Chapter 073

"Ugh...I might actually have to sit this one out..." said Mordred, pinching her nose in disgust as she, Leon, and Kira stood on the edge of a region that had overgrown with a flesh-like moss, countless bones forming both the foundation of the environment and its many decaying structures. The amount of Mana in the region would make it an excellent training location under normal circumstances, but even the Mana smelled like death...

"Mother can be found at the lowest level of the valley..." said Kira, casting a sidelong, almost contemptuous stare at Mordred as the latter separated her from Leon.

"Yeah, I see her..." said Leon, holding up and staring at the display of the Mana Radar. There were actually 'several' powerful Mana signatures near what he assumed to be the valley's center, but one was much larger than the others.

Curious, Mordred snuck a peak at the radar's display, her brows perking as she remarked, "Looks like a party. Though, if they're all monster girls, I guess it would be more accurate to call it an orgy."

"Haha..." droned Leon, placing the Mana Radar away before nodding as he declared, "Anyways, I'll go alone from here. If it turns into a full-on battle, I'll return here, and we can go wild."

Even before Mordred could respond, Kira stated, "I should go. You're the one who gave me name and purpose. I cannot allow you to die before you implant me with your seed and have produced an heir..."

With Mordred moving out of the way, Leon reached up to grab Kira's horn, causing her to tense, shiver, and hug herself as he stated, "You will remain here and await my return. Do you understand...?"

As Leon compelled her to tilt her head back by adjusting the angle of her horn, Kira breathed a steamy cloud of frigid condensation, her version of a hot sigh, as she replied, "I understand, Master..."

"Good girl..." whispered Leon, rewarding Kira with a kiss before sharing a second with Mordred. Then, as the duo gave each other a wide berth on the cliff he had been standing atop, Leon swapped to his phantom body and descended into the Sixth Floor's interpretation of the Rotten Vale, his destination the massive, spacious, glowing blue chamber that pulsed like an actual heart at its center...

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With his presence completely hidden, Leon passed his gaze over twenty-nine different monster girls, some of whom were almost indistinguishable from human females. There was no 'need' for them to be female, but since Echidnas was creating them largely as a response to the Crimson Valkyrie Squad, they resembled human females simply because that was the form their enemy took.

'Those two could be a problem...' thought Leon, referring to the massive, exceptionally thick Rajang and the oni-like Goss Harag. They were among the least humanoid monsters present, implying they were among the first birthed, but the true danger was the entity they were guarding. Leon had assumed Echidnas would be a giant disgusting Khezu variant with a lower half reminiscent of a female termite, as that's how she was depicted in the databook, but what he discovered was a giant lamia. Her upper half down to her ass was that of an enormous woman, roughly 30m tall from head to crotch, while the rest of her body was an inordinately long and curled-up tail covered in black scales that exuded a sludge-like material and would occasionally crackle with amethyst electricity. She even had a translucent silk garment doing little to hide her massive breasts, golden accessories on the fingers of her left hand and arms, curved horns shaped like a leafy coronet that framed her head, and tattered, almost angelic wings covered in purple feathers that appeared to be rotting but were, in reality, growing. In other words, it wasn't just the monsters she created that were evolving to become more human. Echidnas herself was changing...

'There's no sense in hiding...' said a deep, alluring voice that echoed in Leon's mind. At the same time, Echidnas flicked her meters-long, snake-like tongue, the voice adding, 'We can taste your scent.'

'That simplifies things,' remarked Leon. 'I came here for two reasons. First, know if you know how to open the way to the next Floor. Second, to reach a compromise. We don't have to kill one another.'

'We know the way,' affirmed Echidnas, nodding her massive head and smiling as she explained, 'You must kill us or kill others to consume our flesh and evolve. Once you have demonstrated that you stand above all others, go to the highest place. The path you seek shall open...'

'There has to be a way that doesn't involve killing,' said Leon. 'I know from previous Floors there is 'always' an alternative.'

'You would deny our purpose...our creed...?' asked Echidnas, narrowing her eyes further, her dark orange irises glowing menacingly.

'No,' replied Leon, shaking his nonexistent head as he explained, 'But, just as I taught your daughters, there is more to evolution than killing, feeding, and breeding. That works fine if your only objective is survival, but to truly thrive, you must learn to cooperate with others, develop culture, advance technology, and pass your wisdom to the generations that follow, not just your genes...'

'Hmmmmmm...'

Though Leon's words were more confusing than convincing, Echidnas knew from observing the Crimson Valkyrie Squad through the eyes of her children that she would most assuredly die if they came for her. She had prepared 'contingencies' in the event she perished, but she still preferred to live rather than die.

'You have piqued our interest,' said Echidnas, flicking her long tongue. 'But our trust is not so easily won. And you can't expect us to change how we have endured since time immemorial. If we are to compromise, you must be willing as well...'

'What are your terms...?' asked Leon.

'We will give you our heart,' replied Echidnas. 'In exchange, your people will only be allowed to occupy territories we designate. You may hunt in other territories, but if you wish to control them, the duty must fall to one of our brood, and you cannot build any permanent structures beyond their nests...'

'I don't see major issues with those terms,' agreed Leon, simultaneously thinking it was similar to having camps in the game. 'Though, what do you mean by giving me your heart...?'

'The key to your ascent is the crystallized heart of a Primal Dragon such as ourselves,' explained Echidnas. 'But you needn't worry. While this body of mine will perish, we have others. One of which shall accompany you to the outside world so we might witness this 'alternative form' of evolution you speak of for ourselves...'

'Mmmm...I've been warned against making deals that unilaterally favor an opposing party...' stated Leon. 'However, while this deal favors you quite a bit more than it does us, I will assent on the condition you and your brood assist with protecting our outposts on this and other Floors...'

'You wish to have our brood serve as guardians and protectors...?' asked Echidnas, leaning her massive head onto the ornamented knuckles of her left hand, supported by a section of her nearly 300m-long tail.

Following a lengthy pause, Echidnas nodded and replied, 'Very well. You have taken sufficient care of those who have already yielded to you. We will provide our brood to safeguard your outposts, but you must provide their food and see to it that their 'other' needs are met...'

Understanding that Echnidas was referring to her broods' very powerful sex drives, Leon replied, 'I'm sure I can find those who are willing, but is there something you can do on your end? Something to make your brood a little less aggressive...'

'Is it not their ferocity you desire~?' asked Echidnas, adopting a too-broad smile and narrowing her eyes. Fortunately, without Leon needing to press her, Echidnas stated, 'But, as we were already in the process of making a more docile strain to enter your ranks and sow confusion, we will continue to work toward that goal.'

'Well, that's ominous...' thought Leon. But, as they were still severely short on personnel, he felt the potential benefits outweighed the risks. Having an entity in his employ who could bioengineer monsters or create entirely new species would save them a lot of summoning crystals. They may not have the same potential as summoned entities from the outset, but as he was able to view the Status and Grade of Pokemon sired by humans, Leon believed it was only a matter of time before his forthcoming Kingdom had a sizeable population of Green or even Blue-Grade Wyverians, humanoids descended from various species of dragons...

Having made his decision, Leon supplied a nod, not that Echidnas could see it, and replied, 'Very well. We'll need to draw up a contract to prevent either of us from betraying one another, but I accept your terms.'

'Then let it be done...' said Echidnas, sending out an invisible pulse that caused the humanoid monsters in the vicinity to back away as she sat up and rather abruptly stabbed her right hand into her diaphragm, causing a deluge of purple-black blood to pour out like a waterfall as she invariably fished out her own heart...

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Seeing a girl with violet hair and eyes abruptly appear a few meters from her position, her body garbed in an oversized cloak, Mordred very briefly tensed before lowering her guard and asking, "Who's the squirt...?"

Separating from the roughly 130cm-tall girl, who had a thick, snake-like tail protruding from beneath the cloak he had provided, Leon swapped to his own body and explained, "This is one of Echidnas's larvae. She wishes to see the outside of the Tower and experience the prosperity wrought by societal, cultural, and scientific development..."

As she was effectively a clean slate created to observe, Echidnas's larvae stared blankly at Mordred and Kira, the latter tensing and dropping to one knee as, from her perspective, the pint-sized lamia was her Mother, just in a more compact form.

Though he noted Kira's reaction, Leon continued, pulling out a dark purple crystal that was visually similar to the Soulstone from Diablo 3 but glowed violet at its core and crackled with purple electricity.

"If what Echidnas said is true," said Leon. "We now just need to take this Primal Spiritvein Crystal to the top of that dilapidated tower I discovered a few months back. That's where the portal to the next Floor is supposed to appear."

"Better there than this fetid death pit," said Mordred, looking to the larvae as she asked, "Do you want to head there now, or should we take this one back to the palace and get her situated first?"

"We'll return to the palace for now," affirmed Leon, habitually caressing the larvae's head for the first of many times to come as he stated, "The Seventh Floor isn't going anywhere, and there are some matters we need to discuss regarding the security of all Floors."

"Sounds good," said Mordred, nodding. Then, as Kira was kneeling next to her, she gave the bluish-white dragon girl's round and exceptionally tough bottom a weak kick, causing her to rise and glare back at her with glowing red eyes, electricity crackling around her horn.

"Save the sparring for later," said Leon, taking advantage of the fact Kira had turned her back to him to caress her bottom. That was enough to get her to stand down, but instead of leaning into him as she typically would, her eyes briefly met with the larvae's before she stepped away from him with crossed arms, avoiding the gazes of everyone present by looking off into the distance...

'She's behaving like her sister's when she's around...' noted Leon, referring to how Dora, Naga, Zena, and Pukei tended to give him a wide berth when Kira was present. They instinctively adhered to a fairly inflexible hierarchy, so now that someone higher in the totem pole had appeared, Kira's usual aloof confidence was nowhere to be seen...

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