The Succubus and the Saintess [Western Fantasy] 8

Chapter 8: Judgment

Uthar’s lungs were about to explode with rage—if a formless shadow even had lungs.

His original plan had been for Pamela to bewitch the Knight-Captain, Koro, while he launched a surprise attack on the squishy priestess, Cenia. As a Knight-Captain, Koro had undergone rigorous training; a succubus of Pamela’s level would have been nothing but cannon fodder. This way, she would not only tie Koro down but also wouldn’t be able to dilute Uthar’s glory in front of the Demon King.

When Pamela had agreed to cooperate, Uthar had almost laughed out loud at her stupidity.

He was a shadow demon with a rare gift for magic, unlike those common grunts. It was just one frail Saintess of Light. He was confident that he needed only a single second to reap Cenia’s life and report back to his king.

But who could have predicted that Pamela wouldn’t follow the plan?!

Turncoat succubi! Just as untrustworthy as they say!

The Saintess’s resistance to a succubus’s charm seemed astonishingly low. Pamela had successfully bewitched her, but in doing so, had exposed Uthar to the full fury of Koro. Now revealed, Uthar had no choice but to take Koro’s rage-fueled sword strike head-on. Unable to shift his offensive stance in time, the defensive spell he hastily cast was pathetically weak. The light element burned directly into his body. It had been years since he had suffered such direct pain, and it sent Uthar into a rage of his own.

Meanwhile, Pamela had considerately wrapped her tail around the Saintess’s slender waist and was leisurely dragging her into the darkness, far from the battle. Assuming the posture of one watching tigers fight from a mountaintop, she even added fuel to the fire, shouting encouragement to Koro.

“Koro, you can do it! He’s splitting his focus to control the Darkness Canopy and the cages! He can’t beat you!”

Unsure whose side Pamela was on, both combatants froze for a second.

For Koro, Pamela “kidnapping” Cenia was undoubtedly dangerous. But her words also revealed that the shadow demon was their only enemy here; there was no dark mage…

For Uthar, it was even simpler: Pamela had just exposed his greatest weakness! In a direct confrontation, an assassin was already at a disadvantage against a paladin. By taking Cenia away, was Pamela planning to leave him to fight Koro to the death so she could claim all the glory for herself?

The shadow demon, who had just been scheming against Pamela, found his expression turning incredibly ugly (if he had a face).

As Cenia’s personal guard, Knight-Captain Koro’s strength was beyond doubt. Facing a shadow demon assassin who couldn’t use his full power, his suppressive capabilities were on full display. Even though Uthar was actually much stronger than him, the two were evenly matched and locked in a bitter struggle.

Pamela, on the other hand, had taken Cenia and perched her on the high back of a church pew, arranging her like an obedient doll.

“See? I countered him, didn’t I?” Pamela said smugly. “I won’t let the shadow demon harm you.”

The bewitched Cenia just tilted her head innocently, her unicorn-clear turquoise eyes gazing at Pamela.

She cast no spells, yet the light element dissipated naturally around her. The powerful shockwaves of the battle strangely failed to reach her, being bizarrely erased just before they hit.

The church was being torn to shreds. Amidst the ruins, only the tall pew they sat on remained perfectly intact.

“Don’t look at me like that,” the succubus purred, leaning close to the Saintess and inhaling the scent of her hair. The tail wrapped around Cenia’s waist flicked upwards, toying with the gossamer-thin veil. She sighed, her whisper as intimate as a lover’s.

“If only you would look at me like this when you were conscious.”

Catching a glimpse of this wanton display, the embattled Koro still found the energy to shout in fury, “Pamela! Get away from Her Ladyship!”

“Oh my, the Knight-Captain even knows my name,” the succubus replied, her brows raised in surprise, her laughter like music.

Her opponent, Uthar, was clearly displeased. Seeing Koro’s distraction, he intensified his assault. A torrent of dark element, with the chapel as its epicenter, swept through the entire town of Burch. Seeing that Pamela wasn’t in a hurry to leave with Cenia, he once again mocked the succubus’s foolishness in his heart and unleashed his full power to suppress Koro. His attacks rained down like a tempest, attempting to cut down the renowned paladin.

Pamela narrowed her eyes with great interest. “Uthar is indeed much stronger than I thought. As expected of someone who dared to make such a guarantee to the Demon King.”

Then she turned her verbal assault on Koro. “As your personal guard, why is Koro so weak? Aya, is the Pope treating you poorly?”

Cenia remained silent, just quietly watching everything unfold.

There were many ways people reacted to being bewitched by a succubus. If they already held a fondness for the succubus, they would eagerly cling to her, ready to tumble into a passionate affair. Yet Cenia was as calm as ever. This could only mean one thing: she truly held not a single shred of affection for Pamela.

Not even a little?

The succubus couldn’t help but feel a pang of frustration.

But when she pressed her body against Cenia’s, the Saintess, renowned for her noble inviolability, showed no sign of rejection.

Koro no longer had the luxury of scolding Pamela for her frivolous behavior. He was already weaker than Uthar and was now suffering greatly. The demon assassin’s strength was unexpectedly formidable, even inducing a sense of despair in him.

And there was still a succubus watching from the sidelines like a predator…

Is this it? Will the Saintess and I die here, allowing the Abyss to advance?

The sight of the light being extinguished was tragically beautiful. Koro, bathed in blood, collapsed heavily to the ground, his eyes fixed on the chaotic black shadow, shining as brightly as a crimson moon at its zenith.

Uthar cackled madly, unleashing a fatal blow. A condensed cloud of black mist descended upon Koro like the Grim Reaper’s scythe.

However, a ripple of magic emanated from a corner they had all forgotten. A small, black shield materialized lightly in front of Koro.

As the two attacks of the same element collided, the shockwave was annihilated into nothingness.

“You shadow demons are always in such a hurry.”

The succubus’s graceful form strolled out from the distance. In a single moment, she had joined the fray, standing amidst the ruins.

Without a backward glance, Pamela flicked her wrist. Koro’s eyes went vacant, and he collapsed. Then, she turned slowly to Uthar.

“You’re almost out of magical energy, aren’t you?”

The succubus, the weakest of all demon races, finally bared her fangs. Though her face was gentle and smiling, her eyes were chillingly cold.

The shadow, which had already dimmed considerably and was now tinged with specks of light element, froze, then began to tremble violently. Uthar was clearly furious, bursting into laughter. “So that was your plan! To play the fisherman and reap the rewards! You should have considered your own strength first!”

Although his battle with Koro had cost him dearly, Uthar was confident he wouldn’t stumble against a low-level succubus, an ant.

He just had to be careful of that bizarre bewitchment talent of hers…

The light element dissipated from Koro’s body as the paladin’s broken form was swallowed by the darkness. In this silent arena of darkness, however, a light began to burn unceasingly, like a passed torch. A glow that should never have appeared began to shine from Pamela’s hand, growing ever more brilliant, until it was almost blinding.

From a distance, Cenia’s previously vacant gaze was drawn to it, staring unblinkingly at the demon being favored by the light element.

Though a creature of the dark Abyss, the succubus looked incomparably sacred in the dazzling white light, the white robe draped over her back fluttering dramatically.

—”Judgment.”

A magnificent pillar of light descended, piercing the Darkness Canopy that shrouded the town. Like an unstoppable ray of dawn striking the earth, the darkness was driven back like quicksilver. The shadow shrieked in agony within the pillar of light, its form as ugly as a writhing maggot.

Uthar’s crow-like wails were filled with disbelief.

“Pam!”

“You betrayed the demons! You betrayed the Abyss!!”

The mist of dark element around the succubus dissipated. From the cages, the exhausted paladins collapsed in heaps. The succubus who had just cast an unbelievable light spell turned, concealed the intense magical fluctuations, and once again became Pamela, the weak creature who could only survive by clinging to the Saintess.

The entire town of Burch had been reduced to ruins. Amidst the swirling dust, only Her Eminence the Saintess, sitting high above, remained untouched, her pure white robes unstained.

Her prisoner of war, her slave, carrying the loyalty she had once sworn on bended knee, came to her side. She bowed slightly, her eyelashes lowered.

Her soft lips pressed a reverent kiss upon Cenia’s fingertips.