The Grotesque Party and a Hunter’s Resolve

The party’s composition had become utterly grotesque, its members a motley assortment:

Jimi the Cruel, trapped within an elven female body, posed as an elven princess.

The Succubus Heavenly King posed as an elven princess.

The foolish dog, whose head was filled with chivalry.

Sovenia led the way, her expression unreadable, the Moonlit Blade clutched in one hand.

In her other, she awkwardly held the ill-fitting, unsightly helmet, having voluntarily taken on the reconnaissance duty.

Her long legs moved with the precise cadence of a soldier, each step seemingly measuring the distance to her own demise.

Behind her, a saccharine murmur, cloyingly sweet, grated on her nerves.

Sovenia’s pointed ears twitched, catching every sticky syllable of the private conversation.

“My brave hero, you suffered such grievous injuries. Does your arm still pain you?”

That was Linalia’s voice, or rather, the Succubus Heavenly King’s, sweet as honey freshly squeezed from a comb, carrying a warmth that could melt steel.

“It’s nothing. Miss Sovenia already treated my wounds. She’s excellent at battlefield first aid; she stitched up all my injuries.”

“Stitched your wounds? So serious? My brave hero, you sustained injuries requiring stitches these past few days?”

“All over my body, more than thirty places.”

“You are truly resilient. I’ve only heard of such unyielding warriors in legends…”

“I’m fine, by the grace of the gods.”

The foolish dog’s voice was as ever, perfectly foolish, overflowing with a chivalrous grace that, after being blinded by beauty, could be bought a dozen for a single copper coin.

Sovenia didn’t even need to turn around to picture the scene:

The Succubus Heavenly King practically draped her entire lithe form over the foolish dog’s arm, gazing up at him with wide, watery golden eyes.

Meanwhile, the foolish dog puffed out his dented and battered breastplate, striving to embody the role of a dependable protector.

‘Oh, to offer her head to the Blood God.’

A nameless fire burned in her chest, but she drew a deep breath, suppressing her rage.

Anger was a sign of weakness; she was anything but weak.

She was merely a hunter executing a plan, and the two creatures behind her were, respectively, a tool nearing its expiration and a walking golden treasure chest.

Indeed, a treasure chest.

Ever since Linalia’s true identity was confirmed, a golden question mark card and a phantom treasure chest had hovered above her head, their brilliance almost matching Wawalde’s.

This meant that killing her would not only yield a precious gold card but also a powerful relic—double the pleasure.

Sovenia’s steps did not falter in the slightest; she listened intently for reconnaissance while continuing to devise an assassination plan for her former ‘colleague’.

Why kill her?

This question didn’t even require thought; the Succubus Heavenly King was one of the Demon Queen’s many daughters.

Thinking back, the Goblins they had encountered earlier must have been instructed by the Succubus Heavenly King to cooperate with them, staging a dramatic performance, given that the Demon Queen’s daughter also possessed command authority.

Although the relationship between this mother and daughter was far from harmonious, they often quarreled fiercely over trivial matters, such as which enemy man the Succubus Heavenly King had seduced or which revealing dress the Demon Queen had burned.

Yet, blood ties were unbreakable chains.

In a crucial moment, she would undoubtedly side with her mother.

Sovenia certainly didn’t want to fight the Succubus Heavenly King while also confronting the Demon Queen.

‘Actually… our relationship was rather decent.’

A thought surfaced in Sovenia’s mind, tinged with self-mockery.

In the Demon King’s Hall, where everyone feared for themselves and engaged in mutual strife, ‘decent’ was already an exceptionally high appraisal.

Although the Succubus Heavenly King was a capricious b*tch, she rarely actively conspired with her mother to cause Sovenia trouble.

After all, Jimi the Cruel’s status was above hers, and she was the Demon Queen’s sharpest blade, constantly campaigning abroad.

Occasionally, the Succubus Heavenly King would even mimic human family structures, playing the role of a daughter, attempting to charm and build good relations… saying things like, ‘From now on, you’re my dad.’

But this did not change the fundamental truth that she was a colossal nuisance.

The Succubus Heavenly King’s greatest hobby was ‘collecting stamps’.

Her lovers spanned the Demon Realm, the Human Realm, and even the gray areas of the Divine Realm.

She collected both men and women, mighty warriors and handsome poets alike.

For her, this was not merely a release of desire but a癖好 akin to a child collecting toys.

She savored the process of conquest, relishing the sight of those arrogant powerhouses groveling at her feet.

Among her ‘collectibles,’ her proudest were the ‘Four Heavenly Kings’ series.

Including herself, it was said she used forbidden magic to create a perfect male avatar, with whom she engaged in tempestuous affairs, completing her collection.

However, this ‘Four Heavenly Kings’ series lacked only one.

That was Jimi the Cruel; she suffered no physiological or psychological impediments, nor did she mind spending a night with the Succubus Heavenly King.

Alas, the Succubus Heavenly King was particular about rituals, insisting on following a courtship process she called ‘romance’ – though for demons, romance often involved dalliances with multiple partners.

Sovenia recalled her time spent with the Succubus Heavenly King as if remembering a war fought for ten days and ten nights, eighteen years ago.

Weariness, an immense weariness.

Being with her was like having an insatiable energy vampire by her side.

She was forever taking, forever draining one’s energy.

She would burst in while Sovenia was handling official duties, simply because she had a new dress that required immediate appraisal.

She would snatch Sovenia’s helmet while she meditated to restore magic, complaining that Sovenia spent too little time with her.

She would even shake Sovenia awake at three in the morning, crying about a nightmare and needing a hug.

Every conversation with her left Sovenia feeling as though her soul was being tugged and torn by countless invisible hands.

The sensation was more exhausting than facing an entire legion of Paladins.

Then came the ultimatum.

“My dearest Jimi, go to the Abyssal Flesh Pit, to the gladiatorial arena there.” She was clad in black gauze as thin as cicada wings, her bare feet treading the cold floor of Jimi’s chambers. “Bring me a hundred heads of the chosen ones,” she purred. “I believe the one I admire is a great hero.”

Sovenia recalled her sole reply at the time:

“Get lost.”

From then on, the Succubus Heavenly King never again set foot in her chambers.

And Jimi, consequently, became the sole missing ‘stamp’ in the Succubus Heavenly King’s collection among the Four Heavenly Kings.

The recollection ended there.

Sovenia’s lips curved into a cold arc.

‘Yes,’ she thought. ‘Killing her… just imagining it feels like waking up refreshed after eight hours of sleep, all fatigue vanished.’

However, for now, the Succubus Heavenly King, unaware of her exposure, brought benefits that far outweighed the drawbacks.

Indeed, the Succubus Heavenly King filled the most glaring void in their two-person party: their lack of crowd-clearing abilities.

Their path forward was not without obstacles; as they drew closer to the male body’s head, skirmishes became increasingly frequent.

The internal strife within the Demon King’s Hall persisted, with various demon factions transforming rooms into bloody slaughterhouses in their struggle for territory and resources.

Their first wave of enemies was a pack of demon hyenas that went berserk at the scent of living beings.

These creatures possessed steel-like jaws and spat corrosive saliva, making them quite troublesome when in groups.

Fortunately, the foolish dog served as a meat shield, and the corridor was narrow.

Wawalde, longsword in hand, was about to charge forward when:

“Move aside, my brave hero!” Linalia cried out, raising her crooked, gem-encrusted staff, her voice clear and melodious. “Guardians of the forest, heed my command!”

The ground trembled slightly, and countless dark green vines miraculously burst forth from the solid obsidian floor.

These thorny vines, like living tendrils, coiled around any hyenas too slow to escape.

The hyenas struggled frantically, emitting shrill whimpers, but the vines tightened further, their thorns piercing deep into their flesh.

“My brave hero, quickly!” Linalia turned, her face flushed, ostensibly from casting, her golden eyes sparkling as if awaiting praise.

Wawalde exclaimed with genuine admiration: “That’s incredible, Miss Linalia! Is this elven nature magic?”

In the past, with only powerful single-target attacks, he would have been overwhelmed for quite some time before he could dispatch them all.

“Oh, just a few insignificant tricks. Compared to your Holy Smite, your Holy Smite is still better.”

Linalia smiled humbly, but her actions were anything but modest.

With two fingers, she elegantly pinched the edge of her tattered skirt, lifting it to reveal her thigh.

Black stockings encased her voluptuous yet toned leg, the fabric gleaming with an ambiguous soft light in the dimness.

The delicate lace trim of her stocking peeked tantalizingly near her upper thigh, creating a stark contrast with her fair, delicate skin.

Sovenia observed with cold detachment.

Nature magic?

How ridiculous.

A faint, alluring glow emanated from those vines, which were essentially a form of mass mind control, tricking the hyenas into believing they were physically restrained, thereby achieving the desired control.

Sovenia had studied the abilities of the other three Heavenly Kings and knew them inside out.

But she said nothing.

The foolish dog handled the frontal assault, the Succubus Heavenly King managed the crowd control, and Sovenia merely needed to deliver the finishing blows.

She was content with this arrangement.

Her only displeasure stemmed from the Succubus Heavenly King’s attempts to lay claim to her foolish dog, even if this tool was projected to be discarded within another day.

The subsequent skirmishes were almost exact replicas of this pattern.

When confronted by gigantic, acid-spitting toads, Linalia would conjure a ‘Fragrant Flower Rain’.

The seemingly innocuous petals, upon landing on the toads, would plunge them into a frenzy, causing them to turn on each other.

Against a squad of minotaurs wielding heavy axes, she would intone a ‘Moonlight Requiem,’ lulling the muscular brutes into a deep slumber where they stood.

After each spell, she would immediately turn to Wawalde, gazing at him with sparkling golden eyes, her small face tilted up like a little girl awaiting praise.

The foolish dog would, quite pleased, offer a few words of commendation, earning the Succubus Heavenly King’s gratitude.

‘Look at this little virgin,’ Sovenia mused. ‘He’s so easily manipulated by the Succubus Heavenly King.’

‘When assassinating the Demon Queen, it was thanks to my maps and the patrol teams I diverted that things went smoothly.’

‘Otherwise, the foolish dog’s hero party wouldn’t have advanced so quickly, and once the Demon Queen realized what was happening, she’d send her daughter to ‘sleep’ with them, likely causing the hero party to devolve into infighting and abandon their quest.’

Linalia’s tactics went beyond mere praise-seeking; she frequently made physical contact with Wawalde.

“My brave hero, my staff is running low on energy. Could you help me recharge it?”

“How can I help you?”

“Just hold it.”

She handed the staff to Wawalde, letting him grip it, then placed her own hands over his.

As she released his hand, her fingers lingered, tracing a few intentional, yet seemingly accidental, strokes across the back of Wawalde’s hand.

Other times, she would dramatically pat her ample bosom, saying, “My brave hero, that was so close! My heart almost leaped out!”

And on other occasions, she would cup her small face, gazing at Wawalde with the most adoring eyes, saying, “My brave hero, you are truly so dependable!”

‘Hmph,’ Sovenia thought. ‘As if Wawalde were no longer a fugitive with half his face burned, but a god walking among mortals.’

Wawalde, embarrassed, scratched his helmet, muttering humble replies.

Sovenia scoffed inwardly.

‘This foolish dog… he’s fine for now. Let him enjoy it.’

‘But give it a little more time, and her demands will only grow.’

‘Right now, she merely seeks attention, protection, praise, and emotional validation, but she is like an insatiable black hole, only ever expanding.’

However, this ‘princess falls for hero’ love story was of no concern to Sovenia.

At least, she told herself it wasn’t; she was more focused on one thing: delivering the killing blow.

After effortlessly dispatching another squad of patrolling demon soldiers, Wawalde, as usual, knocked down their leader and said to Sovenia, “He’s all yours.”

Sovenia stepped forward, stabbed the enemy with her sword, then glanced at the three random cards.

Finding none suitable, she shattered them, converting them into energy for the Scorching Gold War Hammer.

“Wait a moment.”

Linalia’s voice suddenly rang out.

Sovenia, wiping blood from her sword, did not turn around.

Linalia walked over to Wawalde, tugged his arm, and asked in a tone of innocent curiosity:

“My brave hero, I’m a little curious… why do you always leave the final blow of every battle to Sovenia? Although she’s very capable, isn’t it too dangerous? Sending a girl to face a dying enemy…”

Wawalde chuckled. “That’s a special ability of Miss Sovenia’s. She says it makes her stronger. I’m not entirely sure of the specifics; you can ask her yourself.”

‘How intimate they are,’ Sovenia mused, polishing the Moonlit Blade. ‘My succubus colleague will probably ‘collect’ the foolish dog tonight. Too bad I plan to make my move this evening; the foolish dog likely won’t lose his virginity tonight.’

Linalia released his arm, offered a thank you, and then stepped in front of Sovenia.

Although her current body was slightly shorter than Sovenia’s, she was adept at using the terrain.

Thus, Linalia subtly tilted her head, gazing down at Sovenia and projecting an air of condescending dominance.

“Sovenia,” her voice was soft as a feather, “can you tell me? What kind of ability do you possess? We are a team now; we should trust each other and share our secrets.”

Sovenia, her expression unwavering, continued to polish the Moonlit Blade, resolute in her desire not to be recognized by her old colleague.

Linalia continued: “This way, we can cooperate better, can’t we? If we keep hiding things like this, a misjudgment at a crucial moment could be very dangerous for all three of us.”

Sovenia remained unmoved, pondering whether it might be better to reschedule the assassination for lunchtime instead.