Chapter 116: With a Will of One's Own
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 116: With a Will of One's Own
“A succubus... you say?”
“Yeah. Half.”
“Half?”
The fact that Iris was a succubus was quite a shock. I’d never seen the shape of her ears or the wings at her waist before. I’d just thought she was a person with a... unique mental state.
Were all the eccentricities she’d shown until now just accidents caused by the difference in perspective between a succubus and a human? Regardless, if you're a succubus, you're a succubus. What on earth did she mean by "half"?
“Then where did the other half go?”
“Humans are a short-lived species, aren't they?”
“They are.”
To be honest, the idea of humans being "short-lived" doesn't really hit home for me. Even if a person lives to forty, or even double that, it’s hard to think of it as short. But that’s from a human perspective; in this world, there are many demi-humans who live far longer than humans.
Beastkin are similar. I’ve heard that some healthy, strong ones with a certain clever power can live up to 120, but they're the exception, so I’ll set that aside.
Dwarves live anywhere from 150 to 200 years. They have a unique appearance where aging comes early but then seems to stop, so it’s not always obvious.
Elves, who are considered a fairy species, can live for hundreds of years. That’s based on natural causes, of course—it doesn't mean they're immune to disease or that they’ll always live out their full lifespan if they get hurt.
However, because their bodies don't grow frail with age, they don't suffer the drop in immunity or the tendency to die easily from injury or illness like humans do. Most elves live out their full centuries. They are a long-lived species in the truest sense.
“Have you ever thought about it?”
“About what?”
“What happens when a long-lived species becomes short-lived because of a skill?”
“Hmm….”
I’d certainly never considered a case like that. Naturally, long-lived species also gain skills when they enter the Labyrinth. What if an elf who had already lived for hundreds of years suddenly gained a skill that changed them into a human..?
A human living for hundreds of years—such a thing couldn't exist. A human lifespan rarely hits triple digits.
“An error occurs. No short-lived species can live far beyond its natural span.”
“So, Iris. What do you mean by being half-succubus?”
“I am a long-lived species. Even the Succubus Species—a type of demon—isn't short-lived, but I live much longer than they do.”
“What? Iris, were you an elf?”
Iris slowly shook her head.
“Then what?”
“A vampire. I was originally a vampire. But because I lived longer than a succubus's lifespan, my racial circuit broke.”
“That's….”
I was starting to understand, bit by bit.
“How many years have you lived?”
“I don't remember. Except for the fact that I watched the very beginning of Roanmarie's Labyrinth with my own eyes when I was young.”
“...So you've lived at least 500 years.”
I remembered what Renart Lymain, Theodora’s mother, had told me.
One of the things you should never get involved with in this world. Number one on the list: anything related to the dead. And number two: ancient demi-humans like vampires or titans.
“Iris, does that mean you've been killing people all this time?”
“What do you think? Aven, how do I look to you?”
Unlike her usual clipped way of speaking, Iris was unusually talkative today.
Vampires are creatures that sustain their lives by drinking blood. They are a race that requires killing to survive, which is exactly why one shouldn't associate with them.
It’s a blood feud built over centuries. Nothing good comes from being involved with—
“I have a question.”
“Ask. I'll answer.”
“When did you get the Succubus skill?”
“About 100 years ago, I think.”
So a 400-year-old vampire suddenly tried to evolve into a succubus. Demon Species live longer than humans, but they don't usually hit 400. Not unless they're something like a Succubus Queen.
“Then... did you do the... essence absorption too?”
“I told you. My racial circuit is broken.”
“Then what do you live on, Iris? Do you still drink blood like before?”
“Thinking that vampires only crave blood is narrow-minded.”
“I mean, the name literally means blood-sucker.”
It’s in the name of the species. If vampires don't drink blood, what on earth do they live on? She says she's not fully a vampire anymore, but based on what I've seen of her, parts of it remain.
The way she always keeps the magic item shop dark with the windows covered. Her unusually pale skin. A hybrid of a succubus and a vampire... what do you even call that?
“I can eat normal food just fine. I'm not some lowly Lowerblood who became a vampire through a bite.”
“Which means….”
“A True Ancestor. I was born a vampire.”
“Is it okay for you to tell me this..?”
“Why? Are you of the opinion that all vampires must be killed?”
“No, not particularly. Um, I'm not sure.”
Iris was a True Ancestor Vampire, born that way. Even if her circuit broke 100 years ago because of a skill, making her half-succubus.
It seemed she hadn't killed people for blood, nor had she absorbed essence as a succubus. Then how was she different from a normal human? Aside from living a bit longer.
“I guess you can't go out in the sun.”
“Not really. It doesn't matter to a True Ancestor. Besides, the vampire part of me was diluted when I got the Succubus skill.”
“Don't you feel sick if you don't absorb essence?”
“I'm not sure. Except for the fact that I have a fertile period once a year.”
Succubi are living creatures, so they have to reproduce. However, since they steal the partner's mana through sex and convert semen into mana, pregnancy is normally impossible.
But once a year, during their fertile period, they lose the power of essence absorption and become capable of conceiving.
“So... Iris, you're basically just a human who lives a long time.”
The sun? She's a True Ancestor, so she's fine. Essence? Not really necessary.
She eats normal food. The only outliers are her lifespan and that fertile period.
“But something's strange.”
Iris seemed a bit more... clear-headed right now. Or maybe she was usually just more dazed. The conversation was flowing so smoothly; she felt different from the Iris I knew.
“Well, it's hard to speak properly in front of the person you like.”
“...Are you joking?”
“Of course not.”
“What is it about me that you like?”
Iris turned, floated slowly into the air, and sat back down in her seat.
“I'm curious myself. Why on earth does my body react to you?”
“If you don't know, who would?”
“No, maybe you do know.”
“Me?”
Iris's eyes flashed.
“Are you dead?”
“Dead? I'm clearly alive.”
—Clang!
“Iris...?”
“Strange.”
Black chains erupted from the air, binding my body and pulling me tight. Iris reached out, her hand hovering over the left side of my chest. She tilted her head in confusion.
“You're right. You're very much alive.”
“I told you.”
“Then why do I, with the ‘Necrophilia’ skill, feel sexual arousal toward you?”
“....”
That was news to me.
“Necrophilia... you mean being attracted to corpses?”
“You could say that. Though I don't get excited by just any corpse.”
“Why haven't you deleted a skill like that? For that matter, why didn't you delete the Succubus skill?”
“Probably because there was no appraiser who understood vampires.”
One possibility came to mind.
“Is it because my body is made of flesh?”
“I wouldn't say that's entirely irrelevant. But I'm a bit skeptical.”
“Why?”
“Because your original body wasn't much different.”
Now I had two possibilities.
“Did you... die and come back to life?”
“...Haha. Of course not, Iris.”
* * *
Maybe I did. In fact, didn't I die and come back to life once?
“Whew....”
Before I came to this world, I died.
It was a torrential downpour. The rain was so heavy it blocked my vision, and the tires spun uselessly on the wet road.
The last thing I remember was the blinding high beams of a car in the opposite lane.
A loud crash, a plummeting body temperature, shards of glass embedded in the left side of my torso. And the sound of my sister's screaming voice.
“Yoo Eon... are you okay...?”
“Sera.”
I opened my eyes to find myself here.
The people here said the Labyrinth has a will. It decides who to summon to which Labyrinth, and what skills they gain on which floor.
It decides what situations they face and, ultimately, what kind of end they meet.
It sounds like a joke, but they say the Labyrinth decides everything.
“Is it... okay for me to be here?”
“What do you mean? Of course it's okay. More than that, you're someone we need....”
“...I see.”
I knew there were people here who needed me.
But back there, there were people who couldn't do without me.
There was my mother, lying in a hospital bed.
There was my younger sister, who still had to go to school.
“Sigh....”
A festering, rotten sigh escaped from deep within my boiling gut. I clutched my head so hard it felt like my hair was being torn out.
The habit of shaking my leg, which I had worked so hard to fix, returned. I felt like absolute shit.
“What am I supposed to do...”
“Yoo Eon.”
Hands cupped my cheeks as I sat with my head bowed. They were soft and warm against my skin, yet firm and persuasive.
“Don't worry too much about problems that can't be solved right now.”
“Even if I don't want to worry, I can't help it.”
“Is this a problem that can be solved by worrying?”
“...What?”
She gently pulled my cheeks to make me look up. Sera was looking at me with a warmth in her eyes I had never seen before.
“If it is, then feel free to worry all day. But if it's a problem that worrying won't solve, it would be better to spend this time working hard.”
“Working hard... at what?”
“Hmm. That's a difficult question. Maybe at something that can solve this?”
Something that can solve this.
“Sera. Then, could you give me something to eat?”
“As much as you want.”
Sera gave a bright smile, tied an apron around her waist, and headed into the kitchen.
“Whew.”
It was certainly more productive than sitting at an inn table, sighing and tearing my hair out.
“I have to reach the end of the Labyrinth.”
They said the Labyrinth has a will.