The Hero Became a Succubus, and the Only Way to Level is to… What?!
Chapter 432 – Exalted Mystic

It wasn't long before Edina emerged from downstairs, yawning into her hand. Kanae was ready to leave the temple. The squirreling, on the other hand, saw Ujit and skipped over to the woman. She kneeled next to the woman, brows furrowed.

"The old bag of bones and feathers croaked?" Edina asked.

"While we were sleeping, yeah. She asked us to meet with one of her disciples— WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Kanae cried.

Edina brandished the Pillar of the Damned over the deceased harpy woman. Necromantic energy poured from the brazier at the top of the staff, washing over her and pooling on the ground.

"Huh? I'm bringing her back to life," Edina said as a matter of factly.

"How about no." Kanae hooked both under Edina's pits and pulled her away. "Let the old woman pass away in peace."

"Ugh… It's too early in the morning for a racket. What's going on?" Ujit rose to her talons and whipped around with an expression ready to scold them.

Kanae and Edina had vastly different looks on their faces, one of horror and the other a big smile. Ujit, however, seemed perplexed. She took one glance at her feet and jumped with surprise.

"I… I don't need my cane to stand anymore? My knees and ankles… I feel spry!" Ujit tossed her cane. "It's like I'm 70 years younger. My bones aren't aching. I can see again." She pulled the cloth from her eyes and stared at the two, only for her face to wrinkle in realization. "Oh. A necromancer brought me back to life."

"By the way, your bones ain't hurting because your skeleton's been infused with my necromantic lifeforce," Edina explained as a matter of factly.

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!" Kanae picked up the necromancer and shook her violently.

"Wait, wait! This is a pretty big breakthrough… or something! The old bag shouldn't be able to talk and shit!" she exclaimed.

Kanae put Edina down. That's right. Necromancers had two methods of raising things from the dead. One was fishing for souls to embed into death knights, and the other was to fill them with necromantic energy to puppeteer. Yet Ujit… They slowly turned their heads to her.

"If I had to guess," Ujit began as if nothing was out of the ordinary, "it is due to my status as Exalted Mystic and because I only recently passed. My soul must not have had time to enter the afterlife. Necromancer, I thank you. You have given me a temporary lease on life. Let us not waste time. We must meet with Jahree and tell her that you—" She squeezed Edina's hand in her own and smiled. "The prophesied one whose beating wings shall usher in great change to Elusis!"

"The hells do I got to do with Elusis?" Edina cocked her head.

"It's you, not me?" Kanae gasped. "Hold on, Ujit. Are you sure? Edina and I both have wings."

"Oh. Well, now that I can see properly… I'm not too sure." The crone shrugged.

They slapped their hands to their faces.

Ujit searched the deserted worship chamber and picked up a brown robe decorated with animal bones, wood carved trinkets, and a dreamcatcher fetish over the abdomen. She beckoned to them from the door to hurry up. Since she was their only lead in figuring out Elusis' state, they relented and followed after.

Kanae and Edina had only reached the entrance when Ujit jumped off to their horror. Then a second later, soared back up into sight. Rickety wings, though old and mottled with bald patches, lifted the old woman high. They gave chase on their own wings, joining the many harpies in the sky traveling to and from the many spires of Elusis. There must be hundreds of them flying at any given time.

Some perched on outcrops along the spires to catch their breaths. Most carried armfuls of goods to be delivered or brought back home. Ujit readily waved to people, paused to play peekaboo with an infant in a woman's hands, and barrel-rolled through open terraces of spires.

"Is this normal for a recently-raised undead?" Kanae asked.

"Nope. I've never seen this happen before. I can't control her either. But I can definitely feel my mana slowly draining into her to keep her alive like my summoned undeads," Edina explained.

Ujit had lined up in front of a spire with other harpies. A man on the balcony roasted skewers of meat and fruit atop hot coals. She came back, handing them a skewer each.

"I haven't forgotten your generosity last night. Those nuts were delicious, but my taste had been on its way out. I could barely enjoy them anymore. But now…" Ujit shoved a cube of roasted meat into her jaws and squealed. "Go on! It's goat meat. A little gamey, but incredibly delicious!"

They did so and sighed with pleasure. The fat melted like butter in their mouths. Whatever spices Elusis cooks used had a spicy kick to it, too.

"This is so good!" Kanae moaned.

"You know what this would go great with?" Edina reached into her sack of nuts and stuffed her cheeks full.

"Oh, you two are getting it all over your cheeks. Here." Ujit reached out to wipe them with her sleeves, but they backed away. "I-I'm terribly sorry, dears! I saw the mess around your faces and thought of my family. I used to have many grandchildren who would eat like pigs, you didn't know they were born harpies."

"Chin up. Grab yourself a handful of nuts. What? The little tykes don't visit anymore?" The squirreling lifted the sack for Ujit to take some.

She shook her head. "They do not. They must be adults now, maybe some years younger than you. I've only known them for a little while when they were hatchlings. Then they simply vanished."

Kanae frowned. If it was her, she would have agonized for years if anything ever happened to Teana and the others.

Last night back in the temple spire, Ujit seemed and sounded resigned. Like she knew it would be her last living day in the world. That soft smile carried confidence that another could help achieve what she couldn't. Now, her eyes flared with conviction. Edina hadn't just given her life, but a new purpose.

The group landed in a particularly short spire compared to the others around it. Its steepled rooftop had a latticed wooden frame where birds were perched and preening themselves. Murals of the rising and setting of the sun stretched the length of the tower.

Kanae couldn't find a single door or egress to enter from. Ujit, however, descended in through an open ceiling window. She and Edina followed her in, landing in a worship chamber currently in attendance. The temple goers all shared one thing— they weren't harpies. Everyone faced the front of the room, where a totem pole resided. Glentir was at the very bottom, holding the rest of the totem up on his shoulders. A carved sun with its shining rays crowned the top.

A harpy man of middle-age giving a sermon looked their way, and his eyes snapped open, like he had seen a ghost. The color in his face went pale. He stammered over his words a few times before finally giving up. He ceased his sermons and closed the book he was reciting from on the lectern.

"Everyone, I'm afraid I will have to cut our prayer short today. Something has come up that I must attend to immediately. Thank you for coming, and please return next week. May the sun light your way back here!" He bowed, and the congregants did the same.

On the way out, many expressed gratitude to him for the day. As soon as the last person had descended from sight into the stairs below, his composure broke. The harpy stormed over in a panic.

"Ujit! Gods above. Who are they? How did you get here? I thought you were leaving this world at last!" he cried.

"I did, Jahree! I did die, and this kind necromancer brought me back to life. Hm. I suppose undeath is the proper word," Ujit explained as a matter of factly.

Jahree whipped to Edina, grabbed her, and shook violently.

"WHAT DID YOU DO TO THE EXALTED MYSTIC, YOU NECROMANCER FIEND?!" Jahree screamed.

"Ack! I feel like I'm getting shaken a lot lately! Stop… urk… I'm gonna barf up all the nuts I just ate…" Edina's cheeks bloated up.

"Put the girl down, you fool! Help me, Kanae!" Ujit roped her into separating the two. "I may have risen from the dead, but I have full control of my faculties and more."

Luckily, Edina didn't barf all over the floor. Jahree sighed and recomposed himself. He invited them to grab a cushion and sit in front of the totem pole. A few temple clerics in robes that depicted the sun brought them tea. Ujit cupped the earthen bowl in both hands, savoring the scent before taking a drink. Her disciple was still on edge even after they explained the circumstances of their meeting. He kept shooting nervous glances at the both of them.

"I'm hesitant to trust outsiders, but the prophecy's words and your timing couldn't be more serendipitous. Those wings, I do not recognize your race. It is because you two are succubi, aren't you?" Jahree squinted at them.

"You are?" Ujit gasped. "Now that I have a better look at you…"

"We are," Kanae confessed, and completely dropped the magic that partially disguised her. She undid the cloak around her. Edina did the same. They stretched their leathery, bat-like wings, whipped their tails around, and tilted their horns towards the harpies.

"Technically, I'm half-succubus. Kanae transformed me. She's the real deal succubus," Edina added.

The crone laid her hands on Kanae's wings. A finger traced the length of the bone. Her palm brushed across the webbing. Jahree absentmindedly went for the boobs instead, until Ujit slapped his hand.

"Boy!" Ujit yelled.

"Sorry! They were mesmerizingly large…" Jahree coughed nervously.

Kanae winked and licked the air in his direction, causing the pious man to swallow hard… and become hard elsewhere.

"So, what is it that we needed to meet Jahree about, Ujit?" Kanae asked.

Ujit stretched her arm and wings. "Since I'm still kicking, things have changed a little. My absence and the lack of my corpse at the temple spire will surely be noticed by the Harpy King. They will search for me. They mustn't find me. I originally intended for you to find Jahree and inform him of my passing. He would take up the mantle of Exalted Mystic and put into motion the plan to topple the Harpy King."

"You keep saying Exalted Mystic like it's supposed to mean something. Exactly how important is that role in Elusis?" Edina questioned them.

They nodded.

"The Exalted Mystic is the foremost spiritual authority in Elusis," Jahree started. "You're from up north? I suppose it isn't much different from what they call 'Grand Eye' in Radevic. However, we do not legislate or enforce laws. We offer guidance to the country's leadership. In recent years, the Harpy King has tossed us aside. He pulled support from the temples and isolated Ujit, opting instead to worship the elements as if they were gods. We need your help, Prophesied One. If this continues, a great calamity will befall Elusis."

"I don't mean to talk down about your potential disasters, but what sort of calamity?" Kanae asked.

"A flood," Ujit answered promptly. "One of catastrophic proportions that will knock even the Opal Jewel to the earth. While the Harpy King is so focused on conquest, he neglects the ancient wisdom of our forefathers and the Exalted Mystics before me. Our energy and effort must be put towards combating this disaster, and time is running short."

"Oh," Kanae and Edina uttered at the same time.

A panicked harpy cleric flew down from the rafters and interrupted them.

"The Harpy King's soldiers are flying this way. A small squad led by his Right Talon!" she cried.

"Nasiri…" Ujit glowered under her breath.

"They must have noticed you're missing from the temple spire. You three must escape. Take the stairs all the way down to the surface. The clerics below will guide you. Go to Buhar! It is there where you may find the answer to the Harpy King's strength. But beware. He has made alliances with a very unsavory group by the name of Dryoak Consortium. You!" Jahree pointed to the harpy who had warned them. "Help me put the cushions and earthenware away!"

Two clerics ushered them into the quarters below. The spire was arranged much like the one Ujit resided in, with the dormitories just under the worship hall. However, Ujit stopped when the beating wings of a dozen harpies descended into the upper chamber. She wanted to listen in, and the clerics desperately pulled at her.

"Honored Jahree!" Nasiri's patronizing voice rang clear as day from above.

"To what do I owe the pleasure of receiving the Right Talon of the Harpy King? I can't imagine you have come to pay worship to the sun and moon?" Jahree joked.

A single pair of footfalls wandered from one end of the room to the other. The floorboards creaked with each step. Whatever Nasiri was doing, she purposefully neglected to answer Jahree to survey the chamber.

"The Exalted Mystic is missing. We couldn't find her in the temple. Locals reported seeing three people leave that spire earlier, but none of them were sure of their features or faces. Did you have something to do about it?" Nasiri asked in a threatening tone.

"And how could I? You forbade her disciples from checking in on her. If she's missing, that's on you. Maybe she left to pass in peace, away from this crumbling city? The Harpy King hasn't paid her any mind in over a decade! He's the one at fau— uurk…" Jahree choked on his next words.

"Check downstairs. Now," she ordered.

That finally kicked Ujit into gear. They climbed down the stairs for a few more floors, where the clerics led them to a storage closet. One pulled the rug aside to reveal a hatch and threw it open. A narrow ladder shaft extended down to the torch-lit underbelly of the spire, almost cavernous in appearance as the base grew larger the lower it went. The clerics bid them goodbye, and the trio climbed the rest of the way down by old stairs, finally coming out into daylight and fresh air at a hole in the bottom of the spire.

They were back in the under-city now and could only hope that Nasiri left Jahree alone after not finding them.

"Are you alright?" Kanae asked Ujit.

"I'm fine. Undeath has made me an untiring crone. Nasiri… she used to be another disciple of mine, now gone wayward. The Harpy King wrenches out the worst in us all." Ujit sighed.

"Come on. I got somewhere to stay and friends in the under-city. You'll be safe with them," she promised.