Vol.7 Ch.404 Elizabeth’s Curse’s Last Stand

“Get out,” Elizabeth whispered, her voice trembling with fury and fear.

“Not until I know how you and your children were cursed,” Rya’s voice was calm, almost gentle, but it carried a weight of authority that brooked no argument. “Let me help you, Elizabeth.”

“Help!?” The word was a shriek, a raw, guttural sound of pure terror. “You want to help!? You’ve already done enough! You’ve poisoned their minds! You’ve twisted them into… into this! And now you want to ‘help’ me too!?” She was on her feet again, her chair scraping harshly against the floorboards, her hands balled into fists. “My family line has always fought the tyranny of the demons! Over a thousand years ago, House Halewood of the kingdom of Rhyveran were the first to help the High Elves fight the Ashenhorn, succubi, incubi, imps and humans that sided with the demons! Are reward was a blessing to help us fight temptation so that we wouldn’t fall to such evil. But you! You’re a demon! And you’ve come to corrupt my family! I will not let you turn me into one of your puppets!”

Rya’s eyebrow shot up when she heard the High Elves once again. It seemed that every tragedy that started on this continent always had something to do with the High Elves. But she didn’t have time to think about that now as she needed to get Elizabeth to see reason.

‘The High Elves… I shouldn’t be surprised. But I wonder how true this story is. Maybe Elizabeth isn’t as paranoid as I thought. It’s clear that she has some kind of curse that’s been affecting her family line for generations. However, it seems that the high elves must have tricked them or something. Or maybe it was a deal for something else? I don’t know. But I have to find out,’ Rya thought, her mind racing.

Tayna shot to her feet, her hand instinctively going to the dagger hidden in her skirts. “My Lady! You will not speak to the Princess in such a manner!” she said, her voice a low, dangerous growl.

“Don’t you start with me you traitorous tramp!” Elizabeth snapped, her voice a venomous hiss. “You’re just like them! You’ve been seduced by her lies and promises! I should have known that you would betray our family!”

“Elizabeth? What’s wrong with you? You need to calm down. This is a great day,” Johnathan said as he tried to calm his wife down.

“Calm down!? My son is a demon’s puppet, my daughter is a whore, and my best friend is a… a… I don’t even know what she is anymore! And you want me to calm down!?” Elizabeth shrieked, her voice cracking with hysteria.

Rya stood up and walked towards the Baroness, her movements slow and deliberate.

“What are you doing!? St-Stay away! I’m warning you!” Elizabeth stammered, her eyes wide with terror.

“Elizabeth, I’m not going to hurt you. I just want to help you. Let me show you what’s been done to you and your family line,” Rya said, her voice a low, reassuring purr.

Elizabeth’s eyes darted around the room, looking for a way to escape. She was like a cornered animal, her back against the wall, her teeth bared in a snarl of pure, unadulterated fear.

‘I was wrong! I couldn’t save my family or friend to this demon! I have to escape and warn the Independent Kingdoms in the north! Yes! They will know what to do! They must have a way to counter this demon’s influence!’

Elizabeth’s eyes darted to the door, her mind calculating the distance, the steps needed to escape. She knew it was a long shot, but it was the only shot she had. She took a deep breath, her heart pounding in her chest like a drum, and then she… couldn’t move. ‘M-My legs won’t move!’

It wasn’t fear that prevented Elizabeth from running. No it was something else, like an invisible force wrapped itself around her arms and legs to hold her in place. She looked down and saw her shadow, which was a darkened silhouette of her panicked form, was tethered to the floor by more shadows that stretched out from under her daughter’s dress.

“Mother! Please! Don’t make this harder than it has to be!” Amelia pleaded, her voice a mix of desperation and determination.

Elizabeth looked at her daughter, her eyes wide with a mixture of shock and betrayal. “Wh-What is going on!? I can’t move! Am-Amelia! What power has this witch given you!? RELEASE ME!?” Elizabeth’s voice was a desperate cry, filled with a raw, primal terror.

“I’m sorry, Mother. But you need to listen to us. You’re not well. Rya just wants to help you,” Amelia said, her voice a low, soothing murmur. She was trying to keep her mother calm, but the fear in her mother’s eyes was making it hard for her to concentrate.

Rianna, Tayna, Johnathan, and Johan were confused about what was going on. Rya noticed this and decided to clear things up.

“Well, I forgot to mention this, but Amelia is an Elite-level Mage as well. She has a rare affinity that I didn’t know existed. She’s a Shadow Mage,” Rya explained, her voice a calm, steady purr.

Rianna, Tayna, and Johan were all impressed with Amelia’s rare gift, and gave her an approving nod. Tayna saw Amelia’s shadows stretching, expanding and coiling around her mother with a fluid grace that was both beautiful and terrifying.

Johnathan’s eyes widened in surprise. “A Shadow Mage!? By the goddesses! I’ve never heard of such a thing! Are you sure, Princess Rya?” he asked, his voice a little shaky.

Rya nodded, a small, knowing smirk playing on her lips. “I’m sure, Baron. Look at the shadows around Elizabeth. They’re not moving on their own. They’re being controlled by Amelia.”

Johnathan looked down at the shadows on the floor, his mind struggling to comprehend what he was seeing. He had heard stories of mages who could control the elements, but he had never heard of a mage who could control shadows.

“My Amelia is a… mage!? How is this becoming the greatest day of my—”

“My goddess! What kind of sick joke is this, Johnathan!? Pull your head out of this demon’s behind! She’s turned my children into… into monsters!” Elizabeth’s voice was a high-pitched shriek that made the hair on everyone’s arms stand on end.

Rya walked over to the frozen Baroness, her steps slow and deliberate.

“M-My resolve is strong! I am a Halewood! A woman that is immune to the demonic charms of succubi, incubi, and the likes of you! You won’t corrupt me! You will not break me!” Elizabeth’s voice a mix of desperation and defiance. She closed her eyes and started to chant in an ancient tongue, “Shae al’morae, vae noctis, umbrae sancti, lumen veri, protege nos a malo…”

Rya shook her head and sighed. She could understand ever word the Baroness said and if it wasn’t for the gift she received from Nils, the Universal Tongue that let her hear, read, and write in every language known to the universe she would have had question marks over her head. Because Elizabeth just spoke a bit Latin, Rya would have thought it was strange to have a dead Earth language was used here on Tertius.

‘Hahh… Praying to a different god? Who the hell is Shae al’morae? You know what? It doesn’t matter. This is Iyomelka’s turf. And she doesn’t take too kindly to other gods trying to influence us mortals here on Tertius,’ Rya thought as she remembered what Iyomelka told her a few months ago. The goddess of balance was quite adamant about keeping the other gods from gaining a foothold in her domain, especially after what the two idiots goddesses did, effectively creating a New Divine Three of Fiafyr.

The dark elf continued her approach, her hand outstretched. “Elizabeth, I don’t want to hurt you. I just want to show you the truth. The truth about your family, about your past, and about your future,” Rya said, her voice a low, melodic hum.

Elizabeth continued her chant, her eyes squeezed shut. It was a chant not to a god, but something else. When her ancestors were tricked into helping the High Elves and were given their “blessing” it had a trigger phrase that would send a message. It was a beacon that is intertwined with the curse. Elizabeth didn’t know that she would bring unwanted attention to the Agon Continent, once again.

“Stay still,” Rya said as she pulled out her Seer Stone with her left hand and outstretched her right arm towards Elizabeth. Rya needed to make physical contact with the Baroness to get rid of the curse.

“D-Don’t touch me! Or… Or I’ll—Uh?” Elizabeth was cut off as her body froze in place.

Amelia’s shadow tendrils moved with a sinuous grace, weaving themselves around Elizabeth’s shadow. The inky darkness coiled, tightening just enough to restrain without causing harm.

“My goddess! My own daughter is holding me captive for that… that demon! Have you all lost your minds!?” Elizabeth shrieked, her voice a raw, panicked cry.

“Relax, mother. From what I remember. It was very… Pleasant,” Amelia said, her voice a low, reassuring purr.

Johnathan, Johan, and Tayna watched in awe as Amelia’s shadow magic restrained her mother, the tendrils moving with a fluid grace that was both beautiful and terrifying.

Rya stepped forward, her hand outstretched. The Seer Stone in her fingers pulsed with a soft, ethereal light as she channeled her Mana into it. She looked through it and saw the very same brown particles floating around her mana vein, which wasn’t as bright as a Common-level vein.

‘Alright, you little annoying curse. Time to send you back to the abyss,’ Rya thought as she placed her right hand on Elizabeth’s forehead.

Elizabeth’s body went rigid, her eyes widening in terror. “GET AWAY FROM ME, DEMON! YOU WILL NOT HAVE MY SOUL!” she screamed, her voice cracking with hysteria.

The moment Rya’s hand touched her skin, her healing magic flowed pleasantly through Elizabeth’s body. It was like a warm, gentle breeze that washed over her, soothing her fears and calming her mind. She tried to resist, to fight against the magic that was flooding her senses, but it was too powerful, too overwhelming. She felt a strange warmth spreading through her veins, a tingling sensation that started at her forehead and slowly made its way down to her toes, making her gasp.

‘D-Don’t moan! I need to stay strong! This is the demon’s charm! It’s trying to corrupt me! Resist! I must resist! But… Mmm… Oh! It… It feels… Good…’ Elizabeth’s mind was at war with itself, her body betraying her will.

“Mother, it’s okay. Just let it happen,” Amelia said, her voice a low, soothing murmur.

Rya watched as the brown particles slowly started to vanish one by one. The curse was dissolving under the weight of her magic, its hold on Elizabeth’s mana vein weakening with each passing second, and her Vein was slowly starting to glow a dark green color.

‘Hm? Looks like Elizabeth is has a Grandmaster Mana Vein… But her Mage Veins are still dark. Let’s see what she has,’ Rya thought as she continued to remove the stubborn curse from Elizabeth’s body. The curse was more stubborn than Amelia’s or Johan’s, and Rya had to use more of her mana to break it.

‘More! I need more! This feels… NO! No! I won’t give is to the corrupt powers of temptatio—Ooh! I-I-I haven’t felt this good in years!’ Elizabeth’s mind reeled from the intense pleasure that was coursing through her. She tried to fight it, but it was no use. Her body was responding to the magic in ways she never thought possible. And when half the curse was removed, Mana began flowing into her dormant Mage Veins, Core Veins, and Heritage Veins.

The crow’s feet around her eyes smoothed out. The faint lines on her forehead vanished. Her skin, once weathered by years of worry and paranoia, took on a luminous quality, as if someone had lit a candle from within. A few grey hairs at her temples darkened back to their original chestnut brown. Her eyes, once clouded with fear and suspicion, now shone with a vibrant, emerald green, a deep, captivating color that seemed to pull in the light.

Her bosoms, which sagged from the years of carrying children and the natural process of aging, firmed up and swelled, pressing against the confines of her conservative dress, the fabric straining against the sudden, generous expansion. Her waist cinched inward, her hips flaring out in a soft, seductive curve that seemed to defy the laws of nature.

“What in the goddess’ names is…” Johnathan’s voice was a hushed whisper, his eyes wide with a mixture of shock and awe.

Elizabeth wasn’t experiencing Mana Lust like what happened to both her children, but she had enough mana from killing a few monsters in her childhood that kick-started her succubi’s Heritage Vein that wrapped around her Mana Vein. It gave all the women in the Halewood lineage a natural allure and charisma that could make even the most devout of men question their vows. It was surprised in the family line thanks to the curse, and now after millennia of being dormant, it was finally awakened in her and her daughter.

‘Oh, my goddess… What’s happening to me?’ Elizabeth’s mind was a whirlwind of confusion and panic as the changes continued to ripple through her body. She looked down at her hands, which now seemed softer, more delicate, the skin smooth and unblemished. She felt a strange energy coursing through her, a power that she had never known before. It was her mana being released for the first time in her life. She mistook it as a corrupting force, a demonic energy that was twisting her into something she didn’t recognize.

‘I-I may have lost my body! B-But my mind is—agh!’ Elizabeth felt a wave of pleasure wash over her that was so intense, it was almost painful. She bit her lower lip, trying to stifle a moan that threatened to escape her lips. But it was no use. A low, guttural moan escaped her, a sound that was a mixture of pleasure and pain, of surrender and defiance. Her body arched, her back bowing as the pleasure built to a fever pitch, her senses reeling from the sheer intensity of it all. And a part of her was curious about what else could she do with this newfound power.

‘Stop! Resist! Don’t give in to the temptations!’ she thought, her mind a battlefield of conflicting emotions. ‘This is… this is wrong! This is what the demons do! They tempt you with pleasure and power, and then they take your soul! I must resist! I must fight! But…’ Elizabeth glanced over at her husband and noticed the bulge in his trousers. It was always something that she enjoyed about him even though she looked down on his lustful nature from time to time. But the way he looked at her… like he was seeing her for the first time… it was… intoxicating. She didn’t know that her succubi heritage was challenging her beliefs that were imposed on her since she was a child. Women had to be proper, they had to be modest, they had to be pure. They couldn’t be the ones to demand pleasure. She recalled the time when she was fourteen years old and asked her mother about having these curious thoughts about going down on a boy she thought was cute. Her mother slapped her so hard that her ears rang for a week. Then she was locked in her room for a month. And from that day on, she suppressed any and all thoughts that might be considered “improper” or “unladylike”. She became the perfect noblewoman, the perfect wife, the perfect mother. But the price she paid was a part of herself, a part of her that she had buried deep within her, a part that was now clawing its way to the surface, demanding to be set free. Demanding to take a closer look at her man’s lower region. Only for a second. Just to see how he was feeling. Or maybe she should give him a “reward” for not leaving her like a coward.

The dark elf let out a sigh as the last of the curse dissipated into nothingness. Rya was finally able to see what was left of Elizabeth’s mana veins. And just as she suspected, Elizabeth had two Mage Veins. One was a Illusion Vein and the other was the Shadow Vein. The only difference was Johan’s Illusion Vein was pulsating, which meant his illusions felt tangible. Elizabeth’s would be nothing more than mirages or holograms. And her Shadow Vein was not as big as Amelia’s. Rya had a feeling that Amelia’s potential would be far more dangerous than her mother’s if she kept practicing. But Elizabeth’s Mana Vein wasn’t as bright as her daughter or son’s, it was only a Grandmaster Mana Vein and it was not developed enough for casting spells or Maja skills.

‘Interesting, she a Multi-Mage, but it’s non-elemental magic. Elizabeth looks like she could be a big pain in the ass if she decides to slay a few more monsters or some bandits. But I don’t want to push it. She’s already weary of me and I did heal her by force. Ugh! Did I just fuck myself over? Dammit! I can’t help it! When I see those fucking particles I have get rid of them! It’s like gnats that keep buzzing by my eyes in the summer! Fucking annoying!’ Rya thought as she pulled her hand back from Elizabeth’s forehead, and Amelia’s shadow tendrils released their hold on her mother, who immediately slumped back against the wall. The Baroness’s breath came in ragged gasps, her chest heaving with the effort of drawing air into her lungs.

She didn’t scream. She didn’t cry. She just sat there on the floor, her eyes wide with a mixture of fear and disbelief, her mind struggling to comprehend the impossible transformation that had just taken place. She had to fight her eyes from glancing down at her new bust size or her husband’s bulge. But it was getting harder and harder to ignore.

Johnathan, on the other hand, couldn’t take his eyes off his wife. He had always loved her, but now… now she was a goddess. A living, breathing goddess who had somehow been reborn, transformed into a vision of beauty and desire that made his heart pound in his chest.

‘How can this day get any better? My son is a powerful mage! My daughter is a powerful mage as well! And now my wife… my beautiful, amazing wife is… a goddess!’ he thought, his mind racing with the possibilities.

He looked at Rya, his eyes filled with a mixture of gratitude and awe. “Princess Rya… I… I don’t know what to say… Thank you… Thank you for… for everything,” he stammered, his voice a choked whisper.