World of Women-Chapter 38Volume 5 –

Regardless of what we wanted, time never stopped. My time with Lilith was brief, but locked within that cabin space, we had entered our little world. It was sweet and unforgettable, but also melancholy.

“If I knew it felt that good, I would have done it sooner.” Lilith snuggled against me, trying to stay warm.

“How is your… um… power?” I asked.

She looked up at me, a slight frown forming on her moist, red lips. “I… feel normal. My power is unaffected.”

I couldn’t help but frown back. “Is that so? My ability didn’t work. Is it because of Jenji?”

“Perhaps… because I’m a dependent, my powers are ingrained inside me,” Lilith theorized, touching her stomach. “Perhaps, it can’t be taken so easy. One must always die for the next to continue…”

Her expression wasn’t sad but filled with acceptance. I could guess what she was thinking. There had been a slight hope that things would change. Maybe, I could spare her from this family curse. I didn’t know if that would be helping or hurting Jenji, but considering she wanted Lilith, I was inclined to believe it’d be inconvenient to her if Lilith suddenly didn’t have her powers. Suffice it to say I was taking a gamble, yet we ended up with this third option, that Lilith’s power would remain unaffected by coupling.

“The state of your powers doesn’t matter,” I told her. “The plan will still go through as normal.”

She lowered her head. “The plan where I’m bait?”

I dropped my head, feeling just a bit of shame. I hadn’t thought much about it before, but she was right. It was a plan that put her at great risk. I didn’t think about just how dangerous the task we were asking her to do was until that moment.

“If you don’t want to do it…” I began.

“No…” She shook her head, a small smile forming on her lips. “I’ll do it. It’s not like there is any other option, right?”

“Right…” I responded although I wasn’t completely sure of that.

“Besides, you’ll give it to her good, right?” She smirked.

“H-hey… it’s not like I want to…” I mumbled, causing her to laugh even louder.

“We’re crossing into Amaryllis space. Everyone should prepare…” A voice came out over the announcement speakers.

I knew it was an inevitability, but it still felt like it was too quick. I wanted to procrastinate longer, but it was Lilith who jumped out of bed. I couldn’t help but admire her smooth skin, fiery red hair, and slim body. Although she was small in stature, she was undeniably a woman in every way that mattered.

“Put your clothing on.” She tossed my clothing at my head blinding me as she bent down to dress. “And no, you won’t be getting my underwear. I heard about your weird habit.”

I couldn’t help but laugh. “Spoilsport. I have the underwear every woman I banged wore the day we first did it. It’s practically a custom now. Would you deny me the pleasure?”

It had started as a misunderstanding, but over the years, I had truly started a collection. At first, the girls just chucked underwear at me all the time. It was getting to the point where my birthdays were just fifty panties, so I told them that I only wanted the panties of our first time. This sounded somewhat romantic in a weird kind of way, and the girls were more content with that. Thankfully, most of the women also seemed to have a certain level of sentimentality and were able to find the panties they wore back then. Those that didn’t just found a random pair and we broke them in, making them honorary panties. It really would be unfortunate if such a collection was broken now.

Looking eagerly at Lilith, she couldn’t help but roll her eyes. After pulling up her skirt, she looked both ways and then pulled down her panties without taking off the skirt. She then tossed them at me. After that, her face held too much embarrassment, so she ended up fleeing the room. I took them and gave them a distinct sniff, a smell that only Lilith had, and then opened the nightstand. There were a dozen other panties in that drawer.

Of course, I continued the collection with every girl I slept with, and this even included the girls I had banged during this tour event. I had the panties of a girl I had banged from every country currently in my drawer. I tossed Lilith’s panties in, noticing they were some of the smallest of the bunch. It wasn’t that surprising. Most of the other girls who pushed me during this tour were their perspective governments' best and most fertile. They mostly had wide child-bearing hips as well as good backgrounds.

“Clyburn, please report to the mess. Someone is trying to contact you.”

I quickly threw on some clothing and rushed over to the mess hall, which had been turned into our command center. As soon as I entered, Kemala pushed a phone into my hands.

“Hello?”

“Although I wanted Amaryllis to reunite with the men from Valiant, I can’t say this is what I had in mind,” an authoritative female voice spoke up.

“Dia.” I couldn’t help but smile. “You’re doing alright?”

“If you can consider all of our floating islands breaking free of their restraints and forming a random circle in the middle of the country alright. At least we have so few men left in the country that we’ve not been hit too badly by whatever is going on. We were able to restrain most of the men, at least those that aren’t on the floating islands. How is the rest of the world doing? We’ve been in a communication blackout until your ship came into our airspace.”

“They’re managing, but I have to tell you that these things are not unrelated. The islands and the men going crazy go hand in hand.”

“The islands started giving off strong magical interference. Even just to contact you now requires me to burn magic stones. Just tell me what is going on.”

“Alright, but you might not believe me.” I went ahead and explained anything and everything.

With the other countries, we tended to ease them into it, only giving vague illusions to demons and the Demon King. However, when it came to Dia, I found myself trusting her. I spoke blatantly without holding back. I described what happened in Zoskar, how we encountered Jenji, the Demon King, and how she was likely going to use the islands as a massive summoning circle to bring about a demonic plague on this world. The only part I left out was Charlie and Jenji. Speaking about barriers with intelligent consciousnesses would only confuse the issue at this point.

“You’re sure about this?” she asked after a long silence.

“Only the parts I saw… as for the Demon King’s intent, I can only guess.”

“It’s like the day of Wrath all over again,” she muttered to herself.

“This is far worse than the day of Wrath.” I shook my head. “If we don’t stop them, this very world might be destroyed.”

There was another pause. “You have a plan to stop them, don’t you?”

I hesitated for a second, and then I spoke. “It’s not a good plan.”

“Then… Amaryllis will allow you full support. I will send a dozen airships. They will escort you to the islands. They’ve been instructed to follow your commands. Save this world, Clyburn.”

“You’re trusting me?” I asked, a bit surprised. “Just like that?”

“You… were always there.” Dia’s voice sounded somewhat distant, almost like she was speaking to herself. “You were always someone who couldn’t stop but help people. I told you I fell in love with you back then. How could stand back now that you need my support?” freewēbnoveℓ.com

“I’ll be honest… I was hoping you had a better idea.”

She giggled. “I’m sure that whatever you choose, it will be the right course. I trust you. I love you… Clyburn.”

I wish I had the same confidence that she did. Although I had been the one to recommend the plan, I still only reckoned there was about a ten percent chance of it working. That said, I still took her offer and thanked her before finally putting the phone down.

“Clyburn.” Raven appeared from the deck above. “Angela says that a dozen airships are heading toward us.”

“They’re on our side,” I told her. “Maintain course to the islands… no, head specifically for Valiant.”

“Valiant?” Raven looked at me worriedly.

“I need to save my family first,” I explained.

She nodded. She didn't argue. After all, after all, she was likely just as worried about them as they were her family too.

It took about half an hour to reach Valiant. The floating islands had risen high into the sky. Although it wasn't visible, there was a clear stream of magic that had each of the islands connected in a massive circle, and sitting in the middle of it was the demon castle. It had been completely unearthed now, not appearing all that different than the one discovered in the mountains. It sat within an abandoned construction yard that had been dug out like a massive crater. It seemed to glow ominously in dwindling light.

"Sir Clyburn, Amaryllis has erected a barrier around the islands. They'll need to drop it for us to enter," a female captain leading a dozen ships following us announced.

Although we were close, there were still quite a few miles between the nearest island and the edge of the barrier. A mysterious fog had also risen, making it difficult to see what was going on within the barrier. Only the shadows of the islands and the top of the demon castle could be seen. That barrier probably used a massive amount of magic stones, and it probably had a limit to how long it was able to keep whatever was inside contained.

"Drop it," I ordered.

There was a momentary pause, and then the barrier dissipated. All twelve ships made a straight beeline toward the islands, which were just barely visible within the fog that had covered the entire area. The fog had likely been created by the Demon King. As we closed in, the ship rocked as several spells flew past, barely missing us.

"They're coming from the islands!" Someone yelled out.

They were correct. Numerous spells were being sent from demons standing on the edges of the islands. I was going to just keep their distance when a sudden airship swooped down, firing even more spells our way. It was no wonder that Dia had given me a small army. It turned out the Demons already had one!"

"Defensive formation!" the captain yelled.

As we entered the perimeter of the islands, more and more spells cast our way.

"Dad!" Lexy cried out holding a phone my way. "I got a hold of Mom!"

"Mom?" I picked it up immediately.

"Hoho... well, that's a new roleplay," a voice said over the phone.

"Hannah..." I made a face when I recalled that Lexy's mom would be Hannah.

"Brother, it's been a while, but brother always gives me interesting things to do, so how can I complain?"

"How's it going?"

"I haven't had this much fun in years!"

"Can you put Madison on?"

"Tch! Is your biological sister not good enough?"

"Bzzzz... I'm sorry, the connection is being lost... I'm hearing static, Bzzz..."

"Ah! Stop, stop! I'll stop playing!" Hannah cried.

"Alright, report."

'Our family is safe. They captured some of them in the initial takeover, but we mounted a rescue. Although I won't say there were no casualties, just about everyone is alright."

"We're here with airships now. I'm getting you guys first."

Although it might be selfish of me, I wasn't going to risk my life and enter the demon's castle until I knew that my family was safe. Although Dia thought me a hero, I never claimed to be. My family was what mattered to me the most.

"You remember the spot underneath the island where you can enter via that access port?" Hannah asked.

"Wasn't that place flooded?"

"Brother... sometimes I can't tell if you're dumb or smart..."

I shook my head. "Yeah, got it. We're on our way. You girls be there."

"Roger, Roger," Hannah replied, and then the line cut.

"Raven, change course and follow them. There's an entrance underneath the island. If we're lucky, we can get everyone off while avoiding any fire. Tell the other airships to form a defensive barrier."

"Ah, me?" Raven seemed to be a bit surprised.

I smiled at her. "You're my secretary, aren't you?"

Raven shook slightly and then broke it into a smile. "I will!"

She relayed the commands to everyone as I went to the edge of the ship to look out. The fog was clearing up, giving a better view of the formation that seemed to be using the demon castle as an epicenter. The airship rocked as a few spells managed to hit us, but a dozen ships on the outside seemed to be blocking most of it.

"There it is!"

It was a large hole that was surrounded by a metal door. There were no defenses around the hole, so the underground was easily able to enter it. Well, it would have been buried underground originally, so it wasn't that surprising. Although there was a lot of space, there was no sign of the water that used to fill the caverns. It had long poured out after the island had taken to the skies.

The door opened, and I immediately saw a familiar place. "Mom!"

"Clyburn!" Mom raced out.

"Ah! M-mom! Wait!"

Mom was far too eager, and she ran down a beam and then leaped. There was no safety net under her, and we hadn't put up a ladder or anything. If her jump was a bit short, she'd plummet a thousand feet to the ground beneath. Yet, despite being a woman nearing her fifties, she didn't hesitate to leap like a heroine in an action story.

I held out my hands, desperately trying to catch my mother. As if by fate, she fell right into my arms. Of course, the force of impact tossed us both back, and she ended up landing on top of me.

"Oh, Clyburn..." She spoke in a sultry voice and then began to kiss me.

I only managed to extradite myself from my mother's clutches just before I started losing clothing. By this point, more safety ropes had been put up and the girls were being let down one at a time. The children who couldn't be strapped to someone's back were sent down in the middle with adults on either side. The men followed them up, and the final person to leave was Brooke.

It was only when I counted my entire family that I was finally able to breathe easier. Hannah hadn't been lying to ease me. They were all there and safe. A few had bruises or cuts, but nothing life-threatening.

"Did you think I lied?" Hannah demanded, pursing her lips.

"Not!" I shook my head, unwilling to disagree with Hannah giving me such a dangerous and pouty look.

"Clyburn!" the captain cried. "Things are getting dangerous."

The attacks had seemingly intensified while I was rescuing my family, almost like they were trying to prevent that from happening. One of the airships was already smoking and making an emergency landing. Some of the others looked like they wouldn't last much longer.

"Drop me off down there." I pointed at an area near the castle. "Then, leave with my family. Get them to safety."

"You're just going to leave us?" Madison spoke up. "This is the story of a century! I have to be here."

"You can be here... at a safe distance!" I told her.

"Why are you going to risk your life while we get to be safe?" Aunt Rose demanded.

"Guys, this is not a family time negotiation." My frustration began to flare up.

"I'm going," Brianna spoke up. "I'm your security. Syph gave her... It's what she'd want."

"You better believe I'm going too," Brooke spoke up.

"W-wait..." Roxy grabbed Brooke. "If you're going, then I'm going too."

"Baby, I don't want you to risk your life."

"I won't go to safety if you won't join me!" Roxy spoke stubbornly.

"Agh... dammit, don't give me that face, you know I can't say no when you give me that face."

"Look, no one is going," I interrupted. "You all have a special mission. You need to bring that magic circle. If you can knock down one of those islands, it will save us all."

I had to come up with something to keep them from joining me, and it was the first thing I could think of. It was dangerous, but with eleven airships still present, it was safer than where I was going. I planned to order the captain to leave if they experienced any true danger.

"Oh, is that all you want?" Hannah asked. "In that case, I already set up for that contingency."

"Huh?"

"I was stuck down there in the underbelly of the island for hours... I was bored," she declared defensively as she pulled out an item that I immediately realized was a detonator.

"Wh-what are you doing?"

She smirked but didn't respond. Instead, she flicked the switch and pressed a button. There was a moment of silence, but then the bottom of the island that was once Valiant exploded. Several dozen explosions went off as the majority of the island's underbelly collapsed. Even if the island was being kept up by magic, there was no longer enough of the island left to maintain it.

The island began to fall out of the sky. Whatever magic was keeping it airborne managed to slow the fall, but the island still ended up hitting the ground. Most of the buildings collapsed in a massive wave of dust. Valiant... the country of males on the makeshift island in the sea, was destroyed just like that.

By the looks of most of my family, they were all just as stunned. However, Hannah had a big smile on her face, looking at me like she wanted a head pat.

In the last twenty years, I had forgotten one undeniable fact. My sister was even crazier than my mom.