Chapter 158: Chapter 141 – The Witch in the Woods

Over the next few days, the strange Cursemark spread like wildfire across Talahurah. Its residents fell ill, and healers were having a hard time helping the sick. At the Horns and Tail, Kanae's own prostitutes had contracted the magical ailment and couldn't work. The church of the Eminence of Sin was swamped, and with so many sisters having fallen sick, it was all hands on deck.

Those not infected with the Cursemark yet were beginning to lay the blame at Sheeba's feet. Not because she caused this, but because the pandemic has proven that the chieftain of Talahurah was inept.

"It's no use." Ulric shook his head after checking on another afflicted sister in the church's sleeping quarters. "A Cursemark this powerful might require the Grand Eye's caliber of magic to dispel. That being said, there's a zero chance of her coming out here. It's too risky."

"Figures." Kanae sighed, gazing at the many lying in bed who were having a hard time breathing.

They returned to the empty brothel where Erin, Taileen, and Daya sat together at a table with nothing to do since patrons were too scared to come.

"Is there anything we can do to help?" Taileen asked.

"Esta, Ulric, and I are going to investigate the witch's cabin. You and Erin will stay here to watch over the girls," Kanae said.

"What about me?" Daya rose to her feet, tail wagging with an eagerness to serve.

"You have a house in Talahurah, right? Go home, Daya," she ordered the sister-turned prostitute.

The canine's tail stopped wagging. "B-But I can help!"

"The Cursemark hasn't gotten you yet." Kanae placed a hand on her cheek. "I don't want what's happening to everyone to happen to you, too. Stay indoors until we find a cure. This is a plea straight from your High Priestess."

Daya's posture deflated. She stepped back to bow in a show of acquiescence.

Satisfied, Kanae emerged from the brothel to Esta and Ulric ready to head out. Their tense body language demonstrated the severity of the situation. 

"There's no telling what we might encounter, but I will protect you with all that I am." Esta nodded.

"Whoever this witch was, she put me, a Saint Priest, under her spell no problem. If there's anything else we can do to prepare, now's the time. What do you think, Amethyst? How about turning me into a succubus to even the odds?" Ulric asked.

Kanae and Esta turned to him with their mouths agape.

"That's not a reversible ritual, you know? Also… turning a Saint Priest into a succubus sounds like a surefire way for the Grand Eye to execute me. Though, I'm kind of curious…" Kanae mumbled to herself and brushed the sigil on her wrist.

A list of spells and skills flitted through her vision. She selected Sisterhood and faced Ulric with the interface. 

Sisterhood Conditions
X	Must be deeply loyal
✓	Must be female or have an affinity to being female
✓	Must have already had sexual encounters with
✓	Must themself desire this transformation

 

"Unsurprisingly, you meet every condition except your loyalty to me," Kanae said with a hint of disappointment.

"Chee…" Ulric kicked some dirt.

"Makes sense. Saint Priests are staunchly devoted to the Church of One and, by extension, the Grand Eye. In my position, I cannot become a Saint Priest after Loyalty Fixation triggered on my master. It would have been the same for Vestrid had it triggered on someone else," Esta explained.

Shame. However… Bond might be able to overcome that condition. It did for Esta's Loyalty Fixation.

Kanae set aside the letdown for now and together with Esta and Ulric, they traveled out of Talahurah in search of the witch's cabin. Fortunately for them, the extent of Ulric's memories ended some time after he already encountered the witch at her home. He knew exactly where it was.

Deep in the forests, situated at the center of a small clearing with a thin brook running through it, was a large tree in which the trunk split into two arms like the letter Y. The surest signs were the windows and a door at the foot of the tree.

"That's it," Ulric said. "Last time I was here, we didn't even fight. A witch came out, and it's all I remember."

The trio drew their weapons and approached slowly with Esta in the lead. Kanae pre-cast Bond on her companions, anticipating the other succubus might try to charm them. At the door now, hearts bounding like drums, they held their breaths as Esta turned the knob. The door creaked open to reveal a humble dwelling.

A typical witch's hovel. The shelves were packed full of strange reagents, an inert cauldron sat in the middle of the room, and a set of stairs led up each respective arm of the tree to another room.

"Oh, my. I don't recall inviting anyone over. How rude of you to invite yourselves into my home," a woman behind them said.

They spun around, coming face to face with a slit-eyed human woman at the edge of the clearing. This woman, instead of a wand, held a folding fan with an extended handle. That might be her focusing element. Her hair was jet black and only went down to her neck. She was dressed in black and red robes and a wide-brimmed hat reminiscent of the high elven witch, Lynn Alton. 

"It's her!" Ulric exclaimed, loosing an arrow without hesitation.

An adolescent green dragon landed in front of the witch and blocked Ulric's killshot with one wing. The long draconic tail curled protectively around her. 

"Wait!" Kanae urged Ulric as he nocked another onto his bow. "I want to talk to her."

"Are you crazy? She charmed me to attack you!" Ulric fired back.

"I'm with Ulric, Master. This woman… my danger sense is telling me she is no ordinary witch," Esta said.

"I know. I think we all know who she really is— the succubus. Are you her? The succubus queen who survived the culling centuries ago?" Kanae asked.

"Succubus queen, you say? Ohohohoho!" The witch hid behind a folding fan and erupted into haughty laughter.

As if on cue, dire beasts emerged from the woods into the clearing. Creatures that wouldn't naturally be found working together stood side by side, snarling at the three of them.

"I guess talking this through is out of the question?" Kanae unwound Lust and dug her heels into the dirt.

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The witch smirked. "My, you wish to talk? We'll talk once you are on the ground and kissing my feet. My dearies, Bond!"

It took Kanae a second to register the word in her mind. Bond. The dragon grew in size to a hulking monster. Every dire beast lunged at once.

"That was a succubus skill!" Kanae warned. "She really is a succubus— Everyone on your toes!"

They dove away from a geyser of flames spewing from the dragon's maw. Esta and Ulric mowed down hordes upon hordes of dire beasts. Kanae, however, went directly for the succubus witch.

"You had sex with a dragon, too? That's nothing special. I had a sexual encounter with two!" Kanae cast her whip at the witch only to have it caught on her wrist.

"Ohohoho! Have you now? But have you mated with one? Given birth to its offsprings? I don't think so, because you would be commanding an army of dragons if you did. You call yourself a succubus? All I see is a pretender!" The witch yanked hard on the whip.

Kanae came crashing down hard. She glanced up in time to witness the witch sprouting horns, a tail, and two pairs of wings, a small set on her lower back and a much more impressive wingspan on the other.

The dragon lifted a massive talon over Kanae. She rolled away before it crushed her. The giant claws carved into the dirt where she was just lying.

"You… gave birth to dragons?" Kanae gulped.

"Naive girl. This lovely dragon is both my husband and my son! I've fucked and gave birth to everything you see here!" The succubus witch stretched her arms out to the side. Behind her, countless eyes stared back at Kanae from deep within the foliage.

Kanae leaped back and switched on Sadism. Power surged through her. She lashed out with Lust again, imbuing each strike with Titanic Blow. Her foe folded up the hand held fan and deflected every hit with ease. 

Until one slipped past and struck the witch on the chest, causing her to stagger back.

"Me? Kissing your feet? Don't make me laugh! I'll be the one putting you on the ground. If you're obedient, I may be kind enough to let you suck on my toes!" Kanae cackled.

"Hoh? Is that all you can muster? Such a paltry hit like that cannot possibly bring me to an orgasm! Come now, pretender-queen. Hit harder. Hit me like you mean it!" the witch shrieked, shivering in delirious pleasure.

Was she… responding to Sadism with Masochism?

"Just who the hell are you?" Kanae asked.

"I am Hilde, Mistress of Subjugation and the harbinger of you and your Commonwealth's end. After you, Radevic. After Radevic, Demon Lord Charron. All shall kneel before the true succubus queen, but first… I must make an example out of you, pretender-queen." Hilde gazed over her shoulder and whistled sharply.

An ear-splitting roar sounded from a distance. A large shadow cast over the entire clearing, kicking up dirt and leaves. Kanae looked up to find six chromatic dragons flying above them. Their massive wings beat with gale force.

Hide affectionately nuzzled the green dragon and continued, "Meet my sweet, sweet children, who will soon lay waste to your precious domain. I shall, however, allow you this one chance to escape. You see, I want you to witness the Commonwealth's destruction. Stay if you wish, but it will not go well for you."

The fighting stopped at once to Esta and Ulric's surprise. They were both visibly exhausted.

"Master, we have to go!" Esta panted.

"Hilde's underestimating us…" Kanae grinded her teeth.

"Maybe so, but we can't fight against seven dragons with just the three of us," Ulric said.

They accepted Hilde's mercy and ran. Kanae cursed under her breath, feeling the succubus witch's taunting gaze on her back as she escaped.

Upon returning to Talahurah, they stormed in the direction of the central great tree where Sheeba resided. The city needed to raise defenses before Hilde attacked.

"Where's Sheeba?" Kanae asked a group of guards standing outside the gate into the tree. "A family of incest dragons are going to attack Talahurah!"

"I-Incest dragons? That sounds terrible! But the chieftain isn't inside. We last saw her going to your church," one guard answered.

"Oh, they're back! Chieftain! The queen is looking for you!" another hollered.

The lioness chieftain, Sheeba, was on her way back, but she wasn't alone. Dragging on the ground in each hand were the twins, both unconscious. Daya accompanied her, too. In fact, hundreds of beastmen flanked them. They walked with a rigid gait… like their bodies weren't their own.

"Queen Kanae…" Sheeba staggered a few more steps before toppling to the ground. "You were… betrayed…"

Kanae's gaze snapped up to Daya, who returned a soft smile.

"What is the meaning of this?" Esta growled.

"I think I know. You're all charmed by that succubus Hilde, aren't you?" Kanae asked.

"High Priestess, you're as kind as you are trusting. These thralls aren't controlled by Hilde. They're controlled by me," Daya said, unfurling two pairs of wings on back and growing horns next to the loppy canine ears.

The shock struck Kanae to her core. A succubus was in her midst all this time, and no one knew? No wonder Hilde was fine with letting them go. She let them walk right into another trap.

"Please tell me that's your succubus," Ulric whispered.

"No," Kanae answered, shoulders slumping and heart sinking from seeing the succubus before her. "Well, Daya? What's the plan here? You and your Queen Hilde are going to take over my kingdom? Take revenge for the culling that happened to the succubus race?"

"You can join us. Why should livestock dictate how the butcher cuts? We're succubus! They are food!" Daya exclaimed.

Esta and Ulric shifted uncomfortably, their hands clenching their weapons even tighter.

Kanae sighed. "All you're doing is justifying their actions. I worked hard to change what they think of the succubus race. There are even people who regret what they did! You're only going to succeed is endangering my children and my Commonwealth. I may be a succubus, but I'm also the hero. Er— heroine! So, my answer is going to be no."

"I tried." She added a sigh of her own. "The others thought I was crazy to try and bring you into the fold. Maybe I am. I've never met a succubus like you, so warm and thoughtful yet so depravedly hungry for sex. I should correct you though: Hilde isn't our queen. She's my half-sister. We are the children of the one true succubus queen, and her brood shall descend upon this land like a swarm of locusts."

A vacuum of wind ran through the streets, shaking loose leaves off their branches. Seven dragons flew through and set fire to everything. As the sea of flames draped across Talahurah, Hilde descended from the burning trees and embraced her half-sister Daya. The two kissed deeply, tongue-tied and wrapped in each other's arms. However, only one of them was really enjoying it.

"You did well, Daya. Queen Mother shall be very happy with how well your Cursemark spread," Hilde said, tilting Daya up by the chin to peck her one more time.

Daya wrenched away and wiped her lips. "The rest is up to you. I don't want any part of this," she said, taking flight away from the fighting.

The succubus witch pouted. "Oh, fuu. Well, no matter. The fun has just begun. Which one of you would like to be subjugated first? I promise to not be gentle~" 

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