Chapter 191
Hela clicked her tongue, pushed Van aside, and got to her feet.
Because he was still bound, Van toppled over but paid no mind—he kept his eyes on Duvalkan.
“Wait, what are you doing here—”
“Ah, don’t look! I said don’t look!”
He’d had no problem being naked in front of Payne, but now, flailing around and squeezing his legs together, he seemed desperate not to be seen by Van.
Did he think it was fine for Payne to see him naked? Surely they weren’t that close…?
A stab of jealousy flickered in Ashtel’s eyes as she looked at Duvalkan, but she quickly regained her senses. That wasn’t what mattered right now.
“You—tell me what happened after Payne went back to the temple.”
She wiped away her tears, squared her shoulders, and confronted Van.
“I have nothing to say to a demon.”
Van replied curtly, snapping his head away. His gaze was fixed on Duvalkan, who was stifling his moans.
“You lied to me. Didn’t you say Diar was safe?”
“Just answer my question.”
She could no longer see Van as a paladin from Medialle.
Payne was facing execution. What had been the point of sending him back to the temple if this was how it ended?
Thick, black horns began to sprout atop Ashtel’s radiant golden hair.
Spreading her delicate wings wide, she grabbed Van’s chin with her foot, forcing him to look her in the eye.
“Payne. Tell me what happened to him.”
The touch of her cold bare foot on his cheek made him recoil in disgust.
Van glared at Ashtel as if he could kill her, then bit his lip as his eyes fell on the skimpy black skirt-shaped lingerie just barely covering her hips and g***n.
He knew succubi were meant to arouse men’s desires. Still, like Duvalkan, the only women’s skin he’d ever seen was his mother’s or siblings’, back when he’d lived outside the temple as a child. The situation was deeply embarrassing.
Noticing this, Ashtel smirked.
“If you won’t open your mouth, I can make you.”
She signaled to Moablon, who started to grow larger as she approached.
“So this is the guy who hurt our Sue?”
“Yeah, but don’t kill him.”
“Tch.”
“We need to send him back to the human realm in one piece.”
There was no warmth in Ashtel’s eyes as she said it.
Moablon flicked her tongue, grabbed Van by the hair, and forced him to look up.
“Ugh.”
His previously blank expression instantly twisted into one of deep disgust.
“No matter what you do to me, I won’t talk.”
“We’ll see about that.”
With that, Moablon dragged Van, along with Duvalkan, away to who knows where.
As soon as Van disappeared from sight, Ashtel’s tension melted away and she collapsed to the ground, covering her eyes.
“Sue, are you okay?”
Hela came over and stroked her shoulder.
Fortunately, Ashtel wasn’t crying anymore—she was burning with something else.
“What are those temple bastards thinking?”
“I heard traces of demons were found all over the temple.”
“And that Duvalkan’s kidnapping was considered a serious incident.”
Liz and Chacha added.
But that still didn’t justify harming Payne, Duke Panchest’s illegitimate son. Wouldn’t it make more sense, even by human standards, to just keep him imprisoned?
‘Did I lead Payne to his doom?’
Was she the one who corrupted him and, in the end, caused him to lose his life?
Ashtel was lost in a haze of anger and grief.
She almost burst into tears again, sniffling as Hela glanced around and asked,
“By the way, where’s Sis Sermedes?”
“She went inside the Asti tree. Said there was something she needed to check.”
“So it’s just us here right now?”
“Yeah.”
“…Sue, do you want to go see Payne?”
Ashtel’s round eyes grew even wider.
“Can I?”
“It’ll probably be chaos if the others find out. But since Liz and Chacha are with us, we’ll be fine.”
Glancing at the two, Liz awkwardly twisted her chestnut hair, feigning distraction, while Chacha simply grinned in agreement.
“Sure. With my invisibility, we’ll be able to escape safely even if we get caught.”
She was basically assuming they’d be discovered.
Ashtel, now aware of her own shapeshifting limitations, knew she couldn’t escape Medialle without Chacha’s help.
“Let’s leave the paladin to Moablon and head for the human world.”
Hela reached out her hand again.
Was it really okay? Was it really okay for her to go see Payne?
But Ashtel had already decided in her heart.
Her lashes fluttered, she took a deep breath, and grasped Hela’s hand.
The horns on her head still hadn’t receded.
Ashtel, filled with sharp resolve toward Medialle, stepped toward the dimensional gate.
“Yeah. Let’s go. Let’s see Payne.”
Thus began their second infiltration of Mediale.
* * *
“You know…”
Moablon swung a thorny whip through the air.
Van couldn’t help staring, amazed at how the tiny girl had grown—now easily big enough to handle a whip like it was nothing.
“I really want to rip you to shreds right now.”
Each sharp crack of the whip in the air made his shoulders flinch.
Discussion
0 CommentsReactions
No comments yet.