Chapter 33 – End of Innocence ♥
"This is a troublesome development, Miss Chloe." Dregana comments with an almost hostile expression. "I told you not to associate with her too much, and on the next day you are seen together again. There is even the rumor that she stayed a night in your room and you touched her in the bath just earlier." She was the teacher who took it upon herself to warn me of my influence on the pure winged girl. Me ignoring her the very next day must have made her really angry.
"Now now, I heard from one of Miss Hestia's classmates that she approached Miss Marcott on her own the day after." Thorvadis steps in with his calm voice. He saw me with her in the canteen last evening but seemed to approve of our relationship. But he is certainly not coming out and saying that right now. "Seeing as it was Miss Hestia's decision, we cannot put any blame on Miss Marcott." Damn right!
"She should have pushed Miss Hestia away then. She's collapsed with a high fever and a good portion of her feathers have become discolored. This is already very dangerous for her kind." She's really worried about Hestia. I can't help but admire her attitude towards her job and how she regards the students' wellbeing. She seems like the straight-laced type that prefers action over thought.
"Madam Idunn is tending to her right now, but we do not have the means to purify her." Another teacher I don't know remarks. I guess this Madam Idunn is the nurse of this school. "We have called in the Saint of Luminosity. Maybe she knows a way to combat the demon's corruption." He's referring to me as if I'm not in the room. That's very disrespectful, but I can't really argue against anything right now.
Arcelia is going to come, huh? I haven't seen her since the time she gave me the recommendation, although we've been in the same city. How will she react when she hears that I'm a demon? I'm sure she'll be shocked and angry. After all, she's a saint of purity who is one of the only twelve people in the kingdom that has command over light magic. Well, thirteen, when counting me.
"The Saint of Luminosity has arrived, Master Thorvadis." Basarab enters the room and announces. He keeps his voice neutral, but it still sends a shiver down my spine. How can a person's voice carry such an incredible effect? But now's not the time to be affected by it. I have some troublesome things ahead of me.
"Can I... see her?" I know it's a selfish request, but still... she is a friend.
"What? How dare you ask for that after what you did to her." Dregana raises her voice and her expression is filled with anger. Yeah, as expected.
"Please, Miss Tarragon. Yes, I can let you see her, but you may not come too close to her." Thorvadis steps in once again and pacifies the hot-headed red-head. "You may have heard about the barrier surrounding this academy. Madam Idunn has cast the same barrier around Miss Hestia, so no outside corruption will be able to harm her now." His eyes are fixed on me, as if to gauge my reaction to these words. No, I'm not going to show any wistful hope or come up with strange ideas. "But it only prevents new corruption to accumulate - it does not revert the one already eating away at her." Thought as much.
We go to the infirmary, which is located in a separate building, featuring a church-like hall filled with rows of beds. They are all empty, except for the one at the very back. It's surrounded by a barrier of light, similar to the one I learned from the book Arcelia gave me. Speaking of the saint, she's already here, alongside an elderly woman in a black and white nun habit. That must be Madam Idunn. I can see even from here that she's the one casting the barrier - meaning she's one of the twelve only light magic users.
"Up to here, and no further." Dregana stops me about halfway into the hall. I can barely see Hestia's face from here, but I can't really ask for more under the circumstances.
I feel really helpless. I talked big about saving her or not letting her die from my corruption, but in the end I couldn't do anything for her. Casting all sorts of light magic spells from the book that sounded like they could heal Hestia had no effects on the color of her wings. In the end, I had to tell Ninlil, who quickly darted off and called the other teachers. It's frustrating to be so powerless, even while I have so much power in any spells I cast.
"Miss Marcott..." Arcelia has stood up and comes towards me. Her eyes are closed as always and her face looks relaxed. "Thank you for coming to see her." No words of accusation or reprimanding. She's a saint, through and through. "I am at a loss as to what to do. The Fatas have a method to cleanse the corruption, but it is their closely guarded secret. Miss Hestia has not regained consciousness yet, so I cannot ask her about it. Even then, I believe that she does not know, either." Yes, Hestia told me that this academy is her exile, and that she was basically sent here to indirectly facilitate her death.
"So even you cannot do anything to help her?" Dregana asks with a bitter expression. It seems like she's really protective of Hestia for some reason.
"I am really sorry. Without the right method, there is nothing I can do. I can only alleviate her pain and suppress the symptoms for now, so that we can move her back home." Oh, so she doesn't know that Hestia's been exiled.
"I am afraid that is not an option." Thorvadis states with his eyes cast downwards. "Miss Hestia... is no longer welcome in the Fatas Triarchy."
"What do you mean, Master Thorvadis?" Arcelia frowns, the first time she has shown a negative expression since I first saw her. Her eyes remain closed, though. "Please elaborate."
"She has been exiled due to political reasons that I am not free to divulge." But the cunning old man practically already gave it away. Simply put, she must be the illegitimate child of someone with great, but unstable power. I know that all too well from scandals involving politicians in Japan. They have a child with a mistress, and it comes to light. The media tears itself apart in a frenzy, the enemies of the politician jump on it to oust him, he has to resign and it puts a great blemish on his party. Even as someone not interested in that, I couldn't help but hear of several such stories throughout the years.
"I see..." The saint's beautiful countenance reflects a hint of anger. Yes, leaving a child to die because of political reasons is wrong in any world. "I can only continue to do my best, but I cannot promise anything."
"Thank you, Lady Crux. I wish you the best of luck..." I bite my lower lip in impotence. "And please tell Hestia that I am sorry." I turn around and leave, before anyone can say any more.
Who cares about classes... Today I should be having fire magic class, but with things as they are, I won't be able to concentrate at all. Aside from that, I'm sure I'll just blow everyone up when I cast the magic wrongly. I lie in my bed and look up to the ceiling, ceaselessly trying to come up with something that I could do for Hestia.
"I don't think there's a point in being depressed. If my theory holds true, it's just a psychogenic effect. And I'm not just saying stuff, I'm making a very educated guess here..." Senka seems to be trying to lift my spirits. "You just need to find a way to make her associate the corruption with something positive." Yeah, you make it sound so easy. I never had much interest in psychology, so I don't understand how the human mind works. Hell, I don't even know how my own mind works properly since I got this body.
Kamii is lying next to me, but normally she would be trying to cuddle. Now, she seems just as concerned about Hestia as I am, and looks at me worrying with a helpless expression. I did try to talk her into attending classes, but she refused and expressed her desire to be with me. I pet her hair and smile, but I can't really do so from the bottom of my heart. And she's aware of that. As if trying to take my mind off the matter, she moves up and suddenly kisses me on the lips awkwardly. Yeah, that really took my mind off it for a moment.
"Thank you, Kamii-chan." I hug her to my chest. "Yeah, you're right, Senka. I just have to keep on studying and maybe I'll learn something along the way." I can only hope. There's no point moping around and doing nothing. I'm sure Hestia wouldn't like it if she saw me like this.
Several days pass without hearing a word about her from any of the teachers. I'm not allowed to go into the infirmary, and neither is Kamii. Another whole week goes by during which normalcy returns to my life, even as the feeling of an angel-shaped hole remains. A raven knocks on my window after dinner one evening, bringing the completed customized timetable promised to me on the first day I came here.
My schedule is much more diverse now. Apparently I also have an overlapping class with Kamii, which is Magic History. Onee-san can watch over you directly now. Rather than any of the beginner classes where one is taught spells, I only need to attend the advanced versions of Application of X Magic now.
But the class I'm most interested in is Magic Combat Training. The cunning old man actually thinks it's a good idea to teach a demon with all elemental affinities how to use them for combat? Well, not that I wouldn't be able to think of how to use the various spells I learned so far during battle without someone teaching me specifically. But having a proper sparring partner may prove to be quite useful, and I can learn ways to counter spells.
There's also Basics of Superior Elements, so I will learn light, dark and space magic? Same for Multi-Elemental Magic class. Will I be taught by several teachers at the same time, or is there one teacher for each class who possesses the corresponding affinities? I have to admit that the staff seems to consist of very talented mages, and even if their output is not as powerful - or rather, excessive - as mine, their control is far greater. Well, considering this is such a prestigious academy, that was to be expected.
My first class for the next morning is Basics of Melding, same as what I had yesterday. It's the most important basic skill for me to learn in magic right now. While I may be able to cast more powerful versions of the single elemental skills, the melded skills consisting of several elements, such as the ones Luna is able to cast, are still one step above those. A single element spell and a multi-element spell on the same level have a huge discrepancy in power.
Maybe there's a melded spell that can do something for Hestia? After all, no known light elemental magic is able to help her, and I learned that all Fatas have the light affinity. I did talk to Arcelia once more afterwards and heard from her that Hestia apparently doesn't count towards the twelve in the kingdom, as she has always been treated as a guest from the Fatas Triarchy.
Incidentally, Arcelia has a double affinity in light magic, but she's being really humble about it. Judging from the output of the double fire affinity mage among the slave traders, this means this saint can throw around light spells with their powers amplified immensely. Don't tell me her spirit spears are even stronger than mine? I can't ask her to randomly demonstrate them to me, though. But now I think I don't ever want to fight her.
"Good night, Kamii-chan." I speak the incantation to switch off the lights in the room. "Bice." I'm looking forward to see what the advanced application class for nature magic in the afternoon tomorrow will be like. Kamii's sleeping next to me, but she doesn't cling onto me that much anymore, even when I don't hug her. She did it to be able to ascertain that I'm still by her side, but that fear seems to have subsided. Ahhh, onee-san is feeling a little lonely, but at the same time I'm proud to see that she isn't completely dependent on me anymore.
I close my eyes and prepare to sleep, but for some reason I can't. Am I a grade school kid looking forward to a field trip or what? Yes, I have a new schedule, but that shouldn't cause me to be unable to fall asleep...
Suddenly I hear the window to my room opening and I my eyes are immediately open. With my night vision the room is almost as bright as day, and I see a figure standing by the bed, staring down at me. Two large wings of a gradient between white and black are spread out, almost filling the entire room. There is no doubt as to this person's identity.
"Hestia?" I mutter, as I look at her face.
"Chloe..." She breathes, her cheeks flushed and a fevered smile on her lips. Sweat covers her forehead and her hair is disheveled. She's only wearing the nightgown from the infirmary which is almost translucent in the moonlight falling into the room from the window behind her. Without warning, she grabs my arm, pulls me up from the bed and embraces me tightly so that I can feel her breasts. Then, in an instant, we're out of the window.
I can see the ground below my feet growing distant as we ascend into the skies on her powerful wings. The wind is pretty cold, and even though my body isn't really affected, I can only think about Hestia's wellbeing. She's wearing so little, but I can feel the heat of the fever ravaging her body. This can't be good for her.
We land on the roof of the library and the moment my feet touch the ground, I'm pushed down. Hestia mounts me and looks down at me with rugged breath and unfocused eyes, her tongue flickers over her smiling lips. There's an indescribably lusty look to her. Something stirs inside me.
"Finish... what you started... Chloe." She says with a heated voice, before roughly pulling off her nightgown. Her almost translucent white skin is shining under the moonlight in all its glory. Sorry, I won't be able to hold myself back if you say that and then show me something like this. This is a sight reserved for the gods. "Corrupt me." And this time she means it the way she said it. As you wish!
I grab her shoulder and push her down, before taking hold of the breasts that are even bigger than mine. If I had a heart, it would be beating really quickly, but my breath is much faster. I can't keep the excitement down now! My transformation comes undone, although I still have enough presence of mind to keep my face untouched. Hestia gasps and shows a shocked expression for a moment, before a mad smile plays over her face at the sight of my real body - and the tentacles that form it.
God created angels to be ravished by tentacle demons!
I make good of that idea born from the Japanese adult pop culture entertainment industry. My hands move all over her body as I lock my lips with hers, bringing my tongue into play, too. It grows longer and I wiggle it deeply into her throat. I can hear her choking, but it only spurs me on.
From the corners of my eyes I can see her white feathers flaking off and turning into dust that disappears in the breeze, revealing black ones underneath. Yes, she's being corrupted at an incredible rate. Knowing that I'm the one doing it very nearly causes me to lose my mind from the thought. I separate from her lips and let her breathe, instead beginning to nibble on her neck and collarbone. My entire body is separating into individual tentacles and those around my abdomen find the hottest place on her body. I mercilessly thrust them into every crevice I can find. Hestia squeals and her back arches, but I hold her down with my weight.
With Kamii I didn't do this. I was using my human body to its fullest, most specifically my fingers and mouth. But this is something else entirely. Our bodies seem to have melted together as I can feel waves of pleasure run through Hestia's body, transmitted to me as if my nerves are connected to hers. Her eyes are rolled up as her voice becomes incoherent the more I move about. It's filled with gasps and moans of pure rapture. Her entire form convulses in an unimaginable climax.
"We're not done yet~ I won't let you rest until I have corrupted every inch of your body~"
"Y-yesh... do it... give me... mooooreeee!!!"
"Hahaha, calm down, Hestia-tan~ Now is not the time to lose your mind~" I get my tentacles back to work and thrust several more in, wriggling them into the absolute depths of her body. She convulses and let out a lovely voice. "That comes later~"
I will have you do an ahegao double peace yet.