CHAPTER 11: RETURN OF THE SEDUCTRESS

**Kuro**

“Y-You…” the Lady Hinwe’s eyes were filled with horror, as she looked at us. “You guys tricked me for you gain!”

Everyone was so shocked at her sudden appearance that we just stood there, frozen. When Meanor did move to console her mistress, and explain our words, Her Lazy Holiness uttered a spell and teleported out of the place.

It took us several minutes before realizing what just happened. The elf servant then turned to me, “Milord, it’s been pretty hectic lately, but I ask of you to explain to me what’s going on later. I still have lots of questions that remain unanswered.”

“Yes,” I nodded. “But we have to find the Lady Hinwe first!”

“I’ll go check the cosplay tents,” Maddie offered, and teleported herself.

Ruro changed into her wolf form, and told us she’d track the Elf Saint through smell, with Natasha coming with her.

Seirna, for her part, said to me, “I’ll leave the Lady Hinwe to you. Umberto and I need to go to Cherwoods to look for Cerdan.”

“Something happened to him?”

It was Umberto who answered, “He failed to regularly communicate with me for three weeks now. I’m worried something must’ve happened to the young elf and his spy ring back there.”

“What about this letter?”

“It was the last of his report. Her Holiness the Lady Seirna is afraid of his report on the ‘dark smoke with no smell’ his spies have observed rising from the tree palace in Cherwoods. Even the Elf Saint’s Life Guards and servants are never bothered by it.”

“I suspect they are under the Seductress’ spell,” the Saint of the Flame added. “She’s not called by that name for nothing, after all. In any case, we’re heading for Dorian to check on things, and also try to drop by the tree palace to confirm Cerdan’s report. You fix things back here so we get over this as soon as possible.”

“Thanks for the hard work,”: I tapped their shoulders. “I’ll join you once we find Her Holiness.”

And with that, Seirna and Umberto disappeared as well. I was left with Meanor, and we agreed to split up and look for the Lady Hinwe in places we knew she’d love to stay.

----------

**Hinwe**

What am I doing?

When I finally found Meanor and Kuro, they were talking to the other saints, even the greatest among us…Lady Seirna Stephanie of the Flame. I thought it was just some random conversation. However, I was surprised when I heard my name being called out…

“…the Lady Hinwe is your next target, since she already trusted you! Get her god-powers as soon as possible, we can’t delay—!!!”

At that moment, I made myself known. What does the Lady Seirna mean by ‘getting my god-powers’? And Kuro’s targeting me to get my trust? What’s going on?

“…”

Looking back, that human’s behavior finally made sense. On why he was so obstinate and stubborn to push me. On why he kept on ‘encouraging’ me to do something to regain my powers. All of it was to gain my trust, and throw me away once he’s done with me.

I’m a fool to trust such man…

“…”

…and to think, my heart flutters whenever I see him.

But then again, it’s not my first time in this situation. My people threw me away when they got no use for me. My palace officials and other servants, they only see me as someone whom they could stick to so they could gain power and influence. And, Meanor…I don’t know what she’s doing there, but they must be convincing her to side with them.

It’s just painful…I trusted her with my life…

“…”

My chest was heavy, and tears fell from my eyes, as I lied down my bed, looking at the ceiling. Then, I realized, wait…this was Dupree Palace, the home of that bastard, Kuro of Arles. Heh, all this time, I’d been treating this place as my home…yet, I didn’t know I’ve been living like a livestock; they’d butcher me once I’m prepared to be used.

“…”

I sat up and looked around. The figmas that Kuro paid me were displayed prominently on the shelves, and tables, he commissioned especially for those. Then, on one of the tables, were my drawing instruments and papers. That human gave those to me, telling that my talent was great and all…and those dresses hung inside the wardrobe. Kuro supported me, just so that he could get my god-powers, like he did to the other saints.

Am I really that useless?

“…”

Perhaps…I am. But I refused to be used! I still have a little dignity left on my person, even if I’m always branded useless.

Summoning my courage, I grabbed a nearby bag and stuffed some of my treasured things in it. I could teleport anywhere and whenever I wanted now, so I’d return to Cherwoods. Dupree Palace wasn’t my home; it was my prison, where I was corralled for almost half a year. Fed, nourished and cared for, only to be butchered in the end. Now, if I returned and Sir Gerard would execute me, then so be it.

I don’t give a damn in this realm—and the others—anymore!

----------

***The city of Dorian, Cherwoods…***

The first thing that greeted Seirna and Umberto upon their arrival in Dorian were the dead trees, in contrast to when they last visited there. Then, as their eyes wandered around, they saw the extent of the destruction; burned elf-homes, corpses littered the streets, and crops destroyed. What’s even more puzzling and disturbing was there were no wounds on the bodies of the victims; their bodies were emaciated, as if every fluid and muscle were sucked out.

“What in the heavens happened here…?” Umberto muttered as he surveyed the destroyed city.

“I’ve seen this before,” Seirna told him. “I can’t forget this sight; this is what will happen when the Seductress feeds on everyone.”

“So, Your Holiness, you mean…”

“A similar fate awaits our worlds if we don’t stop her. Fortunately, she feeds on negative emotions more, than on actual people; it only happens when she’s extremely weak. But we can now confirm that the Seductress is here, and this place is already gone for good.”

Umberto fell silent. His eyes never looked away from the corpse of an elf before him; its face shriveled beyond recognition, though its eyes were wide open, as if ready to pop off its sockets. The victim’s arms were also raised, as if reaching for someone…the spymaster followed it, only to find another victim from across the street. This time, though he couldn’t clearly identify it, anyone could tell that it was a body of a child elf.

“Umberto!”

The spymaster turned to the Saint of the Flame.

“We need to look for the house of Lord Ingwer, if we can still find it.”

“R-Right…” he drew out his sword, just as they walked around the area.

“I can trace remnants of that terrible miasma used to suck this place dry of its energy,” Seirna revealed. “Umberto, this place…it has been ravaged not too long ago.”

“So, you mean—”

“I really can’t hide anything from you, can I?”

“!!!” Seirna and Umberto had only a split second to avoid the incoming forest of dark miasma shooting from under them. But, since they were both veterans of battles, it was an easy move to keep themselves from getting impaled. However, the attacks came in series, and their attempts to parry those were moderately successful. The spymaster was wounded on his left leg that impaired his movement, and the Saint of the Flame, though she blocked all the killing thrusts, was thrown off-balance and landed on some ruins nearby.

“I welcome you, my dear guests from another realm, to the land of Cherwoods!” a man—his face was that of the otherworlder—appeared to hover above Seirna as she regained her senses. “And what you see, is the city of Dorian!” One look into his thoughts, however, and the Saint knew she was dealing not only with the notorious impostor the Lady Hinwe left in-charge of the tree palace, but also with the feared Seductress.

“What the hell did you do to this place?” was the question of Umberto towards their enemy.

“Isn’t it normal for any ruler to smite fomenting rebellion among his subjects?” the elf answered. “Why do you look at me with disgust, former prince of Amaranth?”

Seirna and her spymaster exchanged looks, and silently agreed to coordinate their attacks. At the Saint of the Flame’s signal, Umberto threw his sword to the elf, and Her Holiness followed it with a thrust aiming at his neck.

‘Kuro’ parried their assaults, all the while telling them, “You should hear their screams, as I slowly sucked their lives out of their bodies. The children gave the sweetest agony; I had fun killing those little tykes.”

“Fuck you!” the words of the Seductress made Umberto’s bitter past resurface in his mind. While he had no qualms in killing people, he certainly didn’t relish the thought of murdering children, even more so, when torturing them to death.

“Umberto, calm down!” Seirna called out to him. “Don’t let her provoke you!”

“Yes! Feed me with your fear and disgust,” the Seductress was relentless; she kept on bombarding the spymaster’s thoughts of his own memories.

Though his wounded left leg hindered his movements, Umberto was still a warrior to reckoned with. His blind rage acted like an anesthesia, disregarding the pain shooting from his injury. Nevertheless, their enemy exploited his weakness, and the spymaster couldn’t think straight as he went berserk.

Seirna, though she was concerned with her companion, used the opportunity the Seductress was busy with Umberto to attack on her own. While the latter swung his sword blindly, the Saint of the Flame looked for any openings on the body of the elf the Seductress possessed, and hit from there. However, the creature from the Void was not one to be outsmarted; she parried and avoided Seirna’s attacks, though some eventually landed on the mortal flesh of the elf.

“Hah! Though I expected the otherworlder to show up after his little spy was captured, I guess killing you Seirna would be a better alternative!”

“There are many who tried,” the Saint of the Flame flashed to her the scar from her neck wound before. “Only the otherworlder landed a hit on me!”

“We’ll see about that!” At once, another forest of spikes shot from the ground. It didn’t hit Seirna, as she quickly moved away to avoid the hit. However, as Umberto kept on his offensive, it was him who bore the miasma impalement.

“Umberto!” the Saint of the Flame was shocked at what happened. She knew him; the former crown prince of Amaranth had been in many battles, and won’t easily go down. However, the image of him struck by so many spikes unnerved Seirna, and she rushed to his side to catch him as he fell.

“Y-Your H-Holiness…” the spymaster tried to keep himself from hitting the ground by using his knees for support. “Y-You should run…I-I’ll distract her.”

“You’re my spymaster,” Seirna told him. “You’re coming with me, damn it!”

“What a surprise!” the Seductress chuckled. “For someone like you, a murderer, to have someone you care about. It makes me sick looking at you…but then again, I love feeling sick! I grow even more powerful with it!”

“Yeah, you’re really sick,” the Saint of the Flame countered. “I’ve never seen a villain so masochistic and twisted like you.

“I’ll take that as a compliment,” the Seductress smiled. “But you haven’t seen all of those who come from the Void; I bet you’re in for more ‘surprise’.”

“No thanks,” Seirna held unto Umberto’s hand. “And I’ll make sure you will die a fourth time, and never return.”

At that moment, the Seductress tried to keep the Saint of the Flame from leaving, by grabbing them with her miasma. However, Seirna had seen through her, and chanted a spell that surrounded them both in a holy barrier. Then, before it broke from the strain of holding off the attacks, she and the spymaster were gone.

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**Hinwe**

It’s been a while since I saw this place once again…

“…”

The laptop, though it’s full of dust, was still there where I left it. The beautiful figmas I collected also gathered dust, some of the anime posters on my wall lost its adhesives and fell on the floor. The trash, dirty clothes and linens remained where I put those…or was it moved? I don’t know. For sure, this place…while it was my home for a long time ever since I became a saint, felt like a ‘stranger’ to me.

Honestly, I feel warmer in Dupree than here…

“…”

But that place isn’t my real home. I’m the Elf Saint, and I should reign…and die, here.

So, taking a deep breath and steeling my resolve, I began to pick the trash and clean my room. At first, it was just the crumpled papers, and dirty clothes. Then, slowly, my pace picked up. Next thing that I knew, I was looking for something like a trash bin, so I could put away the garbage. Once I finished cleaning the floor, I took a cloth and wiped my figmas and my laptop’s dust.

For some strange reason, I don’t like this place dirty…even when I’m fine with it before.

Back in Dupree, Kuro and Meanor would always get angry whenever they came in my room full of mess. Then they would force me to clean it. Damn, I sure hated their meddling, and the human would sometimes hit me (lightly) on the head to knock some sense. Nevertheless, now I understood how obnoxious I must be; this room…it sure was disgusting. I could now feel Meanor’s dismay whenever she would clean this place, and return later to another pigsty.

“…”

It’s pretty much understandable for her and Kuro to really drop me.

“…”

Goodness, I keep on thinking about those people who are just using me for their benefit. Nevertheless, I had to admit; I enjoyed their company. Meanor served me well before, and Kuro…he made me feel needed again.

“…” Tears began to fall from my eyes. Yes, I want to be wanted again…I’m someone who likes to know her purpose, even though she has lived for so long. But, who would love a lazy, useless mistress?

“Even if you’re a freeter, I still like you!”

“!!!” My thoughts vanished from my mind the moment I heard a familiar voice of a man. Turning around, I saw Kuro, standing by the door of my room, barring access to the tree palace’s hallway.

“How did you get here?” I asked him, making sure he knew I was mad for what I learned earlier.

“I teleported,” Kuro answered. “Or should I say, Natasha teleported me. Maddie and Ruro are now looking for Meanor, so she can join us here, as well.”

“How did you know I’m here then?”

“I figured that since you won’t return to Dupree palace, you’d be here in your room.”

I fell silent. Kuro never moved from the door; it was obvious from his thoughts that he intended to keep me in my room.

“Your Holiness…”

“I don’t need your explanation,” I averted my eyes from the human, for I was afraid that if I looked at him, I would fall again for his charms.

“I understand,” he said. “But will you please look into my thoughts before judging if I betrayed you?”

I never answered him, and he never moved. I wanted Kuro to leave, but since I won’t touch him, I couldn’t teleport him away. So, with no other option, I opened my ability to read minds and looked unto his thoughts…

“…”

…and, what could I say? I was not even surprised; his goal of acquiring the god-power over the waters remained in his heart. Nevertheless, aside from that, there were other things I saw…

The Seductress? The body of the gods? Seirna and the Lord Gaius’ wills to have him fight that monster?

“…”

And what’s more, I saw someone familiar meet me in his thoughts. “Hinwe!” the former god, Gaius, called out to me. “Listen to me, you goddamn NEET! I’ll knock sense into your head!”

----------

The former god of Chersea, Gaius, met me inside Kuro’s thoughts. He never hid his disappointment when he saw me, and maybe, the disbelief in my heart. His face—though his eyes were closed as if he was in deep meditation—was contorted in dismay. “Look,” he did not even look at me. “I know you’re angry about what you heard, but…”

“But…?”

“Headbuuuutt!” the Lord Gaius screamed as he hit my head with such force that my consciousness nearly went back to my body. I staggered, as I tried to maintain my balance. However, the former god caught me in my collar, and told me, “You idiot! First, I helped you through your depression by introducing you to manga and anime. And what did you do? You fucked your land because of those fools that hated you!”

“M-Milord, can I even help it? I’m only a mortal!”

“You are an existence above the common mortal!” he reiterated. “All saints are! And yet, you’re destroying your land by doing nothing!”

“I…I’m sorry…”

“Then, second, that man, Kuro. Don’t you know how much money he burned just to have you regain your confidence? And not just him, the other saints, too! And their respective subjects! How dare you throw those out the window because you misinterpreted their talk earlier!”

“M-Misinterpreted?” At that point, I stood my ground. “Milord, you may be a former god, but you didn’t even see the heart of this person? He seeks to get the god-powers from me by gaining my trust!”

“We told him to!” Gaius countered. “Kuro…haa, listen, Hinwe, this human, he’s the most passive motherfucker I’ve ever known. Well, he may act on his own at times, but he considers godhood something out of his league. He’s even a virgin, and fucking proud of it.”

“Err…I’m not sure if that last statement is relevant,” I shook my head. “But what about the saints? He has their god-powers!”

“They trusted him. It’s not because Kuro made them to, it’s something they decided themselves.”

“What about Seirna?”

“The opinion of a daddy-con is irrelevant,” the former god chuckled. “Please forgive her words.”

“B-But…”

“Hinwe,” Gaius took hold of my shoulders. “I can see that in your heart, you love this guy. Well, you’re on the right track. Kuro is someone you can trust; in fact, if there’s anyone you’d want to get angry at, it’s me. After all, I’m the one who keeps on prodding him to get your god-powers; he’s the only one who wants to save you, after you saved him. You may read into my thoughts if you have doubts.”

So, I did what the former god of Chersea and the Other Realms asked me to do. And true enough, I saw the moments where Kuro stubbornly refused to ‘use’ me for his benefit. There were even times when he would argue with the Lord Gaius, for he thought that it was rude of him to do.

“Well…?” Gaius asked me with a smile on his face. “What do you think?”

“I…” I could feel my cheeks get warm when I realized my mistake. “I…I love Kuro. And I love even more now.”

“See?” the former god laughed and waved his hand. “Don’t forget to give him your god-powers, alright?”

I flashed a dirty finger to his face as I was sent back to my own body.

----------

“I’m sorry for what happened,” Kuro told me the moment he noticed my senses returned. “I’m serious; I don’t want to ‘use’ you to gain your god-powers. I did all of those things to—”

I interrupted him. “You don’t need to explain further; I already know everything.”

“Still, I’ve been an asshole.”

“Yes, you are,” I answered. “But then, I was, too.”

“Well, you’ve experienced bad things in your past. And I made it worse by my words.”

“I know that you don’t mean any harm with those,” I replied, pinching his nose for a bit. “In any case, I’m also aware that everything you did for me is because you see me as your savior. Let’s be clear about this, Kuro. You don’t owe me anything; because if there’s someone who benefitted more between us two, it’s me.”

“How?”

“Not only did you help me gain back a part of my god-powers, you even made me realize that I was a handful, which is great. See, if you’ll look around, my place is clean…it’s because you and Meanor keep on nagging me about it!”

Kuro laughed, and reached out his hand for a shake. “Alright, I guess we should not count the things we did to each other. In any case, let’s pick up these figmas and your laptop and leave?”

“Leave? You mean go back to Dupree?”

He nodded. “The danger still remains. Outside this door, the soldiers from the Life Guards were under the influence of the Seductress, and they still seek to end your life. We should gather an army first, before retaking this palace again.”

“Right…I guess,” I told him. “The Seductress, huh? I saw that ‘creature’ in your memories. I never thought that the Lady Arame—wife of the Lord Gaius according to the legends—was a monster in her true form.”

“We’re trying to fight her again, but for your safety, let’s return to our home.”

“Indeed.”

Just as I was about to reach Kuro’s hand, however…

“Your Holiness, move away!”

“!!!”

I haven’t got time to know what exactly happened, but the door suddenly exploded, and I felt someone push me away from the blast radius. I fell on the floor, and someone fell on top of me, as if shielding me from the flying projectiles. From the corner of my eyes, I saw Kuro with a demon weapon on his one hand, and a sword on the other, shooting towards the door, where several of my guards were trying to break in for some reason.

“Maddie, get to the Lady Hinwe!” he shouted.

“Right!” I saw the Human Saint appear and come to my spot. “Are you okay, milady?” she asked, trying to pull away the person over me. The Beastman saint, the Lady Ruro, helped her, as Kuro and another person—perhaps it was the Demon Saint—held off attackers assaulting my room.

“I-I’m good…” I told them. “I guess, I’m fine?”

“Thank goodness,” the Beastman Saint smiled at me, though her face turned sad as she looked on the body they pulled away. “…but…”

“…” the Lady Madelaine was using her powers, for I could see the bright white light from her hands. But it was the least of my concerns, for I could see Meanor’s boots worn by the mangled body that shielded me from the blast.

I realized who pushed me away…“Meanor!” I tried to come to her side, but the Lady Ruro stopped me.

Then, I heard Kuro shout, “Lady Seirna! Teleport us all out of here!”

At once, my vision went blurry, and then full white…

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**Kuro**

Meanor, daughter of Ulve. She was the servant of Her Holiness, the Elf Saint, Lady Hinwe Tal-Inwir…and, if I may add, perhaps the most faithful among them, after her mother. She remained loyal to her mistress until the end, killed while doing her duties, shielding the Elf Saint from the explosion that would’ve end the Lady Hinwe’s life.

“…”

When Seirna and a severely injured Umberto returned from Cherwoods, we knew something bad had happened there. And the Saint of the Flame confirmed it; the city of Dorian was destroyed, the Lord Ingwer and Cerdan were both missing, and the return of the Seductress was confirmed. After we searched for the Lady Hinwe at the Dupree palace, I suspected that—given she could now teleport again—Her Lazy Holiness returned to Cherwoods, in her room at the tree palace…since it was her goal ever since the borders were ‘closed’.

Yes, the Lady Hinwe walked right into the lion’s mouth.

And so, acting on my hunch, I asked the Lady Natasha’s help in teleporting me, while Maddie and Ruro looked for Meanor. But then, just as they teleported in…

“Kuro,” it was Gaius, “enemies stood behind that door! Take cover!”

There was no time. As soon as the former god finished warning me, Maddie and Ruro teleported in with the elf servant, and following it, was the explosion. We all froze as the bits of wood and steel flew and became deadly shrapnel, which chose no one as its target. Ruro tried to put up a barrier, but it was still in the middle of materializing when Meanor decided to act on herself, and push her mistress away from the danger.

And she took all the shrapnel herself, tearing her body apart.

“…”

Meanor died, eyes open, looking with relief towards her mistress, as Natasha and I fought off the soldiers from the Life Guards, acting on the Seductress’ will.