Chapter 42: Rebirth

IRO

Zeltaria was leading the way, with Cerys, Iro, and Aranya following closely behind.

Skalla, Alethria, Airy, and Mika had decided to stay back at the mansion to keep an eye on things. Mika had put it bluntly, “Climbing a mountain ~sucks~. I’d rather die.”

As Iro struggled to keep up, he couldn’t help but agree with her.

Zeltaria had explained to the group that she was planning to bring Holly back to life by creating a new body for her using her own energy and a bit of blood.

But to do that, she needed the help of an old friend who lived outside of Inasa City, beyond the countryside, and up a mountain in a small village near the peak.

They had all dressed warmly, but even so, Iro was not prepared for the snow-covered paths and the biting winds.

Seeing Iro shivering, Cerys moved closer to him, hugging him against her side to share some warmth. “We’re almost there, Mister Iro. Can you hang in there?”

Iro was relieved to hear they were close. He looked up at Cerys and managed to stutter out, “Y-y-yes, I-I t-t-think I-I c-can,” his teeth chattering from the cold.

He made a silent promise to himself to either gain some weight after this or never come back to this mountain.

Aranya, on the other hand, seemed to be perfectly fine with the cold. She was walking beside Zel, chatting quietly with the Succubus, and often looking around to admire the scenery.

Iro had rarely seen her this excited, and that alone made the trip up the mountain worth it.

As they reached a small rise in the path, they stopped when they saw wisps of smoke rising from the chimneys of alpine cabins.

Iro let out a sigh of relief. They were almost there. Just a short walk along the curve of the mountain, and they would be there.

“Master Zeltaria, are you sure she’s still here?”

Zel nodded. “Old Ika would never leave this place.” She started walking again, pulling her fuzzy white winter coat tighter around her.

She let out a snort. “The volcanic springs are too tempting for her to leave.”

Iro perked up. “~V-volcanic~?”

Aranya giggled and moved closer to Iro. “Yes! This whole mountain range is believed to be the origin of our islands, Iro. They’re mostly ~dormant~ now, but there are still small vents of thermal heat that rise to the tops of the mountains.

“There are caves near this village with naturally heated springs.”

Iro immediately quickened his pace, causing Aranya to giggle again at his sudden burst of energy. “W-why…d-didn’t…a-a-anyone…s-s-say so?!”

The group laughed at Iro’s eagerness for a warm bath and quickened their pace to match his. Within minutes, they arrived at the village.

It was a small, quaint town with a few wooden cabins built along the edge of the mountain at different heights, wherever a house could be supported.

Snow covered the roofs, ice frosted the windows, and warm lights lit up every home.

Some of the extra-species residents peeked out of their windows to see who had arrived, while others were walking along the paths between the cabins and greeted them like old friends.

An elderly, thickly-furred feline man stopped to talk to the group. His fur coat was lightly dusted with snow, and his eyes were warm and welcoming.

“Welcome, travelers. Not many come this way these days.”

Zeltaria bowed slightly in greeting and returned his smile. “It’s worth the trip, elder. I was hoping you could direct me to an old friend. One ~Ika Valouri~?”

The man chuckled and pointed with a large furry paw. “She’ll be at Torui Spring. Go up that path, turn right onto the switchback, and go up again. You’ll see the sign next to the cave entrance.”

He chuckled again and shook his head. “She’ll be happy to have visitors. I think she knows all of ~us~ a bit too well at times.”

Zeltaria and the group thanked the man and said their goodbyes before following his directions. They finally arrived at the marked entrance and went inside.

Iro didn’t recognize the writing on the sign, but he assumed the others did. Inside, the temperature immediately rose several degrees and continued to get warmer the deeper they went into the cave. Iro couldn’t have been happier.

Zeltaria went ahead of the group while Iro moved closer to Cerys. “Cerys, did Zel say we were here to see a ~Valouri~?”

Cerys looked down at Iro, a look of realization crossing her face. “~Ah~, you don’t know all of Master Zeltaria’s history, do you? That’s not your fault.

“Yes, we’re here to see Ika Valouri, the former matron of the Valouri family and the former owner of the estate where we live.

“Master Zeltaria was ~adopted~ into the family centuries ago, shortly after the Succubi revolted against the enkeli. Ika played a big role in Master Zeltaria’s development during those years. At least, that’s what Master Zeltaria has told me.”

Iro wondered what that meant, but as they approached a large, beautifully crafted wooden door with tiny vents of steam seeping through the holes, he figured he was about to find out.

Zeltaria pulled open the door, and a wave of steam poured out, warming Iro to his core.

“Oh? Who’s there? Close the door, you’re letting the steam out! And no clothes in the springs, you’ll freeze when you leave!” a cheerful, aged voice called out from behind the wall of steam.

Iro watched as Zeltaria, who was already taking off her winter coat and placing it on a shelf cut into the cave wall. She quickly stripped down, leaving only the silver pendant containing Holly’s soul around her neck. She grabbed a towel from another rock shelf and walked towards the wall of steam without a second thought.

Iro glanced at Cerys, who seemed a bit more on edge than their Succubus boss, but she followed Zeltaria’s lead and began to undress.

She skillfully took off the heavy skirt that covered her horse-like lower body and neatly folded it. Then, she removed the winter coat that covered her human-like upper body.

She picked up a towel, clutching it to her chest to maintain some modesty, before trailing behind Zeltaria toward the source of the voice beyond the wall of steam.

Aranya scuttled up next to Iro and gently touched his shoulder. She was already naked, her clothes held against her chest with her other hand.

“If you’re uncomfortable, Iro, you can wait outside. I’m sure there’s a ~men’s~ bath somewhere close. But the sign outside ~did~ say ~mixed bathing~ here…”

She gave him a sympathetic look before following Zel and Cerys’ lead. She tucked her clothes into a shelf in the cave wall, grabbed a towel, and followed Cerys into the steam.

Iro sighed. “Beck’s going to want all the details. And Mika will never let me live this down.”

He quickly undressed and grabbed a towel, wrapping it around his waist to cover himself, and followed the group. As he walked into the wall of steam, it surprisingly thinned almost immediately.

He looked behind him to see that the cave ceiling was cut in a way that forced the steam to form a natural privacy barrier of swirling vapor.

Ahead of him was a softly bubbling pool with four individuals. There was Zeltaria, Cerys, and Aranya, and lastly, a horned, pale red woman with a pointed tail gently flicking just above the water level.

~A Succubus.~ She was lounging comfortably in a stone seat carved into the natural spring pool and gave Iro a warm smile, beckoning him in.

“Don’t be shy, pup. No one’s going to ~hurt~ you here.”

Iro slowly stepped into the pool, unwrapping the towel as late as possible to hide his growing erection.

Just the sight of three naked and attractive extra-species women and this mature newcomer was more than enough to give Iro something to think about.

He didn’t need them taunting or teasing him about his size. He moved into another seat in the pool and sighed as he finally rested after the long hike, enjoying the warmth.

“He’s cute, ruta. Where’d you find him?” the older woman, Ika, Iro assumed, said in a teasing voice directed at Zeltaria.

The red Succubus was seated an arm’s length away from Ika to the woman’s right and leaned on an elbow on the edge of the pool basin. “Cerys found him for me. He’s been a welcome addition to the family ever since.”

Ika laughed warmly. “Still gathering more and more to yourself, eh? When will you start ~making~ some of your own, hey ruta? Surely, you’ve found a good mate by now.”

Iro saw Zeltaria bristle in embarrassment for the first time ever and actually pull back ever so slightly into a more polite sitting posture. “Not like you’re one to talk, mother. You adopted…~how many~ of us?”

Ika giggled. “Plenty. And plenty more after that. But I still made time to have a few of my own. ~You’ll get there~.” Her tone immediately leveled out. “Now, I assume this isn’t a social call.”

Zeltaria shook her head slowly and touched the pendant around her neck. “I’m afraid I did what you told me not to.”

“Which thing? I’ve said that so many times,” Ika said, her tone immediately lightening again.

Zeltaria chuckled briefly and let her hand fall back into the water. “I need to generate a new form for a friend’s soul. She was—”

“Holleen? You ~bound ~Holleen’s soul?” Ika said, a knowing tone in her voice. “I told you to be careful using those spells.”

Zeltaria nodded. “I know. I ~was~. This time she was…poisoned. Something was killing her body, and I had no other way to save her. Can you help? ~Please~?”

Ika fell quiet for a moment before a pained smile returned to her face.

“Of course, ruta, but it’ll be ~extremely~ hard on you. Those bruises don’t look so good.” Ika gestured to Zeltaria’s naked body, indicating some remaining bruises from her capture.

Zeltaria sniffed and regained some of her bold composure. “I’ll be fine. It was just a little scuffle.”

Ika gave the younger Succubus a squinted look. “You and your sisters would ~scuffle~. This looks far worse. But if you’re so confident…”

Ika slowly rose from her seat, water dripping down her smooth skin. Iro was honestly impressed.

Compared to Zeltaria, she looked fairly older but was still a healthy Succubus, and a glance at Aranya said the spider was similarly impressed. “No sense going anywhere else. Got any ideas for a form for this body?”

Zeltaria shook her head slowly as Ika moved in front of her and squatted back down, lightly gripping Zel’s shoulders and running her hands down the younger Succubus’s arms.

“I can’t really remember what she looked like before. She’s just been ~Holly~ for so long.”

Ika nodded and slid one hand down to Zeltaria’s stomach and the other to the pendant. “Then I guess we’ll just freestyle it. Holleen’s soul will have a say, too, so perhaps it’s for the best. Sitting or lying?”

Zeltaria tilted her head in slight confusion. “S-sitting?”

Ika nodded and her hands immediately began to glow. Iro winced and recoiled as the red Succubus began to scream. He reached for anything to hold onto and found one of Aranya’s chitinous legs.

The spider didn’t seem to mind too much and eagerly lent him a leg to clutch onto as she herself grabbed one of her own legs for comfort. Cerys kept her eyes locked on Zeltaria, but made no movements toward her yet.

Zeltaria writhed and yelled, clutching at Ika, but still trying her best to remain stationary as the elder Succubus cast what seemed to be a pretty potent spell.

Ika’s hands were ablaze with a vibrant red glow, searing bright patterns into Zeltaria’s skin. She murmured the necessary incantations under her breath, her voice barely audible.

Minutes stretched on, each one more agonizing than the last. Iro watched as a ghostly white substance began to seep from Zeltaria’s body. Guided by Ika’s hands, it grew larger and larger, slowly taking on a humanoid form.

Then, a tail began to form. Two appendages sprouted from the figure’s back, right where shoulder blades would be on a human.

The appendages morphed into wings, growing larger and filling out.

Finally, the figure darkened, solidifying into a black mass that collapsed against Zeltaria. Ika fell back, caught quickly by Cerys who had sprung to her feet.

Both Ika and Zeltaria were panting heavily, Zeltaria more so. Iro watched as tiny scale-like flakes began to peel away from the black body, revealing glittering purple and tanned gold dragon scales beneath.

Between gasping breaths, Ika managed to mumble, “Well, look at that…Holleen’s back…”