SSA Chapter 59

(My body feels… hot)

Feeling a heat that made him flush, Rinda opened his eyes with a gasp. After blinking a few times, he slowly stood up. He lifted his chin and took a deep breath.

“Hah… phew.”

Taking as much time to exhale as he did to inhale, Rinda looked down at his hands. In the darkness, his fingertips seemed to glow, wavering with a pale blue light. His nails were pitch black as if they had swept up the color of the night sky, and their tips were pointed. His slender arms were bare. He had a feeling he had been wearing a Holy Knight uniform until just a moment ago, but that didn’t matter to Rinda now.

“Are we still playing hide-and-seek?”

Suddenly, a clear voice echoed in the darkness. Rinda lifted his face and turned towards the source of the voice.

“If you don’t come out, shall I start killing these humans one by one? It might be fun to make them kill each other too.”

As the amused voice reached his ears, Rinda’s pointed ears twitched. Then, flapping his wings several times, he took off from where he stood.

In the square in front of the church, villagers with weapons stood with pale faces, centered around the owner of the voice from earlier… Ralyza. All the villagers had their arms hanging limply, their expressions clearly far from sane.

Rinda slowly descended and landed in the middle of the square.

“Oh my, you finally appeared, and in succubus form no less. What’s the occasion?”

Indeed, Rinda had completely transformed into his succubus form. It wasn’t his usual appearance with small wings and a tail, but a majestic form with grand wings, dignified horns like a male goat, red markings under his eyes, and sharp fangs peeking out from his slightly open mouth. His attire was unmistakably that of a seductive succubus. His lower half and chest were covered in short black fur like women’s underwear, and a curved tail was wrapped suggestively around his waist.

“And where’s the other Holy Knight? No, that beast-smelling half-demon?”

Probably referring to Kenneth, Ralyza shrugged.

“Don’t tell me he ran away alone? Then, as punishment for his escape, I’ll kill one of these humans-“

“Ralyza,” Rinda, who had been silent until then, calmly called Ralyza’s name.

Suddenly, an indescribably sweet fragrance enveloped the area. Ralyza, who had been about to snap his fingers, froze.

“Don’t do anything unrefined,” Rinda said, then turned his head slightly. The humans who had been pale-faced until moments ago raised their faces at Rinda’s “scent.” Then, with melting gazes, they stared blankly at Rinda and began to approach unsteadily. It was as if they had been charmed in an instant.

“What are you…!” Ralyza bristled, angered at having his toys taken away. But Rinda pressed his index finger to his lips, silencing Ralyza with a “Shh,” and then turned to face the humans.

“Be good now,” Rinda whispered softly.

As soon as he said this, the humans with dazed expressions simultaneously dropped their weapons and fell to their knees. Then they collapsed to the ground with a series of thuds.

After confirming that the last person had fallen and was snoring peacefully, Rinda turned back to Ralyza.

“Oh? You’re doing some rather interesting things, aren’t you?” Ralyza’s voice contained obvious anger. His toes were irritably digging into the ground. However, Rinda returned Ralyza’s gaze without flinching.

“Suddenly using your succubus powers. What are you playing at?”

“Why are you angry?”

Instead of answering Ralyza’s question, Rinda asked one in return. A vein throbbed at Ralyza’s temple.

Rinda fluttered his wings to cover the short distance. He landed in front of Ralyza, deliberately exuding an overtly sweet atmosphere.

“Hey, why?”

“This changes everything, doesn’t it? …I absolutely hate it when things don’t go according to my plans. I don’t want any unexpected situations, good or bad.”

Ralyza’s intended flow was to torment Rinda to the point of wishing for death.

To drag Rinda down, kill humans, violate him while making him watch, have humans violate him too, thoroughly drive him to despair, and then throw him before his brothers. Kill the brothers who had lost their arms first, and show Rinda their corpses.

He wanted to drive Rinda to despair over and over again. Such dark desires, akin to a grudge, were swirling within Ralyza.

“Hmm, is that so?”

Rinda blinked several times, showing neither anger nor a smile.

Strangely, he could understand Ralyza’s thoughts as if they were laid out before him. Well, more accurately, he sensed them rather than reading his mind.

Whatever the case, Rinda felt no fear now. He was filled with a strange sense of omnipotence, as if everything in this place – the villagers, Ralyza’s thoughts, everything – was under his control.

“Ralyza,” Rinda called Ralyza’s name once more. Then, floating in the air, he elegantly tilted his head.

Despite the situation, his mind was crystal clear. While part of his heart felt anger that made his blood boil at Ralyza’s intentions, his thoughts remained utterly calm. Rinda maintained his smile as he extended his slender, graceful fingers towards Ralyza.

“Take my hand, Ralyza.”

“…Are you really that half-demon succubus?”

Ralyza, who had been about to reach out, stopped his left hand in mid-air. He pulled his chin back suspiciously, looking up at Rinda who was floating with his knees pulled up.

“Yes, I am. I’m Rinda, Rinda Azrael.”

Rinda’s face, smiling softly, showed no anger towards Ralyza.

“What do you want with me?”

“Hm? Fufu, what do you think?”

Rinda said teasingly, then swiftly withdrew the hand he had offered. After confirming that Ralyza’s eyes were following his hand with a hint of regret, he called out “Ralyza” once more. With each call, Ralyza’s eyes became more fixated on Rinda. As if drawn in, Ralyza’s gaze moved from Rinda’s feet, tracing up his legs to his thighs, distracted by the slowly swaying tail, then up to his chest, collarbone, neck, finally reaching his eyes that shone like stars in the night sky.

“What I want to do now is…”

Rinda flapped his wings, approaching Ralyza. He spread his arms, gently embracing Ralyza’s head to his chest as if cradling an infant. Then, placing a hand on Ralyza’s cheek, he met his gaze.

Ralyza was aware that his consciousness was becoming clouded. Yet even aware, he couldn’t avert his gaze. From the succubus smiling gently with glossy lips. From this half-demon before him, whom he had underestimated as insignificant and powerless, he couldn’t move his gaze.

Rinda cupped Ralyza’s cheeks with both hands, bringing his face close enough for their noses to almost touch.

“To drain every last bit of you, Ralyza.”

Rinda tilted his face. At the delicate boundary where their lips were about to touch, he inhaled with a “suu” sound. No, it wasn’t breath. What he inhaled was Ralyza’s essence. Rinda sucked in that essence, brimming with magical power, in one breath.

“Gh!”

Instantly, Ralyza tried to push Rinda away, but Rinda wouldn’t allow it. He continued to embrace Ralyza in a gentle, sweet hug.

“Ha… let… go of me!”

After struggling for a while, Rinda was forcibly torn away with a ripping sound. Though pushed back and sent flying, he flapped his wings twice in the air to maintain his posture.

Ralyza wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, exhaling rough breaths. Horns had appeared on his head at some point, and his mouth was split wider than before. The teeth visible between his lips were unevenly sharp. He had lost so much essence that he could no longer maintain his human form.

“You… what are you…!”

Ralyza glared at Rinda with eyes full of confusion and shock. His previously composed attitude had completely changed, now revealing glimpses of anger and panic. In contrast, Rinda watched over Ralyza with a calm expression, as if he had never been toyed with before.

“I’m nothing special. Just a half-demon succubus.”

Rinda wiped his lips with the back of his hand, just as Ralyza had done, and deliberately stuck out his tongue saying “Yuck.” Despite his irritating attitude, Ralyza narrowed his eyes as if somewhat captivated. Then, as if startled, he shook his head.

“I’ve never heard of a half-demon capable of draining the essence of a high-ranking demon.”

Ralyza irritably looked Rinda up and down, from the top of his head to his toes.

“…Was it your father who was the succubus? Your mother? Which clan, what kind of demon were they?”

Bombarded with questions, Rinda shrugged and said, “Who knows?”

“That doesn’t matter right now, does it?”

Rinda knew nothing about his succubus birth mother. His mother, his father who might have known about her, and his adoptive parents from the Azrael family had all passed away. Rinda had no way of knowing who she was, nor did he feel a strong desire to “know” at the moment.

In any case, having his essence drained by Rinda seemed to have been quite a shocking event for Ralyza. But Rinda felt no interest in this astonishment. Ralyza’s feelings were simply “irrelevant” to him.

“Don’t tell me you’re a higher-ranking demon than me? A mere succubus?”

“Enough already. While you’re rambling, I’ll drain you completely.”

Rinda reached out towards Ralyza, provocatively wiggling his index finger.

“…Don’t you need to do something about the villagers before draining my essence?”

“Hm?”

Indeed, the villagers were still collapsed at their feet. Though they were sleeping, it might be better to move them away from this place first.

“What’s that, an excuse to escape?”

However, the words that came out of Rinda’s mouth were chillingly cold.

“Draining your essence takes priority.”

As he said this, Rinda inwardly tilted his head. Was his true objective really to “drain Ralyza’s essence completely”? Was that really what should take priority above all else?

(What am I saying? Sure, I want to defeat Ralyza, I want to take him down… but)

Rinda was dominated by a strange sense of elation. His body felt light, his mind felt light. Small worries became irrelevant, and he could think of nothing but overwhelming the “enemy” before him, draining all of their essence. It was as if he had become a demon driven solely by desire.

But was this really okay?

(Is this alright? For me to be like this, a cold-hearted demon. …I’m not an succubus, I don’t want to become an succubus…)

“Ugh”

As Rinda’s inner doubts grew, his body became heavier. The moment his strength faltered, the sharp-eyed Ralyza wouldn’t miss it.

“Ha!”

An ice shard thrown by Ralyza grazed Rinda’s wing.

“Guh!”

Rinda let out a loud groan at the sharp pain. With his wing injured, his balance was thrown off and his body tilted. Ralyza didn’t miss this opening and continuously hurled ice shards at him. They also sprouted from the ground, forcing Rinda to jump to avoid them. But pain shot through his wing, and he fell to the ground.

With a thud, Rinda’s knees hit the dirt, and he supported his upper body with his hands.

“Ah, you’re finally making a good face.”

“Ugh”

His chin was grabbed and forcibly lifted. Before he knew it, Ralyza was right in front of him, looking down at Rinda with eyes glowing red.

“I think this suits you better, crawling on the ground like this.”

Asked teasingly with a “Don’t you think?”, Rinda bit his lower lip. Just moments ago, he had been filled with a sense of invincibility, but suddenly, that power had dissipated.

(Why…)

Rinda was startled to see that the sharp points of his nails were gone.

(Because I denied my succubus self?)

For a moment, Rinda questioned himself. The self that coldly thought only of draining the essence of the enemy before him.

Just as he tried to concentrate again, he was kicked hard around the shoulder. Rinda let out an “Ah!” and fell backward. His injured wing scraped against the ground, causing him to cry out pathetically, “Gih, aah!”

“What a lovely scream.”

“Ugh, oh… guh!”

Ralyza placed his foot on Rinda’s stomach without hesitation. As he twisted his foot, grinding it in, Rinda doubled over, retching.

“I’m curious. That power of yours earlier, very curious indeed.”

Ralyza said this while continuing to trample Rinda.

“I was thinking of using you as bait. But perhaps it would be better to make you mine instead.”

Smiling happily, Ralyza moved his fingers. Suddenly, Rinda’s body floated in the air. Of course, this wasn’t by Rinda’s own power. Unable to move, as if pinned in mid-air, Rinda coughed out painful breaths. With the last cough, something came up, and he spat it out. It was a clot of blood.

“Oh my, are you alright? You look like a demon, but your body is closer to a human’s, isn’t it? I’ll have to be careful not to kill you accidentally.”

Rinda glared at Ralyza while breathing heavily.

“Ah, what lovely eyes. I’d like to pluck them out and keep them as decoration.”

Ralyza’s hand grabbed Rinda’s tail. He pulled the twitching appendage towards himself.

“Gih…!”

“I wonder if this is also a kind of attachment?”

Ralyza tilted his head curiously. He smiled while stroking Rinda’s tail, seemingly enjoying its texture.

“Since we’ve come this far, I want to torment you with my own hands for a long time. I want to see your face contort in pain. I want to make you cry until your tears run dry, and kill everyone dear to you.”

Rinda wanted to reclaim his tail from the hand of this demon who was calmly stating such terrifying things. He pulled at the base of his tail with his dirty hand, but being overpowered, he fell forward this time. As Rinda collapsed face-first onto the ground, amused laughter rained down from above his head.

“Shall we start by killing a human in front of you? I did promise, after all.”

“What… promise…”

Rinda had no memory of making such a cruel promise. He tried to stand up by putting strength into his knees, but his tail was pulled hard, causing him to lose balance and fall again.

Sliding across the ground, he somehow managed to lift his face… and saw Mary, still unconscious, in front of him. Her complexion was poor, and she was groaning “Uh, uh” as if suffering from a nightmare. No, she was probably actually suffering. She must be mentally and physically exhausted from having her essence drained by Ralyza for so long. Rinda tried to reach out to her, but fell just short of the distance. His dirty hand cut through the air, unable to grasp anything.