The church’s high-ranking officials completely lost their composure that day.
Although the Bishops had promptly cut off the display of the spell from the believers, the church’s upper echelons had unmistakably seen the Saintess fall into the hands of that demon with no sign of resistance.
To be honest, the Holy Father’s decree that the Saintess had been seduced and fallen to the Succubus was just an excuse.
Who would have thought she was really being toyed with by that Succubus!?
When the Saintess went to the demons, the Bishops always thought there were basically two possibilities—
First, like the one she worshiped, she would choose to keep her purity and sanctity until the end, burning herself out, sacrificing herself to create a sliver of hope for humanity.
Second, she would defect to the demons.
But no one truly believed this could happen.
The demons hated the Saintess with a passion.
That Succubus seemed polite to her, but definitely wasn’t friendly. Not being torn apart was already lucky.
But now, it was obvious—the Demon Lord not only accepted her but seemed to quite like her?
At this point, humanity had to reconsider one question—
Since the Saintess had already defected to the demons, how should humanity resist their invasion going forward?
***
Of course, while humanity was in turmoil because of Cecilia, the demons were equally shaken.
The Saintess, who had once been a huge obstacle to the demons and caused countless demon deaths, was now being sheltered by their own Demon Lord?
Within the demon ranks, opinions on this matter were divided into three camps.
The Saintess has now been betrayed and defected to the demons—what a deliciously dramatic scenario with such deep-seated hatred; it’s truly a feast—this was the Big Head faction.
The Saintess pitifully begged our Demon Lord to take her in, and now she’s already a toy; what she’ll become in the future is uncertain—probably just a pitiful figure hidden away in some secret basement—this was the Small Head faction.
Saintess?
What’s her combat power?
Could she solo a Demon King?
How are her strategic planning skills?—this was the Rabbit Head faction.
Of course, for Via, whether human or demon opinions meant nothing.
After all, the Demon Lord was strong enough that even if she was the weakest among the Thirteen Demon Lords, she still wielded power nearly equivalent to a Demon King.
If she decided to shelter someone, no ordinary demon had the right to interfere.
“Was what you said to those people at the church sincere?”
Behind Via came the Saintess’s calm voice.
It seemed that having accepted her fate, after Via’s declaration of revenge against the church, Cecilia no longer showed emotional resistance like before.
Via knew this was the collapse of her faith, the shattering of her mind, and as a Succubus, she naturally understood what to do now.
At this moment, she no longer held the initial dominance over the Saintess but instead let her take a proper bath, prepared a special room, and allowed her to move freely within the manor.
The Saintess had already broken down.
At this point, Via’s role was to show a degree of gentleness to prevent strong resistance from emerging.
Succubi, even ones like Via who fed in unconventional ways, knew how to handle human emotions.
After all, for their kind, it was a survival skill.
“Of course, it’s true.”
Via looked out at the demons celebrating in the manor’s courtyard and said.
The two sat back to back on the bed, unable to see each other’s expressions.
“…Senior.”
“The senior you speak of has been dead for fifty years. I am not the senior you seek,” Via frowned.
“If you still want me to be the way I was fifty years ago, I don’t mind showing you that ending again and again.”
The pain of betrayal had sunk deep into Via’s bones; she could never forgive it now.
The Saintess fell silent.
She wanted to say something, but Via had anticipated it completely, leaving her with nothing to reply.
“The room is yours. I’m not used to having servants around, so this entire manor has none. You’ll have to get used to no one attending to you,” Via said, standing up.
“Also, I’ll say it again: I am not the senior you’re looking for. You can call me whatever you want—Succubus, Demon Lord, Via…”
“Via?”
“…You’re already so familiar with me. Whatever, calling me by my name is better than mumbling the old name every day,” Via didn’t bother correcting the address, since she didn’t care.
“I hope you’ll show me your worth in the future, instead of forcing me to explain to the other Demon Lords why I’m keeping a useless decoration.”
After the reminder, Via casually waved her hand, and her figure vanished instantly.
Watching her leave and making sure the Succubus could no longer hear her voice, Cecilia finally had time to look around the manor she would live in.
It was immediately obvious that the manor Via used was once a noble’s residence in this region.
As Cecilia walked around, she realized the Demon Lord might have spoken the truth—such a large manor really didn’t have a single servant.
Moreover, the decor inside was relatively simple and unpretentious.
Clearly, this Demon Lord’s lifestyle was not the extravagant and luxurious rumor many had spread.
Cecilia pushed open the door to her own room.
Even as a former Saintess, she could clearly tell the room was still plainly furnished.
Judging by this, Via had not indulged in pleasures but was instead quite frugal… a truly strange Succubus.
But compared to all this, Cecilia’s real concern was just one thing—
Now, how did this Succubus plan to treat her?
Everything she had experienced on the first night still made her uneasy.
Although she had to obey, if Via kept using that as a reason to keep acting toward her…
That would be utterly disgraceful!
While the Saintess was still caught up in these worries about how to interact with her captor, deep within the demon world, in a nearly unnoticed place, a white-haired girl sat in her seat, watching everything unfold with great interest.
“Oh my, how interesting. Our former Saint has taken in a Saintess,” the girl said with a smile.
“Well then, let’s see how long this adorable toy can last~”