The commercial city of Argol was a whirlwind of human and economic activity. However, it had not always been so, as its prosperity was relatively recent and had an unusual origin.

A hundred years ago, the reason Argol was so busy was due to the presence of a nearby dungeon.

Dungeons appear everywhere in the world of Ky'lar, and in its early days, the newly discovered dungeon near a burgeoning city offered an almost mythical combination that attracted enthusiastic adventurers: few monsters and a large amount of treasure. This news caused a massive stir in the market for adventurers and merchants, allowing the fledgling city of Argol to flourish rapidly.

And in turn, for the Adventurers Guild, the news was a source of both concern and income, which complicated the situation, preventing any extreme measures without first investigating.

But while that was happening, in a short time, Argol consolidated itself as one of the largest sources of commerce in the world of Ky'lar, attracting the main mercantile factions.

Curiously, however, most of the treasures recovered from the depths of that dungeon were neither enchanted weapons nor large piles of gold, but primarily priceless statues and paintings. This had tinged Argol's commerce with an air of culture and exclusivity, making its streets not only a business center but also a living museum for collectors.

But despite the avalanche of treasures, the Adventurers Guild continued its investigation of the dungeon, sending daring adventurers of medium and advanced levels to prove their skills in the challenge.

Thus, the strategy advanced at a good pace, and the Guild compiled information on everything, from the dungeon's structure to the monster ecosystem, without any apparent problems.

However, they made a chilling discovery. According to adventurers' reports, the discovered ruins, despite having relatively few monsters, were impregnated with a dense miasma, which greatly hindered progress to the depths.

But despite this, the risk was not enough to mitigate the avarice that filled the eyes of people drawn by the possibility of money and fame.

However, what no one knew was that the true terror lay in the treasure itself.

This was because the majority of objects recovered from the depths were exclusively statues and paintings. This led many to believe that the quantity of these artworks was strangely biased.

This led the Adventurers Guild to investigate, discovering that some of these artworks matched the descriptions given by people about adventurers missing in the dungeon.

In the end, the bitter truth they discovered was that the dungeon housed cursed traps that converted people into stone or dolls.

The curse was so potent that even the noble priests who tried to break it were unable to eliminate it, while the horror was magnified by seeing the faces of lost comrades, frozen in marble and sold to the highest bidder.

Faced with that chilling truth, the Adventurers Guild reacted. They immediately prohibited entry to the dungeon, severely penalizing anyone who infringed such an order.

However, despite the prohibition, the fame and recognition that the dungeon had given Argol were enough for it to maintain its status, thus managing, as time passed, to remain one of the most influential commercial cities in the world of Ky'lar.

But what the Guild did not know was that the true engine of that persistence was that, in secret, illegal auctions were held in which the illegally acquired products from the dungeon were sold.

Thus, the cursed art moved in the shadows, ensuring that the flow of treasure and interest never ceased.

But what no one knew was that the origin of that dungeon was infinitely darker and more dangerous than they could ever have imagined.

Because, in reality, that dungeon was created by a Succubus from another world who called herself the Demon Queen of Lust.

This Demon Queen had fought in the past against two young sister goddesses who dared to challenge her. The Demon Queen defeated them and, as punishment, played with them before transforming them.

The Succubus subjected them, making them reach climax using aphrodisiacs and forcing them to perform lesbian games. Her final act of tyranny was to stop them right at the point of maximum excitement, thus converting the young sister goddesses into stone precisely at the moment of climax.

After defeating them, the Succubus decided that each one would suffer a distinct climax state.

The older sister was tortured with pleasure and forced to reach the brink of climax, being petrified just before attaining it.

Meanwhile, the younger sister, in contrast, was subjected to an abstinence game in which she was trapped at the brink of arousal as stone, receiving no further pleasure, leaving her excited and infernally frustrated.

Months later, in the external time of the world, the Demon Queen allowed them to reach climax and masturbate.

The older sister was then petrified exactly at the moment of achieving climax, and the younger sister, just as she was about to touch her intimate parts.

The punishment was eternal: the sensations of that moment of petrification became rooted in their bodies and minds, forever tormenting them at the brink of arousal.

But not content with that, the Demon Queen created the dungeon using the sister goddesses as a power source, creating traps that would transform their victims into pieces of art using the power of those goddesses who had once tried to protect the world.

Furthermore, to make them experience more misery, their perception of time was accelerated, making what was only 100 years externally feel like a total of 10,000 years to them.

And to maintain them thus for all eternity, the Demon Queen created a seal that would keep them in the dungeon until certain "conditions" were met.

In this way, time passed, and the conditions of that seal were finally fulfilled. This was how the goddesses were found by an illegal group of adventurers in the dungeon and, due to their beauty, collected for the upcoming auction.

Thus, in the center of Argol, in a secret location, the action was unfolding.

(szzzzzip...)

In the venue, heavy curtains hung from the ceiling in a room illuminated by a chandelier.

"Munch, munch, munch~"

In that opulent setting, the dazzling appearance of the statues of both sister goddesses was illuminated by the chandelier, captivating a large number of elegantly dressed men and women gathered in the location where the clandestine auction was taking place.

"I knew I was perceiving something special... This is interesting~!"

And there, among the participants, was the figure of Melioris, eating popcorn as she observed both statues from the audience section.

"It was impossible for me to resist such an interesting place!"

At that moment, Melioris was barely capable of containing her excitement, because unlike traditional auctions, this venue dealt in illegal, stolen, and cursed items that are not generally circulated, according to her research.

"I was lucky to find that curious Imp before coming here... So getting lost isn't so bad!"

The auction then unfolded on the stage while the passionate voices of the auctioneer and the winning bidders resonated, drowning out Melioris's words in the environment.

"Now, here is the next product!"

Thus, on the stage, a man in a black formal suit with slicked-back hair, who ran the auction as the host, had beside him a beautiful woman in an expensive and revealing dress acting as a visual assistant to add glamour to the auction, while the backdrop lifted, revealing the next pieces: two stone statues of beautiful women.

(FZZZZZT!)

And immediately a spotlight illuminated the surface of the statues.

"OOOOOOOOHHHH~!!"

Although the statues were made of stone, they were strangely seductive and sensual.

Their presence was so overwhelming, and despite being silent stone statues, they seemed to breathe, like living beings. Although they are beautiful, pure, and artistically sculpted, merely looking at them evokes a sense of lust, causing the entire audience to shout with excitement.

"I always wanted to join a shout like that!"

... But ignoring the extravagant reaction of a minority, the presenter, seeing the enthusiastic reaction of the audience, proceeded to present the next products.

"These are supposedly statues of two goddesses! The first, from the client's perspective, is known as the 'Goddess at the Brink of Climax,' and the second, as the 'Goddess of Eternal Desire.'"

A closer look at the two statues reveals that their right and left hands are raised to shoulder height, with fingers interlaced.

The stone statue on the left, called the "Goddess at the Brink of Pleasure," stands gracefully, silently contemplating the stage. Her expression is typical of stone statues, but upon closer inspection, her eyebrows furrow, revealing a sad expression.

Her generous breasts protrude, with pointed tips, while her left hand holds the other statue's, but the fingertips of her right hand tremble, as if seeking air, undulating sensually.

"Although silent, the statues seem to radiate an intense heat~"

Furthermore, the statue on the right, the "Goddess of Eternal Desire," stands equally serene and beautiful, exuding an aura of silent longing. Her right hand is connected to the other statue, but the left is fixed slightly above the crotch, with the middle and index fingers slightly bent and the tips of the nails resting as if scratching the air.

In turn, the light projected a slight shadow over the fingertips of the left hand, emphasizing that the space of a few millimeters is eternally unreachable.

"Well, well, these are not ordinary stone statues. There is a legend surrounding them! Yes, it's a story from 100 years ago..."

Then the host began to narrate the statues' inscribed legend, engraved on the stone slabs where they were found, recounting how they once fought against a succubus who ruled over pleasure and how they were defeated and captured.

"Now with that said! Who will acquire the statues?!"

Then the auctioneer raised his voice, inciting the crowd.

"The starting price for these invaluable pieces of cursed art is fifty thousand gold!"

And so the bidding began with a contained roar.

"Seventy thousand!"

A man from the front row started shouting.

"One hundred thousand, and I'll add a property in the capital!"

To which a woman with jewelry responded.

"Two hundred fifty thousand! I only want the statue of the younger sister!"

"The lot is indivisible, sir! Three hundred thousand pure gold!"

"Half a million!"

Yelled a one-eyed collector.

The tension became unbearable, with the figures escalating at absurd rates, far exceeding legal financial capacity.

"To let something so interesting pass by..."

But just when a collector with an offer of one and a half million gold thought he had silenced the room, a sweet and unexpectedly potent voice resonated from the back of the hall, cutting the air like a knife.

"It would be unacceptable!"

Melioris, a figure barely visible in the gloom, raised her arm with a casual gesture and shouted with a clarity that echoed to the ceiling.

"Ten million gold and twenty diamonds!!"

Thus, the room fell into an absolute, stupefied silence. The figure was so superior and the mention of "diamonds" so absurd that no one could utter a single word in response.

"Sold! To the lady in the back!"

Then the auctioneer, after a moment of shock, slammed the gavel.

"I won~!"

To which Melioris celebrated happily, raising her fist in the air. A triumphant smile crossed her face, without remembering that she had just used all of Shija and Boudica's mission savings without their consent to win.