Volume 9 Chapter 21 Return
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
”…What a sorrowful face. You must have been dreaming something truly wonderful, weren’t you? Oh, forgive me for interrupting… ♡”
”…You—!!”
”But don’t be afraid. This is the Crimson Spire—the world where dreamers are captivated, where happiness becomes real. I may be a girl, but I promise I’ll keep that lovely smile of yours forever.”
Kispe smiled down at her, radiant with a kind of false compassion. Her words were gentle, but her posture—towering over the kneeling Kuzuha—dripped with condescension. She chuckled softly at the powerless fox princess.
…I lost.
I let my guard down long enough for her to bind me. My Daydream lasted far too long. Melfidis’s version barely held for a second or two, but when this woman casts it… it stretches into eternity.
Melfidis’s Daydream was terrifyingly strong. The only reason I could corner her at all was because she herself was nothing special. A Unique Skill, no matter how powerful, is wasted if its wielder’s magic power is mediocre. With no battle sense to back it up, she was never a match for a seasoned onmyoji like me.
But Kispe is different. She has true power. And when someone like her wields such a Skill—there’s no comparison.
The only reason I’m still alive is because she’s allowing it.
What am I supposed to do now?
There’s no way I can win. Not against her. So this… this is what they mean by the difference between mortals and apostles?
I’m sorry, Klock. Gina. Hero. You’re all I have left to rely on now.
”Lady Kuzuha,” Kispe said with almost theatrical grace. “Your defeat is complete. Please, refrain from showing such unseemly resistance any longer.”
”Unseemly, you say?”
The words sank heavy into Kuzuha’s chest. For a moment she didn’t even recognize the sensation rising inside her—an ache somewhere between frustration and fury.
”If you still had any chance of victory, I could understand,” Kispe continued smoothly. “But since you do not, there’s no meaning in struggling. Think of the others—your defiance could cause them even greater suffering.”
”…What did you say?”
Kuzuha’s eyes widened. Across the hall, she caught Gina’s gaze—pinned down by the succubus soldiers.
”If I were a man,” Kispe went on, her voice lilting, “I might have already thrown you down and taken you by force. I might have defiled you until you begged for forgiveness. But as you can see, I am a woman. The only reason you and your friends remain like this is because we are merciful—kind succubi.”
”…Kind, huh.”
”Oh yes. After all, we could always summon male Incubi and let them do their worst.”
”—!”
Her words stung like ice. Kuzuha realized, too late, how naive she’d been. They were women; she’d worried only about Klock’s safety and never her own. But if they wished, they could turn Gina’s life into a living nightmare—make her suffering a spectacle, a punishment for Kuzuha’s resistance.
”If you understand,” Kispe said, “then let’s continue. As I said earlier, through a contract, I can receive your power as an offering.”
”…You can’t mean…”
”Your noble bearing, your proud heart—those alone make you worthy. Even if you are not one of us, I would welcome you. You could stand at my side, second only to Juju.”
So that’s why Princess Juju is here. Kuzuha’s eyes darted to the demon princess at the edge of her vision. Juju turned her face away, but Kuzuha could sense it—she had once been given the same choice.
”You’re telling me… to become your servant?”
”I will recognize your surrender through a pact,” Kispe said. “And in return, I’ll forgive everything you’ve done in the Crimson Spire. Everyone will accept that.”
The demon girl’s proposal was as elegant as it was ruthless.
Cold sweat trickled down Kuzuha’s temple. To her, the condition was worse than a death sentence. Kispe served the Demon Lord’s Army. Kneeling to her would mean betraying the Hero.
So that’s her game—adding conditions to surrender. Unless I form a contract, she won’t accept it. You’ve got to be kidding me!
I lost without even a proper fight. I can’t resist anymore. Maybe bowing my head is inevitable… but what comes after?
At our peak stands the Hero. I may have fallen, but she still might defeat Kispe. If I surrender now and Kispe loses later, what happens to me then?
No—making a familiar contract would be fatal. That pact would sever my bond with the Hero. Maybe, given the situation, I have no choice. But would she ever forgive that?
If I simply surrender and stay within the Crimson Spire, I could still rise up when the Hero comes. She will come. I just have to wait, believe, and endure. But if I sign that contract… the Hero might never forgive me. She’d think I’d switched sides the moment things got tough.
Kuzuha’s gaze flicked toward Klock. The boy looked back, wide-eyed and helpless. Normally, this would be the time she’d count on him most—but he, too, was powerless.
It’s fine if Gina and I die. We’re only spirit forms. And Klock… they probably won’t kill him either. Maybe the best move is to end it here, to die on our own terms. But what then? If we die, there’s no way to get him back. Without a foothold inside the Crimson Spire, no one will reach him. If I abandon this body now, I may never stand against Kispe again… I might lose Klock forever.
”What troubles you so, Lady Kuzuha?” Kispe’s voice cut through her spiraling thoughts. “Is it that you still have some way to fight back—or is it pride that holds you?”
Her footsteps were soft as silk as she approached. She knelt gracefully before Kuzuha, lowering herself just enough to meet her eyes. It was a calculated gesture—like a queen pretending humility to display her magnanimity.
”As long as the Hero still stands,” Kuzuha said quietly, “I haven’t truly lost.”
”Ah. I see.”
Even in defeat, Kuzuha clung to that truth. The tide could still turn. The Hero still lived. To admit defeat now, while her ally yet fought, was impossible.
But in her captor’s presence, that defiance was dangerous.
She just needed to avoid the contract. Ideally, she’d be imprisoned—enough to stall for time without betrayal. Of course, that was wishful thinking. She spoke anyway, because dying here might still be better than submitting. If Kispe chose to kill her for it, so be it.
”You fear the Hero, don’t you?” Kispe said softly.
Kuzuha’s chest tightened. Maybe surrender was inevitable. She couldn’t protect her husband. Now, before her future sister-in-law, she was forced to kneel before the enemy. It was humiliation—but not unfamiliar. She only wished she could still protect those she cared for.
Yet as long as the Hero lived, she could never accept a contract. The Hero had the strength to wipe out the entire succubus army alone. Betraying her… that was unthinkable.
”I understand,” Kispe said, smiling again. “Then allow me to ease your mind.”
”…What?”
Kispe clapped her hands together with a crisp sound. Standing tall, she raised them, fingers curving like talons. Her long nails slashed through the empty air—tearing it open like a curtain.
The very fabric of the world peeled away.
”What… what is this—”
And through the rift, a single girl appeared.
She looked older than Kuzuha or Gina—about Klock’s age, perhaps. A stranger’s face, a stranger’s form. Someone she had never met… and yet Kuzuha knew at once who she was.
”…Hero…”
”You recognized me so quickly,” the girl said. “Even though I shouldn’t look the same.”
Kuzuha said nothing. How could she not recognize her? She had lived with that presence—literally shared it. She had cursed him once, clung to his soul, followed him into this world. And the Hero—she had done the same. Her curse had resided within him too. It made sense that she was here.
So she’d been captured first. That explained why she hadn’t appeared until now.
”Princess Kuzuha!”
”I’m sorry, Gina.”
Gina’s face twisted in anguish. Frustration, grief, helplessness—all tangled together. Kuzuha wished she could offer her some reassurance, but she had nothing left to give.
”Princess Kispe,”
”Yes?”
”I want to hear the Hero’s words. If you’ve already caught her, then she should be the one to decide. If she surrenders, the rest of us will follow.”
”How reasonable,” Kispe said, nodding.
Of course—the Hero was the banner of their cause, their commander. From Kispe’s composed expression, it was clear this had been her plan all along.
She had taken Klock, and now the Hero herself. She had drawn them all into the absolute dominion of the Crimson Spire. All that remained was to force the contracts.
With preparations that thorough, her constant calm made perfect sense.
By the time she reached this point, Kispe must have already believed victory was hers. And she wasn’t wrong. With Kuzuha captured, the battle was all but decided.
Yet something was off.
Kuzuha felt no magic power from the Hero at all. Ah, so that’s what happened. Kispe, you’ve made a terrible mistake.
”Hero,” Kispe said sweetly, “your time as the sleeping princess is over. Please, awaken.”
Sleeping princess, she called her. So that’s how she viewed one of the greatest warriors alive.
The girl who opened her eyes looked plain, almost ordinary—an unfamiliar face no one could explain. Why had her appearance changed? No one knew.
As her eyelids lifted, the air rippled—and she was pulled from the folds of reality itself, dropped gently onto the castle floor.
”Huh? Cianie?”
Klock’s voice broke the silence. That name—the same one he’d used in the other world. So Anna was an alias. Cianie was her real name.
If Klock recognized her, then there was no doubt. She was the Hero. And he’d seen this form before.
”…Klock?”
”I knew it! Cianie, it’s really you!” he said brightly.
He might have run to her, but Celestina held him fast in her arms. He couldn’t move.
Cianie blinked, sitting on the cold stone floor with her legs folded to the side. For a moment, confusion clouded her face—but as she glanced up at the smiling demon girl before her, she seemed to understand, narrowing her eyes.
”What… is all this?”
”I invited you from that village to my castle,” Kispe explained, almost pleasantly. “In the meantime, those who supported you appeared—and I’ve already restrained them. Your forces are sealed. I’ve just awakened you to ask for your surrender.”
”…Kuzuha?”
”…Yes.”
Cianie turned, frowning as she saw the fox princess kneeling nearby. Though Kuzuha looked younger now, the sight of the Black Fox triggered recognition. Her gaze swept the room, confirming the circle of succubi surrounding them. When she saw Klock among them, her lips tightened in disgust.
”Let him go.”
”That depends on you, Hero.”
”…What do you want?”
”Your surrender,” Kispe said. “And your contract with me.”
A demon’s contract—inescapable, binding.
”…A contract? You mean you’ll accept surrender only through that?”
”Exactly. The terms are simple: become my right hand. In return, I’ll release the boy, as well as Princess Kuzuha and—Ms. Gina, was it?—Sir Klock’s younger sister.”
”…His sister?”
Kispe gestured gracefully. “This one.”
There, restrained by a pair of succubus soldiers, stood a young girl. When their eyes met, both widened in shock.
”In the Crimson Spire, I will grant you eternal lovers’ time,” Kispe said. “In exchange, you will serve under me.”
”…Eternal…”
”It’s not such a bad offer,” Kispe continued. “I have no desire to torment the Hero’s side. I simply cannot have you opposing me. But if you join me… you’ll be treated with favor.”
There was no lie in her tone. If she was facing the Hero, deceit would be useless anyway. To fight the Hero required ruthless cunning; to have her as an ally would be beyond valuable. Of course Kispe would treat her well.
”…”
”Something troubles you?” Kispe asked.
Cianie didn’t answer. Waking up to this chaos, her mind must still be foggy. But the situation was clear enough—she had no options. Her strength was sealed. She couldn’t hope to drive the succubi away. Sooner or later, she would have to yield.
”Hero,” Kuzuha called softly from behind her.
At once, every gaze turned toward the fox princess—Cianie’s, Kispe’s, and the entire host of succubi.
”Hero,” Kuzuha said, voice firm. “I’m afraid you cannot make that contract. Because you are not the Hero.”
Her words sent confusion rippling through the room.
”…I’m not… the Hero?”
”That’s right.”
”…What are you saying?” Kispe demanded.
She stepped between them. “She is the Hero, Lady Kuzuha—you said so yourself! True, she radiates no magic power, but can’t you feel it? That blazing presence, like the sun itself?”
The mistress of the Crimson Spire declared it with conviction. And in a sense, she was right.
But no—Kispe was misunderstanding something crucial.
”She is the Hero,” Kuzuha said quietly, “but she’s not the Hero.”
”…What does that even mean?” Kispe frowned, confused but cautious. She knew Kuzuha wasn’t the type to spout nonsense, and she was wise enough not to dismiss the words outright.
”Hero,” Kuzuha said, “forgive me for being blunt. But what are you doing?”
”…Doing?”
”Have you forgotten your purpose?”
Her voice was calm—her defiance masked beneath steady words. She couldn’t fight, but she could still speak.
”…My purpose?”
”Why did you want to curse him in the first place?”
”Ah—”
Cianie’s eyes flew open. That single word—curse—had struck home.
Yes. That was it. That was the bond between them—the truth she and Kuzuha had both reached.
She would understand. It was the same as teaching a man who toyed with a woman’s heart a lesson: If he does as he pleases and tries to run away, then make him take responsibility—through marriage. And if the man still tries to run, then bind him with a curse.
She had cursed Klock. Because her soul had clung to his, she was pulled into this world alongside him.
”That’s not it,” Kuzuha said quietly. “That’s not the form you should take. Remember your purpose. Why did you tear yourself apart?”
Kuzuha hadn’t seen the exact moment when she cast the curse. But that was the original’s story. The Kuzuha who had coexisted with her knew the feelings behind it.
”When you saw the monster of the Abyss trying to devour him—when you saw him suffering, helpless, without you—what did you feel? What did you do to protect him?”
”…Yes—”
Finally, she remembered.
Looking down at her own hands, then at Klock, Cianie whispered, “I’m sorry, Klock. I’d lost my way.”
”Huh?”
”I promised I would stay with you…”
This form was born of reclaimed happiness. She had once been a girl named Cianie, but that was not who she was meant to remain.
Cianie began to crumble. Her body dissolved like sand remembering what it truly was.
”L-Lady Kispe!? The Hero—!”
”What… what is happening…?”
Your curse is eternal, Kuzuha thought. That was the choice we made—the path you and I both took. Our motives and methods may differ, but I respect your resolve.
Cianie’s form collapsed entirely, scattering into fine black sand across the stone floor. Then, slowly, that sand began to crawl—toward Klock.
”Wh—what!?”
Celes instinctively leapt away from him. The black sand gathered around Klock’s right hand—clinging, merging, like a parasite, like a curse. It pulsed with hatred, with desperate will, reforming into its rightful shape.
”…What is this? A knife?”
A dark blade creaked and groaned, its surface rippling. It fused with his hand, as if they had always been one. Then it began to beat—like a shared heart, resonating with his pulse. It trembled with life, as though rejoicing to have finally returned to its chosen master.
”What… what is that? And where is the Hero? No—was she not the Hero after all?”
For the first time, Kispe—ever composed—was left speechless. The sight alone made Kuzuha smirk in quiet triumph.
Kispe’s gaze snapped toward her, but it was already too late.
”It seems my role ends here,” Kuzuha said softly.
”What do you mean?”
She smiled faintly. “We’re only curses. Reclaimed happiness may have given us human form, but our essence remains the same—fragments of divided spirits. We were never truly here. Just shadows.”
”Curses…?” Kispe murmured. “So you were bound to him, not merely passengers on his vessel, but attached from the start…?”
As expected of a great succubus—she grasped the truth quickly. Yet there was still one thing she didn’t understand. She had gravely misjudged what kind of being the Hero truly was.
”You miscalculated, Princess Asura,” Kuzuha said. “You thought you could steal our beloved from us? She’ll never allow that. Anyway… I’m done here. I’ve accepted being second. The rest is up to her now.”
Both Kuzuha and Cianie had cursed Klock—but by entirely different means. The Hero had used her celestial power, forceful and divine. Kuzuha, on the other hand, was a master of curses.
”…You too…!!” Kispe gasped.
Kuzuha’s body dissolved into smoke. The ropes binding her slipped to the floor as her form vanished without resistance. In her place, a single slip of paper fluttered down—a charm shaped like a person. It crumbled into ash upon landing.
”Lady Kispe… what is this?” one of the succubus soldiers asked.
”It seems they weren’t real,” Kispe replied slowly. “They were curses—manifestations bound to the boy. Mere extensions of him.”
”Extensions…”
The soldiers murmured among themselves, the chamber filling with uneasy chatter. With their enemies gone, the tension broke.
”Well, I’ll be damned,” Celestina said, staring down at the fading ash. “That little fox princess sure knew how to keep us guessing.”
”Yes,” Kispe said calmly. “But there’s no need to worry. In the end, everything has returned to the expected course.”
Neither had been the real thing. That had been startling, yes—but it didn’t truly change the outcome. The Hero and the Fox Princess were simply gone from the room.
”So they didn’t enter this world,” Kispe mused. “The Hero never had a direct path in. She only arrived here because of the curse attached to him.”
That explained everything. The strange irregularity that had shaken the Crimson Spire was neatly resolved.
It was unfortunate that the Hero had vanished before Kispe could seal the contract. Still, she had secured the lover as a hostage. The plan was intact. Only one step remained—to seek the real Hero in the wasteland.
”Sir Klock,”
Yet, despite her composed tone, Kispe was not one to take things lightly. The strange occurrences, the Fox Princess’s words—she wouldn’t ignore them.
”Please, hand me that knife.”
She stepped toward the boy, extending her hand. Klock turned, silent, staring at her palm.
”It could be dangerous,” Kispe said gently. “I’ll take care of it, just in case.”
Her jewel-like eyes glimmered, hypnotic and bright. The charm in her cursed gaze tugged at his will. The spell that held him captive still lingered.
He began to move, wordlessly raising the knife—
”Damn it, stay away from him, brother!!” Gina screamed.
She struggled, thrashing in vain. Her childlike body was too small, her strength too little. The succubi held her fast, twisting her arms behind her back.
”…?”
”What’s wrong?” Kispe asked lightly. “I know my face can be distracting, but please—hand it over.”
Just a faint hesitation. Kispe didn’t notice. She simply pressed him, reaching for the weapon. Her only thought was to seize the strange relic brought into her domain.
But—
”Huh?”
A sharp tear cut through the air. The frill of her collar split with a crisp rip. A leaping slash had grazed her neck. A faint wind stirred, brushing her hair.
”What kind of idiot,” the boy said, voice dripping with mockery, “would hand his weapon to the enemy?”
”…What?”
Klock was grinning—wickedly, dangerously. Like a villain straight out of a nightmare. The kind who would raid a carriage and tear open a woman’s dress with a knife at her throat.
He cracked his neck, loosening the collar of his neat shirt. The tidy, well-behaved boy unbuttoned the top one, then another, his movements slow and deliberate.
”The hell you all staring at?” he drawled. “Oh, right—you succubi are all after my dick, huh? Fine. Line up against that wall, asses out. Let’s see which of you big-bottomed whores can handle it.”
Notes:
• Melfidis – Plant-like Succubus, female, “Lady Kispe’s delicate ring finger.”
• Gina – A kind choir member who shows genuine concern for Adelina. She’s a rare ally in this unfamiliar place, offering some comfort and companionship.
• Cianie – A noble girl with a fluffy white and light blue dress, indicating her high status. She has a hesitant and flustered personality but is kind and courteous. Her relationship with Klock begins as an accidental encounter and develops into a romantic interest. She has a fiancé but expresses feelings for Klock, complicating their relationship.
• Anna – The legendary Hero, chosen to defeat the Demon Lord. Her past life is Sylvia Croce. She is described as a heavenly being with overwhelming skill and a merciless attitude.
• Celes – A bear-type Beastkin Succubus living with Alice after Klock’s arrival. She’s playful, physically strong, and driven by her species’ “mating season” instincts. She teases Alice often and treats life with freedom and spontaneity. No known family or formal ties; she’s Alice’s companion and occasional housemate.
• Celestina – Another child from Kispe household, playful and mischievous, shows up with Alice Lau in recruitment scenes, frail but lively appearance, beast-like ears marking heritage.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
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