Episode 1. The Devil’s Curse

“Ugh… sob…”

How did things end up like this?

“Uh, Sir Knight? Could you move your body a little…?”

“Hmph, don’t… move….”

A pure white, empty space. In that place, he leaned his heavy upper body against me, rubbing his waist against mine—Heliod Vus.

“Ugh…”

Who would have thought things would end up like this?

“Ha…”

He was panting as he rubbed his large, firm member against my hand. Unable to resist the itch, I moved my fingers to wrap around it, causing him to flinch and glare at me.

“Please, just… stay still….”

“No, I have to move if you want to finish.”

“Don’t… say things like that, ah!”

Heliod’s long, white hair trembled. He pulled me into a tight embrace, burying his face in my shoulder as he pushed his thick waist forward. Soon, sticky semen spilled into my hand.

“Hah…”

“Wow.”

I had a feeling from the moment you said you’d never done this before, but the amount is impressive.

“So you really were a virgin. I thought the vow of chastity was just for show.”

“…”

At the word “virgin,” Heliod’s face flushed red. Curious, I squeezed the still slightly dripping member, and Heliod arched his back, lifting his head.

“Ah, don’t… grab it… ah…”

His blue eyes welled up, making his once divine, sculpted face contort in agony. I bit my lip slightly and, just like I had been doing before, slowly rubbed my hands around the glans.

“Ugh…!”

Heliod tried to restrain my hands, but he buried his head again, letting out a groan. His ragged breaths filled the air, intensifying the atmosphere. With a mischievous smile, I whispered something suggestive, knowing I shouldn’t.

“Sir Knight, have you calmed down a bit now?”

“…Ugh.”

“Or is it still not enough?”

Heliod Vus. The leader of the Seisior Paladins of the Barval Empire and the hero of the recent war against the demons. Who would have thought that the man, the hero whose tales have set the Empire ablaze, would end up here, disheveled and pleasuring himself with my hands?

Heliod squeezed his blue eyes shut, trying to steady his breathing. But the aphrodisiac coursing through his body wouldn’t let him.

“Ah…”

As if pulled by invisible strings, Heliod’s body began to move again. Despite just having climaxed, his still-erect member stood stiffly in my hands.

I smiled.

“You said this was a dream, right?”

“…Yes.”

“And we have to endure the night here?”

“Th-that’s r-right… ugh… that’s right…”

Heliod’s face flushed red with shame. I gently stroked his long hair while lightly running my hand along his member. Heliod gasped sharply.

“Wait, stop… touching…”

“I’ll make your night pass quickly.”

“Ugh!”

As I pressed lightly on the tip of his glans and massaged the base of his shaft, Heliod squeezed his eyes shut.

“Isn’t that the only way to get through this?”

Heliod nodded slowly, his face flushed with heat, clearly reluctant, but unable to resist. Despite his hesitation, his body was already responding, his hips moving in rhythm with my increasingly quick strokes.

“Sir Knight, do you like it when I rub here?”

I teased, touching the sensitive opening of his urethra. Heliod’s pleasure-clouded eyes shimmered with moisture and twisted with the sensation.

“Why… do you keep saying such things…?”

“Usually, that just makes it more exciting.”

Heliod bit his lip, unable to deny it.

“Ugh…”

Unable to respond, he simply moved his hips, lost in the heat that was building up inside him. He threw his head back, exposing his sweat-slicked, muscular body as his hips bucked in pleasure.

Soon, the second wave of pleasure surged through him.

“Ah…!”

Heliod trembled violently, his eyes widening. Once again, hot fluid spilled onto my clothes and hands. He let out a low groan, gripping my arm tightly.

“…Lady Arpen.”

“Yes?”

“When we get out of here, I will send a letter of apology…”

“Are you asking me not to tell anyone?”

“…Yes.”

I smiled gently, narrowing my eyes affectionately.

“Of course.”

Why would I refuse when this handsome hero, addicted to the aphrodisiac, clings to me, begging? With a tender gesture, I cupped Heliod’s warm cheek.

“I won’t say a word. Not about how you were cursed by a demon, or how I got caught up in it.”

Heliod’s blue eyes, hazy from the relentless pleasure, followed my hand as I moved closer. I whispered to him softly.

“Not even about how the curse tests your carnal desires, trying to lead you into corruption.”

I won’t say anything.

My words, seemingly kind, brought a sense of relief to Heliod’s face, but that relief quickly melted away as the deepening lust overtook him again. He buried his face in my shoulder, letting out a long, low moan.

He began to rub against me once more, his hips moving rhythmically. It was the beginning of a long first ordeal.

❖ ❖ ❖

Heliod Vus. Who is he?

As previously explained, Heliod Vus is the leader of the Imperial Paladins and a renowned hero of the recent war, celebrated widely throughout the Empire. With his feather-like white hair, clear eyes that capture the hearts of women, and an appearance so noble and beautiful that it belongs in a temple sculpture, he even graced the pages of gossip magazines across the capital.

In terms of skill, physique, and looks, Heliod seemed to lack nothing. However, he did have a few shortcomings—specifically, his background and position. Heliod was an orphan from the slums who had been taken in by an orphanage run by a nearby temple. By sheer luck, he exhibited divine power and became a knight, which didn’t sit well with the conservative nobility.

Even though his abilities could have overshadowed such a minor flaw, he remained untainted by worldly desires, taking a vow of chastity and becoming the leader of the Paladins—a decision that broke the hearts of many noble ladies. Thus, our war hero had to be content with being the protagonist of a historic victory while enduring the scornful gazes of the nobles and the unrequited affections of the ladies.

But the world was not so kind.

“Heliod Vus!”

At the edge of the blood and carnage of war, just before the Empire’s victory cry rang out, a demon let out a tearing scream with its final breath.

“I will never forget what you’ve done to us! I will never forget the ten million of my kin you slaughtered!”

The bloodstains on Heliod’s pale face seemed to twitch. Without a change in expression, he swung his sword.

“I only remember slaughtering ten million beasts.”

A sharp blade sliced through the air. The demon’s head flew off with a scream, and another stain marred Heliod’s blue sword.

An ending so anticlimactic that it hardly seemed fitting for the conclusion of a long war. Heliod’s face darkened. As he shook the blood off his sword and prepared to sheath it, a dark energy began to rise from the demon’s corpse. He quickly turned his head.

“I curse you!”

The dark energy shot straight toward Heliod. He raised his stained sword to block it, but the black energy dispersed, surrounding him and swallowing him whole.

“What the…!”

As Heliod hurriedly deployed a holy barrier, the demon’s curse vanished. With a tense expression, he reached out, checking his body with a surge of aura.

‘What just happened?’

As a Sword Master, Heliod could examine his physical condition using aura.

A blue aura enveloped his surroundings, but even after thoroughly scanning his body and the area around him, he couldn’t detect anything amiss.

“Did it fail?”

Doubt clouded Heliod’s eyes, but there was nothing more he could discern. He shook off his sword and began to sheathe it again, unaware that a black streak of light flickered across his back.

“Commander!”

The light streak darted inside his armor as someone else appeared. Heliod relaxed his rigid expression as he saw the young, blond-haired man running toward him.

“Keron.”

“We just confirmed it. The demons in Sectors 3 and 4 have all been eliminated.”

Keron’s eyes glistened with tears. His sweat-soaked bangs trembled as he spoke.

“We won. We’ve secured victory!”

Heliod’s clear eyes turned toward the sky.

“Yes.”

Countless soldiers had lost their lives, been maimed, or wounded, but they had won. At last, the Empire had triumphed.

Heliod’s distant gaze held the sorrow of the long war against the demons. But he soon shook it off and began to move forward. Keron, the vice-captain of the Seisior Paladins, accompanied Heliod, shouting out cries of victory.

As bright light shone upon them, a streak of light, like a snake’s tongue, trembled within Heliod’s armor and then slithered into his body. Heliod paused and scanned his surroundings.

“Commander? What’s wrong?”

Keron turned to him with a cheerful expression. Heliod blinked slowly and then shook his head.

“It’s nothing. Let’s go.”

“Yes!”

Heliod Vus, the Paladin Commander and the one who would announce the Empire’s victory to the world.

He returned, bearing the curse of a demon.

❖ ❖ ❖

Heliod realized the presence of the curse that night.

“Commander, we’ve received orders to return! We’re to pack up all camps and supplies by the end of this month… Commander?”

Inside the dark tent of the Paladin Commander, lit only by a single candle, Keron noticed something unusual about Heliod’s expression in the flickering shadows and approached him.

“Commander, is there an issue with your injuries?”

“…”

“Commander Vus?”

It was only after several calls that Heliod finally spoke.

“…I’m fine. Keron, we’ll discuss the report later.”

“Oh, yes. Understood. My apologies for disturbing your rest!”

Keron saluted sharply and quickly left the tent. Heliod let out a shaky breath, staggering as he got up from his seat. He walked over to the large full-length mirror beside his cot, hesitating for a moment before loosening his clothes to reveal his impressive upper body.

His chest, filled with muscle, broad and strong shoulders, and the small scars decorating his smooth skin—all seemed to enhance his already striking appearance, including the prominent, chiseled abs that demanded attention.

Heliod bit his lip as he looked down at himself, then turned around. Lowering his shirt, he gazed at the strange black mark on his lower back.

‘As I suspected, this appeared after…’

A thin, snake-like pattern curled along his lower spine, drawing a sinuous curve. When he tried to remove it, focusing aura in his hand and pressing it against his back, he suddenly gasped, his back arching sharply.

“Ah…!”

His head snapped back, his waist trembling violently. As his shirt slipped down, the outline of his hardened member became visible, straining against his pants. Heliod staggered, grabbing onto the mirror as he bent forward.

“Ugh, ha…”

Heliod’s pale face flushed red. Wiping the sweat from his face, he looked down at his erect member.

‘When I try to remove it, my body…’

He couldn’t continue his thoughts. The black mark, as if offended by his attempt to erase it, sent a surge of heat through his spine. Heliod barely resisted the urge to rub himself against the mirror and instead strode over to his bed.

There was no doubt—it was the demon’s curse. There was no other reason for his body to become so sinful. With a troubled expression, he sat on the edge of the bed. As he bent his knees, the increased contact with the fabric made his member twitch. Heliod stifled a faint groan as he pressed his forehead into his hand.

‘This has never happened before.’

He had received some sex education while at the temple-run orphanage, but he had never been interested in carnal desires. After discovering his latent divine power and joining the Paladins, his training only distanced him further from worldly lusts. He had never imagined that, after making his vow of chastity and becoming the commander of the Paladins to honor the High Priest who had taken him in, he would ever face something like this.

Heliod twisted his body uncomfortably. Having never experienced masturbation or even a wet dream, he couldn’t handle the overwhelming pleasure now assaulting him. In the end, Heliod could do nothing against the demon’s curse but quietly endure it, waiting for the searing heat to subside.

And then, in that moment—

「Heliod Vus.」

A demon whispered.

“Who’s there!”

Heliod’s head shot up as he grabbed the sword beside his bed. He scanned the area with sharp eyes.

「You won’t be able to catch or find me until you break this curse.」

“…The demon from that time?”

「Though my physical body fell to your blade, my spirit remains within this curse. I will see you corrupted, no matter what!」

Heliod’s lips curled into a crooked smile.

“So, this curse is your plan? You think you can trap me with something as pathetic as lust?”

Having spent years on the battlefield, enduring all kinds of pain, Heliod found this curse—the demon’s final attempt—laughable. The pleasure it brought was unfamiliar, but it was just another bodily sensation. Once he became accustomed to it, he planned to use his aura to remove the curse immediately.

But the demon sneered at Heliod’s thoughts and replied,

「My curse has only just begun, Heliod Vus. I never believed that something so trivial would shake you.」

Heliod’s blue eyes narrowed.

「The curse will activate when you least expect it, bringing the greatest sacrifice you never wanted. You will be trapped in a nightmare, forced to watch as your body succumbs to corruption!」

“Utter nonsense.”

Heliod summoned his aura, a fierce, blue energy filling the tent. The demon’s mocking laughter faded as the curse’s presence vanished.

Heliod furrowed his brow, focusing his senses on his aura. As long as the curse remained within him, it seemed he couldn’t capture the demon’s spirit. The tent fell silent once more. Heliod sighed, rubbing his temples.

‘What a strange curse I’ve fallen under.’

He decided he would seek help from a priest or a mage once he returned to the capital. The strange pleasure would subside in a matter of minutes as long as he didn’t touch the cursed mark. Heliod’s expression hardened as he recalled the demon’s words.

When you least expect it, when the greatest sacrifice occurs.

The long war had just ended. He couldn’t bear to see any more sacrifices. This curse had to be dealt with. Resolute, Heliod gripped his sword tightly.