I can do something similar. As long as he’s with you, finding everyone again won’t be difficult."

Without waiting for another response, Yasmin faded from sight and silently drifted deeper into the forest.

Meanwhile, Octavia carefully lifted Shin onto her back. She also offered to carry either Materna or Medea, but both women insisted they could still walk. Every few minutes, Octavia cast a small healing spell, easing their injuries just enough to keep them moving.

Eventually, they discovered an enormous ancient tree with a large hollow near its base, its trunk so wide that several people could comfortably stand inside. A large opening led into a dry natural chamber.

"This could work," Medea said, pointing at it. "I think we could sleep there."

"If we cover the entrance with branches, vines, and bushes, nobody should notice it," Octavia commented, thinking about how they would hide it.

With Medea’s help, Octavia carried Shin up to the hollow. Finally, she gently laid her beloved king on the soft layer of fallen leaves inside, before Materna sat beside him, closed her eyes, and resumed meditating.

"I’ll gather some branches," Octavia said before stepping outside. "You stay here and rest."

Left alone inside, Medea slowly examined their temporary shelter. At first glance, it seemed abandoned and like a relatively safe place to stay.

However, she quickly noticed something that made her worry.

All over the walls of the hollow tree, she saw deep claw marks carved into the inner wood.

Some reached almost shoulder height, while others dug several centimeters into the ancient trunk. There were also piles of old bones scattered in the corners.

"This wasn’t abandoned..." she whispered.

A cold feeling ran down her spine, and she hurried back toward the entrance.

"Octavia, I think something used to liv—"

A heavy thud interrupted her. The ground trembled.

Standing only a few meters from the tree was a massive beast unlike anything they had seen before. It resembled a gigantic bear, but its black, bark-like hide looked more like living wood than flesh.

Thick vines hung from its shoulders like a mane. Glowing amber sap seeped from cracks across its body, and six crimson eyes stared at them from beneath a crown of twisted antlers.

Its claws, each longer than a sword, slowly scraped across the ground. Then it looked directly at the entrance of its hollow tree.

ⵔⵔⵔ

Meanwhile, Yasmin drifted silently through the forest, her invisible body weaving between towering trees as she searched for any sign of Mora.

The destruction left by the ogre attack, and by Mora being thrown around, made the trail impossible to miss.

Ancient trunks had been snapped like twigs, deep furrows scarred the earth, and broken branches littered the ground for hundreds of meters.

"He really threw her that far."

She continued forward until she suddenly stopped.

The succubus had crashed directly into the trunk of an enormous tree. The impact had left a crater in the ancient wood, her body buried several inches into it. Splinters surrounded her like shattered glass, and cracks spread across the trunk from the point of impact.

Her almost nonexistent clothes were torn, her skin bruised from head to toe, and dried blood stained the corner of her lips.

Yet... she was breathing.

Her huge chest rose and fell slowly as the wounds across her body visibly knit themselves back together. Bruises faded little by little, and even the cuts along her arms were already closing.

"Mmm..." Mora’s eyelids fluttered open. "Yas...min?" she murmured, sounding confused.

"I’m here." Yasmin smiled with relief and a bit of surprise. She flickered into existence so she could grab Mora’s arm.

"Come on. Let’s get you out of there."

With some effort, she pulled the larger succubus free from the shattered trunk. Mora stumbled forward, her legs trembling before Yasmin caught her.

"Hehe... I guess I overdid it..."

"You nearly got yourself killed."

"But... our king is safe."

The smile on Mora’s face never disappeared.

Yasmin sighed. "You’re hopeless."

Before either of them could take another step, they heard a truly terrifying sound. A deep, guttural howl echoed through the forest.

Dozens of glowing yellow eyes appeared between the trees.

Massive wolves slowly emerged from the shadows. Each stood nearly as tall as a horse, their charcoal-gray fur covered in old scars, with bone-like spikes protruding from their backs and shoulders.

Thick fangs dripped saliva onto the forest floor as they surrounded the two succubi in an instant.

"A hunting pack," Yasmin whispered.

There were too many. Even uninjured, fighting an entire pack would have been extremely dangerous.

Mora gently pushed Yasmin’s shoulder.

"You should use your invisibility and run away."

"I’m not leaving you."

"You have to." Mora smiled weakly. "If we both stay... neither of us will survive."