There are kingdoms, there are castles, there are towns, and there are townhalls, there are villages and a chieftain, and then at the very end are the spots in the road with only a handful or a bunch. Not big enough for a village nor small enough to be a camp, there were minute settlements that had escaped the capital's eyes.

Riding into one such nameless place, Custer expected to ride off and never see the place again–not until their returning journey at least. But while passing by a wooden hut, he heard the familiar voice of a woman. Placing a hand on Aura's shoulder, he made her stop in the middle of the night and in the middle of nowhere.

"I think I heard Elicia…" Raising an eyebrow at his comment, Aura turned her head in the direction his eyes were pointed. And sure enough, she heard the priestess of Hestia mumbling something within a hut nearby.

"What is she doing here?" Snapping her fingers, Aura turned her head back to the front. "Ey! Glyea! Stop the carriage, will you?"

"Why? What happened?" Stopping the horses, the knight moved the curtain behind her and peered through the length of the hero's wagon to get a look at Aura behind them. "I thought we were going to keep moving tonight."

But instead of an answer, she got silence. Both Zephyr and Aura were descending their wagon, and Okio, and Valentine were right behind them. Making for the hut, the fiend drew Glyea's curiosity far enough to make her make the descent as well. Leaving the horses tied to the ground around her fencer blade, she quickly joined the fiend's group and walked inside the hut with them.

Her lip parted to question what was going on, but her words escaped her as she watched a woman inside the hut leaning over a group of sick people. Gathered in piles, their bodies were steaming with fever. Her hand stretched over the entire group, a priestess was trying to soothe their pain by casting a spell on them all at once.

Her powers, though limited by her mortal body, her soul, and her willingness to aid them, had become a conduit that was channeling her body with unrivaled strength. A paladin's oath, a priestess's sworn promise, and a knight's iron shield to stand against impossible armies–amongst such was the nature of her power after having lost the divine goddess's guidance.

Watching her heal them in silence, both Aura and Zephyr were surprised to find a specter of their past staring right at them. The same principles as Amiena's rings–the girl was applying in practice without realizing it. A paladin was one thing, or even a warlock was understandable, but the strength of her spirit to turn a promise into power was unlike any priestess they'd known. But then again, maybe it only made sense that it would be another priestess who would rediscover this ability, even if it was done unintentionally.

"Almost done…" Elicia whispered to herself, not realizing that someone was watching her.

As she opened her eyes, another woman standing next to her placed a hand on her shoulder and smiled.

"Thank you, now I will ask everyone to take care of the rest." Nodding back, the priestess turned her head to her audience with a smile. Those who saw her for the first time stared back at her with a curious look while Zephyr and Aura focused on her violet eyes instead.

'She changed?' Thought the two, and in the meantime, Elicia's eyes widened with shock. She hadn't expected to see the merchant boy again, not so soon, and not in a spot in the middle of nowhere. However, before she could snap out of her stupor, the fiend and the succubus delved deeper into the matter. Scouring her memories and rushing through her emotions, they found what they wanted to, which was… 'She consumed the essence and her strong desire–the source of her new powers, it willed her to become a succubus.'

The priestess's strong affection for the fiend had turned to that promise, that oath, that shield. Giving her strength like never before, but at the same time, consuming his essence had helped her take things further. Now, being the same race as him, she could match his nightly vigor.

"Custer? What are you doing here?!" Finally snapping out of her head, Elicia wasted no time and ran up to Zeph. Looking up into his eyes with a flood of desire being kept on edge, she wrapped her arms around him and squeezed him tight. "Ohhh, I missed you. I thought you'd never come visit me again!"

Containing her lust, barely, she pressed her fingers into the fiend's flesh. Feeling it bend under the tension, she found herself running her hands along his back everywhere. And although Glyea noticed the abnormally intimate touch for a priestess, she didn't say a word and watched in silence.

"What about you? What are you doing here?" Though he knew already, with Glyea by their side, Zephyr tried to hide his mind-reading ability.

Pulling herself away from him, Elicia held only his hands and responded to him.

"I heard that there was a plague going on around this town–" Halting in the middle of the sentence, her eyes narrowed, and a smirk took over. "How about you stay at least till morning, and I'll show you, it's more fun that way."

Letting go of his fingers, she held her hand towards the pile of sick people being separated by the healthy.

"Besides, I have plenty on my plate for tonight. So many of these unfortunate souls need my help."

Taking a step forward, Glyea decided to break her silence.

"No way," slicing the air with her hand, she planted her feet with a stomp. "We need to keep moving. Covering more ground during the night was the whole reason that we decided to rest during the day."

"If you help, I will request the leader of these people to help you return."

"We don't need any help getting to the capital!"

"They offered me all of their gold, I declined, but you can have it if you help."

"No way–" Swallowing her words, Glyea blinked and stared at the priestess. "How much?"

Turning her eyes towards a table in a corner, Elicia pointed at a tied piece of cloth lying on top of it.

"All of it, just like I said." Glyea clicked her tongue at the offer. She may have been the daughter of royalty, but her house would offer her nothing until she'd graduated from the academy. The same was true for her brother; those were the terms of her parents' will after all.

Reluctantly, she nodded. And the curious deal was sealed.

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