Succubus City.
After Shafney left, the city remained calm, functioning normally.
However, unnoticed by anyone, a chilling scene unfolded repeatedly within Succubus City while Shafney was trapped in [Crimson Sun Hell].
“This day has finally come,” a demon who had lived in Succubus City for a long time sighed, glancing towards the Succubus Fortress with both infatuation and reluctance, then reached out and, without hesitation, pierced their chest, ripping out their heart, collapsing on the ground and dying.
“Farewell, Master Shafney,” a Clan Chief murmured with similar reluctance, then plunged a knife into their abdomen, dying instantly.
Similar scenes occurred throughout the city. Residents of Succubus City committed suicide one after another, some even setting themselves on fire before the Succubus Fortress, gradually causing unavoidable chaos.
Especially the Heterogeneous Spirit Clan, the fourth-ranked tribe, who committed mass suicide without hesitation, not a single survivor.
This horrifying scene repeated itself, the resulting blood energy converging and, following some unknown connection, flowing towards a being far from Succubus City.
…
“…!?”
In the crimson world, Shafney, about to unleash a palm strike infused with all her magic power at the audacious Parion, suddenly froze.
“Weng!”
A surge of blood energy appeared around her and entered her body, making her tremble violently, an unnatural blush appearing on her face.
“This is…!?” Shafney’s expression finally changed.
“What’s happening?” Shien was also startled by the sudden change.
Only Parion, seeing this, was overjoyed, laughing loudly.
“It worked!”
“It worked!”
“As expected, that person’s method is effective!”
“You’ve finally been cursed! Succubus!”
Parion’s voice echoed through the crimson world, accompanied by a gust of bloody wind.
But Shafney couldn’t care about him anymore, her expression turning grim as she felt the curse invading her body.
Logically, as a Demon Lord, she shouldn’t be so easily cursed. Any curse, no matter how powerful, would be blocked by her magic power. Having achieved Transcendence and surpassed the limits of life, a being like her couldn’t be affected by ordinary curses, or even most negative forces other than Unique Skills. Only the extraordinary power of a Unique Skill could possibly hinder a Demon Lord.
However, even then, finding a Unique Skill effective against a Demon Lord was incredibly difficult.
Only a small portion of beings could awaken Unique Skills. Besides the God Race, who were born with powers equivalent to Unique Skills, other beings couldn’t awaken them at will. Those who did awaken them were a minority, and many of those Unique Skills weren’t very powerful, even useless in combat, only applicable to daily life. Therefore, Unique Skills powerful enough to affect Demon Lords were usually possessed by beings on the same level. Such beings, besides those born with Transcendence, were mostly Heroes summoned from another world, who usually awakened powerful Unique Skills.
In other words, someone at Parion’s level shouldn’t have a curse effective against a Demon Lord. Even if he did, actually inflicting it on a Demon Lord wasn’t easy.
But now, Parion had succeeded.
And Shafney realized the reason.
“He actually used my Unique Skill…?”
Yes.
Parion used Shafney’s Unique Skill.
“Shafney, the Succubus, your Unique Skill allows you to establish a connection between minds, linking the power of different individuals!”
“This connection exists at the core of a person’s being, deeper than their existence, their concept, even their soul!”
“With this ability, as long as someone has a deep impression of you, you can establish a connection with them based on that impression!”
“The deeper the impression, the deeper the connection!”
“Therefore, those captivated by you, enthralled by your beauty, becoming your followers, are all your servants!”
This was a terrifying ability. With this deep connection, Shafney could even share their senses, appearance, and even power. If someone like Liel, completely devoted to Shafney without any dissent, then Shafney could even control their body, projecting her will onto them and using their body to walk the world. This connection was absolute, unavoidable even by Unique Skills or the Holy Sword. After all, it was a connection through the mind. Once the heart was captivated, how could one resist?
Therefore, the only way to resist this ability was to completely ignore Shafney and not be affected by her charm.
But who in this world could resist the charm of the most beautiful Succubus?
That’s why Liel said that Shafney’s Unique Skill’s power stemmed from her own charm.
The reason Shien couldn’t resist Shafney’s influence, having his memories blurred, being hypnotized, and even having his dreams invaded, was because of this. Although he resisted her charm, he still had to admit she was incredibly seductive, leaving a deep impression in his heart, creating an opening for her to enter his dreams.
Of course, at that time, this was the extent of Shafney’s influence. After all, Shien hadn’t been completely captivated.
Until later, when he accidentally slept with Shafney. Although his memories were blurred, his body’s instincts didn’t forget, deepening their connection unprecedentedly.
This allowed Shafney to do more to him.
However, this terrifying ability also had an unavoidable side effect.
“The connection is mutual!”
“You can treat those captivated by you as puppets, but if you are captivated by someone, even if they don’t have the same ability, they can still control your mind, making you unable to resist!”
“That’s why you disdain everyone, not just because you’re not interested in them, but also because once you have a deep impression of them, you can’t resist their requests!”
“Master Hermis saw through this long ago, which is why he devised this centuries-long plan, having us send people into Succubus City, to be captivated by your beauty and become your followers!”
“This way, your Unique Skill would connect with them, turning them into your servants, while we planted a slowly fermenting curse within them, using this connection to gradually erode you!”
Just as Shafney could bypass others’ defenses with her Unique Skill, this curse also affected her through the connection.
This influence was initially weak, but after centuries of accumulation, and triggered by the self-destruction of those cursed individuals, it would erupt all at once.
“This is your Unique Skill – [Ripple Heart Demon]!”
Parion, enveloped in a violent bloody wind, appeared before Shafney.
“Your Demon Lord’s body now belongs to our Original Demon!” he declared triumphantly.
He didn’t notice a figure flying towards the blood-red sun in the sky.
“Is that your true form?” The Hero looked up at the crimson sun, a cold glint in his eyes.
“Found you!” With this declaration, the Hero soared into the sky.
His Holy Sword, its golden light intensifying, slashed through the crimson sky.
“Slash!” The golden sword light cleanly severed the crimson sun.
“Aaaaaaaaaaah…!”
Parion, who was about to engulf Shafney, screamed, his body seemingly melting away.