As it turns out, Astara did in fact underestimate how many students
were even attending the school. To Dana she expressed outrage, even,
that humans breed at such a rapid rate. She managed to finish turning
the teachers into monsters, but to even begin working on the students
would not be something she'd be able to do right away. With focusing
her magic some, she was able to warp the reality of the gym basement
into a dungeon. It was an imperfect, and rather impromptu ritual --
the dungeon still resembled the gym to a large degree. The boiler room
was still there, for one, and not many dungeons have racks of
basketballs as a feature. The cells were surprisingly cozy,
considering.
That night, Dana quietly slipped down the steps. The cerberus watchdog
gave her a look, but let her through. A glance in a nearby mirror
showed Dana what she already chose to wear -- an outfit that could
only be described as a bikini. She made sure it'd be "cute". She may
be a desire-driven demon in shape now, but it'd still be on her terms.
Most of the students in the cells were sluggish and barely looked at
her. It seemed that the "Demon World" influence Astara talked about
had a disorienting effect on humans. She quietly made her way past all
the cells until she found what she was looking for -- Barry, his head
resting in his hands. Dana found herself smiling. He was her best
friend. Iwas hard for her to not like a humble-natured art student who
sometimes neglected his own health, and was generous by nature.
The succubus in her warmed up, and once again she had a mental image
of what she'd do to him. She tried to fight it, but then remembered
what happened the last time -- instead, she promised herself another
victim. It was possible, after all, that someone down here actually
would *want* her "gift". For all she knew, maybe she wanted it too and
didn't even realize.
Satisfied, she felt a tingling, like she was being supported rather
than fought. She allowed herself to contemplate forcing herself on
someone *meant* to be changed, as if made for it, and damn whether
they say they want it.
With that, her mind felt clearer again. She was able to look at her
friend again, without being distracted.
"Barry."
His head snapped upwards.
"Y-you. You're the other one."
Dana forced a shy smile and held her hands in front of her non-
threateningly.
"It's me. Your best friend, Dan."
Barry looked at her for a second. Then he looked at the wall and
ceiling. He nodded.
"After what we saw, I can believe it... so you're not a monster? You
got lucky."
Dana's smile turned a bit less nervous. Barry understood -- she was
afraid he'd react worse in such an unreal situation, but that was like
him. He was an intuitive person, so he took her at her word.
"Actually, Astara doesn't make all that many monsters from what I
understand..." said Dana slowly. "She believes her beauty to be the
epitome, so she forces beauty on others. I think more of the school is
going to look like me than you think..."
Barry laughed darkly.
"So what, why are you here, Dan? What's the point of warning me?"
Dana rubbed her arm.
"Astara comes from some weird dimension of endless chaos or
something... where lost souls and forgotten spirits, like folktale
creatures, become attuned to the Darkness. Or something. I'm not sure
how I know this all of a sudden, but..."
Dana took a deep breath and looked straight at Barry. She wrapped her
fingers around the bars to his cell.
"I get this weird feeling Astara is screwing things up. She's supposed
to be tempting and corrupting or something. Not just... blind
conquest, without care to an individual's potential or future."
Dana took a deep breath.
"Whatever happens to me, I can't let her keep going this way. But I
can't stop her by myself. I need to make a plan and I need..."
She looked down and blushed a bit.
"... friends."