The Black Knight Swore to the Blind Saintess

The tentacles gripping Emilia's limbs shifted slightly, and her suspended body swayed along with them.

Her breasts, hanging from her frame like enormous ripened fruit, jostled beneath her clothes.

"Hnngh."

"Saintess!"

Knife in hand, I stood guard over her, holding the remaining tentacles at bay.

Two thick tentacles were wrapped around her slender waist and midriff. Four more held each of her limbs fast. And a pair of tentacles that looked unsettlingly like male appendages slithered in circles around Emilia, coiling and uncoiling as they circled her like predators waiting for their moment.

Whenever they crept closer to her, I swung the knife in warning.

For all that, it's behaving exactly like a generic tentacle monster. How exactly is this "helping" me?

The two tentacles kept trying to work their way toward Emilia's chest. Worried she might get cut, I put the knife away and blocked them with my bare hands instead.

Thwack.

Every time one came near, I smacked it back.

Over and over, dozens of times.

Smack.

"Hck!"

Emilia squeezed her eyes shut.

Uh oh.

By mistake, I'd hit her breast instead of a tentacle.

Boing. Boing.

Her chest wobbled.

Look, her breasts were honestly big enough that I wanted to argue this was not one hundred percent my fault. If an insurance adjuster showed up, I'd say the liability split came out to something like eight-to-two.

Of course, I do have a conscience, so I'd concede I'm the eight.

"Oh no. Saintess, I'm so sorry."

"No, it's fine. I'm okay."

And then—

The two tentacles that had been pestering us this whole time suddenly recoiled, hissing backward as if they'd been struck by terror.

"Huh?"

"Mr. Castollini, look! Something changed!"

"So it has."

Blocking those things had taken a lot out of me; I wiped the sweat from my brow, breathing hard.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Castollini. This is all because of me..."

"Not at all, Saintess. Who could have predicted something like this would come wriggling out of nowhere? It seems to have faltered, so I'll try lighting a fire with the matches I picked up earlier. Maybe if I hold the flame to it, it'll let you go and run off."

"Please do. I'm so sorryyy..."

Honestly, I doubted fire would do anything to creatures that didn't so much as flinch at knife blades, but we'd need a fire sooner ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠or later anyway, so I figured I'd get it started ahead of time.

I began gathering dry leaves and twigs beside her.

I was maybe five steps away when Emilia called out to me.

"Um... Mr. Castollini? Th-they're moving again...?"

The two tentacles that had shrunk back were stealthily creeping toward Emilia once more. I rushed over and waved them off with my hands.

No matter how many times I shoved them away, they never rested, never stopped aiming for her chest. They were even quick about it, which made them hard to block.

"Hah—hah, hah."

Even so, I fought on, gasping for breath, desperately fending them off.

And then a thought struck me out of nowhere.

The status window said this thing helps a man and woman come together.

Wait. Don't tell me... is THIS what helping looks like?

I looked at Emilia's chest.

Holy hell.

One glance told me they rivaled Yoo Seolha's.

Ah, Seolha. My Seolha. She knows how much I love her chest—she'd press her nipples right up to my mouth all on her own every morning when she came out of the shower...

Get a grip, Kim Ian.

No. Ian Castollini.

I shook my head. Composed again, I pushed the tentacles aside and spoke to Emilia.

"Saintess."

"Yes?"

"Forgive my rudeness."

"...?"

I reached out and took one of Emilia's breasts in my hand.

"Hnk? Ah? Mr. Castollini?!"

Suspended as she was, she turned to stare at me, flustered. I gestured at the tentacles with a jerk of my chin.

"Look there."

The tentacles hissed backward, recoiling just like before, and huddled in on themselves.

"Wha—?!"

Emilia's eyes went wide. I explained.

"I'm no monster specialist, but I remember reading something somewhere. It said that what tentacle monsters fear above all else is seeing a captured female show affection to—or have relations with—another male besides them. So if I do this—"

When a tentacle tried to creep forward again, I gave Emilia's breast a gentle squeeze.

"Hck."

Her face flushed crimson. The tentacle shrank back at once.

"—it recoils in fear, just like that."

"Oh...? So it's true."

A tangle of emotions played openly across Emilia's face. She looked bewildered and mortified, and yet somehow—somewhere in there—a little relieved.

Bibic, was it?

It posed as a terrifying tentacle monster to drive the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠male into protecting the female, and then maneuvered them into coupling. That, apparently, was its behavioral pattern.

I went back to gathering leaves and twigs around Emilia.

"Um... Mr. Castollini?"

The trouble was, every time she called for me, the huddled tentacles would start moving again—

—so I'd dash back like a wasp-removal professional and give one side of her chest a light squeeze. Then the tentacle would hisssss back into its shell, quaking as if in terror.

Repeat, several times over.

Once I'd piled up leaves and branches near Emilia, I tried striking a match to them.

Chik. Chik.

Most of the matches were damp, and they wouldn't catch.

"Um... Mr. Castollini?"

"Yes."

I set down the matches and straightened up. The tentacles were motionless for the moment.

Emilia spoke to me.

"I know you're terribly busy, and I'm sorry, but something feels... strange. Has something happened to my body? Lower down?"

Hanging as she was, her chest blocked her own view of her stomach.

I looked her body over.

"Ah... oh no."

"Wh-what is it?"

Some kind of corrosive secretion from the tentacles was eating through Emilia's clothes.

"The tentacles are dissolving your clothing. Thankfully your skin looks completely unharmed, but..."

Her abdomen and the underside of her chest were dissolving fastest of all, steadily baring her smooth stomach and the plump swell of her underboob.

A black nun's habit turned underboob outfit. Unbelievable.

At that moment, a tentacle over there began to slink into motion again. I grabbed Emilia's breast.

My thumb met bare skin along the underside of her breast—her underwear had already dissolved away.

"Nnghk."

"Forgive me."

"I-it's fine."

However—

After only a brief retreat, the tentacle began advancing straight toward us.

"Huh?"

"Mr. Castollini?!"

Panicking, I seized both ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of Emilia's breasts.

"Huh?"

When that still didn't stop the thing, I went from merely holding on to kneading and groping them outright. Only then did the tentacle finally retreat to its position.

"Haaah."

Emilia hung her head low. She'd clearly had quite the fright.

"It seems to be building up a tolerance. I need to get that fire going, fast."

"Nnn. Yes..."

"Saintess, I know it's hard, but stay strong. Remember what we talked about? Stay positive. Never give up. I'll have that fire burning in no time."

Emilia's bowed head snapped up.

"Yes! Understood, Mr. Castollini!"

Fires of resolve blazed to life in her eyes once more. She steeled herself to give me strength—and through the thin black fabric of her habit, her nipples stood out in soft, swollen peaks.

Once the fabric started dissolving, it kept going even where the tentacles never touched it. A little more, and her areolae and nipples would be fully on display.

I tried the matches again.

Quite a lot of time had passed.

"Ah! It almost caught that time!"

"M-Mr. Castollini?"

Her voice made my head snap up on reflex.

The tentacles that had stayed silent all this while were drifting slowly toward us. Emilia's clothes had by now dissolved considerably, baring roughly half of her chest. Pink areolae and nipples kept peeking into view.

The afternoon sun beat down, lighting up her pale body. The curves her suspended form traced against the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠sky went beyond beauty—they verged on the divine.

And I laid hands on that divine body without mercy. I kneaded her breasts without a shred of ceremony.

The tentacles shrank back for a moment—then started creeping in again.

"Mr. Castollini, it's coming! What do I do? Haah!"

I pinched both of Emilia's nipples between my fingers like tweezers and rolled them.

"Nnnngh... Mr. Castollini..."

Bound as she was, she squirmed and writhed beneath me. The tentacle hissed back.

When I finally let go, Emilia's pink nipples stood fully, achingly erect.

Turning away as if nothing had happened, I tried the matches once more.

Chik—

Fail.

Chik—

Fail.

Chiik—

A wisp of smoke, a brief flicker—then it died. Fail.

Whether or not the tentacles helped, fire was essential to surviving on this deserted island. And with the matches refusing to cooperate, the frustration was getting to me.

"Phew—"

I let out a sigh of my own and wiped the sweat away.

Behind me, Emilia spoke up.

"Mr. Castollini? Don't be too discouraged. You can get it lit. I believe in you."

I straightened and walked over to her.

"Saintess."

"Yes?"

"What am I supposed to do the next time that thing starts moving again? Already, just from laying hands on your body, I feel as though I've committed a sin."

Emilia squirmed as she answered.

"Please don't think of it as a sin. You were only trying to save me. Next time too, if... if the tentacle won't stop... then, um..."

Emilia's face turned scarlet.

And at that very moment, the tentacle began wriggling anew.

I grabbed Emilia's breast and swirled my finger around her nipple in slow circles. The tentacle faltered for the briefest instant—then started slinking toward us again.

"Forgive me, Saintess."

"It's f-fine, really—hyuk!"

I bent down, took Emilia's nipple into my mouth, and sucked it, wet and loud.

I circled the tip of my tongue around it, lapping at her.

"How is it? Did it go back?"

"Haah... yes. Yes, it's retreating."

Slurp.

I sucked my own saliva cleanly off her nipple, then released her breast.

Silently, I returned to the pile of leaves and tried the match again.

Chik—chik—chik—

Chiik—

"Got it!"

The match caught. I tucked the flame into the dry leaves and blew gently on them. With a curl of white smoke, the fire slowly began to climb.

"That's amazing, Mr. Castollini."

"All thanks to you, Saintess. Your cheering me on is what—wha—!"

The tentacle started moving again. I leapt up and kneaded Emilia's breasts furiously. I squeezed her nipples between my fingers, pinching and tugging, and when even that didn't stop the thing, I licked her nipples hungrily, greedily.

"Nnghk!"

The two tentacles pulled back—then, as if enraged, began lashing a nearby tree like a whip.

Thud.

Ssssss—

Smoke rose from the spot the tentacle struck, the wood melting away into a deep, smoldering groove.

Crazy. Is it actually angry? If that were smoke... no, wait, if that were steam, that'd be insane.

Before I knew it, the two tentacles had drawn level with Emilia's face, aimed at her mouth as if to force their way in. I snatched them both, one in each hand, and gripped them tight.

Vajra Body.

The tentacles stretched farther, coiling around my arms like vines.

Sssss—

Just like with the tree, hot steam rose off my arms.

"Oh dear. Nngh."

The tentacles wrapping around me felt unpleasantly slick.

"N-no! Mr. Castollini! Let go! Not any further than this!"

Emilia twisted her body wildly in distress. I frowned and leaned close to her lips.

"A k-kiss. Kiss me."

Emilia kissed me without even one second of hesitation. Our mouths met and our tongues began to intertwine, her soft tongue exploring mine.

My arms, as it happened, felt nothing at all. How to put it—like having a medicated patch slapped on? A cool, tingling sensation. At first I assumed it was the Vajra Body at work, but it wasn't.

Somehow, the secretion from those tentacles seemed to be making my body stronger.

There was no doubt about it. The tentacles were strengthening me.