It all began during a peaceful morning. It was odd how in recent days she had taken to the habit of strolling along the outskirts of the port at dawn, and yet it was hard to say whether she truly had a reason or not behind it. Perhaps it was to enjoy the peace that such early walks brought her, or maybe she was waiting, longing for something... It was something she wasn't entirely sure of. However, it was just as she was about to return to the port, that on the edge of the beach, near where the sand turned into dunes that she found something which was not commonly found in her daily walks: a body.

At first sight it might have looked like a corpse, but as she approached it the body twitched feebly, and her steps hastening Esperia approached them. A hand hesitatingly placed on their back, it didn't take long for her to notice the person's body was shivering, their clothes drenched.

"At this rate they won't see the end of the day." Asmodeus chimed within her mind, making Esperia shake her head firmly. She had seen and experienced enough death, like during the Demonic Incursion. Swiftly gathering some wood the young lady kindled a flame and with a clever casting of her nature magic ensured the man's body was kept warm by a blanket of leaves.

It took a few hours, hours she spend tending to the man's injuries before he finally regained consciousness. "Wh-where am I?" He asked, clearly still weakened and disorientated, and so Esperia explained calmly. "The beach near Port Hargeon."

The words made the man sit upright, and now she looked closer, there were signs of bruises and cuts on his arms, perhaps the consequences of a fight? "What about the pirates?" Esperia shook her head calmly in return to the question. "Whatever pirates that were terrorizing you are no more, you have found sanctuary in the care of one of Blue Pegasus her members."

Hearing her words the man's gaze softened, seemingly relaxing slightly and giving Esperia the opportunity to speak further. "Why do you not start by telling me your name and what caused you to be in this situation?"

The man nodded his head lightly. "Harold, I am-was part of the crew of the merchant vessel 'Golden Seal' but our ship was besieged by pirates. We hoped to avoid them by altering our course but they were waiting in shallow waters near Hargeon."

Pirates? She had heard of them before, vile criminals that terrorized the sea, outlaws who only cared about wealth, and no crime was horrible or violent enough to obtain what they wanted. Although she heard that in the past they avoided major trading routes like this, so she had to admit it was quite surprising to hear that there were pirates so close to Hargeon... Maybe it was something she should talk to Alisa about later on?

It took a while longer, but after talking to the man Esperia learned about the fact the pirates were in fact making a hidden cove near shallow waters their hideout, plundering vessels once they neared the port and then disappearing into their hideout before anyone could react.

It angered Esperia, to know there were still such vile and cruel people within the world. There had been a time when she believed that in the wake of the Demonic Incursions, Fiore could finally enjoy a time of peace and prosperity, but slowly the young woman started to understand that such a dream was naive and idealistic. There would never be peace until evil was wiped out of existence.

"So~ What do you plan to do next my dear?" Asmodeus inquired, and slowly Esperia climbed onto her feet. "Once you rested enough, head for the port and tell them Esperia send you, they will take care of you."

The man nodded his head lightly in response, yet couldn't help but ask hesitatingly. "What do you plan to do?" The question made Esperia smile briefly as she replied in a soft tone. "I will be taking a walk~"

And with those words she started to leave the place she had tended to the merchant's injuries. It took a while before she reached the spot she had heard from, and in all honesty? She had to admit it was a cleverly hidden hiding place. At first it appeared like a regular cliff overlooking the sea, but a small path descended along the cliff, and soon led her to an overlook of the hidden cove where the pirates their ship was anchored.

Just looking at the sight of those men feasting on ale and enjoying the riches of their spoils filled Esperia was disgust, her eyes narrowing as she pondered about what to do. While she could get those pirates arrested, she knew all too well that there was the risk they would one day terrorize the world again. No, she would need to take drastic action if she wanted to ensure that they would never terrorize people again.

"Going to fight them?" It was hard to say if she could defeat them all in a traditional fight, especially without Sebastian at her side. No, she would need to think of something else, a less traditional approach to this conflict.

"Oh~" Asmodeus mused with a smile as she sensed Esperia's intentions, hovering over to her side as she inquired with a smile. "Are you certain about this? I'd love to do it, but you do realize that I will indulge myself, right?"

Esperia nodded her head firmly in return, her decision made. "That is fine with me Asmodeus, ensure that not a single one is left."

Raising a hand to her chest she closed her eyes and took a deep breath, knowing all too well that once she said the word, she would have sealed the fate of those men. And yet... they deserved it.

"Luxuria"

It was not often that Esperia allowed Asmodeus free reign, not since she had learned to master her control over the Demon Lord of Lust, but in this particular instance, she felt not a shred of remorse for those pirates. Not that she took delight in it either, no instead for Esperia she had retreated inside her own mindscape while letting Asmodeus do what needed to be done. Of course, the Demon Lord was eager to be given the opportunity to create her favorite type of chaos.

As she wandered along the cliff her wings had shrunk into the back of her dress, a clever spell concealing her horns as she wandered down, looking almost like a lost maiden of otherworldly beauty, but quite harmless to a pack of pirates.

It took her only a moment till she finally reached the outskirts of their hideout, and just as expected there had been a guard stationed, in fact two pirates were busily talking to each other when they spotted her, one of them reaching for the scimitar on his belt, while the other placed a hand on his friend's shoulder, shaking his head lightly as he muttered something about her being unarmed and therefore harmless.

The fool, if only he had realized that for Asmodeus, her entire being was a weapon. "Please forgive me for the intrusion gentlemen~ but I couldn't help but notice the festivities in your encampment and wondered if there was not any room for a fair maiden~"

The two men looked her over, a smirk on their faces as they whispered among themselves on what to do. Of course, they could take her to the encampment, but that meant the Captain would enjoy her first, and why take that risk if they could right here and now-

Peeking over his comrade's shoulder, the pirate watched how the obsidian haired maiden raised a finger to her lips, a soft curl of her lips following into a playful smile as she blown a kiss into his direction.

The other pirate turned around to look at her, taking a step forward. "Sure, but we'll have to conduct some 'testing' first ya see? We pirates only deal in treasure."

Asmodeus smiled sweetly at those words, speaking softly as she encouraged the man. "I assure you: I am a treasure worth dying for~"

The pirate laughed softly, a hand reaching up as he approached her when suddenly a sharp pain coursed through his body, his gaze lowered as he saw a scimitar having ripped straight through his torso, looking back he could see that his comrade had stabbed him, making the pirate stagger onto the ground with a heavy thud.

Asmodeus's gaze lingered on the charmed pirate, a light wave of her hand making the man discard his scimitar while he looked like he was enamoured in a daze. And then it happened, the moment she leaned in to kiss the pirate, he felt as if something was draining away his life, his mana, his very being was being consumed, and after a few spasms the man collapsed onto the ground, making Asmodeus lick her lips and hum playfully.

"Thank you for the meal~"

How long had it been since she retreated into the comfort of her mindscape, to flee from the hardships of reality and seek sanctuary in the dreams of the past? It was within this world of dreams that Esperia was observing her memories as if they were a recording, a movie of sorts. It filled her with nostalgia, with joy and warmth but it also made her feel that sense of longing, that powerful desire to gain that which she had lost. It was painful to know there was no way for her to return to those days, not with Fia no longer by her side. Perhaps it was for that reason she had started to live in the past. However, what good would it do for her? The past was exactly that: the past and to think she could make it her future was a childish and naive dream. No, if she wanted to regain that happiness she would need to take action, to find a way to obtain that happiness she longed for, and yet she had no idea yet on how she would accomplish that.

When it came to desires, Asmodeus was one of the greatest but also most dangerous of mentors for her to seek advice from, that was a lesson she had long learned in the past. Nonetheless, she also had grown certain of the fact that Asmodeus had her best interests in mind, after all their goals were closely aligned, and it did help that the Demon Lord of Lust had grown so fond of her successor.

In fact, she doubted there were many who could have claimed to sit on the demon lord's throne, within her own realm, well even if said realm was just a cleverly hidden realm of dreams within her vessel's subconscious, but Esperia did grow rather fond of watching her memories while being seated on that throne, the comfortable cushions...

Speaking of cushions, she was wondering how Asmodeus had been doing. Would she have defeated the pirate crew already? Knowing her she'd likely have charmed them and make them kill each other, yet she couldn't help but feel both curious and just a little bit worried. Perhaps it was for that reason that as she left the mindscape and returned to her subconciousness within reality, that an unexpected sight awaited her.

Asmodeus had indeed succeed in cleaning up the pirate crew, although as she looked around the men were drained husks, and even their captain, seemingly the last of her prey had collapsed in front of her.

"W-What are you? A S-Succubus?"

Asmodeus giggled softly at the statement, shaking her head lightly in denial to the statement. "Please don't say something so rude my dear~ I merely fulfilled your desires, for I am the Demon Lord of Lust, although I never said I worked for free~"

The man's face turned pale at her words, the gentle caress of her fingertips against his cheek, just that simple brush was enough to make the man stagger back on his feet, hesitatingly staggering backwards as he fell into the water, the exhaustion making it impossible for him to reach the surface.

"Ara~ Ara~ I guess my expectations of mortals became too high recently~ I believe I got our dear Alisa to blame for that."

Esperia blinked in bewilderment as she hesitatingly asked. "What... in the world did you do Asmodeus?" The Demon Lord turned toward her, a playful smile on her lips. "I took care of them as requested~ Not a single scar on your pretty body, and we even had a nice drink~"

Esperia couldn't help but roll her eyes, muttering softly. "At least they were just pirates..." Still, it took her a moment of realization when she suddenly exclaimed in a panic: "Don't tell me you-" Yet seeing her cheeks flushing up made Asmodeus laugh out loud in amusement "Don't worry my dear~ Lowly insects like this are unworthy of such pleasure"

Of course Esperia couldn't help but groan as she forced control of her body again and Asmodeus mused softly. "Do please tell me you aren't going to leave already?" The remark made Esperia tilt her head slightly to the side in confusion. "What do you mean? There is nothing more for us to do now the pirates are all dead." Asmodeus raised a finger in response to that declaration, wagging it playfully. "Pirates and treasure go hand in hand, like you and a pair of nice breasts, so be a dear and collect the treasure?"

Esperia's cheeks regained their blush again as she grumbled under her breath, entering the ship where like Asmodeus had declared, there was an entire cargohold full of treasure, in particular there was a small jewelry box, one that Esperia picked up and after stashing it away she explained to the Demon Lord of Lust. "Now we have our evidence we can return to Port Hargeon and report those events to the guild."

Well, at least for the most part, no way she would tell them that Asmodeus essentially sucked the pirates dry. Still, as she left the hideout of the bandits Asmodeus chimed beside her. "You seem a bit different today my dear~ More resolute and confident, as if you gained some determination~"

Esperia shook her head lightly in denial to the statement, explaining in a soft voice barely louder than a whisper. "I merely decided that I will do whatever it takes to find my desire." The words earned a glint in Asmodeus' eyes, a smile lingering on the woman's lips.

"Such endearing words~ I look forward to discovering where your desires will lead us, but for now you might want to turn back to your form, unless you want to have a party in Hargeon with my body? I mean, not that I mind since it could be quite an entertaining show to watch~"

Still, as she turned back to her human form Esperia grumbled softly. "Shut it."