Chapter 45 - The Succubus Queen, Parmela (2)
“Mmm, hmm~”
Two of her subordinates had just been subdued, and the perpetrator was now provocatively challenging her to a duel.
Yet Parmela strolled about with languid steps as if on a picnic, spinning in circles as though dancing, even humming a tune.
With every turn, the hem of her crimson dress fluttered like flower petals.
“What’s got you so cheerful?”
“In my hundreds of years as a Fallen Deity, this is the first time I’ve encountered such a perfect vessel.”
‘She sounds just like Vertus.’
“A noble maiden raised with the utmost care in a ducal household—her untainted flesh contrasting with a heart thoroughly soaked in jealousy and unrequited love, through which surges waves of scorching flames…”
As Alkemis spoke these words, she gazed dreamily into empty space.
“…Oh my?”
Suddenly startled, she began feeling around her left breast.
“Aha. So that’s it. Poor girl. You had enough flames, but lacked the malice to darken them—that’s why you struggled to summon black flames all this time…”
“Malice?”
“The essence that forms Corrupted Mana. Just as you infuse pure mana with various elements to grant it attributes, adding a single drop of ‘malice’—the lifeblood of demons—transforms it into splendidly tainted Corrupted Mana.”
Now thoroughly fascinated by the body she inhabited, she began examining it from head to toe.
“What a bizarre coincidence. I’ve never seen a human utilize demonic power this way. Perhaps your distant ancestors had ties to demons…”
“…My ancestors had connections to demons? The Herthe family?”
“How should I know? I don’t bother with tedious human history. Silvanos might have known—he was quite the scholar…”
Parmela’s crimson eyes locked onto me.
Her pupils had elongated vertically, identical to a demon’s.
“But you killed him, didn’t you?”
“…!”
The moment our eyes met, I instinctively threw myself sideways.
Whoosh—!
A spear of black flames pierced precisely where my head had been moments before.
These were fundamentally different from Parmela’s black flames. While hers were an even mix of red and black, Alkemis’s were pure obsidian despite their fiery form.
“So this is how it feels. To lose someone you love. I’ve only ever enjoyed tearing human lovers apart—never experienced it myself…”
Black flames—different from Parmela’s—ignited in her pupils.
“Now it’s my turn for revenge, isn’t it?”
Fwoosh—
Alkemis’s entire body became engulfed in crimson-black flames.
Her red dress disintegrated without leaving even ashes behind.
As the flames receded, what remained covering Parmela’s body could barely be called a dress—just thin black straps barely concealing her chest and groin.
The remaining expanse of Parmela’s alabaster skin gleamed under the light.
“—And even now, you can’t tear your eyes away from your master’s nakedness. Just another base human male, after all.”
The way her index finger traced her red lips exuded a seductiveness befitting the Queen of Succubi.
“Tch. Narcissism has its limits. Who said anything about being entranced?”
…I’ll admit I was slightly mesmerized.
-Get a grip.
‘I know.’
“Enough games.”
Her previously relaxed tone now dripped with venom.
“Burn in inextinguishable flames and die in agony. Experience the pain Silvanos felt!”
As she thrust her right hand toward me, pillars of black fire erupted.
“Tch!”
I leaped back to evade, only for tendrils of black flame to sprout from behind her like vines, lashing toward me.
“Guh…!”
One strand wrapped around my left arm before I could react. The searing pain forced a groan from my lips as I desperately channeled demonic qi into a knife to sever the binding flame.
The black fire morphed endlessly—into creeping vines, erupting pillars, raining droplets, and surging waves—relentlessly driving me back.
“—No choice.”
I prepared to open all my meridians for absorption.
While borrowing Parmela’s magic, Alkemis’s mana must be mixed within those flames—making them absorbable.
But my hesitation had a reason…
‘…No time to be picky now.’
Without replenishing my demonic qi, I’m dead either way.
“Inhale— Exhale—”
Steeling myself, I visualized the black flames permeating through my skin.
Simultaneously, the surrounding flames lost their vigor, smoothly seeping into me—
“GAAAH!”
Agony as if every blood vessel were burning erupted through my body.
I couldn’t suppress the scream as I forcibly anchored my fading consciousness, pulling the absorbed energy toward my dantian.
[Warning! High-temperature energy detected invading user’s system. Converting existing demonic qi to yin energy to lower temperature.]
The searing heat gradually subsided as the energy neared my dantian.
Upon arrival, it transformed into ordinary Corrupted Mana like with previous Fallen Deities.
After filtering impurities through the usual process, I checked my remaining reserves.
[Remaining demonic qi: 14%]
‘Pathetic.’
The cost-benefit doesn’t add up.
I can’t afford to incinerate my meridians for this paltry amount.
[Warning. Excessive heat detected permeating all meridians. Further absorption risks meridian collapse.]
‘Figured as much.’
Unlike Vertus’s wind or Silvanos’s plants, absorbing Parmela’s extreme heat was never going to be smooth.
“…Hmm.”
Alkemis had been quietly observing my absorption process with narrowed, intrigued eyes.
“Fascinating. So you absorb Corrupted Mana. As remarkable as black flames are, they pale before your ability.”
“I’ll take that as praise.”
“Genuinely. Now I understand how Vertus and Silvanos fell to a mere human. Absorbing Corrupted Mana as your own power—you’re practically a natural predator of demons.”
Yet her sneering smile held too much arrogance for someone facing their natural enemy.
“But seems you can’t handle the black flames. What’s your plan now?”
Flick—
As Alkemis pointed at me, the raging flames surrounding her began morphing into bizarre shapes.
-Ho. Chess pawns. Not bad aesthetic sense for a whore.
‘I’m about to die here…’
-Six pawns advanced like living soldiers, even forming battle formations.
Swish!
I barely dodged a descending black blade.
‘Who has time for commentary now?!’
-I know damn well. While you bought time, I brainstormed…
‘And?’
-Just accept death. I’ll keep you company to the underworld.
‘You useless bastard…!’
Alkemis now gestured like a conductor, summoning knights, rooks, bishops—an entire chess army of burning black pieces charging at me.
“KYAHAHAHA!!!”
Between Alkemis’s mad laughter and brain-melting heat, the flawless coordination of flaming chessmen targeting my vitals left me no more than a puppet on strings.
Dizzy. About to black out.
…Then why not embrace it?
“Fuck it. Whatever.”
-Finally snapped.
“Just shut up and watch.”
While dodging, I gathered my last shreds of demonic qi and directed it all toward my heart.
[Warning. The intended technique may cause severe side effects. Proceed?]
“Do it.”
-…What are you planning?
The orb of demonic qi traveled through my veins toward my heart.
The moment it arrived, I violently crushed it.
Thud!
“Guhk.”
Blood sprayed from my mouth as if a bomb had detonated in my chest.
The exploded qi merged with blood, transforming into blood demon qi that dyed my heart and circulated through my body.
When it finally reached my brain, spine, and the innate qi within—
[‘Heavenly Demon Heart Art - Raging Blood Demon Technique’ activated.]
[Commencing mutation.]
Electric pleasure surged through my spine.
Primal craving for battle.
I’m rabid to tear apart that succubus hiding behind her pawns.
Reason gives way to instinct, caution to bloodlust.
Muscles bulge grotesquely.
“Last resort? How pathetic.”
Yet Alkemis’s uneasy expression betrayed that she sensed something ominous.
[Mutation complete. All physical capabilities drastically enhanced.]
[Prolonged use may cause permanent damage to blood vessels and even brain tissue—]
Ignoring the system’s nagging warnings, I charged at the encircling chessmen.
-Hey, wait!
Sinking teeth into a pawn’s neck, I felt black flames violently searing my mouth.
I swallowed anyway.
The flames burned through esophagus, stomach, capillaries—spreading everywhere.
[Warning. High-temperature energy detected in user’s system.]
But the system merely reported facts, taking no further action.
[Raging Blood Demon Technique consumes demonic qi to grant hyper-regeneration to affected cells.]
The scorching heat faded as I crammed remaining qi into my depleted dantian.
Not enough. Nowhere near enough.
After shredding several pawns, I realized this pace wouldn’t sate the hunger and changed tactics.
“Fwooo—”
Inhaling like trying to vacuum the entire atmosphere, even the chessmen and stray embers got sucked into my maw.
Excruciating pain as my mouth melts—yet even that transforms into exhilarating pleasure.
-…System. What the hell did Heavenly Demon do to him?
[Raging Blood Demon Technique combines demonic qi, blood qi, and innate qi to temporarily grant powerful buffs throughout the body’s meridians.]
[The closest equivalent in this world would be ‘Berserk’.]