Succubi Chapter 80. Not A Burden
I didn't even have time to breathe.
One blink.
She vanished.
The next?
She was right in front of me.
I barely twisted out of the way—instinct, reflex, dumb luck, all fused into one clumsy dodge—and felt the razor-slick wind from her claws kiss the edge of my cheek. If I'd been a half-second slower, she'd have carved off my jaw like butter from a cursed croissant.
Her hand swiped past me in a blur of blue light and mist, the air hissing where her nails cut through it.
I stumbled back, boots skidding on stone.
My heart slammed against my ribs like it was trying to bail out through my spine.
My lungs burned.
My eyes locked on her.
She stood there, smug, poised like a dancer mid-bow. Her clawed hand lifted, dripping faint magical water that hissed as it hit the floor.
Elegant. Fast.
Absolutely trying to kill me.
Her eyes locked to mine. Cold. Confident. Calculating.
Then she smiled.
"What?" she asked, lips curving just enough to make the air colder. "You look afraid, demon boy."
'Yeah, shit,' I thought.
Of course I looked afraid. She was faster than anything I'd fought.
But no. I couldn't show that.
I couldn't freeze. Couldn't flinch.
If I looked weak now, she'd eat me alive—literally, probably, if her smile was any clue.
I stood straighter, tightened my grip on my daggers, and smirked just enough to fake it.
"Afraid?" I muttered. "Nah. Just stalling while my better insults load."
She laughed. "Cute."
The mist around her feet twisted. That wasn't cosmetic anymore. It was charged.
She wasn't just idling.
She was prepping.
I scanned the surroundings.
The dimension hadn't changed. Still warped, cracked stone. Dim lighting. Frozen air. The same cursed air filter that made everything taste like old saltwater and stale magic.
Escape? Unlikely. Not unless I found a tear or breach. But this wasn't a simulation room. This was a cage. A pocket prison.
Wait for Evelyn? Maybe.
If she was still nearby. If she hadn't been dragged into her own fight.
But I couldn't count on that.
And worse?
I hated being a burden.
So that left one option.
Win.
Somehow.
Even if I had no idea how.
I didn't get time to think.
She moved again.
No wind-up. Just gone—then mid-air—then slamming down from above like a falling star wrapped in liquid murder.
I leapt sideways, rolled, activated Devil Armor just as a slicing stream of compressed water blasted the ground where I'd been.
The water cracked stone.
Not just broke it. Cracked it. Like it was carving canyons.
[Damage Taken: 40]
[Damage Reflected: 22]
Even with the armor up, the edge of the wave burned across my thigh. Her water magic wasn't just wet—it was sharp. Bladed. Carved like it wanted to peel the soul out of you.
I lunged forward, hoping to close the gap while she landed.
[Shadow Blade – Charged]
My weapon reformed into a longsword of pure darkness, pulsing in my hand with a deep violet sheen.
I brought it down in a diagonal slash—
She caught it.
Barehanded.
Her claws braced the blade mid-swing.
The contact sent a ripple of energy outward, cracking the air around us. My arms shook from the feedback.
[Damage Dealt: 190]
[Critical Hit Blocked]
[Target Resistance: High]
She kicked me in the chest.
I flew backward ten feet, crashed into the floor, and skidded another two. My lungs emptied like someone unplugged me.
I scrambled up.
'Dark Healing.'
The shadows curled over my chest and thigh, sealing the worst of it. I felt a rush of stamina flood back in. Not full. Not perfect. But enough to keep going.
I dashed left as she hurled a spinning wave of pressurized water at me. It sliced the ground like a saw blade. I barely dodged again, felt the edge nick my arm.
[Damage Taken: 60]
"Damn—can you not use seawater as a buzzsaw?!"
She smiled. Didn't answer.
Instead, she snapped her fingers again.
Pillars of spiraling mist surged up from the ground in a triangle—closing in.
A trap.
I leapt up, flipped midair, and summoned Dark Orbs above me.
They shimmered in a wide fan, pulsing outward.
She dashed upward—right into them.
Two detonated.
[Damage Dealt: 157]
[Pull Effect: Partial Success]
She twisted mid-air like her body was made of silk and flung a water lance through the orbs toward me.
It stabbed into my shoulder.
[Damage Taken: 110]
[Status: Movement Impaired – Left Arm]
I growled through clenched teeth.
This wasn't a duel anymore.
This was a storm.
I hit the ground and activated Death Wave.
The pulse ripped through the chamber, black and red energy flooding the ground around me.
It slammed into her.
[Damage Dealt: 111]
[Life Drain Successful – +18 HP Restored]
She hissed, skidding back, her dress now frayed at the edges, water trailing like ribbons from her arms.
Finally—finally—a solid hit.
But it wasn't enough.
She wiped blood from her lip, looked at it, and smiled like it was wine.
"Well," she said softly, walking toward me again, "that almost hurt."
I was breathing heavy now. Chest heaving. My body ached, bruised beneath the armor.
She wasn't even limping.
I needed something bigger.
Stronger.
A surprise.
[Shadow Blade – Form: Scythe]
The weapon morphed. Grew longer. A crescent of shadow that curved like the edge of night itself.
She raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"
I didn't answer.
I charged.
She spun up a vortex of water around her, but I plunged into it, teeth clenched, scythe low. My armor hissed as it cut through the mist barrier, and I slashed upward in a brutal arc.
[Damage Dealt: 73]
[Status: Bleed Reap Applied – Ongoing]
She staggered back.
I pressed forward, swinging again, again—strike after strike, forcing her to retreat—
But then she stepped into the mist—
And vanished.
My blade sliced only air.
"Shit—"
A splash behind me.
I turned too slow.
Her claws raked across my back.
[Damage Taken: 133]
[Status: Armor Fractured – Rear]
I dropped, rolled, spun, and launched two orbs in her direction. They exploded—forcing her to pause.
I stood again, panting, shoulder burning.
She circled me now.
Slower.
No rush.
No need.
She was testing me.
Measuring.
I locked eyes with her.
I wasn't winning.
But I wasn't dead.
Not yet.
And as long as I stood?
This fight wasn't over.
Not until I made her bleed again.
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