Chapter 71: Who dares?

The Succubi preparing to charge stopped at the same time.

Elowen raised her head, and the wind around her gradually weakened. Countless green motes of light appeared across the sky. At first, they were as fine as pollen, but they quickly gathered into great streams of energy that curled around the square like glowing mist.

The oppressive heat in the air suddenly eased.

A faint scent of plants spread through the square.

Crack.

A narrow fissure appeared between two paving stones. A tender green sprout emerged, followed by another. In only a few seconds, dozens of vines had grown from cracks where no soil existed, slithering across the stone like green snakes.

The crowd immediately erupted into whispers.

"Wood Mana?"

"No... This Mana is far too powerful."

"Who is it?"

A figure appeared in midair.

A white dress billowed in the wind, and long blonde hair flowed behind her like a waterfall. Pointed ears showed between the strands of her hair, while the green Mana surrounding her body was so dense that it seemed almost tangible.

Meira.

She slowly descended. She needed no wings. Currents of air and countless vines carried her body through the sky. Each time she moved a little lower, the natural energy around the square visibly trembled.

An elderly Succubus in the crowd widened her eyes. "Meira?"

The woman beside her turned around. "You know her?"

"Know her?" The older woman stared at her as though she had just heard an incredibly naive question. "That is Meira, one of the first-generation Elf Succubi."

Whispers quickly spread through the crowd.

"I once saw her portrait in the historical records..."

"I heard her talent is Natural Elements."

"Epic potential?"

"But isn’t she only a hospital owner?"

"Only a hospital owner?" A middle-aged Succubus beside her laughed. "That hospital belongs to her. So do four of the largest shopping centers. Do you honestly believe an ordinary Succubus could retain that much property in this city?"

Standing behind Elowen, the corner of Erik’s eye twitched slightly.

He knew Meira was wealthy. He knew she was a high-level Healer, and he also knew she belonged to the first generation.

Yet as he watched the woman descending from the sky, he could not help remembering Meira wearing a collar, nestling happily in his arms, and asking him to stroke her head.

’Are they really the same person?’

Her white shoes touched the stone.

There was no explosion, but the instant Meira landed, every vine in the square stopped moving at the same time. She raised her head, but her first glance was not directed toward the man on the platform or Nivoria.

She looked Erik over from head to toe, confirming that he was unharmed.

Only then did Meira look at Elowen standing protectively in front of him. She exhaled softly before slowly turning toward the Succubi surrounding them.

"Who..."

The green Mana surrounding Meira suddenly surged.

Boom!

The ground trembled faintly. The vines, previously no thicker than fingers, immediately swelled and burst from the cracks, twisting like enormous pythons.

"...dares lay a hand on my man?"

Her voice remained gentle, even carrying the hint of a warm smile.

Yet the entire square immediately fell deathly silent.

The armed Succubi closest to Erik simultaneously retreated half a step. Elowen exhaled, and the wind surrounding her slowly dispersed.

The man on the platform, however, wore an extremely ugly expression.

"Meira," he said through gritted teeth. "This is the judgment of the Sacred Sun Men’s Council."

"I heard you." Meira smiled.

"Then why haven’t you moved aside?"

"No."

A single word.

The muscles in the man’s face twitched violently. If she had been an ordinary Succubus, he would have used the punishment device long ago.

But Meira was not someone he could touch recklessly.

The largest hospital in the city belonged to her. Many high-ranking Awakened had once been saved by her. More than a few powerful families owed her favors that stretched back several generations.

Touching Meira would no longer be a matter of punishing a disobedient Succubus.

It would mean dragging the entire city into trouble.

Erik watched the man glance down at the device in his hand but hesitate to press it. Erik’s gaze gradually turned cold.

These people had never been gods.

They were simply accustomed to bullying those who could not fight back.

Meira turned toward Nivoria. When she saw the woman’s condition, the smile on her lips faded. "What happened?"

"She is—" the man immediately began.

"Ask the people who just returned from the border." Erik spoke and pointed toward the crowd.

Meira immediately understood. She looked at the Succubi standing with lowered heads. "Did anyone here just return from the western front?"

No one answered.

The man on the platform laughed coldly. "You see?"

Meira did not rush them. She merely said calmly, "I am standing here."

Those three words caused the Succubus with a bandaged arm to slowly raise her head.

She was the same woman who had tried to tell the truth from the beginning. She looked at Meira, then at the device in the man’s hand, and finally stepped forward.

"I was there."

Someone beside her tried to pull her back, but she shook her head. "I don’t want to remain silent anymore."

She took a deep breath. Her voice trembled, but it gradually became clearer. "Nivoria didn’t betray anyone. The wall was about to collapse. There were too many Undead, and the combat units no longer had enough Energy Crystals. Three men in the command area were preparing to abandon the front line."

Another Succubus stepped forward. "Nivoria begged them to stay. Everyone fighting at the front had a Partner. If those men moved too far away, the enhancement would weaken."

"We only needed them to remain a little longer for the reinforcements to arrive." The first woman bit her lip. "But they told us to stay behind and die to buy them enough time to escape."

A third woman stepped forward. "Nivoria became angry and tried to stop them. Then they used the punishment device on her. While she was out of control from the pain, she lunged at one of them."

"That is still an attack against a man!" the man on the platform immediately shouted.

Meira slowly turned her head toward him. "After you tried to abandon thousands of Succubi on the battlefield?"

"It was a tactical decision."

"You call running away a tactic?"

Several quiet laughs came from the crowd.

The man on the platform flushed red. "Meira!"

She stopped looking at him.

Erik looked at Nivoria instead. Every accusation against her had completely collapsed, yet she was still hanging from the cross, her body covered in wounds, with firewood and charcoal piled beneath her feet.

He walked toward the stone steps.

Elowen immediately took his hand. "Erik."

He turned toward her. She was worried, but she did not try to stop him. "Be careful."

Erik nodded before walking directly onto the platform.

The man retreated half a step. "What are you doing?"

Erik climbed the first step. "I already told you."

The second step.

"Release her."

"She is under the Council’s jurisdiction."

Erik stopped and looked directly into his eyes. "She is a person."

That simple sentence caused the man to freeze.

"She is not your property." Erik lowered his voice. "Release her."

Meira stood below the platform as the enormous vines surrounding her slowly crawled up the stone steps. Elowen stood beside her, pale green wind still spiraling around her fingertips.

Below them, the Succubi who had previously dared only to lower their heads began raising them one after another.

Every one of them was staring at the man on the platform.

He realized that the situation had completely changed. If he continued insisting, there was no guarantee that the Succubi would still obey him. But if he surrendered now, the Council’s reputation would be thrown to the ground.

"What if I refuse?" he asked through gritted teeth.

Erik answered calmly, "Then I’ll release her myself."

The two stared at each other for several seconds.

Finally, the man whipped around toward the person standing closest to the cross. "Unlock her."

The Succubus froze, seemingly unable to believe what she had heard.

"I said unlock her!"

"Yes!"

She hurried forward. The restraint around Nivoria’s right wrist opened, followed by the one around her left. Nivoria had exhausted every trace of her strength. The moment the final restraint was removed, her body immediately fell.

Erik stepped forward and caught her.

He wrapped one arm around her back and supported her beneath the knees with the other. Her body was limp but heavy from the battle armor as it fell into his embrace. Blood and dirt immediately stained Erik’s clothes, but he did not care.

From this close, Nivoria’s condition was even worse than he had imagined. Her breathing was so weak that it was almost impossible to feel, her skin was abnormally hot, and several wounds had already begun to fester.

Nivoria seemed to realize that someone was holding her. Her eyelids trembled, and it took her a long time to open them even slightly.

A strange man stood before her.

Not one of the men who had run away.

Not the man holding the punishment device.

He was the man who had just stood against the Council and forced them to release her.

Nivoria’s lips moved slightly. "Why...?"

Erik lowered his head so he could hear her more clearly.

He remained silent for two seconds before answering, "There is no reason."

Nivoria’s pale blue eyes widened slightly.

"I simply don’t like watching good people get burned alive."

There were no demands, no price, and no questions about what she could give him in return.

He simply did not want to watch a good person die.

Nivoria seemed to want to say something else, but her body could no longer endure. Her eyelids closed, and her head tilted against Erik’s chest as she completely lost consciousness.

"Meira."

"I’m here."

Meira had already appeared beside him at some point. Green light covered her fingertips. After examining Nivoria only once, her expression immediately became serious.

"Her injuries are severe."

"Can you save her?"

Meira looked at Erik before smiling very faintly. "Who do you think you’re asking?"

Green Mana immediately erupted and enveloped Nivoria’s entire body.

The surrounding Succubi watched the scene in silence.

A strange man had stepped forward.

A first-generation Elf Succubus had stood behind him.

Elowen had been prepared to fight to protect him.

And Nivoria, who only minutes ago had been bound to a pyre, was now being held in Erik’s arms.

For the first time that day, the square was no longer completely consumed by despair.