Reborn as a Succubus: Time To Live My Best Life!

{Zephyra}

Zephyra twirled the wand between her fingers, marveling at its sleek design. The soft glow of the spirit crystal at its tip pulsed gently, almost in sync with her heartbeat.

[Clever little thing,] she thought, a smirk tugging at her lips.

Her eyes drifted to the desk, landing on a small, folded note. Kimiko's elegant handwriting peeked out from the corner.

"Come back soon. I have more to... demonstrate."

Zephyra's cheeks flushed, her body tingling at the memory of Kimiko's hands, her mouth...

Her huge dick.

[Focus, damn it,] she scolded herself. [You're the court sorceress, not some lovesick schoolgirl.]

But even as she thought it, Zephyra knew she'd be back. That woman was exactly Zephyra's type. And, by the gods, her stroke was just right.

With a sigh, she set the wand down and turned her attention to the stack of reports on her desk.

The nim quarantine. Right.

Her brow furrowed as she scanned the latest figures. Zero. The number of newly cursed nim had dropped to zero.

On the surface, it seemed like good news. But Zephyra knew better.

[Well, the Shadow Mages got what they wanted,] she realized, a chill running down her spine. [The nim are off the streets.]

But to what end? What was their endgame?

Zephyra paced the room, her mind whirling with possibilities. Each one more unsettling than the last.

"Think, damn it," she muttered, running a hand through her raven hair.

The Shadow Mages had effectively segregated an entire race. Isolated them from the rest of Syux's population.

But why? What could they possibly gain from that?

Little did she know, the Shadow Mages' plans were... far simpler than she believed.

---

{Melisa}

Melisa's eyes fluttered open, the soft morning light filtering through her curtains. She stretched languidly, her purple skin glistening in the golden rays.

[Another day,] she thought, her tail curling lazily around her thigh. [Another chance to make a difference.]

She rolled over, reaching for the newspaper that had been slipped under her door. It was a habit she'd picked up from Javir – stay informed, stay ahead.

The headline made her blood run cold.

"ENTIRE NIM FAMILY FOUND DEAD IN QUARANTINED HOUSE"

Melisa shot up, suddenly wide awake. Her red eyes scanned the article, devouring every word.

A family of five. All dead. No signs of violence. No explanation.

[W-What?] Melisa's mind raced. [How do they all die at the same time?]

She paced the room, her tail lashing behind her in agitation. It didn't make sense. The quarantine was supposed to protect them, to contain the curse.

Unless...

Melisa froze, the realization hitting her like a punch to the gut.

[Oh gods,] she thought, her hands shaking. [Is... Is that it?]

The pieces fell into place with sickening clarity. This had been one of her theories, but one she hoped wouldn't be true under any circumstances.

"Fuck," Melisa hissed, her fists clenching at her sides.

The quarantine wasn't a safety measure. It was a trap.

Step one: Section off the nim population. Isolate them. Make them vulnerable.

Step two: Murder them.

Literally, that was it, Melisa guessed. Kill them all, quietly. Efficiently. And, of course, given that there was a "mysterious, contagious disease that only affected nim", no one would think much of it. Hell, some would probably just assume it was the gods' work, finally getting rid of Syux's genetic defects known as the nim.

[They're going to wipe us out,] Melisa realized, horror twisting in her gut. [And no one will even know until it's too late.]

She had to do something. Had to tell someone.

---

{Javir}

Javir paced the length of her office, her brow furrowed in concentration. Melisa's words echoed in her mind, each one more chilling than the last.

[So, that was it, then? An actual extermination plot,] she thought, her hands clenching at her sides. [Right under our noses.]

Raven stood by the window, her face an impassive mask. But Javir didn't miss the tension in her shoulders, the way her hand kept drifting to the dagger at her hip like she was going to start swinging it in the air.

"It makes sense," Javir said finally, breaking the heavy silence. "Twisted, but... efficient."

Melisa, who was also there, nodded, her purple skin ashen in the dim light.

"But what do we do? We can't just sit back and let them—"

"We won't," Javir cut her off, her voice sharp. "But we need to be smart about this."

She turned to face them both, her sunlight-colored hair catching the light.

"There are a few logistical problems we've got on our hands, as far as dealing with this goes."

Raven raised a brow as she turned to look at Javir.

"Such as?"

Javir sighed, running a hand through her hair.

"How do we know which nim households they'll target next? We can't be everywhere at once."

The realization clearly hit Melisa like a punch to the gut. Her tail drooped, curling around her leg.

"Oh gods," she whispered. "You're right. We can't be everywhere at once. We can't save them all, can we?"

Javir's heart clenched a little at the despair in her voice.

"Not really, no," Javir said, her voice soft but firm. "We don't have enough information. Not enough attacks have happened to establish a pattern. We can alert the guards. Have them patrol nim households. But, firstly, the Shadow Mages will likely just kill them too on their way to eliminating whichever nim they've got in mind, and some guards will probably not listen.

Some would probably be happy to hear about this plot."

Raven nodded, her expression grim.

"She's right. We can try it anyway, but we should assume we'll be on our own for this."

Melisa's fists clenched at her sides, her red eyes flashing with frustration.

"So what, we just wait? While more of my people die?"

"No," Javir said, moving to stand in front of Melisa. She placed her hands on the nim girl's shoulders, feeling the tension there. "For now, I suggest we watch. We gather information. We prepare."

"But—"

Javir cut her off.

"What good will it do to rush in half-cocked? For all we know, we could end up walking into a trap if we're not careful."

"Like last night," Raven muttered.

"Indeed," Javir nodded. At Melisa's confusion, she added, "we went to fight a Shadow Mage household. They were expecting us."

"What? I... Damn..." Melisa looked away, shocked.

"We can't afford to slip up." Javir nodded. "And then who would be left to help your people?"

Melisa deflated, the fight leaving her in a rush.

"I know," she whispered. "I know you're right. It's just..."

"Hard," Javir finished for her. "Believe me, I understand."

And she did. The weight of inaction, of watching innocent people suffer while you scrambled for a solution – it was a burden Javir did not like holding on her shoulders. Find your next read on My Virtual Library Empire

"So what's our next move?" Raven asked.

Javir stepped back, her mind racing.

"We keep our eyes and ears open. Any whisper, any rumor about the Shadow Mages or strange occurrences in the quarantined areas – we investigate."

"I can talk to my contacts," Raven offered. "See if any of them have heard anything."

Javir nodded.

"Good. Melisa, you keep up your healing rounds. Think about it this way," Javir said, an idea slipping into her mind mid-sentence. "Remember what you told me? If you can heal everyone before long, this plot of theirs falls apart."

Melisa's eyes widened.

[... Shit.]

Thinking about it more, Javir realized just how much responsibility she'd put on Melisa just now. In a way, whether the Shadow Mages' plan worked or not was entirely in her hands.

The instant she finished it, the instant she finished healing people, the Shadow Mages would have to stop this plot. Sure, they'd then just start cursing people again, but the intermission would give Javir and the others time to figure out an effective way to fight back.

And, Melisa clearly understood this, if her sudden determined face was anything to go by.

"Look for anything suspicious, any patterns in who's getting sick or... dying."

Melisa swallowed hard but nodded.

"What about you guys? What will you do while I'm out there?"

"I'll work on getting us more access," Javir said. "Pull some strings with my friends, see if I can get us more eyes on the ground."

"I..." Raven trailed off.

"Go with her," Javir suggested. "Back Melisa up. Together, you two can probably take down most Shadow Mages. If you see any particularly tough opponents though, just run, okay?"

Both girls nodded.

For a moment, they stood in silence, the weight of their task hanging heavy in the air.

"We're going to do everything in our power to stop them," Javir said. "For now, we just need to stay calm and proceed as planned.

Melisa took a deep breath, squaring her shoulders.

"Okay," she said. "Okay. Let's do this."

As they left Javir's office, each heading off to their assigned tasks, Javir couldn't shake the feeling that they were on the precipice of something enormous. Something that would change Syux – and their lives – forever.

The sun dipped below the horizon, casting long shadows across the academy grounds. Javir stood at her window, watching as the spirit crystal lamps flickered to life.

Right now, nim families were huddling together, praying for safety, for salvation.

And Melisa would have to give it to them, somehow.