An Archer's Promise

Chapter 51: Archer and Celestine Part 1

Beta read by Shigiya and Fluffy Slayer.

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Her recollection of the past few months was faint, with her earliest memories centering around a woman hiding her younger self inside an abandoned house before hastily fleeing. 

Hundreds of torch-wielding and pitchfork-bearing humans descended upon the scene, etching a vivid memory in her mind. Capturing the woman, they mercilessly stripped her of her clothes, revealing a waterfall of smooth purple hair and twisted-curved horns akin like her own. 

"Demon!" 

"Wretched succubus!" 

"Kill her!" 

"Show her the wrath of the goddess!" 

She watched as they brought down their weapons upon her defenseless mother, causing blood to splatter everywhere. She screamed in agony, but her cries were buried under the cheers of the humans. Her eyes were fixated on the gruesome spectacle as they tore her limb from limb with smiles on their faces. The little girl could do nothing but stay quiet, desperately hoping that no one would find her. Shivering from the cold, fear and uncertainty engulfed her heart — Radomira wanted to escape this hell. 

Soon days turned into months, and she learned to hide from human sight. Scavenging for food in the wild that were filled with predators and demons, stealing fruits from vendors in small towns when she got desperate. 

Yet no matter how much she tried to live a quiet life, trouble inevitably sought her out at every turn. Even when she concealed most of her features with a dirty rag, Radomira could still feel the lecherous gazes from the people around her if she lingered in one place for too long. The unsettling desire that seemed to stir within everyone's heart sent a shiver down her spine. 

From a tender age, she had already understood the significance of those lingering gazes, attuned to the implications they carried. It was ingrained in her very nature to decipher such signs and comprehend the perils that would ensue if they were to uncover her identity as a Tiefling or, worse… get their hands on her body. 

"Got you!" 

Her streak of luck ended abruptly early in the morning when she had no choice but to leave the village due to a large number of Knights storming the area in search of a redheaded boy by the name of Shirou. Getting caught by these people was no different than an instant death. They were not the type to imprison and rape her like the many unfortunate young girls she met along the way who ended up as prostitutes. Unfortunately, her escape attempt proved futile, as she was captured not even halfway across the road by a duo of hunters who were tipped off about her existence. 

"Let me go!" She struggled, her mind haunted by the image of the woman in the past getting impaled and dismembered. Desperation surged within Radomira, but despite her non-human nature, she possessed no superhuman strength or magical abilities, having never awakened her powers. The two men proved too formidable for her struggles to make any difference. 

"We got ourselves a succubus, a young one at that!" Screamed the man with jubilance, tying her hands and legs so that she wouldn't be able to move. "Just look at her skin, so smooth and soft. She'll make a fine woman in the future. Though I do know some clients who don't mind eating an unripened apple." He touched her legs, his hands traveling up her body, caressing it and kneading the flesh with a perverted grin. 

It was unpleasant, disgusting, and frightening to the young girl. 

"Hey, stop it, you fucking idiot!" shouted the old man, pulling the other human away from her. "That's not a human woman or an elf. You can’t just fuck without consequences! You Kuroinu dogs can be so impatient at times. Last time, you couldn't resist sleeping with the Baron's wife while her husband was still talking to me in the room next door."