Stand-in Aunt (2)
“Kyaaak?!”
The pink-haired satyros collapsed on the spot at the sight of me suddenly appearing before her.
When I heard that that pathetic loser had forgiven this satyros—even after she'd chomped through his leg like it was nothing—it pissed me the fuck off.
And when I learned he'd even made her his slave or some shit? I couldn't even wrap my head around what the hell that meant.
Still, she was the closest thing to a friend this satyros had.
I opened my mouth as she trembled, clutching the hem of her apron tightly.
“Hey.”
“Y-yes...!”
“When's the last time you saw that idiot Hanjo? Tell me right now.”
“Huh? M-master... no, big bro?”
“Big bro my ass. I know your damn age, you fucking bitch.”
A girl twice his age fawning over him with “big bro this, big bro that”? It grated on me.
I couldn't understand why he'd pamper someone who'd treated him like shit from the start.
What a fucking pushover.
One day, she'd eat him alive, backbone and all.
As I inwardly cursed the moron, the satyros hesitantly spoke up.
“S-satyros live several times longer than humans, so if you think about it that way...”
This fucking bitch.
Just answer the goddamn question.
“Cut the bullshit and answer me. When did you last see him?”
“W-well, a few days ago when he bought some dumplings...”
Her mumbling “I haven't seen him since” made my teeth grind.
So even this satyros hadn't laid eyes on him since that day?
Which meant...
Since then, he hadn't shown up for his daily slimy dispenser shifts, hadn't stopped by the mart he hit every day for groceries.
Hadn't come home even once.
He'd just... vanished.
“Hic!”
The satyros hiccuped, looking up at me.
I glared down at her.
“...If you're lying to me... I won't let it slide.”
“I-I'm not lying! B-but why is Lilith looking for Hanjo m... no, Master...?”
“......”
Right, she had no idea what I was to Hanjo.
Her words hit me like a bucket of ice water, chilling my mind.
But that passed quick. Seeing her switch from “big bro” to “master” just fueled my rage.
Big bro, master—words that made any man's dick twitch.
Thinking of this slut—who'd probably fucked who-knows-how-many guys on the street—fawning over him like that made my blood boil.
Maybe that's why he'd acted like such a pushover with her?
But...
What the hell could I even do about it?
Even if I told her I was Hanjo's adoptive mother, did that give me any right to do shit to her?
“Tch.”
I clicked my tongue without thinking, and she flinched, shoulders hunching.
“Eek...!”
I snapped at her pathetic squeak.
“Anyway... if you see that guy, report it to me.”
“Huh?”
I ground my teeth at her puzzled look.
“Report it to me. You deaf? Want me to clean out those ears for you? Huh?”
“N-no! They're not blocked...! B-but how...?”
I started to give her my number, then remembered I'd smashed my smartphone to bits. With a tsk, I handed her something else instead.
“What's this...?”
“Call that number.”
One way or another, word would get back to me—but it'd reach me all the same.
I gave her Muri's number, then snapped my fingers again.
If this satyros didn't know, I'd just ask the others.
Eileya...
Mumungmumung...
Mano...
Mary...
The women he'd been with as a dispenser.
I'd tracked them all down, but none had seen Hanjo.
Some even turned the tables, asking me where the hell he'd gone.
It pissed me off.
All of them acting like they were something special to him, fretting that he hadn't shown up lately. Like they gave a shit.
As if their dispenser-customer fling gave them any claim.
Who the fuck did they think they were?
No...
Why the hell was I even this pissed over something so trivial?
“Hoo...”
Calm down, Lilith.
Getting worked up won't help. I haven't checked everywhere yet.
...But what if I still can't find him?
Then...
No, that won't happen.
With that thought, I snapped my fingers again.
“......”
Nothing.
No trace of Hanjo anywhere. No one who knew where he was.
I had to face it now.
The lamia kidnapping the dispenser, and this—both plotted by some fucking bastard.
Whether they had a grudge against me or the Twenty-Two Heroes, it was targeted. At me... at Hanjo.
“Ha.”
How the fuck did the info leak?
Not many knew about me and Hanjo.
Barely anyone, outside of Ariadd or Hoaran.
Unless...
“No way... because of the aura I left on him?”
I couldn't rule it out.
If the asshole gunning for me had spotted Hanjo, reeking of my energy...
Even I'd have zeroed in on him if I were them.
The image flashed: the dispenser, chained and broken-minded, staring blankly after the lamia snatch.
If grudge was the motive...
If that's why they took Hanjo...
Then suffering worse than that nameless dispenser wouldn't be surprising.
No, from then till now... no contact from me at all.
Meaning he's already...
“Ha... haha.”
I shouldn't have gone there myself.
Should've just sent my underlings and let them handle it.
Because I didn't, Hanjo vanished.
Someone stole mine.
So this is what it feels like—to have something taken.
Born into a world where succubi ruled as the dominant race, I reigned supreme above them.
Just breathing made me stronger. They brought me essence, swore loyalty without me lifting a finger.
No one had ever dared take what was mine.
Until now.
They took Hanjo.
The son I claimed.
Yeah, they underestimated me.
Thought they could steal from me because they saw me as weak.
Suuuup.
I inhaled deeply.
Mana around me surged in, filling me up.
Succubus Queen.
Born to rule all succubi.
The pinnacle succubus, drawing in life force, mana, essence with every breath.
I had many titles.
Empress.
Predator of Predators.
And Dimensional Devourer.
A transcendent being born naturally in one dimension.
A dimensional irregular, free of limits from the start.
Far beyond ordinary succubi in power, born alone without parents.
A world—a dimension—birthing me from itself.
That was me.
Born a succubus, but at my core, a devourer of all in the dimension.
That's why they sealed me.
My power grew daily, devouring more mana and life with each step. Left unchecked, I'd consume everything.
Still young, they sealed me in stages. Now, I began releasing them one by one.
As the seals lifted, my body changed.
Horns sprouted. Skin turned blue.
Claws sharpened. Mana ignited around me.
Blue flames.
They clung to my body like armor.
“Haaaaah...”
Power boiled through me, like shedding tight chains.
Horns several times longer. Blue-tinted skin. Razor claws...
My eyes probably black now, too.
Everything but those blood-red pupils I hated—pitch black.
As a child, I'd despised this alien look compared to other succubi.
More demon than succubus.
A form I never wanted anyone to see.
Hideous.
But the unsealed power surged through me.
No— I felt myself growing stronger even now.
Devouring the life force and essence of millions in this city.
I grew without wanting it, sucking others dry on autopilot. It pissed me off.
Blame Hanjo for forcing this form. Blame the fucker who took him. Rage boiled.
“Whoever the fuck you are...”
I spread my senses again.
Vastly wider than my original world—blanketing every city on this peninsula.
Still no Hanjo.
Fine. Expand further.
“I'll rip you in half.”
If they'd harmed him, made him suffer...
I swore to trap them in eternal undeath, tearing them apart forever.
“...Found you.”
Surprisingly, his trace was close.
Something my sharpened senses caught now, missed before.
I snapped my fingers for teleportation.
Landed atop a skyscraper.
“What the fuck?”
Why would he be here? No—maybe his kidnapper dragged him.
Random as fuck, but I refocused, tracing his aura.
Narrowed my senses.
Sharper now, I scoured every inch.
And...
“Massive ritual... high-level shamanism...”
Faint traces of activated spells, nearly faded with time.
Spells to bind people.
To transport them.
All sorts of magic... blood magic?
Even world-government-banned forbidden arts.
Traces of blood from those mosquito bastards—it was a medium for their magic.
And time-reversal shamanism.
The last—something only Hoaran-level heroes or dozens of elite shamans could pull off.
Incredibly powerful.
I still remembered Hoaran reversing the mosquito slaves' massive blood ritual sacrificing over 100k.
Lips bitten at even that being cast here.
But relief—he wouldn't be dead if they went this far.
And...
“Fuck...”
Traces of a portal spell opening somewhere. But the mana residue was too faded—no exact coordinates.
I could trace magic, but shamanic gates? Not my skill anymore.
“...Hoaran.”
Only a grand shaman like her could.
“Shit, seriously...”
Asking Hoaran after our fight over Hanjo? Awkward.
But no choice.
She'd help for Hanjo.
Couldn't just teleport into her Fox Forest domain rudely, begging or not.
Urgent, but...
Shwaaak. I unfurled my wings.
Three massive pairs blotting the sky.
Beating them, I soared toward Hoaran's Fox Forest.