The Protagonist System

I drove the carriage and horses across the town of Axel and over to the staging area for the caravan that was leaving. All eyes were on me as I parked in a good spot that would allow me to easily turn the horses and carriage around to leave the area. I secured the reins and hopped down to the ground as I greeted the closest man and woman that were tending to their own horses.

They mumbled something in return and I figured they were too surprised by my fancy carriage and the horses that looked like they were in their prime. I smiled and walked on. I waved to a few people and greeted them by name, surprising them, and I softly laughed as I made my way over to where I could see the name of the caravan organizer. Identifying spells were awesome.

“Hello there, my good man!” I said to the short and slightly rotund man with dark hair and a trimmed beard. “I heard from Luna at the Guild that you were the important man to talk to about joining the caravan to the capitol.”

The man puffed out his chest a bit and his smile was wide at the praise. “That I am, good sir.” He said and held a hand out to shake. “Maximillian Arturo, at your service.”

“Kazuma Satou, Adventurer Extraordinaire.” I said and shook his hand. “My party and a few friends decided to head to the capitol for the winter. Since travelling alone would only invite more danger, I hoped we could join your caravan and enjoy the extra company.”

Maximillian let my hand go and motioned at the seven other wagons and open carriages. “You won't be spoiled for choices, Mister Satou. My caravan is small and there are only a few that have more than the people driving them.”

“Ah, so it's mostly products and goods for sale?” I asked, genuinely curious.

Maximillian nodded. “We do have a few hired men to keep guard when we stop for rests, so a nominal fee needs to be charged to handle the expenses.”

“That's not a problem.” I said and took out a bag with money in it and handed it to him. “Is 10,000 Eris enough?”

The man sputtered and held the bag like it was going to bite him.

“I'll volunteer to help protect everyone as well. I brought my armor and weapons with me.” I offered, probably unnecessarily.

“Th-that... that... is very generous of you, Mister Satou.”

I patted him on the shoulder. “You can call me Kazuma. We're going to be in close quarters for the next month.”

Maximillian recovered from his shock and smiled. “Then you can call me Maximillian.”

I smiled and let his shoulder go. “Thank you.” I said and glanced around. “It looks like nearly everyone is ready. When are we heading out?”

“I have to check with the others to make sure their wagons are secured and their horses are rested. After that, we can leave.” Maximillian said.

I nodded. “Would you mind if I join you? I recently learned a few things about the proper things to look for and to take care of.”

Maximillian smiled. “An extra pair of eyes and hands won't hurt.”

“Great! Let's go.” I said and he led me over to the closest set of horses and the large canvas covered wagon behind them.

*

Maximillian was amazed as he watched the newest member of the caravan expertly handled the horses, secured the wagons and carriages, and ensured the cargoes wouldn't shift or get damaged as the wagons traversed the rough roads.

Whoever this man was, he definitely knew what he was doing. He also went faster and did more as they went to each of the other members and checked their supplies. He also talked to them like he had known them for years and also called them by name somehow, even though they had never met before.

It was little wonder that they finished the inspections in record time and his own conveyance that held the hired guards needed the least amount of checking. Everyone mounted up and Kazuma chose to go first to make sure that if anything happened, his carriage would be the first hit and would act as a warning to the others.

Since that position really was the most dangerous, Maximillian only agreed if he went second and had the guards at the ready to deploy. Kazuma had laughed at the qualification and told him he needed to be either at the front to protect the caravan or at the back, since Kazuma was taking the front, he should be at the back where the end of the caravan was vulnerable.

Neither Maximillian nor the guards could argue that, so they went last and would switch positions at the first rest stop. It made all the other people in the caravan relax at having two sources of protection and the whole atmosphere of travelling in dangerous areas reduced to only a small worry. Even though they didn't have any proof that Kazuma was as strong as he claimed, they still relaxed.

As the caravan moved out through the large gates of Axel and left the safety of the starter town, no one saw the soft glow that encompassed Kazuma's horses. It was still early in the afternoon and the glow didn't stand out at all. By the time they travelled at a good pace for the rest of the day and reached the first rest stop, the glow had faded.

Travelling at night was too dangerous with all the creatures and bandits, so they circled the wagons and carriages and set up camp for the night. Everyone's mouths dropped open when a shocking 21 people piled out of Kazuma's enclosed carriage and gathered around the campfire in the middle of the camp. This was also when the caravan's other members saw the rest of Kazuma's party.

Surprisingly, it both worried them and made them relax. Darkness the useless Crusader and Megumin the Explosion Disaster, made them worry about collateral damage. Cremea the Warrior and Fio the Thief that used to be with the Hero's party, made them feel relief to have experienced adventurers along. Wiz the failed magic store owner was kind of just there.

“Dear, you have to accept that until they all see you in battle with their own eyes, you are an unknown.” The very beautiful and quite short woman said to Kazuma and kissed his cheek.

Kazuma chuckled. “They'll get their chance to see it tomorrow.” He said and reached for a tiny girl to pat her head and she giggled. “Thanks for the early warning.”

“You're welcome!” The girl replied, excitedly.

“What are you talking about?” Maximillian asked.

“This little darling used a newly discovered detection ability just before we stopped.” Kazuma said fondly and the girl climbed onto his lap and made a kind of purring sound as he hugged her. “She found a very... excited... man at the edge of her range who has been watching us and following the caravan.”

“WHAT?!?” Most of the other people exclaimed and started looking around for him.

Kazuma laughed. “It's all right. He's handled for now.” He said and gave the short woman a kiss on the lips. “He'll warn his friends tomorrow and we can expect an attack about noon when we reach the first crossroads.”

Maximillian sighed. “That is the worst spot for travellers. There's no cover and nowhere to run to if they block the roads.”

The other caravan members nodded, as did the guards.

“Don't worry about it. After we deal with the bandits, I'll set up a few things to keep the place clear and safer to travel through.” Kazuma promised.

“You can do that?” One of the guards asked.

“I can also set traps and things, too.” Kazuma said with a grin. “Trust me, no bandit will be having any fun tomorrow when they come after us.”

Maximillian nodded and reached over to pat Kazuma's knee. “On behalf of all of us, I want to thank you, young man. Your confidence alone is easing the worry in our hearts.”

Kazuma nodded back and opened the bag at his side. He started handing out some ready-made meals and he was suddenly swarmed by his people as they pilfered them. His laughter let the others know he had expected that reaction and then handed out more to the caravan members.

“Eat up. We have a big day tomorrow.” Kazuma said and opened his own.

Everyone else opened theirs and the delicious smells filled the campsite. They all dug into the food with eagerness.

Maximillian savoured the still hot and tender frog meat and delicious chilled cabbage salad. He had suspected that he wouldn't regret letting the clearly rich man join their caravan and he had been right. The man brought a lot more to their trip to the capitol than he ever expected. The fee Kazuma paid had made the whole thing profitable by itself!

*

The bandit ambush happened exactly when I predicted. Right at noon, we reached the crossroads and a group of ten men waited there for us. I had left a teleportation circle hidden back at the first rest stop, mostly because it was where all of the caravans stopped for the night. Even the faster ones stopped there, because there was nowhere else that was close enough if they decided to push on. They never travelled at night and had to stop, so they always stopped at the known spots.

The guards deployed from the caravan master's carriage and prepared for close range combat as several of the caravan drivers and their helpers pulled out crossbows and bows. It was only a deterrent and that was all they really needed sometimes. Smaller creatures were easy to scare off that way. Men? Not so much. It could slow them down just enough for the wagon and horses to make a getaway, however.

“Circle up!” I ordered as I and my party rushed to the front of the caravan and the people did exactly that. “Darkness, take the lead near the front. You're our shield as Megumin charges up.”

Darkness gave me a warm smile and nodded. Even without her armor, she was a formidable barrier. I handed her a large bright gold tower shield with Hestia's emblem on it and she shivered slightly as she slipped it onto her arm. The enchantments on it would give her quite the bonus to her Defense.

“Megumin, use your quickest speech. We want to make a point, not reduce everything to ash.” I commanded and Megumin sighed. “It's all right. There's a few things we're going to encounter after the capitol that will need your biggest speech, just like we did with the cabbages.”

Megumin shivered and blushed at the same time. She always loved sharing her magic with me and it had been a while since then. We were both a lot more powerful now and she knew whatever we launched would cause a lot of devastation, because unlike the cabbages, we wouldn't need to preserve the target.

“Cremea, right flank.” I said and handed her one of the many swords I found back in Danmachi.

Cremea shivered as she accepted it and the sword glowed. “It... it's warm.”

“It likes you.” I joked at the sword bonding to her. “It's enchanted to help you, so give it some magic and it will never fail to cut your opponent.”

“Th-thank you, Kazuma.” Cremea said and hugged it.

I handed two small short swords to Fio, the thief. “Fio, left flank. They're paired enchantments that should help you a lot more than your normal blades.”

Fio shivered and carefully gripped the twin blades. She sucked in a sharp breath as the enchantments kicked in and boosted her stats by 20 percent. “K-Kazuma... these... these are...”

“I'll help you both learn how to use them properly at the next rest stop.” I promised and they both nodded.

“What about me?” Wiz asked, her voice unsure.

I smiled at her and pulled out one of the spare wands I had bought from Louise's supplier.

Wiz's eyes widened as she took it and her hair flipped around briefly, as if in a soft wind.

“I think you know how to handle a proper magic focus.” I said and she shivered and nodded. Copying the effect of someone bonding to a wand was easy when you had access to imagination magic.

The sound of horses behind the ten bandits gained our attention and twenty men on horses rode over to support the men on foot.

“Now would be a good time, Megumin!” I said and pulled out my mythril sword. We were all fighting in our civilian clothes and the bandits had no idea what we could do. I thought about putting on my orangey-yellow armor and chose not to. Standing out only mattered when I needed to draw everyone's attention.

“Witness the power of the end! The world will tremble in fear from the best magic in the world! EXPLOSION!” Megumin shouted and pointed her staff at the horses.

*WHABOOOM!*

Horses and men disintegrated inside the miniature mushroom cloud. The ones not hit and were still close to it were mostly blown apart by the pressure wave. Thankfully, they had been a hundred feet away and Megumin's minimum power spell was only mostly devastating. It did knock down the ten men facing off against us, though.

“Good job, Megumin! Everyone with a weapon! Attack!” I shouted. “Darkness! Keep us covered!”

The guards charged forward to hit the downed bandits and they were not merciful. A bolt of lightning barely missed them as it flew by and hit a man standing up that had a look of craziness and murder on his face.

I stopped running forward and turned to Wiz and saw her surprise at the effectiveness of the wand. “I'll teach you a few things, too.”

Wiz blushed and nodded as she kept her wand trained on the bandits.

I turned back to run the rest of the way and saw that the fight was already over. The guards were proudly congratulating themselves for a job well done and they heaped praise on Megumin. The girl took it and preened as she told them that wasn't much proof that her magic was the best magic in the world.

I chuckled and walked over to Darkness. “I'm sorry there wasn't much for you to do.”

“I blocked a few sword thrusts from the downed men and protected the guards.” Darkness said with a smile. “This shield is fantastic, Kazuma.”

“I'm glad you like it, since it's yours now.” I said and she caught her breath. “I'll make another when I get the chance, so don't worry about me being without.”

“Kazuma...” Darkness said, her voice soft.

“I'll be enchanting your new armor when it's ready, too. Believe me, if you thought you were tough with your old armor, you're going to be practically invincible with the new set.”

Darkness moaned and rubbed her thighs together, then seemed to make a decision. She straightened her back and grabbed my hand and walked with purpose back to the carriage. I didn't fight her and she led me inside and to the room I shared with the Head Succubus. She was there waiting for us and was already naked, which made me laugh.

Of course she knew this would happen. I thought as Darkness pushed me down onto the bed and stripped me off. She kept her own clothes on, for the most part, and had me right there in front of the Head Succubus. She rode me hard and kissed the smaller woman at the same time, letting her grope her breasts.

It was pretty hot, actually. I blew a load inside of the Crusader and Darkness moaned, then she hopped off and dragged the Head Succubus on top of her and shoved her face down between her legs. The succubus moaned sexily and her tail swished happily as she lapped all of my deposit out of Darkness.

The dripping wetness of the Head Succubus was very, very tempting and I was instantly hard again. I wasn't an idiot, so I didn't try to have sex with her. I used my tongue and fingers instead and jerked off as she moaned and got off, her tongue got Darkness off, and then she turned around to suck me off and swallowed my next deposit directly.

“A-a-again.” Darkness moaned as she fingered herself.

Who was I to deny such a sincere request? I could also feel the other succubi as they rode along with the passion and love they could feel. They were definitely getting a much better feeding than normal with how turned on the three of us were.

The Head Succubus finished undressing Darkness to reveal her body completely. “You look absolutely delicious, my dear.”

Darkness had an almost full body blush and looked so cute. “I... don't deserve... to be looked at like that.”

I blinked my eyes in surprise for a moment, then I made a pretty foolish decision. I didn't want her to think like that, because she did deserve to have someone look at her with love and affection. I opened my mouth to say something that would eventually doom me, just because I knew this would be the start of the end. Giving in to temptation was always a risky proposition.

“Succubi, we need your help.” I said, my voice sure.

Squeals of happiness came from all around us and the room was crowded with 15 happy succubi. They were also quite naked and they were all dripping fluid all over the place. Their tails swished happily and their wings fluttered in anticipation.

“Dear, are you sure about this?” The Head Succubus asked me.

“We need to show Darkness how much we love her. If she can say what she did, we haven't made it clear that she deserves it.” I said, adamantly.

The Head Succubus kissed me and nodded. “Everyone, we have been invited to a feast. Do you accept?”

“YES!” They all yelled and pounced on us. The overly large bed was covered in bodies as lips, tongues, and hands were... well everywhere. It was honestly one of the oddest and most pleasurable experiences I had ever been in.

Have you ever had 17 different mouths and tongues give you a practically endless blowjob? I lost count of how many times I blew my load down someone's throat. I felt the Head Succubus use her powers on me occasionally to ensure that my erection never went away, too. I didn't really need the help; but, I also didn't want to disappoint them. It was a feast after all.

Surprisingly, I wasn't bored or was numbed to the tastes of each of the womanhoods I ate out. Each of them had a distinct flavour and I made sure they knew I knew who they were as I played with them.

By the time the feast ended a day and a half later, the only one that wasn't exhausted and sated was the Head Succubus. I tried to sit up and was hampered by the press of bodies. She softly laughed and eased a thigh off of my chest, 20 pairs of hands, and then she pulled someone's head off of my morning wood.

How in the world could they sleep with my dick in their mouth and not choke to death? I asked myself and sat up. I blinked my eyes when I saw the succubi and Darkness weren't the only ones in the bed. Megumin, Wiz, Cremea, and Fio were scattered on the outskirts.

“They never made it through the gauntlet to get to you before they passed out from pleasure.” The Head Succubus said with amusement.

I chuckled as well and laid back down. It seemed like I was in for quite the time if all of them tried to brave the succubi to get to me. It made me wonder if they were jealous of them or they just wanted to not be left behind because we were having so much fun.

The Head Succubus crawled on top of me and laid down. I hugged her and she kissed me softly and tenderly for several minutes. I felt her wrap her tail around my erection that wasn't going away and she started jerking me off. I moaned for her and she moaned as well, because she could feel my emotions.

“We can never... top this... feast.” The Head Succubus whispered and kissed me.

“We... can try.” I whispered back between kisses.

Her hips shifted and her tail pulled on me down there while she gained a particular look in her eyes. A predatory look. “Kazuma, my dear, I love you.”

“I love you, too.” I said.

“No, my dear. You misunderstand. I. Love. You.” The Head Succubus said and then sat down on me.

The most pleasurable feeling I ever felt flooded through my body and locked me up. My eyes widened as the Head Succubus looked sad and tears came to her eyes. She started to move her hips and waves of pleasure started to grow and get stronger as I felt myself get weaker and weaker.

“My love must claim you, my dear. My race is cursed to do so.” She said and more tears came from her eyes. “I have tried to deny it and I have protected my girls as much as possible... but... despite my warnings, you have made the others fall in love with you, too. I cannot let them taint their souls with this burden, so I must do it for them and I gave in to my nature.”

There was nothing I could do as a red glow formed around us. She sat up on me and her perfectly-sized breasts bounced and mocked me as she drained my powers. I couldn't even enjoy it properly as her power grew and more waves of induced pleasure flooded through me. I knew it was fake, however. She severely regretted having to do this.

“I am very sorry, Kazuma. So very very sorry.” The Head Succubus said and sped up her movements as she cried and fucked me to death. There was no love in it, no passion, and no satisfaction. I was going to blow my load; but, that was only a biological function. It would also signify the point where my soul would be devoured and I couldn't allow that.

I tried to fight the paralysis and nothing worked. I couldn't conjure anything, no magic worked, and I couldn't pull anything out of my inventory. I felt weaker and weaker as my levels were forcibly sucked away and the red glow increased more and more. I knew the crescendo was getting closer and closer, because I could feel the buildup. I didn't have much time left.

I desperately searched through my powers and abilities and even begged the system to help me, only for nothing to work. I was going to die and there was nothing I could do about... my mind came to a screeching halt at that thought and I realized something.

What happens when you die?

You get transported to the realm above to be reincarnated!

My mind seized onto both that sliver of Divinity I had taken from Eris and poured it into my transportation ability to cross connected dimensions. The red glow changed to gold and the Head Succubus screamed as we were pulled from the mortal realm and into the realm above. Since she was connected with the succubi under her command, they were dragged with us.

“AHHHHHHHHH!” All 16 succubi screamed as they entered the holy realm and their demonic nature was attacked with purifying energy.

“What are you doing?!?” Eris screeched as the succubi were literally torn apart from the inside.

I was still paralyzed and I was also on the brink of blowing my final load. The Head Succubus was screaming the most, since it was taking a long time for her to be cleansed. The youngest succubi disintegrated and she screamed more, then the next and the next. Her screams increasing in pitch with each one's death.

Eris, being the smart one that she is, leaned over me slightly and grabbed the hair of the Head Succubus and pulled her off. I couldn't yell at her to stop and the movement as the instrument of my death was pulled out of the excessive tightness of the Head Succubus. Unfortunately, it was enough to push me over the brink.

A literal geyser of white fluid laced with gold flew out of me and Eris stared at it with her mouth open, only to flinch as it splashed onto her face and some of it went into her mouth. The last thing I saw as I lost consciousness was the glow around Eris as the body of the Head Succubus disintegrated.

*

Eris stared in shock at the body of the summoned hero that had defeated her. She could also feel the Divine energy in the fluid on her face and the taste in her mouth was something she would remember for the rest of her life. It was heavenly and disgusting, which easily imprinted upon her mind. Yes, she was never going to forget this. Ever.

To her surprise, his soul was sitting right there, too. It hadn't moved on and seemed to be in a state of flux. She reached out and touched the body to find out what was going on, only to realize it was covered in fluid. She winced as she felt the massive hole where all the man's levels had been. The Head Succubus had killed him after draining him and taken most of his power. The last of which was... oh.

Eris blushed as she swallowed, then she did something she never thought she would ever do. She bent down and started licking it all up. It just felt like the right thing to do. So, she spent the next half an hour making sure she licked and sucked up every single drop of that gold-laced fluid and swallowed it all down.

As one last concession to how heavenly the energy was, Eris took him into her mouth and bobbed her head on his surprisingly still hard manhood as she sucked out the last little bit that was still inside. She let out a sigh as she stood up and gave the summoned hero a look that was conflicted.

“Send him back.” A female voice said.

Eris looked up and saw the golden portal as an angel slid out of it. “He died, so he's supposed to move on.”

The angel shook her head. “He would have lived if you hadn't interfered. His last breath was expelled here, in this realm, and not on the mortal plane.”

Eris opened her mouth to refute that and explain he was dead anyway from being drained, and the angel reached out and poked her chin. She was going to ask what that was for and her eyes widened as the angel pulled her finger back and a small drop of white fluid was on it.

“He has defeated you twice, Eris. Once as a trick to prove you aren't the only one who can cheat, and now with you succumbing to temptation.”

Eris sighed. “I knew it was a mistake. I just... it felt right.”

The angel smiled. “You have tasted my future husband before I have.”

Eris watched as the angel licked her finger and her golden glow doubled in intensity.

“Send him back.” The angel said and floated back up to the portal.

“What about his levels? I can't restore his lost power because the succubi have been cleansed.”

The angel laughed. “Reset him to level 1. He still has all his skills and will be meeting a Devil General near the capitol. He will get most of his levels back after a single battle and will gain more skill points as well.”

Eris nodded and watched as the angel went through the portal and it disappeared. She looked down at the hero and sighed as she placed her hand back on top of his chest. She did not caress his rippling muscles. No, she did not. Her hand slipped only a few times.

“We're even now, Kazuma.” Eris whispered and bent down to look at his face. She wasn't sure why she did what she did next, since sending him back only required her to touch him. Her lips met his and she felt a giddy feeling as her powers surrounded him. “Say hello to Darkness for me.”

The hero glowed gold and then disappeared with a pop.