The Incommunicable Succubus
Rohan and Ichinose wandered through the fog-shrouded forest.
They stretched their legs diligently, heading toward the singularity deep within the Nest of Dream Demons.
Along the way.
Rohan let out a hollow chuckle at the sight of mushrooms swaying side to side like they were dancing.
Those look like they'd fuck you up if you ate them.
"Baby Yui. I'm no plant expert, but these things here? Definitely not normal, right?"
"I'm no botanist either... but yeah, those mushrooms and everything else—I've never seen any of it before."
"The most common thing around here's those pitch-black roses, I guess."
"Black roses do exist in real life, but they're more dark red. Not ink-black like these, and they don't snap off so brittle."
"Ah, here they come again."
Rohan ended the conversation and gripped his sword.
— Uuoooh...
— Gruuk, gruuuh!
The husks, discarded playthings of the dream demons, swarmed in once more.
All males again, without fail.
"You handled them last time. My turn this round."
Ichinose gripped the hilt of the sword she cradled and stepped forward.
With a sharp clink!, the husk pack was neatly bisected.
Rohan set aside his food worries for the moment as points rolled in.
He scanned the surroundings again.
Before we run into a named succubus, I'd love to test a regular one at least once.
He wanted to gauge just how potent that Charm status effect—the one that ensnared men—was.
If even a basic succubus's Charm was impossible to resist, they'd be in deep shit.
"Baby Yui."
"Yeah?"
"If we spot a succubus, mind giving me a sec? I'll take the first swing."
Ichinose didn't snap back at the absurd request right away.
There had to be a reason Rohan was bringing it up.
After a brief moment of thought, she replied.
"Don't tell me... you wanna tank the Charm head-on?"
"Bingo. Succubi vary wildly in power from one to the next."
Ichinose trusted Rohan's iron will.
She couldn't imagine him crumbling like some husk or lesser prey.
That said.
The idea of a succubus—the epitome of lewdness—laying her Charm on him rubbed her the wrong way.
It felt like a fishbone lodged in her throat, impossible to swallow her easy approval.
"Like you said... among the succubi pulled through dimensional rifts, some can communicate, others can't even hold a conversation."
"Yep. Stats back it up."
"The talkative ones are higher-tier for sure, and if the incommunicable ones lack Charm effects, we can handle 'em easy."
"So you'll greenlight it if it's an incommunicable one?"
"Sigh... fine... whatever..."
A brief silence followed Ichinose's conflicted okay.
Rohan wondered if he'd pushed too hard on the risky play and started gauging her mood.
They passed a few more of those never-before-seen plants.
Ichinose broke the quiet first.
"Rohan."
"Yeah?"
"...I let you do this dangerous shit, but if you fall to Charm, I'm really gonna be pissed."
"If I get Charmed, don't hold back till it breaks. Stabs are fine, but hold off on slashes till the end."
"Hmph! I'll punch you instead."
Ichinose balled her slender fingers into a tight fist and flashed her pale, threatening hand.
..
..
Rohan and Ichinose had sliced through dozens of husks when they spotted something.
One husk wore clothes with a specific brand label—according to Ichinose, a famous Tigrova line.
A recent model, at that.
Which led to a near-certain hunch.
One of the recent monoliths must've sucked people from this world into it.
"I heard monoliths from all sorts of countries have swallowed people. These husks might be..."
"Possible. Could even be folks from totally separate worlds mixed in."
"You believe other dimensions have people too, huh?"
"Yeah. Adds some romance to it, y'know."
"Romance...?"
Ichinose followed with lips pursed in confusion.
And the pair finally encountered their first singularity in the forest.
"Shh."
Something hazy loomed through the mist.
They crept closer in utter silence, securing a clear line of sight.
A ramshackle hut of twigs and vines.
A nearly naked succubus lay sleeping inside, her vital spots barely veiled by inky shadows.
Exposure on full, shameless display.
Ichinose cracked her eyes open for a proper look at her first succubus.
Every shift of her thighs or toss sent vivid eroticism spilling from those voluptuous curves.
"...!"
Ichinose reflexively slapped a hand over Rohan's eyes at the sight of that killer body.
Rohan whispered at the sudden palm-block on his view.
"Why?"
"Th-that thing's too... too sexy..."
"It's a monster. And we're adults."
"...!"
Her form was vaguely human, but she was no human.
A devilish tail swished lazily; bat-like wings adorned her back.
"Wanna charge?"
"You really gotta?"
"Gotta prep. If she seems chatty, hit her fast."
"...Got it."
One slip could doom them all.
No assuming low tier just 'cause she holed up here.
Could be a succubus-world hermit sage or some shit.
Ichinose backed off a bit at Rohan's request.
He strode right up to the succubus without hesitation.
"Hey."
— ■,■■?!
The succubus jolted awake in shock.
Her whites were pitch black, teeth needle-sharp.
"Name first. Gimme your name."
— ■■... ■■■■?
The dream demon muttered in some incomprehensible tongue.
But that arrogant smirk? Crystal clear.
Jackpot—a man's wandered in.
No dice on communication.
Rohan tightened his sword grip, ready to strike.
Even in this dump, her pheromones hung thick.
Dream demons gonna dream demon—born and bred for this.
— ■■!
Tssuuuuu——.
Pink mana steamed from her body, coalescing into clouds.
The vapor rushed Rohan sword-first.
Definitely Charm.
Wide area, flexible, but dodgeable speed.
But Rohan didn't dodge. He took it full-on.
The pink mana enveloped him under her control.
"Rohan..."
Ichinose watched from behind, biting her nails.
— ■■■! ■!
The succubus grinned triumphantly, tail swaying.
This guy smelled extra tasty. Saliva pooled at the thought of draining his essence.
In that moment.
Rohan got the gist of what Charm felt like.
Interesting.
Fascinating. Hostility toward the succubus faded.
Lewd thoughts bubbled up; his lower half grew heavy, just like you'd expect.
And the certainty that yielding to the mana’s source would quench it all.
Still.
I can tank this.
The urge to blow off steam was real.
But to Rohan, it felt like scratching an insanely itchy spot without quite reaching it.
Totally manageable.
Step. Step.
He walked straight out of the swirling pink maelstrom.
— ■■! ■■...!?
The succubus panicked at the unflinching Rohan, babbling nonsense.
Which let Rohan guess her thoughts.
Did he just shrug it off?
Status screen check: no bleeds, no confusions like in past fights. Status empty.
No debuffs.
One thing left to do.
He kicked off the ground, closing in.
— ■, ■■!
The succubus flailed her hands in panic.
No options beyond Charm. She didn't know shit about fighting. Certainty.
One Sword - Flame Sever
His blade arced in a blaze of light, flashing across the succubus's neck.
Clean decapitation.
Generous points despite no real challenge.
Rohan turned from the crumpling corpse to Ichinose.
"Tanked it. See?"
"That's... seriously impressive..."
Ichinose sighed in relief and admiration.
She bared her golden eyes to take in the unscathed Rohan.
But her open gaze didn't last.
"!!!"
She snapped her eyes shut in shock.
Rohan cocked his head at her flushed face and sudden spin-away.
"What's up?"
"C-calm... calm that down first..."
"Calm what? Told you—no Charm."
"Down there! Y-your... down there!"
"Down where?"
Rohan glanced down at himself.
Then he felt it.
The unconscious change from the Charm.
His natural lower-body reaction hadn't subsided.
It stood proud, threatening to rip through his uniform pants with its sheer presence.