The Noble Lady of Lust

Chapter 389: Nightmare Vision

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POV: Third Point of View

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"Damn!... why did you kill her? Do you really have the courage to do what you want? Did my acting carefree go to your head?"

Seeing Seraphina die with a twisted neck, the turquoise-skinned demon - until then with a relaxed attitude - immediately changed.

Noha left behind her carefree expression and adopted a grim and menacing look as she watched Mitrass, who had killed someone in whom he had taken an interest.

Noha did not like Mitrass’s actions at all.

"I-I’m sorry,Your Imperial Highness.. I know it was arbitrary, but I felt a bad feeling and thought it best to finish her off. Who knows if she was planning something."

Sensing Noha’s discontent and anger, Mitrass immediately knelt down and apologized sincerely, taking care of every gesture, hoping not to infuriate him.

But, even with that humble and fearful attitude, Mitrass’ identity was not simple. He was Mitrass Valcryn, heir to one of the four demonic kingdoms and leader of an extremely powerful faction in the middle world.

A big shot on that continent. And yet, he was acting in servitude.

That made it clear that Noha’s identity wasn’t simple either.

"She only had six metamorphoses! What could she do? Tsk... she had excellent shapeshifting skill, something even I couldn’t see through, even with the difference in rank. Tsk! I was going to make her my slave; what did it matter what she did? She could have taken on the appearance of those bitches and... shit!"

"...I really apologize, Your Imperial Highness. Something like this will never happen again."

"Tsk... Whatever. The mission my father entrusted me with is more important. If you weren’t a key part of his plan, you wouldn’t be breathing."

"I appreciate your leniency towards my actions, Your Imperial Highness."

Though his apology seemed calm and sincere, Mitrass clenched his fists. He never thought he would adopt such an attitude towards anyone.

He, who had always had unshakeable pride, was going through a humiliating situation. But he could not afford to offend Noha: neither he nor his kingdom could handle the consequences of doing so.

His pride was worthless in the face of absolute power.

"Tsk! You damned country bumpkin. Well, let’s get going. Let’s take that seedling. Tsk... it’s really too bad."

Noha took one last look at the corpse, which for some reason resembled Seraphina again, with a slight gesture of annoyance before heading towards the sprout.

Mitrass fell in behind without a word, and the human did the same, keeping silent so as not to get involved in the conflict between demons.

Noha examined the sprout and, after a brief moment, brought his hand to one of the rings on his fingers. From it emerged what looked like a large transparent egg.

"Oryx, do your thing."

"Yes."

Noha called out to the human named Oryx. The latter, understanding the command, reached out his hand towards the seedling. In the next instant, it disappeared along with a portion of soil, reappearing inside the transparent egg.

"Good. All clear, as always. Having space affinity of such high rank is a waste in a backwater like this. Even though you’re human, you’ll make a great subordinate. I expect great things from you, Oryx."

"Thank you very much for the compliment, Your Imperial Highness."

"What a clever human. You averted the tragedy that was coming.... With this we have all six. According to the mana density and the size of this continent, it should be all of them. Now, with our techniques, they will mature faster, and with my father taking over the treaty, it won’t be long now until-"

’Celeritas Radiata’, ’Forza Lucida Fulminis’.

Boom!

"What was that you said, you BASTARD!"

"Oryx, step back with Your Imper-!"

’Dominus Nox Mentis’, ’Reflexus Fulminis.’

As if a bucket of cold water invaded the place, a thick murderous intent spread, accompanied by a heavy voice, completely alien to the flirtatious woman of a moment ago.

’Aegis Luminis’, ’Vigor Lignorum’.

That shouldn’t be possible.

But there she was, as if out of a nightmare: standing with her head still turned in the opposite direction.

’Umbra Resilientia. ’

None of them understood how it was even possible. Without any warning, she launched a brutal blow aimed at Noha.

Luckily, Mitrass noticed it at the last instant and stepped in and warned. By then, though, Oryx had already escaped, reappearing on the opposite side next to Noha.

There they were able to observe the unreal scene more clearly: Seraphina still had her head back and was actually looking directly at both of them.

’Lignum Spes’, ’Obscura Lumen’, ’Lux Umbra’.

The atmosphere became heavy as fast as Seraphina’s attack. Murderous intent expanded, a pressure that shouldn’t come from someone with only six metamorphoses.

Art of Lust, Third Stance: Seductive Touch.

BOOM!

Receiving no response, Seraphina launched a second, heavier blow against Mitrass.

"Ugh! What is this power?"

The first hit, though blunt, had seemed acceptable to her: someone with six metamorphoses might possess some reinforcing ability.

The second was different. Heavier. His hands faltered and he felt the damage penetrate his defences as if his armour were completely useless, and he took a step back.

That level of power shouldn’t belong to someone of the sixth metamorphosis.

Still, Mitrass dismissed the blow. It had only happened because he hadn’t really made an effort and that penetrating skill was perhaps due to a skill .

"Oh! But how... how curious. She really is alive."

Noha looked at Seraphina. The murderous intensity had taken him by surprise, but what was truly important was that somehow she was still alive.

He didn’t care that she had a twisted neck.

In fact, that fascinated him even more.

his eyes sparkled like those of someone who had just found a unique toy.

"Oryx, stop her - don’t kill her!"

"Yes."

He ordered Oryx, at his side, to stop her. The latter made a quick gesture and a silver beam shot out

The silver beam disappeared.

The next instant, it was about to sever Seraphina’s legs.

But she, as if she had foreseen the attack even before it was executed, had already jumped back, avoiding the beam by a fraction.

The impulse drove her to take her distance. In the wide room, the three of them were left in different corners of the place.

Crack!.

"Sensus Spatii", "Perceptio Amplificata".

Seraphina grabbed her head and, with a horrible sound, snapped it back into place, while what appeared to be spells with some strange function came out of her mouth.

Then she raised her gaze to the three men, stopping especially at Noha and the egg he held in his hand.

"What did you mean by the above?"

Seraphina stared at him, never ceasing to expel murderous intent. In her hand, what looked like a large golden spear began to materialize.

"Oh, you dodged that... and that murderous intent is really something crazy. I found something great when I least expected it."

"Your imperial highness, you must not underestimate her. She-"

"Shut up! I’m talking."

"Y-yes."

"Ahem, as I was saying... your rebelliousness appeals to me, and your quirks definitely give you a special place in my harem. And if just in case you’re a man, I’ll tell you that I don’t care about that. It doesn’t matter to me at all."

Noha didn’t care about Seraphina’s murderous intent, nor that she had already cast several spells and wielded a weapon ready to fight.

In fact, that seemed to excite him; the desire to possess her in his eyes only intensified.

He was clearly excited.

On the contrary, Seraphina completely ignored his words. She was still watching him firmly and decisively, assessing him, ready to attack him at any moment. The same applied to the other two.

Her gaze became even harder when she saw Noha casually stow the egg in his ring.

"What did you mean before?"

She repeated the question with a warning tone. An ultimatum.

"This is great, hahaha~. From your reaction, you must stay on the human side. And it’s like you heard: this child’s play is about to end. The regional treaty is about to expire."

"And what you said about the sprout?"

Noha seemed ready to answer, but even before he did, Seraphina felt a deep distaste for what he was about to say.

Still, she needed to confirm it. Understand the situation.

"Yes, I got them all, hahaha~. This continent was unlucky to have someone as capable as me overseeing it. With the seedlings in my possession, not only will I end all human traces in this world, but I will open the gates to invasion. Everything on the other side will fall as well."

"..."

"I see you don’t look convinced. Hahaha~. But it suits you to follow me now, like that smart human did. Where I come from, humans aren’t so discriminated against and make excellent servants. You, especially, I will give you preferential treatment. Your skills and abilities interest me a lot."

"...I understand."

That was enough.

Noha’s words made it clear to Seraphina that she could not allow the situation to progress in that direction. She quickly organised her thoughts and objectives.

She had to take everything into account: not only what she saw of them when they directed their lust towards her, but every piece of information that her alternate self knew about the three of them.

Her mind, already fast and now reinforced with magic, was working on the edge, looking for a way out of a situation that, for anyone in her place, would be a sure loss.

"Oh! So you’re willing to-"

"Art of Radiance, Third Stance: Sanctified Piercer."

And she did, she found the possibility.

She attacked.

Swoooosh- Boom!

The spear, like a bolt of lightning, struck with a roar that shook the place.

But Noha and Oryx were no longer there: they disappeared before the attack reached them.

"How dare you!"

Mitrass appeared in front of her at high speed. Seraphina didn’t seem surprised that Noha had dodged and that her attack had no result; although there was clear annoyance on her face her attention quickly shifted and focused on Mitrass.

He wielded a heavy black sword, enveloped in a sinister, fiery aura directed at her.

Seraphina reacted instantly. The spear she had thrown reappeared in her hands and blocked the downward blow.

Art of Lust, Fourth Stance: Erupting Embrace.

On contact she immediately circulated her art, distributing the impact of an opponent whose strength reached the ninth metamorphosis.

Circulated. Absorbed.

Yet that power was beyond his control.

He gritted his teeth, the anger began to show more and more and he channeled the absorbed energy to strengthen his body and, with a sudden movement, changed the angle of the spear, deflecting the attack to the side.

Boom!

The heavy sword crashed to the ground.

Mitrass’ side was exposed.

And Seraphina did not miss the opportunity.

Art of Lust, Second Stance: Ardent Pulse of Desire.