Chapter 136: The Archbishop of Desire, Laxasia (2)

True to her name as the Archbishop of Desire, Laxasia wielded a magic that could manipulate the desires of men. It was a seduction spell that had turned countless heroes into her puppets.

The requirement for the spell to work was painfully simple: The target merely had to harbor sexual desire for her. Even the faintest spark of lust was enough. With that, she could amplify it dozens, even hundreds of times, until the victim became nothing more than her thrall.

While the puppets she had summoned clashed with the heroes before her, Laxasia had, of course, cast her seduction spell on the one named Yuren first. However, for reasons she could not fathom, instead of falling into her thrall, the cadet tore through her puppets like a ravenous wolf let loose among sheep.

Frowning, she wondered, Why isn’t it working? Don’t tell me… He does not have even a flicker of desire?

Laxasia looked down at herself. She had a bosom full and ripe like a forbidden fruit, a narrow waist, broad hips, and flawlessly sleek legs. Even priests who had devoted their entire lives to their religion had lost themselves before her charms. So, why was this man utterly unaffected by her magic?

With clear irritation, Laxasia bit her nail and turned away. “Hmph. Guess there’s no helping it.”

She turned to the insolent human who had dared interrupt her. Judging from the atmosphere, he seemed to be the leader of Yuren’s party.

That one, Dale, was it? Fine, then. I’ll just cast the spell on him, she thought.

If she seduced him and made him her puppet, subduing the one named Yuren would be child’s play.

Laxasia loosened her robes just enough to reveal her cleavage and cast Dale a sultry look. “Come here, darling.”

“Didn’t you say you don’t like ugly men?” Dale replied.

Once again, her seduction magic failed. She had even shown him her chest, but it didn’t help her. Grinding her teeth, Laxasia viciously glared at him. Suddenly, in the corner of her vision, she caught sight of a woman with soft, pink hair. From the way that woman had leaped to defend Dale’s looks, the two of them seemed to be lovers.

Her name was.. Iris, if I heard it right? Is she the reason he feels no desire for me? Laxasia thought.

Narrowing her eyes, she cast a glance at Iris’s chest. Her eyes widened in shock. The loose priest’s robes had concealed it at first, but upon closer inspection, the demon Archbishop could see the outline of something monstrous hidden beneath—not only larger, but shapely, full, and overwhelming. Those things far surpassed Laxasia’s.

A chill of defeat ran down Laxasia’s spine. “Ugh!”

Trembling, she averted her gaze. The only man left was a hulking brute of muscle standing nearby. However, he was exactly the type she hated. She preferred lean, handsome men. Someone like Berald was utterly against her tastes. Normally, she wouldn’t have even considered using her magic on such a lump of flesh. However, she had no choice. Clicking her tongue, she cast her seduction magic on Berald.

Sensing something strange, Berald tilted his head. “Hm

?”

A slow, sinister smile crept onto Laxasia’s lips. That was more like it. He was reacting.

However, Berald instead turned to Dale. “Brother Dale! Got any jerky left in that pack of yours?”

Dale tossed him a strip of jerky. “Here you go.”

“Hahaha! You saved my life, Brother! This Legacy of the Iron Fist really eats away at stamina!”

Berald tore into the jerky with gusto, then swung his fists once more at the puppets.

Laxasia froze, dumbfounded. Grinding her teeth, she glared at Berald, who hadn’t spared her a single glance. For the first time in her life, her pride, her vaunted, unshakable pride, shattered to pieces.

She screamed internally, What? What the hell is going on? How is this possible? Not one of the three had fallen to my spell? Was this party formed by eunuchs, or what?

Gnawing at her nails, she spat curses. “Damn it, damn it, damn it!”

***

I sneered at Laxasia, my voice dripping with mockery. “Berald won’t fall for your magic. That guy’s only interest is in the ‘microscopic world.’”

She squinted at me, clearly baffled by the nonsense. “What?”

I shrugged casually. “Put simply, lightweights like you just aren’t his type.”

Her eyes gleamed with malice as she glared at me. “You!”

Grinding her teeth, she summoned her mana. Dark mana coalesced in the air, shaping itself into a violet whip in her hand.

“How long do you think you can keep that arrogance up?” she asked.

With a sharp, bone-chilling crack, the whip lashed out. It was so fast that I couldn’t even see it. Instinctively, I swung my sword and deflected it. The impact numbed my arm to the bone. Even being the weakest of the Archbishops, she was still an Archbishop. I winced, staring at my palm already bloodied from blocking just one strike.

Her eyes lit with dangerous amusement. “Heh. So you blocked it? Seems you’ve got the skill to back up that insolence.”

Curling her lips into a vicious grin, she whipped her weapon again. “Then try blocking this!”

The whip split, multiplying like serpents, striking from all directions at once. I raised my sword, igniting sparks as I swung against the flurry of lashes descending from every side.

Ashen Flame Style First Form: Ash Severance.

A deafening crash rang out, so violent that no one would believe it was just the clash of a sword and a whip.

After a brief exchange of blows, Laxasia looked at me with wide, startled eyes. “You blocked all of that?”

She narrowed them, scanning me up and down as though reassessing me. “Strange. I’ve never seen your face among the Republic’s Rankers.”

How could someone who wasn’t even a Ranker, being just a so-called hero, dare to parry an Archbishop’s assault head-on?

Her eyes gleamed, like those of a predator catching sight of a worthy prey. “This is starting to get interesting. Fufufu! I’ll have to make you my pet as well.”

***

At first, compared to Yuren, Laxasia had found Dale unimpressive. But on second thought, his face wasn’t all that bad.

Dale mocked her. “I’ve swatted your attacks down three times, and yet your tongue still works fine.”

Laxasia’s expression twisted. Her lips curled, and the hand gripping her whip trembled with fury. “I suppose I’ll have to teach you some manners first.”

“Sorry, but you’re not my type.”

Kicking off the ground, Dale darted toward her at speed.

***

From what I remembered of Yuren’s past battle with her, Laxasia’s weakness was close combat.

However, as I reached her, she snarled. “Not so fast!”

She swung her whip to keep me at bay. The whip lashed through the air with a tearing crack. Sword and whip collided in a storm of sparks. To an ordinary bystander, it would have looked like nothing but flashes of light bursting in midair, too fast for the eye to follow.

“Guhh!”

The longer the clash dragged on, the more ragged my breathing became. Each time I caught her whip, I felt that my body had become heavy as if I had strapped on weighted sandbags.

Laxasia sneered, her smile sharp and mocking. “What’s wrong? Losing strength already?”

I frowned at the faint violet aura shimmering along her whip. It was her blessing, the Blessing of Exploitation. This blessing drained vitality from her target. At this moment, it was steadily sapping my stamina and weighing me down.

Lazily flicking the whip, she said in a relaxed, almost playful tone, “So? How about surrendering here and now? The longer this drags on, the worse it’ll be for you.”

She was right. Against someone wielding the Blessing of Exploitation, the longer the fight stretched, the more hopeless it became for the opponent. Of course, that was true only if the opponent was ordinary.

“Hah. Now this is fun,” I muttered.

I loosened my stance, lowering my sword slightly, and turned toward where Yurina was fighting. She had just finished dispatching the last of the puppets.

She turned toward me, panting. “Haah!Haah! Dale! Hold on just a little longer, I’ll join you soon!”

I shook my head slowly. “No. Yuren. Take the others and get out of these ruins.”

“What? D-don’t tell me, Dale, you’re planning to fight her alone?”

I nodded lightly, glancing at Berald, Camilla, and Iris. All of them were panting hard, nearly drained of mana after the puppet battle. Yurina was the only one still in any decent condition.

“In that state, they’d only get in the way,” I said.

“But…”

“Please, Yuren.”

She bit her lip hard, then nodded. “Tch! Fine, Dale.”

Supporting the others, Yurina started leading them out.

Laxasia swung her whip toward the retreating party. “Oh my, and you think I’ll just let them leave?”

Flames erupted along my sword, deflecting her whip with a burst of sparks. I had used Ashen Flame Style Second Form: Flame Fang.

She flashed me a vicious glare, furious at being thwarted yet again. “You…”

With a sharp turn, she abandoned the fleeing party and focused on me. “Then I’ll just deal with you first!”

“Be my guest.” Suppressing a grin, I raised my sword slowly. “If you can, that is.”

The real reason I had sent my companions out of the ruins wasn’t just that they were exhausted. Of course, that was part of it. But something else was far more important.

I said, “I’m still not great at controlling this.”

“What?”

“And if no one’s around me…”

Then I didn’t have to hold back.

Placing a hand over my chest, I let my lips curl into a savage smile. The sound of flesh searing filled the air.

“Ignite,” I said.

Ash-gray flames erupted, engulfing my entire body.

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