After Becoming an Evil Dragon, I Was Entangled by the Saintess - Chapter 28

Samir, brought to the City Lord’s Manor, trembled with anxiety, clutching her dying sister tightly in her arms.

Terrible memories resurfaced. She didn’t know what fate awaited her, clinging to a sliver of hope amidst her overwhelming fear, like a drowning person clinging to a piece of driftwood.

The Lord had rescued them from the auction and generously granted them freedom. Surely he wouldn’t harm them now, would he?

The High Priest, a devotee of the God of Light, had shown her a path. Could it lead to her death?

As Samir was led into the grand hall, she bowed her head humbly, biting her lower lip. “My Lord,” she murmured, not daring to meet the eyes of those in the hall. She sensed a powerful presence ahead, a force that threatened her very life, and her body tensed involuntarily.

“You must be Samir? Relax,” Flah’s laughter rang out. She approached the Succubus and patted her shoulder, startling the creature. Elves were notoriously proud and disdainful of interacting with other races, but Flah lacked such rigid prejudices. She winked at the Succubus, sensing her unease, and stepped back. Her gaze fell on the Little Succubus, and she exclaimed, “Ilti!”

Called by name, Ilti turned without hesitation to face Veranse, whose smile was as warm as a spring breeze. “Lady Veranse,” she greeted.

Veranse gazed with keen interest at the Little Succubus cradled in Samir’s arms. The succubus’s face was as pale as paper, her tightly furrowed brows suggesting she was enduring unbearable pain, her breath shallow and ragged. Though the Little Succubus had consumed numerous Magic Potions, the potions were insufficient to alleviate her condition; her body continued to deteriorate at an alarming rate.

Veranse approached Samir with brisk steps, raising her hand to trace the emblem of the God of Light across her chest. “May the Light be with you,” she intoned, casting a healing Light Magic spell upon the pitiful creature. Yet she knew that without addressing the root cause of the illness, this was merely a temporary measure, like drinking poison to quench thirst.

The unconscious Little Succubus stirred under Veranse’s magic, her tightly closed eyes cracking open a sliver. Her parched lips parted, forcing out a trembling “Sister.”

Samir froze, then surged with renewed hope, throwing herself into a deep bow before Veranse. “Please save my sister! If you can save her, Samir will become your slave! I will serve you without question.”

Veranse used magic to help the hunched-over Samir stand up. She sighed and shook her head. “I can’t save your sister. I can only alleviate her pain and barely prolong her life. Even the Archmage would likely find her condition challenging.” Veranse turned, her gaze landing on Yulxi. She raised an eyebrow and added, “Lord Yulxi, do you have a solution?”

Yulxi rose to her feet. She had been secretly observing Samir since the moment the Succubus entered the hall. The faint star that had suddenly appeared in the Faith Network belonged to Samir, though she was only a Shallow Believer. This was understandable; if not for her sister’s dire need, even that meager faith might not exist.

As she approached Samir, Yulxi sensed the Succubus trembling with fear and pain. In a calm voice, she said, “There’s no need to be nervous.”

“Can you discern her condition?” Veranse asked, stepping beside Yulxi, her eyes brimming with amusement. She had cast Light Magic on the Little Succubus on a whim, showing little concern for the creature’s life. Her genuine interest stemmed entirely from Yulxi; she was eager to see if Yulxi could solve this illness, often considered the mage’s incurable disease.

“Elemental Rampage,” Yulxi said.

Samir’s head snapped up, tears welling in her crimson eyes. She had heard of Yulxi—some said she was the Black Dragon incarnate, others claimed she was merely a friend of Lord Ilti… Regardless of her true identity, the people of Klein City revered her power. She was the Thief Killer, Sion’s nightmare. “Can… can you save her?” Samir asked cautiously, her voice trembling with sorrowful hope.

“Elemental Rampage is a congenital disease among mages, essentially a terminal illness,” Veranse explained. “Those afflicted are both the darlings and the castoffs of the Goddess of Magic. They are born with overflowing Magic Power, yet they cannot control the turbulent elemental forces within them.” The Little Succubus’s body was being steadily eroded by these untamed elements. Her survival to age four was due both to the inherent resilience of her race and, likely, to Samir’s use of Magic Potions to sustain her.

“Did you go to the Dragon God Temple to pray for blessings?” Yulxi suddenly asked, her question seemingly unrelated.

Samir felt uneasy, unsure of Yulxi’s intentions. She lowered her head and whispered, “Yes.”

Yulxi said, “The Dragon God will protect you.” The elemental surges were an unsolved problem in the magical world, but they posed no challenge to Yulxi. After all, the Primordial Realm had similar ailments, only with cultivators’ spiritual energy instead of magic. The solution was simple: release the overflowing elemental power. This process would destroy the meridians, so it required a regeneration potion to accompany the Spirit Leak. Coincidentally, Steelheart had just delivered the Alchemical Furnace he had forged for her, making it the perfect opportunity to try crafting such a potion.

“Ilti, the Holy Domain Purification Potion Recipe,” Yulxi instructed.

Before Ilti could move, Veranse proactively produced the recipe and handed it to Samir.

Samir accepted the magic potion recipe, her face lighting up with elation. “Does this mean it can cure my sister?!”

“No,” Yulxi’s calm words shattered Samir’s hope. The smile froze on her face before it could fade.

“Poor child,” Veranse murmured, a hint of pity in her eyes. Understanding Yulxi’s intentions, she turned to Samir with a warm smile. “Lord Yulxi has agreed to save your sister, but naturally, you’ll need to offer something in return, won’t you? The Holy Domain Purification is used to combat the evil brought by the Creationist Society. As an Alchemist who runs a Magic Potion Shop in Klein City, you might be able to learn it, don’t you think?”

Samir seized on the key point. She knew nothing of the Creationist Society or its evil, only that Lord Yulxi needed a potion. If she could satisfy him, her sister would be saved! Her heart pounded, a blush spreading across her cheeks as she exclaimed eagerly, “Lord, I’ll learn it!”

“The Holy Domain Purification is a formula from the Holy See, you know. It won’t be easy to master.”

“Succubi have excellent magical talent, but you rarely see them studying potions.”

Flah tugged Ilti aside, whispering to her. Across the Fei’er Continent, races often held stereotypes about Succubi.

“Don’t talk about her behind her back,” Ilti scolded, patting Flah’s shoulder with a stern expression.

Flah’s pointed ears twitched, and she grunted in a deep, rumbling voice.

Caring about the Succubus’s feelings wasn’t on Yulxi’s agenda. After handing over the Holy Domain Purification Potion Recipe, she didn’t say another word and immediately turned her attention to studying the Alchemical Furnace.

Ilti had arranged clean rooms for the Succubus sisters. Once Samir had settled her sister in, Ilti began to chatter incessantly: “The Magic Plants needed for the Holy Domain Purification are cheap, but the brewing process is incredibly complex and precise. You must study potion-making carefully. If you have any questions, you can ask Veranse—wait, where did Veranse go?”

Flah, who always followed Ilti closely, shrugged.

Veranse had always been elusive, sometimes appearing like a walking Holy Light, other times like a ghost.

Ilti scratched her head and gave up on finding Veranse. She turned back to Samir and said, “Since you’ve already visited the Dragon God Temple to pay your respects, consider your debt for saving my life repaid. Lord Yulshi is exceptionally generous. If you don’t have a faith, offering prayers there might even bring you good fortune.”

Samir remembered the kind-hearted Lord. Her gaze shifted from her sister’s face as she asked, “What connection does the Dragon God Temple have to Lord Yulshi?”

Ilti remained silent. She didn’t know—how could she dare pry so deeply? After a moment’s contemplation, she said solemnly, “Legend has it that after the Divine War, the gods of Dragon Island fell. But the fall of a god is not necessarily permanent; they can be resurrected. Only when completely forgotten do they truly vanish. Lord Yulshi likely seeks to rekindle faith in the Dragon God and restore Dragon Island’s former glory.”

Samir’s eyes were silent as she murmured to herself, “She’s a Great Dragon…”

“Who cares if she’s a Dragon?” Flah interjected. “Isn’t this far better than being a slave?”

Ilti nodded in agreement. Though she had been overwhelmed with work since becoming Lord, it was still an improvement over her previous life.

She even had the privilege of tasting the exquisite dishes personally prepared by Lord Yulshi.

Maintaining her noble composure, Ilti refrained from showing her gluttonous side in Samir’s presence.

Meanwhile, Veranse sat in a secluded corner of the estate, half-hidden in the shadow cast by a stone hut.

In her hand, she held a crystal ball, within which appeared a face etched with bitterness.

“Holy Maiden, when do you plan to return to the Royal Capital?”

“Have I been exposed?” Veranse asked, a faint smile playing on her lips.

“Not yet.”

“Then let’s continue,” Veranse said dismissively.

“But the Royal Capital has been in turmoil lately. The Second Prince has repeatedly requested an audience with you. His subordinates have committed a grave offense, giving Princess Emerald leverage over him. Chaos reigns everywhere.” A princess and two princes were locked in a fierce battle for succession. The Second Prince was closely aligned with the Holy See, and the Holy See favored an emperor who revered divine authority over a secular ruler who sought to subordinate divine power to royal authority.

“Does he think he can pollute my spirit with that face of his, festering like garbage in a cesspool? He should go find Engno. They can communicate through ugliness and find common ground,” Veranse said without a shred of politeness.

The person on the other end of the crystal ball sighed helplessly. “Holy Maiden, he is still the Pope.”

“The Holy See’s corruption has plunged the Lord God into eternal slumber. They should be kneeling before His statue day and night in repentance, not playing courtly games like jesters. Thanks to them, darkness will engulf this continent.”

After a moment of stunned silence, the crystal ball transmitted a trembling voice. “Is this a divine prophecy?”

“No,” Veranse’s gentle warmth vanished, replaced by chilling malice. “It is my prayer.”

Veranse watched with satisfaction as the devout believer of the God of Light froze in shock, a gleeful smile spreading across her face. “I’ve found a new toy. If you don’t want the Holy See to be embroiled in scandal, don’t try to track me down.”

Veranse’s amusement didn’t last long. By dinnertime, after sitting at the long table with Ilti and Flah for half an hour, she suddenly realized there was no sound coming from the kitchen.

Yulxi, who had been researching the Alchemical Furnace, Spirit Pills, and magical compatibility, hadn’t emerged from the room at all.

In the end, the three women gnawed on dried demonic beast meat—tough but packed with immense energy—washed down with thick goat’s milk. The combination had a unique flavor, but their palates had been spoiled by Yulxi’s cooking, leaving them with little appetite. Enduring one meal was manageable, but Yulxi remained absent for days. While they wouldn’t starve in the manor, their spirits were withering.

When Flah began cursing the food, Ilti didn’t cast a silencing spell this time.

Veranse secretly agreed with Flah’s sentiments, though she maintained her composure, offering only encouraging glances.

“I don’t think we can keep going on like this,” Ilti declared, adopting a serious expression. “By the God of Light, we’ve really gotten bold, freeloading off the Black Dragon for days now. We can’t keep relying on Lord Yulshi for everything.”

“Then you go!” Flah retorted, glaring at Ilti and dredging up her past failures. “Remember when you burned that demonic beast meat so badly it withered all the Magic Plants around it?”

Ilti flushed, refusing to back down. “And you nearly blew your head off trying to harvest those wild berries!”

“Do you have any good ideas?” Veranse asked, arms crossed, watching their argument with amusement. Just before it escalated into a fight, her gentle, persuasive tone finally had its effect.

Ilti snapped out of her daze, glaring at Flah before adopting a lordly demeanor. “Why don’t we learn Lord Yulshi’s cooking methods and improve the Red Maple Territory’s cuisine?” she suggested. “Since we lack unique local products, food could be our breakthrough. Adventurers would be eager to stay, and once they’re here, they’ll spend money.”

“But we don’t know how she does it,” Flah countered. They had seen Yulxi grilling meat in the Mangshui Forest, but while the grilling technique was easy to copy, the strange marinades and properties of the magic plants remained a mystery.

“Lord Yulshi would be willing to teach us,” Veranse said with a smile. Whether it was improving the sewers, rebuilding homes, or dealing with the Gray Demon on Mount Oms, everything ultimately served the Red Maple Territory’s development. A dragon obsessed with construction? Could Yulxi’s true ambition be to become Emperor? As the Red Maple Territory expanded, how would the Montan Empire react? Would war engulf the entire continent? Just as the Divine Realm had been destroyed, would the Fei’er Continent also be reduced to eternal ashes?

“Veranse?” Ilti met Veranse’s gaze, a sudden chill running through her heart.

Veranse concealed her inner emotions and continued, “Priorities must be set. It seems Lord Yulshi is focused on housing and transportation for now. As for food, that will likely need to be arranged by the Lord himself.”

Ilti nodded.

After Yulshi and Steelheart forged their alliance, mages began arriving in Klein City to assist with its reconstruction. As the nominal Lord, Ilti found the architectural blueprints utterly incomprehensible. She could only repeatedly dispatch knights to mobilize the commoners, urging them to join the construction efforts. Fortunately, the people were accustomed to being exploited; their expressions were grim, but their resistance was weak. Once they learned the Lord’s Manor would pay wages, they eagerly threw themselves into the work.

When it came to personal gain, people were remarkably pragmatic.

Meanwhile, the High Priest’s public health campaign had yielded some results. Fewer people were now dumping garbage and sewage into the streets. However, this was less due to the priests’ efforts and more to the workers’ complaints. After all, no one wanted to spend their breaks cleaning up foul-smelling trash raining down from the sky—extra work without extra pay!

Ilti sighed, still marveling at the situation. “May the Lord God bless Viscount Byron for providing strength to the Red Maple Territory’s reconstruction,” she said. After a pause, she added, “Why haven’t the people from the Emerald Territory arrived yet?”

Veranse said softly, “After all, the Red Maple Territory doesn’t have a Teleportation Array, and spending a Teleportation Scroll worth a thousand gold coins for this would hardly be worthwhile.”

Ilti fell silent.

It was half a month later when Yulxi finally emerged from seclusion.

Not being proficient in potion-making, she had relied on fragments of knowledge from the Dragon’s Legacy combined with Primordial Realm Alchemy techniques, experimenting tirelessly. Due to some unknown limitation, she couldn’t complete the final step of “pill condensation” without using Divine Power. But Yulxi couldn’t afford to waste her precious power on alchemy, so she settled for creating Medicinal Powder instead. This wasn’t entirely bad; the magical world already had Medicinal Powder, though it was typically cheap, low-quality residue.

Samir diligently studied the Holy Domain Purification Potion. Under Veranse’s guidance, she managed to refine the potion to a sellable standard, though its effectiveness didn’t reach the “excellent” level. Unlike Ilti and Flah, whose alchemy attempts invariably ended in explosions, Samir had at least produced something usable. Initially, she had been anxious, constantly worrying about her younger sister, but Veranse used Light Magic daily to stabilize Little Succubus Lilith’s condition.

In short, everyone in the manor rejoiced at Yulxi’s return.

Ilti nearly rushed forward to ask Yulxi about the secrets of his culinary arts, but when she saw the Succubus’s timid, hopeful gaze, she swallowed her words.

She wasn’t in a hurry.

“Lord Yulshi,” Samir said, clutching a potion bottle, “I’ve successfully refined the Holy Domain Purification Potion.”

Yulshi glanced at the bottle, immediately sensing the energy within. “Less than ninety percent efficacy. Not enough,” she said flatly. Both potions were Holy Domain Purification Potions, but while Veranse’s version could eliminate ten monsters when applied to a sword, Samir’s pathetic attempt could barely handle three. In a crisis, there’s little time to fumble for potions and apply them.

Samir’s face drained of color, turning as pale as paper, and she swayed on her feet.

A potion with sixty percent efficacy could be sold, but ninety percent required a top-tier Alchemist—one who would also be an Archmage!

If she couldn’t meet Lord Yulshi’s standards, was there any hope left for her sister?

Tears welled in Samir’s eyes as she collapsed weakly, but a powerful force suddenly gripped her wrist.

Yulshi hauled Samir to her feet. “Where’s your sister?”

Veranse stepped forward to steady Samir, releasing Yulshi’s grip. A smile curved her lips. “Don’t worry. Whether you’ve mastered the potion or not, if you pray at the Dragon God Temple, Lord Yulshi will surely grant your wish. Won’t you?” Veranse emphasized the last two words, her eyes sparkling as she gazed at Yulshi.

“M-my sister, Lord Yulshi, this way, this way!” Samir stammered, her voice a jumble of relief and disbelief as hope surged through the abyss of her despair. She stumbled ahead, leading the way with frantic steps.

The Little Succubus’s room was surprisingly bright, sunlight streaming through the window lattice to bathe her gaunt, pallid face in its warm glow. The Succubus sisters lived a meager existence. Though Samir possessed the skill to brew potions, their race was destined for a life of confinement. Until they grew strong enough to protect themselves, Succubi rarely ventured into human settlements.

Yulxi didn’t pry into their past. She produced a packet of Spirit Leak Medicinal Powder and a bottle of Regeneration Potion, warning, “The process might be painful.”

Samir’s initial joy had faded considerably upon entering the room. She feared this might be another false hope, that failure would forever seal her sister’s fate. Lilith was so young, having never seen the world beyond their confines, only learning to call her “Sister.”

“I’ll cast a protective shield and pain-numbing magic,” Veranse said with a smile, her gaze fixed on the packet of Medicinal Powder. “Is this a byproduct of refining that potion?”

Samir wanted to ask if her Magic Potion Shop, which sold Magic Potions, also sold residue. The residue was very cheap, intended for the poor. It could be taken with water or applied to wounds. Although Lord Yulshi’s potion was pure and crystalline, could the residue truly be effective? Samir’s heart was filled with anxiety as she bit her lower lip, unaware that she had drawn bl00d.

“It’s not residue,” Yulxi said, lifting her eyelids slightly.

“My apologies,” Veranse said, apologizing for her impertinence, but her bright eyes betrayed no genuine remorse.

Yulxi couldn’t be bothered to decipher Veranse’s black-hearted intentions. She immediately named the Medicinal Powder: “Elemental Purge.”

Unheard of.

But it was precisely because it was unknown that it held the potential for miracles.

Samir had no choice.

With trembling hands, she took the Medicinal Powder from Yulxi, feeding it to her sister while silently praying to the presence within the Dragon God Temple.

Yulxi raised an eyebrow.

The faint prayer, amplified by their proximity, resonated with the faith energy within the cosmic sea.

The True Dragon’s Eye saw Samir’s status panel:

Name: Samir

Race: Succubus

Class: Mage (First-Tier), Alchemist (Second-Tier)

True God of Faith: Dragon God (Yulxi)

Faith Level: Devout Believer

Ability: Inheritor

Yulxi was certain that when she first saw Samir, the “Abilities” section of her profile had been blank.

Could it be that Samir’s transformation from a Shallow Believer to a Devout Believer had unlocked the “Inheritor” ability? But what exactly was she inheriting? The skill of potion brewing?

Now that Samir was a Devout Believer, even without visiting the Dragon God Temple to worship, she could provide Yulxi with a steady stream of faith.

The total amount was still modest, but as Yulxi’s influence grew and she gathered the faith and Merit from across the Fei’er Continent, she could activate her full power anytime, anywhere, without worrying about Divine Power depletion.

Right, how exactly did the Source of Life advance in rank? By illuminating the starry sea and truly “awakening” the True God’s Faith Network?

As Yulxi pondered, the potion began to take effect on the Little Succubus.

The elemental storm unleashed by the Medicinal Powder wouldn’t simply vanish. Its initial target was Veranse, who was maintaining a magical shield.

Yulxi watched Veranse’s smile vanish for a moment, feeling immensely satisfied.

Since the Holy Maiden was being so “benevolent,” let her spread her light across the mortal realm.

Sensing the surging elemental energy, Ilti pulled Flah and Samir back a step.

“Lady Vilanse is truly powerful,” she murmured, her voice tinged with lingering fear.