The building that rose before the entrance to the mine resembled a gigantic, rock-carved sarcophagus merged with a forge. The walls of the Laboratory of Clay Guardians were thick, covered in earth runes that glowed with a dim, amber light. From the chimneys on the roof, it wasn't smoke that emerged, but a thick, gray dust that settled around the structure, forming an unnaturally hard crust.
Varg stood with his maw wide open, his legs trembling so violently he nearly lost his balance. For him, a simple werewolf, what had just occurred went beyond the boundaries of magic - it was the creation of a world from nothing.
Lilith paid him no mind. Her fingers flicked across the translucent system panel.
[AVAILABLE UNIT: Clay Guardian]
Summoning Cost: 10 Gold / unit
Limit: 100
"Only ten gold pieces?" she muttered under her breath. "A bargain."
Immediately, 1,000 coins vanished from her account. In that same second, the heavy stone gates of the laboratory ground open with a massive creak. From the dark interior, one after another, the Golems began to emerge.
Varg, terrified, leaped back several meters, nearly tripping over his own tail.
Each of the 100 Clay Guardians stood over two and a half meters tall. Their bodies were massive, built from dark, scorched clay reinforced with stone shards on the shoulders and chest. Instead of faces, they had only smooth masks with a single, orange-glowing slit at eye level.
They moved with a heavy, hollow thud, and every step they took made the ground beneath Varg's feet vibrate. Their arms were unnaturally long, ending in fists the size of an adult wolf's head.
Lilith nodded with satisfaction, then pointed a finger at the shivering chieftain.
"Obey him," she threw out curtly to the golems. "From today, he is your direct superior in matters regarding the mine."
All one hundred golems simultaneously turned their heavy heads toward Varg. The orange light of their "eyes" focused on him with mechanical precision.
"Mistress..." Varg choked out, furrowing his brow in a mix of fear and utter bewilderment. "What are these? Where... how did they get here? These are not living beings!"
Lilith smiled at him as if explaining something to a child, though a predatory chill lurked in her gaze.
"It is just one of my production buildings, Varg. They do not need sleep, they feel no fear, and they will not steal ore. They will assist you with the heaviest labor and ensure no stranger wanders near your new village."
Giving him no time to cool down or ask another question, she flicked her hand and headed toward the forest.
"Now, move it! Follow me. We are going to the goblin village. You need to settle with Graaz exactly how many tons of food your tribe requires. I have no intention of wasting the whole day on your whimpering about empty bellies."
Varg, casting one last, fear-filled glance at the army of silent clay colossi, followed Lilith, wondering if he would ever get used to the wonders and terrors his new mistress served him.
***
Lysandra let out a quiet sigh, glancing out of the corner of her eye at the ice cage in the corner of her chamber. Elina slept huddled up, shivering slightly in her sleep, the frost settling on her rabbit ears shimmering in the moonlight. Giving her no more attention, the ice succubus left her room.
She walked down the corridor completely naked, feeling the soothing chill of the stone walls against her skin, when suddenly one of the new maids emerged from around the corner.
The rabbit girl, carrying a bundle of fresh, strange herbs, immediately flushed crimson at the sight of the naked Lysandra. She trembled, nearly dropping her load, and quickly backed against the wall, bowing so low her long ears almost touched the floor.
"G-greetings... Great Mistress..." she stammered, not daring to look up.
Lysandra gave a crooked smile, acknowledging her with a short nod. She examined the girl's attire. The rabbit folk, accustomed to the tropical heat of the Chaos Forest, wore scant clothing made of woven plant fibers and the soft pelts of forest rodents.
These were mainly short, tattered skirts and chest wraps decorated with seed beads and colorful feathers, which, combined with their natural submissiveness, made them look incredibly defenseless within the dark interiors of the castle.
Ever since Mina had brought these thirty girls, the grim Demon King's Castle had ceased to be so gloomy. Though the bunnies had suffered trauma after the fall of their village, their survival instinct and innate gentleness allowed them to quickly accept their fate.
Here, behind thick walls, they didn't have to flee from predators or worry about hunger, ever since the little demon had fed them "Giga Potatoes."
Nonetheless, Lysandra was not naive. She did not trust them one hundred percent. To secure the most sacred place, she had created a gigantic blockade of eternal ice in the heart of the castle, cutting off access to the Demon King's Altar.
She knew that none of these girls, with stats barely higher than a common civilian, could so much as scratch that ice wall, even if they tried for a hundred years.
Descending the wide stairs leading to the main hall, Lysandra suddenly paused. From below, Mina's pearly, childish laughter reached her, echoing off the vaults.
"Playing with them again..." Lysandra muttered under her breath, quickening her pace, curious as to what their most unpredictable "brat" had come up with this time.
Lysandra stopped on the landing, resting her hand on the cool balustrade. The view below resembled a scene from some grotesque comedy, completely out of place in the dark castle.
Mina was racing through the main hall, waving a piece of fabric over her head and laughing at the top of her lungs. Right behind her, tripping over her own feet, ran a rabbit girl - the same one the little succubus had so passionately ridden and squeezed in the werewolf settlement.
The girl was exceptionally beautiful: she had a mop of shimmering blonde hair and unusual ears - one pure gold in color, the other snow-white. Her silhouette, despite her modest height, was marked by a very generous bust that seemed ready to pop out of her tight chest wrap with every step.
"Give it back! Please, young Mistress, give back my skirt!" the rabbit cried, her fluffy white tail trembling with emotion.
"Hahaha! Try and catch me, slowpoke!" Mina jumped high, performing a pirouette in the air.
The rabbit girl squeaked and lunged forward, wanting to surprise the little demon with a sudden leap, but Mina's eyes merely flashed. She made a subtle gesture with her fingers, and vine threads as thin as string shot from the cracks in the floor.
Instead of binding her legs, however, they maliciously hooked onto the knot of the girl's chest wrap. The fabric loosened instantly.
"Eeeeeek!" The rabbit girl stiffened, clutching her chest with both hands at the last second to avoid complete exposure. "Please stop! That's not fair! Magic is cheating!"
Mina put her hands on her hips, ready for another burst of laughter, but suddenly froze. She noticed that tears had welled up in the rabbit's large, sapphire eyes. The girl looked as if her world had just collapsed, and her lower lip trembled uncontrollably.
Mina felt a sudden prickle in her chest.
I think I went a bit too far... she thought, feeling awkward. She walked over slowly, lowering the stolen skirt.
"Now, don't cry, Lulu... I'm sorry, I was just joking," Mina murmured, reaching out the fabric toward the tearful maid.
Then, something happened that the little demon did not expect. Lulu's face changed in a split second. The tears vanished, and a triumphant, rogue smile bloomed on her lips. With a lightning-fast motion, the rabbit girl snatched the skirt from the stunned Mina's hands and leaped several meters away, wiggling her hips.
"Hahaha! You fell for it, Mistress! Who's the slowpoke now?" she called out tauntingly, sticking out her tongue.
Mina stood there for a moment with her mouth open, and her eye began to twitch nervously. "You... you little... I AM the one who's supposed to trick people with a sweet face! How dare you use my own tricks against me?!" she shrieked, her horns beginning to spark slightly with mana. "Now I won't go easy on you!"
She was just about to lunge into an attack to give Lulu a true "cuddle hell" when the air in the hall suddenly thickened. The temperature dropped by a dozen degrees, and frost bloomed on the walls.
"I see you're having quite a lot of fun, Mina..."
Lysandra's voice was quiet, but it cut like an ice blade. Both girls froze in unnatural poses - Mina with a raised fist, and Lulu mid-victory dance. Slowly, with terror in their eyes, they turned their heads toward the stairs, where the naked and dangerously calm ice succubus glared down at them.