Chapter 58: Hero Caught
The heavy lock of Leo Vance’s suite clicked shut, leaving the hallway dead silent. Knight Captain Valerie stayed on the floor for three long breaths, staring at the closed wooden door. Her throat was bruised where Leo’s fingers had pinned her plate armor.
Beside her, Spiritist Maya reached down and helped Valerie to her feet. Valerie bent down, picking up her heavy dragon-scale greatsword from the cracked floor tiles. Her fingers were shaking with anger and humiliation.
"He was lying," Valerie said, her voice tight and rough. "That countryside brute wanted to trick us. He wants us to doubt Lord Noel." Maya did not answer right away. She held her silver pendant tightly against her chest.
"I hope you are right," Maya whispered. "But we have to check. We need to see Lord Noel right now."
Valerie sheathed her greatsword with a sharp click. "Fine. We will go to his quarters. When we find him praying for Seraphina, we will come back and cut Vance down." The two women turned and walked quickly down the carpeted hallway.
They climbed the wide stone staircase leading to the eastern guest wing. This was the luxury section where high-ranking church officials and the Hero Party were housed.
Outside the tall hallway windows, the sky had turned dark gray. Cold wind rattled the glass, and thunder rumbled in the distance. They stopped in front of Noel Pendelton’s private room.
The double doors were made of heavy polished wood, carved with the golden sun symbol of the church. Valerie raised her armored hand to knock, but stopped. A strange noise came from inside the room. It was the sound of heavy, wet breathing.
A man was panting in quick, ragged gasps. Between the gasps came the wet, rhythmic sound of skin slapping rapidly against skin. Valerie froze in place. Her crimson eyes widened in confusion. "Lord Noel?" Valerie called out, her voice loud and sharp.
The noise inside did not stop. Instead, a muffled groan echoed through the wood, sounding desperate and breathless. Maya stepped closer to the door crack. She closed her eyes, sending a simple thread of magic sense into the room to see what was happening.
Two seconds later, Maya gasped and jumped backward. Her face lost all color, turning chalk white. She slapped both hands over her mouth and began to gag, her stomach twisting in pure disgust.
"Maya, what is it?" Valerie demanded, grabbing her shoulder. "What is he doing in there?" "The crystal..." Maya choked out, tears of horror filling her eyes. "He has the recording crystal... He is watching Seraphina..." Valerie’s mind went completely blank for a split second.
Then, pure fury exploded in her chest. Valerie took one step back, lifted her heavy armored boot, and kicked the center of the wooden doors with all her strength. Boom!
The lock snapped instantly. Both heavy doors blasted open, slamming against the stone walls with a deafening crash. The room inside was dark. The thick velvet curtains were pulled shut, blocking all daylight.
In the middle of the room, a glowing blue memory crystal hovered in the air. The crystal projected a large, bright magical screen across the ceiling. The footage was completely clear, showing Leo Vance and Saintess Seraphina in the underground archive.
Leo had Seraphina pinned on the stone altar in her thin white undershift. His warm hands gripped her bare thighs and pressed against her stomach, while Seraphina arched her back and cried out in pleasure as she reached a trembling climax.
Sitting on the edge of the large armchair right under the projection was Noel Pendelton. The sight was sickening. Noel’s pristine white hero jacket was unbuttoned and wide open. His trousers and undergarments were pulled down to his boots, exposing his pale legs.
His right hand was wrapped around his hard, wet cock, pumping his fist up and down with wild, frantic speed. Sweat was pouring down Noel’s face, and tears of twisted excitement ran down his cheeks.
"Yes... Seraphina... take his heat... give me more power..." Noel was whimpering aloud to the screen, his eyes wide and completely insane. In front of his eyes, a glowing blue system prompt flashed with rapid notifications:
[Trait Activated: Masochistic Hero’s Trait] [Party Maiden ’Saintess Seraphina’ Intimately Touched by Hostile Force] [Vicarious Shock Converted into Holy Mana Surge] [Holy Core Capacity +15% |
Strength +20 | Agility +18] When the doors slammed open, Noel stopped moving. His hand was still gripping his cock. His pants were still around his ankles.
He slowly looked toward the open doorway, staring directly at Valerie and Maya.
The blue light from the crystal shone across his sweaty face.
Nobody spoke.
The room was so quiet that only the sound of Noel’s rapid breathing could be heard.
Valerie stood frozen in the doorway. Her jaw hung open in absolute shock and heartbreak.
This was the Hero of Light. This was the man she had sworn her life and sword to protect since she was a young knight.
And here he was, sitting half-naked in the dark, masturbating to a video of his own Saintess being stripped and touched in a dungeon.
"Valerie... Maya..." Noel stammered, his voice squeaking in terror.
Noel let go of his cock and tried to jump up to pull his pants up.
But in his panic, his feet tangled in his trousers. He tripped and fell flat on his face, crashing hard against the carpet.
"Wait! Stop! It is not what you think!" Noel screamed, scrambling backward on his hands and knees while trying to hide his groin.
"You do not understand! This is part of my holy power! This is for the party!"
Valerie stepped into the room. Her heavy boots crushed the broken wood from the door.
She did not draw her sword. She did not need to. Her eyes were burning with pure, murderous hatred.
"You sent Seraphina into that underground archive on purpose," Valerie said, her voice dropping to a deadly whisper. "You told her to stay with Leo Vance so you could film it."
Noel backed up until his spine hit the wooden desk. Sweat dripped from his chin onto the floor.
"Listen to me!" Noel yelled, crying desperately. "The Hero Core needs extreme shock to grow! When a pure Saintess is taken by a brute, her sacrifice creates a massive surge of holy stats!"
"I felt the power flowing into me during the watch! Look at my status screen!"
Noel hit his chest, bringing up a glowing golden menu to show his stats.
"I did it for the realm! I sacrificed her purity so I could become strong enough to save the world!"
Maya stood by the broken doorway, tears streaming down her pale cheeks.
Every holy prayer and righteous speech Noel had ever given was a complete lie. He was never a noble savior. He was only a sick pervert using them for power.
Valerie did not look at the status screen.
She looked down at the half-naked boy shivering on the floor.
"You are not a hero," Valerie said, her voice freezing the entire room.
"You are a disgusting maggot."
Outside the window, lightning flashed across the sky, followed by a loud crash of thunder as heavy rain poured down over the academy.