The Last Game
Morning sunlight filtered through the window. But the air in the room was still thick with the musky heat from last night.
"Ugh…."
Lumina struggled to open her eyes on the bed. Her entire body throbbed as if she'd been beaten. Especially her lower body, breasts, and jaw—they stung fiercely.
She dragged her unsteady body up and stood before the mirror.
"Ah…."
It was a wreck. Disheveled platinum hair, swollen eyes, white crusts dried around her mouth and nape. And her priestess robes gaped open at the front, revealing her breasts marked with vivid red handprints and bite marks left by Sigurd.
Noble goddess? The woman in the mirror was nothing more than a bitch who'd taken a man's lust last night.
"Filthy… so filthy…!"
She rushed to the bathroom and scrubbed her body like a madwoman. She rubbed until her skin peeled. But no matter how much she washed, the sensations etched into her brain wouldn't fade. The feel of that hot slab filling her mouth, the fishy taste of semen sliding down her throat. And… shamefully, the memory of the pleasure she'd felt in the process.
"Hic… sob…."
She clutched the sink and sobbed. It was all over. Lucian had fallen, and she was defiled. She no longer had authority as a goddess. Nor qualifications as a saintess.
Only ruin remained, she thought.
Then it happened.
Noisy clamor drifted in from beyond the window. Drawn like a moth to flame, she approached and parted the curtains slightly.
The inn courtyard. Knights were preparing to depart. And at the center was Lucian.
"……."
Lumina's pupils trembled.
The man who'd gone to his room with that woman Bella last night. But now, no signs of 'corruption' showed on him. His soul was still pure.
Yes… Lucian is still pure.
Lumina hated to admit it, but she had no choice. Sexual acts were noble rites for bearing children.
Lucian had merely done it to sire offspring.
Her mind's self-defense mechanism kicked in.
And woven into that defense was Sigurd's influence. The acts with him had slowly crumbled the wall of 'man'.
Since she'd done the same with Lucian.
She desperately rationalized. Even if his flesh had mingled with a filthy woman, his noble soul hadn't fallen. He was still her Lucian.
"Still… pure."
She murmured, pressing her hand to the window. She forcibly clung to a thread of hope from the abyss of despair.
"I just… need to fix it. If I forgive him and purify him again… we can go back to how it was."
Vitality returned to her eyes. It wasn't positive hope. It was a mad, obsessive hope denying reality.
"Awake, Goddess?"
Then, the door opened behind her. It was Sigurd. He strolled in leisurely, biting into an apple.
"Get out. I can't even stand the sight of you."
Lumina snapped coldly. A far cry from last night's tearful clinging.
I raised an eyebrow, intrigued.
"Oh ho. Quick mental recovery. You were bawling yesterday."
"Don't misunderstand. Even if you ravaged my body, my soul and will remain unbroken."
She held her head high.
"And the same for Lucian. He… hasn't fallen yet."
Lumina declared with conviction.
"I just need to take him back. If I wash away those filthy memories, he'll return as my knight. Your petty schemes won't work!"
Ha…. I swallowed a hollow laugh.
As expected of a goddess. Mental gymnastics at cosmic levels. Believing what she wants to believe.
Seeing what she wants to see.
Shattering that lofty delusion would be the key to this conquest.
"Fine. Since you're so confident, I'll give you another chance."
I crunched the apple and leaned against the bedpost.
"I propose the third game."
"……What filthy trick are you plotting now."
"We'll settle it with 'choice' alone."
I pointed at Lucian outside the window.
"The theme is 'desire'."
"Desire?"
"Yes. Let's see if he's unleashed his repressed instincts and awakened to pleasure itself."
Lumina's brow furrowed.
"Lucian is a celibate holy knight. He won't yield to mere pleasure."
"Really? Can a lion that's tasted meat go back to grazing?"
I approached her.
"This time, leave it entirely to Captain Lucian's free will."
"……Conditions?"
"Before we leave the village, that woman from yesterday—Bella—will come to seduce the captain. We'll see his reaction."
I held up one finger.
"If Lucian coldly pushes her away, you win."
Lumina's eyes flashed. She believed in Lucian's nobility.
"But."
I held up two fingers.
"If he doesn't push her away, but instead savors the aftertaste of pleasure and regrets it? I win. He's already come to love a woman's flesh more than you, Saintess."
"Fine. I accept."
Lumina nodded without hesitation. This was her chance to crush Sigurd and reaffirm trust with Lucian.
"The stakes?"
"Same as yesterday. But… it'll be more intense. You were too stiff last night; it was hard on me."
I blatantly eyed her breasts. Lumina shuddered with shame but didn't back down.
"Prepare yourself. I'll show you defeat clearly."
**
Departure time. I stepped down from the carriage and headed to the knights.
Lumina sat primly inside, peeking through the curtains.
Judgment hour approached.
This game might seem favorable to Lumina.
But the opposite. Humans fall easily to temptation.
Lucian too.
"Captain, shall we depart?"
"Ah, Sir Sigurd. Yes, soon…."
Lucian looked dazed. Pale-faced, but his eyes oddly glazed, like wandering in a dream.
The aftereffects must be intense.
Last night's memories. The thrill of long-suppressed lust exploding. The dam of lifelong faith crumbling, replaced by illicit pleasure.
That taste is more addictive than any drug.
"Captain! Wait!"
Then. Someone dashed from the village edge. Bella in her red dress.
She ran up panting, lunch basket in hand.
"Here… eat on the way."
Bella stopped before Lucian. Inside the carriage, Lumina held her breath, watching.
Push her away, Lucian. Scold that filthy woman and drive her off!
She prayed her desperate wish would reach him. Lucian looked troubled at Bella.
"This…."
"Last night… was amazing, Captain. So… beastly?"
Bella giggled, placing her hand on his chest. Bold skinship in front of the knights.
Overt seduction, provocation.
Normal Lucian would've slapped her hand away sternly.
Rebuked her with a holy knight's dignity.
But.
"Ah… ahem. Thank you."
Lucian didn't slap it away.
His face flushed, eyes averted. His ears burned. Not from shame.
Last night's heat revived, body reacting.
Look at that.
I sneered inwardly. Lucian's gaze lingered on Bella's deep cleavage.
Noble holy knight? Don't make me laugh. He wanted a woman now.
"Before you go… one more gift."
Bella rose on tiptoes, arms around his neck, kissing him deeply.
The knights cheered. Lucian widened his eyes in surprise but didn't push away.
No, for a split second, his hand twitched toward her waist. Active consent.
He was enjoying this. Savoring corruption's sweet tang on his tongue.
Smack!
The wet sound of parting lips echoed obscenely. Then they vanished somewhere.
Too easy, but inevitable. Teasing with Lumina.
Her advances stirring his desire.
But denying her body. Retreating a step when he approached.
Building to the limit.
Then Bella came.
Ultimately, Lumina's fault.
Bang!
The carriage window slammed shut roughly.
Game over.
I smiled victoriously and approached the carriage. Lucian was gone; knights glanced at it and scattered.
I opened the door and entered. Lumina trembled, head bowed.
"Did you see?"
I asked with feigned pity.
"How happy your knight was receiving a whore's kiss."
"……Shut up."
"Not pushing her away—instead, licking his lips in regret."
I sat beside her, embracing her rigid shoulders.
"Admit it, Goddess. Lucian's fallen. He wants that whore's vulgar body more than your noble love."
"No… it can't be…!"
"Can't be? You saw it with your own eyes?"
I shoved reality cruelly at her.
"He's forgotten you. The moment he buried his face in Bella's tits, you vanished from his mind. You're… discarded."
"Aaaahhh!"
Lumina screamed.
"Time to pay up."
I roughly hiked up her priestess skirt. White thighs exposed. Skin still red and swollen from last night.
Time to enjoy her.
But light flowed from Lumina's body.
"I don't need it! The protagonist… I can just pick another!"
Eh… too harsh? Beyond light, grating poured out.
"……."
Her killing intent. Eyes.
Grating… all aimed at me.
"Guess I seemed too easy."
I gathered mana in response. Already vastly stronger, I resisted divine grating.
Plus 'Heavenly Phallus', 'Thunder of the Thunder God', 'Flames of the Sun God' lent me their grating.
First time unleashing godlike grating.
"Mongrel…."
Emitting divine power, her tears gone, arrogance returned. Her grating intensified, filling the carriage.
The interior turned blinding white. No, this wasn't the carriage anymore.
Golden pillars appeared. And a massive, beautiful throne.
"This is my sanctuary. My domain. Far too exalted for a mongrel like you…."
Lumina reached toward me.
"I can't use my power in the mortal realm. So I invited you here myself."
Immense energies gathered in her hand. I summoned Holy Sword Gram, focusing my power there.
Gulp…
Would my power reach a god? Tense moment.
[No, we can't have that, Lumina.]
A voice hammered my mind. Lumina too—energies in her hand scattered.
"Y-you?!"
A being a god addressed deferentially. A familiar voice.
From that trial, the final words to me.
[This is a game between gods.]
Treating me as a god.
"He's not a god! He's a mongrel!"
Lumina frantically denied as things twisted. But the vast presence dismissed her.
Lumina's grating vanished.
"N-no! If my grating disappears, that mongrel will trample my purity!"
The goddess of purity shrieked she'd lose her status.
[You broke the contract first.]
With those words, it vanished.
Totally arbitrary.
But thanks to it, devouring the goddess became easy. I smirked, advancing on Lumina.
She fell back on her ass, scrambling away, bumping into the massive golden throne.
Probably where she always sat in arrogance.
"Now~ time for your reward?"
I slowly stripped, reaching for her.