Episode 658. Final Battle (3)

A succubus’s special ability is Charm.

Charm is stronger the more opposite the gender, but that’s not the case in every situation.

The most important factors are the target’s affinity and the succubus’s power.

The higher the affinity or the stronger the succubus, the more intense the Charm becomes.

Among them, a Succubus Queen needs no further explanation.

Her Charm cannot be easily avoided, even by a superior opponent.

“Ugh, ugh….”

It was the same for Liliana, whose mana had returned.

She tried to move her stiff body somehow, but her body wouldn’t obey her will.

The least she could do was roll her eyes to survey her surroundings.

‘This is… a succubus’s Charm.’

As a fellow succubus, she could tell.

To cast such a powerful Charm, high affinity and strong mana were necessary.

Naturally, only one person met all those conditions.

Thump. Thump.

She tried to turn her head towards the footsteps coming from behind, but her body wouldn’t move.

“Just getting close is enough to make the Charm falter… As expected, I can’t let my guard down now that my mana has returned, Liliana.”

A voice too familiar pierced Liliana’s ears, and soon, a succubus who had approached from behind appeared before her.

“You have no idea how hard it was to sneak up on you while that man was beside you.”

Isabella, wearing a faint smile, approached Liliana.

The red Hell Mana Orb she held in her arms.

Thanks to this item, she could find Liliana quickly.

“I don’t know why you have this, but… it helped me find you.”

“…Mom?”

Liliana’s eyes widened as she looked at the succubus before her.

It wasn’t even an issue that Lee Hoyeon had taken the mana orb he picked up somewhere.

She knew because she had lived right beside her for decades.

The succubus before her was her mother.

However, everything except her face exuded a sense of otherness.

Goat-like horns protruding above her ears and a long tail wrapped around her waist.

A seductive figure that exuded pheromones capable of tempting living beings just by standing still.

Everything was different from the mother she knew.

“Mom…? Mom. You’re Mom, right? Our mom who works at the goblin noodle shop. You are…”

“I’m sorry for making you wait, Liliana.”

The Succubus Queen, Isabella, looked at her daughter.

Seeing her innocent eyes and dazed expression, she couldn’t help but smile.

Isabella slowly placed her hand on Liliana’s cheek.

She liked this pure side of Liliana.

Perhaps her own preferences had influenced Liliana’s personality.

The forbidden technique passed down among succubi, the ‘Geumje’, was such a magic.

“Mom…?”

Her eyes darting nervously and her eyelids trembling.

Seeing her face, which looked like it would burst into tears any moment, Isabella’s heart also trembled.

She was so afraid of this moment, having to tell her daughter the truth.

“…I wish you had never known.”

In truth, she had hoped this day would never come.

If she had married a decent man and lived a quiet life, this day wouldn’t have come.

No, even if she couldn’t find a partner, it would have been fine.

Because Isabella had intended to keep Liliana with her for her entire life.

“I’m sorry, Liliana. It might hurt a little.”

She wanted to sit down with her and explain everything slowly, but there was no time.

Soon, the Earth would be conquered by the Demon King.

Before that, they had to escape the Demon King’s gaze.

Isabella slowly infused mana into Liliana’s head.

“Mom…? Ah, Aah….”

“Bear with it just a little longer. You’ll understand everything, Liliana.”

A powerful forbidden technique containing most of the Succubus Queen’s mana.

Isabella broke her own forbidden technique.

Immediately, a creepy sensation, like bugs crawling inside her head, washed over Liliana.

But before she could even feel that discomfort, locked memories flooded into Liliana’s mind.

---

Hell also has order, laws, and morals.

It’s just that violence reigns supreme over all of them.

The strong can disregard laws and morals against the weak.

But above the strong, there are the stronger, and above them, even stronger beings.

The Demon King and the demons who exist at the very top of Hell.

Everyone else lives cautiously, mindful of those stronger than themselves.

Hell has somehow existed precariously in this manner.

The reason such a world hasn’t collapsed is singular.

It was because of the Demon King and the power of the Demon King’s Castle.

The power of the Demon King’s Castle, granted to whoever becomes the Demon King, holds the ability to control all life in Hell.

Therefore, the Demon King was the law and the norm of Hell.

Unavoidable commands eliminated pointless conflicts, and the beings of Hell had adapted to such a life over a long period.

It was one succubus who created ripples in a calm lake.

“Gah… H-how is this possible? Calliope. How are you using mana in this place…?”

One of the Demon King’s many children.

Gehenna, the Witch of Fire.

She trembled violently as she looked at the succubus before her.

Liliana Calliope, the strongest succubus in Hell.

She was well aware of her strength.

She had seen that figure sitting atop countless bones and corpses, looking down, several times, so she wasn’t afraid.

But, by what means was that succubus attacking her in a region where the Demon King had forbidden conflict?

Gehenna couldn’t comprehend the phenomenon.

“You talk too much for someone so weak. Just spouting nonsense. You’re worse than the Centaur brother I saved not long ago.”

“L-Liliana Calliope…! Could it be that Chiron went into hiding because of you?”

“Chiron? I don’t really know who that is. But since you called me by a pretty name, I’ll spare you too. I’m a benevolent succubus!”

As Liliana flicked her fingers, the skeletons surrounding Gehenna slowly retreated.

It looked as if she were bestowing mercy.

“M-mana used so freely… Lies….”

“What are you talking about? Anyway, the Demon King’s seat is mine, so give up. Starting today, Gehenna’s territory will be incorporated into Liliana Calliope’s territory.”

“You, you… The Demon King will not forgive you. Overcoming the Demon King’s Castle’s power… It’s impossible… The laws of Hell will be broken.”

Gehenna muttered to herself, staring blankly into space, but Liliana turned away with a smile, not listening to the loser’s words.

Soon, she would gain more territory than Lucifer.

She had become one step closer to becoming the Demon King.

News of Gehenna’s defeat spread through Hell in an instant.

Among them were demons who focused on the fact that Gehenna’s territory was a conflict-forbidden zone designated by the Demon King.

“Hey. Did you hear the news? They say a fight broke out in a region where the Demon King prohibited battles?”

“What? What kind of bullshit is that? You know something I haven’t heard?”

“Because not many demons saw it firsthand. Plus, the main character was Killer Queen.”

“Calliope, that succubus? I’ve heard she’s crazy, but surely not. Gehenna’s influence has been waning lately, so she probably walked right into it.”

A demon appeared who was unaffected by the Demon King’s Castle’s power.

The news spread among Hell’s nobles, but most didn’t even bother to verify the truth.

The Demon King’s authority is like gravity on Earth.

Just as it’s natural for humans not to fly off into space from Earth, the Demon King’s Castle’s power was a given in Hell.

“Such rumors about Liliana?”

“Yes. Of course, no demons believed it. It was just a fleeting piece of gossip.”

“…Understood. For now, don’t worry about it and head back.”

However, unlike others, the Succubus Queen Isabella couldn’t dismiss the rumor lightly.

She was the Demon King’s consort, and Liliana was his heir, carrying his blood.

She had to prevent malicious rumors from spreading about her daughter, who was competing with Lucifer for the Demon King position.

‘I need to check it myself.’

In fact, there was something bothering her.

Liliana had been peculiar since birth.

She was born with strong mana, unlike a typical succubus, and couldn’t easily accept others’ mana.

It had been incredibly difficult even to get her accustomed to touching her own mother’s mana.

Fortunately, verifying the rumors wasn’t difficult.

She could check it herself with her own eyes as a mother.

Isabella dismissed her subordinate and urgently summoned Liliana.

“Mom. What’s wrong all of a sudden? Calling me to your office?”

“Sit here for a moment, my daughter.”

“I’m busy right now, you know.”

Isabella grumbled but raised her mana as she watched Liliana sit down.

As the Demon King’s consort, Isabella had visited the Demon King’s Castle several times, and that heavy mana had deeply settled within her succubus body.

Isabella slowly infused mana into Liliana’s body.

The Demon King’s Castle’s power is absolute to the beings of Hell.

Even Liliana, with her high mana resistance, shouldn’t be able to refuse it.

“Ouch. It stings. Mom. What are you doing?”

“Ah….”

Fzzzt-

However, the Demon King’s Castle’s mana could not penetrate Liliana’s body, and her body reacted with rejection.

Isabella bit her lip without realizing it.

The thing she had dreaded had happened.

Liliana’s body does not accept the Demon King’s Castle’s mana.

“My beloved daughter, Liliana. Stop competing for the Demon King’s succession immediately.”

“What are you talking about? Mom. I’m about to catch up to Lucifer.”

“…You are not meant to be the Demon King.”

This phenomenon doesn’t simply mean defying the Demon King’s command.

Liliana’s body doesn’t overcome the Demon King’s Castle’s mana; it rejects it.

Like someone who is congenitally unable to eat certain foods, her body cannot absorb the Demon King’s Castle’s mana.

That means even if she becomes the Demon King, she cannot possess the Demon King’s Castle’s power.

The reason the Demon King is the ruler of Hell is because they possess the Demon King’s Castle’s power.

Even if she becomes the strongest demon in Hell, it means nothing if she cannot receive the Demon King’s Castle’s power.

The demons would not recognize Liliana as the Demon King, and Hell, without an absolute ruler, would be embroiled in endless war until another Demon King emerged.

And Liliana would stand at the center of it all.

Isabella did not want her daughter to suffer her entire life.

“The Demon King’s Castle’s power…?”

“Yes. Liliana, you were born with a body incapable of becoming the Demon King. I’m sorry, my daughter.”

Liliana, having heard Isabella’s explanation, looked down at her own hands.

Although she heard she couldn’t accept the Demon King’s Castle’s power, the Hell mana blooming like a flower in Liliana’s hand was still intense.

“Mom.”

“Liliana. Please…”

Isabella read the look in Liliana’s eyes.

It was the innocent expression she had seen since Liliana was young.

“Have you ever seen me give up on something I want? I will have the Demon King.”

The Demon King’s Castle’s power?

She could think about that after becoming the Demon King.

That’s what Liliana thought.

“Liliana….”

Isabella bowed her head deeply.

She didn’t want to go this far, but she had no choice.

Srrrk-

The mana leaking from Isabella’s body flowed into the magic circle drawn within the room.

She herself couldn’t subdue Liliana by force.

However, she could certainly use a forbidden technique that exploited an opening.

Because she was the Succubus Queen.

“…Mom?”

“I’m sorry, my daughter. But I know your personality well.”

If the worst-case scenario occurred.

She had anticipated that Liliana wouldn’t listen to her.

That’s why she had prepared the forbidden technique.

She hoped it would be unnecessary, but she had no choice.

Because this was the best way to protect Liliana.