NOVEL NEXT 12. Demonic Soul
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"She should be up in the next few hours." Zain muttered as he left the shower room, having only a single white towel wrapped around his waist.
He glanced at Leila, who was still lying on the bed, unconscious and defenseless, with the pink energy still covering her body and growing brighter and brighter the more time passed. A faint smile spread across Zain’s lips.
"In the meantime, I’ll focus on something else."
Without giving Leila another glance, he walked to a nearby table, grabbing a small sheet of paper and a pen on his way. Reaching the table, he pulled the chair closer and seated himself.
"But… Before I leave as her man, I’ll leave something behind. I’d rather not have her worry too much about me or feel saddened."
Firmly holding the pen between his fingers and thumb, he started writing, his smile never leaving his face.
…
"No!" Leila opened her eyes, sitting up abruptly. Her entire body was covered in a thick layer of sweat, and her heart raced. On her face, immense fear was apparent.
"Huh?" Her breathing was heavy, and her hands were still slightly trembling, but there was a look of relief as she realized she was inside a dorm room and alone.
"A nightmare…"
Letting out a deep sigh of relief, Leila lowered her gaze and looked down at herself, noticing that her body was bare of clothes and covered in dried bodily fluids that were likely hers. But… Neither of those really attracted her attention.
What really caught her attention were the changes to her body! A Succubus was naturally beautiful and was given a body with the sole intention of seducing and controlling others. Leila hated to admit it, but as the demon princess, her body was incredibly beautiful—more than any Succubus should be at her level.
She could seduce any man with her body without much effort. It’s just that she didn’t have the desire or the will to. When her eyes landed on her body, she realized something she simply couldn’t accept. Her body had grown even more beautiful and seductive than before.
The difference wasn’t great enough for it to change her appearance drastically, but it was enough for her to easily notice it. She also felt something different about herself, other than her body growing more flawless. Before, her body felt uncomfortable, as if it didn't belong to her. However, now she didn’t feel as uncomfortable, feeling as if this body had always been hers from the very beginning.
She also could feel that her voice, though sounding feminine from the start, gave off a more feminine and seductive feeling than it did before. She no longer spoke as if she were a man!
"My body? My voice? Could a dream have done this to me? No… There’s no way unless..." Leila’s face was quickly filled with worries.
She didn’t think that what she saw was simply a dream. It was more like a reality that she was somehow able to witness. All she knew was that this change in her was caused by Zain.
"Argh!" She roared at the top of her lungs, so furious that she couldn’t do anything to resist him.
She knew that no matter what, she couldn’t let him get what he wanted. He was a demon, a monster that stole her body and was using it for his own needs, while in her heart, she was still the hero of light, fated to save this world from the demons that plagued it.
Unfortunately, she didn’t know how to save the world from him or the other demons. She was a helpless woman without the ability to do anything. She had tried to kill him, only for it to end in failure.
She scooted to the edge of the bed and looked around the room once again, relieving her worries slightly as she was still alone and away from Zain. A screen appeared before her eyes, assuring her of her reality.
[Leila]
[Titles: Sex Slave, Fallen Light Hero, Tainted One]
[Lust Level: 99 Percent]
[Race: True Succubus Princess]
[Level: 12]
[EXP: 357/1300]
[MP: 2800/2800]
[Strength: 11]
[Agility: 17]
[Stamina: 22]
[Skills: Basic Dream Mastery III, Basic Mind Mastery II, Empathy III, Basic Sex Mastery IV, Telepathy, Demonic Possession, Intermediate Lust Mastery II, Basic Soul Absorption I, Basic Corruption Mastery I]
"Tainted one…? Could this be related? Is this what changed me? It’s a title I’ve likely recently obtained. There’s no reason for it not to be connected."
[Tainted One]
[After barely escaping the corruption of one’s soul, your body and soul are now eternally tainted by the darkness of Lust. One’s soul and body have fallen from the light, reaching closer to the darkness.]
[+200% Darkness Affinity, -200% Light Affinity]
"I see…" Tears formed in Leila’s eyes as she dropped to the floor with a thud and wrapped her arms around her legs. She placed her head against them, silently crying.
She had done everything she could, all for naught. Her affinity for the light was minuscule after becoming a Succubus, despite having some affinity for the light. Something she could possibly use. Now, her affinity was zero.
Not only was it zero, but the pure and innocent soul she had was gone. Her soul and body, which were separate, her body being the Succubus with her soul remaining as the hero of light, were now the same, both now embodying Leila, the Succubus Princess.
"Why?" She faintly cried out. "Why do I have to live like this…? What did I do wrong…? It hadn’t been long since I became the hero... And… Now… I’m like this… A demon…!"
…
For an unknown amount of time, Leila remained there, lying on the wooden floor of Zain’s dorm room, softly crying as she continued to ask herself why.
When her tears finally stopped, there was a small puddle beneath her from all her tears. Her face was red, and her eyes were still wet. After crying for so long, she felt better, regaining her calm.
It had been hours since she had woken up enough for the drenched sheets of the bed to mostly dry, and she felt the need to clean up. The first thing she did was cleanse the room with a simple spell, ridding the room of her bodily fluids, sweat, and tears.
After that, she took a quick shower to remove the lingering, dried fluids on her body. She could’ve cast a spell just like she did for the room, but she didn’t, simply because it reminded her of what it is to be a human, even if she wasn’t one anymore.
Once she finished her shower, she stepped out of the shower room, donning a thin black nightgown that was almost transparent. Other than her academy’s clothing, which wasn't designed for the purpose of comfort, all the clothes Leila had barely covered anything. This one just happened to be the closest one she could find to being somewhat decent.
Without any further delay, she walked over to the table, finally noticing the small sheet of paper with a pen laying next to it. It wasn’t that she hadn’t looked there before, only that her mind had been elsewhere at the time.
She stepped closer to the sheet of paper, seeing that something was neatly written on it.
She reached out her hand toward the sheet of paper, bending slightly forward. As soon as her fingers took hold of the paper, she raised it and looked at the words written on it. A frown quickly appeared on her face.
The words didn’t belong to a language she was familiar with or had ever seen in her life. The language was similar to the demon language while also being different at the same time. Even so, she was still able to properly understand it.
To others, if they saw this, it would be almost like a jumbled mess of characters all thrown together, but for her, the words were no different from common language. She didn’t know why and could only guess. It likely has something to do with her demonic soul.
Leila read through everything on the sheet of paper, seeing that it was a note written by Zain. Almost instantaneously, her expression became conflicted with anger and sadness as her fists clenched tightly.
"You bastard! Can’t you at least give me more space, when I can be free from you?”