Grea’s eyes widened slightly as she gently smacked Aura’s booty. She quickly placed her palm on it again and her smile grew even more excited. Taking Aura’s palm into her hand, she guided it over her own body, especially focusing on her nipples, and trailed with the plasma lady’s fingers down her belly. When they reached her girly parts, Grea let out a quiet whine while nibbling on her bottom lip as her eyes rolled to the back of her head.

  Her face snapped to Asterios with an impish grin and she trotted closer to him with Aura in tow. Before he could understand what she was aiming for, Grea brought Aura’s other hand to his nether regions and he let out a surprised gasp.

  “Cool, isn’t it?” She giggled excitedly. “I want her!”

  “Is this the only quality you are looking for in a summon?” He tried to tame down the corners of his lips rising up from the ticklish stimulation coming from the touch of Aura’s prickly energy.

  “Hey, since you can manipulate the states of your body and transform them at will, can you give yourself a pussy?” Grea ignored him and turned to the pink lady.

  Right in front of their eyes, Aura’s privates become much more developed, ceasing to be just a slim, flat surface. Grea clapped joyfully with a cheerful bounce as she jumped in place.

  She shot him another devilish grin. “Aren’t you curious how it would feel to stick it in there?”

  “Calm your lust down.” He flicked her forehead, evoking an adorable chuckle from Tina. “You are forgetting why we did this in the first place.”

  “So I could get all my holes blasted open?” Grea batted her brows at him, making Asterios snort to the side.

  “Give up, Ast. It’s impossible to ask Professor not to be horny.” Tina snickered from the side.

  “Quite funny coming from someone who was just recently flicking her bean in front of the door while listening to my pussy getting completely shredded.” Grea squinted at her, causing Tina to quickly grow all red and drop her gaze down to her feet.

  “Alright, enough making a scene for now.” Asterios pulled both Grea and Tina into his chest, brushing over their sides. “Let’s get back to the summoning. And perhaps jump into some clothes before Grea decides to accidentally impale herself on me.”

  The raunchy demon lady opened her mouth and raised her brows as if she had just gotten a perfect idea. Judging by the quick glance she gave to their new friend, it clearly involved some state of Aura’s body and Asterios shook his head with a wry smile.

  He materialized his spiritual clothes, interrupting Grea’s lewd train of thought. Pouting a little, she stepped away to obediently cover herself too. In the meanwhile, Asterios turned to Tina and she gave him a timid glance.

  Slowly pulling her panties off, she blushed heavily. Since her white underwear had ended up completely drenched, it was a bit more comfortable to store it away for now. Still, standing right next to Asterios with both of them aware that there was nothing under her skirt made it so much more embarrassing.

  Soon, Grea came back while wearing her black, lacy lingerie barely covering her alluring body. She sent Asterios a smirk, knowing exactly how she looked while still technically fulfilling his request to dress up. He just shook his head at her and they gathered in front of Aura.

  “Are you even still interested in this deal after all that?” he asked the pink lady.

  “I’m now even more convinced that you are an extremely fun and interesting bunch so definitely.” Aura showed a beautiful smile while floating before them. “I don’t mind lending you my strength if I get to drop by now and then. By the way, what’s the relationship between you two?”

  “I’m the proud mate of this handsome Dragon.” Grea pointed at Asterios. “Though, I prefer the title of his personal fucktoy.”

  “As she says.” Asterios nodded. “You should be able to receive some benefits from contracting a person closely connected to me if nothing has changed recently. She’s technically both my mate and a summon, to some extent.”

  “Great. That’s what I was wondering about. I can’t wait to see what I can do with access to draconic mana, even if indirect.” Aura chuckled softly. “Shall we proceed then or do you have some more questions for me?”

  “I’m in!” Grea extended a hand and they exchanged a handshake. “Is there anything you would like to receive as part of the contract?”

  “Regularly share with me some of the draconic energy you receive besides your own essence and we’ll be good. I don’t think I need anything else. It should definitely help me grow stronger,” Aura answered.

  They both accepted those terms and Asterios moved outside of the circle with Tina. Grea and Aura went through all the steps of the contracting ritual without rushing it. Asterios could feel the slight anxiety plaguing Grea even if she tried to hide it with her usual, cheerful, silly personality. She was surely still worried about the process failing at some point. But, fortunately, nothing of the sort happened and she gained a new familiar.

  After examining her connection with Aura, Grea turned to the duo. “Well. Now comes the fun part.”

  “Which is?” Tina frowned.

  “Cleaning up all this cum, of course!” Grea spread her arms wide

  Asterios smirked as his timid girlfriend became red again. They started working together on wiping off the patterns and other additional fluids that had joined them on the floor during the ritual. Aura’s ability to control smaller amounts of matter besides her body helped them accurately scoop every single bit of liquid from the carved trenches. She could move and gather it almost effortlessly.

  Done with that part, they tidied the room a little bit and pondered together about what to do with the carved circuit on the metal floor. Asterios came up with the idea to heat it up with his fire and Aura offered her help in moving the melted material. He carefully heated up the floor by releasing a controlled flame as the girls cheered him on and she quickly covered the patterns, leaving almost no trace of them left.

  Since Asterios and Grea still had the other paint on their bodies, they headed for the bath to clean themselves up. Tina joined them and they washed each other while chatting happily. Though, most of the time, they had to deal with Grea teasing Tina about the recent events, at least until Tina and Asterios paired up and tickled her into oblivion.

  Feeling refreshed, they dressed up properly this time and left the house to catch up with everyone. Locating Bryn and the others, Asterios brought out his wings and took Tina into his arms. As for Grea, she began floating after Aura turned into mist and tightly enveloped her body. The entire time they traveled through the air, Grea waved her arms while laughing maniacally.

  After regrouping with their friends, they introduced Aura to everyone and continued the tour of Odin together. Miria and Silvia filled them in on what they had missed as they traversed the colorful streets, admiring the shiny buildings of various architectural styles. Just from their density and size, Odin seemed like a much bigger ARK than the others. Having a giant crystal tower in the middle certainly supported that belief.

  Curious about how Skaginleif and her valkyrjas were doing, they went to visit the dark district. As expected, the women were in slight disarray. It would take a longer moment for them to get used to life on the surface after being stuck in a cave for so many years. Even under the black sheet above the district, they all kept their blindfolds on their foreheads to drop them down whenever necessary.

  But, as Asterios and the girls spoke with a few of them, they all felt hopeful and excited about the future. The smallest things seemed to make them overjoyed, like extending their hands past the edge of the shade and bathing their skin in the warm sun for a few seconds.

  Their former leader had to remind them not to do that for too long or they would hurt themselves. There were many other things at which the poor women had to control themselves or they risked ending up in some kind of pain later or even immediately. But, that was the cost of their freedom and everyone knew it.

  The valkyrjas of Odin turned out to be very friendly and caring, helping their imprisoned kin fit in properly, going around the district and looking for ways to help. Countless groups formed where the surface dwellers kept telling stories to their new neighbors about their kin, since obviously, the knowledge regarding their own race was greatly limited in the underground colony.

  Before it got late, Asterios and the girls returned to their home and sat down together to discuss their upcoming campaign. They exchanged their thoughts on the Scourge, which they had recently faced for the first time. Everyone agreed that those poor monsters weren’t that strong individually and each of them could easily handle a small group on their own without any danger.

  Bigger numbers were the problem. Especially when paired with narrow hallways that had many intersections. In the caverns, they had to protect their front and back for most of the time, but inside the Descending Spire, they would surely be met with countless corridors. Bryn assured them about that.

  When the conversation moved onto the structure itself, Asterios brought out the maps the girls had prepared in their free time with Umbra’s help and they studied the sketched floors with extreme attention to detail, starting to plan a few paths already. Unfortunately, they didn’t have any hints about the location of the last, hidden level, where the reactor of Tyr’s Aegis was located. Red’s notes only talked about the device directly so unless Atra found some new information about it, they were forced to look around on their own after reaching the bottommost floor.

  After a few hours, they wrapped it up and headed for bed. They were all at least slightly tired after the events of the last day, and the entire past two weeks. It was bliss being able to finally huddle up all together in a big, comfy bed. Even Bryn said nothing before joining everyone by Ast’s side, peacefully dozing off while resting her head and arm on Ast’s chest. Naked, just like everyone else, of course.

  In the morning, they found a messenger in front of their door and learned that the Council would like to see them whenever they had a moment to spare. Getting themselves ready in a flash, they left their beautiful mansion and grabbed a snack on the way to the Tower.

  Enjoying the quick ride on the floating disc, they reached the crystal doors and were let in by one of the valkyrjas on the other side after knocking lightly. It looked like everyone they had seen during their first visit was present and Sidr smiled at them warmly.

  “In the light of what you have done for us, and what we had learned from the other ARKs in the meanwhile, the Council of Supervisors has agreed to give you its full support in pursuing your goal of reclaiming the Descending Spire from the claws of the Scourge,” she announced proudly. “We hope that this operation will bring a new future to our entire race. If it succeeds, we will make sure that no one will ever forget your input into this initiative.”

  Miria cheered happily while the other girls exchanged bright smiles. The Supervisors began applauding them for a moment before the golden-clad woman silenced them with a gesture.

  “We agreed to house the army you have gathered back in Tyr, but considering the recent developments of our lodging situation, we politely request that you give us a little bit of time to prepare adequate accommodation for all the soldiers,” Sidr continued.

  “But of course.” Asterios nodded. “The people we brought back should definitely be your priority right now. We will patiently wait for everything to calm down a little again.”

  “At the same time, it’s not like we will be able to clear the entire Spire in a day or two so even if we leave right now, you should have enough time to make preparations for the army,” Bryn added. “We will need their assistance much later.”

  “It shouldn’t take long. Of course, you are free to depart whenever you wish to, but let us know if there is anything we could help with. While our own archives certainly can’t compare to Brage’s collection of knowledge, you may freely visit them in search of additional information,” Sidr offered. “They are mostly filled with copies of documents from Brage but who knows what you could find there?”

  “We appreciate the gesture.” Asterios made a respectful bow.

  “Now, in case you choose to leave soon, please take this.” She walked up to him and held out a spearhead-shaped badge with a clear indent to Asterios.

  “What’s this?” Grea peeked over his shoulder.

  “A simple communication artifact. I know that you can send your shadowy familiar to contact us, but just in case it won’t be possible, you can use this to signal us about your intentions,” Sidr explained. “Each press of the hollow in the center will make a chime sound in this chamber. Press it thrice and we’ll assume that you are in trouble. Press it five times and we’ll take it as the signal to descend and begin clearing up the monsters in the vicinity of the Spire. The details need to be discussed with the commanders, of course, but this much should be fine.”

  “Perfect. Thank you.” He nodded and stored the artifact in his ring. “We will most likely wait for the arrival of the army. There are parts of our plan that we should discuss with everyone. We haven’t yet filled you in on everything either. And, some more practice against the Scourge will certainly be beneficial.”

  “A wise choice.” She smiled at them.

  And so, the final preparations began.

  Chapter 33

  Final Assembly

  After the meeting with the Supervisors, Asterios and the girls returned to their given home to relax a little bit for the rest of the day. The Council had to discuss some other matters related to Odin and the other ARKs, including those connected to the underground valkyrjas and their district. As he had said, they weren’t in a rush and there was just no need to cause more trouble than necessary.

  Sidr had given them permission to let Tyr’s Council know about their initial approval and Bryn chose to jump back to her friends there. She wanted to check on how Rota was doing while also delivering the message to the other leaders. An army of such size would need a while to reach Odin so they could depart even immediately and Sidr would have enough time to prepare everything for their arrival.

  Asterios sent Umbra to check on Atra too, to see if their scholar ally had anything interesting to say. She let the spooky familiar into her mind and Asterios showed up next to her. Instead of being shocked or surprised, Atra couldn’t contain her amazement and curiosity at the fact that they could talk and interact just as if they were truly together in the same room.

  While they chatted, she informed him that Brage’s Council had finally granted their request after about ten days, making Asterios shake his head with a wry smile. She explained that learning about his departure clearly had an influence on it. Nevertheless, she had descended into the vault again to dig through the records in search of anything they could have missed. And to take a peek at the corridor through which they’d made their little break-in, confirming that it looked pretty alright.

  She was quite dejected to report that her efforts hadn’t borne any useful fruit but Asterios cheered her up by mentioning how grateful they were for her immense help. He briefly summarized their recent adventure and the general situation before inviting Atra to join their meetings in the upcoming days so that she could discuss the strategy and the floor plans alongside everyone. Through Umbra, of course.

  The news about a lost tribe caused her to lose interest in anything else, making Asterios chuckle. The conversation for the remainder of their meeting revolved around things connected to those poor women. It didn’t bother him in the slightest. Talking with Atra reminded him of his many debates with Grea in the past, and that was a pleasant memory.

  In the end, Atra naturally agreed to take part in their preparations and they parted for the night. She went to request an audience with the Council to warn them about the incoming dozens of soldiers who would definitely want to take a rest in Brage on their way to Odin. There was still hope that those indecisive and doubtful Councilors would change their stance and also openly support the whole operation.

  For the next week, a lot of things happened in a lot of places.

  As he’d told Atra, Asterios hosted strategy meetings with her, the girls, and the Supervisors, where they discussed all the knowledge about the Spire and Tyr’s Aegis that had been gathered since the very beginning. The Supervisors chimed in for the parts related to the surface and some simple aspects of the initial floors. Since their ARK hovered almost right above the Spire, they had a lot to say about the remains of the city that had existed around it in the past. If they wanted to defend the area properly, they needed as much confirmed information as they could find.

  Whenever they weren’t busy straining their brains over those details, Sidr had Asterios and the girls assist the warriors from Odin in their usual missions. It had actually been Silvia’s idea, meant to give them some more experience fighting those monsters in different environments and situations.

  And so they did.

  Most of the time, they operated as one big unit, helping the valkyrjas out in scouting, retrieval, escort, survey, and other duties. Even Grea participated, wanting to get a hang of Aura’s fighting style, which was extremely flexible, just as the pink lady’s forms. Aura could even create something similar to what Umbra sometimes did for Asterios, covering her master in a protective layer of her solidified body. She utilized multiple states of her matter, creating an image of Grea as a knight in pure pink armor which emitted soft mist from the openings, and with any weapon that the demon lady imagined.

  Additionally, to not become too reliant on each other, they departed on some missions separately, forming smaller teams with the valkyrjas, usually counting up to two members from Ast’s companions. Some experience fighting slightly more independently in case they were forced to split at some point was more than welcome and everyone understood that perfectly. It wasn’t like they hadn’t been in such a situation before. Therefore, they trained diligently in every possible pair and group combination.