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The Hero Became a Succubus! - Chapter 191
🕑 Added 2023-06-17 02:11:42 +0000 UTCAlt link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/10IeldrZvZBkeYZ1Jy4FridQorRJDIsYPWp86k-bm-sU/edit?usp=drive_link
Chapter 191
Kanae and Andora's jaws dropped watching Arenade bulldoze through scores of undead. Her Halo of Holy Radiance shined brighter than ever mowing them down. A healing aurora followed her, bathing and reinvigorating the Light of Capillis soldiers. It wasn't often Kanae witnessed Arenade burning with the passion to fight. She must really cared about these Lights.
"I'm going to go join her," Kanae said, inching towards the battlefield and tapping on her neck cuff. "Because, you know… under Sire Amerys' control after all."
"Huh? Wait—"
Together with Arenade, they decimated the undead army and gave the line of Lights a reprieve from fighting to lick their wounds. Kanae knocked off any lesser skeletal warriors trying to climb onto the battering ram, keeping Arenade free to rampage as she liked.
A sudden, abrupt stop threw both of them off. They righted themselves up in the sky and whipped around. A death knight had halted the golden battering ram dead in its tracks, then lifted a giant mace to face them.
"I got this— Sacred Exorcism!" Arenade fired her signature beam of divine energy.
However, the death knight was smarter than the others. It lifted a shield that belonged to a bone brute run over by the ram to block the spell.
"What? No picking up shields in the middle of a fight!" she yelled.
"I'll do something about it!" Kanae darted into battle and dodged a crushing blow from its mace. After imbuing herself with Bestial Strength, she attacked with Titanic Blow. The impact connected with the large shield. She recoiled, shaking her trembling fist.
That hurt a lot.
Of course, a STR of C wasn't going to do much against a death knight with naturally high constitution and defenses.
"B… B…" The death knight muttered something unintelligible.
"Death knights can talk?!" Kanae gasped.
"Bo… Boobs… I want… to fondle… boooooooooooobs!" he roared aloud.
"Can you 'heroes' die with more noble regrets instead?!" she cried.
"Kanae, I can't get a clear shot with you in the way!" Arenade shouted from behind with her Halo charging up again.
An idea hatched in Kanae's mind. Master Marwin once mentioned that the succubus queens of old made use of more than just their skills and spells. Her body tempered in sin was made for something like this.
"Give me a second!" Kanae put distance between herself and the death knight, then pulled her top off. "You wanted boobs, right? Can't fondle these while you're holding that mace and shield!"
"Supple… and soft… Finally!" The death knight cast away his armaments and went into a full-speed charge for Kanae's tits.
"Now!" she signaled to Arenade.
A powerful beam of divine energy fired out from the Halo of Holy Radiance. Kanae launched into the sky before being caught in the blast. It engulfed the death knight whole, incinerating the bones until only fragments of the armor remained when the light subsided. With the biggest threat eliminated, the Lights of Capillis easily cut down the remaining undead.
Kanae sighed. She pulled her skimpy coverings back up and descended to meet Arenade. They high-fived each other.
"We still got it!" Arenade grinned.
"Still?" Andora repeated, causing them both to freeze.
"Er… We worked together to defeat the undead at the village I ended up being captured at!" Kanae hastily explained.
"Hmm. Forgive me, I'm overthinking things. If it wasn't for you two, we would have been seriously injured. Let's take a quick rest and tend to the wounded." She walked off to help her unit.
Kanae helped Arenade gather the ones who were most hurt for her to heal. As a crowned Priest, her potent healing magic was reserved for those who needed immediate attention. Watching her treat them so tenderly was touching, a stark difference from the war mongering high elf a second ago.
"Aside from our kids, I've never seen you so fiery about helping the Lights. You know you're helping a city full of demons," Kanae said.
"That's a really mean roundabout way of suggesting I'm usually a heartless bitch!" Arenade sighed and placed her healing hands on the foreheads of two unconscious Lights.
"Look… My race lives a longer life than most. Some of us even push two centuries. There are less than 200 Lights of Capillis left and their numbers continue dwindling by the year. Most of them are blood-related, so unless they want to start inbreeding, the high elves here are due to vanish soon. You know what that means, right? They set aside their high elven pride and ended their family lines to fight undead. For what? So that the demons in Hellfire can live in relative peace and comfort. I'm not going to let their sacrifices go to waste."
Kanae smiled. She kneeled down behind Arenade and began massaging her back.
"You're not going to get all horny on me, are you?" Arenade asked suspiciously.
"You want me to?" Kanae teased. "This is just encouragement."
It only took ten minutes before everyone was back on their feet again. As they recommenced their journey, many of the Lights, and especially those from the first unit, lavished Arenade with heaps of praise and compliments. She absorbed them all, grinning from ear to ear. Although Arenade was loved by all as Queen-regent and High Priestess in Ehmvier, she seemed much happier here amongst her own people.
Kanae decided against butting in. Arenade deserved a little love, even if they were the same people who exiled her in the past.
"Captain Arenade really does look like an angel from here, doesn't she?" Andora asked, leveling with Kanae upon her pegasus.
"You won't catch me saying that in front of her." Kanae rolled her eyes but agreed in secret.
"I figured a succubus like you would understand, being fiercely loyal to your queen and all. When I look at the First Captain, I just want to endeavor to earn her gratitude," she explained.
"Wait, why are you high elves loyal to Lord Charron? A demon of all things?"
"Our ancestors have followed Lord Charron for centuries. It's been so long we don't know the real reason anymore. Feels almost ingrained."
Weird. Charron was a high elf before becoming a demon. Maybe that had something to do with it.
"Fourth Captain! Huh? Where's Captain Andora?" an airheaded high elf ahead of them asked.
"Excuse me…" Andora flew ahead and lifted her trooper off his pegasus. "Do I have to remind you what I look like through fear and discipline?!"
"H-Hieee! I'm sorry, Captain! I just wanted to report that the ward is up ahead!" he cried.
Kanae and Andora followed the Light's finger to a stone watchtower in the backdrop of the red landscape of Hellfire. Instead of being manned by watchers at the top, two gigantic glass lenses facing the sun took up the entire circumference and then some.
Something about it, however, made Andora gasp harshly. Clenching the reins of her pegasus, she soared ahead of everyone to get to the tower's apex.
Arenade shot Kanae a worried look. They caught up to the Fourth Captain on top of the tower. She jumped off her pegasus to inspect the lenses. Both were cracked but not shattered. A blackish, purple energy glowed along the fissures.
"This is your ward?" Kanae asked.
"Among many across the upper border of Hellfire. These ward lenses work by converting sunlight into divine energies. It functions similar to a high level priest's Holy Aura but on a much wider range. Undead exposed to it are destroyed on contact," Andora explained.
Which meant during sundown…
"So that's why undead make their way into Hellfire Badlands at night." Kanae was beginning to understand why they were attacked at the riverbank village.
The Fourth Captain nodded and chewed on her thumbnail. "The double-lenses are to magnify its effect. One lense will destroy lesser undead up to level 150. Two lenses destroy lesser undead, as well as greater undeads like bone brutes and bone savages, up to 250. If one somehow falters, the other will at least continue to prevent hordes from gathering. However, both being broken at the same time is a critical failure. Night or day, no undead can survive touching them because of the holy enchantments etched onto the tower. Which means…"
"Someone living purposely sabotaged it. The only people who were here other than us were Second Captain Wendy and Third Captain Vincient," Arenade concluded.
"It can't be them!" she exclaimed. "There are traces of dark magic. It must have been Seer Yesenia… That demon bitch. Doesn't she know Sire Amerys and us are protecting them from the undead, too?"
The next question puzzled them the most— Why would they sabotage the very thing keeping them safe?
"For now, can it be fixed?" Kanae asked.
"Our engineers will see to that. Engineers!" Andora yelled to her unit.
Five Lights descended onto the tower. They pulled out unique tools like the ones Kanae saw in Eliza's workshop. She even recognized an influx spanner, recalled the panic from that memory, and hated that it just proved what Eliza said right.
At any rate, once the lenses were fixed, the wards should give the Lights of Capillis a fighting chance against the undead again. Another problem remained, and Andora had already mounted onto her pegasus.
"I don't know what Yesenia is thinking… but we can't stand by in case it happens again. The rest of us will fly in haste to the next closest one west of here!" Andora commanded.
"Yes, Captain!" they bellowed back.
The Lights put pedal to the metal, flying as fast as possible to the next tower.
"This is going to take up a lot of mana, but you guys better find something to feed me after— Heightened Haste!" Kanae cast her wide-reaching spell buff that raised their pegassuses' DEX attribute a higher.
Pegasus Lvl. 125
STR
A
Winged horses that are pure white in color and become gray as they age. They are usually passive, but when provoked, their attacks deal holy damage.
DEX
B⇒A
INT
B
When the pegassuses sped up, several of the high elves nearly fell off. The ground beneath them passed by like a blur from how fast they were flying.
"Heh. I never thought I would thank a succubus!" Andora grinned.
Kanae saw the tower in the distance. It was tiny, but they were coming up on it fast. But instead of demons or undead, only high elves and their pegassuses surrounded the tower.
"On top of the tower! Isn't that the Third Captain?" Arenade asked.
Before anyone could answer, the high elves at the tower flung spells their way.
"They're attacking us?" Andora gasped in disbelief.
"C-Captain, what do we do?" a Light trooper screamed.
Kanae clicked her tongue. "Are there any mages? Raise magical barriers! Anyone with the Dispel spell, shoot down their volley!" When no one obeyed, she put a hand to her face and added, "I'm relaying orders from the First Captain herself!"
"Th-That's right! Do what the succubus just said!" Arenade shouted.
Magical barriers rose in time to block the artillery of spells. The second volley was coming, but those with a focusing element reacted faster this time around to dispel most of them.
As both armies neared a clash, only one side drew their weapons. The first and fourth unit hesitated to do the same on their kin. Arenade, too, was reluctant to fight against fellow Lights of Capillis.
Great, Kanae thought. Hopefully no one would turn on her after this… Kanae swallowed her hesitation and cast Mass Charm over the entire third unit. They froze in place until she compelled them to sheath their weapons. The only one who didn't fall under her control was Third Captain Vincient. He held something like a geometric sphere with many sides up to the lenses.
"Vincient! Whatever you're doing, stop right now!" Andora pointed her lance to the back of her colleague's head.
"Don't stop me, Andora. We're doing this for your sake, too!" Vincient growled.
"How is jeopardizing your own city for anyone's sake?" Arenade asked.
He shook his head. "Capillis is not our city. We belong with our true people in Ortesia. Not here! As for you, Arenade… You just had to have that name… You only came here recently, so you wouldn't know. Be honest, you probably came from Radevic… or Ortesia. You wouldn't understand our plight!"
As Kanae expected, if neither Andora or Arenade could attack the Light troops earlier, then they couldn't attack Vincient either. Whatever that thing in his hands was, it emitted the same dark energy from the cracks in the other wards.
"Once again, it's up to me." Kanae sighed, using her whip to strike at the mysterious sphere.
The tip hit a dome barrier around Vincient. Kanae wracked her head over what to do. Holding a wand with her tail, she tried casting Dispel but another barrier rose up just as quickly.
"Trying to stop me, succubus?" Vincient looked up and laughed at her.
"Hm. This is pretty much like a magnifying glass, right?" Kanae flew to the opposite side of the lenses and started undressing.
"Are you trying to distract me with your breasts? Foolish succubus. I am high elven. You cannot tempt me!" he exclaimed.
"Oh, my tits are a lot more capable than just tempting—" She toggled on the Piercings of Impurity and flashed her chest.
The spell Flashbang activated, blinding everyone with an exceedingly bright light. Arenade was the only one who caught the memo and shielded her eyes. On the other hand, Vincient and Andora were caught underneath the lenses.
"AHHH— MY EYES!" they cried.
Vincient dropped the sphere, and the barrier surrounding himself vanished. Arenade swooped in to pick it up before he could and flew away. Kanae clenched her fist and punched Vincient with Titanic Blow, sending him flying off the tower.
"Vincient!" Andora, whose eyes were still recovering, lifted her lance at Kanae. "You could have killed him!"
"He's fine. I charmed a pegasus to catch him," Kanae said.
As though on cue, a pegasus landed on the top with a groaning Vincient on its back.
"H-Hey… something's weird about this sphere! What do I do?" Arenade held the strange orb in both hands that was currently vibrating out of control.
"Point it away from the wards!" Andora yelled.
Arenade moved the sphere just in time, and it fired a thin beam of energy into the earth. Fissures formed on the ground with glowing black and purple energy in the cracks. The three of them breathed a sigh of relief. Crisis averted. However, Andora was searching the area immediately around the tower.
"Where's Wendy and the second unit? Has she gone to another ward?" Andora asked Vincient.
"You're too late… When Wendy is done, we'll finally be free…" Vincient muttered.
"Free from what?" Arenade stormed up to him. "Keeping the Hellfire Badlands safe from the undead? You're doing a good thing here. Be proud!"
He winced glancing up at her. "Proud? And who will remember our deeds? Soon, we'll be forgotten… Without a family, no one to write our history in the books… Ortesia is our only salvation."
"We don't have time for this. Where is Wendy? What is she planning?" Kanae asked, placing a charm on the now-weakened Third Captain.
"Returning to Capillis as we speak. She has the stronger orbal capacitor… capable of destroying the dam… then we can be freed from our… duty," he answered before passing out.
Andora staggered into the edge of the tower.
"If the dam breaks, thousands will perish and the Badlands will be flooded!" Andora whispered.
"Then what are you waiting for? We have to get back now! These are your people we're talking about. Are you going to let them drown? I sure as three hells won't!" Arenade grabbed a handful of Andora's uniform.
"There's no way we will make it in time. Even with the succubus' haste buff, we're still too slow!" she exclaimed.
Arenade cursed under her breath. She looked deeply hurt and regretful.
"It's not over yet," Kanae said. "Arenade, you still have the teleportation pellet?"
Arenade was reluctant to do so, but she pulled the tiny capsule-like magical item out.
"What are you two?" Andora stared at them like they were strangers now.
"You have engineers that specialize in dealing with magical items, right? This is a teleportation pellet. It's currently set to deliver us to the border between Hellfire and Suvius. Arenade and I don't know how to tweak it, but maybe your people do. Can they somehow adjust it to send us back to Capillis City?" Kanae asked.
"If you don't trust her, then trust me." Arenade grabbed Andora by the shoulders.
The Fourth Captain ultimately whistled sharply and ordered forth her engineers to inspect the teleportation pellet. They were perplexed at first, but a high elven man with a monocle over his right eye was able to make heads and tails over it.
"Ah, I see. These are magic crystals. The ridges in between aren't decorative. They are actually coordinates! I only need to etch new coordinates over the old ones and…" He used a screwdriver-like tool to carve into the pellet's surface. "It's done! The coordinates should reflect Capillis City!"
"You're absolutely sure?" Kanae asked.
"Well, this is still new to me. Either you end up in Capillis City or another dimension entirely!" he guffawed, then glanced down ashamedly from their glares.
"I'll take this chance," Andora said and walked to the edge to face her people. "See to it that these wards are up and functioning. I almost gave up hope… but we have a duty to uphold. For Capillis, for Lord Charron, and for the Ehmvier!"
"What?" Arenade went wide-eyed, hearing her old family name.
The engineers stepped back to give them space. Kanae activated the teleportation pellet and let it fall to the ground. A portal opened up at their feet. It sucked them through, including Vincient. They emerged on the other side of the portal on top of the gargantuan dam, underneath which was Capillis City.
"There!" Andora directed their attention just north of the dam, on a little island with a lighthouse in the middle of the enormous tributary that was the Stolas river. Second Captain Wendy held another of what Vincient called an orbal capacity. Her unit was guarding her.
Since none of the pegassuses came through the portal with them, Kanae picked up Vincient and Arenade lifted Andora. They flew down to confront the other Lights.
"Wendy, stop! We know what you're doing, and it isn't worth it!" Andora shouted.
"Andora? How did you all…" Wendy saw Vincient in Kanae's arms and grinded her teeth. "You found out? I guess there's no sense in hiding it then. Lights, your freedom is nigh! Don't let them stop us now!"
Kanae mass charmed the entire unit before they even made their first step. Wendy's twitching eyes darted all over, trying to make sense of what happened.
"Talk to me, Wendy! We're cousins, aren't we? Why have you, Vincient, and the others become so obsessed with Ortesia? You want to leave so badly that you will forsake our ancient duty?" Andora asked.
"Duty, duty, duty, duty… duty my pointed ears! What duty do I have for anyone other than myself? I'm going to get out of Artaggon and sail to Ortesia where I belong. The Ironspear family won't end with me. I'll become the progenitor to a long lasting dynasty, even if I have to ally myself with a demon like Yesenia to achieve it! So, you better move out of the way, Cousin. These capacitors are meant to destroy magical items. Who knows what it will do to you!" Wendy warned.
"I'm not moving anywhere. That's our home you're pointing that thing at. We grew up there together. If you want to destroy it, then you might as well destroy me, too," she said.
Kanae searched for an opening to jump in, but she was afraid of the capacitor going off any moment.
But the unthinkable happened. Wendy faltered. She let the capacitor face the ground.
"Okay, Andora… You win—" Wendy tensed up as dark, spectral hands emerged from the capacitor and forced her to point it at Capillis City.
"Need a little helping hand?" the disembodied voice of an old crone mumbled.
"Wendy, what's wrong?" Andora stepped forward, keeping herself between the city and the vibrating capacitor.
"I can't… move… Andora… you have to get away!" she cried.
A much larger beam of dark energy fired out. Andora braced to be hit—
"Holy Armament: Greatshield!" Arenade knocked Andora out of the way and took the blast.
"Arenade!" Kanae jumped in to help until she yelled against it.
"No, don't come any closer! It's powerful… I'm barely holding it back with your Bond on me…" Her feet carved trenched into the ground, being forced back by the dark beam.
There had to be something. Kanae looked at Wendy. Maybe she could knock the capacitor off her hands… No. If it got knocked away wildly, there was no telling where it would hit. Capillis City was right there and high elves were all around them.
Arenade's golden armor and greatshield were beginning to chip away.
"Damn it! I'm coming whether you like it or not!" Kanae charged in and intended to take the beam instead, but an explosion knocked everything off their feet.
Everything was white. Kanae's ears were ringing. When her vision returned, she saw the spectral hands fading away and the capacitor going inert. She searched for Arenade and found her lying against a toppled tree, her body a smoking mess.
"First Captain!" Andora got up first and raced to her aid.
Kanae limped over, preparing herself for the worst. Arenade drew a hoarse breath. Glowing black and purple lines snaked up to her throat and cheeks.
"This… hurts a lot more than you can imagine," Arenade croaked.
"Tell me you're okay? You're okay, right?" Kanae asked tearfully, holding Arenade's hand tightly.
"I… don't know… Hey, is… the city safe? What about… Wendy?" Every word took effort and sounded like it hurt.
"Capillis is safe, and so am I… " Wendy staggered up to them, her demeanor wrought with guilt.
"Thank… the Supreme One's hairy ass…" She sighed.
"Why… Why would you do that?" the second captain asked.
Kanae wiped the sweat from Arenade's brow. Her eyes were squeezed shut. She probably didn't even know who was where anymore. The strength in her hand was waning, too.
"Why… wouldn't I? Ironspear, Barcleau, Sempter… and the name of your last First Captain, Thanclad… I remember now… They were among… the many vassal families of the Ehmvier Duchy," Arenade said, breathing hurt and respect to each name. "To think… you were all up here all along…"
"Captain, stop talking! Healers! Paladins or priests, I don't care. Get over here now!" Andora barked.
When they came as ordered to administer healing, only Kanae knew, since she and Arenade were bonded, that the magic was doing little to help. Something was blocking the healing magic from taking effect.
"I was wrong. I'm sorry for being selfish! I-I'll do anything to atone… So please, don't leave us!" Wendy kneeled down and wept.
"No, the only one who was selfish… was me. It's my fault… you've been stuck here…" Arenade whispered, each word becoming quieter and quieter.
"W-What are you… saying?" Andora stammered.
Arenade, with what little strength she had left, squeezed Kanae's hand and smiled softly.
"Hey, you slut… Don't let our kids… be orphans. Ahh… I would have lived… to be worshiped while alive… a little longer," Arenade said and shedded a single tear before going still.
"You can't be serious. I thought we were going to grow old together? If you go just like that, Edina will piss on your grave, you know? Damn it… What am I going to tell Suvee and Kanade?" Kanae lowered her forehead down to Arenade's and cried.
