Succubi Chapter 126. Low Effort Friendship
I hate them all.
But I smiled anyway.
Yeah. That dumb kind of smile you give your friends when you know they're all bastards but somehow, somehow, you still like them.
I stood near the edge of the dueling platform, stretching my arms out, rolling my shoulders.
The arena smelled like burnt mana and fried ego. Faint trails of sulfur danced through the air.
"Minion E," the referee called out.
'Stop calling me Minion E Goddammit!' I snarled internally, but the words didn't come out of my mouth. Instead, I turned slowly, keeping it dramatic. "That's me," I said.
He didn't even flinch. Bastard was immune to my sarcasm now. "Are you ready?"
I adjusted my mask. Not the coolest mask ever. But at least I looked mysterious.
"Yeah," I replied, voice muffled but clear. "I'm ready."
The crowd hummed around me like a hive. Excited. Curious. Probably wondering if I was the next Felix. Explosion edition.
I stepped forward onto the platform. The special one, unlike before. The tiles buzzed with containment runes.
Cool.
I glanced to the side and saw him. The necromancer from earlier. He grinned at me, but there was something honest about it. Like a "don't die" kind of nod.
I raised a thumb. Yeah. That's my style. Low effort friendship. 'If you're not a jerk, I like you.'
Then I turned back.
To her.
The banshee stood across from me like a gothic prom queen dipped in mana fumes. Somehow… her hair now floating like a horror movie in slow motion. She still looked hot, though. Every step she took didn't clack, it sang. Like the air around her vibrated, tuning itself to her body.
She smirked.
"Not on the crotch?" she purred, voice soft and laced with malice. "Smart boy."
I tilted my head. "Nah. I still want a future. Kids. Maybe a cat."
She chuckled. "Cute."
Behind her, up in the observation tier, I saw him. The Hexblade. "Deathline."
His eyes? Locked on me.
Not the banshee. Not the platform.
Just me.
Like he was trying to memorize the rhythm of my heartbeat so he could carve it into his blade later. Creepy. But... kinda flattering?
And Callahan?
Yeah, he was here too. Sitting at the back like some kind of discount John Brick slash underpaid headmaster. His face was unreadable. Cold. Focused. But his gaze?
Not on me.
Not even on the banshee.
Locked, drilled onto Deathline.
Oh.
So that's what this is.
He's pissed. At what happened to Adrian.
Okay. Noted. That means this match just got about 100% more dramatic.
"Ready?" the referee said again.
I clenched my fists. My rune hummed.
"Go!"
The moment that word hit the air, the banshee screamed.
Not a battle cry. A note.
High. Piercing. Beautiful.
And completely murderous.
It hit me in the chest like a sonic bullet. I threw up Infernal Barrier immediately, a swirling dome of magic flaring around me as the note exploded against it, distorting the sound like a choir underwater.
My boots scraped against the platform.
"Nice reflexes," she said, floating forward, voice threading around me like silk.
I didn't respond. Instead, I let my mana flow down to my fingertips, activating Shadow Blade. A long spear made of jagged black energy extended from my hand.
I twirled it once.
She opened her mouth again, this time whispering, not yelling, a lullaby.
That was worse.
A chill ran down my spine. The melody danced across my skin, trying to sneak inside me. Through my ears. My nose. My soul.
I gritted my teeth and stepped forward.
'Shadow Step.'
I blinked across the field, dodging her melody path and reappearing behind her.
My spear swung.
But she spun mid-air, her veil extending like wings as she unleashed a scream point-blank.
My eardrums nearly imploded.
[Devil Armor].
My chestplate snapped into place just in time to absorb the blast, and I flew back five meters, boots scraping fire against the platform. I landed, crouched, and stabbed the spear into the tile to stop my momentum.
She floated there, smiling. "You're fun."
"I've been told that before," I said through a cough. "Usually during bad dates."
I dropped the spear.
Summoned a new weapon.
[Shadow Blade: Greatsword Variant].
The mana coalesced into a massive, jagged blade. Too big for my size. Unwieldy. Heavy.
Perfect.
She sang again.
I charged.
The arena cracked under my feet as I swung the sword in a brutal arc. She twirled midair, soundwaves rippling from her wrists like spinning discs. Her melody shaped the air itself.
We clashed.
Not physically.
Magically.
My swing exploded in black sparks as her soundwave hit it. The vibration ran up the sword into my arms, my bones rattling like tambourines. My mask cracked slightly at the side. I growled and stepped back.
"Your magic's too loud," I said. "Has anyone ever told you that?"
"Yours is too edgy," she teased.
Fair.
I dropped the sword.
Time to go big.
[Dark Orbs].
The shadows around me shimmered, mana pouring out in jagged lines like threads yanked from the void. One. Two. Ten. Thirty. Fifty black orbs formed in a spiraling triangle around the field. Each pulsing. Waiting.
"Oh," she said softly.
"Yeah," I muttered. "Let's dance."
The orbs detonated.
-Boom! -Boom! -Boom!
Each one exploded in a tight gravity pulse, pulling her downward in jerks, destabilizing her flight, throwing off her song. The final one pulled her down, slamming her into the platform with a burst of shadow.
I followed.
Leapt forward.
My hands glowed red as I activated Death Wave, a ripple of infernal mana sweeping outward in a cone. Her body jolted on the ground before she pushed herself up with a laugh.
"You're mean," she giggled, coughing shadow out of her mouth.
"You started it," I said.
She charged this time, lunging forward with a piercing scream that formed into a spear of pure sound.
I caught it with my palm.
It hurt. But I didn't back down.
Instead, I shoved my palm forward.
[Dark Healing].
The shadow flooded in reverse, sealing my wound, recharging my mana, and simultaneously making my grin return.
Her eyes widened.
"Shit."
"Yeah," I said. "Shit."
I punched her rune.
Dead center.
With a full burst of mana that blew her off her feet and sent her crashing into the barrier wall.
The crowd roared.
The silence afterward? Even louder.
She didn't get up.
Not immediately.
Then… a cough.
She pushed herself up, face bruised and eyes shining with something insane.
She smiled. "Next time," she said, "maybe you should wear a cup."
Yeah, her rune cracked, but not destroyed yet. Once more.
I snorted. "Next time, maybe you can bring earplugs. For my moans."
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