Chapter 173: For The Yet Unknown Tales (4) |
“0.7 Faye.”
They weren’t that big, after all.
As I smirked, Melonia, now covering her uneven chest, screamed in shock.
“How can you be unaffected by my charm? And what’s with ‘0.7 Faye’ anyway?!”
“It means your chest isn’t captivating enough.”
“It is big! No, how could you resist my scent mixed with His power just because it’s not your preference?”
She was right.
Being of succubus origin and having ascended to the Archbishop of Grotesque Proliferation, Melonia could be considered an authority of charm.
Melonia’s charm was effectively a mental attack.
But it wouldn’t work on me.
My resistance was heightened from drawing up magic, I was protected by various potions and scrolls, and knowing about Melonia allowed me to prepare mentally.
Plus, being confidently shaken by a chest smaller than Faye’s was somewhat off-putting.
There were plenty of reasons, but the main one was likely because I knew the true nature of a succubus.
Like the monster with rabbit horns that spewed tentacles, and Edmerek, who could swallow things much larger than himself.
Succubi undergo some physical changes from serving an Evil God.
Right, to be exact… They’ve got tentacles on their lower half.
To put it bluntly, they were futanari.
They were quite pleased, thinking they could now also absorb vitality from women.
How did I know this in H&A, where cultists and monsters must be torn and killed?
When a succubus would appear as an enemy, it was almost a rule to deliberately get caught by them at least once.
I thought so too.
Until I saw the bad ending illustration, soaked in slime and impaled by tentacles.
These crazy ones shouted, “Wow! Vitality absorption efficiency doubled!” and went on to target men too.
Impaled and impaling was supposedly a unique experience.
Seeing the heroine entangled by tentacles was one thing, but experiencing it firsthand was another… wasn’t it?
The unwanted memory turned out to be helpful in such a way.
I fine-tuned the magic I was preparing with a sneer inside.
Melonia, enraged by the surprise attack, would soon counterattack. I planned to hit her hard then.
…For some reason, Melonia didn’t immediately retaliate but kept her distance.
“Answer me! What trick did you use?”
“Is that really so important?”
“Of course it is! You smelled my scent. You shouldn’t be able to stay so calm! Ah, is that it? Are you impotent? Or do you prefer men?”
“……”
Was she really that shocked that her charm didn’t work on me?
Instead of fighting after being ambushed, Melonia sought answers, to which I responded as firmly as possible.
“Because uneven chests aren’t my type.”
“You made it this way, didn’t you?!”
Though she said that, Melonia’s chest was already halfway healed.
Cultists were known for their regenerative abilities, but they were supposed to be weak to light attacks.
How much vitality had she absorbed to have such regeneration…?
I made a gesture of plugging my nose in disbelief.
“Enough, keep your distance. You’ve been smelling like a chicken coop.”
“Ch-chicken coop…? You’re saying that to me, sweet Melonia, chicken coooop?!”
Melonia trembled with rage.
As the epithet “sweet” suggested, Melonia primarily used her scent to charm those around her.
Having this blatantly denied must have wounded her pride.
But for the Archbishop of Grotesque Proliferation, who should embody sexual desire, to resort to anger? Naturally, her powers would weaken overall.
Proving my point, the fishermen, who had been motionless until just a moment ago, began to squirm softly.
This meant Melonia’s control was weakening.
I hadn’t expected this to work… Whether it was piercing one of her breasts or what was happening now, it was a good start.
I sighed in relief inwardly and casually aimed my staff at the fuming Melonia.
“Well, good. I can listen to the detailed reasons later. Even if you cry and beg later, I’ll squeeze out every last drop…”
“Blast Burn!”
I hadn’t drawn any magic circles or chanted properly, hoping to prepare secretly, but the magic was still potent.
Whoosh!
A massive fireball, filling my view, was shot towards Melonia.
“You, you…!”
Melonia stretched out her hands with venomous eyes.
Was she trying to absorb the power contained in my magic through Energy Drain?
Even succubi, a race not known for combat, become a different story at higher tiers.
When their ability to absorb vitality reaches its peak, they could suck energy from almost anything.
That was why formless attacks… like flames or wind, wouldn’t work well against high-ranking succubi.
Melonia, aware of this, wasn’t surprised but just calmly attempted Energy Drain.
No matter how skilled I might be, she was confident she could easily block a low-level spell.
…If it had been a regular low-level spell.
Fwoosh!
The fireball in the air suddenly split into several pieces.
“Ha! You thought splitting it would make it okay?”
Melonia, confident, spread her hands wide. However, her expression quickly turned to confusion.
“Uh…?”
The split fireballs were hardly affected by Melonia’s Energy Drain.
Though slightly smaller, they remained threateningly large.
“Is this… the arcane of the elves?”
Right. Blast Burn was a combination spell of earth and fire elements.
The split flames had their own form and physical force, making them less affected by Energy Drain.
Melonia’s face, which had been full of ease, suddenly furrowed as she quickly wrapped herself with her wings.
A pink shield manifested at the same time.
A vitality magic, perhaps.
Like vampires who use their blood to unleash risky blood magic, succubi enhance their magical power or physical abilities by consuming accumulated vitality.
Vitality, being the most basic energy, allowed for diverse transformations despite its lower efficiency.
Blast Burn, albeit simplified, wouldn’t easily penetrate. This was getting troublesome.
Kaboom!
The fragments of flame pounded on the shield, causing a series of explosions.
The sound was quite fierce, but as expected, only slight cracks appeared on Melonia’s shield, which were quickly repaired.
This was why Carla and Elisha were so worried, and why Melonia hadn’t lost her composure until now.
The sheer difference in class.
No matter how much I enhanced my spells with elemental combinations or resonance techniques, a low-level spell remained a low-level spell.
Breaching a shield crafted by Melonia with intent would be extremely difficult.
The gap between a lower magician and an archbishop was just that vast.
Sophia, whom I managed to defeat relatively easily, would have been unbeatable without Carla.
But my goal wasn’t to kill Melonia here.
Sizzle.
As the aftermath of Blast Burn obscured my vision, I infused magic into the invisible robe I had refrained from using until now.
Feeling the magic flow through the robe and wrap around my body, I kicked off the ground.
Pat.
Various potions and auxiliary spells propelled my body at a speed incomparable to normal.
I swiftly emerged from the dust, pulling up my magical power.
“Terra!”
A basic spell that didn’t require any significant incantation. However, due to the substantial amount of magical power infused, a considerable amount of dirt rose from the ground.
Stairs made of dirt formed in an instant.
With the intention of using the stairs to leap over the circle of fishermen surrounding me, I gathered strength in my legs and jumped.
But things don’t always go as planned, do they?
“Where do you think you’re going? Play with sister a bit more!”
Melonia’s voice from behind me stirred the fishermen, who had been quiet until now, into a frenzy.
They threw their bodies around and swung their weapons, not knowing my exact location.
Naturally, most of their attacks missed, causing serious injuries to each other, but some, luckily, flew towards me.
“Damn.”
A fisherman, who had apparently thrown away his weapon long ago, crashed into my side with a body slam.
Crash!
Thanks to the protective magical device I had on, I wasn’t injured… but my shield, floating in the air, gave away my position.
“So, you were there? How can you enjoy yourself alone? You should also make your sister happy.”
“Sister my ass. You’re at least four times my age.”
“Tsk! I was hoping we could do this the easy way, but it seems I’ll have to train you a bit.”
Her tone was playful, but unlike before, there was no ease in her voice.
Well, it was natural for her to be on guard, having been ambushed once and nearly hit by an unexpected spell.
As I clicked my tongue inwardly, Melonia began to shake her now fully recovered breasts.
The sweet scent that wafted was so intense that it was headache-inducing, causing an involuntary reaction in my lower part.
Even if my mind was clear, my body reacted on its own.
It seemed I wasn’t the only one sensitively responding.
“You guys? Will you capture that boy for me?”
Though she must be far away, it felt as if she was whispering in my ear.
This brought focus back to the dazed fishermen’s eyes.
“Kwa furaha!”
“Mkamate!”
“Acha nikuguse kifua chako!”
“This is madness.”
With all the easy paths blocked, the only option left was the difficult one.
But if this was the only way…
“I have to go.”
To kill Melonia right here.
No matter what.