My Servant System

Giggling softly as she felt up her body, Cali smirked at us all before fading away into a cloud of pink mist, the Arch Fiend staring at me with a longing gleam in her eye as she showed off just how 'relaxed' she was, which only made me furrow my brow at her as I saw what I knew as the 'same old Cali', my nerves and fear from our revelation fading alongside her.

Even then though, I felt the unease and apprehension that Jahi felt, which only made me return to my prior state as I leaned into her arms and tried to comfort both her and myself with our bodily contact, as well as an instinctive 'caress' of our bond to ease her emotions.

Burying her face between my ears for a moment, Jahi inhaled as she gave me a squeeze, her hand that was resting on my hip sending a small jolt throughout my body as I further leaned into her, giving the Demoness the contact she wanted and then some.

"Well, before we try and get ourselves back into the sexy times - which I'll admit, I feel like I need more of now that I heard this news - can we discuss what the actual hell we are going to do then? Now that we know Jillian isn't just lounging around in some other Noble's manor sipping wine and kidnapping maids for her sexual gratification?"

Anput reached over and pulled Leone over into her side, causing the Vampire to blush slightly as she was moved so easily and how she so readily allowed the Jackalkin to do whatever she wanted to her, though for right now Anput was just using Leone as a soft pillow to hold as she comforted herself.

"What we are going to do..? That's the question of the hour isn't it? They found a way into the Labyrinthian and are going to be sheltering there for who knows how long doing who knows what. And they have an Arch Fiend protecting them just in case anything goes awry during their stay. From everything we were taught, the resources and monsters inside of the Labyrinthian would be a power boost fantasy for us out here. The best of the best all the time?

I mean, think about it. All the monsters inside the Labyrinthian might as well just be made from mana, and consuming that constantly would be such a boost to your Core after each meal. Then there's the various techniques that I KNOW that crazy Elf Ayla has access to; things like flushing your body with mana to remove any and all impurities that you were born with or obtained throughout your life, the strengthening of your flesh and bones with mana to convert them into something stronger... I mean, that's just the tip of it and the two that pop into mind right away!"

Jahi's words made me nod as I looked up at her to add "And we really don't know much about what she was researching or doing during her time in the Academy and outside of it, what she was wanting to do and how she could get to it. Now she has practically unlimited raw materials to do as she pleases and really has as much time as she wants to do what she wants since... well, let's be honest, even if we wanted to chase after her right this moment, we can't."

Anput tilted her head at that, the Jackalkin wanting an answer as to why, and it came from the Vampire in her arms, Leone turning to stare at Anput as she said "We can enter the Labyrinthian, sure, but actually finding them inside the Labyrinthian is going to be borderline impossible if they don't want to be found. One of the first things we ever learned about the Labyrinthian, and something that we still know little about is that the Labyrinthian shifts every few hours or every few days. It's bigger than the Empire manyfold, and each portion of the Labyrinthian is some dangerous, deadly biome waiting for you to mess up."

"Okay... and why couldn't we bring in the Jackals or some other mount and rush over to them? Surely Sla'Caligo could track another Sla Fiend as powerful as herself, right?"

"Tell me, dog, can you track a very weak, very faint scent trapped within a bouquet of pungent and fragrant flowers? A bouquet that spans miles upon miles of land filled with other scents as well? Can you?"

Cali's voice filled the room again, and as soon as Anput heard her she shook her head, which made the Arch Fiend let out a slight huff before falling silent yet again, as did the room as we all looked at one another before Leone answered the other part of Anput's question.

"Most mounts that we could potentially take into the Labyrinthian would be too terrified and too sick from the sheer influx of pure mana flowing into their veins. Even as mortals we would suffer from an initial mana sickness, our Cores needing many days to adapt to such pure mana so that they could process and handle being in such an environment. Normal monsters cannot do that, not even the ones that have been bred to semi perfection like the Jackals your family is rightfully proud about."

"So... what are we going to do then? We can't just leave them inside the Labyrinthian to get stronger and stronger, right? Surely we have to eventually go in ourselves as well and begin doing what they do? Right?"

Jahi's chest reverberated against my back as the Demoness hummed softly, while Leone pursed her lips as she stared down at the bed, a million and one thoughts racing behind those crimson eyes, and none of them giving her the answer that she wanted.

"I don't think we should rush... Yes, they can get stronger, yes the Labyrinthian is really beneficial for anyone who can manage to survive inside its embrace, but there is no need for us to rush. Let's say they do get stronger and come out in a few months, right? What are they going to be able to do in the grand scheme of things?

It's our fight, yes, but unless something extremely drastic and insane happens that takes both the Empress and the Sultana and puts them in an injured state... and let's be honest, the only thing that could do that is the Gods descending down into this world and attacking them personally and indiscriminately. At that point, who gives a rats ass about Jillian and Ayla? I think we'd have bigger issues on our hands than two insane Elves."

All three of my lovers pursed their lips and stared at me for a few moments, with Anput and Jahi clearly not being thrilled by that idea, while Leone was not enthusiastic by tempting fate like that with the words I had chosen.

"And really, let's think this through. The Labyrinthian is a wellspring of materials and goodies waiting to be tapped, right? But the Empress doesn't have a base set up inside the Labyrinthian, and traveling into it is borderline impossible even for the strongest people. She's worked hard to contain it, not explore it. I'm not saying that we should think they are dead or will die, but they can't make that much progress so quickly without great risk to themselves..."

"So you're saying that we should get to grinding ourselves into something better, but that we needn't rush headlong into this for what seems to be no reason, logically at least?"

Looking back up at Jahi, I nodded my head and added "Besides, remember who was meant to visit at the end of this trip here? I think that visit is worth far more than a week or two in the Labyrinthian. And again, I'm not saying we shouldn't begin testing ourselves with far more serious adversaries, but to dive head first into the Labyrinthian? That's absolutely a suicidal endeavor."

Jahi's eyes widened as she recalled who was meant to visit the Empire in a few weeks time, and I smirked at her as I reached up to bop her nose, loving how singleminded and focused she could be even if that meant she lost sight of some of the little things along the way.

"Yes... Lilith is meant to visit, and I guarantee you that she's visit the Labyrinthian before. As has the Empress, as has most of the Empress' wives, Mom, Mother... so many people that we know have likely been there before, and we have the privilege to learn under them. Besides, we need to research and study up on the Labyrinthian before heading into it. And we need some better gear..."

Anput groaned slightly at that, the Jackalkin rocking back and forth a few times as she said "Always with the studying and preparing... we do more of that than the actual doing of anything... but fine... and besides, I guess we have a few more Fiend's we need to deal with within the Sultanate, which means a few more nice pieces of gear made from Fiend parts..."

"And we do have access to a grumpy, murderous, hateful Arch Fiend of Ka that we could ask about certain blood shedding properties that Ka Fiend parts might have? Perhaps the Arch Fiend of Tza might be willing to trade some knowledge around for... something? I don't know specifically what we should be doing, but we need to get back into being quick with everything... which sounds exhausting already."