Step one.

William put the last bottle of whiskey inside the third box. They had a total of three full boxes with bottles of different liquors filled to different degrees but all of them rather strong. Whiskey, vodka, tequila and rum. Now they needed to wait for the second stage of the plan.

For it to work, Azazel had offered himself. Wounded as he was, he claimed he would make an excellent target. However…

‘He’ll probably end up dying. Hell, he won’t be able to lift a single box. It better be you, me and Nanami. It’ll have the same effect.’

Ishtar wanted to keep Azazel safe, and so it was decided that the second stage of the plan would be carried by Will and Nanami, though he didn’t want to bring her at first.

‘Isn’t it better if I go alone, then?’

‘She’ll serve as bait equal or better than the liquor. This part of the plan shouldn’t be very dangerous, so long as you do your part right.’

“I’m not stupid, Will,” Nanami told him, seeing his conflicted expression. “I know why I should be part of this. I don’t want to be useless or get in the way, so let me help with this, at least.”

It was a tough choice, but Will couldn’t act like a white knight and try to keep Nanami out of danger. She’d come here of her own volition and knowing what could happen. It might even be safer for her to stay close to him.

“Alright,” Will said, sighing in resignation. “Now we need to wait for the signal.”

Said signal came only an hour later. A buff incubus ran into the apartment and spoke with ragged breath. “T-They’re here! I saw them from the rooftop! A group of five kobolds to the west and a pair of oni scouts further to the east!”

“We couldn’t ask for a better chance,” Azazel said. His voice was becoming weaker, his face paler and he struggled to move. “To think we finally have a chance to strike back and I can’t lift a damn finger…!” he lamented, biting his lip. “Lord William, please… be careful. My brothers will stay a few paces away and jump in to help should it be necessary.”

Will nodded and wordlessly picked up two of the boxes while Nanami picked the lightest one. They had a clear goal, but this would still be Will’s first brush with truly hostile creatures in this world. His nerves were at a healthy level, keeping him focused and aware.

Two incubi removed the barricade from the back door, and Will and Nanami began to walk west while carrying the boxes. The landscape around them was the dry wasteland with hills at the distance, but the place they were in now was more like plains. They needed to move fast.

“The sky looks almost purple,” Nanami said, looking up. “It’s so eerie…”

“I know,” Will nodded in agreement. “But focus on the task at hand and not on the sky.”

Nanami swallowed and kept her eyes forward. She was more nervous than Will, so she was trying to calm herself by thinking of something else, but now was not the time.

After a few more minutes of walking, they caught the five silhouettes at the distance, and they in turn saw them. Will and Nanami pretended not to notice and kept a steady pace while their hear rate quickened. This was it.

The silhouettes began to grow in size as they approached until it reached the point they could no longer pretend not to see. Five lizard-like humanoids the size of 10-year-old children with copper-colored scales stared at them from roughly ten meters away. Two of them carried a dead boar on their shoulders, while the other three had rough, bloody stone-tipped spears.

“Now!” Will signaled.

Nanami let out a frightened, high pitched scream, alerting their enemies. Then they turned around and began to run away in a panic. Will looked back and saw them. All five of them were chasing them. It was working.

Five against two, one of them a woman, running away in fright while carrying boxes with unknown contents. As Azazel had put it, in this land where food was scarce and its inhabitants killed each other for scraps, the kobolds would be sure to attack if they believed they had the advantage. By giving them their back, Will and Nanami had admitted they weren’t a match and that the contents of the boxes were worth protecting.

Continuing with the plan, they gave up on the boxes, leaving them on the ground and continued running away. However, they had to do so gently while still hurrying up. They couldn’t afford to break the bottles. And in that time, two of the lizards caught up to them.

‘Will!’

‘I can handle it!’

It was effortless. Ishtar’s… No, William’s sexual energy flared up and coursed through his body with the purpose of making his body stronger. It felt just like yesterday, when he tore a chunk from a door with the strength of his grip alone. His body remembered the feeling, and after Ishtar had made him use sexual energy every day, plus the shot of adrenaline to his brain, calling it back for this was easy.

One of the kobolds thrust its spear towards Will not to harm, but to threaten. He probably wouldn’t fight until the rest of his friends had caught up. Will took advantage of it, grabbing the shaft of the spear, pulling it towards him along with its wielder and giving the lizard a hard punch that broke its snout. Will winced, but they made use of the shock in the kobolds to run away for real. Will grabbed Nanami’s wrist and ran, leaving the lizard creatures behind, now too confused to pursue.

They met up with three of the incubi who were watching from afar and together returned to the building.

“Oh my god!” Nanami gasped. “I can’t believe it worked!”

“Quick, let’s head over to the roof!” one of the incubi said. “We need to make sure the rest of the plan goes accordingly.”

Nanami and the others began to walk up the stairs, but Will stayed there for a moment, looking at his own fist. He had thrown punches before, he had hit people before, but never had a punch of his carried so much weight behind it. He had felt bones breaking as if they were made of glass. It was… a little terrifying.

“Will?” Nanami called him. She walked down the stairs to check on him while the incubi went up. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” Will nodded and took a deep breath. “I’m just happy that worked out alright. How are you feeling?”

“I’m fine,” she smiled. “It’s funny. People always told me to be wary of beings like the Spirit of Lust, but having you and Ishtar on my side is quite reassuring.”

Will smiled back. “I hope you remember you promised to go on a date with me after I got your aunt back.”

Nanami’s eyes widened and her cheeks turned red. She looked away while she shifted in place, but still, she answered. “I… I haven’t forgotten. So you have to stay safe, okay?”

“Same to you.”

That put him at ease. Weird creatures, monsters, magic… It was all just a bother. Thinking of what would come after this helped Will regain his focus. He had a lot to look forward to. A date with Nanami, going back to Reina and Ruth, maybe having a good talk with Anna, and of course, getting Cynthia away from her damn husband.

This was only step one.

Chapters 97 to 100 available at my Patreon.