Deciding next steps.

One Monster Race Upgrade Remaining

My mind wandered as I walked. The sun had gone down and the air was cool and refreshing. I didn't need to think about where I was going; Lyla's Mark was a small point of knowledge in the distance. I couldn't get lost.

I thought about this world and my purpose in it.

"Purpose" seemed like the wrong word. The goddesses had given me this world, this Core, and these powers without really attaching strings to them. I was free to do as I saw fit. I chose to align myself with them all on my own.

Their goals, such as they were, were extremely vague. Very high concept, good vs evil, Light vs Dark stuff. Above all else, she valued power. At least, that was Melanoche's version. Carnachias seemed to only care about her debauchery. Enjoying power for the fun things that it allowed you to do.

Melanoche had given me her favor for my Priest Class. It was for her that my spells worked... But Carnachias created my devil bloodline. I was more her child than her sister's.

I saw no reason I couldn't satisfy both of them. I would fly Melanoche's banner and claim people and places in her name. I would accumulate power, and snuff out the Light where I could... because it was fun.

I would kill, ****, and conquer because I wanted to. Melanoche's power would be my power, we would grow together upon this land. But Carnachias would always be my mother, and she'd given me all the tools to have a lot of fun along the way.

The motives and desires of Melanoche and Carnachias intersected perfectly at one point: breeding. Melanoche would want an army of my kind. They wouldn't have my once-human soul, so they would all be far inferior to me, but they would be powerful devils and they could be legion. Meanwhile, Carnachias seemed to really enjoy anything that involved fucking.

I grinned in the dark. That made two of us.

I had two soon-to-be mothers. It had been a very productive first day, but I needed a plan if I was going to sweep the land.

A dungeon would be fantastic, but that was a long term goal. I knew what I had to do to earn my own, and I had to admit I looked forward to punishing my devil cousins.

I could likely use Therionic dungeon cores just as well, I realized, since I was a hybrid. As much one as the other. Just as well. Only the strong deserve their kingdoms. Killing them would be a matter of practicality.

In the shorter term, however, I needed more women. And a plan for consolidating power in the land where humans maintained a presence.

My first children would come in a month, and would likely grow quickly. I couldn't make too many large moves before then. So I would limit my activities to what I could safely get away with while avoiding detection until I had backup.

The whole plan made sense and was practical. It would work. It was very Melanoche. It was boring.

I itched for something more immediate. For blood. I still carried Henri's axe. Killing him had brought little joy and had not served my interests beyond some experience.

Carnachias's blood burned for me to just run wild in the night, to **** and kill. I wanted to. My women in the cabin would not be in danger any time soon.

The night was yet young, and I was hungry.

A dungeon, yes. An army, yes. Both good plans. I would work towards them. But I wasn't about to sit on my hands for a month. I'd done my waiting. A whole lifetime of it.