Chapter 86
Chapter 86
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 86
Chapter Title: vs Succubus Sirka #02
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Succubi are always born with beautiful appearances.
In their childhood, they take the form of mischievous little girls who corrupt otherwise upstanding boys. As they grow a bit older, they become stunning beauties who can steal a man's soul with just a glance. From there, they mature further, growing ever more seductive and voluptuous with age. The concept of growing old simply doesn't exist for them.
So while her peers were indulging in the joys of pleasure during her youth, young Sirka absorbed the essence stored in the orbs her mother procured for her, devoting herself single-mindedly to the study of magic and combat training.
After gaining independence from her mother? Consuming human semen was an utterly inefficient way to gather essence. By simply inducing erotic dreams and absorbing the essence that leaked out afterward, she could harvest two or three times as much as other succubi.
'Romance and sex? I can do all that even after I get older! No man would ever turn down a succubus, right?'
Sirka had ambitions far greater than fleeting pleasures. Her dream was to become a powerful and magnificent succubus like Succubus Lord Liliet—someone who had been sealed away with the Demon King in ancient times, only to break free a century ago at human hands and reunite the scattered succubi into a great force.
"S-Sirka! I want to spend this New Year with you!"
"Sorry, Kaio. I don't have the bandwidth for men right now, so... romance is off the table."
In succubus society, a grown woman past her coming-of-age ceremony who was still a virgin was an unimaginable myth. Her diligent, hardworking nature—perfectly suited for defiling—made many incubi swoon. But Sirka turned away every man who approached her.
She rejected them, rejected them again, and kept rejecting. Even counting the entire demon race, she fielded over twenty proposals a day, but she refused them all, fearing that indulgence in pleasure might make her neglect herself.
Of course, it wasn't as if no man had ever stirred her heart.
"I-I'm just a lowly foot soldier now, but I want to rise to Demon King Army executive ranks alongside you!"
Her childhood wolfman friend, who had toiled alongside her from a young age.
"You woke me from my slothful rejection of everything. Sirka, won't you spend the rest of your life with me?"
A high-rank demon who'd come to his senses after rudely propositioning her upon joining the Demon King Army and getting slapped for it.
"It's true, at first I just wanted to toy with a virgin succubus like you. But now... I love only you, Sirka!"
Even the top heartthrob incubus from her castle days, who reunited with her after twenty years and had tormented her relentlessly in their youth.
Countless men had courted her. But Sirka always refused them firmly.
'I'm sorry, but... if we meet again the day I achieve my dreams, then maybe...'
Swallowing tears as she turned down the men who adored her, Sirka charged up the ladder of success until she finally caught the eye of the Succubus Lord Liliet, whom she'd idolized her entire life.
"Sirka, was it? You're a fun succubus... ♡ You can start as my secretary tomorrow."
That night, Sirka celebrated alone with a drink, toasting her long years of hard work. Starting as a lowly succubus, her relentless efforts had elevated her to high-rank status as Liliet's closest aide. It was the year she turned one hundred.
"Now I can take it easy, right? Try some romance I've never done, go traveling, have my... f-first experience...!"
She had no worries about age. There were plenty of long-lived demons, and many men who'd trailed after her in admiration. Looking in the mirror, her beauty was as radiant as ever, now overflowing with mature allure.
But Sirka didn't realize it. During the hundred years she'd poured herself into her ambitions, everyone else had been living their own lives.
"Hey, Sirka! Thanks for the birthday gift for our twenty-eighth son's party last time! Takkan loved it!"
The fresh-faced wolfman boy who'd dreamed of becoming an executive like her had settled into mid-rank status, married, and become a pot-bellied middle-aged dad with fifty-four kids and twenty-two grandkids.
"Oh, Lady Sirka. Have you come to bless my fifth wedding? You're my lifelong benefactor. Without you, I never would have known the joys of love."
The high-rank demon who'd confessed to her and been rejected had married another demon girl who'd comforted him in his despair—and already taken four concubines.
"Time flies, doesn't it... Our Hisoka went off to the human frontlines after you broke his heart. If only he hadn't met the Empire's Sword Saint, he'd have made a perfect match for you by now..."
Even the castle's top incubus heartthrob, who'd sworn to wait for her forever, had rushed to the battlefield to become a man worthy of her—only to fall to the Empire's Sword Saint. It had been twenty-five years since his death.
'...Huh?'
Only then did Sirka start to sense something was wrong.
The men who'd followed her in adoration had found new partners, built families, run out of lifespan, or died in the war against humans. The demons still unmarried by then were either lunatics, perverts, or eccentric weirdos.
'Ah, it's still fine. I can just find a new good man, right? No need to cling to old ties!'
Sirka, who'd only ever met men fawning over her without her lifting a finger, now faced a dire man drought and began actively seeking worthy partners herself.
"Um... Lucas, any plans for the holidays? If not, maybe we could..."
"I-If you have orders for me, just say the word, Lady Sirka! For you, I'd lay down my life to carry them out!"
"N-No, that's not what I... Just grab a meal together some..."
"Understood! You're telling me to round up humans for essence harvesting! I'll lead my men and capture prime human males!"
But to demons, a powerful one wasn't someone to love—they were someone to obey. Young demons who caught her fancy harbored loyalty, not romance, toward Sirka, the great demon poised to succeed Liliet.
"Sirka? The succubus who's been spinning cobwebs all this time? A virgin at that age? Something's gotta be wrong with her..."
"Over a hundred years old and still a virgin! What if she starts using holy power or something? We can pledge fealty to your house, but we won't marry off our precious son to that!"
Peers or equals didn't fancy her either. If they wanted succubi, there were plenty of young ones—and no demon preferred a wife powerful enough to wipe out their entire house if crossed.
"...Huh? H-Huh?"
And so, at 137 years old, Succubus Sirka remained a spinster who'd never even dated. Influenced late in life by romance novels, she'd vowed to save her virginity for her "knight in shining armor"—making her the only succubus who was an old virgin (old spinster) but not a NO-virgin.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Twitch!
"Wh-What is this...?! This overwhelming demonic energy out of nowhere...?! You've been hiding power like this all along?!"
"F-Fall back, Unicorn! That succubus's aura is off!"
The razor-sharp demonic energy erupting around the succubus—solidified killing intent—forced me and Unicorn to leap back in alarm.
"Heh... heheheh... Whatever now..."
Succubus Sirka let out a chilling sob of laughter, lifting her head toward us with tears of blood streaming from her eyes.
"Old virgin...? Cobweb whore...? Call me whatever... This place is about to become your grave!"
"She's lost it! Arthin, watch out! They say even ghosts harbor the deepest grudges as virgin spirits—and this one's an old virgin demon!"
"Stop calling me an old virgin!!!!!"
She'd just said it was fine to call her that, but the moment Unicorn did, Sirka unleashed a torrent of demonic energy.
Liliet's pink mist, which had held the area in stasis, was devoured by the black demonic tsunami crashing in. I hurriedly opened my inventory, pulled out a holy catalyst, and began deploying a sacred art.
⚡ SACRED ART ACTIVATED ⚡ Ritual Holy Law: Guardian Holy power swirled around the catalyst, shining brilliantly and cleaving an absolute barrier through the demonic tsunami enveloping us. It safely shielded me and Unicorn.
Of course, with my holy power draining in real-time, I chanted prayers endlessly, pouring every ounce of effort into sustaining the barrier even a second longer.
"Th-This sheer power...! I heard succubi draw strength from essence, but how does an old virgin possess demonic energy like this...!"
"Shut your mouth!! I'm going to kill you both right here!!!"
Unicorn's exclamation only intensified the demonic pressure bearing down on us. For someone like me who'd only felt attacks this fierce against legion commanders, it was utterly bewildering.
'This is bad, fucking bad...! Am I regressing from here...?!'
I hadn't even gotten a clue about memory regression yet, but the thought of dying like this had me yanking every prepped catalyst from my inventory to hold the barrier.
"Archangel's feather, unicorn horn...! Even white lion's mane! Arthin, shouldn't we save some for the legion commander?!"
Unicorn's frantic shout was spot-on. Most catalysts were pricey shop items even there. Wasting them on a mere high-rank demon was criminal.
"Kuhahaha! You cockroaches sure last! I'll crush you to paste, even if it costs me all my authority and demonic energy!!"
But there was no countering that suspiciously overwhelming demonic power. As time ticked by, even the holy power in those potent catalysts began to fade, the barrier trembling.
'...Am I dying here? Not even to a legion commander, just some high-rank demon?'
I'd thought this regression round would be a cakewalk since we'd all looped together, but the difficulty was insane. Unless a ninja popped out of nowhere to slay her, me and Unicorn were goners.
'...At least Unicorn will be with me next life too. Even if the others don't remember next round, we'll figure it out together.'
As I gazed at Unicorn with resigned eyes, she looked back with sorrowful ones, caressing my cheek.
"Worry not, Arthin... I, the exalted one—no, I—will be with you in the next life, the one after, through endless kalpas of reincarnation, forever."
"...That's kinda scary... Uwup..."
Before I could call it creepy, Unicorn pulled me into a deep, sweet kiss. I was a bit flustered but accepted it from my soon-to-be-dead companion, hugging her back.
"You fucking bastards, rubbing it in till the end!!! I'll kill you so thoroughly not even bone fragments rema—Kyaaaaack!!!"
Boom!!!
The instant my sacred art barrier was about to shatter under Sirka's demonic onslaught, a massive explosion rang out, and Sirka screamed in agony, writhing on the ground.
With her pitch-black demonic aura scattering wildly, I spotted three streaks of pure white light beams fired from behind her back. Her wings looked shredded by them, blood soaking her as she thrashed in pain.
'What magic is this?'
Three prongs of light similar to the pillar that'd scorched her wings earlier. Whatever it was, something had just hammered her with immense force.
The beams soon faded, losing power, but Sirka was still reeling, focused solely on regeneration.
'Now's the time. This is our one shot to finish this old virgin succubus for good!'
With my holy power spent and Unicorn staggering, I shoved her behind me and pulled a prepped artifact from my inventory.
"Guh... grrr... Y-You bastard..."
"O sacred fragment of the gods, envelop and bind this fallen being in your light!!"
"Kyaaaaack!!! My power! My power!"
As I incanted the activation phrase, the sealing rune artifact I'd prepared began sucking in Sirka's dazed power and essence.
This relic, forged from fragments of a god's body said to have shattered in ancient times, had a simple effect.
Like a pokeball from some game in another world, it sealed groggy demons into the rune stone.
Crafted to seal part of Liliet's authority, but I was certain using it now would yield far greater rewards.
"Sirka! You're mine!!!"
"Kyaaaaaaaack!!!!"
A powerful high-rank demon wielding Liliet's authority? Capturing her would be a massive win. Sure, I didn't know how to tame demons, but that's what physical taming was for.
The sealing rune mercilessly devoured Sirka's resisting power as she clawed at the ground.