Succubus (2): Explosive Reversal
Seeing me turn my back, the succubus clicked her tongue, her quick judgment already set on abandoning the chase—but now she looked flustered. I swung my black iron sword at her panicked expression. Just like before, she tried to flap her wings and dodge...
-Crunch!! "Kuh...!!"
The lingering aftermath of the spell Laila had cast before collapsing coated her wings in frost, rendering them useless. In the end...
-Slash!! "Kyaaahhh!!!"
She twisted away in a hurry, but a long gash sliced across her shoulder anyway.
Don't stop.
The sight of this frail woman screaming tugged at my conscience, but I kept up the relentless assault with a stone-cold expression. Charging forward, I swung my blade at her face this time—only for the shrieking succubus's features to twist into a demonic snarl. A surge of black-and-pink energy erupted from her hand.
"How dare you!!!"
-Whoosh-boom!!
Shit.
I yanked my sword back and twisted away just in time, but the demonic energy she unleashed slammed into me hard. My new leather armor absorbed the initial impact, but the sheer force still rattled my skull.
"Cough!!!"
"How dare you... dare you!! You filthy little worm...! I was going easy on you because your essence looked decent, and this is how you repay me? Marring my beautiful body?"
Her voice dripped with seductive allure as she struck those tantalizing poses, but now her face contorted in rage, spewing black energy.
A tentacle?
That black energy—demonic qi, wielded only by demonkin—which she'd only used to block Laila's spells before. It morphed into tentacle-like whips that lashed toward me like cracking lashes.
"Kuh?!"
-Whip-crack!!
My body throbbed in protest, but instinct screamed a warning. I rolled across the ground, and the whip grazed past my scalp by a hair's breadth. It rocketed onward, smashing into the cave wall and pulverizing stone.
One solid hit, and I'd have a broken bone at least...!
A single strike would leave me combat-ineffective. Death loomed, sharpening my senses to a razor's edge, my mind hyper-focused.
"A mere prey like you...!!"
Blood dripped from her shoulder as the succubus rampaged wildly, swinging her whips relentlessly. I rolled again and again to evade, spotting gaps in the whip's trajectory. Seizing one, I replicated a handaxe and hurled it.
-Whirr!!
The axe tore through the air with enough force to cave in an orc's skull, but...
-Clang!! "Ha. Not even magic? Just a handaxe?"
The axe, hurtling straight for her head, was deflected by the black energy. But I hadn't expected it to land anyway. If she could block Laila's spells, my thrown axe was child's play.
Can I even damage her up close with the black iron sword?
Probably not. That one hit had landed because she'd let her guard down, assuming I'd fled for good. With her defenses up properly, my current strength couldn't pierce them. The sword wasn't enough. So...
I glanced up, pretending to read her movements—eyeing the spot above her head where she stood, then confirming Laila's position at her feet.
What I can do...
"Ha. A mana-less punk like you... wanted to show off in front of this girl, huh?"
She sneered at me—back for round two, landing just one solid hit before spending the rest rolling in the dirt. I didn't bother replying. I hadn't returned to pose.
Thoughts of Laila, not wanting to take a loss—sure, those factored in...
But there's a chance.
I wouldn't stick my neck into a zero-chance scenario. I'd spotted one viable path, so I'd come back to fight. To make it work, first...
"Hey, auntie. Quit pretending to look young when you can't back it up with the mileage."
"...!!!"
"...Auntie? Did you just call me auntie?"
She laughed incredulously, but her twitching eyebrows betrayed how much it stung. She swallowed her fury with forced chuckles, but her arms trembled.
"What? You are an auntie. Spreading your legs for orcs 'cause no decent guy's taking you?"
"You and your loose fucking mouth...!!"
Her expression turned icy, her assaults fiercer. The tentacles whipped faster, threatening to collapse the cave. But...
I can read it.
Observation was my specialty. And since she swung the qi-whips with her own arms, I tracked her shoulder muscles to predict each motion.
-Whooosh!!
Dodging grew instinctive. The sensations Karen had beaten into me over the past few days awakened fully.
"This...!!"
Unable to crush me quickly, her face hardened. I edged closer amid the evasions, and the wider the whip arcs, the easier they became to slip past.
"Kuh...!!"
Finally abandoning the whip form, she tried reshaping her qi—but...
Opening.
-Whirr!!
The instant she retracted it, I yanked a handaxe from my belt and flung it. She blocked effortlessly with her qi shield, but...
-Crack!! "Eh?"
-Shatter!!
The handaxe fractured like glass and exploded, showering her with razor-sharp shards.
Just like he said—it'd shatter like a windowpane.
I recalled the blacksmith from Rivil, Kuhn's advice: tiny cracks inside meant it'd break apart soon. Trusting that, I'd hurled the original—not a replica—with all my might.
-Scatter!! "Kyaaahhh!!!"
She'd perfectly predicted the axe's path for her shield, but the metal fragments slipped through the gaps, tearing her skin. Seizing her pained moment, I closed the distance completely, crouching low and lunging...
"You...!!!"
-Chill!!
...What?
As I moved to execute my plan, our eyes locked—hers rippling pink.
"Daring to wound me twice? You mana-less worm...!!"
This is...!
"It's a waste on trash like you, but... behold a succubus's true power!!"
Something dangerous...!!
Every sense screamed warning. No prelude—just pink energy bursting from her, enveloping me.
"Ebon Lullaby"
Succubi. A demonkin offshoot sustaining themselves by draining sentient essence. Lacking in raw combat prowess and qi mastery compared to other demons, they excelled in one area: shattering minds.
Especially fatal to mages who cling to cold logic... or mana-less fools like me.
A power to seduce, erode reason, amplify base urges. Devastating against rational types like mages, even more so against those without mana. Resistances existed, but most required mana control.
Thus, spotting Laila and me, the succubus had inwardly cheered.
That mage girl's got talent... but mind shields are tricky even for her. And the guy? No mana at all?
Easy prey delivered to her door. Starved lately, scraping by on orc essence, this felt like the Demon God granting her wish.
Simple after that. Block the exit, deploy her basic "heat" power. Conserving qi for who-knew-how-long in hiding, she minimized output for max efficiency. Defend lightly, let the heat seep in—they'd devolve into rutting beasts soon enough. Then savor slowly...
Or so she'd thought.
"What a mess... That punk mage pulls chantless spells, and this guy's inhaling my heat like it's nothing?"
Battered by handaxe shards, she replayed events with lingering bitterness. Her "easy meals" had defied expectations repeatedly. Frankly, it'd chilled her.
Almost let this guy slip away. Good thing the idiot came back—would've been trouble if he fetched a hunting party.
Even his return flustered her. Heat still active, yet he swung at her under its influence... A normal human would've ditched weapons, pants down, charging in heat-fueled frenzy. Especially mana-less, defenseless against her powers.
"Some ascetic monk? What kind of willpower...?"
Only explanation: raw mental fortitude. Rare, but some resisted succubi that way.
"Hmph. Doesn't matter—once trapped in dreams, you're done."
But that was it. Her latest power outclassed basic heat. Forcing targets into slumbering dreams. No mere willpower could fend it off.
A gift from the Demon God to succubi.
Mortal-wielded, yet divine in origin—like priests' holy power. She'd overdone it against her conservation plan, rage blinding her. But willpower couldn't endure this. You'd need holy power or at least mana...
"Still yapping?"
"...Huh?"
...to resist.
She stared down in horror.
That voice just now?
Shivering with unease, I recalled the anomaly. Our eyes met; enraged, she unleashed her power...
Something invaded my mind.
Her black-and-pink energies merged, burrowing in. Untouchable by physical means. Caught off-guard by the eye contact trigger, I took it full-on. It tried lulling my consciousness to sleep.
But.
Replication.
My replication power—not bound to one spot, diffused throughout—clashed with the intruder.
And...
It shattered.
The invading force crumbled on contact, no resistance. Replication hadn't even stirred—just proximity crushed it. Like an overwhelming gap between forces.
Was I unscathed earlier because of this too...?
I'd chalked my relative clarity against Laila's state to Gula-evolved physique. If not... replication had shielded me?
Didn't know it had this effect...!!
Complications swirled, but no time. While she assumed me asleep and dropped guard, I scooped up fallen Laila.
-Squish♥
My hand brushed somewhere embarrassing... but I didn't pull away—instead, I groped boldly. Saving her life earns a feel, right?
Then...
Replicate.
Activating mid-lift, recalling the one disposable magic tool I'd successfully replicated while shopping with Laila.
"Still yapping?"
"...Huh?"
Slinging Laila over my shoulder, I called out to the utterly off-guard succubus and ambushed with a black iron sword swing.
She flinched into evasion and defense, but...
Wasn't a fluke before... I can see it.
Her hastily conjured qi shield—cruder than last. Between its gaps...
Like cleaving a rock beetle's shell.
A "grain"—a cleavable seam—shone clear. Trusting instinct, I slashed right at it.
Weakened by carrying Laila, no full power behind it. Yet...
-Slash!!
The blade rent the shield silkily,
"Kyaaaaahhh!!!!"
carving another long gash across her face.
"Looking good now."
Grinning at slashing the vain bitch's precious face, I bolted with Laila piggybacked.
Wracked in agony, she raised a hand, qi flaring to block—but...
"Bitch. Look up."
Sneering over my shoulder as I fled,
"Up?"
She glanced skyward instinctively amid her thrashing.
"Idiot. Fell for it word-for-word."
Scraping her nerves to the end, I widened the gap, cradled Laila, and flattened prone.
The instant she looked up, opposite her gaze—my "gift" at her feet activated.
-Ting!!
The igniter's click evoked memories of my Earth army days.
The disposable magic tool I'd bought. Simplest design among them.
A bomb.
Basic detonator via simple enchantment, packed with gunpowder.
"Grenade in the foxhole!!"
Clutching Laila tight, plugging her ears, I yelled the old Earth phrase.
"Th...!!"
Her face drained as she raised a shield—but blinding flash erupted into massive blast.
-BOOOOMMMMM!!!!!!!
"Gr...grrrghhh!!!"
Incredibly, forgoing restraint, she wrapped herself in a shield, brute-forcing the explosion.
Her weird power earlier aside, she'd been holding back all along.
But...
"Should've dodged, not tanked."
"Youuuu!!!"
Her venomous scream pierced the roar,
"Told ya—look up?"
"?!"
The confined cave blast collapsed the ceiling. Massive boulders rained on the succubus.
"Ah."
-Crunch!!