The Hero Became a Succubus, and the Only Way to Level is to… What?!
Chapter 388 – Protecting What’s Important

Arenade, Andora, and Gretchen broke rank as the Mistress of Debauchery strummed her lute. Visible waves of vibration distorted the place they traveled through. Trees branches cracked and shook loose their waves. Ripples in the water danced violently, and fish caught in the crossfire floated up to the surface belly-up and dead.

"Why run? I'm going to get you eventually! Let me get a taste of what Kanae likes so much that she willingly married a cattle for!" Labelle cackled.

"You want these boobs? Too bad! Holy Armament: Tuning Fork!" Arenade spun around and conjured a large, two-pronged utensil.

"What? You can do that?" Gretchen gasped.

The vibrations vanished the moment they hit the tuning fork. Now, the utensil was oscillating wildly in Arenade's hands. She redirected the force back at Labelle, who quickly strummed another note and both forces cancelled each other out on impact.

"Ahhh, come on!" Labelle clicked her tongue. "That's not metal at all. Fine. You don't want an opening act? How about a climaxing finale? Power Word:—"

"The potions! Now!" Gretchen shouted.

The three of them downed the reversal potions. Cool liquid slid down their gullets. Labelle uttered Power Word: Climax, and the sacred spell of the devil of lust struck them harmlessly. When the Mistress of Debauchery saw that they were unaffected, she clenched her jaw and bared her fangs.

"Tch. I don't like getting upstaged!" Labelle charged Arenade out of anger.

Andora, riding upon her pegasus, bodied the succubus out of the sky and sent her plummeting to the earth. She hit the ground hard. When the dust cleared, she gazed up in astonishment within her own crater. The lute had been broken in half, and all of its strings were snapped.

"Andora Sempter, crowned Cavalryman. No one attacks my lord and queen while I draw breath!" Andora boomed and adjusted her tiny glasses.

Labelle picked herself off the ground and dusted off her shoulders. A dry chuckle escaped her lips. She launched back into the sky, this time in Andora's direction. Gretchen transformed Holy Armament into a bow and fired a volley.

The succubus dipped hard right as a rain of arrows followed in her wake. She came after Gretchen now.

Before Kanae and the others left for Radevic, they had several things to say about Labelle: the Mistress of Debauchery had a short temper. She would also become increasingly frustrated when not given any chances to play her instrument. That could be easily exploited.

Gretchen and Virtue led Labelle on a wild goose chase across the lake, occasionally glancing back to make sure the succubus stayed on her tail. She was nothing like Kanae, who had soundly defeated her in Aidenhall through wit and help. Down here, Labelle was alone. Without Alicia, Claudia, and Hilde, she had no extra hands to reach out to.

"Who do you think you are, halfie? Just because you got the wings, horns, and a tail, doesn't make you an actual succubus! I'll find a way to transform you back. When I do, I'll take my sweet time making you sing like a bitch in heat!" Labelle exclaimed.

"Virtue here makes me sing plenty. The two of us would have been making love if you hadn't traipsed into our territory. Now I have to deal with you," Gretchen taunted.

"Ew! You, Hilde, and Kanae are into some wild shit!" she fired back.

Gretchen smirked and pulled on the reins to turn Virtue around. They were about to collide head-on with Labelle, but she swerved at the last second. Now Labelle had her back to the temple as it continued its slow rise out of the waters. Gretchen had her and the other succubi all in one basket where she wanted them.

"Labelle?" One of the succubus channeling magic glanced over, looking like she wanted to help.

"Stay focused! As soon as the temple is in the air, there's nothing they can do to stop it!" Labelle shouted.

"Then I suppose I should hurry and stop them. Empowered Penance!" Gretchen shot binding magic from her staff that Labelle dodged, but chained from one succubus to the next, until all of them were bound.

Without anyone channeling anymore, the temple began to descend back down to the waters. Labelle cursed out loud. She flew towards Gretchen until someone else's Penance binded her in place. Arenade and Andora caught up just in time.

"Hehe! Gretchen isn't the only crowned Priest. Whew, does it feel good to fight alongside fellow high elves! This is so much better than traveling with a necromancer and succubus," Arenade said, puffing up her already large chest.

"You say that," Andora began with a teasing grin, "but whenever you think no one is watching, I always hear your sad sighs, and how you want to see Kanae again."

"N-N-N-No, you haven't! As your liege lord, I order you to stop eavesdropping on me!" She pouted.

Gretchen couldn't help but giggle into the back of her hand.

"And you!" Arenade pointed at Gretchen. "You better not say a thing to Kanae when she gets back. Not because what Andora said it's true or anything. It's propaganda, I tell you!"

"Kuh… Ahaha!" Labelle shuddered as she burst into laughter.

"What's so funny?" Gretchen asked, cautiously squeezing her staff.

The three of them were too late to notice. Gretchen saw it at the last second. Despite being restrained, Labelle managed to slip on something like a knuckle duster hanging from her waist, but it had long metal keys that stretched the length of her fingers… a hand piano. She ran her thumb across the keys.

A harsh note blasted them out of the sky. Their ears rang. They couldn't hear a thing. As Gretchen fell, she watched helplessly as Labelle broke out of Penance and, with her other hand, played a crescendo that destroyed the bindings on her fellow succubi.

Gretchen hit the waters the moment the temple had lifted out of the lake. By the time she resurfaced, it was already floating west at a surprisingly swift speed. Arenade popped up next, followed by Andora and her pegasus. Luckily, Labelle's blastwave knocked them close to shore. They swam back up onto land soaked to the bones.

"Of course, she has a spare instrument…" Arenade wrung the water from her golden hair.

"It's moving far too fast for us to catch up now." Gretchen sighed.

"I think we can do it!" Andora exclaimed confidently. "My class doesn't just make me stronger in mounted combat. I'm also able to grant a burst of speed to fellow riders. It's going to take a lot of mana though."

It was worth a shot. Arenade climbed onto Andora's pegasus with her, and Gretchen on Virtue. They rose into the sky to give chase to the flying temple. The gap between them grew larger with every second.

Both steeds galloped as if they were on the ground, but it was really their beating wings and own magic pools that allowed them to soar. Although they were among the fastest creatures alive, the temple proved faster by a margin. Gretchen casted a worried look towards Andora.

The high elf squeezed the reins of her pegasus and shouted, "Forward, Charge!"

Gretchen and Arenade almost fell backwards from the burst of speed. The magical energies enveloping Andora spread across her pegasus, and soon spread to Gretchen and Virtue. They were going so fast, the battering winds quickly dried their hair.

The gap between them and the temple closed in. At this rate, they might even overtake it. Andora, however, gritted through the strain of keeping her skill up. Beading sweat wicked off her pained face.

This. This was the truest display of high elven pride that Gretchen had forgotten. What the Empire of Ortesia had forgotten.

"We're closing in! Just a little more, Andora! You're doing great, dear vassal!" Arenade cheered from behind.

"My queen… I could do without you yelling in my ears!" Andora frowned.

The pegasus and dreadmourn steadied their descent. They landed along the outer seaweed-covered walkway of the temple. Andora dropped flat on the ground as soon as she dismounted, panting for breath.

"I'm impressed." Gretchen nodded approvingly.

"Thank you… Forward, Charge… is skill that doubles mounted speed… for five seconds… All I did was… use it repeatedly…" Andora groaned.

"Good work. I expected nothing less from my vassal." Arenade uncorked a mana potion and plugged it into Andora's mouth.

The way inside wasn't suitable for horses. Gretchen and Andora had their mounts wait outside for the time being. The cathedral still leaked with water as they ascended the steps up to the entrance.

Dim sunlight bleeding through the stained glass windows illuminated the interior of the temple with a menagerie of melting colors. They came faced with high elves, goblins, orcs, and other races wandering about the worship hall.

"You're safe now! We're here to rescue… oh." Arenade backed away when they all turned to her at the same time.

Everyone here had been charmed.

Gretchen and Arenade granted themselves wings with Holy Armament, each holding a hand to lift Andora into the air. The charmed thralls tried to grab at them, but the chamber was large enough to stay out of reach.

"I-I'm starting to think we should go back to Ehmvier and get help," Arenade stammered.

"We might not be able to catch back up. This is our only chance to stop Labelle. If you wish to leave, I won't stop you. You are queen of the Commonwealth, and if something happens to you, the country will be without leadership since Kanae is gone," Gretchen explained.

"Ahhhh! You had to go and bring Kanae up. I can protect the Commonwealth, too. Let's go, Andora. We're landing this damn temple whether Labelle likes it or not!" She carried her vassal off farther down the corridor.

"Wait, I feel much safer with two people holding onto me!" Andora cried.

Gretchen hurried after them. They succeeded in losing the thralls deeper into the temple. Collapsed columns and statues had blocked some paths, making it too difficult for someone to give chase on foot. Entire corridors were covered in seaweed and aquatic vegetation that would soon die without being submerged.

They came across the giant open doors with runic texts that could only be read by true succubi. A few charmed thralls standing guard attacked, but Andora quickly made short work of them.

The last time Kanae had briefed Gretchen about this temple was many months ago. She came down here herself to become familiar with the surroundings. Kanae wanted to one day make use of this place, but humanely, if that was possible. Should Labelle get her way of taking it, they would lose a powerful weapon to their enemies. She couldn't afford to let that happen.

They entered the underground chamber where Kanae, Claudia, and Hilde had found Alicia in. The beautiful symbiosis of dwarven engineering and gothic architecture stretched the length of the engine room. Inside, Labelle and her succubi continued to channel their magic into a giant crystal. Half a dozen portals against the wall shimmered, struggling to stay active.

"How the fuck did you get in?" Labelle gasped.

"It's over, Labelle. Stand still and let me beat your ass!" Arenade shouted, fearlessly storming ahead.

"The show ain't over unless I say it's over!" Her fingers flew across the hand piano.

Arenade conjured another tuning fork, capturing the vibrating energies. Gretchen seized the opportunity to bodyslam Labelle into the ground. When Arenade reflected the attack, it cracked the crystal and knocked the succubi in every direction. The entire temple lurched.

"You fucking idiot! No wonder your tits are so big. It's where all your brains went! That was the only thing keeping this temple in the sky!" Labelle cried.

"Oh." Arenade turned pale.

The nearby portals sputtered out of existence, and hundreds of people materialized in their places. Terra was among them, too. They were the inhabitants missing from Barkwen and around the lake.

Gretchen felt a little weightless as the temple plummeted. They were on a crash course for the surface. Labelle kicked her off and helped one of her succubi up.

"I'll remember you, bitch." Labelle glared before flying off.

"What do we do? What do we do? There's a ton of people still in the temple. We can't get them all out in time!" Arenade ran around hysterically like a chicken without its head.

"Get a hold of yourself!" Gretchen shook her by the shoulders. "There is something we can do. You were able to turn Holy Armament into a tuning fork. I've never seen that before. We'll shape it into something that can protect everyone from harm!"

"Like… a bubble barrier! But what about the others upstairs?" she asked.

Gretchen volunteered. She left the ones here to Arenade and Andora, and flew as fast as her wings could go back to the main worship hall. About half a hundred people were huddled in their own little groups, terrified out of their wits.

"Get close if you want to live! Now!" Gretchen boomed.

No one hesitated. They put their faith in her. It was a feeling she hadn't felt in a long time. Faith. Trust. To have the faithful rely on her. This was what she should have been doing as archbishop in Aidenhall. But her counter with Kanae had brought her to this moment.

"Holy Armament: Bubble Barrier!" Gretchen wedged her staff in a gap on the cobbled ground, creating a divine shield around them.

Hopefully, this should work. As they waited for the impact and prayed for a miracle, Gretchen tensed up to the sound of crying. Her eyes snapped open. She followed the sound to the altar. An elven boy, a child, hugging his knees in terror.

"Damn it all." Gretchen left the safety of the barrier and jumped to grab the child. His cheeks were stained with tears. He looked up at her full of hope. She offered a reassuring smile. But when she spun around to head back to the barrier, she saw trees beyond the entrance.

Gretchen only had time to envelope the boy in her arms— and the temple crashed.

The darkness was cold and oddly comforting. Gretchen wondered if the child survived. A gnawing regret chewed at her chest. The thought of not being able to see Kanade and Suvee grow up. However, atoning for her mistakes this way… wasn't such a bad feeling.

A single ray of sunlight peered through, then a second, and then a third. Something heavy lifted off her back.

"Over here!" a man's voice shouted.

Two arms pulled Gretchen out of the rubble. Arenade and Andora hovered over her, with the former immediately administering healing magic. Ehmvier guards and infantry flooded around the broken temple. The ceiling had fallen, and the entire left side of the wall had collapsed.

"Thank the Supreme One!" Arenade sighed in relief.

"The boy?" Gretchen croaked, only to glance down to see him unconscious in her grasp, but his breathing was steady. Her hand, which she shielded his head with, was covered in scratches. One pinky was twisted the wrong way.

"Doing a lot better than you." Andora plopped down on the rubble. "So is everyone else you threw a barrier on."

Priests and healers tended to the injured. Anyone unhurt was put on Rown carriages bound for their homes, but soldiers shackled the Ortesians for transport to the Ehmvier dungeons.

Soon enough, Arenade had healed Gretchen whole again. She still ached from every fiber of her body though. The passed out elven boy slept in her arms. They were going to have to find his parents later.

"Any signs of Labelle or her ilk?" Gretchen sat upright and asked.

"Gone by the time Arenade and I came up." Andora shook her head.

"The temple's completely busted, too. Whatever Kanae had plans for this place, it's not happening anymore," Arenade said.

Gretchen heaved a deep breath. Better gone than in the cult's hands.