Hours later, after evening arrived, my companions and I found ourselves out in Eastwatch. Cally wandered through the streets with tears in her eyes, while the rest of us followed her using one of the invisibility bracelets. We decided to share one, so we could see and talk with one another.
With the day dying down, the streets weren't crowded as usual. There was a languid atmosphere in the air. The tourists were either back in their respective lodgings, or they were in establishnts that catered to the night crowd. Restaurants, music halls, taverns, etc.
The light from the setting sun cast everything in shadow. With almost all of the tourists gone, most of the locals were gone as well. Why linger when there was little money to be made? Only those who hoped to gain a few extra coins remained. Even the sound of music was quieter than usual, though it was still present. Conversely, the sll of spiced food intensified since it was dinnerti.
As Cally wandered through the streets, most people ignored her. She wore a cute blue dress that made her look like the young girl that she was. It gave her a more vulnerable appearance. Despite this, it was clear that she wanted to be left alone. Rather, that was the impression she gave. Most accommodated her, though a few kind souls offered so kind words, which she accepted.
To my surprise, no one tried to accost her. There were plenty of bad people in the world who wouldn't think twice of taking advantage of a vulnerable young girl. However, none of them bothered Cally. Of course, if they had tried, they would've received a rather cold and unpleasant surprise.
Cally headed in the direction of one of the food stall succubi. Not the one I talked to before, nor the one I tried to lure a few days ago. No. This was a different one, to avoid arousing suspicion. Each of the food stall succubi operated in their own little area, which made them easier to track down.
"I still don't like this plan," I said.
With the streets as empty as they were, it was easy to keep an eye on Cally while talking.
"Why not?" Anna asked. "It's a solid plan, and Cally volunteered to play bait."
I shook my head.
"I should've been the bait," I said. "Cally is a powerful wizard, but her physical prowess leaves a lot to be desired."
"Now that's just unfair, my lord," Leroy said. "Cally may not have the strength or endurance of a martial artist, but she's capable in her own right. Don't belittle her like that."
"That's… I wasn't…" I took a deep breath before trying again. "I didn't an to belittle her. However, I don't think it's right for her to risk her life like this."
Anna snorted.
"And it's alright for you?" she asked. "I didn't hear you complain when I suggested you play bait the first ti."
"Yes I did!" I said.
Of course, I hadn't objected to the idea of playing bait itself. Back then, a part of suspected that Anna had been up to sothing. My suspicions proved correct when Anna's plan boiled down to dressing as a lady.
"That doesn't count," Anna said in a dismissive tone. "My point is, why is it alright for you to play bait but not Cally?" She raised an eyebrow at . "Do you feel the need to be the center of attention all the ti?"
I snorted and shook my head.
"It's…" I sighed. "I don't like seeing my friends in danger. It's inevitable, given the circumstances. However, if given a choice, I'd rather see my friends safe and sound."
Anna and Leroy both stared at for several monts, before Anna smacked the back of my head.
"What was that for?" I asked, rubbing the spot that Anna smacked.
"How do you think we feel every ti you almost get yourself killed?!" she demanded.
I opened my mouth to retort, before I noticed sothing from the corner of my eye. Cally
"We're here," I said.
The others' expressions hardened as they focused on the task at hand. Our target was located in a small marketplace that resembled a cul-de-sac. Most of the stalls and vendors were gone, though a few remained. There were no custors.
Cally cast her spell on us, the one that pierced through the succubi's concealnt, so we saw our target just fine. Like the other succubi, this one looked like a local with androgynous features. They focused on Cally with a predatory expression on their face.
I snorted.
No wonder the succubi concealed themselves with magic, making it more difficult to make out their features. Otherwise, people would be able to clearly tell that they were up to sothing nefarious. They were terrible at hiding their expressions.
Weren't succubi supposed to be master manipulators? How could they have such poor control over their features? Maybe this one was just terrible at acting and that was why they were stuck on food stall duty.
Cally looked around the small marketplace, giving the impression that she was trying to distract herself from whatever troubled her. The succubus watched her the entire ti, before calling out to her after a few minutes.
"Little girl," they said. "What's wrong? Why are you wandering around with tears in your eyes?"
Cally looked at the succubus and acted surprised.
"I…" She hesitated before shaking her head. "No. There's no need to burden you with my troubles."
"If you feel guilty, consider your story as paynt for one of my skewers," the succubus said. "It's better than letting them go to waste. Otherwise, I'll have to throw them out."
Cally opened her mouth. However, before she could say anything, her stomach grumbled. This was another part of her plan. To make her act seem more authentic, she refrained from eating lunch and dinner.
And it wasn't a coincidence that her stomach grumbled. The succubus' skewers slled delicious. I wasn't as affected as before, the day after I ate one of them, but my mouth still watered.
"I don't know," Cally said, acting tempted by the skewer. "Mommy told not to eat food from a stranger."
"Well, let's change that then," the succubus said. "My na is Nico. What's yours?"
Cally hesitated before answering.
"Gwen," she said, using her fake na. "Gwen Somr."
"There we go," Nico the succubus said. "We know each others' nas. Now we're not strangers."
Cally acted as if she bought this and took one of the cursed skewers. I tensed as she started eating it. This was the most dangerous part of the plan. In order to fool the succubus, she needed to actually eat a cursed skewer.
Other than Cally risking her life. This was the part that I objected to the most. Despite her ntal age, Cally had the body of a fourteen year old girl. The thought of her eating a cursed skewer with aphrodisiac affects revolted . Even my other companions felt uneasy about this part. However, after Cally insisted on going through with the plan, we relented.
"Feeling better?" Nico asked.
Cally nodded.
"Tell then," Nico continued. "What happened?"
Cally hesitated before answering.
"My family is visiting Eastwatch with another family we're close to," she said. "So much so that our two families are considering uniting through marriage." She put on a shy smile. "They have a son who's a little older than ."
Nico acted intrigued.
"Oh?" they said. "You like this son of theirs?"
Cally nodded.
"He's amazing!" she said, growing excited. "He's only a little older than , but he's almost reached Third Circle." She stopped, her excitent fading. "However, he doesn't like as much as I like him. Earlier, I saw him with another-"
Cally stopped mid-sentence, choking up. Nico held up a hand.
"No need to continue," they said. "I think I know what happened." A wicked grin spread across their face. "Why don't you continue eating? Soon you'll forget all about your sorrow."
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Cally nodded.
"This skewer does taste delicious," she said, before she took another bite.
Nico stared at Cally, all but salivating. My fingers twitched as I resisted the urge to cut off the succubus' head. Since my other companions and I ca prepared to deal with a succubus, I brought my sword along. I was fully prepared should the worst happen.
"How do you feel?" Nico asked a few minutes later.
Cally swallowed.
"I feel… strange," she said. "Hot." She shook her head. "What's wrong with ?"
"Don't worry about it," Nico said, their voice taking on a hypnotic quality. "Co with and I'll make you forget all about that boy."
Cally, looking a little dazed, started to nod. However, she shook herself free from the succubus' influence.
"No," she said. "Sothing's wrong. I should… I should leave."
"Nothing's wrong," Nico said, a trace of impatience in their voice. "Just listen to my voice and everything will be alright."
I tensed. This was the riskiest part of the whole plan. Right now, Nico was using demonic magic to influence Cally's mind. Under normal circumstances, I wouldn't be worried about her. After everything she went through, her will was likely stronger than mine. However, the cursed skewer changed everything.
If Cally succumbed to the succubus' influence, my other companions and I would launch a sneak attack against Nico and kill them. Succubi, despite their power, were terrible at combat. We stood a good chance at succeeding. Even if we failed to kill Nico, I was sure we could rescue Cally.
While regrettable, it was better than the alternative.
"No!" Cally exclaid. "Leave alone!"
With that, she ran off. I breathed a sigh of relief.
"Tsk, how troubleso," Nico muttered to themselves. "Still, it's been a slow day and I can't go back empty-handed."
Nico stood up and muttered sothing. What looked like liquid darkness flew out of their shadow and attached itself to Cally's shadow. The succubus then gave chase, abandoning their stall.
Despite the commotion, the other vendors acted like they hadn't noticed anything strange. I wondered if they were under Nico's influence, or if the succubus' concealnt was just that powerful.
As Nico chased after Cally, the rest of us chased after Nico. Cally ran through the streets of Eastwatch. Despite this, she drew no attention. It was as if she were invisible. No one noticed her presence at all. It must've been the demonic magic that Nico used earlier. Never underestimate a succubus.
At least the demonic magic didn't affect the rest of us. We could see Cally just fine.
Soon, Cally led Nico to a quieter part of Eastwatch, one with almost no people. This was where we had set up our trap, to ensure no innocent bystanders got hurt. We prepared for this situation as much as we could, but there was still a good chance sothing would go wrong.
Cally ran into an alley that led to a dead end. Tall buildings flanked her on three sides. Night had fallen by this point, casting everything in darkness. I could barely make anything out. Debris and detritus littered the ground, including an old rug. The stench of rotting garbage and human waste filled the air.
When Cally saw that she was trapped, she turned to flee but Nico blocked the exit. The succubus wore a predatory expression on their face.
"What's wrong?" they said in a mocking tone. "We were having such a nice conversation. Why did you run away like that? You hurt my feelings."
Nico stalked towards Cally. She stepped away, until her back hit a wall.
"What… What did you do to ?" Cally asked.
She looked flushed and a little glass-eyed. By now, the cursed skewer's effect was hitting her full force. Despite this, she managed to maintain control of herself.
Still, I knew she was holding on by a thread. We needed to act soon. However, for our plan to work Nico needed to step deeper into the alley, closer to the rug.
"Oh, nothing serious," Nico said. "Just sothing to unleash your inner desires. You Solarians are all so prudish." They chuckled. "Of course, this makes stripping away your inhibitions so entertaining."
Nico continued to stalk towards Cally.
Co on. Keep going. Just a little more.
"Get away from !" Cally scread. "Help! Soone help! Please!"
"Don't bother," Nico said. "There's no one around to help you. Even if there were, it wouldn't make a difference. I made sure of that. No one will hear your screams. I didn't want anyone to interrupt my fun."
Cally trembled.
"Please let go," she said. "I won't tell anyone about this. I promise."
"Oh, I know," Nico said in a dark tone. "When I'm done with you, you won't be able to tell anyone anything."
Soon, Nico almost reached the rug. Just one more step and they'd be in our trap. However, for so reason, they stopped.
"Sothing's wrong," Nico muttered.
At this point, Anna decided to take things into her own hands. She rushed towards Nico and kicked them. The succubus yelped as they stepped forward, onto the rug. The mont they did, a blue light flashed and a do appeared, trapping the succubus inside.
Cally snapped into action a mont later. She ford a series of mudras and spoke an incantation. The do of blue light grew smaller and smaller, constricting Nico and binding them.
"What the-?" the succubus started to say, before the blue do bound them completely, silencing them. Soon they resembled a blue mummy.
Nico struggled to break free, but Cally's runic circle/binding held strong. I hadn't realized such a thing was possible. This just went to show that Cally really was an expert when it ca to runic circles.
I deactivated the invisibility bracelet. Anna grabbed the bound succubus and heaved them over her shoulder, while Leroy and I rushed over to Cally.
"How are you feeling?" I asked her.
Cally stared at with a hunger in her eyes, like a predator eyeing a side of beef. Her gaze reminded of Anna. For a mont, I feared Cally would pounce on . However, a mont later, she made a visible effort to hold herself back.
"Bind while I'm still lucid," she said through gritted teeth. "Right now, your stupid face looks cute, which ans I'm close to losing control."
I nodded. We knew Cally would eat a cursed skewer, so we prepared for this scenario. I pulled a thick rope and a long piece of cloth out of my inventory ring. Together, the two of us bound and gagged Cally.
From an outsider's perspective, it looked like we were kidnapping an innocent young woman. No one in the world would believe we were innocent. They'd condemn us as brutes and thugs. I found this amusing for so reason.
However, in the midst of this, the sa liquid darkness from earlier flowed out of Cally's shadow and flew into the air. I drew my sword and tried to slash it, but it moved too fast. Before any of us could react, the liquid darkness flew up and out of the alley, disappearing from sight.
"Fuck!" Anna said. "The succubus must've suspected sothing was wrong. That darkness must be heading towards the other succubi. We need to get out of here before they arrive."
Leroy and I nodded with grim expressions on our faces, before we resud tying up Cally. As soon as we finished, Leroy flung her over his shoulder and we ran off. Anna followed right behind us.
In preparation for this mont, we hid House Ironward carriage nearby. Kiki lent it to us after we told her our plan. It wasn't as if we could bring Cally and Nico onto a hired carriage. That was a good way to get the city guards called on us.
As we headed to the carriage, I kept a vigilant watch. Dread pooled in my stomach. While succubi excelled at infiltration and manipulation rather than fighting, that didn't an I wanted to face one head on. At least not at my current level. They were still Tier Four demons.
To my relief we encountered no trouble. We found the carriage waiting for us where we had left it. A magical construct occupied the driver's seat. Anna and Leroy entered the carriage with their respective burdens, while I sat next to the magical construct.
"Hurry back to the mansion!" I said.
The magic construct nodded, before the carriage raced off, speeding through the streets of Eastwatch. We moved fast enough that I felt the wind brushing across my face. Thankfully, since the streets were near empty, we didn't attract too much attention.
Tension filled as we headed toward Lord Dominic's mansion. While we could've used the invisibility bracelet, speed served us more than stealth in this situation. The sooner we returned to Lord Dominic's mansion, the better.
Besides, the invisibility bracelets only hid people from mundane senses. There was a chance that the succubi had magical thods of finding people.
During the journey to Lord Dominic's mansion, I kept expecting succubi to leap out of the shadows and attack us. My vigilance paid off. When we reached the Upper District, the area of Eastwatch where Lord Dominic's mansion was located, two succubi attacked us.
They ca at us from the sky. I noticed them when I heard the flapping of wings and looked up. Two succubi flew towards us in their true forms. They looked like genderless humanoid figures with grayish skin and wicked looking claws. Bat-like wings protruded from their backs. However, despite their inhuman appearance, they still looked captivating. Even in their true form, they looked seductive and alluring.
When the two succubi realized that I had noticed them, they let out screeches and dove towards . As the succubi flew towards , I felt a sense of relief now that matters had reached this point. Until this mont, I hadn't realized how suffocated I felt. No more sneaking around, no more hiding, no more holding back. I could finally let loose.
I stood up, taking care to maintain my balance, and waited for the succubi to co closer. When both reached a certain point, I employed [Storm Cloud], a technique I hadn't used in while. I breathed out a black cloud imbued with Lightning, covering the air above the carriage.
The two succubi dove right into it and let out pained screeches. One retreated and flew back up, but the other dove through my [Storm Cloud] and erged from the other side. Black scorch marks marred their body.
"Kneel!" the succubus shouted.
Their words hit my mind like a hamr, crashing into my ntal defenses. I almost obeyed, my knees buckling, but I threw off the succubus' control right away. However, this cost precious reaction ti.
The succubus swiped a claw at , while swerving to avoid crashing into the carriage. I used [Elusive Mist], contorting my body to avoid the attack. The claw missed by a hair's width. I retaliated with an attack of my own, one imbued with the power of Lightning, but I missed. The succubus moved too fast.
As this went on, the carriage continued speeding along. Soon, Lord Dominic's mansion ca into view. We were almost there. However, both succubi dove down for another attack. We wouldn't make it before they reached us.
I took a stance and readied my sword. My heart pounded in my chest as I waited for the succubi to reach us. As soon as they drew close enough, I summoned my aura. A silvery blue dragon surrounded my entire body. The air crackled with the sound of thunder and I slled ozone.
[Storm Dragon's Claw]
I slashed towards the succubi, putting all of my power into the attack. They were both Tier Four demons, so I dared not hold back. My blade cut into their flesh and black blood spilled from their wounds.
The two succubi screeched in pain, before flying away. My aura faded and I slumped with relief.
Thank the gods that worked. I managed to drive the succubi away. For a mont, I feared I would've failed. Thankfully, demons feared Lightning. It was their natural bane. Still, that could've gone poorly.
To my dismay, the succubi didn't fly far. They hovered in the air nearby, keeping an eye on us. They watched as our carriage passed through the gates of Lord Dominic's mansion. I sighed with resignation.
While I managed to drive away these two succubi for now, this matter was far from over. Sooner or later, more would arrive. When that happened, we'd be under siege.
It was going to be a long night.
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