Bound to the Demon Lord ✔️

Chapter One

"It's all right, young one. This will help you feel better."

A gentle golden glow surrounded the child's injured arm. The little boy squirmed uncomfortably in his seat, but his mother gently held him by the shoulders, assuring him it wouldn't take long and it wouldn't hurt. Of course, his anxiety was understandable. Sometimes the warmth that came from holy magic made children nervous; the healing process was accelerated and it could feel weird for intense pain to suddenly recede.

Fortunately, it ended as soon as it began and the glowing stopped. The child blinked, looking down at his once scarred and bruised arm. It was now fully healthy and healed, no pain in sight.

His face brightened in awe, looking up at the freckled woman who had healed him. "How did you do that?"

"Ben, mind your manners," his mother chided before making the boy stand up. Then she made him give a polite bow, her giving one as well. "Truly, thank you, priestess. If there's anything we can do to repay you..."

The priestess smiled warmly and shook her head. "It was no trouble. May the Goddess be with you."

The mother and son waved goodbye before leaving through their camp. Once they were out of sight, the priestess's shoulders slumped. She and the three other priests that had come on this mission had been healing people all day. It was now mid-afternoon, and she had finally seen her last patient.

Admittedly, she was exhausted. Using her divine power so many times on so many people was draining. Perhaps if she had the power of their Goddess, Lady Seraphine and only child of the Creator, she could heal them with ease. Instead, she and her fellow priests tired quickly, which made her sigh in defeat. It drew the attention of the other priest sitting on a log nearby, who gave her a sympathetic look.

"Are you all right, Sister Phoebe?"

Phoebe nodded and sat down next to him. "I wish we could stay to help these people."

Her friend sighed before taking a sip of water from his leather canteen. "I know. But our top priority is finding and arresting the Seekers. That will help these people in the long run compared to the short turn."

Phoebe didn't reply, even though she knew he was right. Instead, she absentmindedly took hold of her braid, undoing it before redoing it again. Braiding her hair usually helped her focus, or at least calm down.

And she needed to stay calm. This whole situation was insane. She had been aware of the terror these cultists had been causing for ears, but to actually see it was another horror entirely.

She had lived in the capital, Perlsea, her entire life. And when her divine powers had been awakened at sixteen, she had been brought to live with the Perlsea Temple and train there. Even after becoming a full-fledged priestess, she had only been assigned to continue working with the capital. So, for her entire life, Perlsea was where she had lived and served as a priestess.

She had liked it well enough, having plenty of friends and meeting lots of interesting people. Not to mention she got to work in the same place as the Veil Keeper, the divine leader of tall the temples. Many would have envied to work in the same temple as them, even if she only ever saw them rarely in pacing.

Still, Phoebe had always felt unfulfilled, like something was missing. She had wished that she would be reassigned somewhere in the countryside at one of the smaller temples. Or perhaps even become a traveling priestess, where she could help those who needed it most all throughout the Caedoran Empire. Yet, every time she requested it, the head bishop would always reject it.

Then the Perlsea Temple began to send out more paladins and priests to deal with the growing violence of the cult. She had jumped at the opportunity to join one of the groups, hoping to provide genuine help to the empire's people, and even stop these cultists from causing more harm. Still, she never would have imagined the sort of carnage she would come across this past month.