“Maybe, but you were nothing more than a clueless whelp like a week or two ago. Your pace is just unbelievable. I doubt that breath would have brought you that much harm if you managed to transform your face in time,” she replied while finally straightening up. “I’m glad to see you grow stronger by the day. Your control is getting impeccable.”

  “Good enough to start tackling the realm-tearing ability?” Asterios asked.

  Althea gently rolled her eyes, but not without a dainty smirk curling up the edges of her soft lips. “Patience, young student. You’ll get there in time. A record one, most likely.”

  “I am patient, just curious.” He smiled at her. “I wouldn’t have gotten anywhere during my academy years without that patience. Still, new and unknown prospects and paths have always been an exciting thought.”

  “It would be a lie if I said that I don’t understand. Even for me, that kind of ability is something extremely intriguing. Your very existence is extremely intriguing,” she admitted openly. “But, overdoing your training will not bring us any closer to our final goal. And we are almost out of time anyway.”

  Asterios glanced over his shoulder with a light nod. “Why do we even have to move this far away from the city each time? It’s not like we are really going down with our occasional, testing spars. I’m fairly sure even the castle’s dungeons would be fine, if not the areas nearby.”

  “The further you are from your bondmates, the better you can focus on yourself,” she explained, holding his gaze firmly with a delicate smirk as their eyes met. “Plus, being around nothing more than nature for long miles is more natural to a True Dragon than bustling streets above their head.”

  He kept looking at the wise Dragon lady while considering her words and the times they had practiced in his chamber rather than outside like in recent days. With a shrug, he recovered his attire to not forget to reequip it before moving to the heart of the city. He had already done that once and the rumors still hadn’t completely died out yet. The main market somehow became even more crowded. Especially with young women.

  “There’s a meeting I need to attend so I will excuse myself now. If the opportunity allows for it, we shall practice a little more in the evening,” Althea informed him with a respectful bow.

  “I don’t think the girls will be happy if you hog me all to yourself for the night again. Grea is getting frustrated and that’s not a good sign.” He snickered softly. “A meeting?”

  “With your mother. I’m afraid she still hasn’t heard every bit of my story. No matter that she’d invited me for tea multiple times already.” The Dragon lady allowed herself an honest laugh.

  “Just don’t let her get to you. We both know what she’s trying to achieve.” He shook his head with a heavy sigh. “You are free to go. Let Umbra know if you’d like to be transferred rather than fly.”

  “I thought you would have already understood which option is more preferable for us.” She shot him one more delicate smile and jumped into the air, morphing into her full long draconic form in a blink and heading away.

  “Yeah, I certainly do.” His own inner Dragon just itched to be let out and soar through the sky. “So, I guess it’s time to grab something to eat from the market.”

  But, before he could even begin his transformation, a nearby shadow rippled and started rising from under a thick tree. It momentarily formed a humanoid figure and revealed Guildmaster Suanori, who surfaced with a faint shudder. He stared at his elf friend with mild surprise and confusion for this clearly uncomfortable transfer rather than a simple request directed right to him.

  “You are done? Good.” Suanori took a brief glance around. “Should we get a move on Project Dreamland Asylum?”

  “Right now?” He frowned lightly.

  “What better time than when Althea is busy? Miss Kindra should give us enough time to take care of the majority of things,” the guildmaster answered. “I finished whatever I could at the guild and delegated the rest to Ellie. I’m at your service for the rest of the day, My Lord.”

  “You aren’t wrong.” Asterios stroked his chin. “Alright. Let’s just get to it. Same place as we initially discussed?”

  She nodded. “Perhaps a little bit further from the walls. Of course, I mean the future ones. If we ever expand even more, we’ll either have to dig an extension of the tunnel or just be comfortable with her taking into the air in the middle of the street.”

  “We’ll be moving the entrance indefinitely if we keep predicting the future.” He shook his head. “Hop on.”

  “Pardon?” Suanori tilted her head.

  Crimson and onyx mist enveloped him and revealed his True Dragon form a moment later.

  “What if someone sees us?” she questioned.

  “We’ll just say that Venuzathor’s girlfriend is visiting. I’ve been told their females are much smaller.” He chuckled deeply. “Come on. I know you would love to get a ride. Everyone does.”

  Deciding that it was pointless to argue, especially since he wasn’t wrong, Suanori hopped onto Ast’s back and they lunged into the air. He didn’t show off too much, keeping their flight moderately relaxing and pleasant, taking a peek or two at the guildmaster’s joyful smile as she watched the forest swim underneath them and experienced the rush of wind in her hair.

  They arrived at their destination not that long after and landed still a good distance away from the town. Asterios shifted back to his humanoid form.

  “This place is as good as any other,” he said, glancing around. “Perhaps I’ll go and fetch the others while you begin the work.”

  “No need! We are already all here!” Radir’s voice captured his attention as he led a small group of people from between the trees with a wry chuckle.

  Besides him, Imadil and Cynthia were present too. That made five of them including Asterios and Suanori. He again raised a surprised brow at their amazing timing.

  But, since they didn’t exactly know how much time they had, everyone got right to work. The elf duo brought out the plans they had prepared alongside some other people while Suanori reached for her magic. Asterios kept himself close to the guildmaster, channeling his and Tia’s energy into her. The intensity surprised Suanori and she accidentally tore a massive chunk of earth from the ground, about ten times bigger than she’d intended.

  After some initial chuckles and laughs, they continued digging the tunnel. It had to be wide and tall enough to fit an entire Lesser Dragon comfortably. As Suanori took care of the earth and mud, Imadil and Cynthia used some weird magical tools looking like a flat metal plate on a long stick to shape the passage and reinforce all surfaces. Asterios used his crystal sigils to push out all the fumes generated by them.

  The work was slow and precise. Radir followed after them and carved some intricate designs and formations into the sidewalls and the decorative half-pillars, which served completely no purpose other than visual candy since they were carved out of the surrounding earth too. Some of the patterns were more artistic while others clearly had a magical meaning.

  Asterios lost track of time as they cooperated, exchanging a few words now and then. Most of the time, the tunnel was filled with grunts and groans of struggle, and an occasional curse whenever Radir made a mistake or inhaled too much of the earthen smoke, choking on the hot fumes.

  “Alright. We are under the castle. Quite deep at that. Hopefully, your defensive arrays will work properly, Radir,” Asterios said, consulting his senses.

  “Don’t worry. If someone even manages to penetrate the entrance, they won’t notice when the illusionary formations turn them around in the middle and lead them back to it while they are one hundred percent convinced that it’s actually the exit.” The demon man snickered to himself. “And, if even that doesn’t work, I’ve seen the designs of the traps your elf friends devised. And boy, I pray to never stumble on this passage uninvited. Forget the Dragon waiting for me at the very end, ready to rip me to shreds for invading the privacy of its lair, notified about my presence since the very first step.”

  “This operation won’t compromise the town or the castle. I promise.” Imadil bowed firmly.

  “I trust you. Now, it’s time to make some space here.” Asterios put his hands on his sides. “Moving all this earth away will be a pain.”

  “You want to make this one exactly the same size as the place from your memories, right?” Suanori asked and he nodded. “Well, then. I will need a lot of your energy. Don’t mind me if I faint once or twice in the process.”

  “I can practically hear Miria saying that there’s a way to assure that you don’t.” He chuckled and she laughed softly with him. “Too bad I’m not a massive mole or something rather than a True Dragon. But, you gotta work with what you have.”

  Resupplying the guildmaster again through direct skin contact, he watched as Suanori confidently moved dirt and earth around, slowly widening the space in front of them. The others just waited and watched since their attempts at help would only get in the way of the former S-rank adventurer. The chance that they would get swept by the waves of rolling mud and stones was pretty damn high.

  As the guildmaster had said, she almost fainted after exhausting all her mana repeatedly for a prolonged period, but Asterios nursed her to full rest for as long as necessary. She didn’t take more than fifteen minutes of break each time she was spent, saying that it was great endurance training since she didn’t really have that many occasions to tire herself out that badly. Tia noted that such practice would definitely make the elf stronger. Especially with her assistance.

  Bit by bit, the space expanded more and more in the shape of a perfect half-sphere. It was an incredible sight, though Asterios knew it was incomparable to the final result. In a few more hours, they achieved the desired outcome, creating an almost exact copy of Althea’s lair size-wise.

  “Ellie will have to carry me around for a week after we finish down here.” Suanori chuckled to herself, resting her head on Ast’s lap. “But, it’s almost like therapy. I had no idea getting so spent could be this relaxing. Give me just a moment and I’ll be up to continue.”

  “You can rest for now, Guildmaster. It’s our turn now,” Cynthia said with an excited smile. “Come on, Father. Let’s start with the light crystal. Mister Radir will begin with his arrays and formations in the meanwhile.”

  “As they say,” Asterios added, glancing down at Suanori. “Your next part will come later. Groundwork first, landscaping after.”

  The two of them watched their companions busy themselves with their responsibilities in the massive cavern until Suanori made an almost full recovery. She was still in disbelief at how quickly that happened with Ast’s spiritual support and the various spells he cast with his new Spellslinger. The only thing stopping anyone from endlessly working as hard as they could was most likely only mental exhaustion, which still could be partially relieved to some extent.

  Not wanting to sit pointlessly for too long, she told Asterios to leave the rest to them and jumped to start covering the already processed areas with grass and trees just like in the lair under the Garden of Sinners. He didn’t stop them and took one last glance at everything.

  “Well, that sounded like a dismissal, so I guess I’ll get going. It’s pretty late. I bet the girls are waiting for me to eat dinner together,” he mused.

  “Not so fast!” Grea’s voice suddenly surprised him from behind.

  “What the—”

  He caught only a flash of red before she flung him through the gate and they tumbled onto the hard ground who knew where. An almost maniacal giggling accompanied him on the floor as the crimson portal faded away. Grea kept him locked with all her limbs wrapping him up like a traveling backpack. It took him a good moment and a decent amount of effort to wiggle himself around and face her underneath him. She nibbled on her bottom lip firmly while grinning from ear to ear.

  “We have some unfinished business to take care of first,” she purred at him before stealing a heated kiss from his lips.

  He chuckled into Grea’s delicious mouth and squeezed her sides, eliciting a lustful moan from the frivolous demon lady.

  At this pace, he would definitely not make it home today.

  Chapter 20

  At Your Mercy ❤

  Asterios let Grea pursue his lips like an animal starved for carnal affection. As she nibbled and bit on his mouth, her hands roamed all over his back, often inching very close to his butt. It didn’t take long before both of her palms landed on his behind, giving it a voracious squeeze to the rhythm of her pursuit.

  They remained on the cold floor with her splayed under him, clearly unbothered by the uncomfortable position. Still, Asterios used one of his hands to support her head from behind, shielding it from the dangerous tiles. With how heated their exchange was, courtesy of his lascivious ex-professor, she would have ended up with at least a few bumps from her excessive movements.

  Having enough of her aggression after a good while, Asterios grabbed her single horn and yanked it to the side, evoking a throaty groan and a shiver from the attractive researcher. She eyed him with some curiosity, though mostly sheer, unfiltered lust, and a hint of mischief.

  He slowly trailed his tongue over the contour of her jaw, making her tremble once more. “So, what do I owe this pleasant interruption? And may I perhaps know where exactly it is that you have thrown us? Doesn’t look like your lovely lab under our home.”

  She grinned at him deviously. “Wouldn’t you like to know? Have you already forgotten your little promise to me?”

  Raising his brow at her, he slowly sat up, pulling her with him by her horn, stealing her lips for one more ardent kiss. She couldn’t help but purr into his mouth, leaving herself in his strong grasp, hanging in front of his face by the sharp, black spike. After breaking the kiss, they looked each other in the eyes for a long moment full of tension. A very specific one.

  But, surprisingly, Grea was the first one to properly stand up, making sure to smother Ast’s face with her front as much as she could in the process. He joined her right away and observed as she sashayed her luscious hips while moving to the island counter in the middle of the room, which seemed familiar but not exactly. She spun around and jumped onto it, plopping her butt on the smooth surface and crossing her legs.

  “Still wondering?” She waggled her brows at him.

  He frowned and squinted at her. It was clear that he was supposed to easily figure it out and she was leading him on. Yet, the answer kept eluding him, perhaps because of all that alluring atmosphere and teasing glances she kept directing at him.

  Seeing that it was taking him a moment to realize, she rolled her eyes and changed her position. Raising her legs up, she spread them to the sides and rested her feet on the edge. After she sank her teeth in her bottom lip, taking excessively deep breaths to emphasize her chest, a flash of a certain memory twinkled in his mind.

  “Wait… This is your lab? But… It’s the academy one?” He looked around again, spotting more and more familiar angles and placements of furniture, even though everything looked completely fresh and different now.

  “Bingo!” She snickered.

  “The academy should be closed at this hour. Ignoring the fact that this place has completely changed, what are we here for?” He turned back to her, slowly approaching the sly demon woman.

  “Oh, come on, what else could we be here for but to fuck?” She licked her lips. “They think they can just flip this place over to completely erase my presence? Tough luck. I’m going to drag my wrecked pussy over every single counter and surface right after you make an utter mess out of it with that ungodly dick of yours.”

  Asterios chuckled as he reached her, delicately running his fingers up her thighs, stopping near her very core, which emanated heat of an incredible level, clearly announcing just how much that idea turned his impish lover on. She was out for blood, revenge, and... semen. As he leaned in for a kiss, she stopped him with a finger on his mouth.

  “But, this time will be a little different.” She smirked at him. “If you haven’t forgotten, I’m the one supposed to fuck you like I hate you.”

  Something metallic clicked between them and his forehead wrinkled a little. Pulling his left hand from under her robes, he found a thick black cuff tightly locked around his wrist. As he examined the unusual piece of equipment, which lacked any notches or rings for chains and other bindings, another click reached his ears. Unsurprisingly, when he brought his other hand up, it was adorned by the same ornament.

  He caught the sight of a small metal suitcase lying on Grea’s left, with two empty holes left behind those cuffs she had somehow slipped onto him. Looking straight at him with an impish grin, she reached for another one and he watched her face with a raised brow.

  Before he could demand some explanation, she pressed her foot to his chest and kicked him away with enough force to make him stumble into the side counter at the edge of the chamber. She hastily jumped off her perch and dropped to her knees, snapping the remaining two cuffs around his ankles. Finished with her nefarious plot, she retreated to her island while giggling to herself deviously.

  “What’s the meaning of this?” he asked, raising his wrists to emphasize his question.

  “Want me to tell you anything? Come here and make me.” She laid herself on the countertop, facing him.

  Happy to play along with her silly antics, Asterios took a step forward. During the second one, she snapped her fingers, and he froze. Or rather, his wrists and ankles froze as his body jerked forward with the force of his intended movement. Confused a little, he frowned at his limbs, trying to tug at them. But, no matter what he attempted, they were mystically locked in the air.

  “Fuck me! It really works!” Grea cackled to herself, sitting up in a flash. “I’m going to owe Cythina a big one! How am I even going to repay her? Do you mind if I use a hole or two of mine?”