novelraw Chapter 49: A Succubus
Chapter 49: A Succubus
I looked past the guard’s shoulder and finally saw what had made hardened veterans hesitate.
She was beautiful.
That was the first thought that cut through the haze of the chamber’s magic, through the thrum of my own [Sweet Scent] resonating with the air. Beautiful in a way that felt less like attraction and more like gravity, like something pulling you toward her whether you wanted to go or not.
Her skin was pale, almost glowing in the dim light, uncovered by any clothes, and her hair spilled across the pillows in waves of deep violet. Her horns, dark and curved like a ram’s, swept back from her temples, disappearing into the mass of her hair. A tail, slender and pointed, curled lazily against the silks beside her.
And her eyes.
When she opened them, they were the same violet as her hair. Not hostile or anything hungry, nothing of what you would usually expect from a succubus.
Just... watching.
Two of Aldric’s men knelt at the foot of the bed, their weapons cast aside, their armor still fully on, their faces slack with something between ecstasy and terror. They didn’t move or blink.
"Their will is still intact," Aldric said quietly beside me. "But they cannot move. Every time we try to pull them back, she..."
He trailed off.
"She what?"
"She looks at us." His jaw tightened. "And... makes us lose control."
I studied the succubus, and she studied me back. Her head tilted slightly, curiosity flickering across her features.
[Incubus nature gives you full resistance to succubus magic]
"Is that so...?" I straightened my shoulders, continuing to study her.
And then...
Ding!
[Third Heroine Found: Reina (No other name found)]
[Questline Unlocked: Release her from the dungeon]
...Out of everything, it chose this succubus as the third heroine? I haven’t even claimed or seduced Anastasia yet, and now it’s already adding another woman to the list?
Ridiculous...
But I guess it makes sense. Anastasia is still far away, and I still need to remain in the capital. I guess the system just wanted to make sure I don’t slack off.
Still...
Did my system plan this encounter?
[Negative]
Well, that answered my question. I still don’t fully believe it, though. But that doesn’t really change anything. For now, I should just go along with it, rewards and all that.
Besides, a succubus is only dangerous because of her magic, after all.
And since I’m immune, I should be fine... well, hopefully fine. I wasn’t really sure if that thing’s physical stats were higher than mine.
"All of you, retreat to the previous chamber. Prepare the healers. I’ll handle her alone."
"But, my lord—!"
"It’s an order, Captain."
"Y-Yes, my lord." Aldric nodded reluctantly, signaling for the rest to fall back and follow him. The other guards looked at each other hesitantly, unsure if they should really obey. But they did anyway, fearing my wrath.
And while they were walking off, I could already hear whispers.
"What if the duke’s already under the succubus’s trance?"
"Should we really leave him alone?"
"He knows what he’s doing. Those eyes... they don’t exactly scream caught in a trance..."
I’m surprised some of my guards actually doubt me. Guess not everyone worships me like a god yet, huh? That makes sense. I still haven’t performed most of my novel-defining actions yet.
And considering how impressive they are, I’m definitely not doing them anytime soon until I get stronger.
"So you abandoned your guards just to have me all to yourself? You’re quite greedy."
The succubus, Reina, spoke softly, her tone lacking the lust and seduction I would have expected from a creature like her. Still, I shouldn’t lower my guard just yet.
"I guess I am."
I took a step forward, moving beyond the point the guard had recommended, and Reina’s eyes immediately reacted, as though she were absorbing some unknown energy that nearly overwhelmed her.
"K-Kin...?"
I stopped mid-step, the word catching me off guard.
"Kin?"
Reina’s eyes widened further, her drowsy, predatory demeanor slipping for just a moment. Beneath the beauty and the magic, I saw something else. Surprise. Confusion. And something that looked almost like hope.
"You’re..." She pushed herself up on the bed, the silks sliding away from her body. She wasn’t wearing anything beneath them, but I forced my gaze to stay on her face. "You’re not human. Not fully. I can feel it. Your essence... it’s like mine, but different. Stronger?"
[Incubus nature detected by Succubus Reina]
[Relationship modifier: Kin Recognition - Initial Attraction Increased]
"I’m an incubus," I said, keeping my voice level.
Reina’s breath caught. Her tail stopped its lazy curling, going rigid behind her. "That’s... impossible... an incubus leading an army of men?"
But behind that rigidness...
[Lust Sense]
It was excitement. It was her first time seeing one of her kind somehow invade human society so deeply that I had become almost like a god to them, a lord among men. To her, I looked like the very definition of an alpha.
And I wasn’t exaggerating. Those weren’t even my words.
They were hers, information I gathered from [Lust Sense].
Seriously... an alpha? Couldn’t she use any other word?
Although I couldn’t blame her, that kind of vocabulary is probably common to her kind, so I shouldn’t judge her too much with my modern standards of what’s acceptable.
I took another step forward, then another, closing the distance between us. The silks on the walls seemed to shift with my movement, the ambient magic of the chamber pressing against my skin like a second layer of heat.
Reina didn’t retreat. She sat up straighter on the bed, her violet eyes tracking my approach with an intensity that made the guards’ earlier warnings make sense.
"You’re not afraid of me," she said. Not a question.
"Should I be?"
"Your men were." Her tail began to curl again, slower now, almost thoughtful. "The ones on the floor. They took one look at me and forgot how to hold their swords. But you... you look at me like you’re window shopping."
"And am I supposed to look at you any other way?"
Reina’s eyes shimmered. "Of course not, alpha~."
I’m going to have to get used to that word, won’t I?