Why Am I a Priestess When I Reach the Maximum Level? - [Vol. 5] Chapter 233

[Vol. 5] Chapter 233: Enchantment and the Broken Sword

The overwhelming disbelief, coupled with a fear that nearly shattered his mental threshold, left Gerald momentarily speechless.

A succubus.

In that brief, almost fleeting instant, he recognized the girl’s identity from her deep purple eyes, as mesmerizing as whirlpools.

One of the most powerful high-level demons. The very being responsible for the fall of Saint Sarnos City.

Gerald had seen the terrifying succubus who ruled the city more than once, lurking in the shadows of the streets. She would flaunt her human captives, whom she called her “pet salves,” as she paraded through the city. It was a blatant show of power, a taunt to those who still dared to resist, or perhaps a lure to draw in more victims.

Now, the thieves faced a fiend more cunning than any foe he had encountered, a demon who took pleasure in manipulating the hearts of others.

In the next moment, he abruptly turned around, wanting to warn his comrades, who had also recognized her and were stricken with fear.

“Run! Don’t look into her eyes…”

?Dear uncles, could you please stay where you are and be quiet??

Her voice was soft and sweet like honeyed cake, and it suddenly made all the thieves in the inner chamber freeze.

Then, silence fell.

It wasn’t that their bodies were forcibly controlled, but upon hearing her gentle, pleading voice, an overwhelming sense of compassion and urge to obey surfaced within them.

It felt as if defying the request of such an adorable girl would cause her to show disappointment or sadness, and make people feel it would be the most unforgivable sin in the world.

Enchantment.

The succubus’s innate power, its most iconic and terrifying ability.

Even without using the eyes, the most powerful medium, her voice alone could transmit such a terrifying power of enchantment. It was as chilling as the sirens from the legends, those sea demons dwelling in the far reaches of the ocean.

Though his rational mind had realized this, recognizing that he and the others were being controlled by the young-looking succubus in front of them, an even stronger impulse had completely overpowered his actions. Gerald found himself unable to muster any hostility toward the little succubus, he simply wanted to obey her command—

—Stand still. Stay silent.

And judging by the utter silence from behind him, the other thieves were undoubtedly in the same state.

This terrifying power, this force that could erode and even dominate human hearts, Gerald once again experienced firsthand.

But he couldn’t summon any negative feelings about it. Instead, his heart was filled with a strange satisfaction, as though he found an eerie happiness in fulfilling her request.

In fact, the old thief suddenly found himself understanding why those strong-willed church figures, like Sybil Roland, had willingly abandoned their faith and fallen into depravity to become the succubus’s pet slaves.

While Gerald wrestled with the conflict between his reason and his urges, desperately trying to figure out how to break free from this sweet, honey-like enchantment, the succubus girl in the Lolita dress didn’t continue to act. Instead, she quickly turned and looked toward the deeper shadows behind her.

“Sister Fox, it seems to have worked?”

At her soft call, a new figure emerged.

It was a white-haired girl, her face completely concealed by a white fox mask. Judging by her slender frame and height, she wasn’t much older than the succubus, perhaps only fourteen or fifteen, or even younger. She wore a red-and-white outfit, with a pair of fluffy fox ears atop her head.

Seeing this figure, Gerald’s heart skipped a beat, and a vague sense of familiarity unexpectedly surfaced. He felt as if he had seen or heard of someone with similar traits somewhere before.

But in this life-or-death moment, with her standing alongside the succubus, it was clear she could only be the latter’s companion or pet, allied with the demons. Gerald, believing he would have no connection to such a being, forced himself to suppress the faint sense of unease and once again tried, futilely, to resist the enchantment’s control.

The white fox girl took a few moments to examine the group of thieves standing obediently, unmoving despite not being physically restrained. Whatever her thoughts, she kept them to herself.

After a moment, she gracefully extended her small, delicate hand, soft and white like a finely crafted piece of art, toward Gerald at the front.

“The item. Hand it over.”

In that moment, Gerald immediately understood her meaning. But although he wasn’t completely stripped of his ability to act, he certainly wasn’t about to casually follow the orders of a strange fox-girl he’d just met.

“……”

He couldn’t move or speak, but he could still swat her hand away to refuse.

Just as he prepared to make this defiant gesture, the sweet, honeyed voice, as soft as it was alluring, yet sounding as if it were spoken in a perfectly ordinary tone, rang out once more.

?Uncle, could you please give us the item you dug up from the ground earlier??

“Ugh…!”

A powerful urge surged up from within, once again overwhelming his reason and will.

Like a broken puppet, Gerald twitched slightly, struggling to resist. But under the influence of that terrifyingly enchanting power, he could only show a strange smile, filled with a twisted sense of happiness, and ultimately submitted to the pink-haired girl’s request.

“……”

Behind him, one of the thieves seemed to muster all his strength to give a warning, but the succubus’s charm immediately silenced him once more.

For ordinary people like them, with levels no higher than fifteen, the charm of a high-level demon was practically absolute, like a binding spell. Even if they wished to resist through sheer willpower, they clearly lacked the ability and training to do so.

And so, a long, cloth-wrapped object appeared in Gerald’s hands the next moment, which he handed over without hesitation.

The white fox girl naturally took it with one hand, casually lifting the black cloth that seemed to suppress the item’s aura with a faintly magical restraint.

“Whoosh!!!”

A burst of golden light erupted within the inner hall, completely overpowering the candlelight the thieves had lit, illuminating the hall as if it were daylight.

However, the intense light element that radiated outward, even shooting toward the sky, abruptly dissipated upon reaching the inner hall’s entrance, as if hitting an invisible barrier, failing to reproduce the spectacular scene it had displayed upon being unearthed.

Held firmly in the white fox girl’s grasp, the once overpowering aura soon diminished, settling down until it appeared as an ordinary longsword, plain and unremarkable.

Gripping the scabbard with one hand, Miss White Fox used her other hand to grasp the jewel-studded hilt, which resembled a Western-style sword. With a “shing,” she drew it out.

The smooth, thin blade was spotless, like a priceless work of art crafted from translucent white crystal.

Although incredibly sharp, just looking at its edge caused a piercing pain in one’s eyes. Yet, it was only half-sharpened, as if symbolizing both the mercy and judgment of the power of light.

A Holy Artifact of light, the ?Judgment Holy Sword?.

Even under the influence of the succubus’s charm, Gerald was immediately drawn to this extraordinary blade, a weapon of unparalleled craftsmanship. His overwhelming compulsion even lessened slightly in its presence.

Despite the crushing despair of failure, the old thief couldn’t help but marvel.

As expected of the Holy Empire’s national treasure, one of the three sacred relics passed down for millennia… such divine power…

“Ding!”

A clear sound, like metal striking metal, suddenly echoed through the inner hall.

Momentarily stunned, Gerald’s eyes widened as he registered the scene before him, filled with shock and disbelief.

Because—

Under the single, pale finger with which the white fox girl had just tapped it, the ?Judgment Holy Sword?, known as one of the Holy Empire’s three great relics and its most treasured artifact—

Had snapped in two.

The girl’s indifferent yet slightly resigned voice drifted through the air.

“…It’s a fake.”