Chapter 297
Chapter 297
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Demonic Allure (2)
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"Wow..."
The lesser succubi had completely forgotten their objectives and positions, utterly captivated by the hero's stage(?).
It was an utterly unavoidable situation, and no one could blame them for it.
In fact, even the greater succubus who had stormed in to reprimand them had, before long, naturally blended in among them.
"Zallak!!! Are you alright!?!"
"Yes!!!? What did you say!!!?"
The hero's charisma show encompassing all three demon swords at once—
No, his attempt to control the demon swords stemmed from a single incident.
Rishir thought.
To truly make the three demon swords his own, he needed to wield them all simultaneously.
If even one of those vile abominations slipped from control, it could lead to irreparable disaster.
Fortunately, the demon swords were still disoriented from the destruction of their original body.
Rishir judged now was the perfect time to attempt it.
And so, now—
"Zallak, if you're ready—let's go again!!!"
With the holy sword's aid, Rishir was attempting full control over the demon swords.
At present.
Rishir had taken the form of an inky-black knight.
He planned to start with the most familiar beastly aura and gradually ramp up the intensity.
Holy sword in his left hand.
Three demon swords crudely crammed into his right.
"...!!!"
Rishir tensed, pouring strength into both hands with a shout.
Changes rippled across the jet-black armor.
As if dye had been spilled, violet hues bled into the armor.
Beast followed by curse.
Rishir accepted the auras of two demon swords at once.
There was no hesitation. No wavering.
"!!!!!!!!"
Another shout.
On the jet-black canvas, crimson dye followed the violet.
The swordmaster accepted the auras of all demon swords.
Those multicolored, ominous energies churned violently within the armor.
As if gestation. Something cursed was being born inside the swordmaster's plate.
The onlookers, succubi included, were overwhelmed by the sinister sight, unconsciously thinking—
The overwhelming presence of the magic armor devoured the surrounding area.
The world of those standing there seemed dyed in ominous colors as well.
Reason was naturally twisting into madness and terror.
Under normal circumstances, screams and flight would have erupted by now.
"Wow..."
Yet they merely gripped their hands in thrilling anticipation.
The holy sword.
That brilliant streak of light steadfastly held the center amid the ominous vortex.
"!!!!!"
At that moment.
The swordmaster shouted once more, the fiercest yet—like a strike with all his might.
It triggered changes in the magic armor.
"L-Look there...!!!"
The crowd pointed unanimously at the swordmaster's chest.
A straight, blade-like gleam etched into the breastplate.
A new color bled into the magic armor.
The color of light.
It ruthlessly shoved aside the clashing discordant hues, scattering radiance.
"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Perhaps the final shout.
The hero raised the holy sword high with all his strength.
The streak of light surged into a pillar of brilliance.
The pillar repelled not only the encircling demon sword auras but the night's darkness itself.
The faces of those watching lit up.
Light bloomed from the site, flooding everywhere.
The entire camp brightened like morning.
At its center stood the swordmaster.
No.
The term "swordmaster" no longer fit.
The magic armor's surface, which had seemed to swallow even darkness,
now scattered luster instead.
They recalled the church knights they had seen once.
Those clad in spotless white plate, claiming to wield the goddess's sword.
Holy knights.
They thought of the name, deeming it a pity.
It suited the being before them perfectly.
Thus, they needed a new name.
No hesitation.
The striking figure inspired a crystal-clear epiphany.
"Knight of Light..."
Someone murmured blankly.
Was it imagination?
The three demon swords that should have been in his right hand were gone.
All that entered their sight was the lofty pillar of light.
Holy sword and armor of light alone.
The radiance showed no sign of fading.
It grew sharper, poised to dye the entire night sky.
But the end came abruptly.
Thump!
A massive vibration echoed across the site, signaling the finale.
They were suddenly under an ordinary night sky.
"Hah...!"
At the center, the hero panted raggedly.
Everyone else had forgotten to even breathe.
Perfect silence blanketed the area.
"..."
Akirin and the succubi were bewildered.
An unprecedented awe they had never experienced.
They had no clue how to react.
Then.
Clapclapclapclapclapclap.
A boisterously chatty applause shattered the silence.
"Woooow!!! Rishir, you're so cool!!!"
The elf, still carrying her sharp watcher's aura, cheered wildly.
The succubi were dumbfounded.
Applause?
So cool?
Was that really the response to such awe?
"Woooow!!!"
"Hero!!!?"
But the growing clamor swept away their thoughts.
The crowd joined Latsil's fuss one by one.
The succubi had no way of knowing.
That in this expedition, it was the normal reaction.
That the surreal spectacle they just witnessed was mere daily routine here.
"...Wow~"
Flustered, the succubi ultimately got swept up in the flow.
They clapped awkwardly and cheered.
"Really? Are you sure?"
"Yeah! He told me himself! The sword in his left hand was the holy sword, and the ones in his right were demon swords!"
The priestess shouted excitedly.
"Th-Then what did we just see!? A cl-clash between holy sword and demon swords?"
"It didn't feel like a clash, though?"
"Exactly! A clash feels more like... boom! A collision?"
"But what we saw was more like... absorption? Harmony...?"
"Yes! That's it! Harmony!"
A clap loud enough to shatter her palm.
Nearby priestesses flinched, covering their ears.
"Eek! You scared me! Why the sudden clap—"
"Sorry! I got too excited without realizing—"
"Harmony between holy sword and demon swords... How is that even possible... Is being a hero that incredible?"
Pfft.
One priestess snorted.
"If every hero could do that—we'd all be dead by now."
"Oh, listen to you!?"
Giggles.
The priestesses' lively laughter echoed through their camp.
And so.
After the magnificent stage concluded—
The priestesses gathered in their camp, reliving the excitement.
"..."
By the original plan—
They should have secured one slave each, gathered, and drained their essence by now.
"Huh? Wait."
Just then.
One priestess sensed something off, eyes darting upper right in thought.
"Yeah? What is it?"
The priestesses' bright eyes focused.
Hoping for another thrilling hero tale.
Already—
One priestess who had briefly met a near-slave (expedition member) after the show and heard hero stories was being treated like the big sister in the group.
"...Don't we feel like we forgot something?"
Forgot?
What?
The priestesses blinked innocently.
"Heh."
Then, a cool voice cut in, detached from the rowdy bunch.
It doused the festive mood like cold water.
"What did we forget? Tell us."
The priestesses—
No, succubi—finally remembered what they forgot.
They slowly turned toward the voice.
The succubi's leader.
Greater succubus Akirin stood there, arms crossed, staring them down.
Her smiling face, unlike her voice, chilled them to the bone.
"Kyaa!? Akirin!?"
"Wh-When did you get here!?"
The group of succubi chattering excitedly about the hero jumped in fright at their leader's appearance.
"What..."
In words: What the hell is this?
Akirin was briefly confused how to interpret the situation—
"I said keep talking. What exactly did you forget—"
She interrogated her subordinates with her signature smile.
"..."
The succubi's faces drained to fear in an instant.
Akirin nodded inwardly, satisfied.
"Good. You haven't forgotten. That the one before you is kind, but not soft."
Akirin dropped the forced smile and got serious.
"So, make your excuses. What nerve, what confidence. I lent you my power, and you return empty-handed thinking what?"
"""..."""
The succubi bowed their heads silently.
No words, even ten mouths wouldn't suffice.
But fortunately, or not.
Their number slightly exceeded ten.
One succubus boldly spoke up.
"Akirin..."
"Yes?"
"No, isn't Akirin the same as us...?"
"""Whaaaat!!!"""
The succubi clamped their mouths.
Yoanna.
Bold to the point of obliviousness at times, a cautionary figure in the group.
She had stirred up trouble.
Defying Akirin in this situation!?
"..."
The greater succubus's forced smile twitched.
Her crossed arms' nails slowly lengthened.
"Same as you? What do you mean?"
"H-Honestly, I was expecting... what slave Akirin would bring this time... But—"
The succubus's timid yet bold gaze turned to her leader.
Precisely, beside her!
"Akirin came back empty-handed too...!"
"""Whaaaat!!!"""
The succubi clamped their mouths again.
Yoanna.
Oblivious but never wrong, the group's sort of digestive aid.
She nailed the core.
Akirin.
The greater succubus had returned empty-handed as well.
Thus, no different from the lesser ones.
No.
Hers was worse.
Because—
She was a greater succubus.
A queen-like superior in the group.
She wielded immense power the lesser ones lacked.
Astoundingly dense aura, and a charm like a blessing!
If the lesser succubi went hunting with clubs—
She went with an ego sword.
Thus.
A lesser succubus returning empty-handed differed vastly from a greater one doing so.
Yet Akirin was defiant.
"There was interference."
She declared boldly.
"He got in my way."
"He? The hero!?"
Tsk.
Akirin scolded the excited succubi brightening up.
Hero?
-nim???
"...The hero?"
The succubi meekly corrected.
Wilted, yet eyes still expectant on their greater succubus.
Akirin recounted her ordeal.
"I'd almost sealed the deal—then the hero intervened with some unknown power, ruining everything."
Akirin truly believed it.
That the hero's mysterious ability freed the scabbard's elites from her charm.
For her pride as a greater succubus, it had to be so.
"...Same for us?"
"Huh?"
The succubi blinked in rebuttal.
"We'd almost got them too, then suddenly their comrades showed up—"
"..."
Akirin faltered.
The lesser succubi's words hinted at a conclusion.
Perhaps.
The scabbard's elites escaping her charm wasn't due to the hero's interference.
No direct force like blessings or magic.
A greater succubus's charm couldn't be repelled by such things anyway.
Thus, one possibility.
"..."
The hero.
The expedition's feelings toward him outstripped even those for the greater succubus.
"No way—"
Akirin reeled in shock and humiliation.
The church's devout high priests.
The magic tower's masters obsessed with spells.
All yearned for her, casting everything aside before Akirin's charm.
Yet—
Feelings for a mere human overpowering her charm?
"Impossible—..."
Akirin's words halted midway.
A sudden recollection.
The stage she watched before coming here.
Even her own state then.
She had forgotten her purpose and position, utterly enthralled by the hero.
No need to mention her lesser succubi, bound to serve only her.
"..."
Akirin was suddenly gripped by vague anxiety.
If this continued—
Her subordinates might fall completely to the hero's charm, even betraying her.
Perhaps already—
"..."
Ultimately, Akirin chose second-worst humiliation over the absolute worst.
"Everyone, prepare. When night deepens fully, we slip out of the expedition quietly."
Thus.
The greater succubus, who never let go of chosen slaves, resolved to flee.
"..."
"..."
"...?"
But the lesser succubi showed no sign of moving.
Finally, Akirin's patience reached its limit.
"You worthless things. Spoiled rotten with no end. Fine. Test my patience's limit."
The greater succubus's nails elongated into scythes.
She casually swung her hand, neatly slicing a tent pole in her path.
Akirin intended to execute one as an example.
As her hand arced unhesitatingly toward a lesser succubus—
"Akirin, please!!! Just a few more days—no, one more day...!!!"
"..."
The desperate plea shook Akirin's resolve.
Their stubbornness as succubi struck her as admirable.
Asking for more time surely meant—
They'd reclaim lost prey out of succubus pride.
"What if the hero does it again tomorrow~"
"He looked unsatisfied, so he'll probably rest and try again tomorrow!?"
"Aren't you curious too, Akirin!?! The hero fully mastering the demon swords, reborn as a new being...!!!"
"""Akirin~~~"""
"..."
Akirin squeezed her eyes shut.
Snap.
The sound of the greater succubus's patience breaking.
"...Just one day."
The hero's demon sword show.
Akirin couldn't resist.
"Lord Rishir!!! Just three more days and we'll reach Bondalles!!!"
"Finally—... Huh? By the way, Akirin—"
"Yes?"
"Suddenly, but what was your original destination? When you joined four days ago, you didn't mention it—"
"..."
Akirin.
Midway through distributing soup to the expedition, she snapped to her senses and looked around.
"Huh?"