The Devouring Dragon-Chapter 30: The Cadre Fallen Angel

"You arrived here quick, Beast King," Apparently my reputation preceded me because Velrissa already knew my title.

Her eyes trailed up and down my armored form, a hungry glint appearing in them as she took me in.

"Succubus Queen," I replied simply, casually unsheathing my sword and leaning it over my shoulder, "Unless you're willing to surrender, let's not waste time on any more words."

I casually tossed the rabid succubi under my arm to Momo, letting her hold onto the woman for now.

"You break through the ceiling of my throneroom after enslaving two of my generals, and you won't even humor a conversation?" Velrissa pouted lightly at me, sticking out her bottom lip, "They don't call you beast for nothing, huh?"

Either she was watching me somehow, or she could sense the power connecting me, Kyon, and Momo now.

"So, you won't surrender?" I asked bluntly, pointing my sword toward her as I completely ignored her.

"Subdue him, Bene," Velrissa huffed at being ignored but licked her lips as she looked at me, "But don't kill him. You'll be the shining star in my collection, Beast King!"

"Yes, Mistress," Benemue said lightly, the Cadre-ranked Fallen Angel stepping forward as a large spear of light formed in her hand.

I tensed my body, ready to see how I faired against a genuine powerhouse in this world. A split second later, the light spear in Benemue's hand was flinging at me so fast that I could barely follow it with my eyes.

Luckily, my body was much faster than my eyes. I swiped my sword out, slashing through the spear and causing it to explode into a fountain of light particles.

I tensed my legs, lunging forward and swinging my sword out at Benemue. She raised her hand again in response, this time a sword of light forming and swinging to match my slash.

For a second time seemed to stop as our blades clashed, each of us grunting in exertion as we tried to overpower each other.

Well, this was a bit of an eye-opener. While she was definitely powerful, being a Cadre-rank, if I wanted to stand a chance against Tiamat I shouldn't be struggling against her. I'll need to prepare a lot more before going to finish the tutorial.

She was also fast - too fast for me to try and ignore her to go after Velrissa. I'd have to take her down first, then go after the Queen.

Luckily, pure strength wasn't the limit of my fighting capabilities.

I used [Hellfire], and a burst of dark red flames suddenly burst forward - running along the blade of my sword and then blasting at Benemue.

The fallen's eyes widened, and she quickly lunged backward - tackling the sitting Velrissa behind her and moving her from the path of flames.

The hellfire instantly raised the temperature in the icy room as it coated the carpet, crawling along the floor and walls as the room was set ablaze.

"I quite liked this throne room," Velrissa's eye twitched as she shoved Benemue off of her, but she blushed lightly as she glanced at me, "I'll punish you greatly for this later! Bene, take the fight outside!"

I got the feeling that the 'punishment' in question wasn't a normal one.

As she finished her sentence, she waved her hand out and launched a wave of purple mist at the flames consuming the room. She frowned as they only died down slightly, whatever magic she used unable to completely dispel the hellfire.

"Yes, Mistress," Benemue nodded, then turned to glare at me. She raised her hands, and the air around us suddenly became filled with dozens of light spears that materialized.

"Relax, I have no problem with fighting outside," I grunted, merely turning around at Benemue's attempt to force me out of the room.

Fighting away from Velrissa actually worked in my favor - the Succubus Queen seemed to believe that Benemue could handle me on her own, and hadn't tried using [Charm] yet.

If she saw Benemue was losing and started distracting me in the middle of the fight, things could turn dire. This way, I'll be able to take down Benemue on her own and then have a one-on-one with Velrissa.

I lashed out with my sword, cutting through the stone wall and creating a hole.

"Protect them," I ordered Momo and Kyon, nodding at Talia and the rabid succubi, "I'll be back in a few minutes."

"A few minutes? How arrogant," Benemue huffed, dispelling her light spears as she followed me to the hole in the wall.

"We'll be fine," Momo nodded at my orders, "She won't try to hurt us."

"Yes, It'd be annoying to lose two generals," Velrissa merely sighed, glancing at Momo with narrowed eyes, "Though, once the Beast King becomes my pet, you'll both be punished greatly for forming a contract with him."

"...Don't threaten me with a good time," Momo chuckled wearily, confirming my thoughts that Velrissa's 'punishments' weren't real punishments, and probably more lewd in nature.

I ignored their back and forth, instead simply leaping through the hole in the building and plummeting down to the ground below. As I landed in a crouch, the snow around me exploded upward and a small crater formed from the impact.

A moment later, Benemue landed next to me much more gracefully as her wings flapped outward.

"You have one chance to submit, Beast King," Benemue said stiffly, a light sword forming in her hand.

"Good joke," I said sarcastically, standing up straight and tensing my body.

She glared at me, lunging forward as she slashed the sword at me. As she did, a flurry of light spears filled the air around us - all pointed directly at me.

I met her strike with a one-handed slash of my own, raising my other hand with a grin as the light spears barreled toward me. My fingers twitched, utilizing [Light Manipulation], and suddenly the light spears started to shake as their course was altered.

"W-What?" Benemue stuttered dumbly as her attacks landed in the snow around me instead of striking at me.

Her attacks were too strong for me to completely disperse the spears - as her lifetime of controlling light-based attacks exceeded my mere level 7 skill - but I could still affect them.

I glanced down at her sword, and suddenly our clash of strength was broken as her sword shook and angeled downward slightly. My sword powered through, continuing forward as my blade aimed at her neck.

However, she was still a Cadre-ranked fallen and wouldn't lose that easily. She ducked down, letting the blade cut through the air above her head, and stabbed at me with a new light spear.

Unfortunately for her, fighting like that only benefitted me.

I shifted my grip, swinging down my sword and slamming the end of the hilt into the top of her crouched head as the light spear cut into my gut. The light spear pressed into my chest plate, but didn't manage to break through as I just felt a bit of heat radiate around my stomach.

I activated [Phenex Immortality], barely feeling anything and taking no damage as my MP drained a bit instead of my HP.

Meanwhile, she fell onto all fours as the pommel of my sword crashed into her head. She recovered quickly, diving forward as my follow-up swing slammed into the snow where she had been.

"H-How..." Benemue muttered, confused as to how I seemed completely unaffected by her attack.

She couldn't see the flames that appeared from [Phenex Immortality] - as the light spear didn't manage to pierce through my armor, and any damage I took was just from the pure heat radiating from her attack burning my skin through the armor. That damage was also lessened by my [Light Resistance], so in her eyes I had taken a light spear to the gut and taken no damage.

"I said not to waste time on words," I grunted, lunging forward at the stunned, and slightly disoriented from my blow, woman. I needed to finish up here as soon as possible and go help Vargan.

I thrust my sword forward, and Benemue was too slow to completely dodge this time. She flung herself to the side, flapping her wings as she went into the air, but my stab still grazed the side of her stomach.

[Devouring Stab] has claimed stats from [Benemue]!

+700 HP!

+70 MAXHP!

+125 STR

+190 AGI

+70 END

+100 CHA

+92 INT

+290 MP!

I grinned as the influx of stats powered me up. Meanwhile, Benemue hissed in the air, reaching down and clamping a hand on her now bleeding stomach.

"D-Damn it," She growled, holding up her hand and summoning an army of light spears again. She flung them at me desperately as she floated upward to get away from me, but I merely activated [Light Manipulation] to lightly alter their trajectory and send them slamming into the ground around me.

Then, I shot upward, slashing my sword out again. She flapped her wings, dodging to the side as my blade slammed into the tower behind her and caused it to shake as if there was an earthquake.

I reached out, my fingers digging into the side of the tower as the strength in my hand caused the stone to crumble. I tensed my legs, placing my feet flat on the side of the structure, and then launched at her again.

The wall behind me shattered from the force, and I appeared in front of Benemue in an instant. Her eyes widened, and she held up her hand as a light barrier appeared between us.

I paid it no mind, literally barreling through it shoulder-first as I swung a two-handed strike with my great sword. She had no way of dodging, and the blade tore across her front - causing a fountain of blood to shoot outward and coat my sword.

[Devouring Stab] has claimed stats from [Benemue]!

+1,250 HP!

+125 MAXHP!

+220 STR

+310 AGI

+115 END

+190 CHA

+175 INT

+470 MP!

Benemue let out a howl of pain as the force of the slash sent her sailing downward. She crashed back-first into the snow below, a small crater forming under her as blood flew from her mouth.

"Honestly, this was easier than I thought," I muttered, landing on the ground in front of the crumpled woman.

Physically, she could definitely match me - her strength was close to mine, and she was roughly as fast as well - but she was an inferior fighter and didn't have the plethora of skills that I did.

Simply put, she never stood a chance.

I raised my sword, ready to stab down and finish her off.

As much as it would've helped to have such a powerful fallen under my command, I doubted I'd be able to control her. She was loyal to the Grigori, and once freed from Velrissa's charm wouldn't willingly serve under me.

I stabbed down, my blade shooting towards her chest.

"S-Stop!"

You have been inflicted with the [Charm] debuff!

[Mental Resistance] has blocked the debuff!

[Mental Resistance] effectiveness: 25%

I grunted as my arm disobeyed me, suddenly stopping mid-swing and letting the blade sit mere inches from the struggling Benemue.

[Mental Resistance] is at level 20, and it's only 25% effective?

I glanced over my shoulder as I saw Velrissa come flying down from the top of the tower, landing in the snow as she barely saved Benemue's life. A second later, Momo and Kyon followed with Talia and the rabid succubi.

"I knew you were strong, but... you even beat Bene..." Velrissa muttered but was smiling despite the situation. With [Charm] suddenly weighing on my shoulders, her smile suddenly looked even more beautiful - like a ray of sunshine in the dark, cold, and misty city.

"I'll deal with you personally. Turn around, and step away from her," Velrissa ordered, her voice suddenly sounding melodic and enchanting. I knew I should finish off Benemue, but my body betrayed me as I raised my sword from her, turning around and walking toward Velrissa.

As I did, I stumbled slightly as a wave of pleasure coursed through me. It was far stronger than Momo or Kyon's [Charm] - this pleasure was stronger than anything I had ever experienced. It was addicting.

Behind me, the downed Benemue couched out a glob of blood as she pushed herself out of the crater, still conscious but looking worse for wear.

"Good boy," Velrissa smiled at me, and I internally winced at the pleasure that coursed through me from those words, "Now, on your knees!"

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She pointed her finger down at the snow, and my body readily obeyed. I fell to my knees, my head bowing as I stared at the snow under her feet.

"Good," Velrissa nodded again with a smirk while Benemue stumbled to take her place next to her, "Give me that sword of yours. A pet does not need such a thing!"

My head raised the sword, my arm turning as I started to present it to her.

"Oh, it's so well made too," Velrissa grinned beautifully, "I'll hang it on my wall-"

Her words cut off as the sword suddenly swung - not at her, mind you. With the [Charm] impacting me, my body balked at the idea of trying to attack her - even pointing the sword at her seemed like a crime against nature.

Instead, it slashed downward - slamming into my other hand. It tore through the gauntlet on my hand, slashing completely through one of the finger guards. It tore through the metal, biting through my flesh and cutting off a finger cleanly.

-5,500 HP! (38,455/43,955)

+2,250 HP! (40,705/43,955)

A second later, [Physical Regeneration] caused the appendage to slowly grow back but I still grunted as a wave of pain coursed through me, causing me to physically wince. Despite the conflicting pain and pleasure ravaging my body, I forced my sword to slash down again, and another finger was cut off as I didn't activate [Phenex Immortality].

-5,500 HP! (35,205/43,955)

+2,250 HP! (37,455/43,955)

"W-What are you doing?" Velrissa asked incredulously, staring with wide eyes as I cut my own fingers off.

"You're... strong," I grunted, forcing myself to stand up as the pain overpowered the pleasure in my brain, "Stronger... than I expected..."

I reached down, gripping the bottom of my chest plate. My newly regenerated fingers dug into it, tearing the metal with my pure strength as I pried open a hole to my bare skin.

I raised my sword, flipping it around as Velrissa stared - shocked into silence as I stabbed the sword downward. It cut into my stomach, causing a burst of blood to flow outward and drip onto the snow below.

-15,000 HP! (22,455/43,955)

+7,500 HP! (29,955/43,955)

My regeneration tried to close the wound, but I held the blade steady and kept the wound open as a constant flood of pain flowed into me.

I had hoped I wouldn't have to resort to this, as I was banking on my [Mental Resistance] skill being a high enough level to protect me, but my hand was forced.

The basis of [Charm] was very simple - the caster forced the victim to experience a sudden shock of pleasure. It wasn't all that supernatural in nature - a very similar phenomenon occurred in many easily addictive hobbies, such as gambling and drinking.

It was similar, but stronger - in the same vein that a gambling addict got a rush of dopamine for each bet placed, the victim of [Charm] received a rush of dopamine for pleasing the caster.

And, the one thing a person's body wants more than anything else? That rush of pleasure - that rush of dopamine. They become addicted, doing whatever it takes to receive more of it.

While it seemed that [Charm] made the victim a slave to the caster, it really made them a slave to their own body. Their body's addiction to it grows the more they're affected, eventually becoming unable to escape after being subjected to the feeling for so long.

But, there was still a way to escape your body's own addiction - to overpower it with something else. That could be a variety of things - such as a feeling of anger or hatred so powerful that it overpowers your body's desire to feel pleasure.

But, I didn't have that. I had no hate for Velrissa, nor was I really that angry. At best, I was disappointed that I was struggling so greatly against her charm - but I wasn't angry. So, I had to resort to another method - pain.

Pain wasn't a guaranteed solution - for someone like Yono or Taka, who had been so engrossed in the pleasure of [Charm] for so long, even the pain of death wasn't enough to overpower their body's desire for pleasure.

But, for me, who was only just feeling that pleasure - and a slightly lessened version of it - it was enough. The pain from losing two fingers cleared my mind enough to let me stand, and then the pain of a blade stabbing into my gut was enough for me to shake off the charm entirely.

"W-What..." Velrissa stared blankly, genuinely confused on what she had just witnessed - both that I had stabbed myself and that I was resisting her [Charm].

"...He's so cool," Momo muttered to Kyon, who simply nodded sagely at her words.

I used Velrissa's shock to my advantage - pulling the sword from my gut and slashing forward instantly.

I was only a split-second too late as the injured Benemue slammed into Velrissa's side, my sword slashing through her arm and cutting it clean off as she moved the Queen away from danger.

[Devouring Stab] has claimed stats from [Benemue]!

+1,550 HP!

+155 MAXHP!

+290 STR

+385 AGI

+170 END

+250 CHA

+240 INT

+720 MP!

I quickly shifted my huge sword into my left hand, forming my right hand into a knife with [Physical Morph]. I stabbed the knife hand into my side, taking the place of my sword as I kept the constant flow of pain alive in case Velrissa tried to use [Charm] again.

"H-How... how are you..." Velrissa stuttered, staring in a mixture of shock, awe, and horror as I resisted her. She pushed the dying Benemue off of her, slowly rising to her feet.

"Do you know what sets apart a truly great warrior from a mediocre one, Succubus Queen?" I grinned, the monstrous helmet shifting slightly as I glowered at Velrissa. She didn't answer, merely tensing her body defensively.

"Adaptation," I hummed, taking a step toward her, "Many think it's preparation, but I would say it's adaptation. You have no need for a hundred different plans if you can adapt to one."

I had done a lot to prepare - I had grinded my [Mental Resistance] skill to level 20, allied with the dwarves, and trained my forces. But I could've done more. After seeing my skill not completely negate Momo and Kyon's [Charm], I knew it wouldn't be enough for the Queen herself.

The smartest action would've been to leave after taking down Momo and Kyon - to rush back to Vargan and Raya, order a retreat, and not attempt another conquest until I was perfectly prepared.

I could get more information from Momo, Kyon, and Talia. I could train my forces better to prevent more casualties. The Meadow of Love would've been crippled from losing commanders, and I'd be stronger from gaining two more. They wouldn't hold up against another invasion.

I could look for new skills, and ask Vargan to upgrade my armor even more. I could delay another attack to set up better conditions - to improve my chances of winning, and to set up a perfect attack.

But, I wasn't the type of man who could do that.

Giving myself more time to prepare also gave Velrissa more time - more time to scheme, to grow her forces, to enslave stronger servants, or to do something outside my realm of thinking.

So, instead of planning, I'll simply adapt. Because...

"The man who stands still, waiting for the perfect moment to take a step..." I raised my sword, pointing it at Velrissa, "Will wait forever."

I don't need a perfect plan - because there is no perfect plan. I'll adapt to any situation, and make any plan work in my favor.

Velrissa glared at me, taking a step back as I stared her down. Her eyes were filled with genuine fear, and she glanced at the injured Benemue.

"D-Damn it, it's such a shame to lose a powerful man like you, but..." Velrissa hissed, her body shaking slightly from nervousness, "Kill him, Bene!"

Eh? Does she not see that Benemue is literally one-armed, bleeding all over, and probably about to lose consciousness?

Is she stupid?

My thoughts were answered as Velrissa raised her palms, a dark purple glow surrounding the injured Benemue. Her injuries didn't close, but the woman stiffened as she seemed to regain some energy and feel less weak.

Considering she was still half-dead, I should be able to handle her, but...

I grinned, "Momo! Kyon!"

I might as well make things even, right?

"Do you have enough energy left to buff me?" I asked, knowing the two generals had expended a lot on Taka during their fight with me.

"It won't be as strong as hers, but yes!" Kyon called, raising her palms at me. Momo followed in suit, and my whole body glowed with a purple aura.

You have been buffed by [Momo]!

[STR Buff] - Your STR has temporarily increased by 50%

[AGI Buff] - Your AGI has temporarily increased by 50%

[END Buff] - Your END has temporarily increased by 50%

[MP Buff] - Your MP has temporarily increased by 50%

You have been buffed by [Kyon]!

[STR Buff] - Your STR has temporarily increased by 25%

[AGI Buff] - Your AGI has temporarily increased by 25%

[END Buff] - Your END has temporarily increased by 25%

[MP Buff] - Your MP has temporarily increased by 25%

I smirked as the new power flooded through me, suddenly going from feeling a bit tired to like I had just woken up. My muscles vibrated, my legs tensing as my body itched to release the new power in a fight.

In front of me, Benemue raised her palm at me, a magic circle appearing on it. A small ball of pure light appeared in front of her, which then expanded outward and shot forward in a huge beam of light. It expanded outward and upward - going from a small orb to a radius of over 25 feet in each direction.

If Kyon and Momo managed to enhance me by 75% overall, then she probably got at least 100%, if not more.

I grinned, raising my sword as my world was filled with a blast of pure light.

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AN: Thank you for reading! The next Chapter will be out tomorrow!

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