Is It Strange For A Succubus To Be Wearing Clothes?

Chapter 57

—–CROW—– 

The old king of Transvia seemed to carry the weight of the world on his shoulders.  His skin was rough and deeply wrinkled, like the bark of a withered tree, etched with the passage of time.  His long white hair, tinged with gold at the ends, spoke of long years of war and weariness.  His eyes, though heavy with fatigue and sorrow, still held the sharp glint of a seasoned warrior.  The youthful spark was gone, but deep within, a flicker of pride and kingly responsibility remained.

Though his body was frail, his shoulders and arms still held remnants of powerful muscles, now sagging with age.  His royal robes, though ornate, were worn and faded.  The gold embroidery and jeweled mantle, tattered and frayed, were the last vestiges of a once-glorious kingdom.  He gripped a spiral spear, his hand trembling but firm, calloused and scarred from years of battle.

He was old and weary, a reflection of his declining kingdom, yet his eyes held a spark of defiance.  He stood tall, his posture radiating a king’s final, desperate stand.

A question arose in Jae-hee’s mind.

*‘Why do you not kneel?’*

He resisted her charm.  This frail, old king.  And for some reason, it reminded her of Mikkelsen, the older man who, despite his age, still appealed to her tastes.

No, what was she thinking?  This old king, a mere ruler of plunderers, couldn’t compare to Mikkelsen.

“Am I not beautiful?” she asked.

“You are beautiful,” the king admitted. “The most beautiful creature I have ever seen, though you are not of our kind. But what of it?”

“Shouldn’t you kneel before such beauty, and lick my toes?”

“A tempting offer,” the king said, drawing his spiral spear.  “But I refuse.”

“No pleas for mercy?  No desperate excuses?  I’m feeling generous.  I might even listen to your begging.”  She added, though she wouldn’t actually grant him mercy.

“Plunder is our way of life. If we are plundered by you, it is only because you are stronger.”

“Those who worship the law of the jungle usually whine and grovel when it’s their turn to be prey.  But not you.”  Jae-hee smiled, a hint of mockery in her eyes.  This plunderer, speaking of pride?

The king glared at her, a spark of defiance in his eyes.

“You know this is futile, don’t you?” Jae-hee said, her words heavy with implication.  *Your struggle, your kingdom… it’s all futile.*

“Perhaps,” the king conceded.  He looked exhausted, likely from personally firing the mana cannons at her approaching procession.  Yet, he held his spear firm, his blood-stained hand gripping the shaft, his frail body trembling, but his eyes burning with the fire of a young warrior.

“Even if the outcome is predetermined, even if the tide is against me, I will fight.”

He was once a young, ambitious warrior, roaming the plains, claiming the forests and seas as his own, dreaming of a legacy for his children and descendants.

Jae-hee found it pathetic, laughable.  *A mere plunderer.*

Yet, she couldn’t dismiss him entirely.  There was a flicker of genuine pride in his eyes.  It was ridiculous, coming from a plunderer, but she couldn’t ignore it.

In that moment, this old king was the most beautiful thing she had seen in this world.

“Very well. I’ll indulge you.”

The procession stopped. The enchanting music of the Ego Violin ceased.  The enthralled audience, still bleeding from their eyes, stood motionless, their gaze fixed on Jae-hee and the king.

“Haa!”  The old king charged, his speed surprising for his age.

Jae-hee sidestepped the attack with ease, then flicked her finger.

—*Thud!*

“…”  An invisible blade pierced the king’s side.

He didn’t flinch, continuing his assault, his spiral spear whistling through the air.  Jae-hee dodged again, and again, moving gracefully, like a dancer, her movements almost mockingly polite.  But the king knew it was a deceptive dance, a subtle humiliation.

He fought with desperation, while she remained utterly composed.

One step, two steps, a twirl.  With every movement, every graceful dodge, another invisible blade found its mark.

*‘Slow and weak.  You might have been a formidable opponent in your youth, but now… you’re nothing.’*

The king’s breath grew ragged, but he didn’t stop.  It was laughable, this plunderer’s talk of unyielding pride.

The dance continued.  Blades pierced his flesh, Jae-hee’s deliberate slowness a blatant display of her superiority.

Then, growing bored, she kicked him hard in the knee.

“Ugh…!”  For the first time, the king gasped, his teeth gritted against the pain.  Jae-hee’s body, now infused with the life force of countless humanoids, was like a furnace, her flesh burning hot and resilient.  The king’s knee, struck by that searing heat, cried out in agony.

“I told you.  It’s pointless.”  This wasn’t a matter of strength.  It was a difference in their very being.

“…Perhaps,” the king agreed, acknowledging the undeniable truth.  He, too, was once a young and ambitious warrior.  He probably knew from the moment their eyes met, perhaps even from the first thrust of his spear, that this battle was lost.

“Your name?” Jae-hee asked for the first time, her words a command.  *Succumb to my charm.  Offer your body and soul, and die.  That’s a fitting end for a plunderer, isn’t it?*

Her demeanor remained utterly composed, her confidence absolute, a subtle arrogance radiating from her.  She had every right to be arrogant.  No, not arrogance.  It wasn’t arrogance if it was justified.  It was simply the natural order of things.

“…”  The king didn’t answer.  Instead, he smiled, the same defiant smile, and lunged, thrusting his spear with renewed force.

—*Crack!*

“…Oh my.”

In that instant, a moment that defied the laws of physics, the king’s weakened, aged blow, slower and less powerful than it would have been in his youth, struck true.  It was a blow that no one in Transvia, enthralled by her beauty, would have dared to attempt.  He had done what no one else could.

“…Ha… ha…”  The fabric of Jae-hee’s suit ripped at the shoulder.  Her flesh was unharmed.  The immense life force within her had deflected the blow.

“Even if it’s meaningless… it doesn’t matter.  Even if there are many things we cannot do, there are also many things we *can*…”

“…”  But the torn fabric remained, a testament to the old king’s defiance.  The frail, aged king, reliant on magic and weapons, had struck the black-winged demon.  No one else saw it, but Jae-hee did.

“Unexpected.”

For the first time in this world, Jae-hee laughed.  A genuine laugh, not the mocking smiles of the Succubus Empress.

She had come to Transvia to destroy it.  To punish these humanoids who dared to invade Earth, to plunder without considering the consequences.  She had planned to unleash her full power, to indulge in her desires, to turn this entire world into a symphony of ruin and despair.

“Did you… reach me?” the king asked, his eyes melting.  He had come too close, and the immense life force Jae-hee had absorbed radiated outwards, burning his flesh.  He probably didn’t even realize that his spear had only torn her suit, not her skin.  Yet, even as his body dissolved, his spirit remained unbroken, uncharmed.  To the very end, even as his eyes melted, he didn’t succumb to her.

“How frustrating.”

Ah, this annoyance… it reminded her of Mikkelsen.  He, too, would have succumbed to her charm eventually, but his initial resistance, his stubborn refusal to yield, was both irritating and… intriguing.  Disgusting, pathetic, yet… admirable.  A beautiful, enchanting image.

“Yes.  You reached me.”  He had changed her mind.

“One last question.  Your name?”  A genuine question, not a deceptive ploy.  For the first time, Jae-hee, who had been relentlessly marching forward, paused, and asked, her curiosity piqued.

But the old king, using the last of his strength, cried out, “…I have no name to give you!  The name of an insignificant being is meaningless!  Remember me only as the King!  The last king of this land, who defied you!”

“Very well.  Your Majesty.”

—*Thud!*

The king fell to his knees, his posture strangely dignified.

“Oh, heavens! I was here. I, who lived a life of plunder, of struggle, of desperation and shame, I was here.  So remember me. Remember that I was here, in this place where I swore to conquer all, and lost everything…!”  His voice, strong and clear, echoed with the fire of his youth.

“Oh, heavens, grant me a drink!  A full cup, just one.  Let me wet my throat on this day of my demise…  A beautiful sight is before me, and all I need is a drink to make it perfect. I once dreamed of plundering even the stars and offering them to this world, but a beauty greater than the stars has blinded me…”

Only then did Jae-hee understand why he hadn’t succumbed to her charm.  He was already enamored, not with her, but with the world he sought to conquer, the world he sought to plunder.  He had defied her, driven by the absurd dream of conquering even *her*, of claiming the world as his own.

To plunder the world… such a grand ambition.  This world truly bred some fascinatingly delusional creatures.  Ahahaha!

*‘So, am I to believe that I, Lee Jae-hee, am less beautiful than this… this world?  This non-sentient entity?’*

Hah…

Hahaha!  Very well!

She would remember him.

The king’s breath stilled.  He died on his knees, his spiral spear still clutched in his hand.  With a wave of Jae-hee’s hand, his frail body dissolved, crumbling into dust, joining the crimson tide flowing across the floor.

*‘Now, whether you remain as dust, or meet another fate, I do not know.  Perhaps this world you so adore will grant you salvation.’*  She spoke, knowing he couldn’t hear her.

“You changed my mind.”  Not because his defiance had any meaning.  She was simply bored.

“Even if the ending is predetermined, your struggle wasn’t entirely meaningless.”

Ah, Dan Unnie must be waiting impatiently.

“Alright.  Let’s go back.”

It wasn’t that she was impressed by this plunderer king.  It was simply time to go.

After all, they wouldn’t be invading or plundering Earth anymore.

Jae-hee stood before the king’s throne, a moment of silence for the defiant old king who had briefly amused her.  Her gaze swept over the opulent palace, the gold and jewels a testament to the kingdom’s plundered wealth.

*‘Glory built on stolen goods.’*

Now it was her turn to plunder.

—*Snap!*

She smiled, snapping her fingers.  A massive surge of life force, the life force she had absorbed from the humanoids, erupted from her in a fiery explosion.

All the life she had taken here… let it burn.

The small flame that sparked from her fingertips spread rapidly, engulfing the palace.  It started small, creeping up the pillars, then exploded into a raging inferno.  The ornate tapestries melted, the carved woodwork blackened and crumbled.  The grand chandelier, the centerpiece of the palace, crashed to the floor, shattering amidst the burning debris.  Portraits of past kings and queens, engulfed in flames, turned to ash, the kingdom’s history erased in an instant.

The fire reflected in the large windows behind the throne, bathing the palace in a hellish red glow.  As the flames consumed everything, Jae-hee walked calmly through the inferno, a serene smile on her face.

She looked up at the burning ceiling, raising a hand.  The words of the humanoids, their primal cries from a time when they roamed the plains, echoed in her mind.

*Burn and plunder all.*

“Burn and plunder all~”

Standing in the heart of the burning palace, Jae-hee slowly lowered her hand.  The flames intensified, their heat threatening to tear the very walls and pillars apart.  The ceiling collapsed above her, but she walked calmly through the debris, untouched.

The remnants of the kingdom, whatever glory it might have once held, vanished in the flames.  Thick smoke billowed into the sky, carrying the last vestiges of the palace with it.

Jae-hee stepped outside, taking one last look at the burning palace.  There was no regret in her eyes.  Instead, she smiled, as if she had discovered a new form of beauty in the destruction.

As she turned her back, the palace crumbled completely, leaving only smoldering ruins.

—*Play! Play!*

—*We must finish!*

—*We must finish!*

The Ego Violin, satisfied with its performance, clung to her, chattering excitedly.

Yes, indeed.

It was time for the final act.

“Ja, wer auch nur eine Seele

Yes, whoever on this Earth

Sein nennt auf dem Erdenrund!

Can call even one soul their own!”

Leaving behind the silent puppets, the instruments, the humanoids, the extinguished lives, she waved her hand.

The music, the performance, the procession… it was over.

To any survivors… you are free.

“Und wer’s nie gekonnt, der stehle

And whoever cannot, let them steal away

Weinend sich aus diesem Bund!

Weeping from this union!

Flügel schlagend, verflucht vom Fluch~

Flapping their wings, cursed by the curse~”

—–CROW—– 

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