The Hero Became a Succubus, and the Only Way to Level is to… What?!

The stadium roared with excited energy. Kanae felt their vibrations walking through the tunnel. Even the ancient stone walls which stood for centuries shuddered at their intensity. Today, Knights’ Tournament truly began in earnest. It was what everyone waited for— a battle between Radevic’s strongest, as well as from their allies across the continent. The stadium might not have been packed during the under tournament, but that wasn’t the case now.

Kanae paused at the end of the tunnel before her feet touched the sunlight on the ground. At the center of the arena, Archbishop Patrice was giving a rousing speech that made the audience go wild.

”Welcome all, friends, allies… enemies. Today is a momentous day, the one you have been waiting for. From Artaggon all the way to Savir, the greatest champions have arrived to do battle and demonstrate their strength for your entertainment. Fellow citizens of Radevic, let your voice bellow so that the competitors can feel your furor!” Archbishop Patrice boomed.

It was as though the whole of the city had been crammed into the stadium. Their cheers made Kanae flinch from the sheer volume, especially directly above the ceiling. Confetti rained down as the archbishop introduced William Bellevue, the Knight of Azure, who succeeded Vander Zolta.

”And to my left,” Archbishop Patrice began, glancing over her shoulder with a big grin, ”a succubus whose beauty is as unparalleled as her strength— Kanae Toyomi, the Knight of Amethyst!”

Kanae stepped out to rousing cheers and applause. She didn’t expect it at all. Spectators rising to their feet to clap. Friends and families in the VIP booth right up against the guardrail. Confetti and flower petals showered her as she joined Will at the center with the archbishop.

For the match, William Bellevue donned no armor but a light blue gambeson coat. He wielded a flanged flail and simple metal buckler.

”I figured the Grand Eye’s brother would be wearing something more befitting a paladin,” Kanae said.

”I actually have a full plate of adamantine. I also know that armor won’t do anything against two of your weapons. Better for me to stay light on my feet. But hey, it’s kind of crazy to think we were adventurers in Orturic once. Here we are, huh?” Will flashed a smile.

”Here we are.” She beamed, too.

”Fighters, begin!” the archbishop shouted.

Right at the start, Will twirled the mace. Kanae reared, feeling the wind passing just pass her nose. The metal glowed with the holy energy of a crowned Paladin’s Smite skill. Enchanted Ink might have granted her Greater Holy Resistance, but that didn’t stop blunt force trauma. A flail with a flanged head was certainly a choice though, as opposed to Petyr’s two-handed warhammer. Someone had to be very skilled at using flail, otherwise it could come back and hit them. And Smites were inflicting pain back to the Paladin. One wrong move, and Will might eat his own.

Kanae answered by flying backwards. Like her daughters during their matches, they couldn’t fly for too long in the sky. Archbishop Patrice prohibited it. However, she was allowed to fly along the ground instead. She drew her whip Lust and retaliated with a few strikes. As expected, Will dodged them very easily. By not wearing a suit of armor, he had an easier chance of avoiding her attacks.

Keeping distance wasn’t going to win this match though. They both understood that. Will came charging after her.

”Conjured Caltrops!” Kanae called forth the magical trap, but the paladin ran right through them unhindered. ”What?!”

”It’s going to take a lot more than that! Smite!” Will shouted and flung his buckler.

The round metal shield slammed into Kanae’s chest. Holy energy rippled through her painfully and knocked the wind from her lungs. Even with holy resistance, it still hurts bad. She quickly casted Flash Heal, only to find Will on top of her. The flail swung downwards, but she sidestepped and it crashed into the ground. At the same time, Will snatched his buckler back up

A chance!

”Necrotizing Touch!” Kanae clenched her free hand into a fist and slugged Will with a Titanic Blow.

”Shit—” Will staggered back, dazed. He casted a healing spell on himself, but the pulse of Necrotizing Touch rendered the restorative magic useless.

Having seized the advantage, Kanae activated Sadist. She flourished Lust and whipped Will over and over, inflicting Turn Horny with every strike that landed.

”Aha! Does it hurt? Are you about to cum? Fall to your knees and grovel, and I may just grant you the relief of a climax!” Kanae cackled.

”It’s not over yet!” Will imbued his shield with Smite and flung it again.

This time, Kanae was ready. She casted Magic Hand. Not to catch the shield, but to take the attack instead. The conjured hand came between her and the blow, exploding in a firework of holy and arcane energies.

”Naughty, naughty. That’s not how you earn a succubus queen’s favor. I have to punish you even more now.” Kanae pulled Cockcalibur out of her pussy and transformed it into a club of a troll’s cock. ”With a pegging.” She conjured another Magic Hand to give Lust to so that it continued lashing, then approached the Paladin, who was on the ground and trembling from extreme stimulation.

Kanae was about to finish Will off until he swung out. Flail caught her across the head and everything flashed white. She opened her eyes to him standing over her, the outline of his erection poking straight out against the gambeson. If it wasn’t for Greater Holy Resistance, that blow would have ended the match in his victory.

”Looks like it’s my win…” Will panted.

”You think so?” Kanae flashed her breasts, and an exceedingly bright light from her Piercings of Impurity blinded him.

Will covered his eyes and swung the flail wildly. Kanae considered stepping forward to attack, but the flanged head came around and knocked him in the back of the head instead. He fell forward flat on the ground. Archbishop Patrice descended from the sky to turn Will around.

”Winner, Knight of Amethyst!” the archbishop exclaimed into the scroll.

Deafening cheers erupted all over the stadium. Over in the royal booth, Grand Eye Analise threw her hands up in exasperation over her brother’s loss, then sucked it up to offer an applause. Archbishop Patrice kneeled down to administer healing magic as clerics made their way into the arena to take over.

”What happened?” Will returned to consciousness and snapped upright. ”Did I win?”

”You ended up knocking yourself out,” Kanae explained.

He rubbed the back of his head. ”Ugh. Yeah, I can feel that. Maybe I should’ve worn my adamantine armor after all.”

Kanae offered Will a hand. He grabbed it, and so she pulled him back to his feet to bathe in the stadium’s cheers together. The clerics ushered him onto a stretcher after. Meanwhile, Kanae took one final bow to the spectators before leaving.

”Mama, that was amazing!” Teana exclaimed as Kanae joined them in the booth.

”Azure isn’t a pushover. We sparred with him a lot during combat classes. Even Teana and Oswald’s never bested him,” Nelly added.

”Well, Will isn’t the new Knight of Azure for nothing.” Kanae slumped into her seat, more exhausted now than during the fight. She jumped seeing Aisha, directly seated to her left, glaring. ”Uhh… Sorry about beating up your boyfriend.”

”I expected Will to have done better, but I suppose you aren’t exactly a weakling either.” Aisha huffed.

”Who’s up next, Mom?” Mikki leaned forward and asked from the row behind.

”I’m not sure. Archbishop Patrice has the full list but only tells competitors when their own match is,” she explained.

Kanae noticed Petyr present at her usual seat in the corner. Unlike during the under tournament where the high elf only chose to spectate Runald’s matches, she was present now from the very start. To study how her would-be challengers fight, most likely.

”If you thought the first match of the day was exciting, prepare to be blown out of your seat. From the south entrance, Dalu’luna Mello, the Knight of Ivory!” Archbishop Patrice announced.

The blindfolded elf marched out amid beloved cheers. Despite having been a participant in Gretchen Redbaron’s rebellion, Dalu had since turned sentiments around by being a champion to the common folk. While Kanae and Amethyst Hall were away, Ivory Hall worked tirelessly in solving monster problems that threatened farms, villages, and travelers. All the while, she trained to become a Knight of Color.

She continued, ”And from the east, we have a being never before seen in centuries— the lich, Edina Hackett, a member of Amethyst Hall, and the kingpin of the Bonelands!”

A fog of necromantic energies billowed out from the east tunnel entrance. Edina, in her dreadful lich form, levitated out to frightened gasps and mixed whispers. Both the Scythe of Soul Reaping and Pillar of the Damned were already combined into a single weapon.

”This isn’t even going to be a match worth watching.” Petyr scoffed, having very clearly named Edina as victor without saying so.

Unfortunately for Ivory, Kanae was in agreement. The gap between them was incredibly large. However, Dalu had fought hard to get to this point. She wasn’t going to make it easy for Edina, that was for sure.

”Begin!” the archbishop boomed.

”Let’s get this over with. I’m only here to fight Petyr anyway. Reap!” Edina swung the scythe-end in a wide arc, sending forth a blade made of necrotic magic in Ivory’s direction.

”Hmph. Pacifying Fist!” Ivory’s right hand ignited into a fiery blue and punched the spell into nonexistence. ”You would do well not to underestimate me, Edina.”

”Hehe. You don’t want me underestimating you? Don’t complain about this then— Legion of the Dead, your master summons you into the living world to war!” The lich’s voice carried like an echo throughout the arena.

Hundreds of undeads, skeletal warriors, mages, and bone brutes emerged from abyssal portals. Edina even summoned a single hulking death knight. Ivory flashed a smile. Surrounded by an army of undead large enough to fill the arena floor, it looked like the elf had no choice but to surrender. But—

”Enlightened Eye.” Using her index and middle finger, Ivory formed an oval over her forehead. A golden oculus took shape, and magical runes wrote themselves like a magic circle on the ground.

”Since when did Ivory acquire that skill?” Petyr gasped, now at the edge of her seat.

”What’s it do?” Kanae asked.

”It’s foresight,” she answered promptly. ”Sort of. Enlightened Eye heightens instincts to their greatest degree. When I lift my warhammer, my muscles tense and armor scrapes together. A crowned Monk with such a skill will tell just by sound and sight how I may attack. However, it isn’t something easily obtainable. Some classes have masteries and proficiencies. You perform the same feat over and over again until you gain a boost. For Monks, they have to accurately predict an incoming attack thousands of times. Even that Monk cunt Nasiri didn’t have Enlightened Eye. If she did, we might not have made it out of Savir alive.”

In other worlds, Ivory was able to glimpse ahead into the future to retaliate against whatever Edina threw at her. But right now, hundreds of undeads converged on a single point in the center of the arena.

”Ten-Palm Strike!” Ivory’s fists struck faster than a viper, and she shattered the attacking undead into bone dust. ”Hundred-Palm Strike! Thousand—”

The blows came out like blurs. Edina’s undeads simply exploded in a cloud of dust and necromantic energy. Ivory felled scores at a time. Bone brutes survived the first few strikes, only to then be demolished by the next flurry. When finally the death knight reached her, she effortlessly dodged its attacks. But the hulking undead monstrosity didn’t go down as easily at the others. Ivory landed blows on the joints and, one after another, severed the limbs with lightspeed chops.

All the while Edina watched in bemusement. As soon as Ivory destroyed the last undead, the squirreling lich applauded.

”Alright, I gotta hand it to you. I won’t underestimate you.” Edina snapped her boney fingers. Purple flames from the brazier on her Pillar of the Damned spilled to the floor and, like a sewing needle, wove the death knight back as good as new. She carved open a large portal from which two more marched out of.

”That’s more like it, but I’m not interested in fighting the minions.” Ivory jumped onto the death knight’s shoulder and vaulted into the air past the other pair.

”Clutch of the Lich Lord!” The necromancer reached towards the sky.

A giant skeletal arm burst out from the earth in an attempt to seize the elf. Ivory landed on a finger, slid down to the wrist, and pushed off towards Edina. Her fist connected with the lich’s face. Momentum carried Ivory to the surface. She landed gingerly and shook her hand. It sizzled and smoked, almost like she had been afflicted with Necrotizing Touch.

”Tsk, tsk, tsk. My very existence is death in nature. Soulrending Barrier makes it so that if you touch me at all, you’re getting burned.” Edina smirked.

”Interesting. Purify!” Ivory pressed her hands together and expelled the affliction.

Edina rubbed her chin. She ordered the death knights to attack at once, but Ivory was much too deft. Cackling, the necromancer swooped in and joined the fray. Her scythe carved trenches into the earth.

”Fog of Death!” Frustrated, Edina ignited the brazier on her staff into an inferno that gushed out a necromantic cloud that sapped away all life.

”Ring of Peace.” Ivory clasped her hands together, creating a large ring around her free of the fog.

They walked around the circle and sized each other up until Edina vanished Fog of Death. The two clashed again, but Ivory’s movements were growing sluggish. Petyr noticed it first.

”It’s over. Edina’s stamina is endless. Ivory cannot dodge forever,” Petyr said.

Kanae thought the same until Ivory looked like she had one last trick up her sleeve. With the body parts of three death knights littered around her, she channeled energy into each finger of her right hand. Edina came flying in with the Scythe of Soul Reaping primed for the kill. The elf stood her ground.

”Explosive Palm!” The flat of Ivory’s hand pressed against Edina’s chest, and a devastating explosion rocked the stadium.

A cloud of dust shrouded both fighters. When a strong gust cleared the debris, Edina had been blown back nearly a hundred feet. She was missing her arms. Rather, they weren’t missing. Just detached. Both limbs still wielded her weapon, and the blade of the scythe pressed against Ivory’s throat. Enlightened Eye no longer graced the elf’s forehead, and the blindfold was just a tattered rag that clung to one ear.

”It is my defeat. I forfeit.” Ivory sighed.

”Victor, Edina Hackett!” Archbishop Patrice shouted, eliciting a roaring ovation from the crowds.

Edina’s arms returned to her side and didn’t yet reattach themselves. Instead, one hand pointed directly at Petyr, and then drew a thumb across her neck.

”The necromancer might prove to be a decent challenge after all.” Petyr grinned.