Ch 6: Terms of the deal
‘Why are you so surprised? I am only asking you to kill a monster. Isn’t that what you humans do when you come into this tower?’
The goddess sounded amused the whole time she said that. Her voice was calm but the seductive quality never went away. Alex had to concentrate to look past her nature and hear her true words.
“No way. Most humans who go out and kill monsters have experience as well as the power to do so. I might have received the first buff from the tower, but I am nowhere powerful enough to take on a monster.”
Alex yelled back to the goddess.
Once again, the hopelessness of his situation as well as the desire to gain more power bubbled inside Alex.
‘I know you are desperate. But don’t worry so much. I will not ask you to go and kill the succubus with your power. I will lend you some of my power to finish the deed.’
The goddess promised as her phantom hand brushed up against Alex’s face. She was being so kind and gentle that her attitude sent red flags around Alex’s mind.
He wanted to believe the goddess since his instincts were not warning him against her. But something was wrong here for sure. And it was because of this feeling and Alex’s understanding of the situation that caused him to hesitate.
The world was a cruel place where no one offered you anything for free. So, when such tempting offers came your way, you needed to be careful and look underneath the surface.
“What do you want in return? You cannot be proposing to lend me your power for free. And even if you say you do, I refuse to believe your words.”
The goddess went quiet once more. She pulled back from Alex and looked him up and down.
‘Oh my! I did not expect you to have such a sharp brain at such a young age. Is it your suffering or your desire that makes you so cautious? I wonder how much you can grow if I give you the right resources.’
The goddess wondered, completely missing the main point of this conversation.
“Get to the point now. What do you want in return for lending me your powers?”
Alex asked once more. Even if he knew that there would be a price to pay for using the goddess’s powers, he wanted them. He wanted them even more than before
For someone who only had 15 days to live, no price was too big. Even his soul was not enough of a price.
‘Hehe..hehehe…hehehehehehe…You are such a fun human. You are the first one who has asked me to name my price this confidently. Very well then, I shall tell you what you want to know.’
‘Every time you borrow my power, your desire, and your humanity will be eaten away by me. Your soul will begin to get corrupted until you will no longer be a human. You might even die at the hands of your ‘so-called’ heroes if that happened.’
‘You will be targeted and people will try to kill you. Is this something you still want?’
The goddess asked and Alex was sure that she was not telling him the full truth. The goddess was a crafty one who held her cards close.
But still, what Alex had heard did not make him hesitate or change his decision.
“I accept your offer. My desire and my humanity are a small price to pay for attaining my power and freedom. Lend me your power this time so that we can finish this trial.”
Alex held his hand out and felt the phantom touch of the goddess on his hand. The goddess’s phantom body glowed before Alex felt magic flowing into his own body.
Foreign knowledge entered his mind and Alex felt his understanding of the dungeon and the world rising. His world was explaining and Alex could feel his capabilities rising.
And just like that, everything calmed down. The glow no longer teased Alex with its infinite power. Nor did the goddess touch his body anymore.
But Alex knew how to use the goddess-given power of his and he was ready to take on the Succubus.
…………………………
Phantasia was the city that worshiped the goddess of love. But they worshiped a more ‘pure’ part of her power and their beliefs were solid.
The city had been peace-loving and kind for centuries. And as a result, their combat capabilities had deteriorated over the years.
So when a succubus flew over the city and was spotted by the guards, no one knew what to do. They were not prepared for such a thing to happen.
“H-Head priest, what do we do now? A demon has been spotted flying above the city and it is rather…scarcely dressed. I don’t think our guards are ready to handle something like this.”
The priest who came to inform the head priest of this blushed as soon as he remembered how the demoness above the city was dressed. He had never seen a naked woman before and that demoness was the closest that came to mind.
Not to mention, her body had been beautiful and rather curvy as well. His hand would…
‘No, stop thinking such vulgar thoughts. You are a devotee of the goddess and you keep your desire under control. You cannot let such thoughts lead you astray from your path.’
“So, a demoness decided to attack us after all this time? We are not equipped to deal with this situation so ask the guards to come back. If my guess is right, then our opponent is a succubus. Those kids are not ready to handle something like her.”
The head priest warned and ordered. The priest looked surprised at the sudden action and he had to question the head priest about his words.
“Head priest, why do you-”
“A long time ago, there used to be an ancient text which said that a pleasure demon would attack our city and we will see our goddess’s benevolence. The text might be gone now, but the stories remained.”
“Seeing this situation, I cannot help but feel as if the time has come for that prophecy to come true. Soon, a hero would descend and show us a new way of life.”
The head priest opened his arms toward the huge statue of his goddess behind him. The priest could not help but look up in awe as well.
“I understand. I will spread the word and ask everyone to step back. I will also ask the female warriors to step up since they will not fall for the succubus’s charms.”
The priest quickly made his way out and the head priest watched him so.
As soon as the priest was gone, the head priest pulled his sleeve up and looked at the tattoo on his arm. It was a pleasure-branding that all the high priests. They were the only ones who knew the truth about their goddess.
After all, he was no priest but a demon sent here by the goddess herself. His mission was to assist the goddess’s chosen person and help them strengthen their goddess.
“Looks like you had a good partner this time, my queen. Since you decided to send your chosen my way, I will make sure to help him out.”
The priest whispered to the statue and walked out of the room. The priest was someone who used to be chosen by another god before he saw the right way and rejected his ‘other god’s’ power.
After that, he decided to become a demon and serve his queen and her goal. He wanted to see her reach the top of all the other pathetic gods.
‘And finally, after a long time, my goddess made another contract. I am sure all the others will be overjoyed as well. Either that, or they would try to kill him out of jealousy.’
There were more than a few chosen who fell in love with the goddess of lust and that was their downfall. The high priest hoped that it would not be the case for this chosen as well.
He quickly made his way out and looked up. The succubus looked down at the settlement and her eyes met the high priest. He recognized the mad glint in the succubus’s eyes and realized that she was going mad with desire.
She was not going to stop no matter what anyone said. The desire was making the demoness go berserk and there was no going back after this.
“Looks like the goddess has big plans this time around for her trial. I wonder what it was about her chosen that struck her fancy? She is not pulling any punches.”
The head priest had to say that he felt a little jealous of the person his goddess was going to such great lengths for. He wanted to be on the receiving end of her kindness as well.
He raised his hand and a barrier formed around the city. It was just weak enough for the succubus to attack and break. But this would cause panic to spread around the city soon.
More than a few people would die as a result of this attack, but he did not care. He only cared about his queen’s order.