Nightmare Leap
Today was the day.
Layla had been pacing her room for a while now, gnawing at her long nails. From the bed to the window. From the window to the door. No matter how many times she crossed the floor, her heart showed no sign of settling, and her tail refused to lie still, smacking the boards again and again.
"Sex..."
Saying it out loud only made it feel more real. Honestly, she had no confidence.
Don't be scared.
It wasn't as if she'd had no experience at all in her past life. And sex wasn't going to kill her.
Of course, she'd heard it could be dangerous if the other person was an Ability User. Among humans, some were stronger than your average demon. Her sister had said the skill would pick a suitable partner on its own. Trust the skill, she'd told her.
And floating right before her eyes was a translucent pane.
Strength2
Stamina4
Mentality5
Intelligence7
Looking at it again only drew a sigh out of her.
Among demons, whose baseline sat in the double digits, she alone was stuck entirely in the single digits. And her lowest stat was a staggering two. She had never absorbed life essence even once, so the result was only natural—and still, the numbers were so wretched she could hardly stand to look at them.
I could turn the entire Demon Realm upside down and still have an easier time finding someone lower than me.
If that counted as impressive, then it was impressive. The reason her sister sometimes refused to treat her like a demon at all, the reason she was forever being compared to her peers—in the end, it all came down to these miserable stats.
Layla closed the status window, stepped up to the window, and drew a deep breath.
The sky of the Demon Realm was always a dark, blood-red. Even so, it never felt as if she couldn't see ahead, or as if the dark pressed in on her. Whether it was a trait of the demon race or not, she could see as clearly as if it were broad daylight.
Violet flames flickered along the countless needle-sharp spires, and through the low-hanging clouds a single enormous demonic dragon drifted past, wings beating slow.
At first that sky had been nothing but alien and grotesque, impossible to get used to. By now, though, it had grown familiar enough that whenever something weighed on her, she would sit by the window and stare blankly out at it.
Knock, knock.
"Layla, open the door."
It was Vivian.
"Yes!"
Layla answered at the top of her voice and fumbled the door open.
Her sister stood in the doorway, a good handbreadth taller than she was. Where had all that bold spirit gone—the one she'd shouted so proudly in front of her sister and brother only a few days ago? The moment their eyes met, Layla's shoulders hunched and her gaze dropped to the floor.
"W-what is it?"
"Essence Drain. Today's the day, isn't it?"
"Ah..."
"I came to see how you're heading out."
Vivian's eyes swept her from head to toe.
A black leather outfit clung to her body. Layla had spent days agonizing over it—digging through books, calling up the look succubi around her age usually wore—before finally settling on this.
"So you did look at something, at least."
"...Is it all right?"
"Leather. Classic, I'll give you that."
At what almost sounded like praise, Layla's expression brightened a little.
But the moment Vivian stepped inside, she seized Layla by the shoulders and spun her this way and that. Under those unhesitating hands, Layla swayed like a rag doll.
"Leather's good for setting a mood. Looks hot, too. Problem is, it's a pain to get off."
"I picked it so carefully..."
"Take it off."
"...What?"
"I said take it off. Just throw on a slip and go. You're going to have sex—why bother with something that cumbersome?"
"B-but I'm a succubus, so this kind of thing..."
"It's your first time. If a zipper snags while you're trying to get it off and you start fumbling, the whole mood dies. Listen to your sister and change."
Resisting would only end with the clothes coming off anyway. She was the type who listened to her sister.
"Okay..."
Layla answered in a voice barely louder than a mosquito's, then, watching her sister's face, hesitantly peeled the clothes off one piece at a time. Even if it was her own sister, baring herself was embarrassing. Still, if she dawdled, the scolding would only double.
"Wear this."
Her sister rummaged through Layla's wardrobe and flung a garment at her.
"...This?"
The slip Vivian had thrown her was thin. Far too thin. She'd put it on because her sister had given it to her, but she wasn't sure it even counted as wearing something. Her underwear showed straight through. Heat rushed up into her face, and the wings on her back fluttered as if trying to cool her down.
"That'll do."
Vivian perched on the edge of Layla's bed, looking satisfied.
"Go and come back easy. There's nothing hard about it. It's your first time, so aim for someone reasonable. If you get ideas above your station, go after someone strong, and pass out, we're in real trouble."
"O-okay..."
"Right. Don't mess it up. Have a good trip."
Warm words, coming out of her sister's mouth. Layla blinked before she could stop herself.
She thought Vivian was about to leave, but her sister showed no intention of getting off the bed. If anything, she'd folded her arms, clearly meaning to watch until the very end.
Don't tell me she thinks I'll run?
It was a fair suspicion. Even now, she wanted to bolt straight out the window.
"...I'll be back."
She dipped her head.
Her heart was pounding so wildly she was sure her sister could hear it. Layla drew a long breath, let it out slowly, and closed her eyes, gathering her focus into a single point.
Magic drained smoothly out of her body, and the sensation of being sucked somewhere washed over her.
A moment later, Layla vanished from the room.
Vivian stared for a while at the spot where she had been. Then she simply flopped back onto the bed.
"It's her first time. No way she lands on someone weird."
It was a strange feeling. Like passing through a door that existed somewhere inside her, invisible to the eye. Once she slipped through something like a thin membrane, solid floor met her toes.
Half excitement, half fear, Layla carefully opened her eyes.
"Uh..."
Her head turned, slowly.
"Hm?"
It was, at a glance, a wide and luxurious room. The candelabra on the wall spat violet flame, and the flooring—marble, maybe—looked hard and expensive.
The flame is purple...? Did I come to the wrong place?
One entire wall was a window, far taller than she was, enormous. Layla drifted toward it as if spellbound.
Something was wrong.
If this were the Human Realm, the sky should be blue—or if it's night, a black sky with a moon in it.
But the sky beyond the glass was that same familiar, all-too-familiar dark crimson she had been looking at only moments ago. Layla lowered her gaze and looked down outside the window. The height was dizzying. A vast forest spread below, small as a patch of grass.
And the moment she turned her head, a colossal structure rising in the distance caught her eye.
"That's a spire??"
Layla swallowed hard.
No way. This can't be the Demon Realm... can it?
The truth was, Layla had ignored her sister's advice for the first time. Right before she used Nightmare Leap, she had made a tiny wish in her heart. If she was going to do this anyway, she wanted someone strong. Her first time was already far later than everyone else's. If she absorbed the life essence of a powerful partner, wouldn't her stats shoot up just as much? That was what she had thought.
I only thought it...
Layla forced her legs to move and approached the large bed in the center of the room. The instant she confirmed the person lying there, she realized she had truly come to the wrong place. Setting aside where this even was.
It's a woman... I'm screwed.
A woman with red hair spilled loose across the pillow was fast asleep. Had her vain greed sent Nightmare Leap off in the wrong direction? Or had her low stats linked her to the wrong target?
Of course, she could absorb life essence from a woman too. But.
My sister and her friends only ever talk about men...
According to her sister, women weren't very efficient either.
Layla looked down at the sleeping woman and murmured under her breath.
"Nothing for it."
She had already come all this way; she couldn't go back empty-handed. If she wanted to catch as little scolding from her sister as possible, she had to bring back at least a little life essence. Even a small amount, gathered carefully, would help someday.
Since it's a woman, this might actually be a little easier.
Layla set one knee beside the bed, leaned slowly forward, and brought her own lips toward the woman's. She stopped just short of touching—close enough that she could barely feel the other's breath. Carefully, Layla parted her lips.
Ssshhh—
A pale blue wisp rose from between the woman's lips and was drawn toward Layla like a thin thread.
It's working.
The instant she thought it, a hand seized her throat.
"Kkh—!"
"Who are you? Walking into my room."
"Ghk— ugh..."
Crimson eyes, cold to the point of dryness, were looking straight up at her. She couldn't breathe. Her windpipe compressed, and her mind went white.
"Ugh... kkh—!"
Layla grabbed the woman's wrist with both hands. When that wasn't enough, she raised her long nails and raked at the woman's hand. Even so, the woman's expression didn't change in the slightest.
"I asked who you are."
Then let go so I can answer!!
How was she supposed to answer with her throat in a grip like this? Layla wanted to scream with everything she had. What actually came out, of course, was nothing but a pained gasp.
Fortunately, the woman eased the pressure in her hand just a little. Her throat was still caught.
"Haa... haa... cough! Hahh..."
Layla sucked in air. She had really thought she was going to die.
I should have listened to my sister. I think I landed on the wrong one...
The woman was staring at her as if urging an answer. Layla coughed a few more times and scrambled for a thought.
Should I run?
Getting scolded by her sister was a hundred times better than being caught by this woman.
"Every thought you have shows on your face."
"Huh?"
The same hand that had been choking her seized a rough fistful of her hair.
"Aagh! That hurts. It hurts!"
It felt as if her scalp were about to tear clean off.
"Ugh... a s-succubus..."
"A succubus."
"...Yes."
"And why has a succubus come to my room?"
"I don't really know either. I just used a skill, and when I opened my eyes I was here... aagh!"
The woman yanked the hand tangled in her hair.
"Properly."
"I leaped to absorb life essence, and I ended up here!"
Layla squeezed her eyes shut and spilled the words in a rush. She was scared. Truly scared the woman might kill her.
"I'm sorry! I'll go back right away! If you just let go of my hair, I'll really leave this second! I mean it!"
Begging like this, in an outfit her underwear showed straight through, was so pathetic she thought she might cry.
