39 - Chapter 36: 36[Corruption]
"Aria, there's something I want to ask."
"Of course, I'll answer anything you ask."
"Do you, by any chance, remember the last four days?"
"Oh, of course. I remember."
"Then, what do you think about what we were doing?"
"I'm not sure what you mean by 'what we were doing'."
"That... Polynesian thing... do you remember?"
"Ah... yes, I remember."
"Then, Aria, should we stop that?"
"Huh?"
"Honestly, I don't think this is right. It's a bit, how should I put it..."
"If you don't want to, Yuria, I don't mind stopping."
"Huh?"
"Did you think I would force Yuria if he didn't want to?"
"No, that's not what I meant...?"
"Of course not. I have no desire to rape or torment Yuria."
"At that time, I just lost my reason for a moment, that's all."
"Mmm."
Fortunately, she seemed to have returned to her old self.
"Alright, then let's prioritize solving this Curse first."
"Yes, I understand."
"Thank you so much, Aria."
"It's nothing. I'm the one who's sorry."
Phew.
What a relief.
Now that she'd calmed down a bit, I needed to sort things out and focus on lifting the Curse.
"Knock knock."
"Who is it?"
"A letter has arrived for the Hero."
A letter for me? What kind of letter?
"Yes, I understand. Come in."
I took the letter from the Holy Knight standing guard.
"This is a letter from Cynthia??"
I tore open the letter.
Inside, a strong but concise message was written.
I came to meet Lily and Ella, but it's very urgent. Please come quickly to the Northern Canyon for support.
That was the only line written.
"What in the world is going on?"
"Yuria, this is a trap."
"Yeah, it looks incredibly suspicious to me too."
"Exactly. Cynthia wouldn't call you, knowing your physical condition, would she?"
"Right, and with those three, who'd even dare threaten them?"
"That's true. At this point, with the Demon King and the Four Heavenly Kings all dead, there shouldn't be an enemy strong enough to put such a force in danger."
"But just in case, shouldn't we take some soldiers and go check it out?"
"No! Yuria, it's clearly a trap, and you're still going?"
Cynthia had clearly said she would contact Lily and Ella.
And this letter hinted at that fact,
making it a situation that was hard to completely ignore.
"But what if, by some slim chance, it isn't a trap?"
"Well..."
"Of course, there's probably no such possibility, but if it weren't a trap, we might regret it for the rest of our lives."
"Ah, I see. Then I'll go."
"So you're just going to make me wait here indefinitely?"
"Yes."
"No, I don't want to. I'm coming with you."
"Yuria, do you even know what kind of shape you're in?"
"But if you put it that way, Aria, you're not exactly in peak condition either..."
"Do you think mere demons could catch me?"
"No, it's not that, but..."
Recalling how she used to crush demons with her mace, I knew there was no way that could happen.
"Instead, I have a condition."
"A condition?"
"Yes, cast real-time Communication Magic—or rather, video transmission. You can do that much, right?"
I couldn't send her off without at least doing this much.
The ominous feeling wouldn't disappear, so I had to take some precautions.
"Alright, that's not difficult. I'll cast it right now."
Whoosh! Pop!
A small window appeared before my eyes.
"Can you see it clearly?"
"Yes, I can see it clearly. If there's any problem, I'll rush over immediately."
"Oh, don't worry. I'll make sure nothing goes wrong."
Her confident voice reassured me a little.
"Then, I'll be back."
"Alright, be careful and come back."
As if it were nothing,
as if she were just going for a light stroll,
I saw her off with a greeting and sat back down in front of the screen.
Aria sped off, dashing quickly.
Thanks to her speed, it didn't take long to reach the Northern Canyon.
"It's definitely here. What could have happened?"
Even after continuously running through the canyon, there were no traces of battle, not even signs of anyone passing through.
"What's going on? Was it just a simple trap?"
"Let's go in a little further, Aria. You never know."
"Alright, if Yuria says so."
She walked further inside, as I instructed.
She ran to the very end of the deep canyon but found nothing.
"There's nothing here."
Just then, Aria was swallowed by a large maw rising from the ground.
"Ugh, what is this?"
"ARIA!!!"
No, maybe there's no need to fuss.
If it's just a simple worm, it wouldn't even scratch her.
But was it a simple worm?
I didn't know.
The pink blood vessels visible before me were unlike anything I'd ever seen in a worm.
"Ugh, get this off me...!"
"Huh?"
Aria seemed flustered.
At that, the ominous sensation amplified.
"My magic isn't working!"
"Aria, just get out of there!"
Then a voice descended from above.
"Oh my, you're not just going to take our princess, are you?"
"Who's there!"
The closed maw opened, and the owner of the voice appeared.
"The Succubus Queen?"
"Haa, why are you looking for your dead mother here?"
"You couldn't even tell us apart, could you? I am Lilith."
"Let her go, now!"
"Why don't you break free yourself?"
"Ugh, ugh!"
"Just break free with brute force!"
She should be able to shatter a rock mountain with her strength.
There's no way she'd be caught by a mere worm, right?
No, was it even a worm?
Something in the shape of a pink worm was binding her body.
Aria, struggling and feeling something strange, spoke.
"My strength... it's not working."
"What?"
"Don't even think about resisting. You've already drunk the Demon God's Elixir."
"What does that mean...?"
Red tentacles rose before my eyes.
"No way!"
"Oh my, where did that confident look go, Princess?"
Damn it, I should've gone with her.
I quickly sprang from my seat and rushed out.
Without taking my eyes off the screen she was transmitting,
I ran as fast as I could toward the Northern Canyon.
"Just hold on a little longer, Aria."
"Ah, no, don't come, this is ngh..."
"No! Wait, just a little longer, just hold on!"
"Oh my, can she really hold on?"
Red tentacles crawled down her body.
"No, no way, don't, don't do that, please, not there!"
"Puhaha, what is our princess thinking?"
"Ugh..."
"Fufufu, Hero, you're curious about what's happening inside, aren't you? I'll lower the screen for you."
At her words, the screen showing the scene lowered.
The worm-like entity clung tightly to her body, burrowing in between her limbs,
countless tentacles passed over her cleavage
and stretched downwards.
Past her navel,
they stopped, gathering at her lower abdomen.
"What are you trying to do, nghh?"
Aria's moans could be heard from above.
"Don't worry, it'll be over soon, and I'll release you."
"Please, just hold on a little longer!"
"Huk, ah, no, don't come, no, don't come, ngh."
"Please, just hold on a little longer!"
"Ugh, no, this is scary, eugh."
Damn it, damn it, damn it!!!
There's no time.
I should've followed her without her knowing.
What should I do?
Now I could finally see the city gates.
The remaining distance was still too far, but
at this rate, she would...
Should I just blow up the entire canyon?
She's quite sturdy, so she should be able to hold on, right?
No, no. If she's in a weakened state, something might go wrong.
Damn it...
I had no choice but to push off the ground and run.
Please,
please hold on safely.
"Ugh, nghh hurry and save me, eugh heugh."
Thousands of tentacles were erasing the fading stigma on her lower abdomen and engraving a new one.
"Nghh, heugh heugh."
"Hoo, Princess, if you faint, I'll devour you, slurp."
"Don't!!"
"Haa, the Hero is quite foolish, isn't he? Don't you agree, Princess?"
"Ugh, nghh please stop, this is strange..."
With those words, Aria lost consciousness.
"NO!!!!!!!!"
Because of me, if I hadn't told her to go further inside...
Damn it.
Damn it.
Damn it.
I kicked off the ground and ran into the canyon.
"Haa, I told the Princess I'd devour her if she fainted, but still..."
No!!
I'm almost there, please, just a little more!!!
In the distance, I saw the flower that had swallowed Aria.
I'd thought it was a worm, but it was shaped like a flower.
I summoned the Holy Sword and filled it to the brim with Holy Power.
"Haaaaaaah!"
And unleashed it as a sword beam.
BOOM!
The flower, struck by the immense Holy Power, vanished without a trace, leaving only Aria floating there.
"Aria! Are you alright?"
I rushed over and caught her.
Fortunately, she didn't seem to have any major problems, but...
"Well, my mission's over, so I'll be going back."
"Where do you think you're going!"
"Oh my, if you chase me now, who knows what will happen to the Saintess?"
Indeed, there was nothing to gain by chasing her recklessly when I didn't even know Aria's condition.
But I couldn't just stand by and let this happen.
I unleashed a sword beam toward the fleeing Lilith.
"You crazy bitch, kuaaaak!"
I saw Lilith, having lost one wing, falling in the distance.
As much as I wanted to chase her down and kill her right then and there,
Aria was far more important right then.
"Aria! Are you alright? Wake up!"
I slapped her cheek to wake her, but she showed no sign of stirring.
Damn it.
Damn it.
I quickly turned my steps toward the Church.
Praying earnestly that nothing serious had happened.
After running for a long time, I passed through the city gates and arrived in front of the Church.
Just a little more, now just a little more.
"Ugh, ugh, ugh."
"Aria? You're awake? Are you alright?"
"What? I'm in your arms, Yuria?"
"Uh, uh?"
The atmosphere seemed to have changed a little, but
no, what did that matter?
The most important thing was that she woke up safely.
"Aria, is anything uncomfortable? Are you in pain?"
"Ah, ah, no. I feel very, very refreshed."
Aria's hand stroked my cheek.
"Ah, ah, Yuria, my Yuria."
"You really are alright, right?"
Seeing her, a strangely ominous feeling surged within me.
"Then, we should continue our Polynesian fun, shouldn't we?"