4: The First Priestess (18+)

Helen ignored the man in purple robes that just barged into her room. No, it was more correct to say that she didn’t even notice him. Had her house been burning down, she probably would not have noticed that too. Helen only gripped the blades of her daggers tighter and moaned louder as she increased the pace with the hilts of which she assaulted her holes. Her hands were bleeding through her damaged armored gloves.

“It looks like I made it just in time,” Lucarad said, completely unfazed by the sight before his eyes. Out of his purple robes, he pulled out a small misshapen skull and raised it high into the air. Lucarad then chanted words in an unfamiliar, crude language.

A black mist formed around the skull. And as Lucarad continued his chanting, a similar mist seeped directly out of the pores of Helen’s skin, flowing into the skull. Helen screamed and jammed the hilts as deep as she could inside her, up to the crossguards.

She tensed up and trembled while the last of the black mist was drained out of her. After that, she collapsed on the ground—breathing hard but alive.

“Ah... It worked?” Lucarad gasped. His grin grew wider. “Ha! It worked! Bwahahahaha! Suck on it, Ginhels! You all laughed at me! Well, who’s going to have the last laugh now!? Hahaha!!”

As Helen came to her senses, her eyes grew wide. She gasped in horror, finally aware of her actions, as if awoken from a dream.

“Lily!” Helen screamed and ran out of her room, down the wooden stairs. She found her little sister close to the stairs and fell to her knees at her side. She hugged her tightly and cried.

“Please forgive me!” Helen wept and begged her sister, “I’m sorry! I’m sorry I’m such a useless sister! I’m sorry for everything!”

Lily just stood there, in her sister’s tight grip—speechless and confused. Finally, she said, “Sister, you’re crushing me.”

“Oh!” Helen let go of her little sister and wiped the tears from her own eyes. “I-I’m sorry.”

Then Helen looked at the young man in purple robes, who stood behind them at the base of the steps.

“Thank you,” Helen said. “But… Who are you?”

“My name is Lucarad,” the young man smiled and bowed like an actor on stage. “And I’m the one who’s going to save this world!”

“Huh?”

“Are you deaf?” Lucarad asked and his smile disappeared. “I said I’m going to save this world! And for that, I will require your assistance!”

“M-my help?” Helen pointed at her useless self. She was convinced that she was the one who desperately needed help.” What could I possibly do to help save the world?”

“That!” Lucarad pointed at Helen’s pussy, still moist from her earlier actions.

“Ah!” Helen screamed, flustered, and covered her private parts. She only now realized that she’s completely naked before her little sister and a complete stranger.

“I am searching for humans who came in contact with the Taint and somehow managed to survive,” Lucarad explained. “Which is not easy, because every single one of them is not long for this world. In one way or another. I require the essence that people like you continuously produce.”

“E-essence? Produce?” Helen asked. Her cheeks were as red as cherries.

“I will explain more on the way. I’m taking you with me to the capital.”

“W-wait, no! I can’t!” Helen protested. “What about Lily? I can’t leave her. I can’t go at all! I have debts I need to take care of. The winter is coming, and—”

“Your debts will be taken care of,” Lucarad assured Helen. “Your sister will also be provided with enough supplies and provisions to prosper until your return. I may not look it, but I have certain influential sponsors.”

“But I can’t leave her on her own!” Helen insisted.

“That’s right!” Lily supported her sister. “We’re staying together!”

“The capital is no place for a cute little girl,” Lucarad said. “You had no problems leaving your sister alone for weeks before.”

“How do you know that?” Helen asked.

“Typical life of a commoner Adventurer,” Lucarad said, waving off such dangerous, pitiful existence. “You think you’ll be able to provide a better life for your sister on your own?”

“Y…” The word stuck in Helen’s throat. After her older sister’s demise, she had no self-confidence to speak of.

“I’ve wasted enough time here,” Lucarad said and turned towards the exit. “But I must warn you—the drain I performed was only temporary. Now that you are Tainted, your body will continue to produce more of the essence. You will eventually succumb, and your little sister will be left alone anyway. But without anyone to support her.”

Helen was left speechless. Lucarad did not wait for an answer and slowly walked toward the door. When he placed his hands on the handle and opened the creaking door, Helen shouted, “Wait!”

Lucarad smiled and then turned to Helen, “You have ten minutes to get dressed and set your affairs in order. I’ll be outside.”

As soon as Lucarad walked out the door, Helen placed her hands on Lily’s tiny shoulders and said, “Lily, I’m sorry for being such a useless sister! If I was any better, our big sister would be with us. If I was any better, I could solve this on my own. But I can’t. I have to make sure that you’re safe and taken care of. That responsibility is on my shoulders now. And right now I can only do that by going away. But I promise I’ll return!”

“Promise?” Lily asked, tearing up.

“Promise,” Helen said softly and hugged her sister tighter. She then had to hurry to get dressed and pack her things.

Helen’s only good armor was ruined, so when she got dressed she looked no different than a peasant. When Helen went outside, Lucarad was already on his black horse.

Helen hugged her sister one more time and said, “Take care of our home until I return. Can you do that for me?”

Lily nodded.

“Good girl,” Helen said as tears rolled down her cheeks. “You’re a much more dependable younger sister than I am.”

Helen walked alongside Lucarad’s horse. Only when her home disappeared behind the grassland slopes did she speak to her new companion.

“I’m grateful for your help, but how did you even know I needed it? How did you find us?”

“Brock told me I could find you here,” Lucarad said without looking at Helen.

“Brock!” Helen exclaimed. “I completely forgot! I was supposed to meet him days ago! We’ll have to—”

“He’s dead,” Lucarad stated matter-of-factly.

“No!” Helen gasped and froze in place, covering her mouth with her hands.

“No stopping!” Lucarad raised his voice. “We have a lot of ground to cover! You stopping and delaying us, will not bring him back.”

Helen took a deep breath and continued walking, hurrying to catch up to Lucarad’s horse.

“What happened?” She asked.

“The Taint plays tricks on human minds, as you are well aware of yourself. One of the very few coherent things I was able to deduce from his ramblings was where you lived and that you might also be affected by the Taint.”

“And how am I supposed to help you… Save the world?”

Lucarad grinned and dug into his robes with his right hand. He then pulled out an old, wrinkled scroll and showed it to Helen before putting it back.

“I will not be saving the world directly,” he said, barely able to contain his excitement. “Legends tell of a hero that will one day arrive in this world. For decades I’ve studied these legends until I found these old scrolls. They foretell a summoning using the very same energy that we want to destroy. And after many more decades and grueling experiments, I have finally found a way to harvest it!”

Decades? Helen thought and looked at the young man.

“I need to find many more affected by the Taint!” Lucarad said with excitement. “Together we will summon the hero that has been promised! The hero that will be able to fight and defeat the demons and their creatures! The hero whose very essence will be strong enough to defeat and cure the Taint!”

Years later, Helen found herself in a cold, dimly lit room, on her knees, reaching with her hands and sticking out her tongue for the essence of a lust-filled being that they had summoned.