My Succubus System

Chapter 149: Burning Bush (1)

“Ryo. Wait.” Vivian said, her voice low and even. Vivian Lex was not a woman to give in to her emotions easily, nor was she a coward. Yet, she felt it necessary to be prudent given the things she’d just seen.

*He’s just toying with us. And he easily killed a Grimlock that would have given us endless trouble.* She thought inwardly. She cast a glance towards Ryo, only to realize he was still considering a move against their mysterious foe.

She made eye contact with him, shaking her head in disapproval before sheathing her own weapon.

*This might be a gamble but, if this person chose to fight seriously it wouldn’t matter.*

Ryo sighed, as if cursing his own luck before he allowed his own aura of mana energy to settle down somewhat.

“Great. It seems like you’re ready to listen.” The dark skinned man said as he stepped forward, in an instant he was standing just less than a meter before the two bewildered adventurers.

Ryo gritted his teeth, clenching his fist simultaneously as a sense of unease grew in the pit of his stomach. The idea of someone else standing before him that possessed unfathomable power was a severe blow to Ryo’s ego. He moved to toss out a swing of defiance, but a single wave of the hand from the hooded stranger was enough to halt Ryo in his tracks.

“The kitsune is wise. The behemoth–not so much. Ha ha.” The man chuckled. It was the first time Vivian had gotten close enough to see the man’s face beneath the hood. He looked much like an adventurer you would find anywhere else. Simple cloth pants and shirt, and a well made hooded cloak — green in color with gold trim along the wrist, inlays and edges of the fabric.

Ryo’s eyes bulged as he realized that he was being controlled by gravity magic, which in turn made him even more angry.

“Who are you?” Vivian said, cutting straight to the chase. Although she couldn’t feel a sense of animosity or ill intent from this person, she also felt unnerved.

*I should be able to gauge this person’s ability. I .. I can’t feel anything. Is he just that weak or..no that’s impossible.* She glanced over towards Ryo who, despite his best efforts continued to struggle against the oppressive gravity control technique.

“You two are quite interesting. A mid rank third and a high rank second. Not bad.” The golden eyed man looked them both over, seemingly assessing their condition. Ryo’s eyes narrowed upon hearing his words, this was partially because Ryo made it a habit of concealing his strength from others.

“What? You’re not the only ones who can conceal their true strength. Or appearance.” The man mused with a smile as he glanced between the two adventurers.

“Ah. I meant no harm. Your secrets are safe with me.” He said, upon seeing a sudden shift in Vivian’s mood.

“I don’t have a lot of time. I have a lot to keep track of and I can’t be gone too long. I also need to hunt down the rest of those Grimlock before they cause too much trouble.” The man said as he reached into his cloak with a free hand and produced an accessory– a necklace.

He glanced at it for a few moments before extending his hand towards Vivian, the gesture was meant to give the object to her.

——————————-

“Bracha..” Oliver said as he learned forward in his chair.

“Hmm?” Bracha replied as she continued to fill her stomach.

“Are you just going to pretend that what you did back in the shard was normal?” Oliver asked.

“Mhm.” Bracha agreed without missing a beat.

“I’m an Archmage. I study magic, or all types. What you used..that was definitely world energy. Am I wrong?” Oliver asked, he completely ignored Bracha’s attempts to feign ignorance — his curiosity had been piqued and he aimed to know the truth of the matter.

Bracha set aside the wooden bowl, empty as it were, and called forth her spectacles with a wave of her hand. She smiled, an obvious rebuff to Oliver’s questions which she apparently had no intention to answer.

Oliver didn’t even have the time to press the issue, for Vivian and Ryo returned at that moment.

“Oh, speak of the devils.” Oliver said, though in reality no one had been discussing the two of them at all. The elf immediately noticed something off — about both of them. Ryo seemed agitated, though also down in some way. Vivian on the other hand seemed rattled, as if she was struggling to gather her thoughts.

“Not even thirty minutes passed. Is everything okay?” Oliver asked.

“Yes.” Vivian replied. And that word alone, leaving Oliver to wonder exactly what was happening. He found it puzzling, yet neglected to push further — after all his true interests lay with Bracha.

“Have you figured out why we can’t use the teleport?” Oliver asked next, deciding to change the subject entirely.

“Yes. We’ll be leaving in a bit. First, I want you to gather everyone outside so we can discuss the conclusion of this expedition.” Vivian’s eyes wandered from Oliver to Bracha and then back again as she spoke.

“Hmph. I might be second in command, but I’m not your gopher. Well..fine.” Oliver got to his feet and did as requested. Moments after Oliver left the room it was Ryo’s moment to chime in.

“The contract is fulfilled. Where is my payment?” He asked. His words were bitter, yet there was a curious tinge of frustration mingled within.

“Here. Thanks.” Vivian said as she produced a jet black coin from her inventory and placed it into Ryo’s open palm. The agitated young man looked at it for several moments, before clenching his fist.

The kitsune watched as Ryo took his leave, he exited the room only to stop briefly in the hallway.

“C-can I help you?” Agni said upon being confronted with Ryo blocking her path. Internally her body was going haywire.

*I-I might like the bad boy type..* She thought as she struggled to control her breathing.

Ryo, on the other hand, simply stood before her, his piercing eyes gazing down upon her.

“What?” Agni asked, growing slightly annoyed at the effects his gaze were now having on her.

“I guess you’re not a totally useless demon. Just don’t go crazy like the other one. I’d hate to put you down too.” And with that Ryo turned and left without another word.

“What does that even mean?” Katrin asked as she sidled up next to Agni.

“I have no idea.” The vermillion haired succubus replied as she watched Ryo exit the house. Under normal circumstances she would have stopped him and demanded an answer…

*My clit is throbbing. Fml.* She thought inwardly as she slapped her cheeks to focus herself.

Shula walked by without saying a word, just as she made it to the front door of the house she turned and offered a smug smile.

Agni could only feel her face redden as she and Katrin moved to join the others in front of the house. Outside Vivian was busy thanking the inhabitants of the town who were kind enough to house them. The group of natives bowed to her several times before accepting the satchel of Gols given by the Doyenne. After the group of people gave them space to wrap up things, Vivian began the debrief of their mission in earnest.

“Where … where did you get that?” Dealla asked as she glanced up, moving towards the front of the group. She did so upon taking note of the object in Vivian’s possession, a gold pendant with a cerulean gem set within.

Vivian thought for a moment as she prepared to speak. Her mind flashed back to her encounter with the mysterious man within the forest nearly an hour ago.

“The villagers found us after the explosion in the shard world. Apparently, when shards fuse they can emit strong energy. This energy was responsible for the phenomena that rendered us all unconscious as the shard realm collapsed. One of the items they found along with us…was this.” Vivian said as she extended the pendant to Dealla’s gently cupped hands.

The moment that Dealla felt the cold metal, the weight of the accessory upon her hands — she knew.

“Chloe.”

“Aside from this, there was nothing else the villagers found.” Vivian continued. She allowed the dragon-kin some time to process the news. In a way, Vivian suspected that Dealla already knew the fate of her fellow chapel members. Yet, having something physical was more finite. More real.

Dealla reigned in her tears long enough to return to her place near the back of the group, allowing Vivian to continue her explanation.

“This mission…was a failure. Everyone who entered those shards before us were killed by the creatures we encountered most likely.” Vivian said as she began her explanation of the current situation.

She took control of the narrative and explained as best she could while sticking to the truth. For she found that the best lies were disguised as such. Still, as her mind reeled, she recalled some of the revelations gifted to her. In the end, Vivian chose to tell an alternate version of the truth that would prompt less questions and concerns. In her version, she and Ryo encountered a weakened Grimlock and made short work of it.

She ended the speech by stating this:

“Now that everyone is rested we will return to the chapel. You’ve got fifteen minutes. Meet back here at that time.” Vivian explained. Most everyone listening seemed to be content with the explanation, that is , except Oliver.

His keenly observant mind felt something was amiss. His suspicions were revealed to be more than that when Bracha and himself were called to speak to Vivian Lex apart from the others.

“Yes Vivi-chan?” Bracha asked as she drew a bit closer to Vivian than she would have liked. She groaned a bit before pulling a small black orb from her inventory, no larger than the size of a large marble.

“I was told you might know what this is. And how to use it.” Vivian’s expression morphed from disgust to seriousness as she extended the orb towards Bracha. Bracha glanced down at the orb, her smile never fading as she reached to grab the item from Vivian’s grasp. The pitch black orb began to glow with a faint energy, changing its color from black to light blue. This energy formed first in the center of the orb, then expanded to fill the entirety of the item.

Then, small black wisps began to filter outwards from Bracha’s body, hundreds of tiny black particles which moved like a stream. This flow of blackness moved into the orb and disappeared, Vivian could only assume the energy had been consumed or destroyed. After a few seconds the amount of black particles decreased until finally none remained.

The blue orb then fell dormant once more, the color fading as it turned to black once again.

“So, when did you meet him?” Bracha asked as she offered a genuine smile for the first time in a long while.