The Hero Became a Succubus! - Chapter 198 (Patreon)

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Chapter 198

They brought the defeated crone up to the observatory. Moira, Aisha, and Esta went around taking care of any remaining ritualists that might still be lurking around. A pissed-off Eliza reunited with her robes, hat, and belongings at long last.

"Now if only I can get my hands on that succubus for making a sex slave out of me…" Eliza muttered, rubbing her sore butt with one hand and clenching her staff with the other.

Lapis sat hunched over in the far corner of the room. A cloak wrapped around the living sex bot's shoulders, covering the opening in her chest. However, after finding out that the meisterium inside her contributed to Arenade's death, Lapis had fallen despondent ever since.

"Talk," Kanae ordered the now charmed Yesenia. "What is an orbal capacitor and what are you trying to achieve with it?"

"The culmination of centuries of research. It converts the negative energies of meisterium into a concentrated beam capable of carving through the fabric of reality. With enough of it, I could even open a portal into the three hells," Yesenia explained stiffly.

"For what purpose do you have to set hellfire upon this world, madwoman?" Eliza asked.

"The current pantheon is in dire need of a shake-up. Supreme One? The Many? Bah! Selfish gods, all of them. They favor one race over the others. I want to usher in the devils of our sins, a new seven who will treat us all as equals!" she exclaimed.

Kanae and Eliza traded dubious glances.

"Yesenia wouldn't be the first nutjob to establish a dictatorship and call for equality." Eliza shrugged and lit the pipe in her mouth.

"What do you mean by devils of our sins?" Kanae asked.

"You hear the saying all the time," Yesenia began. "Three hells. Abaddon, Sheol, and Xibalba. They are where the devils sleep. Manifestations of our sins. Satine the Lustful, Haxgorah the Greedy—"

Kanae jumped to her feet, startling even Eliza and Lapis. "Wait! Did you just say Haxgorah? Isn't Haxgorah just a demon necromancer?"

The seer smirked. Kanae didn't like that look and compelled Yesenia to wipe it off her face.

"Haxgorah is no demon, but a devil. Necromancy was simply a pastime when he found himself in great supply of bodies during the conflagration of the Badlands," Yesenia explained in a meek manner.

"My friend has his staff, the Pillar of the Damned. I want to free her from it. Tell me how," Kanae demanded.

"This friend of yours is attuned to his artifact? Then it is too late for her. She has become a thrall to Haxgorah and will stop at nothing to summon him into this world."

Kanae felt faint. She staggered back until Lapis caught her from behind.

"How do you know all this? Who are you really?" Eliza kneeled down in front of the demon woman.

"I am the great granddaughter of a chief priestess of Haxgorah, and there are many more like me all over the world desperate for new gods!" Yesenia clasped her hands together as if in prayer and cast her blindfolded gaze to the seven mirrors.

"I've heard enough," Kanae said, snapping her fingers.

Five charmed ritualists entered the observatory. They arranged themselves in a circle and began chanting. A dark portal, much like the one Kanae had entered before, opened before them. She shrugged Lapis off and returned to Yesenia.

"Done already?" Eliza expelled the fumes through her nose and intercepted Kanae. "Sure you don't want to throw her into Aidenhall's dungeon?"

"No," Kanae said, walking ahead and dragging Yesenia to the portal, where she ended the charm's effect.

"Huh? Wait! There's more I can tell you. Aren't you interested in learning more? How I came in contact with the Underqueen and Mistress of Pain… What lies north of the Badlands?" Yesenia pleaded for her life.

The sorceress agreed. "Amethyst, I know you're angry, but Arenade is already gone. What you're about to do won't bring her back. The least we can do is take Yesenia into custody and—"

"If things turned out a little differently, I might have… but Yesenia took Arenade away from me. That's something I can never forgive." She tossed Yesenia into the portal and ordered the charmed ritualists in with her. Giant monsters, loose from their cages, surrounded them right away. The trembling seer stared up at them in terror, then made a run for it back to the portal. However, Kanae beckoned Lapis closer, and the portal fizzled out.

Eliza squeezed her eyes shut and sighed.

Just then, the others returned from scouring the keep.

"The riots have reached all the way here. We'll be caught in it unless we leave now," Esta warned.

As Eliza prepared their teleportation pellet, Kanae scanned the room one last time. Her gaze fell squarely on one of the tall standing mirrors. Something… seemed off. It wasn't until the pellet hit the floor did she realize what shouldn't be there. Sitting upon her head was a tiara— the final piece of Thistle, the Matron's Regalia.

They dropped onto the floor of the Arcen. Kanae got to her feet, hoping to wake up from a bad dream and that Arenade would make a remark about how she was glad to leave. Returning to Radevic was going to be the final nail in the coffin.

"Master…" Esta's demeanor flashed with worry.

"I'm not sure how I'm supposed to tell the kids. Especially Kanade." Kanae sighed.

With their mission complete, they bid goodbye to Artaggon and the Hellfire Badlands. Arcen rumbled violently and transported them back to Aidenhall in an instant. News of their return spread quickly across Radevic. After all, everyone could see the giant tower popping back into place leagues away.

"Amethyst, perhaps you should leave the report to myself and Silver. We'll also bring Aisha and Moira to the dormitories," Eliza said, gesturing for them to follow her.

The mother and daughter pair shot a sympathetic look in Kanae's direction. She clenched her fists as they left the room. It took Lapis taking her hand to unclench them.

"Eliza wanted me to return to the Illuminant Repository, but I think I should go with you. That way, you don't have to be alone. Like how you kept me company," Lapis said.

"Thanks." Kanae smiled weakly.

The two of them made their way out of the palace on foot. Kanae ignored all the greetings and well wishes from Aidenhall's inhabitants who passed by. She didn't regard any of them. Neither did she blame them. It wasn't as though they knew what had happened.

However, by the time Kanae and Lapis reached the gates of Aidenhall, they paused at the sight of two elven children accompanied by an adult high elven woman. It was Gretchen, and she held the hands of both Suvee and Kanade.

The knots in Kanae's chest tightened. She had rehearsed what to say in her mind on the way down but forgot it all after seeing them.

"Mooooom! I missed youuuuu" Suvee let go of Gretchen's hand and ran towards them.

"My apologies. They have been keeping watch on the tower ever since you left," Gretchen said.

Kanae kneeled down to embrace her dark elven daughter. She hugged hard, fearful of letting go.

"Is something wrong? Hehe. You missed us, too, didn't you? That's why you shouldn't leave so often! There, there. There, there!" Suvee patted Kanae on the head.

"Where's mom?" Kanade asked, searching the courtyard for her birth mother.

There it was. The question Kanae dreaded since the moment she lost Arenade.

"Arenade… Your mom… She went on a vacation and won't be back for a while," Kanae lied, unable to bring herself to utter the truth.

"Ehhh. I want to go, too! Mom, can we go together? With Aunt Gretchen, too?" Suvee begged and tugged on Kanae's horns.

"Liar," Kanade muttered.

"K-Kanade?" Her sister gasped.

"Mom isn't like you. She would never leave. Where is she? Why isn't she here? Why didn't you bring her back?" the girl cried.

Kanae reached out to hold Kanade, but she slapped her hand away. Tears streaked down from two beautiful blue eyes, the same deep color inherited from Arenade. The ever composed Kanade broke down crying, her face wrinkled with hurt.

"She's… gone?" Even Suvee wasn't sure about comforting her sister, and instead began to tear up and wail.

Kanae brought both daughters into her grasp.

"I hate you!" Kanade beat into Kanae's chest with both hands as she weeped. "I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! Bring her back! Bring my mom back…"

For the first time in over a week since Arenade passed, and though Kanae believed her tears had long dried out, she cried with them.

Kanade and Suvee had cried themselves to sleep after returning to their mansion in Radevic. Kanae sat up and hesitated to leave them. The idea of letting them wake up alone and without her there hurt more than words could describe. If that wasn't bad enough, her chest ached to be near them. There was no winning.

Both girls stirred in their sleep and turned to face each other. Their eyes were red and their cheeks stained by a river of dried tears. Two teensy hands clasped together. Even while sleeping, they were inseparable.

"You probably won't think a promise from me will mean much, but I'll be back." Kanae brushed the golden bangs from Kanade's forehead and got up.

Gretchen stood guard right outside of the room.

"Thanks for taking care of them while I was going," Kanae said.

"It is nothing. I've come to love them as my own. My only regret is that I couldn't take Arenade's place. I'm sure Kanade would have preferred her real mother and not me. Doing so might have allowed me to atone for my misdeeds." Gretchen frowned and cast a sullen look into the room.

"I appreciate the sentiment, Gretchen. By the way, have you seen Lapis?"

"The dwarven sex bot? I last remember going up to the roof," she answered.

Kanae exited from a window in the hallway and flew up to the mansion's rooftop. Sure enough, Lapis was sitting on the highest crest.

"Sorry about disappearing the entire day." Kanae sat next to Lapis, who was gazing up at the clear early evening sky.

Lapis shook her head. "Don't worry about me. You and your kids are the ones having a hard time right now. I've been thinking about Arenade's loss. When you told me she died, my first thought was if she could be repaired. Silly, right? Then I thought of myself, if someone like Yesenia and her people broke the meisterium in my body. My creators are gone. One day, this energy will run out or I'm damaged beyond repair, and I'll be gone like Arenade. I wonder if people will mourn me. Oh! I-I'm so, so, so sorry! I didn't mean to make this about me. I know Arenade's passing is affecting you a lot, it's just that…"

"It's fine." She hugged her knees and chuckled. "All of this is probably still new and confusing to you. You're just curious."

"I guess I am… You said Arenade sacrificed herself to save an entire city and group of light elves left behind in Artaggon. At first, it seems illogical. Those actions go against self-preservation. But all of you, those people she saved, too… they're going to remember her. She's preserved herself in your memories. Somehow, that sounds very comforting. Even for an automaton designed for the sake of sex like myself. I want someone to remember me fondly long after I'm gone, too."

Kanae wondered what all the people back on Earth thought of her having disappeared. Did they even call in for a missing person? Did her family mourn? Would anyone remember her fondly? Probably not. Here, however, was a different story. She saw it first hand in those who cared about Arenade. That made it twice now that Arenade gave her life for her people.

"I better go back down. Don't want Kanade and Suvee waking up with me not there," Kanae said.

"Uhm!" Lapis shot up. "Can I… offer you a… hug?"

"A hug? What brought this on? This isn't a trick to pin me to the roof and take me to pound town, is it?" she asked.

"N-No! I just thought you looked sad. Your kids were sad, too, and the first thing you did was hug them. Because you wanted to make them feel better, right? Me being a sex bot caused a lot of problems, but no one will mind me being a hug bot! I-I think? So, please. Let me hug you!" The automaton threw her arms out and put the ball in Kanae's court.

Kanae responded to the sweet gesture and hugged Lapis. They stayed like that for a few minutes. This cold machine they had found deep underground was actually warm.

"Thanks, Lapis. I really needed that. As for your worries, I'm sure you're going to be remembered just fine." Kanae smiled.

When they separated, Lapis wanted to stay on the roof for a little while longer. Before Kanae could go down, she noticed a group of people racing towards the mansion. The streetlights illuminated them. She leaped off the roof and landed gingerly in the front yard.

Nelly crossed the gate first, hand braced against the iron fence and panting heavily, followed by Teana, whose eyes were wide open and red.

"It's not true, is it? That Auntie Arenade is… Tell me… it's not true," Teana stammered.

Revah, Pan, Mikki, and Daya caught up. All of them were out of breath.

"We didn't say a thing… They figured it out on their own," Aisha explained, and Moira, who was on her back again, nodded.

"I'm sorry. It's true." Kanae glanced down at her feet.

"My mother is…?" Nelly collapsed to the ground and beat his hands into the dirt. "And you said you wouldn't leave me so soon like my first mom…"

Teana choked up and threw both arms around Nelly. Their tears soaked into the ground. The other sisters followed suit in their own way. Revah tugged the hood over her eyes. Pan turned around completely and cried into her arm. Mikki buried her face into Daya's shoulders.

Tonight, two days before Arum Taum, Kanae's family didn't share the same budding joy as the citizens of Radevic had for the octennial holiday. Instead, they mourned together over the loss of a bright light in her family.

The next morning arrived along with the eve of Arum Taum. Travelers who made the long journey from all over the world entered Radevic in high spirits. Trumpets and string instruments played a symphony across the entire city. Orange and yellow banners hung from the windows of many buildings, towers, and archways. Those without tied streamers and cloths of the same color to join in the celebration.

Merchants hoping to cash in on the greater foot traffic, set up in blocks of open spaces with others to sell their goods. Performers danced in the streets, and musicians played merry tunes. Neighbors went door to door with baskets of fruits and baked goods to hand out.

An elderly woman shoved a ribbed loaf of bread with a long sausage sticking out of it into Kanae's hands.

"Th-Thanks…" Kanae said, already encumbered with too many flowery garlands around her neck and other goods in her arms. Someone had even tossed a bra onto her right horn earlier. She couldn't take it off, because that entailed dropping everything first, and she wasn't confident about picking them up again.

"Ah. Arum Taum. It's a shame it only occurs for one week every eight years. If only the lawlessness would cease…" Esta lifted a pickpocket into the air and tossed him into a barrel of fish.

"It's not even today. It's tomorrow! Is it supposed to be this crazy already?" she asked.

"Usually, yes. Since most people arrived during the night, they must be letting their excitement get the better of them. Who knows. The next Arum Taum might begin two days early. Well, shall we be off? Nothing here is going away anytime soon."

Kanae nodded. They headed to Aidenhall together. The festive fever of Arum Taum was present up here, too. In fact, it might as well be day one for them. The cafeteria was packed with knights, drinking themselves stupid. Explosions erupted from the direction of the arena. People were setting grudges over duels. If there was a better time for that, it was during fall which heralded new beginnings.

Unfortunately for Kanae, she was still stuck in the past.

The Basilica of Saint Rue bustled with clergy making preparations for the ceremony, honoring Saint Rue. Kanae and Esta made for the hospice ward. Her loyal drakeling knight opened the door to Edina's room.

A young human sister presided over Kanae's comatose friend. Her hands glowed with restorative magic. According to the Grand Eye, crowned priests of the clergy regularly performed healing on Edina to keep her in good health, hoping that she would one day wake up.

"Oh, Knight of Amethyst. Knight of Silver. You've come to visit Edina? I wish I had better news on the eve of Arum Taum, but she hasn't shown any strides in recovery," the woman said apologetically.

"That's fine. Thanks for always looking after her. May I have a moment alone with my friend?" Kanae asked.

"Of course." She bowed and left the room.

Esta also moved to leave, but Kanae had other plans.

"Not you, Esta. I want you to hear this, too," Kanae said.

Instead of exiting, Esta shut the door and returned by Kanae's side.

Edina looked so peaceful.

"I'm a terrible queen and mother," Kanae confessed. "Teana told me they passed the aptitude test, but I just can't feel happy. Arenade's gone. I watched it happen and couldn't do anything to stop it. Nothing short of her coming back or you waking up is going to make me feel better. I'm losing people I care about left and right because I'm weak. It's like when we first met all over again. I wasn't strong enough to protect you." A few tears dripped down onto Edina's blanket. "I have to become stronger. Well… now I get it. You were thinking the same thing with the Pillar of the Damned. I want to protect everyone… I just… I just don't want to see Kanade and Suvee crying like that ever again… This might be a little too much to ask since you're in a coma, but Edina… Please, watch over me."

"Our paths are intertwined. I'll follow and serve you until the very end," Esta vowed.

"I know." She stood up, wiped the wetness from her eyes, and placed the baked goods and flowers on the nightstand. "Wars are costly, but I know just the right person who has the capital to finance one. Time to go say hi to our old friend, Renya Rown."