Ch.289289. Aftermath (2)

After creating an artificial moon with magic to completely eliminate the demonic corruption inside the cave, I took several precautionary measures to ensure the cleanup was thorough.

For instance, before burying the purified cave back into the earth, I generously sprinkled holy water that I always carry in abundance and placed several holy symbols around the area, just to be safe.

Holy water, consecrated by priests through divine magic, is a consumable item with mild healing and purification effects, as well as the power to repel malevolent entities.

It’s distributed quite cheaply, enough for mercenaries and adventurers to carry it around and apply to their weapons when encountering ghosts. Priests put considerable effort into supplying this holy water, to the point where even serfs use it as emergency medicine.

Of course, high-grade holy water possesses power that makes it difficult to treat as a mere consumable, but such items are hard to obtain in the first place.

Holy symbols, on the other hand, are items created as religious emblems—the very crosses or similar ornaments that religious people in fantasy settings wear around their necks or waists.

Since they hold strong religious symbolic power, priests primarily use them as catalysts for divine magic. Thanks to their mystical nature as sacred symbols, they serve as materials to suppress potential corruption.

Anyway, after finishing this “cleanup,” I headed toward the temporary base where Sophia was…

‘This situation feels somewhat similar.’

What I saw was demonic mana beginning to corrode various places, and Sophia commanding Original Art’s doppelgangers to deal with it. I waved at her as I approached.

“Sophiaaaa!”

“Ah! Gregory! Welcome back!”

In reality, the time since we parted was probably no more than half a day (6 hours), but considering what we’d both experienced in that short time, it was impossible not to feel emotional.

“Sophia, you really did well! Protecting all these people is amazing!”

“Not at all. Compared to you who faced a demon commander directly…”

“What are you saying, Sophia? Protecting is always harder than killing, isn’t it?”

“…I suppose so.”

We exchanged compliments while gazing lovingly at each other, then amicably shared information about what had happened to each of us…

“I know I shouldn’t say this to someone who fought against a high-rank demon, but… protecting people really is difficult.”

“…That’s right. It must have been hard.”

Through this conversation, I realized that she too had struggled considerably during this incident.

From what I heard, while the surface area where Sophia was stationed had been attacked by succubi, and she managed to fend them off successfully, stopping a demon army of “Lust” is never an easy task.

While individual combat power of succubi in a demon army certainly exists, what makes them particularly nasty opponents in group battles is their dirty tactics.

The basic tactics of succubi involve charm and illusion. They charm and dominate those with weak mental fortitude to reduce enemies and increase allies, while using illusions to deploy various deceptive operations that intensify confusion on the battlefield.

Just hearing about it makes one think it sounds dirty and irritating, and experiencing it firsthand is indeed frustratingly unpleasant in most cases.

Even with just a low-rank succubus’s charm, if you haven’t properly learned mana control techniques, you must rely purely on mental strength to resist. The problem is that you’re immediately done for the moment you feel even the slightest sexual desire toward the target.

Naturally, mid-rank succubi’s charm abilities are even more powerful, so even if you try to deflect them through mana control, low-rank techniques often lack sufficient output to be effective.

Even those with heroic mental fortitude can be dominated against their will when mid-rank or higher succubi are determined to charm them, so no further explanation should be necessary.

What’s particularly worst is that the power of charm possessed by succubi isn’t simply operated by magic alone.

The moment one feels sexual attraction, that slight lust is insanely amplified until reason is paralyzed. Then, with the mental barrier weakened by this paralyzed reason, charm magic is cast to brainwash and dominate the target in one fell swoop.

If they simply used magical force to charm targets directly, that would be one thing, but this method that actively utilizes voluntary participation can remain effective even after the brainwashing is undone.

As a result, for Sophia who had to fight while protecting the villagers, this situation was inevitably quite troublesome.

“Listen to this. People who were told to stay inside their homes came out in a trance!”

“…You really must have struggled.”

Sophia had formed a barrier around the entire village based on druidic magic centered on celestial magic, and together with the animal friends I had sent, she confronted the approaching succubi.

Of course, Sophia is also a powerful high-rank magic user with strength and skill sufficient to be called a strategic weapon.

With two animal companions whose individual strength was not to be underestimated, dealing with succubi who only had numerical advantage was no problem at all.

Rather, for Sophia, controlling the villagers who exhibited erratic behavior was more troublesome than blocking the succubi.

The magic of charm exists in a realm where it cannot be blocked merely by having the will to resist it. There are many cases where one’s instinctive aspects are forcibly dominated and moved regardless of one’s will or mental state.

Especially in this case, these were people who had received no special training and had lived austere lives in the countryside, far removed from entertainment culture, yet they encountered succubi.

The influence of charm ability, already considered difficult to resist, was truly powerful, and as a result, the villagers instantly lost their reason and went wild trying to leave the safety of the barrier.

Considering that defensive barriers deployed in such situations typically maximize one-directional (usually outside to inside) protection to optimize defense, this was clearly an emergency situation where hundreds of villagers could have become food for the succubi.

“Original Art… thanks to him, many people were saved.”

“He may be a bit snarky usually, but he always delivers when it counts.”

Fortunately for Sophia, she had Original Art by her side, who could summon doppelgangers with a single gesture.

The ability to create doppelgangers with power close to mid-rank… apprentice level by plucking and scattering his fur was more than sufficient to temporarily restrain hundreds of villagers, and Minerva’s area-of-effect restraint magic added to this.

Area-of-effect restraint magic cast by a mid-rank magic user. The performance of the magic that grows and binds with vines greatly contributed to restraining hundreds of villagers without injuring them.

And now, at this point after somehow managing to subdue everyone while holding them back…

“…So, what will you do with the villagers?”

“…That’s what I’m worried about.”

As we spent time completely eradicating the demonic influence that had taken root in the village, we now began to contemplate what to do with the villagers.

In truth, I had no intention of blaming or criticizing these people simply for being charmed by succubi.

Even soldiers with strong bodies and minds who have trained for years sometimes fall to momentary delusion and temptation, becoming faithful dogs of succubi. I take the position that it’s perfectly understandable for ordinary people to be unable to resist such magical temptation.

To put it bluntly, this magical charm is closer to mind control implemented by implanting emotions similar to sexual attraction in the target, rather than being in the realm of sexual attraction itself.

But… the problem isn’t about responsibility for being charmed.

What seeps into the minds of people who have been charmed like this is commonly called corruption or torment, and honestly speaking, from the standpoint of opposing cultists, this cannot be left alone.

Humans who have experienced the influence of outer gods and demons rarely escape from their temptation and influence.

It’s no wonder that radical inquisitors desperately try to kill even those who have merely approached demon worshippers, or try to hide their very existence from the public.

“…Sigh, so this is the only way after all.”

“Yes. We have no choice.”

After being lost in contemplation for a long time, Sophia and I finally reached the same conclusion.

Though somewhat extreme, we decided to completely erase the memories of the villagers.