The Hero Became a Succubus, and the Only Way to Level is to… What?! Chapter 493 – Epidemic

The tower teleported back into place in Ehmvier just behind the castle. But just as they were descending, a pair of guards ca running up to them appearing distressed. Both ca to a skidding halt, hands on their knees to catch their breaths.

"What's wrong?" Kanae asked.

"It's… Empress Arenade. Her Majesty's also been absent. In the few days that you were gone, Bright Cloister has grown bolder. We believe she leads her enclave from the new temple they have raised," one guard explained.

"Bright Cloister?" Petyr turned to Kanae knowingly. "A pair of their buffoons claiming to be mbers ca to Rudura a while ago. They preached all day, walking up and down the village. Miserable nuisances. What does Arenade have to do with this?"

The 'buffoons' must have been Lenore and Berak, who had gone to Rudura as missionaries.

"Yeah, that's them alright. And Arenade's their leader. What happened with them now?" She sighed and prepared for the worst.

"They have missionaries all over the city just… preaching day and night at every major block, using the plague to say the citizens' lack of faith is causing this," the other said.

Kanae planted a hand to her face. Damn it, Arenade. It was one thing to start a pet project to attract worship. It was a different matter entirely to take advantage of the scared masses like this. What was she thinking? No, maybe this was her own fault for not addressing it sooner. Or, maybe the goblin simulacra gangbang only drove Arenade further into piousness.

"I'll see what I can do. For now, spread the word to the rest of your peers to avoid direct confrontation with Bright Cloister mbers," Kanae said.

"Yes, Your Majesty." They saluted and went on their way.

"Vesh and I will be taking your royal guest suite." Petyr walked past.

"Wait, Alicia's occupying that room. She's pregnant right now. You can take my personal chamber instead— I swear the sheets are clean, and I haven't used it in a while!" Kanae exclaid.

"Athyst, don't forget about the missing simulacrum," Eliza whispered.

"I know." Her shoulders drooped.

Edina summoned a giant undead dragon and climbed atop, then helped Rosaline up after with several minions giving her a lift.

"Where are you guys going?" Kanae looked up and asked.

"Tower's outta juice, so I'm taking Rosaline to Toadstool Forest," Edina said.

"There exists a mushroom there called Pickled Nose. It contains magical properties that nullify spell effects. I want to test its efficacy in undoing the plague," Rosaline explained hopefully.

The dragon took off in a burst of wind. Cantu and Eliza returned to the tower to continue with the experintations. In the anti, Kanae led Petyr and Vesh into the castle to show them to their room.

"The accommodations are suitable," Petyr said after taking a gander at the bedchamber.

"Thank goodness." Kanae pressed a hand to her chest, relieved. "By the way, Vesh. We found an incubus in the city by the na of Motta. He's got orc ancestry. Bit of a troublemaker and at a loss of what to do. Think you can make friends with him as a fellow incubus?"

"Just because we're both incubi doesn't an we'll imdiately get along. But sure." Vesh shrugged.

"Another incubus?" The very ntion of one piqued the high elf's interest.

"I'm sorry to say, he might not be your cup of tea…" she added.

Kanae hailed a carriage for them bound for Ehmvier's barracks. It wasn't what they expected. No one was out in the training fields. The barracks proper had been converted into hospitals. Coughing replaced drills. Soldiers laid in cots rather than sparring and training like they usually did.

Clerics and doctors donning plague masks stuffed with herbs in their beaks went around administering potions, healing, and words of comfort. One soldier, who was lucky enough to avoid getting sick, told Kanae that Manabe was bedridden, too. Weirder still, all of the sick n were well enough to spring erections. Scores of tents had been pitched underneath their sheets.

"Is this so sort of sick joke?" Petyr's eyes twitched at the many erections.

"I-I have no idea, but about 40% of Ehmvier's fighting force is ill… This isn't looking good." Kanae frowned.

Amidst the vast groaning, Motta was going from cot to cot helping a cleric refill cups of water. He appeared fine and untouched by the plague.

"Motta, co here for a sec!" Kanae waved.

"What? It's busy enough here. Unless you ca down to get freaky, I ain't interested." Motta rolled his eyes and walked over.

"I can see why this incubus isn't to my taste." Petyr grimaced.

"Huh?" He stared up at the high elf, only to be taken aback by her height.

Vesh turned to his young adult form to inspect Motta. "You're the incubus with orc ancestry? Most of us are born from human and elven mothers. What kind of incubus is your old man to lay with a female orc?"

While that would have been a funny sight, Kanae and Motta were the only ones who knew that he had co to this world via the gods.

"Wait a minute." Kanae just had an epiphany. "Petyr, you've been with five incubi for a while now. Does that an you also have a Brand of Eros on—"

"Not. Another. Word." Petyr glared with the fiery rage of a million suns.

That was a yes, and Kanae wanted to live a while longer and so didn't push the issue any more.

"Damn. And I thought I was unique being an incubus. First ti I've ever seen another one. How many won have you slept with?" Motta tried to size Vesh up.

"Oh, the high hundreds. Don't even try to compete with , my orcish cousin. But my brothers and I have since settled down. We are spoken for now, to this beautiful high elven lady!" Vesh puffed up his chest.

"Turn back into your other form." Petyr glared.

"Eep! Yes, ma'am!" He quickly reverted into his pint-sized appearance.

Petyr promised to lend healing magic as a crowned Paladin, and Vesh promised to do his best to befriend Motta during their stay in Ehmvier. Kanae left them to it. She headed up to the commander's quarters and found Manabe lying in bed, tended to by a pair of anxious clerics.

Why anxious? Because while Manabe was flat on his bed, a raging erection stood upright at full mast.

"Hey, Kanae…" Manabe only managed to lift his head slightly. "Caught the bug while you were away."

"You're in luck. Because this isn't like a flu or cold." Kanae drew Blade of the First Temptress and exhausted her mana casting Dispel.

It looked like soone had slapped Manabe across the face. He blinked in disbelief for a few seconds, still lying in bed.

"What?!" Manabe gasped.

Even the clerics were flabbergasted.

"Soone or so people are making us sick. This isn't a plague. It's a magical effect, and we're being targeted. Whoever they are must be extrely high level, too. I'm almost level 300, and Dispel won't work unless I cast it empowered through my enchanted sword," Kanae explained.

"How do we stop this then? I'm at a loss! I was just going about my usual routine a few days ago, ate so oats for the morning, went to train with the soldiers, and fell sick that very night. I don't know what to do!" Manabe cried.

"Okay, first off… settle down. Second, you're not going anywhere with that raging boner. You two, leave the room." She shooed the clerics, who gladly made themselves scarce.

As soon as the door slamd shut, Kanae climbed into bed on top of Manabe and rode him until he saw stars. He blew his load several tis, filling her up, and emptying his balls before finally going soft. It wasn't enough to replenish her mana, but better than nothing.

"Th-That was amazing, Kanae… but I can barely stand now…" Manabe crawled out of bed.

"When you feel your legs again, go round up able-bodied spellcasters that can cast Dispel. Start from there, maybe have them draw a magic circle to strengthen their spell," Kanae explained as she got dressed.

"Will do." He gave a shaky thumbs up.

For the ti being, Kanae went in search of her next target. Naly, Arenade and Bright Cloister.

It didn't take very long for Kanae to find a Bright Cloister preacher on the side of the road. The elven woman, whose natural hair color was definitely not blonde, donned the rising sun robe of her enclave. She was accompanied by a trio of her peers, and they were screaming at the top of their lungs at passersby.

"A great plague is upon us, and we are suffering from its wrath because our faith is not in the right place! Join Bright Cloister. Co into the embrace of her greatness, Demigoddess Arenade. She will shield us from this unnatural scourge. Don't let your loved ones suffer a second longer!" the woman cried out zealously.

What made it worse was that they did attract a crowd. People were desperate. Understandably so. But Kanae had neither the manpower nor mana to dispel the plague from everyone in the city.

"Is that true? My husband has fallen ill and can't work. Will Demigoddess Arenade really heal him if I start worshipping her?" a worried human lady asked.

"It isn't enough to just worship Demigoddess Arenade. You must prove it in action. Co to our temple to find your calling among peers," the elf said.

"Converting won't cure your loved ones of the plague, because it isn't a real plague. The sickness is magical in nature, and people I trust are doing everything they can to find a cure and the one responsible." Kanae landed behind the crowd amidst gasps.

"It's not real?"

"But what do we do in the anti?"

"Empress Kanae, please help us!"

"Er… I can only heal so many people at once." She took a step back as they pleaded to her.

"See? If the crown can't help you now, who else can you turn to?" The Bright Cloister mber seized the opportunity to turn the tables.

Just like that, people sward back to the preachers.

"You." Kanae pulled one of them to the side. "Where is Arenade right now? I need to speak with her."

"At our temple in Heartgrove District, b-but it's still under construction," he stamred.

Kanae unfurled her wings and flew straight for Heartgrove just past Parn Park. That part of the city boasted the most lavish neighborhood. It had the highest concentration of high elves for the few that lived in Ehmvier.

The pompous Heartgrove was every starry-eyed Commonwealth noble and lord's dream to live. Large mansions and estates were surrounded by iron-wrought fences. Unlike the rest of the city, the roads here were cobbled to a smooth finish. Gorgeous trees and beautiful flower bushes around a ho were its denizens' idea of displaying their wealth. rchants who had struck rich and wealthy families from the Radevic city-states mostly lived here, and it wasn't an exaggeration to say that non-citizens made up the biggest demographic.

They even had their own chapels built to avoid attending and praying with the rest of the commoners. Kanae found Bright Cloister's temple in the middle of construction near Heartgrove's border. Onlookers, who looked to be residents of the district, watched on with subdued disdain.

After all, Bright Cloister was a denomination that welcod people from all walks of life. Even from poor backgrounds. The temple was being built with whitestone, a common building material. Although it wasn't very big, Kanae could see hundreds being inside at any given ti. Right now, only the walls and fras were up, as well as so rooms inside.

The most outrageous landmark, however, was the large statue of Arenade out front and another inside the worship hall. They were clearly sculpted with Arenade Brightwind's appearance in mind, not Arenade Ehmvier depicted as a vague high elven woman everywhere else.

Sothing about the construction site stuck out to Kanae. A group of goblin laborers were just lounging around outside in their wagons. The only ones working were of other races.

"What's going on here? Are you guys on break?" Kanae asked.

"Who's asking, toots?" A goblin leaned forward and flashed his yellow teeth.

"Beats us," another answered. "Supervisor told us gobs to just mind the wagons. The other boys are working. I don't mind getting paid to sit around."

Kanae had an idea why. She spotted Arenade inside and walked past them into the unfinished temple. Her high elven wife was in the middle of speaking with construction workers.

"Arenade, we need to talk," Kanae said.

"Hey, you're back!" Arenade waved off the laborers. "What's the matter?"

"Your followers are going around making it sound like Bright Cloister can cure the plague. Are you making them say that?" she asked.

"What? No! I'd never lie about sothing as dangerous as the plague. My own people are getting sick, you know?" The high elf looked hurt to have even been accused.

Kanae stared at Arenade for a few seconds longer to gauge if there was truth to her words. To begin with, she was a very shitty liar. It would have been extrely obvious. They had been with each other long enough to know.

"Alright. I believe you. But Arenade, you have to rein in your followers. We found out the plague is man-made. A crowned lunatic is going around making the city sick. It can be dispelled, but only with powerful magic," Kanae explained.

"You're telling so asshole is behind this? Why I oughta…" Arenade rolled up her sleeves and clenched both fists.

"Let's save the violence for after we find the guy. Or lady. Or whoever they might be. All we know for sure is that this sickness is magic in origin. It's also giving n so intense erections for so reason… Oh, also, we're missing a simulacrum. You didn't take one to bang in secret, did you?" she asked.

"Definitely not! Are you sure you didn't charge it with mana and misplaced it?" the elf fired back.

Scratch that thread then.

"I'm going to continue with my investigation. Rosaline believes a mushroom in Toadstool might help. Petyr's in town if you want to say hi. Alicia is also due soon. Kanade and Suvee want to see their new half-sister, so it would be nice to be there together as a family," Kanae said.

"Sounds good. I think I've been away from the castle for too long anyway I could use—"

"Another goblin simulacrum gangbang?"

"NO!" Arenade yelled.

Kanae cupped Arenade's face and kissed her.

"Just teasing. Make sure you get your followers in order. If I hear them using the plague to their advantage, I'm stepping in," Kanae said.

"I got it, I got it!" Arenade promised.

Satisfied, Kanae flew ho to the castle for so much-needed rest before searching for the missing simulacrum, plague perpetrator, and performing many of her usual duties. But on the way to Arenade's private bedchamber to remove the goblin simulacra, she walked into a worried assemblage of servants outside Alicia's room.

Panic set in. Kanae ran straight there.

"Your Majesty!" A half-succubus gasped.

"Is it Alicia? Is the baby coming?" Kanae asked.

"Not quite… Actually, it's about Alicia. She's co down with the plague," another Sister of Sin overheard and answered.

Kanae pushed them aside. Alicia was in bed, completely drenched in sweat and panting heavily. The two mid-wives were by her side, one holding her hand and the other stroking her head.

"Kanae…" Alicia's breathing was labored.

"Alicia fell ill the other day. It got worse a few hours ago. We aren't sure what to do," one of the Sisters explained.

When Kanae drew the Blade of the First Temptress, she wasn't able to cast Dispel through it. The amount of mana needed hadn't recharged enough yet.

"You!" Kanae pointed to a castle servant carrying a bundle of towels. "Are you willing to suffer discomfort for my sake?"

"Of course, Your Majesty. My family is well-fed thanks to your employ! Whatever you need from , I am here to ser—"

Kanae clamped down on the woman's face and drained her mana. She wasn't crowned, so there wasn't much to take. Other servants lined up to offer themselves, and Kanae obliged their loyal service.

Soon, the Blade was near capacity and ready. Kanae pointed at Alicia and casted Dispel. It knocked several of the drained servants off their feet, and… Alicia's breathing steadied. A deeper shade of red returned to her already crimson complexion.

"I'm… better?" Alicia stared.

"That scared years off my life." Kanae lumbered over to the bed and embraced her.

"Hehe. You and your impeccable timing." She stroked the back of Kanae's head and sighed.