Demon Lord: Erotic Adventure in Another World

The low rumble of horses galloping resonated through the air, creating a low vibration that caused the dry land to crack and crumble. The soft, mushy lands of the village surroundings were gone.

After half a day's riding, Asmodeus came to the north-west.

A scouting mission.

'This place is horrible...' He thought to himself from a human perspective, the land dry and brittle with soil so tough it became like stone, caked and baked to the limit.

"Hold!"

Asmodeus called out, as the fifty knights slowed to a halt, Velvet, Erika and Asmodea all stopping beside him as they gazed at the vast size of the 'dead' lands.

"What do you think about this, Velvet, Lumina?"

He asked those two because of their expertise in various areas. Lumina, a former goddess, might know the true reason the land became so devoid of life that even the small bugs found in the mud didn't exist.

"What is this place?" Velvet's eyes trembled as she observed the land.

'This is like nothing I've ever seen, even in the south where lands struggle to harvest crops... that was child's play compared to this.'

"The land is being drained... its life force is swallowed." Lumina's voice echoed, and her eyes shimmered with a gold light.

'Lumina?'

Asmodeus couldn't understand why she spoke like that, but it reminded him of when she was a goddess. Her mechanical tone and lack of emotion made his spine tingle.

'Eh? What was I doing?' Lumina's body shuddered as she snapped her head around, confusion overwhelming her for a moment.

"Ryuji, what happened? My head suddenly became heavy... and a throbbing pain spread."

Lumina's golden eyes shook when she gazed back at him. Asmodeus could tell that it wasn't a trick or something she did as a game, because the hairs on her entire body became erect.

"It's just you said something... something was swallowing the life force here."

Asmodeus shrugged, his attention also focused on the land. He wanted to know what had caused this, because if he couldn't fix it, then the dangers of it happening elsewhere remained possible.

'If I can't stop it here, then how will I keep my people safe?'

Lumina's gaze focused on the land, which she watched with scepticism. Her face creased into an expression of deep thought as she looked around.

'I've never seen anything like this before.'

She tried to remember the times she was a goddess, but she could not find any memories that would help her explain the current situation.

The soil, at least two metres deep, lacked mana or life force. She didn't know what, but something stripped it bare, leaving only dry, hard dirt behind.

This situation wasn't normal, even for the wastelands and deserts, because the animals that lived in such regions and their natural mana and life force would merge with the land, creating the ecosystem.

"Ryuji this is dangerous, there's no life in the dirt... at last two metres deep the first traces of life are four metres down and even those are weak, and slowly fading."

'It's like something put a straw into the earth and started sucking away the planets mana.'

Her description made Asmodeus narrow his eyes in disgust.

The image she conjured in his mind was terrifying and repulsive.

"We should be careful from now on." Asmodeus climbed from her back and jumped onto the cracked earth. His first step suddenly caused him to gasp as she staggered forward.

"W-What..."

"Asmodeus are you alright?"

"Ryuji?"

"My Lord?"

"Dear Husband! You must come back!"

Their voices echoed in his mind, but sounded distant, like being trapped in a dream. He wanted to answer, but his body wouldn't listen to him.

'Is this because of that thing?'

Asmodeus's thoughts began to wander, but he didn't know why he felt so odd.

"Ugh..."

He closed his eyes and focused. The dull ache spreading through his body made his abdomen feel tight and his head feel light-headed. He tried to move, but his legs became weak and his arms became limp. He tried to leave, but he couldn't move.

'Something is draining my mana?'

It was a bizarre sensation, similar to when he absorbed mana from the air to recover but in reverse.
Stay tuned for updates on My Virtual Library Empire

However, unlike then, it wasn't a gentle flow. Instead, it was like a powerful vortex that threatened to pull everything out of Asmodeus.

"DON'T COME!" he shouted, his teeth sinking into his lips as a sweet taste filled his mouth. He barely stepped forward, his arm outstretched. Yet his entire body felt heavy, and each step took more energy than usual.

Lumina watched as her spouse struggled and tried to help him.

But no matter how far she stretched out her hand, it couldn't reach him. So she turned her body and spurted a thick, glistening thread of silvery webbing that clung to his back.

'Eh? it's not being drained?'

A sudden thought of eureka flowed into her mind.

"ITS THE GROUND ITSELF!"

Her loud voice caused Asmodeus to snap out of his strange trance. Instantly unfurling his four wings, he flapped with all his might, creating a gale of winds that blew the cracked dirt with such force that it shattered, creating a crater as his body lifted off the ground.

The sudden expulsion of dust and debris clouded the area, making his figures seem distorted and hazy. His black armour shimmered with a dull purple glow.

When he returned to Lumina's side, she could see the tired expression on his face, his breaths coming out in shallow pants. She knew he had spent a lot of energy.

"Are you okay?" She asked softly, concern lacing her words.

"I'm fine," He answered, trying to hide the weakness in his voice. "You saved me again, Lumina."

'She's becoming quite proficient at saving me...' He mused.

"I don't want to lose you," Lumina replied seriously.

Her words caused his eyes to widen.

Yes, he understood she wanted to become his wife, and that Lumina showed an interest in him. But somewhere deep down, he rejected her advances—until now.

'...My heart actually throbbed because of her words.'

Asmodeus could feel the heat rise in his chest, causing his body temperature to spike. Thanks to this heat, his body started to devour the surrounding mana in the air rapidly.

"Haa... Lumina, you saved my life."

He leaned against her smooth white legs, and reached up, stroking her humanoid thigh, brushing the soft, velvety skin, causing her front legs to lift in a defensive position because of her sudden arousal and shock from his flirtatious action.

"R-Ryuji..." a blushing Lumina gasped, while the other women giggled and watched them, their small jealousy overwritten by their gratitude for saving his life.

"Lumina, if we can't walk on the ground, how will we get across this barren land?" Asmodeus asked curiously.

Although he knew this meant they needed to fly, but those who couldn't fly would be stranded here until he found the source and killed it.

'Nnn~ don't tease me here... I don't want to moan in front of everyone...'

He just hoped there might be another way.

While breathing slowly, his weak muscles recovered and the blurry vision faded. As his fingertips brushed against the silky strands of Lumina's crotch, he pulled away and gazed at her pretty face.

In her Arachne form, her height was almost three metres tall, so gazing up at her felt a little amusing to Asmodeus.

Asmodeus didn't touch her in such a way on purpose...

But when demons became low on energy and life force, their biggest instincts and desires exploded as they attempted to survive.

'A demon of lust recovers in the most obscene fashion...' He thought bitterly, stroking her thigh before turning back to the others.

"Asmodeus?" Erika tilted her head and moved closer.

"I'm fine now, I've recovered thanks to Lumina." Asmodeus spoke calmly. He didn't have time to waste; even if the alluring arachne now gazed at him with a red face and wet eyes, those things could wait till after.

"It seems there is a monster or creature that dwells in the ground... able to suck mana, life force and energy from anything that touches the ground."

Asmodeus's words caused a heavy atmosphere to descend on the group.

If it weren't for Lumina's quick reaction, the ground would have sucked him dry. Even with his vast mana pool, it was possible that it may not have been enough.

"Because of the danger, only Velvet, Erika and Levia will join me. I would prefer it if Asmodea and Lumina anchored themselves here and prepared to save anyone that falls or touches the dirt."

Asmodeus flapped his wings and stepped forward, unfurling his last pair of wings, because he knew he'd need his maximum speed in the air for this fight.

'I think it might also absorb magical attacks...' This sudden thought slipped out of his lips, causing many of the women to gasp before a few nodded.

"He's right..."

"Yeah, somehow if it can absorb energy, then doesn't it mean any non-physical attacks?" Velvet added while clenching her fists.

"..."

The situation seemed unfavourable.

They didn't know what enemy they were up against, and it was a battle in the dark.

"Let's try destroying the dirt. Lumina said the monster only drained the dirt up to two metres down, right?" Erika rubbed her lips, speaking in a slightly convinced voice.

"Eh? What do you mean?"

Asmodeus turned to face Erika, who shrugged lightly, her hair blowing wildly in the wind as she smiled cutely.

"No, Erika is right!" Asmodea stepped forward and placed a hand on Erika's shoulder. "If we damage the ground, it might reveal what we are up against... but the amount of energy needed to do that... Honey, it's only you who can do this right?"

Following Asmodea, the other women all gazed at Asmodeus, who took a deep breath.

"I see... then shall I give it a try?"

Asmodeus curled his lips into a devilish smirk, his wings fluttering as they gathered momentum.

"Let's see what's hiding beneath the earth!"