Chapter 9: Apostle of Desire
Early morning.
“Dong, dong, dong~”
The long bell tolls from the Temple Mountain, resonating throughout the entire white city as the dawn light spreads. Along with the bell, explosive rumors swept through the city.
Although the temple decided to keep things under wraps, it was well known that the clergy inside the temple could not lie. After finishing work, the guards were eager to find someone to speak the “truth.”
One told ten, ten told a hundred. In just one day, the streets and alleys were buzzing with discussions about the hero and his slave succubus.
The hero actually has a slave succubus! Everyone who heard the rumor immediately perked up. In no time, men who had just heard the rumor were earnestly discussing the hero’s combat prowess alongside the succubus, as if they had witnessed it firsthand at the bedside.
At the same time, rough little pamphlets began to circulate in secret, accusing the hero of being a hypocrite. Remarkably, these pamphlets detailed the hand-to-hand combat between the hero and the succubus.
Instantly, these pamphlets became hot commodities in the white city. In the black market, at one point, a single pamphlet could sell for a silver coin.
Merchants smelled opportunity and immediately left the city to have someone write and print more pamphlets, adding some “eyewitness accounts” from those involved.
Three days later, the latest pamphlet stated that under the most sacred church of the temple, more than a dozen succubi were imprisoned, ranging from little girls to mature beauties. An anonymous Mr. Hammer claimed to have witnessed the temple’s higher-ups enjoying the services of the succubi.
Two white horses pulled a white carriage into the rumor-filled white city. The carriage was spotless as it drove toward the bustling street, passing by two loud women bickering.
As the carriage went by, both women felt a sense of calmness wash over them, and their earlier anger vanished without a trace. After apologizing to each other, they ceased to torment everyone’s ears.
Inside the carriage, the girl referred to by the knights as the most sacred maiden on earth was sitting, meticulously sewing a diamond-shaped talisman adorned with silver thread depicting the rising sun.
If the proud knights of Barto Kingdom were to witness this scene, they would surely break their lances, cause their warhorses to wail, and send their helmets flying, with only the last knight standing qualifying to beg for the talisman.
The silver-robed maiden was often invited to be the “most beautiful maiden” at knightly tournaments. Whenever she participated, knights would fight for three days and nights just to hold her hand.
The final stitch of the talisman was completed.
The silver-robed maiden put her hands together, tightly clutching the talisman against her forehead, praying softly to the god of dawn. Before long, a faint white light emanated from her fingers. Joyfully, she opened her hands and softly said:
“Thank you, Lord of the Dawn.”
In order to have private time to create the talisman, she even sent away her personal nun.
She planned to give the talisman to George. Just thinking about how George would solemnly place the talisman on his solid chest and raise his holy sword to fight evil made her cheeks flush with a faint rosy hue, no longer possessing her usual pure demeanor.
The carriage gradually came to a stop, and the voice of a guard came from outside, “Lady Saint, we have arrived in the inner city.”
Saint Jenna placed the talisman close to her body and took a deep breath, reestablishing the holy aura that kept others at arm’s length.
The carriage door opened, and a guard in silver armor with a bucket helmet respectfully lowered his head.
After blessing the guard, the saint pretended to casually ask, “Has the hero George regained his strength to serve our Lord since returning from the demon realm?”
The temple guards exchanged glances and said, “George has been stripped of the title of hero?”
“What?”
“He… Lady Saint, I wish to remain silent.” When the truth became hard to say, silence was the only option.
“Speak.”
Jenna said indifferently, neither saddened nor pleased, just like the untouchably pure image of the saint in everyone’s mind.
The guard detailed everything: the captivating little succubus, the slave contract, the Sisyphus trial.
Jenna blessed them once more. To the guards, the saint appeared as pure as ever, a figure too divine for mortals to approach.
After bidding each other farewell, Jenna took a while to regain her senses. Her mind had gone blank; she couldn’t believe her ears. Hero George had actually brought back a succubus and signed a slave contract with her!
She suppressed the urge to find George, tightly gripping the talisman, and headed to inquire with the bishop.
At that moment, the copper bell on the Temple Mountain rang for the seventh time.
…
…
The eighth toll rang out, falling upon the petite horns of Jima as the sunlight streamed in through the window.
Jima sat in a high chair, swinging her legs with a joyful disposition. Moments ago, the lust she had taken in finally satisfied the requirements to unlock her extraordinary ability.
“DM: You have unlocked the extraordinary ability of the succubus. This is your first step on the extraordinary path.”
Clearly, it was the ten thousandth step… Jima smirked, then felt a warm current flowing upward from her lower abdomen, her face flushed quickly, and she began to breathe a bit faster while feeling a tingling sensation.
Jima immediately realized that she was leveling up. She turned her back in the chair, where George was busy polishing his armor.
The awkward warmth came quickly, but it left just as fast. In the next moment, her head felt bloated with envy and anger toward George; she just wanted to rush into the kitchen and grab a knife to attack him.
Jima understood this was the negative effect of leveling up and bit her teeth to endure it. The odd sensation lasted less than fifteen seconds before ending.
The negative effect during leveling up was related to her extraordinary ability, making Jima feel restless. She closed her eyes slightly, pretending to take a nap, while checking the extraordinary ability she had gained.
“You have become the ‘Apostle of Desire.’”
“Eyes of Desire: As long as people have desires, they cannot escape the fate of corruption. You can now observe the seven negative desires of all intelligent beings through the Eyes of Desire: greed, pride, envy, anger, etc.”
“Stirring Desire: You can stir one of the target’s negative desires by beckoning with your finger. However, be careful; if done too abruptly, the target may become aware of their own abrupt psychological changes.”
So, I can make the other party overlook abrupt psychological changes through inducement and deception?
Jima pondered as she continued reading.
“Upgrade Requirement: Play the role of the succubus well and strive to manipulate others’ negative desires.”
There were no more detailed instructions, it was always like this.
As Jima had anticipated, she intended to experiment thoroughly and familiarize herself with her extraordinary powers.
Jima activated the “Eyes of Desire,” and her eyes warmed slightly. She felt the magical power within her gradually dissipate, while the succubi needed lust to replenish their magical energy.
She turned her gaze toward George, who was facing away from her. As soon as her gaze landed on him, Jima immediately saw seven orbs of various colors surrounding his heart, and based on her knowledge of mysticism, she could discern which negative desire corresponded to each color.
The orbs were walnut-sized and rather fuzzy, appearing like a faint mist. It showed that George’s negative desires were very weak.
Just as Jima was about to analyze further, a sudden white light obscured George’s “desire orbs.” The brilliance pierced Jima’s soul, causing her head to tingle. She promptly turned off the Eyes of Desire, and when George turned his head, she quickly lowered her own, pretending to be playing with her tail.
George was too strong.
“How strange, I feel as if Jima was just watching me,” George mumbled to himself, walking toward her.
Jima, like a cat, pounced on her swaying tail with both hands.
“Jima, I have something I want to discuss with you.”
“What is it?”
Jima’s heartbeat quickened as she pretended to innocently look up, nibbling on her tail with wide eyes.
Her eyes were clear, without signs of backlash. Unless she had a soul as powerful as a demon king, it must have been an illusion.
George momentarily struggled to find words. He glanced at Jima’s tail and cleared his throat.
“Jima, please don’t tell anyone that I like to paint.” George said with difficulty, “Especially don’t disclose the contents of my drawings.”
“Oh.” Jima nodded, “I understand. It would be inappropriate behavior; I will help you keep it a secret.”
“Ahem, today the temple has issued a task, and Lord Gregory requires us to go together.”
Hearing the name Gregory, Jima thought of the blazing pyre. She was certain that the old fox dreamed of burning her alive.
“Okay.”
Jima jumped down from the high chair, pulled up her hood to cover her horns. George handed her the massive sword with both hands, and Jima hugged it, fulfilling her duties as an attendant.
Now, Jima was nominally George’s attendant. In the past few days, besides reading books, copying religious brainwashing texts, and finding excuses to play with her tail before George, she had to learn how to fulfill an attendant’s responsibilities.
After stepping outside, George, fully armored, strode toward the church. Jima had to walk quickly to keep up.
Walking on the white stone-paved road, they encountered many people along the way.
“Good morning, Brother George,” said a young priest.
“Good morning…” George replied.
But Jima felt the other’s gaze falling on herself.
Jima activated the “Eyes of Desire,” lifted her head, and stared directly at him.
The young priest immediately felt the warm sunlight pouring into his embrace.
Jima saw the orbs surrounding his heart symbolizing the seven desires, the smallest one being walnut-sized, with a noticeably deep color.
A perfect experimental subject… Jima smiled sweetly at him, saying, “Good morning, Mr. Priest~.”
“Good morning.”
The priest replied, his eyes shining as he looked Jima up and down. The orb representing envy in his heart, the pink one, grew deeper in color.
Jima deliberately slowed her pace.
“Jima.” George called out.
“Coming, George master, your great sword is here.”
“Don’t call me master.”
“Alright.”
Jima quickly sped up, nudging her little finger toward the young priest’s pink envy orb and gently beckoning.
She witnessed that although the priest maintained a polite smile on the surface, the pink orb representing envy in his chest swelled at a visible speed, deepening in color to the size of an apple.
The young priest’s eyes reddened slightly as he stared at George’s back, akin to classic red-eye syndrome.
Jima lowered her head, her hood concealing her slightly upturned mouth. She suppressed her excitement and whispered to George:
“George, the priest just now seems to be wearing different clothes.”
“A linen robe with a bronze holy emblem shows that he is a newly appointed official priest,” George explained, “In terms of the common extraordinary levels, he is at bronze. At such a young age, he has this level of strength, indicating that he usually works hard and is neither arrogant nor prideful.”
Jima happily obtained the experimental subject’s strength.
So how powerful can I manipulate the desires of my enemies? Jima felt restless, preparing to seek another test subject.
