Chapter 163: The Succubus Queen (5)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 163: The Succubus Queen (5)
After the little happening in the bathhouse, I felt a sense of unease as I got dressed.
‘The World Tree’s branch is gone?’
At the same time, I realized something.
The disappearance of the World Tree’s branch had to be connected to that dark energy from before.
I quickly finished dressing and stepped out of the changing room.
Frillite, who had used the changing room before me, was standing outside. When she saw me, she cleared her throat and turned away, her face flushed red.
This was no time for that.
“Let’s go.”
“R-Right!”
I took the lead with Frillite following close behind. It wasn't long after we started running down the castle corridors that we found servants collapsed on the floor.
I checked the pulse of the youngest-looking servant.
“He’s alive. Just unconscious.”
“It seems so.”
Frillite said, pulling her hand away from another servant’s neck. Her earlier embarrassment was gone, replaced by the demeanor of a reliable knight.
Frillite and I headed outside the lord’s castle.
Just as I suspected, the dark energy hadn't been confined to the castle.
All over the streets, citizens lay collapsed.
Frillite frowned at the sight of people, young and old, strewn across the ground.
“Who on earth would do something like this...”
“I have a guess. But first, let’s check if the others are safe.”
Frillite and I searched for our companions. Fortunately, it didn’t take long to find them. Eri and Leslie had shot magic into the sky to signal their location.
We ran in the direction of the magic and found the rest of our party gathered together.
I asked them.
“Where’s Mars?”
“Cloud, wasn’t he with you... Ah, there he is.”
Eri stopped mid-sentence and pointed behind me. Speak of the devil. When I turned around, I saw Mars running toward us.
“Are you alone? Where’s Isabelle? You two are always together.”
“Isn’t Isabelle with Miss Frillite?”
“What are you talking about? Frillite has been with me the whole time.”
“Huh? But she told me she promised to look around the festival with Miss Frillite.”
“That’s strange. I never made such a promise with Isabelle.”
Their stories didn't line up.
While the conversation descended into confusion, I was already getting a rough idea of what had happened.
“We can argue about who promised what later. Right now, let’s chase down the culprit behind this mess.”
“Do you have a way to track them?”
I nodded at Frillite’s question.
Just in case, I had placed a tracking spell on the World Tree’s branch a while ago. Since the spell hadn't vanished, it seemed the culprit hadn't noticed its presence.
This meant tracking them was entirely possible.
I activated the tracking spell.
A round orb of mana bloomed from my palm and floated gently into the air. It then began to fly in the direction of the World Tree’s branch.
“Follow me!”
With me in the lead, my companions ran after the mana orb.
“Let’s pick up the pace!”
I couldn't rule out the possibility that our target had already gotten far away. I increased the speed of the tracking spell and glanced back as we followed.
Thankfully, everyone was keeping up in their own way.
After running for a good while, we finally found her at the edge of the city, just inside a forest. It was Isabelle.
—Oh? How did you find me?
No, it was something inside Isabelle’s body.
*
“Isabelle? What’s going on...”
Mars’s eyes trembled as he looked at Isabelle. Cloud smacked him on the back of the head.
“Snap out of it. Does that look like Isabelle to you?”
A strange tattoo was etched on her forehead, and black wings sprouted from her waist.
Even her eyes had turned completely white.
No matter how you looked at it, this was not the form of a normal human.
Cloud addressed the Succubus Queen dwelling within Isabelle.
“Who are you? Why are you in her body? Why did you steal my World Tree’s branch, and what are you plotting?”
—If you want to know that, won't you answer my question first~?
“How did I find you? With the tracking spell I put on the World Tree’s branch.”
—Lies. There’s no way I wouldn’t have noticed something like that... Huh?
The Succubus Queen narrowed her eyes as she looked at the branch.
—It’s real? I had no idea. You’re more delicate with your magic than I thought, aren’t you?
“I have my moments. Now it’s your turn to answer my questions.”
—You mean the one about who I am? But do I really need to tell you that?
“You don’t have to if you don’t want to. I wasn’t that curious anyway.”
Cloud gripped the hilt of his sword.
—Oh, how scary. Are you planning to cut me down? You’ll have to cut this girl down first, you know?
“Simple. I’ll cut her down.”
“Brother?! What are you talking about!”
At the words that he would strike Isabelle down, Mars grabbed Cloud’s shoulder in horror. Ignoring him, Cloud’s gaze remained fixed on the Succubus Queen.
His eyes promised he would cut her down without hesitation if she made the slightest move.
Faced with his murderous glare, the Succubus Queen burst out laughing.
—You’re serious! You’re actually going to do it! As expected of the hero who retired that old geezer. You’re quite decisive. I don’t have multiple lives like he did, so I’d better prepare myself, hmm?
Her laughter faded as she massaged her own neck. When she spoke again, it was not Isabelle’s voice that came out, but another.
—Terseus.
The moment the name left her lips, something shot through the trees at incredible speed.
It was a handsome man with three pairs of magnificent wings on his back.
He landed with his long, ash-gray hair fluttering and knelt on one knee before the Succubus Queen.
“Angelica, my love. Did you call for me?”
—Yes. These humans over here are trying to kill me. I’d like you to protect me.
“What?”
The man’s gaze shifted to Cloud’s party. The warmth in his expression as he looked at Angelica vanished, replaced by an icy chill as he glared at them.
“I wondered what lowly creatures dared to threaten my Angelica, and it turns out to be heroes? How pathetic. It seems being hailed as heroes has made you forget your place.”
“Hngh...?!”
Suddenly, Eri’s legs began to tremble uncontrollably. She tried to steady herself with her staff, but her body wouldn't obey.
She wasn’t the only one.
Ophelia, Neria, Katarina, Leslie, and the others—though to varying degrees, they were all gripped by fear.
It was the terror that stemmed from the gap between a superior and an inferior being.
The aura exuded by a dragon, a supreme being.
Dragon Fear.
With just a few words, Terseus had seized control of the atmosphere.
“What, he’s a named one?”
There was only one person completely unaffected: Cloud.
Far from feeling fear, he just seemed puzzled.
“What are you doing here?”
A named dragon.
A dragon bestowed a name by the Dragon King, and naturally, one whose power was incomparable to that of an ordinary dragon.
“I am here to protect my beloved Angelica. As long as I stand, not one of you will lay a single finger on her.”
“Angelica is the name of the Succubus Queen... So you’re the Succubus Queen, then?”
At Cloud’s remark, the Succubus Queen’s face soured.
—Terseus. Are you trying to make things difficult for me with your pointless chatter?
“M-My apologies. That was not my intention at all.”
—Whatever. I’m leaving. You clean up this mess. Got it?
“As you wish, my love. Whatever you desire...”
The Succubus Queen flew off into the forest without waiting for Terseus to finish his reply. Terseus watched her go with a look of longing. While he was distracted, Cloud spoke to Mars.
“Let’s be clear about this. I’m going to kill Isabelle.”
“Brother!”
“Circumstantially, Isabelle is the one who stole the World Tree’s branch. That means she’s the one who caused the incident in the city. Even if no one died, she made a contract with a demon. As a hero, I must pass judgment.”
Mars bit his lip hard, his head spinning. Why would Isabelle do such a thing? Was this really the only way to resolve it? A storm of thoughts flooded his mind.
“However, if she was merely being used, I might be able to show some leniency. So, Mars, you go and ask her.”
“Huh...?”
Mars lifted his bowed head. Cloud sighed as he looked at him.
“Wipe that dumb look off your face and go ask her. Did she make a contract, or was she just being used? I will pass judgment on Isabelle based on your words. But if any problems arise from it, you won’t be able to escape responsibility either.”
Would he abandon Isabelle?
Or would he stand with her, even if it meant being dragged through the mud?
Cloud had given Mars the choice.
“...Thank you.”
Mars bowed his head in gratitude and was about to run into the forest when Terseus spoke.
“What amusing words. You dare to ignore me and chase after her? Do you truly believe that is possible!”
Terseus’s skeleton and muscles began to twist and contort. His body swelled to the size of a small mountain, his human form transforming into that of a colossal dragon.
Red flames flickered within the dragon’s maw.
“You will all be turned to ash.”
A wave of scorching fire surged toward Cloud’s party. Eri and Leslie hastily tried to cast protective spells, but their bodies were stiff from the Dragon Fear, making them a fraction too slow.
It was a situation where they couldn't be sure they could block it all.
Cloud stepped forward.
“Watch this before you go.”
Cloud drew his sword.
The blade, made of beautifully shining blue orichalcum.
He swung it straight down.
It was a simple vertical slash, not imbued with Sword Aura, nor was he projecting it.
But contained within the tip of that blade was the very essence of the sword, which a talentless man had spent his entire life to obtain.
It was on a level that Sword Aura or Sword Force could never compare to.
FWOOSH—!
The flames split in two.
It remained so even after Cloud had sheathed his sword. As if space itself had been torn apart, the breath attack split perfectly down the middle.
“H-How is this...?!”
Terseus stopped his breath attack in bewilderment.
Cloud turned back to Mars and urged him on.
“Go now. And don’t forget what I said before.”