Chapter 44 - The Succubus Queen, Parmela (1)
“…Heavenly Demon… you bastard…”
“?”
Confusion flashed across everyone’s faces except mine and Vertus’s.
“And who might that be?”
“Who else but right ther—”
Whoosh-
“Eek!”
The finger bullet I fired grazed Alkemis’s cheek.
‘Damn. I should just take care of her before she opens her mouth again.’
“Seems you have no intention of surrendering.”
I took a step forward.
“Everyone, let’s finish this together.”
“I agree. Who knows what schemes this demon might pull.”
“…”
Elina narrowed her eyes at me, sensing something off about my attitude, but soon readjusted her grip on her knife and directed a hostile glare at Alkemis.
“First, we need to restrict her movements so she can’t fly away…”
“I’ll handle that. A few sword slashes to cut off her wings should do the trick.”
“Then I’ll restrain the falling body.”
Black tentacles emerged from the shadows at Elina’s feet.
Wait, so the rumors about her being a shadow-wielding witch were true?
“…Understood. Then I’ll deliver the final blow…”
I glared at Alkemis again.
‘But why isn’t she running? She’s been on guard this whole time but shows no intention of moving.’
“By the way, you’re not planning to escape? Think you can take us on?”
The fallen angel wore an expression of extreme panic, as if cornered, yet remained fluttering her wings in place the entire time we discussed our strategy.
“Hmph… Do you really think you can lay a hand on me? What if the original owner of this body gets hurt in the process?”
“Ah.”
Right. Come to think of it, that’s not her original body.
“Don’t bother.”
Vertus suddenly cut into the conversation, making all three of us turn toward him simultaneously.
“Judging by the state of her mana circuits and the concentration of corrupted mana flowing within, that woman’s soul has already been completely absorbed by Alkemis. Even if we expelled Alkemis’s soul while preserving the body intact, reviving the original owner would be impossible.”
“…Is that so?”
“Theodor, what the hell is that golem to know all that…”
“I’ll explain later, Your Highness. Anyway. It’s unfortunate for Professor Plentina, but we no longer have any reason to hold back against your tricks… Now you’re truly checkmated.”
“You… you insignificant human vermin!”
Alkemis’s furious shout no longer sounded like before—her voice was now hoarse and cracked, truly befitting the descriptor ‘evil.’
“You think I’d flee in fear of the likes of you?!”
Oooom—
At the same time, the surrounding mana began converging around her.
“This is her final strike! Everyone, brace yourselves!”
The Crown Prince shouted.
“Everyone, behind me!”
As Elina flicked her hand upward, a massive black barrier materialized before us.
Swoosh—
[Target ‘Vertus’s Soul Fragment’ has returned.]
‘He’s back?’
—I ran out of demonic qi and couldn’t maintain possession anymore… Hoh. Well, well. Silvanos’s soul was here too.
‘Get along, you two.’
After dragging the dazed Parmela behind Elina’s black barrier with me,
“Kyaaaaaaah—!”
The world shook from Alkemis’s scream.
In my haste to cover Parmela’s ears, I couldn’t block my own, taking the full brunt of Alkemis’s shriek head-on.
It wasn’t just a scream.
The evil resonance in her voice felt like it was tearing through my eardrums.
An unpleasant sensation, as if someone was gripping my brain and shaking it—my vision blurred. This wasn’t just from the sheer volume of the noise.
‘Feels like getting hit by a master’s Lion’s Roar technique. So this is what they meant by “a cornered beast fights hardest.”’
After a few seconds, my hearing and vision began to return.
“Is everyone alright?”
“…Just some ringing and a headache, but otherwise fine.”
“I… quickly pulled mana to shield my head from further mana intrusion…”
Fortunately, neither the Head Maid nor the Crown Prince seemed seriously injured.
Parmela was also unharmed since I’d hastily wrapped my hands in demonic qi to protect her ears.
Though her still-dazed state was unsettling.
After checking on my allies, I turned my attention back to Alkemis.
“Haa… haa…”
It was a grotesque sight.
Her skin was cracking and flaking off like the glaze of a dried-out ceramic piece.
“Damn it… damn it… how could this… At the very least, I should avenge Silvanos…”
“Just give up. That last struggle wasn’t much.”
Knife in hand, I approached to finish her off.
—Be careful.
‘Huh?’
—The mana Alkemis gathered right before screaming doesn’t match the actual skill’s power.
‘Meaning she must have stored unused mana somewhere. Check.’
Of course. Even in this state, she’s still scheming?
So her desperate act of holding her crumbling skin together was just an act.
“Enough nonsense. Time to end this.”
“D-don’t come closer!”
“Look at that acting. Academy-worthy. Anyway—”
I channeled a bit of demonic qi, splitting it between my legs and arms.
In an instant, I closed the distance with lightness technique and drove my qi-infused knife into Alkemis’s chest.
“Ghk…!”
With her dying gasp, her body collapsed, and just like with Silvanos, her soul began escaping through her mouth.
—I can’t… I can’t die like this…
Alkemis’s soul drifted away sluggishly. But I didn’t recklessly pursue.
“…”
I recalled Vertus’s earlier warning.
Not knowing what tricks that frail-looking soul might still have, I maintained my guard as I walked toward Alkemis.
—Not the soul! The body!
‘Wh—’
KABOOM!!
An explosion roared behind me, searing heat lashing at my back.
“Guh—”
Caught off guard, I was sent flying by the blast, tumbling across the ground multiple times before stopping.
“Crazy bitch… Is she out of her mind… suicide bombing…?”
As I barely recovered and lifted my head—
—This body is mine!
Alkemis’s soul was darting straight toward Parmela.
“Shit!”
I immediately activated lightness technique to chase.
The Crown Prince and Elina also tried to intercept Alkemis with silver sword slashes and shadow arts, but—
Swoosh—
As if their attacks were mere nuisances, the soul dodged and charged forward.
“No!”
My desperate shout came too late.
Parmela, blankly watching Alkemis’s soul fly toward her.
And then—the soul slipped right into her mouth.
“Ugh…”
Thud.
Parmela collapsed limply to the ground.
“Damn it, Parmela!”
The Crown Prince and Elina raised their weapons again but could only glare helplessly at Parmela.
‘…System. Can I absorb a soul in that state?’
[Negative. A Fallen Deity’s soul fragment can only be absorbed after its bond with a living host is severed.]
‘Tch… Hey, Vertus. If you’re gonna warn me, do it earlier next time.’
—You’re blaming me for this? That was the fastest I could manage.
‘…’
Right. Pointing fingers won’t change anything.
She just outplayed me with a move beyond my expectations, and I fell for it.
‘Just confirm one thing. A demon can fully utilize the abilities of the body they possess, right?’
—Correct.
‘Then how does Parmela fare as a vessel for a demon?’
—A top-tier vessel that’d make any demon drool. Overflowing mana, talent for black flames… Had I not known you, I’d have chosen her without hesitation as a vessel to reclaim my body.
‘I see… Wait, you bastard. So you were always scheming to steal my body?’
—Obviously. More importantly, look.
Parmela was slowly rising to her feet.
—You’re about to face the most desperate battle you’ve ever fought. Perhaps even worse than when you fought me.
“Young Lady?”
Elina’s cautious call went unanswered.
Instead, Parmela threw her head back—
“Mmm. Refreshing.”
—and looked down at us with arrogant eyes.
Her demeanor was identical to Alkemis’s.
“So this is what humans mean by ‘born again.’ Quite addictive. Enough to become a habit…”
“…Has the Fallen Deity possessed the Young Lady?”
“Yes. As you can see.”
Rejoining them, I kept my eyes on Parmela as Elina asked,
“…This is the worst-case scenario.”
“Seems so.”
“What do we do now? We can’t just kill Parmela.”
“We’ll have to damage her body to the brink of death, forcing the soul to abandon it, Your Highness.”
“You… how can you say that…?”
Parmela was precious to both the Head Maid and the Crown Prince.
Thus, they were trapped between retreating and abandoning her or cutting her down.
And that hesitation became their fatal mistake.
“Listen.”
“!”
A voice so sweet it could melt one’s ears.
Instinctively, I gathered my remaining demonic qi to erect a defensive barrier, but
“Ugh…”
The other two let out pained groans and dropped to their knees.
“My body… has no strength…”
“Rise.”
And they stood back up.
“—Take those swords and cut down that vermin of a man.”
Swoosh—
Twin blades and a longsword came at me simultaneously.
—They’re being controlled! Brainwashed by voice alone…
‘No shit.’
This might actually work out.
[Activating Flowing Water Fist.]
With little demonic qi left, I opted for a common martial art instead of Heavenly Demon Arts.
My hands flowed like water, slipping between their blades as I aimed for their napes.
“!”
Before they could react, I struck their pressure points.
Both collapsed limply once more.
Before they could recover, I sealed their movements completely by striking additional points on their heads and backs.
‘This should keep them immobilized for a while.’
“Hmm? Fascinating technique. No magic, just a few precise strikes to paralyze the body?”
“Don’t get any ideas. You couldn’t use it even if you knew.”
I tossed aside my jacket, gripped a dagger, and began walking toward Alkemis, who now controlled Parmela’s body.
“My, my.”
She watched me with amused eyes, as if I were a toy.
“Let’s cut the crap and settle this one-on-one, you… bitch.”