“Nihihi, what do we have here?” You hear a female voice from above. No, it is not a Goddess, speaking with you from the heavens.

You and Ariadne look above and see a girl in her late teens, sitting on one of the thicker oak branches.

Bunny ears, white shoulder-length hair, black shorts, ankle-high boots, form-fitting black waistcoat with a high neckline and a weathered white coat with wide sleeves on top, and two sheathed katanas strapped to her side.

“Looks to me like a couple of intruders!” She says with a smile, revealing a single cute little fang.

“Intruders?” You ask. “No! You see I want to join you, and I’ve captured this... creature as a present to your leader. Think of it as my admission ticket!”

“Admission... ticket?” Bunny girl asks and tilts her head. “And, ugh... "leader"? Also, that minotaur girl doesn’t look captured to me! Look—she still has that giant axe strapped to her back!”

“Oh no she is!” You say and look at Ariadne. You somehow try to wince and signal your intent to your sister, without the bunny girl noticing. “I have a hold over her and she can’t attack anyone even if her life depended on it!”

“Nhihi, really?” Bunny girl jumps down, unsheathing her katana and slashes at Ariadne. The blade is stopped at her neck, a single drop of blood squeezes out of the tiny cut the bunny girl made. Ariadne did not move a muscle.

“Hm, interesting,” the bunny girl says and looks closely at Ariadne. Then she sheathes her sword. “Very well, follow me!”

The bunny girl guides you to the wooden stockade that is the outer outpost of the bandit’s base. She is either incredibly foolish or utterly confident in her abilities, exposing her back to both of you like that.

“It’s Chi! Open the gates!” You hear one of the watchmen shout from his post on the wooden tower. In the center of the enclosure you see a giant campfire. It looks like it is never allowed to die out and there is plenty of fuel for the fire to the side. You feel every single stare from the dozens of eyes around you. You leave them behind as Chi guides you into the stone tower, protruding from the mountain. With over a dozen of enemies already behind you, you proceed deeper into the enemy stronghold.

Inside is a maze of rock and stone. Even lacking any sort of architecture knowledge you can tell that this structure is ancient. Far older than any of the residents that have taken it for themselves. After walking for what must’ve been at least thirty minutes, Chi opens a wooden door, that looks like it’s been just placed here not long ago—hardly a scratch on it, the hinges don’t even squeak.

Walking inside, the first thing you see is a giant cauldron right in the middle of a hall. There are also a bunch of tables in the hall, with some two dozen men sitting at them. The ceiling is about twenty feet high, but who the hell cares about that!? There’s a man inside the giant cauldron with a low fire underneath it! He’s being boiled alive!! Some kind of big tree man is stirring the white liquid that looks to be milk.

“Argh! Please, Xi! I beg you” The man inside the cauldron screams. His voice is somehow familiar to you.

Further down the hall you see a young man sitting on a huge pile of pillows. He has bunny ears coming from his short spiky white hair, nearly identical to Chi’s. He’s adorned himself in red and golden robes. In his lap he has a petite naked girl and he’s caressing her butt.

“It wasn’t my fault this time!” The man begs for his life before the milk starts boiling. “There was some kind of strange man with—Ah! That’s him! He’s the one who killed your men!”

The man inside the cauldron desperately bobs his head in your direction—he must be completely tied up in there—and that’s when you recognize the equipment summoner that attacked you earlier today.

“Oh?” The bunny man speaks up. “Chi, why did you bring a fat cow to my fortress?”

“I...” Chi is seemingly at a loss for a second This man claimed to have captured her—”

“Whatever!” Xi interrupts her. “Throw them both in!”

Ariadne grabs her axe and swings at Chi’s head. Cho dodges and strikes back.

“Fuck! Summon Imps!” you swear and cast [Summon imps]. Three imps appear near the bunny man. “Kill him! Summon Spid—”

A violent punch to the face interrupts your cast and sends you flying sideways. You look and see the dryad walking in your direction. In the background you see your loli imps screaming as they burn alive in a giant fire next to the bunny man. The fire is much bigger than what your imps cast earlier today, so the spell must belong to Xi.

You cast [Shadow Bolt] at the dryad, but he disappears and reappears in front of you and picks you up by the collar. You place your arm on him and cast [Drain—

The dryad punches you in the jaw and promptly throws you into the cauldron next to the screaming man.

“AARGH!!” You scream in pain. The equipment summoner must’ve been somewhat used to the heat, for a while, but even for him it is unbearable now. Just as it is for you. You try to get out and burn your hands the moment you touch the edge of the cast iron. A knock of the head sends you back into the milk.

You raise your head, screaming for breath as you feel your face burning. The pain is beyond description. The last thing you see before your eyes bulge out of their sockets is Ariadne being stabbed in the back by Chi before she can reach you...