Vol 2. Chapter 83: Hero VS Demon Queen

“What was originally just a boring farce to root out internal insubordination—after all, for a low-ranking mid-tier succubus to deceive her superiors, defy the monarch, and openly provoke other factions—there’s no way she could’ve had the guts or audacity to do that on her own. Someone higher up is definitely pulling the strings.”

After Vinny left, Jiuli Xue began speaking to herself. Whether she was talking to Athisphis standing before her, or to her own subordinates, wasn’t clear.

“I didn’t expect to gain such an unexpected reward.”

Jiuli Xue turned her gaze to Athisphis, a faint, unreadable smile playing on her lips. It was obvious who that “reward” referred to.

“I thought the humans’ Hero would be some burly muscle-bound uncle with swollen biceps and a rugged jawline. Didn’t think it’d turn out to be a delicate silver-haired little sister who looks like she’d blow away in the wind.”

Jiuli Xue’s wine-red fox eyes shimmered with amusement as they fell on the Holy Sword brushing the dust off in Athisphis’s hand.

“And I didn’t expect the ruler of the fox demons and succubi to be such a breathtakingly seductive, drop-dead gorgeous beauty.”

Athisphis brushed a lock of hair behind her ear and smiled with elegant confidence.

“If our first meeting hadn’t been so awkward... if we didn’t have reasons to oppose each other, maybe we’d have found a lot to talk about?”

“Oh my~? So Hero-sshi and I actually think alike. What a fated encounter.”

Jiuli Xue’s smile deepened.

“Is that so?”

“Hero-sshi, my name is Jiuli Xue. Daughter of the Ten-Thousand Demon Fox King and the Succubus Queen. The current lord of both the Fox Demon Realm and Succubus Realm. Would you be willing to tell me your name?”

Jiuli Xue asked with a teasing smile.

“Of course~ How could I possibly not answer when such a beautiful fox demon onee-san is asking me?”

Athisphis curled her lips upward.

“My name is Athisphis Galatus. My family isn’t well-known—just some minor nobility—so I’ll skip the intro.”

“Miss Galatus, huh? Even though we stand on opposite sides, even though we’re different races... I feel like we’re connected by fate. The web of Destiny wove our paths to cross at this precise moment. Isn’t that a divine arrangement?”

“Ara~? Something arranged by Destiny, you say? So, should I take that to mean you’re confessing to me, Miss Jiuli Xue? That’s quite a bold love confession, you know.”

Athisphis tilted her head and smiled sweetly.

“Human, mind your tongue!”

One of the succubus dukes frowned and crossed her arms at Athisphis’s impertinence.

“Oh? A confession...? ...Well, Miss Galatus, if you want to interpret it that way—as me offering an olive branch—you’re free to do so.”

Jiuli Xue didn’t seem the least bit offended.

“Didn’t you say it yourself earlier, Miss Galatus? That you and I think the same way. I was just thinking... how nice it would’ve been if we weren’t enemies, if we didn’t have to fight.”

Jiuli Xue mused aloud, eyes half-lidded.

“So what are you suggesting, Miss Jiuli Xue?”

“Just now, didn’t Hero-sshi say you wanted to play with me for a while? Sounds fun~ I’d love to. But in that case, I’ll be the one setting the rules.”

She smiled, then added with feigned casualness:

“Miss Galatus, why don’t you come with me from now on?”

“I have no desire to go to war with humanity right now. That’s why I brought my people here—to dispose of these provocateurs and keep things from escalating.

But letting a future powerful enemy walk away free? That’s not something I can allow.”

“To uproot the weed entirely feels wasteful... So how about this—we make a pact. If you agree to the terms, I’ll let you go. How about it?”

“A pact? What kind of pact are we talking about?”

Athisphis tilted her head.

“It’s simple. Miss Galatus, if I ever have need of you, you’ll do exactly as I say—no questions asked, anytime, anywhere.”

Jiuli Xue spoke slowly, languidly.

“Oh~ Is it just a verbal promise?”

Athisphis clearly knew the answer to that. There was no way someone like Jiuli Xue—ruler of two demonic realms—would be content with just words.

“Of course not. Miss Galatus, I’ll need you to vow in person that you won’t betray me. And...”

Jiuli Xue retrieved a strange pill from within her robes.

“You’ll take this. Right in front of me.”

It was the same pill she had once tried to force down Vanessa’s throat.

“So, you’re the kind of person who doesn’t trust promises, Miss Jiuli Xue?”

Athisphis raised an eyebrow.

“Not at all. I very much want to believe in you, Miss Galatus. I want to believe in every person who forms a pact with me. This is just a tiny insurance policy. After all, whether human or demon, people are fickle. To truly respect a promise, one must account for every possible variable. That’s what it means to be responsible, no?”

Jiuli Xue’s words were as slippery as a true fox spirit.

There was no need to think too hard. That pill was definitely bad news. And Jiuli Xue would absolutely verify—over and over—that Athisphis had swallowed it before letting her go.

“What’s the matter? You seem hesitant.”

Jiuli Xue lifted a brow when Athisphis didn’t respond for a while.

She wasn’t worried about her running away—even a teleport scroll wouldn’t work here.

No matter how far she ran, Jiuli Xue could track her down.

Not to mention, if Athisphis made even the slightest suspicious move, Jiuli Xue would immediately strike and interrupt her.

At her current level, even the twitch of a finger would be enough for her to react.

“What a shame... Miss Galatus, you were so enthusiastic just moments ago. And now you’re dragging your feet. Is becoming my slave really so beneath you? Do you know how many demons would die for the chance to take that position?”

Jiuli Xue toyed with the pill in her hand, switching into full-on psychological warfare.

The moment she realized Athisphis found her attractive, Jiuli Xue turned her charm into a weapon.

“Looks like I’ll have to turn up the heat and sweeten the deal~”

Her crimson fox eyes glinted with mischief, then overflowed with seductive power, as if a spring of desire had burst open, drowning Athisphis in it.

Jiuli Xue blew a kiss.

A pink heart materialized and landed square on Athisphis’s face.

Her pupils shrank. The magic power she’d been preparing scattered in disarray.

When she opened her eyes again, she found herself submerged in a swamp of warmth and illusion, everything bathed in pink.

It wasn’t as if she’d never been targeted by succubus charm magic before—

But with her level of mental fortitude, normal enchantments and illusions had never worked on her.

So long as she wanted to resist, they’d never work.

But Jiuli Xue’s charm was on another level entirely.

She had surpassed every generation of Succubus Queens and Ten-Thousand Demon Fox Kings when it came to seductive arts.

Possessing both lineages—and bringing them to their full potential—she had combined their powers into something far greater than the sum of its parts.

Athisphis’s eyes lost focus. Her jewel-like violet pupils now swirled with confusion.

“All right, stop hesitating~ Come here.”

Jiuli Xue curled her finger with a smile.

Athisphis, dazed and subdued, slowly lifted her foot.

Just as her heel was about to touch the ground—

The pendant around her neck blazed with radiant light.

A shattering sound followed.

The glow dimmed, and several burnt-up scraps of scrolls fell from her body, crumbling to ash.

Clarity returned to her clouded eyes.

She clutched her head, barely regaining awareness, and immediately looked down at her pendant and the scrolls she'd kept on her.

Her top-tier mental resistance pendant—shattered.

The scrolls for resisting charm—reduced to ashes.

That alone said everything about how terrifying Jiuli Xue’s allure was.

“Oh?”

Jiuli Xue raised her brows in slight surprise, then smiled faintly.

“Miss Galatus, you’re not quite the ordinary human noble you claim to be, are you?”

She had dealt with humans before. Even noble heirs couldn’t possibly afford that many priceless anti-charm items.

Of course.

Some of those artifacts were secret heirlooms from the Galatus family, given to Athisphis for protection. The rest, she had crafted herself.

“So... Miss Galatus, is that a rejection of my offer?”

Jiuli Xue’s eyes gleamed with something unidentifiable.

“Sorry, Miss Jiuli Xue. If this were the past, I might’ve considered your confession. But unfortunately, you’re not my type.

Or rather—let’s say you’re a bit far from my type. So I’ll have to refuse.”

Athisphis smoothed her tousled hair and offered a graceful smile.

“What a pity.”

Jiuli Xue looked disappointed.

“If you won’t offer your sincerity, then we can’t form a pact. This pill is meaningless, then.”

“In that case, I’ll have to ask you to stay here... forever.”

Before she’d even finished the sentence, dozens of fox tails burst from beneath her gown.

Six massive ice lances formed in a flash and launched toward Athisphis.

This was a spell called Frozen Greatsword.

Jiuli Xue had just released six of them at once.

If one looked closely, they’d notice the icy spears weren’t a typical pale blue—but deep and saturated in color.

Athisphis reversed her grip on the Holy Sword, her black-silk-wrapped feet striking the ground as she darted forward.

Rather than dodging, she leapt atop the ice spears themselves, using them as footholds to advance, like a dragonfly skimming over water.

“Oh? Interesting.”

Normally, the instant one stepped on those spears, they would detonate with violent ice-elemental energy.

But Athisphis had glided across them smoothly.

Jiuli Xue instantly understood why: Athisphis had applied wind magic to her toes, using magical interference to neutralize the ice’s effects.

To pull off chantless, precision-cast magic like that required exceptional skill.

A bit clever, indeed. But considering she was the Hero chosen by the Holy Sword, it was to be expected.

Still, Jiuli Xue never took her prey lightly.

She had never once held back when it came to enemies—those who needed to die would die.

That was how she’d been raised: never underestimate an enemy.

Find out what they’re capable of—and then eliminate them accordingly.

If she’d ever once let her guard down, she wouldn’t be alive today.

The fox demons and succubi standing nearby simply watched, not daring to interfere.

Everyone knew: their Queen hated others meddling in her fights.

And more importantly, did she even need help?

To suggest so would be an insult to her strength.

Those ice spears had just been the appetizer.

Next came the real kill.

Jiuli Xue flicked her tails, conjuring a glob of water that instantly swelled into a towering tidal wave.

It blotted out the sky like a deep-blue beast raising its claws to smash Athisphis from above.

Villages and houses looked like ants before it.

Dark clouds churned overhead. The ocean surged with fury.

It felt like the end of the world.

Athisphis recognized the spell immediately:

Sea Burial of the Furious Scales.

A legendary, ultra-wide area destruction spell.

In the historical record, the caster who created it had wiped out an entire small nation with it.

The resulting floods devastated surrounding countries as well.

If this spell took full form, forget Lake Village—

Even the nearby cities would be underwater.

Athisphis’s face was grave. She didn’t have a spell strong enough to counter it.

No room to dodge. No place to run.

Before the monstrous tidal wave, she was no more than a speck of dust.

“BOOM—BOOM—BOOM!!!”

The beast struck down.

All was consumed by the surging flood.

But just before the tidal wave swallowed the village, Jiuli Xue snapped her fingers.

The wave froze in place—as if time had stopped.

Then, like a film being reversed, the deluge shrank, receded, and collapsed back into a sphere of water in her hand.

One fluid motion. Effortless.

To deconstruct a spell and return it to its raw state was ten times harder than casting it.

Especially a spell like Sea Burial of the Furious Scales, made up of tens of thousands of runes.

Yet Jiuli Xue had done it instantly.

Everything returned to silence, as if nothing had happened.

No corpses remained. Nothing.

That’s how it should’ve been.

But Jiuli Xue knew—it wasn’t over.

Because in the moment she dispelled the spell, she felt heat at her back.

The Holy Sword, wrapped in fire-phoenix flame, tore open the air and howled as it came down behind her.

A killing blow, meant to catch her off guard.

Jiuli Xue, arms crossed over her generous chest, didn’t even glance back.

But one of her fox tails snapped forward like a whip and formed a deep-blue water shield, extinguishing the flame.

“You shouldn’t sneak up on me, Hero-sshi.”

Jiuli Xue chuckled without turning.

“Seems you’re hiding more secrets than I expected.”

That last spell couldn’t possibly have missed.

So why did it?

Now that... was an interesting question.

But Jiuli Xue’s instincts—those of a true apex predator—had already begun to sense it:

Athisphis was hiding something. Something big.